Darkest Dungeon is a brutal roguelike turn-based RPG that breaks the spirit of its characters and players alike. It has a unique take on dungeon adventuring and chooses to focus on the psychological stress and effects of dungeon crawling and constant near-death encounters.

Numerous mechanics present in Darkest Dungeon might take new players aback. Long-term party management is something that you might have never given any thought to in prior gaming experiences, and it might all be a bit too much to handle. However, taking it all one step at a time and going in with the right mindset can save you from a lot of stress.

Updated by Jonathan Eakin on January 21, 2024: Darkest Dungeon remains popular, and the series has expanded with the release of a sequel. With that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to help guide intrepid adventurers through their first foray into the original game, with a few extra tips thrown in for good measure. We've added more entries to this list and spruced up the existing ones, too.

16 Don't Worry About The Sequel

"A Moment Of Clarity"

Darkest Dungeon 2 is the new kid on the block. Whether you're coming to the first game after trying the sequel or new to the series, you should focus on Darkest Dungeon as its own experience. The gameplay is more different than you might expect. So although there are similarities, it's best to abandon what you know and not look ahead too much.

Many fans who have played both continue to stick with the first game, while some prefer the second. Whichever one you prefer, the best thing you can do is treat each game as a singular experience, both in terms of what each game expects from you and what you should expect from them.

15 It's Okay To Use Mods

"Machinations Spring To Life"

We encourage you to check out the game, at least for a while, without mods. That way, you can better know what mods you want because they can add a lot to the experience of Darkest Dungeon. With a passionate modding community behind the game, there's no shortage of options to choose from.

Whether you want an expanded roster with new types of heroes or difficulty options to tweak the gameplay to your liking, you're likely going to be able to find it. Redhook is a huge fan of the modding community, even hiring a few modders for the game's sequel. You can rest easy knowing that however you choose to play the game, you're playing it as intended by the developers.

14 Know What You're Getting Yourself Into

"There Is A Place, Beneath Those Ancient Ruins"

Darkest Dungeon is an unforgiving game. You will not succeed if you go into it like any other turn-based RPG. There is no strength in friendship like any JRPG will have you believe; your party is not going to have a good time.

That said, lighten up a little bit. A party wipe isn't so bad, and it might happen frequently as you get accustomed to the gameplay mechanics. There's no need to start a new save; just keep on pushing. You'll save yourself from a lot of stress if you treat your party members as replaceable pawns, so try not to name them after any of your friends.

13 Radiant Mode Is Your Friend, Not Your Shame

"In Radiance May We Find Victory"

Darkest Dungeon is a hard game - bone-crushingly, soul-sappingly hard, in fact. The thing is, we are talking about the base game and the default settings. Darkest Dungeon is not for the faint of heart. Death is around every corner, but there are ways to make your life a bit easier.

Radiant Mode was added a while back, and it does a lot to smooth out the experience without neutering the game’s signature challenge. It just pulls back the difficulty a smidge, making things a little less bothersome, and, if we are being honest, it is by far the best way to get started with Darkest Dungeon.

12 Bring A Healer

"The Wounds Of War Can Be Healed, But Never Hidden"

There aren't very many ways to heal in Darkest Dungeon, especially during battle. You must bring a healer into your party during the early stages of the game. Later on, you can experiment a bit more with party formation if you're confident and think you can handle it.

While you're still new, try to save your food and have some faith in your healer. Random hunger checks will mess you up if you're not careful, so it's better to just keep food around unless you have extra or really need it. Toward the end of party preservation, lean hard into recruiting Vestals and Occultists whenever the opportunity's available.

11 Experiment With New Combinations

"Inspiration And Improvement"

Healers are all well and good, but sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and experiment a bit. Dedicated healers are excellent, but there are buckets of classes in Darkest Dungeon, and each one comes with a bevy of unique attacks, camping skills, and flavor.

Non-healers can become healers, healers can become damage dealers, and damage dealers can become support pieces. The possibilities are not endless, but they are pretty darn close. Always be on the lookout for new and weird combos, and never be afraid to try them out.

10 Keep Your Light Level High

"A Blazing Star Is Born"

As a general rule of thumb, always keep your light levels above 75. This makes for better accuracy — which actually matters a lot in Darkest Dungeon — and easier scouting. As a new player who isn't accustomed to the game, keeping the light levels high minimizes the randomness of the dungeon and won't throw you for a loop.

If your light level drops below 75, you're prone to receiving more stress damage. If the light level drops below 50, monster accuracy and damage increase, and there are chances that enemies will surprise you. Keep some torches on you at all times.

9 Don't Be Overly Afraid Of The Dark

"Yonder - A Glint Of Gold"

We just sang the praises of a high light level, but what if we told you there is value in having no light at all? A high light level makes your game easier, sure, but a low light level rewards you with more treasure.

This leads us to a pretty sneaky point - why not launch a night raid on the dungeon? What’s stopping you from sending some of your rejects into hell itself, with no torch, and filling your packs with more loot than is feasibly carried by four people? Light is good, but sometimes, a bit of darkness can go a long way.

