Cheats & Secrets

Cheats & Secrets Guide for Darkest Dungeon

Darkest Dungeon does not include built-in cheat codes, console commands, or easy-to-enable debug modes in the standard retail version. The developers intentionally designed the game to be unforgiving, with no traditional “cheats” to bypass the difficulty. However, there are several exploit-safe secrets, Easter eggs, hidden content, and legitimate glitches that can give you an edge or uncover unique experiences. This guide details all known hidden features, developer-intended secrets, and community-discovered exploits that remain available in the latest version (including all DLC).

1. [Easter Eggs & Hidden Content](#easter-eggs--hidden-content)
2. [Exploit-Friendly Secrets (Legitimate Gameplay)](#exploit-friendly-secrets)
3. [Known Exploits & Glitches (Use at Your Own Risk)](#known-exploits--glitches)
4. [Save File Editing & Modding (Advanced)](#save-file-editing--modding)
5. [Unlock Codes & Hidden DLC Content](#unlock-codes--hidden-dlc-content)
6. [Secrets in The Color of Madness DLC](#secrets-in-the-color-of-madness-dlc)
7. [Secrets in The Crimson Court DLC](#secrets-in-the-crimson-court-dlc)
8. [Developer-Intended Hidden Mechanics](#developer-intended-hidden-mechanics)

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Easter Eggs & Hidden Content

1. The Ancestor’s Comments & Flavor Texts

The game is filled with narrative Easter eggs. For example, failing a quest to defeat the Shambler can trigger unique voice lines from the Ancestor. Try bringing a party to the Darkest Dungeon with zero torchlight – the Ancestor comments differently.

In the Color of Madness endless mode, specific wave combinations spawn unique messages from the Ancestor regarding the comet’s origin.

2. The “Bounty Hunter” Cameo

The Bounty Hunter class has a cameo in the Flagellant backstory comic. Also, if you visit the Weald region with a Bounty Hunter in your party, you may encounter an event where he shares a grim joke about “the rabbit.”

3. The “Town Events” Easter Egg

Certain rare town events are hidden. For example, the “The Brigand’s Tailor” event (available only after completing the Brigand Vvulf plot) allows you to buy a special trinket. To trigger this, you must have at least one hero with the “Courageous” quirk and a full roster of 4+ heroes.

4. The “Headless Horseman” (Halloween Event)

During the Halloween update (usually active around October 31st), a special boss fight with the Headless Horseman appears in the Ruins. This is a purely cosmetic Easter egg – you get a unique trinket (“Pumpkin Head”) that gives +10% virtue chance but -10% stress. This trinket is purely decorative and cannot be obtained otherwise.

5. The “Darkest Dungeon 2” Reference

In the game files, there is an unused sprite called “Shambler_2” that resembles the Shambler from Darkest Dungeon 2. It was left as a teaser.

Exploit-Friendly Secrets (Legitimate Gameplay)

1. Stress Farming in the Tutorial

In the tutorial mission (The Old Road), stress does not kill heroes if it reaches 100. You can leave a hero stessed to 200+ without dying. This can be used to farm negative quirks for your starting roster, but it’s inefficient.

2. The “Accursed” Farming (Crimson Court)

When a hero becomes Accursed from the Crimson Curse, they can be locked in the Sanitarium to remove the curse. You can repeatedly infect and cure them to farm Bloated Carcasses (which drop The Blood). This is considered a legitimate exploit.

3. Torchlight Abuse for Surprise

Keeping torchlight at 0% gives enemies a stress buff, but also massively reduces your scouting chance. However, you can manually open the torch slot and keep it at 75+ for the first few rooms, then let it drop to 0% for the last rooms to force enemy stress attacks (which can be used to farm stress-healing quirks). Not a big exploit, but practical.

4. The “Rallying Flare” Infinite Loop (Arbalest/Musketeer)

If you have two Arbalests (or Musketeers with Rallying Flare), you can bounce the buff off each other to stack absurdly high accuracy and crit. This is an intended synergy but effectively makes you unkillable.

5. The “Deus Ex Machina” Sacrifice Trick

In the Crimson Court, if a hero is about to die from the Curse’s Bloodlust, you can send them on a suicide mission to the Courtyard and let them die there. They will be resurrected by the Fanatic event (if triggered) – though this is a one-time exploit.

Known Exploits & Glitches (Use at Your Own Risk)

Warning:

1. Duplication Glitch (Patched in 1.0)

Save file editing can duplicate trinkets (see below). No in-game duplication exists.

