How to Reduce Stress in Darkest Dungeon
Stress is one of the most unique features of Darkest Dungeon. It increases as your party continues deeper into the horrors that wait below, and when it reaches 100, they will may spiral towards madness and gain a negative affliction. At 200 stress, the character will suffer a heart attack and arrive on death’s door. Obviously, this is not ideal, unless you were hoping to thin out your roster a little.
Returning to the hamlet in Darkest Dungeon will return their levels back down to 100 if they had exceeded that number, though afflictions will remain until that character participates in a recreational activity at the tavern or the abbey. Leaving a hero at these facilities costs gold, and will make them unavailable for the next expedition (sometimes longer if the character goes rogue and chooses to stay on), but will significantly reduce their levels. Any idle character that does not participate in an activity or join on an expedition will also have their stress level reduced by 5.
During an expedition, success in battle will decrease stress, as well as successfully deactivating traps or when interacting with certain curios. Various heroes also have camping skills that can reduce this.
If you are concerned about the stress levels of your party in Darkest Dungeon, ensure that you are remaining vigilant, by keeping the torch well lit, avoiding unnecessary setbacks like sprung traps or hazardous curios, and targeting any enemies that specialize in increasing stress levels such as the madman.
Don’t stress out too much though – Twinfinite is your safe place for guides and tips for Darkest Dungeon and much, much more.
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