The Altar of Hope is the foundation of Darkest Dungeon 2's meta-progression system, allowing players to exchange their Candles of Hope for permanent unlocks and upgrades. While fans must spend their first batch of the Candles in the Working Fields, they will soon have access to all the Altar's locations. This abundance of choice may leave some players feeling slightly overwhelmed, and this guide is here to address that by providing tips on how to approach Darkest Dungeon 2's Altar of Hope.
Darkest Dungeon 2: Altar of Hope Tips
As soon as players have access to the entirety of the Altar of Hope, it is recommended that they unlock a hero in the Living City that can replace the Grave Robber. Indeed, this dagger-wielding Darkest Dungeon 2 hero is almost certainly the weakest from the base crew, and the Jester and Flagellant are both great options to pursue. Fans should also consider unlocking the Bounty Hunter, a special hero that must be hired at inns, as he is quite powerful right out of the box.
After claiming some new heroes, players should unlock the Orphan Wolf Cub from the Companionship track at the Intrepid Coast. Fans should then start putting Candles toward unlocking Darkest Dungeon 2's Hero Paths and upgrading hero stats in the Living City. While fans will need to decide for themselves exactly how to approach these actions, each hero's final Deathblow Resistance node is a long-term goal that should be targeted.
Simultaneous to performing hero upgrades, players should put their excess Candles toward unlocking Inn Items in the Working Fields. In particular, fans should focus on Inn Items until they have unlocked a food that can replace Slime Mold, such as Stale Bread, and a relationship item like the Whiskey Barrel. Players can also spend some Candles on unlocking Darkest Dungeon 2 Combat Items (Healing Salve and Triage Kit are both excellent), Stagecoach Items, and Trinkets, though Inn Items should take priority.
Once players have secured an assortment of good items, they can start spending their excess Candles on the Journey and Resourcefulness tracks at the Intrepid Coast. More specifically, fans should work toward Journey's Charity node and Resourcefulness's Respite node, though they should plan to eventually take them to their maximums.
After doing this foundational work, Darkest Dungeon 2 players that are still having trouble on their runs should consider spending additional Candles on further Living City and Intrepid Coast upgrades and unlocking more items in the Working Fields. However, if the player feels sufficiently powerful, they can start focusing on the end-game unlocks, which manifest as the Memories track in the Timeless Woods and the Infernal Flame path in the Intrepid Coast. From there, fans can spend their final Candles on cosmetics at The Mountain and in the Intrepid Coast's Renown track.
Darkest Dungeon 2 is available now for PC.