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.

The music that plays during combat in the Darkest Dungeon is The Final Combat.

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.

You can't easily retreat from the Darkest Dungeon, either, should things go south: when you retreat, a random party member will die (representing them holding off the monsters to buy their comrades time to escape). However, if there is only 1 party member left, they will not die. If you must flee, unequip all trinkets before abandoning the quest to avoid losing them. You should also be aware that you cannot retreat at all during the game's final quest.

Characters who successfully complete a quest in the Darkest Dungeon will refuse to go back ever again. Such Heroes are marked by a torch in a Hero roster and candles on their stat page. However, even though they cannot be used in the Darkest Dungeon again, they can still be a major asset to you: it's still possible to send them on other quests, and they grant additional resolve XP to all other party members from then on. Additionally, Marked Heroes will not occupy a slot in the roster, meaning you can recruit 4 more without dismissing anyone.

This does 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, either: 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. Additionally the rules for reinforcements are always in effect, even if you have them turned off. On the plus side, there are no traps, blockages, or night time ambushes - meaning that you don't need to waste your time bringing shovels or keys. Hunger checks also occur more rarely than normal (although they can still happen). Choose provisions and trinkets appropriately.

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 you complete the first quest in the Darkest Dungeon, the player character will begin to hallucinate. Whenever you take an action in town (such as buying upgrades at the survivalist or purchasing provisions before setting out), select a region to quest in, or reassign a hero's skills, there is a chance that the screen will flicker and show you something...unexpected.

Provision

 * Shovels and keys are useless: there are no curios or blockages
 * Antivenom and bandages are far 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 exhausting
 * Bringing Holy Water to increase Hero's resistances in certain fights is 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-laden shadows pulse to the unrelenting rhythm of a beating heart."

"The blood of the fallen flows 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.

Tip: The Rapturous Cultists are harmless on their own, giving you a chance to heal, distress, and buff your party. Stunlock them early on to prevent them from guarding their allies, and finish them off last. Be warned, however - although leaving two cultists alive gives you all the time you need for healing, if there's only a single cultist, he can summon reinforcements like any other enemy should you take too long to finish him off.

Tip: Excluding the aforementioned strategy of leaving two harmless enemies alive, such as two cultists, one of the easiest and most straight-forward ways of beating this dungeon is to minimize as much as possible the amount of rounds you are fighting. A very easy and successful strategy involves bringing a front line Jester to instantly kill one of the four enemies you are up against, and then sparring out with a marking party that focuses on big hits, like the Bounty Hunter/Houndmaster team.

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 for it needs no language. Nevertheless, those who would 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 flesh-ridden halls, protecting their gestating god."

"Madness made flesh! It crawls steadily upwards from the pit, supported by the lattice 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. Make sure you do not forget to activate the altars with the items you were supplied at the beginning of the mission, if you do leave the room and forgot to activate it you will never be able to activate the altar again and one of your heroes will be forfeit. Tip: like the first mission, you can kill the Cultists last to have the chance to heal and buff. A for this mission is available.

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

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 its 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 or move resist trinkets are recommended for this quest. Note that if you are teleported to a room with no scouted linked rooms, you will be unable to retreat from the battle. 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 ineffable 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. I know better. And I. will. show you."

The first thing to be aware of is the light here is otherworldly, meaning as soon as you enter the dungeon the torch icon and torch interactions will disappear. However, you can still gain benefit from Moon Trinkets if you snuff the torch previous to entering the dungeon, which although reflects no visual changes, will give your heroes the trinkets' bonuses. 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 can 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 a 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) losses. 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 returned 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."

List of Darkest Dungeon Monsters
Unlike other areas of the game, the Darkest Dungeon has a unique list of monsters, meaning that shared monsters do not appear within.

Achievements
These are the Achievements that must be earned within the Darkest Dungeon