Embarking on an expedition in Darkest Dungeon can quickly turn from a smooth journey to a catastrophic team wipe due to unfortunate events. Success in this challenging game relies on minimizing luck and exerting control wherever possible, especially on higher difficulty levels. A crucial strategy to boost your Heroes' survival odds is steering clear of the most detrimental quirks while locking in the beneficial ones.
The negative quirks in Darkest Dungeon can escalate stress levels across your entire team or render a character nearly ineffective in battles. These quirks can be eliminated at the Sanitarium or by engaging with specific curios. To stand a chance in this dark and punishing realm, it's vital to avoid these troublesome quirks at all costs.
7 Corvid's Appetite
Hunger Can Be a Killer
Ensuring you bring an ample supply of food is a critical aspect of expedition preparation. Running out of food can prove fatal as characters suffer damage and stress when pushed to continue without sustenance. Since food isn't free and inventory space is limited, any factor that raises a character's food requirements poses a significant risk.
The most severe of these effects is Corvid's Appetite, which doubles the amount of food a hero needs. While affecting only one character, it substantially heightens the likelihood of food shortage, leading to team-wide stress escalation. Acquiring this quirk is rare, as it's exclusive to the Shrieker boss fight.
6 Curio Quirks
Always Kicks In At the Worst Time
Exploring different areas introduces players to various Curios that offer diverse rewards and penalties, from valuable loot to heightened stress or diseases. Quirks forcing characters to interact with Curios upon discovery, without the chance to use items first, can be particularly vexing.
During later expedition stages, when characters are stressed and supplies are dwindling, these quirks pose significant dangers. Players are compelled to interact with Curios they intended to avoid, potentially leading to acquiring additional negative quirks. Notably, the Compulsive and Curious quirks, each with a 20% probability of triggering actions with any Curio type, pose substantial risks. The most perilous, Corvid's Curiosity, boasts a 27.5% chance of mandating interaction, presenting a potential death sentence in lengthy expeditions.
5 Impostor Syndrome
A Small Chance of Being Completely Useless
Impostor Syndrome may seem controllable with its low activation probability. However, its untimely activation can spell doom for an entire team. This quirk endows a hero with a 4% chance to forfeit their turn in combat, potentially disrupting crucial actions throughout a battle.
Missing a turn can result in the failure to heal or eliminate an opponent, significantly impacting combat outcomes. The risk of this quirk activating during challenging boss encounters in Darkest Dungeon outweighs any potential benefits, making it a risk not worth taking.