How to Relieve Stress in Darkest Dungeon: Top Tips and Strategies

Darkest Dungeon is a notoriously challenging game that tests your strategic skills and your ability to manage stress levels among your heroes. In this article, we’ll explore various methods to relieve stress in Darkest Dungeon, helping you keep your party members sane and effective in their quest to defeat the darkness.

Utilize Stress-Relief Activities in Town

After a grueling dungeon crawl, sending your heroes to the right stress-relief activities in town is crucial. The Abbey and the Tavern offer several options:

• Abbey: Use the Cloister, Transept, and Penance Hall to lower stress.
• Tavern: The Bar, Gambling Hall, and Brothel provide different stress-relief activities.

Each hero responds differently to these activities, so monitor their preferences to maximize stress reduction.

Recruit and Upgrade Stress-Healing Heroes

Certain heroes excel at stress management. Ensure you have at least one of these in your party:

• Jester: His Inspiring Tune is a great way to reduce stress during battles.
• Houndmaster: Use his Cry Havoc ability to alleviate stress for the entire party.
• Flagellant: His Endure skill helps transfer stress from one hero to himself, providing relief.

Upgrade these heroes' stress-relieving abilities at the Guild to improve their effectiveness.

Use Camping Skills Wisely

During longer expeditions, camping provides a vital opportunity to manage stress. Equip heroes with camping skills that reduce stress, such as:

• Encourage: Reduces stress for a single hero.
• Pep Talk: Prevents stress damage for a specified number of battles.
• Therapy Dog (Houndmaster): Reduces stress for the entire party.

Plan your camping activities to maximize stress relief and ensure your party can continue their mission effectively.

Equip Stress-Reducing Trinkets

Trinkets can provide valuable stress relief and management:

• Talisman of the Flame: Reduces stress damage.
• Ancestor's Scroll: Improves stress healing received.
• Wilbur's Flag: Lowers stress damage taken and reduces stress over time.

Always consider the balance between stress reduction and other stats when equipping trinkets to your heroes.

Manage Light Levels

Keeping the torchlight at an optimal level can significantly reduce stress:

• High Torchlight: Reduces stress damage received and keeps heroes calm.
• Low Torchlight: Increases stress but yields better loot and rewards.

Balance your desire for loot with the need to keep stress levels manageable.

Prioritize Stress-Causing Enemies

Certain enemies cause more stress than others. Focus on eliminating these threats first:

• Cultist Acolyte: Uses stressful incantations.
• Madman: Inflicts significant stress damage with his Doomsay ability.
• Bone Courtier: Uses stressful attacks to increase your heroes' stress levels.

By neutralizing these enemies early, you can prevent excessive stress buildup.

Monitor Hero Afflictions

If a hero’s stress level reaches 100, they risk becoming afflicted, resulting in negative behaviors. If stress reaches 200, the hero suffers a heart attack. Use stress-relieving techniques proactively to prevent these critical thresholds.

Conclusion

Managing stress in Darkest Dungeon is a vital part of ensuring your party's success and survival. By utilizing stress-relief activities, recruiting and upgrading stress-healing heroes, wisely using camping skills, equipping the right trinkets, managing light levels, prioritizing stress-causing enemies, and monitoring hero afflictions, you can keep your heroes sane and ready to face the horrors of the dungeon.

Master these strategies, and your journey through Darkest Dungeon will be less daunting, leading to greater victories and a more resilient team.