by La Foresta is the second area that we can access in Darkest Dungeon and it is a quite annoying area (actually all of them are, perhaps the Ruins a little less, yes) due to the presence of quite a few enemies that apply altered states such as Infection and Hemorrhage.
Summarizing a bit, it is an area in which it is highly recommended to go with characters that apply Bleeding because the enemies have low resistance to it in general.
Clarify that from the Veteran difficulty, a kind of quite large Ogres or Trolls will begin to appear (very unmistakable if they appear to you) that cause very high damage and we will have to watch a lot with them; I will tell you more about them below.
And nothing, let’s go with the complete guide and remember that below you also have the interactions with the Curios!
RECOMMENDED CHARACTERS FOR THE FOREST
In the Forest those characters that can apply Bleeding are great since the enemies usually have low resistance to said altered state; forget about the infection because the opposite happens.
Characters that can apply Damage reduction debuffs to enemies gain a lot of value from Veteran difficulty onwards since occasionally an enemy will appear that is like a huge Troll that deals terrible damage (the one I mentioned in the intro of the post).
- Diabla : Very good Damage to all positions (must be in position 1 to have Iron Swan, the ability that hits at position 4) and applies Bleed. On Veteran difficulty and up, he can suffer from the aforementioned Troll if he doesn’t go with a teammate who can reduce his Damage.
- Leper : Good alternative to Diabla. It deals tremendous damage to early positions and can self-heal health and stress. In Veteran it gains a higher value since it has an ability to reduce Troll Damage. He doesn’t have Bleeds, mind you.
- Canine Master : Very versatile in terms of his position, good damage, applies Bleed (light) and has one of the best Stuns in the game. Very good class for the Foresta.
- Jester : His buff is incredible, it will help us with stress and it also has a very good application of Hemorrhage.
- Bandit : One of the best characters in the game, you can take it everywhere. Good damage, he doesn’t care if they move him, his counterattack is brutal… always recommended.
- Plague Doctor : He can help by removing Hemorrhage and Infection from our teammates, support the back lines with his Stun and provide a Damage buff to other teammates. I recommend it more in areas where the Infection is more relevant, such as the Ruins or the Cove , but it is still a valid option in the Forest, only playing more of a pure Support role.
- Arbalester/Musketeer : Another character that we can take in practically all areas since it is based above all on flat Damage, in this case more specialized in Ranged Damage, which never hurts. Of course it doesn’t seem like the best option to me, but it is an option.
- Vestal / Occultist : As always, we will need a Healer. The Vestal heals more safely, but the Occultist has higher Damage. On Veteran difficulty and up the Occultist becomes much more viable because he can reduce the Damage of the aforementioned hateful Troll (one of these killed a Bandit once, they are horrible; luckily it wasn’t Dismas). But if you already have a Leper to reduce Damage, it’s better to go with a Vestal.
Highly recommended sample equipment:
- leper/devil
- Canine Master.
- Jester.
- Vestal/Occult
Remember on Veteran and Champion difficulty to bring at least one Leper or Occultist (equipped with the Damage Reduction debuff) to reduce the Troll’s Damage.
RECOMMENDED PROVISIONS
These are the provisions that I recommend the most, you know that this is indicative in the end, the expeditions have a high random component.
- Meal:
- Short: 8.
- Average: 12.
- Long: 16.
- torches:
- Short: 8
- Average: 14
- Long: 20
Then also consider taking the following:
- 2x-4x Shovels : In case we find walls on the way, which in the Foresta are very common. We can also use it on some Curios for more loot.
- 3x Medicinal Herbs : To be able to obtain food in the Curio «Beast Corpse».
- 2x Holy Water : It is always interesting to take some with you because they usually have very good interactions and in case an Eldritch Altar appears.
- 1x Skeleton Key : A chest usually comes out, but less than in other areas.
Also consider taking some Bandages and Antidotes to cure the Bleeding/Infection, there are also some Curios that have good interaction with these items.
EXCLUSIVE CURIOS OF THE FOREST
Right here below I will show you all the Curios of the Foresta. If you want to know the ones that are common in all areas, this is the guide that I already did.
ANCIENT TREE
- Without using object:
- 50%: Any loot x2.
- 25%: Infection.
- 25%: Nothing.
- Using Antidote: Any loot x3.
One of the places where we can put the Antidote to good use . If you are without Antidote, it is still worth risking it since in bad luck we would simply take a slight Infection.
