History YMMV / DarkestDungeonII

* AntiClimaxBoss: The Warlord, ArcVillain of ''The Binding Blade'', is significantly easier than the rest of the events needed to even find him, which can feel a bit jarring.

** The Warlord is not as big of a threat as [[ThatOneSidequest the path to fighting him to begin with]], since he doesn't even have that unique of a gimmick beyond being able to make him and his comrades harder to kill. He can't even summon reinforcements after his minions are killed like [[Characters/DarkestDungeonMonsters Brigand Vvulf]], meaning there's not even [[FlunkyBoss an added challenge of trying to contend with both him and his soldiers simultaneously]].

* AntiClimax: The Warlord, ArcVillain of ''The Binding Blade'', is significantly easier than the rest of the events needed to even find him, which can feel a bit jarring.

** Did the Crusader [[spoiler:spare the Warlord's life]] because he believed it was genuinely the right thing to do and offered mercy in order to be the better person and retain some of his humanity? Or because it was a CruelMercy which humiliated [[spoiler:the Warlord]], did his time in the Crusade make him a SociopathicSoldier who [[spoiler:disrespected and belittled his enemy by denying him an HonorableWarriorsDeath despite knowing that's what he wanted]]?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: ''The Binding Blade'' features two more strongly morally gray characters added to the mix which immediately prompted heated discussion amongst the fanbase:

* AntiClimaxBoss: The Warlord is not as big of a threat as [[ThatOneSidequest tracking down the Crusader would warrant you to believe]], since he doesn't even have that unique of a gimmick beyond being able to make him and his comrades harder to kill. He can't even summon reinforcements after his minions are killed like [[Characters/DarkestDungeonMonsters Brigand Vvulf]], meaning there's not even [[FlunkyBoss an added challenge of trying to contend with both him and his soldiers simultaneously]]. As the ArcVillain of ''The Binding Blade'', his fight leaves a lot to be desired.

* AntiClimaxBoss: The Warlord is not as big of a threat as [[ThatOneSidequest tracking down the Crusader would warrant you to believe]], since he doesn't even have that unique of a gimmick beyond being able to make him and his comrades harder to kill. He can't even summon reinforcements after his minions are killed like [[Characters/DarkestDungeonMonsters Brigand Vvulf]], meaning there's not even [[FlunkyBoss an added challenge of trying to contend with both him and his soldiers simultaneously]]. As the ArcVillain of ''The Binding Blade'', his fight leaves a lot to be desired. May be an InvokedTrope, because given how difficult the quest to even fight him is, making him a truly hard boss as your final challenge would be ''really'' obnoxious.

* AntiClimaxBoss: The Warlord is not as big of a threat as [[ThatOneSidequest tracking down the Crusader would warrant you to believe]], since he doesn't even have that unique of a gimmick beyond being able to make him and his comrades harder to kill. He can't even summon reinforcements after his minions are killed like [[Characters/DarkestDungeonMonsters Brigand Vvulf]], meaning there's not even [[FlunkyBoss an added challenge of trying to contend with both him and his soldiers simultaneously]]. As the ArcVillain of ''The Binding Blade'', his fight leaves a lot to be desired.

** Road hazards in Redemption Road, combined with biomes getting a visual upgrade, made the stage coach a lot more fun, especially with the removal of the [[TimedMission turn limit]] for road battles along with making it so only relatively weak Pillagers and Gaunts can be encountered as ambushers.

* ContestedSequel: After a very long and tumultuous Early Access period that [[TaintedByThePreview turned a lot of people off from the game]], it has basically settled into this status. While it's understandable that a game with as much official [[GameMod modding]] support as the original Darkest Dungeon would need to undergo a lot of changes to justify a sequel, the sheer number of changes threw many fans off. Is the radical gameplay change to a more conventional Roguelite [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks good or bad]]? Does the Affinity system work better or worse than the Affliction system? Is the game a boring slog that removes player agency too frequently or an engaging thrill fest that rewards careful planning and bet-hedging? Does the smaller cast of characters bring about tighter party cohesion or is it disappointing that they [[SequelNonEntity have yet to include the Crusader and Abomination, among others]]? Does the game's ending [[spoiler:retroactively taint the first game's CosmicHorrorStory TwistEnding by being LovecraftLite played straight, or is it far more satisfying and uplifting to just have a happy ending than being told your whole journey was AllForNothing]]? Is the game [[ItsHardSoItSucks too hard]]? Too ''[[ItsEasySoItSucks easy]]''? All of these opinions and more have been thrown around about basically everything in the game, and ultimately there hasn't been a consensus by the fanbase on whether or not it's better, equal in quality or worse than the first game].

** A popular explanation for the Crusader's absence is because he [[spoiler: sacrificed himself to the Heart of Darkness.]]

** One of the positive relationships that characters can develop is [[BattleCouple Amorous]]. This relationship is assigned at random, with no regards to the the characters involved, which can lead to things like the [[OldSoldier Man At Arms]] entering a relationship with the teenaged Runaway.

