History VideoGame / DarkestDungeonII

The first DLC, ''The Binding Blade'', was announced in November of 2023 for release in December of that year. It will contain two new heroes, the Duelist and a returning Crusader, and a new mini-boss among other features.

* VariableMix: Each combat music has two variations. The main track plays during the combat itself, while the segments before and after (choosing between the heroes' opinions and reviewing the loot) omit the melody. The fade is seamless between the two versions.

*** The Fanatics block the streets with burning rubble from [[TheGreatFire the out-of-control conflagration engulfing the Sprawl]].

** The various Road Battle factions actually construct different-looking roadblocks, allowing you to tell which one is coming up from a distance. The Gaunt make theirs out of hastily-strewn-together bits of furniture, referencing how they're barely sentient shadows of who they once were. The Pillagers make much more professional-looking barricades, since they're [[TheHighwayman experienced cutpurses]]. The Swine construct dirty-looking fences out of whatever scrap wood they can find, illustrating how they live in filth underground.

* ArmorPiercingAttack: With the removal of a dedicated damage reduction stat, these now work a bit differently: they simply ignore any Block tokens the target has. Some attacks can ignore Dodge tokens too.

* LastChanceHitPoint: The Death's Door mechanic returns, not only for the heroes but also for the enemies. Heroes and monsters may enter Death's Door when their HP hits zero, suffering from a damage debuff but staying alive and a gamble whether or not they'll survive the next attack.

* LighterAndSofter: Played with. Per [[https://www.pcgamer.com/au/darkest-dungeon-2-charts-a-new-path-through-terror-in-a-roguelike-road-trip-to-save-humanity/ this interview]], ''DD II'' tones up the bleakness a little bit within the gameplay (it's an even more brutal, punishing slog), but with the hope of a less nihilistic ending. In addition, the Academic is a straight BigGood who is actively helping you out. One of the major ways you regain light is helping refugees, while lowering [[WantedMeter Loathing]] involves going out of your way to remove entrenched threats.

** As of the 1.0 release, Act 1 does not require the player to acquire a Trophy from a lair boss, thus making it easier for new players to practice and to farm Candles of Hope in the early game.

** If the ''only'' enemy remaining has an active Stealth token, you can attack it as normal without the need for specific skills. This is different from the previous game where you would have to waste turns until the effect expired.

* VideoGameSetPiece: Many of the bosses use unique mechanics.
** The Dreaming General is supported by an invulnerable "tap root" that will [[GreenThumb cause vines to crawl towards the heroes]] every round. First the vines reduce your speed, then they start ''strangling'' the heroes, inflicting both health and stress damage while forcing them to inflict more stress damage on their allies each turn.
** The Harvest Child is supported by two stacks of putrid meat. Their only actions are to exude a "tempting aroma" that compels the heroes to move forward to get a taste. If they're in the front rank, they are compelled to eat the meat, which inflicts MaximumHPReduction for the rest of the fight.
** Similar to the Hag from [[VideoGame/DarkestDungeon the first game]], the Leviathan can capture your heroes with its hand, damaging and incapacitating them every turn until you release them.
** [[spoiler:The four shackles of the "Denial" chapter will use a PowerNullifier at the start of each round that prevents you from using a certain class of skill (melee, ranged, healing, or stress healing).]]
** Unlike every other enemy, the Seething Sigh does not move forward when the front ranks are defeated, forcing you to have good rank coverage with your skills.

** If the ''only'' enemy remaining has an active Stealth token, you can attack it as normal without the need for specific skills. This is different from the previous game when you would have to waste turns until the effect expired.

* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: When a hero dies, they drop the trinkets you equipped them with... and that's about it. Unlike the first game, you don't have to go through the trouble of training a new hero whenever their predecessor dies, as you instead have one of each hero that all retain their upgrades (except for mastered skills), making death a lot less punishing than it was prior. The game even ''rewards'' you with additional candles if you manage to complete a region despite one of your heroes dying. It's unknown if GameplayAndStorySegregation is in effect or if the heroes really ''are'' somehow BackFromTheDead after each failed run.

You are the protegee and friend of the Academic. One night, the Academic confronts you and informs you that your worst calculations have come. A malevolent eldritch power is affecting the entire earth, driving the population mad, stirring the dead, corrupting the land and its inhabitants, and driving onward hordes of monsters. The Academic gives you the last scraps of Hope, a mere spark which you fit on the Torch at the top of your stagecoach. It’s now up to you and your party of four heroes to cross the land in your solid stagecoach and reach the Mountain, the lair and prison of the source of the evil that has cursed the planet, and to slay its occupants.

* NotTheIntendedUse: Offensive Combat Items offer a wide variety of debuffs to your foes, but can also be used for the extremely MundaneUtility of purging Blind tokens from a character who has no way of removing them so that they can more accurately hit a target. This way, even if the item misses you're still getting value out of it.

* GameMaster: A new character, [[BigGood the Academic]], takes the Ancestor's spot. Fittingly for the new tone, he focuses more on grit, determination, and rejection of nihilism rather than endlessly browbeating you over man's failures.

* PuzzleBoss:
** All bosses have some shade of this, with special mention of The Dreaming General. His VideoGameSetPiece lets him inflict a stackable curse on your heroes that severely harms and disables them if it gets too far. How do you survive this? [[spoiler:Attack the tap root behind him. Though it's invulnerable, this will cause it to retract its vines from a single hero.]] Of course, you still can't get ''too'' complacent -- do this too many times in a row, and [[spoiler:the tap root will use "The Soil Stirs", which sets up two heroes for a powerful attack by the General]].
** The Exemplar's [[spoiler:The Fall only generates Worship against targets with Combo tokens. If you can remove the Combo (or avoid triggering it through guards and taunts), the Exemplar won't be able to summon a new enemy, making the battle much simpler.]]
** All of the Shrine backstory battles are this, revolving around figuring out which specific moves to use at which specific points. Particularly notable in the Jester's case, you must carefully arrange musical notes through his moves to advance the battle.

** While they're largely based on the RealLife followers of UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance-era Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarolla, the Fanatics also heavily resemble the Lightless Flame cultists of ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'', given their [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic abilities]], nihilistic worship of sheer, wanton destruction and their higher level members transforming into monsters with flesh made of wax.

* TheGreatFire: The Sprawl has been lit ablaze by the Fanatics due to their {{Book Burning}}s and desire to burn anything considered impious, resulting in a city-wide conflagration.

* TakingTheBullet: Some relationships will occasionally cause heroes to take a hit meant for their paired character. [[LoveMakesYouDumb They do this regardless of the relative health of the two]], which can result in a SenselessSacrifice if a hero on Death's Door dies taking a blow for their lover... who is at full health.