BloodMoon Run

[Milady Poster]

I havent beat the game with my main file (129 weeks) so I wanna try again but on a bloodmoon run. Any tips for team comp for Ruins,Weald,Warren and Cove, What to upgrade first and stuff like that.

[Sir Francis]

gameplay in bloodmoon requires some skills that can not be taught but need to be learned by experience. finish your game, then you might be ready.

[Rediniowa5]

I would recomend Darkest before Bloodmoon (Stygian was origional name for it I believe for Darkest) Bloodmoon is just a harder version, requiring the defeat of the CC but it gives a little more time to compensate.

[LaserGuy]

My general advice would be:
-The first 4-5 weeks of the game are the hardest, and the most likely to result in deaths that might tempt you to restart. The game gets much easier once the Guild/Smith are open and you get a few trinkets to play with. Don't get discouraged!
-Focus your Hamlet development on Guild/Smith primarily (stagecoach is fine early, but you can get by with fewer heroes in Bloodmoon generally, so you probably won't need to max it out). Upgrade the Sanitarium for extra slots in quirk removal, but don't bother with anything else. A few heirlooms into Meditation at the Abbey is fine.
-If you're planning on doing the CC, grab the Sanguine Vintner's early to stockpile bloods. Most of the other districts are probably lower priority than Guild/Smith. You shouldn't ever be low on money, so don't bother with the bank.
-Generally, beyond the very early game, you should be able to complete most missions without needing to do any stress removal or bringing stress healers in the party.
-It's probably a good idea to hold off on doing the CC areas until at least midgame. You don't want to deal with too much Crimson Curse early, nor the Fanatic. Just ignoring the CC entirely until you've finished the main story part is probably a viable strategy.
-Speaking of whom, uh, don't fight the Fanatic. Apprentice Shambler is fine if you have a strong team. Not much point in the stronger Shamblers.
-Never do short missions beyond the VERY early game (basically you need one short mission in each area to open them up). After that, do medium/long unless there happens to be a trinket in a short that you desperately need.
-Pay attention to the trinkets that you're getting from the missions. Try to grab Berserk Charms and Sun Rings from Apprentice long missions in the early game. You'll want 2-3 of each.
-Only kill the bosses if they have a trinket you want. The Apprentice bosses especially are a great way to get powerful trinkets early. Be sure to use the Warrens bosses in particular effectively, since there's a bunch of hard-to-get and very useful Warrens only trinkets (e.g. cleansing crystals).
-When in doubt, do Weald missions. You get the most Deeds from the Weald, which you'll need for your smith. Plus there's many opportunities to do the Medicine mission to clear your negative quirks. Warrens is next most important, since the portrait drop rate there is best. Ruins and Cove are generally not worth spending a lot of time in.

For characters...
-Look for characters with quirks that increase SPD (including On Guard). Many of the dangers can be mitigated by high speed.
-Remove quirks that lower speed, accuracy, or increase stress (as well as compulsive/klepto/curios). If you're finishing missions and doing lots of medicine runs, you should be able to treat almost every quirk though.
-Bring scouting trinkets into every mission. Early game, it's worth keeping an eye out for a scouting stone trinket. Killing the Shambler for the Ancestor's map is well worth the effort.
-Learn to love the Plague Doctor. She'll see you through many tough missions.
-Don't even bother recruiting a Leper. You'll never use him.

[Milady Poster]

Originally posted by LaserGuy:

My general advice would be:
-The first 4-5 weeks of the game are the hardest, and the most likely to result in deaths that might tempt you to restart. The game gets much easier once the Guild/Smith are open and you get a few trinkets to play with. Don't get discouraged!
-Focus your Hamlet development on Guild/Smith primarily (stagecoach is fine early, but you can get by with fewer heroes in Bloodmoon generally, so you probably won't need to max it out). Upgrade the Sanitarium for extra slots in quirk removal, but don't bother with anything else. A few heirlooms into Meditation at the Abbey is fine.
-If you're planning on doing the CC, grab the Sanguine Vintner's early to stockpile bloods. Most of the other districts are probably lower priority than Guild/Smith. You shouldn't ever be low on money, so don't bother with the bank.
-Generally, beyond the very early game, you should be able to complete most missions without needing to do any stress removal or bringing stress healers in the party.
-It's probably a good idea to hold off on doing the CC areas until at least midgame. You don't want to deal with too much Crimson Curse early, nor the Fanatic. Just ignoring the CC entirely until you've finished the main story part is probably a viable strategy.
-Speaking of whom, uh, don't fight the Fanatic. Apprentice Shambler is fine if you have a strong team. Not much point in the stronger Shamblers.
-Never do short missions beyond the VERY early game (basically you need one short mission in each area to open them up). After that, do medium/long unless there happens to be a trinket in a short that you desperately need.
-Pay attention to the trinkets that you're getting from the missions. Try to grab Berserk Charms and Sun Rings from Apprentice long missions in the early game. You'll want 2-3 of each.
-Only kill the bosses if they have a trinket you want. The Apprentice bosses especially are a great way to get powerful trinkets early. Be sure to use the Warrens bosses in particular effectively, since there's a bunch of hard-to-get and very useful Warrens only trinkets (e.g. cleansing crystals).
-When in doubt, do Weald missions. You get the most Deeds from the Weald, which you'll need for your smith. Plus there's many opportunities to do the Medicine mission to clear your negative quirks. Warrens is next most important, since the portrait drop rate there is best. Ruins and Cove are generally not worth spending a lot of time in.