** Stun has been almost entirely {{Nerf}}ed in favor of the Daze mechanic from ''The Butcher's Circus'', which forcibly sets a character's action to the last in the turn order. Granted, it is still ''possible'' to fully Stun monsters for a turn, but nowhere near as many abilities offer it outright like they used to, instead applying Daze which, if stacked, applies Stun. Gone are the days of buying your entire party free rounds to buff and wail on their enemies with very little risk; in its place is a more nuanced mechanic that requires you to have careful knowledge of each of your heroes' Speed and their placement in the turn order. Surprise rounds, perhaps [[JustForPun unsurprisingly]], have also been removed altogether[[note]]This makes [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game sense]], too; all combat either requires you to willingly participate in it and therefore alert the enemy to your presence or are roadblocks in the middle of the road[[/note]].

* ContestedSequel: After a very long and tumultuous Early Access period that [[TaintedByThePreview turned a lot of people off from the game]], it has basically settled into this status. Is the radical gameplay change to a more conventional Roguelite [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks good or bad]]? Does the Affinity system work better or worse than the Affliction system? Is the game a boring slog that removes player agency too frequently or an engaging thrill fest that rewards careful planning and bet-hedging? Does the smaller cast of characters bring about tighter party cohesion or is it disappointing that they [[SequelNonEntity have yet to include the Crusader and Abomination, among others]]? Does the game's ending [[spoiler:retroactively taint the first game's CosmicHorrorStory TwistEnding by being LovecraftLite played straight, or is it far more satisfying and uplifting to just have a happy ending than being told your whole journey was AllForNothing]]? Is the game [[ItsHardSoItSucks too hard]]? Too ''[[ItsEasySoItSucks easy]]''? All of these opinions and more have been thrown around about basically everything in the game, and ultimately there hasn't been a consensus by the fanbase on whether or not it's better, equal in quality or worse than the first game].

** It is widely assumed that the [[EnfantTerrible Harvest Child]] is a result of the gentry turning to eldritch help during a difficult childbirth, which unsurprisingly WentHorriblyWrong.

** On a smaller scale, road battles are designed to be this. Most of the Gaunts and Pillagers you can encounter aren't capable of putting up much of a fight and only really exist to potentially increase your Stress and be a minor speed bump during travel. Key word here being ''most'', as there are still a handful of enemy compositions that can be dangerous(having to fight a [[DemonicSpiders Woodsman and Ghoul]] at the same time, Implication, [[GoddamnedBoss The Antiquarian]], etc.), but these are few and far between.

* AnticlimaxBoss:
** Ravenous Reach is generally considered the easiest of the Confession bosses, despite being the fourth one. It almost entirely uses standard mechanics instead of complex unique gimmicks like the other Confession bosses, making it less likely you will wander in with a team composition that can't handle it. It can dish out a lot of damage if left unchecked, but it can be countered by options in your standard toolkit (especially Bleed resistance, which you likely already have since it's the most common DamageOverTime effect). In particular, a move as simple as [[spoiler:the Man-at-Arms' Bellow]] can almost completely neuter its third phase, which revolves around [[spoiler:a powerful Riposte]].
** The FinalBoss becomes easier as it progresses. Its [[SequentialBoss final form]] is a MarathonBoss, but it focuses more on {{Status Effect}}s than direct damage and [[spoiler:periodically gives heroes the opportunity to hit it for massive damage]], allowing you to drain its massive health pool faster than you'd expect.

** Foot Soldiers start with two Block 1 tokens and are one of the very few {{Mook}}s in the game to have Death's Door resistance, meaning that while they do pretty mild damage and a little bleed with Atrophic Cut, the real challenge is that they'll be eating your high-damage attacks a lot before they go down.

* SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced: The announcement of the addition of [[EnsembleDarkhorse the Collector]] to the game with the Chirurgeon's Table update received nothing but positive praise from the fanbase, especially since no major changes have been made to his boss fight and he fights almost exactly like he did in ''Darkest Dungeon''.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: The Grave Robber being the victim of DomesticAbuse and robbing her husband's grave because he had destroyed their finances will definitely elicit sympathy for her, but it becomes tainted when she (potentially) murders a Night Watchman just for getting in her way. The end of her Hero Shrine also pretty much states she continued grave robbing purely because she enjoyed the thrill she got from it, meaning she's likely desecrated the graves of people far more innocent than her abusive husband.

* ParanoiaFuel: [[TheGrimReaper Death]] can show up in any fight after you win, as long as there's a Flagellant in your party. Death is [[ThatOneBoss very difficult to kill]], especially with a party that can't move her around or hit her at long range. '''You cannot retreat from battles once you're in them'''. If you commit to a Resistance encounter with a Flagellant and scrape through by the skin of your teeth, you will be biting your nails praying that Death doesn't appear and [[TotalPartyKill wipe your party]].