It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Same agony, but quicker!


The <span class="bold">Dungeon is Dark</span> and full of terrors. Hideous, toothy, maddeningly resilient terrors. But a slim ray of light appeared today: the Radiant Update! It includes a Mode that cuts down on the more time-consuming aspects of the gameplay, introduces some neat stuff, and is totally free!

The biggest addition is the Radiant Mode, which drastically reduces the time you'll have to spend in the company of these monstrosities before you can reach the end of this nightmare. Thanks to the accelerated XP progression, the reduced cost and increased frequency of Upgraded Recruits plus several other tweaks, activating this Mode should make your run through Darkest Dungeon decidedly quicker, albeit not necessarily less challenging.

But the Radiant Update also brings a ton of fixes, several gameplay changes, and neat additions for all Modes. Most notably:
- Adds 4 new gnarly monsters
- A new trinket discovery quest
- Two new Town Events
- The NG+ mode is now named Stygian and selecting it doesn't require prior completion of the game


So gather your horribly traumatized band of adventurers and return to the <span class="bold">Darkest Dungeon</span> for another doomed attempt, to check all the awesome additions and changes introduced in the massive Radiant Update!
avatar
vulchor: When will this update be available to download? It's not showing up on my shelf.
avatar
Ixamyakxim: I'm guessing it's the two patches that are up now (144XX patches) or the full installer which is also something like 14448?

If you read the changelog that number corresponds to the long description of the Radiant Update described there.

Also, I forgot to post it before but Tarhiel just reminded me - the changelog mentions an upcoming full expansion called "The Crimson Court."
Is that version 17449 (GOG-23)? I guess I was waiting to see

1: A notification that the game had been updated
and
2: Some descriptor similar to "radiant mode".

Also, I'm from the US and am bad with European style dates, so I saw the upload date for the patch as 10/02/17 (of course I disregarded the year) and thought it was last updated October 2nd.