For characters...
-Look for characters with quirks that increase SPD (including On Guard). Many of the dangers can be mitigated by high speed.
-Remove quirks that lower speed, accuracy, or increase stress (as well as compulsive/klepto/curios). If you're finishing missions and doing lots of medicine runs, you should be able to treat almost every quirk though.
-Bring scouting trinkets into every mission. Early game, it's worth keeping an eye out for a scouting stone trinket. Killing the Shambler for the Ancestor's map is well worth the effort.
-Learn to love the Plague Doctor. She'll see you through many tough missions.
-Don't even bother recruiting a Leper. You'll never use him.

Thanks man. Should I focus on doing all the boss fights or only some bosses.

[Runiver]

Here's my advices about Bloodmoon (I cleared it within' 59 weeks offline) and how I cleared it :
- Try to get an antiq soon.
- Never upgrade the bar/abbey (except eventually the first two upgrades, 1 slot is more than necessary)
- Don't upgrade the Sanitarium except the cost reduction.
- Don't upgrade the Stagecoach before the guild/blacksmith except for the extra slots eventually, or experienced recruits
- Stack gold very quickly by spamming quests with Antiq to reach a critical amount of gold (200k+) before week 20 if possible. Open all curios with the antique, even if that means getting her destroyed in term of quirks. Once you have enough gold for the bank to kick in, you'll kick them.
- Rush the bank (before week 15 is ideal) by trading heirlooms. Make sure to keep enough to upgrade weapons/armor and eventually skills.
- Do the first CC quest when you get your first Flagellant, to start building infestation and having a decently geared team.
- Keep getting gold, getting 200k+ early if possible to be able to make the bank to snowball. Focus only on mediums/Long quests. No shorts, they're not worth the "week spent" (don't forget you have a time limit)
- While farming gold, try to get useful classes for the courtyard to level 3 (Flagellant/Hellion/Man at arms for the Baron, Occultist)
- Ignore bosses unless they have good trinkets as a drop.
- Do missions mostly to get trinkets.
- Don't take unnecessary risks unless you have a GREAT TEAM (like random shamblers with level 0. Just don't)
- Try to make your Courtyard teams to be SOLID. You need to clear them in very few weeks if possible. 2-4 would be ideal. Count 3 weeks for the way, switch team in front of a campfire curio (the vintage one that you can salvage for a shovel), camp with your 4th team, get full buffs for the boss (Man at arms for Baron can be great for this)
- Avoid level 5 dungeons as much as you can. They held a lot of risks. Focus on level 1 first, then 3.
- Try to get good trinkets ASAP : Sun Ring, Blasphemous Vials, Stun Amulet, Ancestor's candle (can prove hard), Dazzling Mirror for CC, etc.

[LaserGuy]

Originally posted by ELA IS THICC:

Thanks man. Should I focus on doing all the boss
fights or only some bosses.

You aren't required to do this bosses, so there's no real reason for you to go out of your way to kill them. Your focus is completing the Darkest Dungeon.

[Madrigal]

Originally posted by Runiver:

Here's my advices about Bloodmoon (I cleared it within' 59 weeks offline) and how I cleared it :
- Try to get an antiq soon.
- Never upgrade the bar/abbey (except eventually the first two upgrades, 1 slot is more than necessary)
- Don't upgrade the Sanitarium except the cost reduction.
- Don't upgrade the Stagecoach before the guild/blacksmith except for the extra slots eventually, or experienced recruits
- Stack gold very quickly by spamming quests with Antiq to reach a critical amount of gold (200k+) before week 20 if possible. Open all curios with the antique, even if that means getting her destroyed in term of quirks. Once you have enough gold for the bank to kick in, you'll kick them.
- Rush the bank (before week 15 is ideal) by trading heirlooms. Make sure to keep enough to upgrade weapons/armor and eventually skills.
- Do the first CC quest when you get your first Flagellant, to start building infestation and having a decently geared team.
- Keep getting gold, getting 200k+ early if possible to be able to make the bank to snowball. Focus only on mediums/Long quests. No shorts, they're not worth the "week spent" (don't forget you have a time limit)
- While farming gold, try to get useful classes for the courtyard to level 3 (Flagellant/Hellion/Man at arms for the Baron, Occultist)
- Ignore bosses unless they have good trinkets as a drop.
- Do missions mostly to get trinkets.
- Don't take unnecessary risks unless you have a GREAT TEAM (like random shamblers with level 0. Just don't)
- Try to make your Courtyard teams to be SOLID. You need to clear them in very few weeks if possible. 2-4 would be ideal. Count 3 weeks for the way, switch team in front of a campfire curio (the vintage one that you can salvage for a shovel), camp with your 4th team, get full buffs for the boss (Man at arms for Baron can be great for this)
- Avoid level 5 dungeons as much as you can. They held a lot of risks. Focus on level 1 first, then 3.
- Try to get good trinkets ASAP : Sun Ring, Blasphemous Vials, Stun Amulet, Ancestor's candle (can prove hard), Dazzling Mirror for CC, etc.

Great tips! Thanks for posting! I'm on week 40 or so of my Blood Moon run with only one death and a bank with 450k gold and the Smith and Guild just about fully upgraded. I think it's going well and I'm having a blast!

Question - do you know if the death/timer limit is removed still by finishing the DD first before CC? I hear people saying it both ways here but people often like to say things in forums without being certain themselves. I'm trying to decide whether or not to start the CC content now or wait until after DD. My first Blood Moon run ended around week 60 from deaths.. mostly related to CC content as it was my first go at the DLC.