An article by Glitchiee:
Darkest Dungeon by Red Hook Studios is still on Steam Early Access, but that doesn't
mean they are not bringing their A-game when it comes to new content. While the game in and of itself is superb, as
you can see in my original review, introducing new game play aspects helps keep
the game moving forward, attracts new players, and increases brand
awareness. Plus, new things to beat into
a pulp, is just so exciting. Fiends and
Frenzy, packed with fun and dastardly new things for players to explore,
released on May 28th to much hype. With
new character classes to play, new bosses to fight, the stress mechanic getting
an addition, and even new art, Fiends and Frenzy brings a lot to an already
great rouge-like dungeon crawler.
CHARACTER
CLASSES:
New
character classes always breathe freshness into a video game. New abilities, new team compositions, and new
personalities lend themselves to wreaking havoc in game. And Darkest Dungeon is no exception. Fiends and Frenzy introduces the Man-at-Arms
and the Arbalest, the latest to join the ranks of fighters in Hamlet. The Man-at-Arms is a front line tank with
amazing buffing skills. But not only
that, his ability Retribution comes with a unique skill: Riposte. Riposte allows the Man-at-Arms to
counterattack whether an enemy lands a hit or not. On top of that, Riposte ups the attack damage
and critical chance of the counterattack.
This makes the Man-at-Arms a high damage class with plenty of health and
protection to keep on ticking.
To
back up the Man-at-Arms is the Arbalest: a ranged attacker with area of effect
debuffing skills. She is the perfect
companion to those melee attackers.
Working well with the Bounty Hunter and Occultist due to marking
enemies, she also comes with a heal that buffs other heals through a Battlefield
Bandage ability. And her synergy with
the Occultist is perfect. Not only can
he mark an enemy for the Arbalest to attack, but her healing buff can help his
Wyrd Reconstruction heal for even more.
Combine that with the Bounty Hunter's damage output and you have a
deadly team.
"Listen up, the plan is simple: you distract the guards while I stuff the canon full of bananas."
NEW BOSSES:
Along
with new character classes, Fiends and Frenzy, brought three new bosses. The Prophet, the Brigand Pounder, and the
Flesh. All three bring new abilities
needing new battle tactics in order to defeat.
The Prophet is a twisted man who juggles his own eyeballs. And with bits of pew in front of him, just
reaching his nastiness can be a challenge.
The Brigand Pounder is a beast of a cannon guarded by bandit
reinforcements. Trying to take down this
metal monstrosity will take more than brains.
Patience, determination and someone with heavy hitting is the way to
go. And last but not least, comes the
Flesh. This freaky pulsating
conglomeration of random parts will not only disgust you, but it can change its
form. On top of that it can heal itself
which is infuriating to no end. But once
you find that sweet spot to hit however, taking down this grotesque aberration
is a piece of cake.
"Okay. I've got one. What's worse than spiders on your piano?"
"I give up."
"Crabs on your organ! Get it? Get it?"
"Yeah...I'm going to bed. Wake me when something interesting happens."
DUNGEON CRAWLING
AND STRESS:
While
it may seem like the bosses are the only dangers to rear their ugly heads in
the dungeons with this new patch…that is hardly the case. Implementing some balance changes, the Red
Hook Studios crew has upped the stress, made monsters stronger, added in a
surprise mini-boss, as well as other small things that will chip away at your
sanity. Not only will these changes take
you by surprise if you are not prepared, but they can completely wreck your day
in a flash.
To
start off, the darkness is stronger now.
So stress piles up quicker than ever before, making its management even
more important. But not only that, if
you max out the stress bar again after becoming afflicted—BAM—heart
attack. And this isn't like battling at
death's door. Any character hit by a
heart attack is instantly gone. So if
you fail to keep your character's stress down, a winning battle can quickly
lead to defeat when the heart attacks start.
Healing
has also had an addition. The same way
that attacks can crit, so now can healing abilities. This is incredibly helpful when the crit is
massive, lessening the need to heal that character again. It is also important because characters
become full when eating now. So no more
food spamming. After eating four pieces
of food a character will refuse to eat anymore, notifying you with the word
"full" appearing above their head.
However, the healing that food gives can also crit making the need to
keep eating less necessary.
Mobs
are now stronger than before. When
wandering through the dungeons, spiders, skeletons, ghouls and swine now
inflict more damage. So planning ahead
is more important than ever. Consider
having a constant healer in the team or bring more food to be able to eat after
every battle. And there's another
inclusion in the dungeons: Shamblers.
These mini-bosses are found at the Shambler Alter and summoned by
sacrificing one of your torches.
Resistant to debuffs and marking, this baddie snuffs out all light when
it makes its appearance from the void.
But defeating a Shambler allows you to obtain an ancient artifact.
"I just...I just don't understand how he keeps hitting us, if he's juggling his eyeballs."
"Because we're in a video game you idiot. It's not supposed to make sense."
HAMLET CHANGES
AND SELLING TRINKETS:
When
you are done exploring the dungeons of your old estate, it's time to return to
Hamlet for some stress relief. And the
town has had some upgrades. The statue
now has a purpose as it holds your ancestor's memories. So go there to listen to what your ancestor said
as you loaded into a boss dungeon or when you first started the game. The graveyard also received an update. Now all your dead characters have fancy
gravestones that progressively get fancier the higher the level they are when
they die. Some even get flowers, while
others get tentacles, or are just stuck with a plain old headstone.
Done
visiting the graveyard? Good, now you
can take a tour of your new trinket inventory.
A big addition with Fiends and Frenzy is the ability to sort and sell
your trinkets. Low on cash? Just sell a trinket you are not using for
some quick coin. Have ten Debuff
Stones? Sell off a few. Want to unequip all your trinkets to see what
you have or better equip your characters?
That can be done as well. And you
can quickly sort items by those that are class restricted first or keep
everything sorted based on their rarity.
The only con is that the trinkets do not sort next to each other. For example, if you sort everything based on
rarity, all your Stun Stones will not necessarily be sorted next to each other,
making the process of looking for trinkets to equip or sell a bit more tedious
than it really has to be.
"The best way to deal with this thing is to crack it on its head."
"But, Sir, I can't tell if I'm looking at its ass or its face."
"I feel the same about you. Now get swinging!"
CONCLUSION:
Fiends
and Frenzy not only brought in balance changes, but it introduced new character
classes, new bosses, and new ways to stress out. Red Hook Studios hit it out of the park with
this new content, reeling in old and new players alike. With more content slated to come in the near
future, Darkest Dungeon's future looks bright.
Still haven't checked out Darkest Dungeon, do so now! You will not be disappointed.
Editor: Hank – Twitter / Twitch
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