[p]We would be honoured if you nominated Darkest Dungeon II for the Labor of Love Award for the upcoming Steam Awards.
[/p][p]Darkest Dungeon II had an incredibly busy year, with lots of new content and improvements added since January.  We’ve put together this handy graphic that showcases everything we’ve added to the game this year.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/6262a2047f170aadda8e8a17e20979f7ba65b27a.jpg"][/img][/p][p]Want the details on all these releases? Let’s take a look back at 2025![/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/455b98766efc571550408aac20eb5eb98448e2ad.png"][/img][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/ce28705ae3e26ec69e3812846fd66e7b2247ee37.png"][/img][/p][p]We kicked 2025 off by releasing Kingdoms - a FREE standalone strategic game mode. Featuring a completely reimagined game structure, Kingdoms is a parallel game experience to the original Confessions game mode where players are tasked with defending their realm from incursions by all-new enemy-factions. [/p][p][/p][p]Over the course of the year, we released a total of 3 Kingdoms adventure modules, each featuring its own unique enemy faction and quest. Our first module, Hunger of the Beast Clan, released in late January. Secrets of the Coven followed in April, along with a number of community requested improvements including improved hero path comparisons, as well as updates for Kingdoms like inn storage, custom difficulty settings and more. [/p][p][/p][p]Finally, our third Kingdoms module, Curse of the Court, was released in August, and featured the return of the Crimson Courtiers from the original Crimson Court DLC.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/92a2ac9fc381aea064ef710fdfe1145210784acb.png"][/img][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/bc16419961cbb52ecefd5dbe8564ad91a82debf5.jpg"][/img][/p][p]Darkest Dungeon II received its second DLC, Inhuman Bondage, in January![/p][p][/p][p]This DLC introduced a new mini-region, The Catacombs, and a new playable hero to Darkest Dungeon II, the fan favourite and original Kickstarter backer-assisted designed character: The Abomination. This reclusive alchemist comes with a unique battle mechanic, allowing him to transform into a fearsome monstrosity - at the risk of spiraling stress! [/p][p][/p][p]Speaking of DLC, we also released the Infernal Supporter’s Pack in April, which came with unique hero palettes and weapon kits, as well as 4 stagecoach skins themed around Catacombs and Kingdoms enemy factions! [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/b38860805518ff58229fad894fcf3da21b95e7df.png"][/img][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/58fe6e1adf23fe279d649be277f2a714a82af97c.png"][/img][/p][p]June marked the release of our long awaited Hero Origin Skins. This is the version of the Darkest Dungeon II heroes that you see in the Shrine of Reflection.[/p][p][/p][p]This free pack comes with the Origin hero skin for each hero in Darkest Dungeon II, including DLC Characters, and allows you to transform your heroes into their past forms as you race towards the looming mountain to face your failures![/p][p] [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/e2a64f1de921bb12815d73953c8d2533e6a113d9.png"][/img][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/038207fb7e5ae65ba9fd6593ab2d1bf21b68e1ed.png"][/img][/p][p]The summer of 2025 also saw the expansion of Darkest Dungeon II modding. Our effort to bring the hero origin skins to life had the side benefit of laying the groundwork necessary to expand our modding tools, and allow for character modding! Modders are now able to create unique hero skins and weapon kits in Darkest Dungeon II. We also added the ability for players to create their own custom heroes! You can find our Hero Creation Tool in the Darkside project. [/p][p][/p][p]If you haven't yet, be sure to check out some of the amazing mods on our workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1940340/workshop/ [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/8a5e65efefd99f3ba22adef71a850e2062a2e74c.png"][/img][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/e9ce6eda69f12c19c3bca9436554333e56fce95d.jpg"][/img][/p][p]The Steadfast Steward’s Updates that were released in July and October included a wide range of improvements and community requested changes, chief among them was the completion of our hero reworks! In July we finished our reworks of the Occultist, Plague Doctor and Runaway, then returned to rework the Hellion and Leper in October.  [/p][p]We took this opportunity to add more information to the Academics View by expanding it to include more helpful information while you’re in combat. For monsters it shows requirements and conditions for skill use. For heroes, we now show skill cooldowns, skill uses, and stress RES. Speed can now also be viewed on this sheet for both heroes and monsters.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/0b6a7e171921071d998ce41e0e92382f1e51bbe0.jpg"][/img][/p][p]July’s Steadfast Steward’s update also saw us updating a few systems in the game, such as Ordainment, Battle Advantage Modifiers and Memories, to make them more interesting and impactful on gameplay overall. We were also able to add a run modifier section to the Altar of Hope called The Dam. This allowed us to address a number of community requests we’ve received since release. Players can now add the option to retreat in Confessions, have the Mountain appear at all inns, increase the chances for battle modifiers to roll in all encounters, extend Confessions 1 and 2, plus more![/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/42562846/6cb5c5223f7475504a617dcb707c83acf560d002.jpg"][/img][/p][p]Finally, we used this update to introduce one of our most highly requested features - combat and driving speed toggles. These toggles can be found in the Options menu and will allow you to independently increase speed of driving and combat up to 1.5x.[/p][p]
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