But some of those new items are giving players trouble, as their uses aren’t entirely clear. This is especially true for Laudanum and The Blood. So in this short guide, we’re going to go over both those items and what you need to be doing with them.
What Laudanum Does in Darkest Dungeon
Laudanum is probably the simplest of the new items. Its only purpose is to cure horror.
Horror is a status ailment that’s been in the game since before the expansion. It acts a lot like bleeding, but with added stress. Stress will steadily increase every turn if horror is not treated with something like Laudanum.
Where to Find Laudanum
Laudanum is a supply, so it can be bought from the supply trader in addition to the random drops of it you’ll get from dungeons.
What The Blood Does in Darkest Dungeon
The Blood is a lot more complicated than Laudanum, because it’s tied to the new disease called the Crimson Curse. The Crimson Curse essentially turns the infected party member into a vampire, which comes with downsides and upsides (but of course, in typical Darkest Dungeon fashion it’s mostly downsides). The disease has four stages, and giving blood to the infected party member has different effects at different stages.
First is the passive stage. All this stage entails is a few debuffs and a +1 speed buff. Giving the infected party member The Blood in this stage will increase their dodge by 7 and increase their speed by 3 for three rounds.
During passive phase a prompt will sometimes come up, similar to the hunger prompt, that asks you to feed your party member The Blood. If you don’t feed them The Blood, you’ll move into the second stage of craving.
During the craving phase, the effects of the debuffs/buffs are doubled. They will also do random actions similar those of stress afflictions – like hurting allies, passing turns, causing stress to increase, etc. If the infected party member is given The Blood during this phase, they will go to the Bloodlust phase.
During the Bloodlust phase, the party member only gets buffs – specifically +25% damage, +4 speed, and +15% resistance to bleed, blight, and stun. However, the party member will also do random actions that harm the party. If The Blood is given to them in this stage, they will take massive stress damage (35-40) but gain +50% damage and +4 speed for 3 rounds. After long enough, the Bloodlust will pass and the party member will become passive again.
If the party member is not given The Blood for long enough during the craving phase, they will go into the wasting stage. Everything in this stage is the same as craving, but the party member also gets +10% deathblow resistance. If given The Blood in the wasting stage they will become passive. If they don’t get The Blood by the next check, they will die.
Where to Find The Blood
Blood can be found anywhere in the expansion areas and anywhere with infection. Unlike other supplies, if you have leftover blood at the end of a dungeon, it will all go to your storage for use the next time you go into a dungeon.
While Laudanum doesn’t add a lot to the game, The Crimson Curse and The Blood are new mechanics that’ll certainly mix up your playthrough – whether it’s for better or for worse.
That wraps up this item guide! For more help with this punishing dungeon crawler, check out the rest of our Darkest Dungeon guides to make sure your whole party makes it out alive.