8 Be Picky With Your Heroes

"To Fight The Abyss"

At the start, you need every hero you can get. However, once you come back from a dungeon or two, you need to wisely pick and choose who you bring with you. Start thinking of team formation and paying close attention to quirks.

There is very little room for error. Picking heroes whose quirks and merits match their role is a must. If you have a tank, then it's generally a good idea to make sure that they don't have a quirk that lowers their HP.

7 Upgrade Your Stage Coach (And Hero Barracks)

"Success Depends On Survival"

You want to get more heroes, and you do that by upgrading your Stagecoach. In the early game, it's a safe decision and one that is highly encouraged. You always want to have a good number of heroes handy in your roster in the event of a party wipe.

Once you get the hang of things, you should feel free to look around and upgrade other facilities that will benefit you later in the game. But for right now, the Stagecoach and Hero Barracks are your lifeblood and serve as investments that will never let you down.

6 Don't Be Afraid Of Longer Dungeons

"The Great Ruins Belong To Us"

Of course, there's no shame in going on a short dungeon while you're getting acclimated to the game. However, don't be discouraged by medium or long dungeons. You might perform better in those dungeons for any number of reasons.

Longer dungeons have camping, which allows you to: heal, relieve stress, obtain buffs, and recover your light level. Camping at just the right times could save you in the middle of a dungeon run. Also, let's not forget that longer dungeons give you the chance to come out with more and better loot.

5 Keep Track Of Your Stress

"Self-Preservation Is Paramount"

Stress is a major mechanic in Darkest Dungeon and one of the unique features that make it absolutely painful to play (in a good way). As such, keeping track of how stressed your party is and how to manage it is a pretty significant part of the game.

Stress damage is a bit more permanent than HP damage — it isn't automatically replenished after leaving a dungeon and costs gold to heal at one of the Hamlet's facilities. Allowing the stress threshold to pass 100 can result in an affliction, severely reducing the character's combat performance and potentially causing them to act erratically or waste turns. If it hits 200, the character will suffer a heart attack and enter Death's Door, potentially killing them. Trinkets, curios, and some skills (such as the Jester's Inspiring Tune) can be used to help assuage the build-up of stress over the course of a dungeon.

4 Be Wise With Your Gold

"A Fortune - Waiting To Be Spent"

You're not going to have much money in the early game, so it's best not to buy everything you see. Don't try to level up each and every hero you have, and don't go out of your way to buy new skills. Early on, it's better to upgrade the ones you already have.

When spending gold on treating your party, save it for the best members. If you recruit new heroes who already have the skills you're looking for, it saves money and allows you to further upgrade them to fit their designated role.

3 Know Who To Target

"Precision And Power"

Prioritize enemies who deal stress damage instead of those who deal damage to your HP. It sounds weird, but stress is something that has effects long after the battle is over. Usually, enemies on the backline will be the ones traumatizing and inflicting heavy stress damage on your heroes.

Getting heroes who can do some good backline damage is important while building your squad because of how important stress damage is. By extension, bringing stress healers could also be beneficial if you struggle with this frequently. If you can stun, feel free to do so on the heavy hitters.

2 Know Your Curios

"Trinkets And Baubles"

Curios are interactable items found throughout the dungeons. Ranging from treasure chests to Eldritch relics, they can have various effects when interacted with — some good, some bad, and it's generally a roll of the dice concerning what impact they'll have on the character interacting with them. However, using particular supply items on them can guarantee a positive outcome that will have a tangible impact on your odds of a successful run.

Using a Skeleton Key on an Heirloom chest, for example, will circumvent potential traps and provide additional loot. Using Medicinal Herbs on a Moonshine Barrel (found in the warrens) will provide your hero with a potent 30 percent damage buff until the next time you camp. The list of curios and supply item interactions is quite extensive, so there's no shame in checking how it will react or what the probability of getting a random status effect is before activation.

1 Mind Your Movement Skills

"Watch Your Step"

Having your party's order shuffled during battle can have catastrophic effects. This can happen in a couple of different ways — primarily either by being "Surprised" at the beginning of the battle (randomly shuffles your party's positions) or an enemy utilizing an attack with a "Move" effect. Characters can wind up in positions that lock their most useful skills, and vulnerable party members can wind up precariously perched on the front lines. Whatever the cause, moving your characters using the default option can cost valuable HP and sanity as the enemy continuously assaults you while you're wasting turns.

However, many characters come with hard counters to this problem — the Highwayman's Duelist's Advance, for example, pushes him forward by one spot, lands a solid hit, and gives him "Riposte" status to counter-attack further strikes. The Graverobber's Shadowfade pushes her back by two slots while putting her into stealth, upping her dodge, and buffing her critical chance and damage considerably for the follow-up attacks. These skills can be stacked across the party to set up "Dancing Teams" for more advanced tactics, but for now, focus on the headache they can spare you in dire straits.