EDIT: Ahah! Curse my lazy eyes, I just had to read down to the previous update, 17436 (GOG-22) and there's the massively long change log featuring the Radiant update. I apologize for confusing anyone.
Post edited February 11, 2017 by vulchor
avatar
vulchor: EDIT: Ahah! Curse my lazy eyes, I just had to read down to the previous update, 17436 (GOG-22) and there's the massively long change log featuring the Radiant update. I apologize for confusing anyone.
LOL don't feel bad I saw 174XX and posted it to you as 144XX
This is pointless, it makes an 60 hour grindfest into a 40 hour grind fest
The repetitive combat and high cost for upgrades and treatments make the game feel like such a slog that after 10 hours you dont even want to continue
I kickstarted this an while it sounds ok on paper it should have been a 20 to 25 hour rogue like to try out certain party mixes builds and combinations, but frankly since the costs of upgrading and outfitting your heroes is so high and the orobablility of them gettingg ganked by The Collector or just getting unlucky is so high you just never bother.
They should have made 3 simply adjustments:
One, bosses only show up one time per dungeon type and they are level based so you get one boss at the beginner dungeons, a different boss at the middle dungones and finally the biggest baddest one at high level dungeons instead of making you grind each boss 3 times per level.
Two, make the costs for upgrades and training more affordable so you can develop your characters faster and not be almost crushed when a party gets killed or they get retired (another stupid grindy idea from the developers)
Three, allow any kind of heroes to do any kind of dungeon regardless of level so you can have high level parties who go through low level dunegons with a couple of rookies to bring them up to speed and develop them to replace fallrn heroes easier and without having to constantly recruit brand new parties from scratch
All in all is wishful thinking since the developers seems very much out of touch with anybody but their hardcore fans and they ban and censor anybody who doesnt agree with them
avatar
Dumah: They should have made 3 simply adjustments:
One, bosses only show up one time per dungeon type and they are level based so you get one boss at the beginner dungeons, a different boss at the middle dungones and finally the biggest baddest one at high level dungeons instead of making you grind each boss 3 times per level.
Having the bosses be more unique could be interesting. The main concern I would have is that it would make the stronger bosses far riskier to fight. Currently, you get to fight the Apprentice and Veteran versions of a boss before the Champion version, so you have an in-game way of learning how to prepare for them before the hardest fights. If the Champion bosses were brand new, I could see that being the source of a lot of high-level hero loss. That said, this arguably doesn't matter for game length anyway since all of the bosses outside of the Darkest Dungeon are completely optional.
Two, make the costs for upgrades and training more affordable so you can develop your characters faster and not be almost crushed when a party gets killed or they get retired (another stupid grindy idea from the developers)
If I'm not mistaken, Radiant mode already does this. Also, from what I've read the developers are currently rebalancing gold economy for both the Radiant and Darkest (normal) modes. Not sure if the changes will apply to Stygian or not.
Three, allow any kind of heroes to do any kind of dungeon regardless of level so you can have high level parties who go through low level dunegons with a couple of rookies to bring them up to speed and develop them to replace fallrn heroes easier and without having to constantly recruit brand new parties from scratch
Radiant mode allows characters up to level 4 to enter the Apprentice dungeons, and removes the level limit on Veteran dungeons. It also accelerates XP progression, and adds a Stage Coach upgrade that allows you to get level 4 characters from it.
All in all is wishful thinking since the developers seems very much out of touch with anybody but their hardcore fans and they ban and censor anybody who doesnt agree with them
Given that two of your three suggestions already seem to be implemented, I would say it's not just wishful thinking at all!
Post edited February 11, 2017 by Marioface5
Kickstarter-exclusive class = Not interested until it hits $2 or so in a sale.
Yeah they are making changes but they seems Way to tame for my taste, they are band aid solutions for deep rooted problems like the risk/reward darkness light system and the new recruitment will only make the "recruit, use, dispose" mechanics even worse if they dont balance the HP bloat too...
They could have adjusted the game to show up only certain types of enemies at lower level dungeons and more powerfull mosters as you go into the higher level dungeons instead of lazy color swamps and hp damage bloat to pad out length of the game
The low, mid and high level bosses that "teach" at each level idea is a frankly a joke, they all act the same they dont get extra attacks or new abilities as the higher level versions, they just bloated their HP and added nore damage to their attacks and presto! So it doesnt matter at what level you get them since they are basically the same enemy but with higher stats and HP
The game can be fun at the beginning but even if the bosses are optional you do get some of the best rewards from beating them and they do make some of the best battles in the game so skipping them and going straight for the darkest dungeon loses half the fun
All in all as Espinoza say "pity is the sentiment we experience when we perceive more qualities lacking that those present" for all its great graphics and atmosphere the game is a bore after 10 hours and it simply dodnt need to be at all
avatar
SeduceMePlz: Kickstarter-exclusive class = Not interested until it hits $2 or so in a sale.
If you're talking about the Musketeer, she's just a reskin of the Arbalest. You're not really missing out on anything.
avatar
SeduceMePlz: Kickstarter-exclusive class = Not interested until it hits $2 or so in a sale.
avatar
Marioface5: If you're talking about the Musketeer, she's just a reskin of the Arbalest. You're not really missing out on anything.
Is that the Kickstarter exclusive? Are the stats exactly the same?

Suppose that's a little better if so. Still crappy. Do they plan to sell it as DLC?
Post edited February 11, 2017 by SeduceMePlz
avatar
Marioface5: If you're talking about the Musketeer, she's just a reskin of the Arbalest. You're not really missing out on anything.
avatar
SeduceMePlz: Is that the Kickstarter exclusive? Are the stats exactly the same?

Suppose that's a little better if so. Still crappy. Do they plan to sell it as DLC?
Yes. According to the wiki, "She provides new visuals and barks to match her character, with no other functional differences to the regular Arbalest hero."

I don't know of any plans to sell it as DLC. Looking at the Kickstarter tiers and rewards, they'd probably need to charge at least $5 if they wanted to be fair to backers, and $5 for a single class reskin would be pretty outrageous out of context. Releasing the class by itself as DLC could end up doing more harm than good. One solution could be to release a pack including the skin and other Kickstarter rewards, such as the artbook. I would like to see that happen, but again I haven't heard of any plans.
avatar
Ixamyakxim: the changelog mentions an upcoming full expansion called "The Crimson Court."
In the Court of the Crimson King?

