Darkest Dungeon (location)

The Darkest Dungeon is a hellish pit filled with eldritch horrors, and those who worship them, that goes all the way down into the Heart of the World itself. To beat the game, you need to complete 4 quests in this location.

Darkest features
First and foremost - the Darkest Dungeon is nothing like the challenges you faced before. Almost every attack will induce stress, every blight and bleed deals high damage, every encounter has a good chance to be the last.

One does not simply escape from the Darkest Dungeon: a random party member will die, buying time to retreat. However, if there is only 1 party member left, he will not die. Unequip all trinkets before abandoning the quest to avoid losing them. You can't retreat from the final quest at all.

Characters who successfully finished a quest will refuse to go back ever again. Such Heroes are marked by a torch in a Hero roster and candles on their stat page. It's still possible to send them on other quests. Marked Heroes will not occupy a slot in the roster, meaning you can recruit 4 more without dismissing anyone.

This means that every Hero will most likely go on a mission only once, so choose your composition wisely.

Unlike the usual random dungeons, the map layout and all fights in the Darkest Dungeon are scripted. You can't see the entire map as usual; rooms will be scouted as you move forward. Scouting doesn't work as usual ether: you don't get to see where the fights are. Hallways also come in different sizes and shapes, from long and straight to short and twisted.

However, its not all hardships and ancient eldritch abominations. There are quite a few positive features: there are no traps, blockages, or night time ambushes. Hunger checks are rare too. If you fail a quest in the Darkest Dungeon, it will only strengthen the resolve of those left behind, giving x2 Resolve XP Bonus in the next quest. If you succeed, it will inspire all Heroes in the Hamlet, removing all stress.

After completing of the first quest, and more often after second and third, you will begin to see the world as it truly is - full of horror and tentacles. Mostly tentacles.

Provision

 * Shovels and keys are useless: there are no curios or blockages
 * Antivenom and bandages are way more useful than usual, due to the high bleed and blight damage
 * Buying enough food and torches is also very important, as these quests tend to be quite exhausting
 * Bringing Holy Water to increase Hero's resistances in certain fights could be a good idea

We Are The Flame
"Once again, the stars are right and the manor sits at the very epicenter of cosmic unrest. Cultists rally to their twisted idols and great gongs sound in anticipation of the coming sacrifices. Far below, life laid in shadows, pulse to the unrelenting rhythm of a beating heart."

"The blood of the fallen blows ever downwards along this titan spires. The creature fattens itself upon your failures."
 * Size: Medium
 * Difficulty: Darkest
 * Goals: Kill 1 Shuffling Horror

This one is pretty straight forward. Move along through the hallways. It's impossible to get lost or walk into the wrong room - the map is pretty much mirrored. The first few battles will give you a general idea of what you will face. There is a mini boss, the Shuffling Horror, in the final room, separated by a long hallway. It's like a stronger version of the Shambler. Just like him, he will summon enemies, like the Cultist Priest and Malignant Growth to assist him. It has 2 actions per turn, so debuffs are not very effective. Stun enemies he summons every other turn and focus on getting him down as soon as possible. As the name suggests, he has a skill that shuffles your party around, so bring Heroes that can attack from multiple positions. A for this mission is available.

Recommended classes: Jester, Crusader, Occultist, Abomination, Bounty Hunter, Hellion. "You have merely glimpsed the edge of the abyss, but it is enough to trigger the cycle of revelation. Now, like me, you will begin to see things as they truly are."

Lighting the Way
"The thing has no name nor it needs no language. Nevertheless, those who will submit to its wordless will are rewarded, in a fashion. The creature's blessings are as repulsive as they are robust. Twisted, half human monstrosities stalk the flash-ridden halls, protecting their gestating god."

"Madness made flash! It crawls steadily upwards from the pit, supported by the ladder of cyclopean pillars."
 * Size: Long
 * Difficulty: Darkest
 * Goals: activate 3 Iron Crowns

This is where it gets tricky. 3 altars are guarded by the Templar Impaler and Templar Warlord parties. They are not only tough, hard hitting, miniboss-like monsters, with two actions per turn, but also use a skill "Revelation", dealing huge health and stress damage. Use torch-like trinkets, the reward for the previous quest to negate it. The catch is there's only 3 of them, so one of the Heroes has to go unprotected. Either rely on luck for him not to be targeted too much or use guard to redirect the attack. The altars are located in the dead ends at the end of each passage available from the starting room. Return to the starting room after activating each altar by backtracking through the same rooms to avoid unnecessary fights. The altar to the right has BOTH an Impaler and a Warlord, so it is advised to do it either first or last. A for this mission is available.

