Should I prepare myself?

[WRussoW]

I'd like to visit the Darkest Dungeon location but I don't know what to expect there. I'm playing on the Light difficulty without CC DLC. Do I need to be ready to get some ReAL stress while visiting this mysterious place?

Also, can anybody give me some tips about the zone?

[Krampus]

The first DD is easy but there's one gimmick at the end.
Read the boss name and think about it. Plan your party accordingly.
Also bring bandages.
Stress shouldn't be too bad in DD1 if you bring lvl 6 heros.
DD1 is kinda the intro of the questline.

[RopeDrink]

The key to Darkest Dungeon is to always be prepared. The real threat in your case is not knowing what to expect, plus the fact that retreating from the dungeon will require a hero to sacrifice themselves (and you have no choice over whom - entirely random).

However, much like every region and encounter in the game, once you know what to expect the threat is greatly reduced. Knowing is half the battle after all, so it depends on you and how you choose to approach it. Are you going to brave the unknown blind and take it in your stride no matter how it goes, or spoiler it with research and other things to lessen the blow?

Just know that people out there have managed to complete the first DD in as soon as 16'ish weeks - but again, that's because people know what to expect (plus the fact that DD's have some cheesy strategies involving certain enemies).

[Noxanne]

The first Darkest Dungeon quest isn't too bad, in my opinion. If I were to rank the four endgame quests, 'We Are The Flame' one would be the 2nd least difficult.

That being said, it's by no means an exception in terms of all "red" quests. The advice I'd give in regards to all level 5+ quests is to never take hero's health at face value. Enemies have substantially higher crit rates in champion dungeons, meaning your back line can die in as quickly as in two or three unfortunate shots.

Here's some spoilerfree advice, from a person who's beaten the game twice.
- The level layout should give you an idea on when to expect the boss.
- There are no nighttime ambushes.
- Scouting is irrelevant.
- The advice given by the first person in this post is extremely good. The name of the boss is indeed a hint, and you will want as many bandages as humanly possible.

Personally, I've managed to beat 'We Are The Flame' on my first go without any losses. I ran a fairly straightforward tank-healer-dps setup and I think the game communicates well what are you supposed to expect.

[Agent Orange]

It took me 5 tries to beat this dungeon, so here is my advice:

1) Bring stress reducing trinkets and a Man-at-arms who can booster your team at the beginning of any battle
2) There are no obstacles here, so don`t bring shovels or even keys. Bring the maximum of bandages and food.
3) My winning party consisted of Healerlady-MAA (that guy who can boost your team with -20% stress)-Crusader-Crusader (both with Holy Lance)

That way it will be fairly easy, but feel free to try other combinations and loose a dozen of heroes like I did.