2. The “Empty Inventory” Bug (Old Version)

In early builds, if you entered a dungeon with an empty inventory, all interactions would give you free items. This was fixed.

3. The “Virtue Farm” Glitch (Partially Patched)

If you leave a hero at 0 stress and then stress them to 100 in the same battle, the game sometimes fails to resolve the virtue chance. This can be abused to guarantee a virtue by reloading. This glitch still works on some mobile ports.

4. The “Shambler’s Altar” Free Loot

If you interact with the Shambler’s Altar but leave the fight, the altar remains interactable. You can do this infinitely to get free loot (e.g., gold, gems) without fighting. This was patched in later versions but still works on console editions up to 2020.

Save File Editing & Modding (Advanced)

Save File Location

Windows: `%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Darkest Dungeon\save\`

Steam Cloud: Usually at same location.

Mac: `~/Library/Application Support/Darkest Dungeon/save/`

Linux: `~/.config/darkest-dungeon/save/`

How to Edit

Warning:

Mods That Add Cheats

“Cheat All Items” mod on Nexus Mods gives unlimited provisions and trinkets.

“No Stress” mod removes stress entirely.

These mods are safe but disable achievements.

Unlock Codes & Hidden DLC Content

Unlocking The Color of Madness Endless Mode

You must first defeat the Sleeper boss (the final boss of the Farmstead endless mode). This unlocks the “Endless Harvest” mode where you can fight infinite waves.

Unlocking the Bloodmoon Difficulty (Crimson Court)

Complete the Crimson Court DLC main quest to unlock the “Bloodmoon” difficulty option in New Game+. This is a hidden unlock.

The Musketeer Class

The Musketeer is a duplicate of the Arbalest, unlocked for free in the Color of Madness DLC. No code needed.

Secrets in The Color of Madness DLC

The Comet Shard

In endless mode, you can find a rare item called Comet Shard that gives +1% virtue chance permanently. It can only be used once per hero, and it spawns after wave 30+ in the endless mode.

The “What Was Will Be” Event

In the Farmstead’s endless mode, on wave 100 exactly (if you survive), the game displays a hidden message: “The comet remembers” and a unique trinket (the “Oldest Thing”) appears. This trinket gives +5% stress heal and -5% stress, making it extremely rare.

The “Maniac” Enemy

A hidden enemy called the Maniac appears only when your torchlight is 0 and you have a hero with the “Hopeless” quirk. It drops the “Madman’s Journal” – a lore item.

Secrets in The Crimson Court DLC

The Fanatic Encounter

The Fanatic is a roaming boss triggered when you have a hero with the Crimson Curse and torchlight below 50%. He drops the Repellent trinket, which makes the curse harmless. This is intended but not advertised.

The “Bloodbath” Town Event

If you ignore the Crimson Curse for too long, the Bloodbath event triggers, losing you all blood. This is a hidden punishing mechanic.

The “Vvulf’s Revenge” Event

After completing the Brigand Vvulf plot, there is a rare chance for a town event where Vvulf’s followers attack the Hamlet. This gives a unique trinket (“Vvulf’s Tassel”) that improves torchlight effects. Trigger condition: Have 5 or more heroes at resolve level 6+ and two weeks since last Vvulf encounter.

Developer-Intended Hidden Mechanics

The “Stress Virtue” Threshold

If your hero has 0 stress and receives a stress attack that brings them to 90+, the game forces a virtue chance roll with +50% bonus. This is undocumented but consistent.

The “Corpse Explosion” Prevention

If you use a skill that destroys corpses (e.g., Plague Doctor’s Blinding Gas) while a hero is standing on that corpse, the hero gets a temporary debuff. This is hidden.

The “Torchlight Surprise” Modifier

At 0 torchlight, enemies have +20% surprise chance, but your heroes also have +10% move resist. This symmetrical hidden bonus is not shown in the UI.

The “Item Pity” System

If you fail to find a trinket for 10 consecutive loot rolls, the game guarantees a rare trinket on the next collection. This is a hidden anti-frustration mechanic.

Final Notes

Most Easter eggs and secrets require multiple playthroughs or extreme dedication (e.g., wave 100 in endless mode).

If you want to cheat without modding, save file editing is the only route. Use it sparingly to preserve enjoyment.

The developers have actively patched major exploits, so always update to the latest version for a fair experience.

Remember: The fun of Darkest Dungeon is in the struggle. Cheats can break that, but hidden secrets reward exploration and persistence.