How Difficulty Works in Darkest Dungeon

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Darkest Dungeon is an RPG praised for its quality and uniqueness, with distinctive characteristics such as its gloomy atmosphere, permanent death of game characters, unforgiving gameplay and unique art style. Darkest Dungeon (2016) was developed and published by Red Hook Studios. Despite the many unique characteristics of Darkest Dungeon, perhaps the one most remembered by many is its difficulty. Due to the unforgiving gameplay of Darkest Dungeon, also seen in roguelike video games, some players consider Darkest Dungeon to be a difficult video game.

Beyond the unforgiving gameplay of Darkest Dungeon, the video game provides players, at the start of a new campaign, with three difficulty modes: Radiant, Darkest and Stygian. Players that have also acquired and downloaded the Darkest Dungeon DLC (downloadable content) The Crimson Court will have the following three difficulty modes: Radiant, Darkest and Bloodmoon, in which Bloodmoon replaced the Stygian mode. 

What Is the Best Difficulty for the First Playthrough of Darkest Dungeon?

For begginers and new players of Darkest Dungeon, the best difficulty to play is Radiant. Considering that Darkest Dungeon features different difficulty modes, beginners wonder which is the best mode for starting in the game. While it is possible to play Darkest Dungeon in any difficulty mode at the start, the most recommended mode for beginners and for a first playthrough is Radiant. The reason for Radiant being the most recommended mode for players starting in Darkest Dungeon is because the Radiant mode is, in general, more forgiving than the other modes of Darkest Dungeon.

I would also suggest new players in Darkest Dungeon to not use the Darkest Dungeon DLC The Crimson Court and The Color of Madness for their first playthrough, as while this DLC adds additional content to the game, they also increase the complexity of the campaign.

What is the Difference Between Difficulties in Darkest Dungeon?

Radiant is the more forgiving game mode, Darkest is the standard difficulty game mode and Stygian is a game mode with additional challenges. In Darkest Dungeon, when starting a new campaign, players are able to choose between three difficulty levels or difficulty game modes: Radiant, Darkest and Stygian (or Bloodmoon). When selecting one of these difficulties, it imposrtant that the player understands the difference between each difficulty.

The Radiant difficulty, which is the most recommended difficulty game mode for beginners and for the first playthrough of Darkest Dungeon, is the easiest of the Darkest Dungeon difficulties. A Radiant campaign is, in general, more forgiving and shorter than other campaigns in the game. For this reason, this diffuclty is considered easier than the others.

The Darkest difficulty, also called "Normal", is considered the traditional gameplay experience of Darkest Dungeon. This Darkest difficulty is, in general, more challenging and longer than a Radiant campaign. For this reason, the Darkest difficulty is, in general, recommended for more experienced players of Darkest Dungeon and for players looking for a more challenging experience.

The Stygian difficulty, or Bloodmoon, is in many aspects a more challenging gameplay experience. While the Darkest difficulty is the traditional gameplay experience of Darkest Dungeon, the Stygian difficulty locks the player out of some gameplay features, while also imposing a time limit and game hero death limit. For this reason, the Stygian difficulty is, in general, recommended for players looking for additional challenges to their experience.

Is There a Difficulty Spike in Darkest Dungeon?

There are some difficulty spikes throughout Darkest Dungeon, especially after dungeon level increases. Throughout a playthrough of Darkest Dungeon, there are several times in which the difficulty of the missions of a campaign increase. This increased difficulty is seen in tougher enemies and longer missions. In general, this difficulty increases as more missions are completed.

While Darkest Dungeon is known as an unforgiving video game, the difficulty of each mission is clearly displayed to the player. In general, the difficulty of missions are organized in Apprentice (Lvl 1), Veteran (Lvl 3), Champion (Lvl 5) and Darkest (Lvl 6). These levels refer to the level of Resolve of  the game heroes. Players not yet used to Darkest Dungeon, may find that, after embarking on a mission of the Apprentice difficulty and then on a mission of the Veteran difficulty, there will be a difference in the difficulty of the challenges presented to the player. This difference in difficulty is represented by the different levels of each mission in Darkest Dungeon, which are shown to the player before choosing to embark on a mission.

Does Difficulty Scale in Darkest Dungeon?

As previously stated in this article, the difficulty of each mission in Darkest Dungeon is defined by the difficulty level of the mission presented. In Darkest Dungeon, missions are separated into different difficulty levels, such as Apprentice (Lvl 1), Veteran (Lvl 3), Champion (Lvl 5) and Darkest (Lvl 6), and these levels refer to the Resolve level of the heroes. The difficulty of each mission in Darkest Dungeon will be proportional to the difficulty level of the mission presented, such as, for example, Apprentice (Lvl 1) or Veteran (Lvl 3).

How to Check the Difficulty in Darkest Dungeon?

In Darkest Dungeon, to check the difficulty of the campaign, it is necessary to go to the main menu, then "Campaign". In each campaign slot, in which a campaign started by the player appears, there is a small icon between the letter and the save game name. This icon can be a radiant skull, a dark skull and a blood skull. The radiant skull represents a Radiant campaign, the dark skull represents a Darkest campaign, and the blood skull represents a Stygian or Bloodmoon.

Is It Possible to Change the Difficulty in Darkest Dungeon?

It is not possible to change the difficulty of the campaign of Darkest Dungeon after the campaign has been started. In order to play in a different difficulty, the player must start a new campaign and select different game mode. In Darkest Dungeon, there are two different difficulty aspects. The difficulty of missions during the campaign, and the difficulty of the campaign. Missions in Darkest Dungeon are of varied difficulties, and the difficulty of each mission is presented to the player before the game heroes embark on the mission. The difficulty of missions range between Apprentice (Lvl 1), Veteran (Lvl 3), Champion (Lvl 5) and Darkest (Lvl 6).

The difficulty of the campaign of Darkest Dungeon, on the other hand, is the same throughout the campaign. The campaign difficulty is selected by the player at the moment of starting a new campaign. After a difficulty for the campaign is chosen, it is not possible to change the difficulty for that campaign. If a player desires to play the campaign of Darkest Dungeon in a different difficulty, then the player is required to start a new campaign in the chosen difficulty.

What Is the Difference Between the Stygian and Bloodmoon Modes of Darkest Dungeon?

The Stygian and Bloodmoon are essentially the same game mode. While Darkest Dungeon features different game modes, depending on whether the player has acquired and downloaded the Darkest Dungeon DLC The Crimson Court, the traditional Stygian mode will be replaced by Bloodmoon.
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