OLD COFFIN
- Without using object:
- 50%: Gold/Relics x2.
- 19%: Nothing.
- 8.3%: Positive Trait “Forest Adventurer” (+20% stress in the Forest).
- 8.3%: Positive Trait “Forest Tactician” (+15% Damage in Forest).
He doesn’t have interactions with objects, but luckily the ones he does have are tremendous, so always interact with him. It would be advisable to interact with a character that you usually take to the Forest in case one of the Positive Traits appears.
BEAST CORPSE
- Without using object:
- 41.9%: Food.
- 19%: Random disease.
- 14.3%: Negative Trait “Zoophobia” (+20% Beast stress).
- 14.3%: Nothing.
- 9.5%: Disease «Rage» (+15% Damage and -10 Accuracy).
- Using Medicinal Herbs: Food x2.
Interact only if you have Medicinal Herbs to get food . The idea is to bring less food than usual (it is already applied in the resources section) due to the relatively high presence of these corpses.
DISTURBING EFFIGY
- Without using object:
- 25%: Nothing.
- 18.8%: Random Positive Trait.
- 18.8%: Random Negative Trait.
- 18.8%: Hemorrhage.
- 9.4%: Infection.
- 9.4%: +15 stress.
- Using Holy Water: Random Positive Trait.
A Positive Trait is always something to be appreciated (unless your character already has very good ones, but in that case you interact with another and that’s it), so it’s well worth investing the Holy Water here. As always, recommend keeping at least one in case an Eldritch Altar appears.
If you don’t have Holy Water I wouldn’t risk it, there is that probability of Negative Trait there.
ABANDONED BAGGAGE
- Without using object:
- 50%: Any Loot x4.
- 50%: Infection.
- Using Skeleton Key:
- Any Loot x3.
- Using Antidote:
- Any Loot x3.
If you have a Key or an Antidote left over, hit it, but you can see that even if you interact without objects, the only retaliation is Infection, which in the end isn’t such a big deal (don’t interact with a weak character, of course). Total, I recommend that in this case if you play it if you do not have the interaction objects .
IMMACULATE FOUNTAIN
- Without using an object: -20 stress.
- Using Holy Water: -30 stress.
Always interacting with him already only gives stress reductions. Holy Water will increase this reduction, but unless you have more than one and some characters are quite stressed, better save it in case you come across an Eldritch Altar (which allows us to remove a Negative Trait with Holy Water).
MUMMIFIED REMAINS
- Without using object:
- 40%: Gold/Trinkets x1.
- 40%: Infection.
- 20%: Nothing.
- Using Bandages:
- Gold/Beads x1.
A case very similar to the previous one but using the Bandages as an interactive object. If you do not have them, I recommend that you play it again since a little Infection is not a big deal.
CREEPY WEB
- Without using object:
- 40%: Gold/Gems x1 + Gems/Trinkets x1.
- 40%: Nothing.
- 10%: Negative Trait “Slow Reflexes” (-1 Speed).
- 10%: Negative Trait “Slow” (-4 Speed on the first round).
- Using Bandages: Gold/Gems x2 + Gems/Trinkets x1.
Here we can also use the Bandages to obtain a good extra loot. But if you don’t have them, skip interacting so you don’t risk eating a Negative Trait.
TRAVELER’S STORE
- Without using object:
- 37.5%: Gold/Provisions x4 + Gold/Relics x4 + Journal Entry.
- 37.5%: Patrol.
- 12.5%: +25 stress.
- 12.5%: Nothing.
There’s that rather annoying +25 stress there, but I still recommend you interact as it will give us a lot of rewards if we’re lucky (or the Patrol, less relevant, but still interesting). Interact with the character that has less stress just in case and if you have the stress of the team in general quite a bit better happen.
SHALLOW GRAVE
- Without using object:
- 50%: Random Disease.
- 50%: Infection.
- Using Shovel:
- Gems/Relics x3
As you can see, it’s only worth it if you have plenty of Shovels, be careful not to spend too much , so you don’t run out of money in front of the typical obstacle, which is horrible.
FOREST CHIEFS
To finish I leave you a link to the guide of the two heads of the Foresta:
- Witch
- Canyon
And that’s it! What do you think of the Darkest Dungeon Forest ? Is it an area you like? Do you want to leave any recommendations for readers? Leave your comment!
