The Darkest Dungeon 2 Redemption Road Update focuses on the Stagecoach and travel mechanics, alongside a slew of other new features coming to the RPG in the experimental version. Developer Red Hook Studios has provided an in-depth update for what fans can expect ahead of the game’s 1.0 release on May 8, 2023. This includes pets, route types, Stagecoach Tokens, and other minor tweaks.
Pets have almost been a thing in Darkest Dungeon 2 for a while now. Their slot and cage could be seen in the wainwright section of inns, completely unavailable. Until now. Each pet will give different buffs to your party, and there are 10 pets total that can be unlocked.
- Orphan Wolf Cub
- Pygmy Pliskin
- Unnatural Owlet
- Reanimated Rabbit
- Mucilaginous Slime
- Shrieker Chick
- Larval Carrion Eater
- Hatchling Crocodilian
- Crimson Tick
- Shambler’s Spawn
Pets can be purchased at the inn from the Provisioner, who will have up to three to select from.
Red Hook listened to feedback and created four route types that you can encounter while traveling.
- Safe: Nothing happens
- Combat: This is the same as current road battles, except there are no more round limits
- Rough Patch: Featuring rough terrain, this will take away one of your wheel tokens
- Hazard: A trap that varies by region that takes away one armor token
- Oblivion Tear: Increases Loathing by 1 when you pass through it. This also applies to destinations that have the Oblivion Tear token above it
Image via Red Hook Studios
The Stagecoach now has two tokens, wheel and armor, displayed in the top left corner as you travel. When completely full, the wheel token gives you a speed buff and the armor token gives you the block buff.
To repair these tokens, you’ll need to spend baubles at the wainwright or hope that an assistance encounter will provide the service.
Certain routes will now damage these tokens. When a token is completely empty and you go through an area that further decreases it, you’re thrown into battle. During these battles, one party member will be randomly assigned the Repair token, which forces them to make repairs during that turn. During each turn, someone will get assigned the Repair token.
Other changes were included in the Redemption Road Update that are meant to help the flow of the game. These include:
- Moving the Altar of Hope to before the confession selection.
- Reoccurring times through the valley result in a shortened version with no Hoarder or Assistance Encounter.
- Denial only has two biomes to travel through and no longer requires a lair boss trophy.
- Loathing was reworked.
- Time between nodes in regions is shorter.
For the full Redemption Road Update patch notes, check out Red Hook’s post on the update. While this is the last update until the game’s 1.0 launch, the team is always working on balance in Darkest Dungeon 2. This includes optimizing the game, as well as fine-tuning UIs. It was also hinted that one more playable character will be included in the 1.0 launch, and while there are no current PvP plans, it’s something the team would consider.
Featured image via Red Hook Studios.
Published: Mar 16, 2023 09:02 pm