Character statuses are part of many games, and Darkest Dungeon happens to have a few of them. While Virtues are beneficial, Afflictions are the opposite, and they can even kill your heroes. What do you do when your Stress levels reach critical mass?
There’s some hope left, as Darkest Dungeon has ways to let your hero remove Afflictions. These negative statuses can ruin your run, so don’t let them hold you back. Keep on reading to find out how to remove them.
What Are Afflictions?
In Darkest Dungeon, Afflictions are one of the various statuses a hero can enter when their Stress levels reach 100. There are nine Afflictions in the game, and each affects heroes differently. Before we get into detail, we’ll list out what else your characters may do when they’re stressed.
- Act without your command
- Comment on actions and Stress out other party members
- Interact with curios
- Refuse to use camping skills
- Starve rather than eat camping meals
Even after getting an Affliction, heroes can still gain more Stress. When a hero reaches 200 Stress, they get a Heart Attack, putting them at zero HP and Death’s Door. If they get a Heart Attack at Death’s Door, they die immediately.
You still have Stress after exiting missions. While you’re in Town, all heroes will have a Stress cap of 100. Without treatment, it won’t go away.
The nine Afflictions are:
- Fearful
- Paranoid
- Selfish
- Masochistic
- Abusive
- Hopeless
- Irrational
- Rapturous
- Refracted
Afflictions also tend to re-surface. This phenomenon is called the Affliction History, and the more often you get an Affliction, the likelier your hero will receive it again.
Getting Rid of Afflictions
There are two main ways to reduce a hero’s Stress levels in Darkest Dungeon. The best way is to go to Town, and the other is to wait. We’ll discuss the former method first.
Going to Town
The Town in Darkest Dungeon is called The Hamlet. It functions as the game’s central hub and includes two buildings, the Abbey and the Tavern. Both buildings have ways to reduce a hero’s Stress level.
The Tavern will also reduce a hero’s Stress levels. However, it’s prone to giving out negative and positive effects. The results are random, meaning it can be a huge boon or a terrible curse. Upgrading the Tavern’s rooms requires Portraits and Crests.
The Abbey is the safer choice, as it doesn’t have as many effects on the character, positive or negative. Both the Abbey and Tavern cure the same amount of Stress points when you send any hero for treatment. Like the Tavern, you can upgrade the Abbey’s three floors using Busts and Crests.
Different floors cure Stress with progressively higher effectiveness and costs.
Waiting for the Stress Levels to Go Down
If you don’t want to spend time on Stress reduction, you can always wait for each hero’s Stress level to go down passively. Passive waiting is simple, only involving leaving the hero alone for a while. Every week that passes will help the character reduce their Stress by five.
To increase this number, you can build the Puppet Theatre District. This addition will help heroes reduce 15 Stress a week.
Expeditions
While not recommended, your heroes can sometimes relieve Stress by heading out on Expeditions. In Expeditions, the following actions may reduce their Stress:
- Use camping skills
- Using specific abilities in combat
- Deal critical hits
- Kill enemies
- Receive critical healing
- Disarm traps
- Interacting with particular curios
Would You Like Drinks or Sermons?
Managing your heroes’ Stress levels can become challenging in Darkest Dungeon. Getting an Affliction can be terrifying, which is why you should treat Stress as soon as possible. Sometimes, Stress gives heroes Virtues, but this is incredibly rare.
Which method do you prefer to remove Afflictions? Which Affliction do you hate the most? Let us know in the comments section below.
