



And, because entering the Courtyard requires an Invitation item that randomly drops in the other areas, you can’t just barge in the same way you do elsewhere - that means you have to keep your team in there as long as possible on each run. Plus, the entire concept of torches operates differently there, which makes sense - you’re there so long that you’d quickly run out of them by the normal rules, so here they just give you an accuracy buff and are useful for many of the insect nest curios. For starters, there are huge maps that you pretty much have to retreat from and come back to, but are able to pick up where you left off, creating an epic-length quest. However, it’s not just more of the same in a new grotesque skin. “The new Courtyard area is just as unsettling as the original set, and infested with a whole new faction of disturbing, blood-sucking insect monsters (watching them become engorged after feeding is as gross as they come) and some tough new boss characters, such as the lurking Crocadillian. Managing that balance is as complex a challenge as anything in Darkest Dungeon. He’s a great companion to the Occultist, who causes bleeding as he heals. The trick to using him well is to keep him at low health and soaking up bleeding and blight effects from other party members with his Suffer ability, which increases his stats. In keeping with the whole blood theme, the Flagellant is great at both bleeding and making others bleed. I’ve only lost one person to Crimson Curse symptoms, and that was because I was intentionally starving him of blood to gain a stat bonus from an item.Ī new class, however, keeps on giving. Once I’d built that, it instantly relieved all the pressure of feeding my team’s addiction except for the inventory slot needed to carry a bunch of blood around. They’re expensive, but one of the cheaper ones creates a supply of blood every week. “That’s thanks to the new Districts, which let you pour a mountain of resources into new buildings (which are sadly shown on a separate screen instead of appearing in your hamlet) that give bonuses like buffs to specific classes’ abilities or a steady supply of a given type of item.