Recommended classes: Man-at-Arms, Occultist, Arbalest, Hound Master, Abomination, Bounty Hunter. "The maniacal cultists are quilleted, for a time, but there can be no celebration. Your progress is measured only in progressive realization... and downing horror."

Belly of the Beast
"The interminable stone halls are but an antechamber. The creature is vast beyond measure and must be battled from within. Step over the threshold and let the terrible truth worm it's way into your mind."

"The gateless gate. A maddening aperture to realms beyond human understanding."
 * Size: Exhausting (4 campfires)
 * Difficulty: Darkest
 * Goals: Activate 1 Locus Beacon

This thing is huge but not very hard. Cut through the Flesh Hounds and Polyps until you stumble upon the Mammoth Cyst and White Cell Stalk. It doesn't do much damage but applies blight, damage debuff, can heal and buff itself. What makes it hard is a "Teleport" skill the White Cell Stalk can use when the Mammoth Cyst is damaged. It will send you to a random room far away. Your party has to get to the center of the map (right and down from the starting location), where the Locus Beacon is located. It is guarded by a Mammoth Cyst fight, but the fight doesn't reset when you get teleported away. Just grind back to the center 2 or 3 times avoiding other Cysts. Heroes with high move resist are recommended for this quest. A for this mission is available.

Recommended classes: Plague Doctor, Leper, Occultist, Vestal, Jester, Abomination, Hellion. "At last, the twisted heart of the world is laid bare for sword or supplication."

Hell is in the Heart
"In all my terrible researches, what I sought was a glimpse behind the veil, a crumb of cosmic truth... I found It here and in that moment of brain-blasting realization I ceased to be a man and became a herald, an avatar of the Crawling Chaos."
 * Size: Short
 * Difficulty: Darkest
 * Goals: Kill 1 Heart of Darkness

"Life feeds on life. In your petty pursuit of family redemption you consumed those who rallied to your cause and in so doing you strengthened the Thing, accelerating the end. This is as it should be. It is why you are here."

"We are chained here forever, you and I, at the end of the world. Free yourself, rouse the thing and embrace the inevitable cosmic hideousness that lives within as all."

This is it. The end. One hallway, one destination, one boss. After some dialogs with the Ancestor - where he explains his motives - your party has to fight him. "You still foolishly consider yourself an entity separate from the whole, but I know better. And I. will. show you."

The Ancestor himself is immune to all forms of damage. He will summon 3 copies of himself you need to kill, until an Imperfect Reflection spawns. Killing it will do 1 damage to the Ancestor. Grind through the Reflections, make use of their low stun resist to keep them under control. After the 5th Imperfect Reflection is killed, you will be able to attack the Ancestor. "The flesh is fluid, it could be changed reshaped, remade!"

He will summon 3 Absolute Nothingness. They behave much like the Prophets's pews. While doing absolutely nothing by themselves, they can't be destroyed. They also have 999 dodge. The Ancestor will change position, while dealing high damage and applying bleed. Bring classes that can attack all positions. When the Ancestor's health is reduced to 0, the Gestating Heart will spawn. "The flesh is immortal, it is undying. Pray it does take not too hideous of form."

It does nothing by itself, attacking it will heal a character by 12, but has a chance to apply blight. When you kill it, the final form, the Heart of Darkness will be revealed. "Behold the heart of the world! Progenitor of life, father and mother, alpha and omega! Our creator... and our destroyer."

It's nothing special by itself, it has mostly bleed, blight and stress attack. What makes it special is a skill named Come Unto Your Maker which instantly kills a Hero, but you get to chose which one. It will only use this skill under the skill twice, once after it's health drops below 2/3 (if you have 4 party members alive) and once after it health falls below 1/3 (if you have 3 party members alive.) Sacrifice a healer first, afflicted/low health character second. Be careful not to mess your formation. The final boss is not intended to be significantly hard, an all around decent party can beat him with few (2) loses. Recommended classes: Hellion, Grave Robber, Highwayman, Leper, Vestal.

Epilogue
"Victory... A hollow and ridiculous notion. We are born of this thing, made from it, and we will be return to it, in time. The great family of man... a profusion of errant flesh! Multiplying, swarming, living, dying... Until the stars align in their inexorable formation and what sleeps is roused once more, to hatch from this fragile shell of earth and rock and bring our inescapable end. So seek solace in a manner befitting your lineage and take up your nugatory vigil, haunted forever by that sickening prose echoing through the infinite blackness of space and time... Ruin has come to our family."