Show me your banner / Come show me your sign / The Crimson King's eye / Is the mark to reveal you are mine / I am your master / I will make your dreams come true / I'm your messiah / A twisted one as you may know

I'm in fairy rings and tower beds / "Don't report this," three men said / Books by the blameless and by the dead / The King in Yellow and the Queen in Red?
I wish this game had a demo.

I love the art style, atmosphere, but watching gameplay I can't tell if I'd like it or not
avatar
GOG.com: Same agony, but quicker!
The same way ot say it but in way more sadistic would have been that you are now allowed to play with only 3 to 2 characters in a map now

Now that would makes people playing rip their heads and tear their hairs off in rage, as a conjurer or dog master (don't remember the classes) wouldn't be able to survive on a three man team, let alone two.
Post edited February 12, 2017 by GioVio123
I find it surprising that so many people disliked the pacing of the game. What's the rush to finish the game so fast?
[posting this from the main forums]

the "hard game" gimmick and its terrible consequences

BY THE ANCIENT ONES... i really, i really love this game.
i do.

it bought me out instantly as soon as I saw the trailer, i think more than a couple of years ago.
the narrative approach, the victorian english, the graphic language and style, those strong greys, blacks, REDS and all other palette so intentionally grim and unsaturated.

i really love it. love the approach, the mix of managerial and rpg.

but MOTHERF**K... and please excuse my language: these f**kers i take ONLY to the short apprentice missions keep on - WHEN NOT DYING BECAUSE I AM TAKING CARE - all kinds of mental illnesses.
these miserable souls (16-20 up until now) go to hell one week after the other in groups of 4 to get something like 4k gold...

...WHEN MAUTRAVERS' (my first plague doctor, somewhat alive to this day) "RESOLUTION" quirk costs me 4k to take out?
are you serious?
just for an illness that prevents me from DRINKING to alleviate stress?
come on.
it's stupid.

i dont have enough resources to take care of my people that will get mad and then miserably die.
what the hell?
people dying from heart attacks (2 for now). COME ON.
everytime their resolution is tested, or at least 4 times out of 5, these guys give out and get a permanent mental disease. it's hell.
i've tried to come back after month and monthe more than once, and i was plying in these weeks and trying to cheat the game editing its json files (to no avail, actually, because my savegame doesn't give a damn about my editing), this because it's a wonderfully crafted FRUSTRATING game.
i come back just now from a "kill the swine prince" mission where i could hardly visit half of the rooms in the dungeon (and usually i like to see them all in this kind of games) and rapidly killed the game process as soon as i saw he butchered 3 out of 4 party members right before depleting his HP.

this game is great but i know anyone and even me forsook games after far less attempt at enyoing them. this is broken and if these updates don't really improve the gameplay i will forsake this game for good.
and this WILL pain me, because i love it. i love getting sunken in this atmosphere, but i hate it when this starts to become as terrible and unforgiving as life itself. that - i fear - is the death of "fun" after a videogame.

and, believe me, it's NOT FAIR.
it kicks me out from a good experience. i hate this.

this stupid elitist idiotic (basement dweller) gimmick "a game is good when it's difficult beyond measure and prevents 90% of people form going beyond level 2-3" is just bullsh*t.
a good game has also a well balanced difficulty curve and a well balanced weight between challange and reward.

this is lacking reward.

being challanged just to see yourself fail is... dunno, mental cruelty? self-bullying? masochism?
tell me what you think about it, i read others that have this kinds of feeling, i am just feeling uneasy because i am loving a game that is hating me.
Post edited February 12, 2017 by Mau_Stormbringer
I love this game but I am just not cut out to be this guy who owns this demon-infested mansion. I love the game. I LOVE IT. But the characters are just so lovingly made; I know they're just pixels and code and blah but I get too emotionally invested in my parties (that plucky graverobber who died from a rabid demon pig bite...). I cannot sacrifice another person into the different hells awaiting them down there, or say no to addicts, alcoholics and perverts who need to brave those dungeons to take whatever redemption they think awaits after a "successful" raid.

...So I just went to youtube and saw the ending. And it was a good ending! But I don't think I can get there. Not me. Nope.

I'll get the update, I'll play it in bursts this year. But I probably won't go to the Darkest Dungeon. Not me. Maybe when I die and my GOG account goes to my children, maybe they will go down there and fight whatever needs to be fought.

But let this burden pass from me.

:(

(also huzzah, update!)