Stress (Darkest Dungeon II)

"The mind cannot hope to withstand such a protracted assault."

- The Academic

Stress is a mechanic in Darkest Dungeon 2. It represents the mental strain caused on the heroes by the battle and the travel. High levels of stress will cause negative effects on the heroes and reduce its effectiveness, mainly through Relationships. Managing stress and maintaining a good relationship between team members is essential for the victory of the expedition.

Stress levels
Stress is divided from 0-10. Low levels of stress will not cause a problem for the player, however high levels of stress will start to affect the heroes through Negative Banter. Negative banter will cause stress and cause the heroes to lose Relationship pips to each other causing a snowball effect. The player should try to keep the stress as low as possible to avoid these problems.


 * 0-3 : No Negative Banter
 * 4-9 : Negative Banter
 * 10  : Meltdown or Resolute / Toxic

Meltdown
When the hero reaches 10 stress and is in combat there is an 80% base chance that the hero will suffer a Meltdown.

Meltdown:


 * Reduce the hero's HP to 10%
 * -15% Deathsdoor dd2.png Blow Resistance (until next Inn)
 * +40% Stress Resistance
 * -3 Affinity negative blue.png Affinity pips with all other team members
 * Add a Negative Quirk (40%)

Resolute
On the other hand, if the hero reaches 10 stress and is in combat there is a 20% base probability that the hero will be Resolute.

Resolute:


 * Heal 50%  HP
 * +15% Deathsdoor dd2.png Blow Resistance (until next Inn)
 * +50% Debuff Resistance
 * +40% Stress Resistance
 * +2 Positive yellow affinity pip.png Affinity pips with all other team members
 * Add a Positive Quirk (40%)

Toxic


Upon reaching 10 stress, the Flagellant cannot become Resolute nor suffer a Meltdown, but will instead become Toxic, with the following effects:


 * Add Toxic token
 * -2 Affinity negative blue.png Affinity pips with all other team members
 * Clear all skill cooldowns.
 * -10%Deathsdoor dd2.png Blow Resistance (until next Inn)
 * All paths except Scourge: Set HP to 30%.
 * Scourge: Set HP to 45%.
 * Scourge: +1 dealt until end of combat