Darkest vs. Radiant

[ZorkFox]

I started on Darkest difficulty because "normal" is usually fine for me as a casual gamer. I had a lot of trouble—especially with the Crimson Curse and the Fanatic—so I decided to start a new game with what I'd learned, but on Radiant difficulty.

…And I lost more heroes in the course of the first sortie into the Ruins than I've ever lost! (Except for that TPK on the Fanatic. He's a special case.)

Am I the victim of bad luck, or am I missing something fundamental?

Normally I don't like to watch videos or look up guides for games until I've given them a fair shake, but there's no help for this game (it seems) other than to start over and over and over.

Is there a secret? Am I just a sub-par jerk who doesn't grok this game?

[Sir Francis]

Uhm, radiant is definitely easier, but only a little bit.
In your first run you likely did something right you didnt do the second time.
There is no secret else than : if what you do doesnt work dont do it again!
Also dont start over ever, it is of no benefit whatsoever.
Also also: Dont play with DLC enabled if you arent well versed in the vanilla game.
It is for veteran players.

[gonzo]

This game will punish you heavily if you don't prepare for the situations ahead

This is the one game where it's justifiable to check everything from boss strategies to enemy types, otherwise you'll end up learning the same, at the cost of twice or more the hours and a few dead rosters.

[Laplace93]

Radiant is not that much more easy compared to darkest from what I know, if I remember well it's just less grindy, things like enemies stats are the same for example, but upgrades for the hamlet are cheaper, you are allowed to use stronger characters in dungeons where they shouldn't be allowed and so on... So if you are new to game that's ok, just play a bit more but don't enable the crimson court, that dlc make the game harder and is not recommended for inexperinced players, use districts and flagellant but avoid the court.

[pazu]

*inhale*
git
gud

Originally posted by ZorkFox:

there's no help for this game (it seems) other than to start over and over and over.

there is no reason to start over at the same difficulty. You gain no benefit from restarting the campaign. If you want a fresh start just delete all your heroes and reqruit some new ones. You will still keep your money, trinkets, boss progress etc. that you would lose from starting over.

[Coctostin]

Learn to use curios for your own advantage, it makes the game half as hard.
No shame in checking the wiki for this.

[LaserGuy]

I agree that turning off the Crimson Court part of the game (you can add it in later when you're more comfortable) is probably a good way to go. It's fine to start with Flagellant and Districts enabled.

[Sinister-Sama]

As many are saying, TURN OFF THE CC DLC.... That bad boy is for players who have damn near mastered the game and want to push the envelope in what they can get.

One more thing is to not give up. Just remember to play to your style. If it doesn't work, alter it until you make it a style all your own.... If you can do just that, you'll be fine...

[ZorkFox]

Thanks for all the responses, everyone! I'm sorry I didn't check on them earlier, but it's been a Darkest week at work and there just didn't seem to be any time. It's a shame about the Crimson Court, because I think some of the mechanics it introduces are pretty cool, but that dang disease they all spread sure is a nuisance.

Again, thank you!

[Brown]

I keep all my characters diseased with the crimson curse. The buff is worth the negative effects to me.

[ZorkFox]

Maybe that's a strategy I'll come round to in time; right now, it's hard to keep enough of the stuff around to satisfy them all.

[DrakenKin]

1. There is NO REASON to start over, ever... the heroes are throw aways, they are meant to die
2. Again, heroes are DISPOSABLES especially early on... the first 40 weeks or so i was basically just sending heroes to their death, as long as they bring money and beat the dungeon, i didn't care if they lived or died, most of them would be stressed out and discarded, this is VERY important so you can save gold for the later stages, if you ruin yourself trying to fix every heroes stress or mental disabilities, you will bankrupt
3. If you want to have a team of heroes that stay alive, you can do it but not until you learn the game and know what to expect... in the first moments you will be making a lot of mistakes, and it is better to do them cheap (disposable heroes) than kill your sanity trying to keep them alive
4. I haven't done the DLCs yet, but what everybody told me and advised me was to avoid it because it makes the game way harder, just leave the DLCs for your second run.

I just beat the game on Radiant yesterday, and about to start a new run on darkest with the DLCs. Just pondering if i should buy the DLCs now or wait for a sale, since there are many other games i would like to try, i am learning towards waiting for a sale. But i am rambling, just leave the DLCs for your second run and you'll be fine.

[Terratrox]

Radiant is... WAY easier. It removes most of the level limits on every dungeon (you can take level 6s on Veteran dungeons, and level 4s on Apprentice dungeons. Everything in the hamlet is cheaper, you get more and better upgrades (like an extra level of Experienced Recruits. Yay pulling maxxed level 4s off the stagecoach), you get extra dodge off of the light level, a lot more mastery and XP for your characters, better stress heal, and a few smaller things that I can't remember without looking it up.

The raw combat doesn't actually change much aside from the added dodge, but the ability to bring high level heroes into low level dungeons, fix them up with the sanitarium and stress facilities easier, and upgrade the town faster make the game much easier.