Darkest Dungeon is one of the best roguelikes in recent years, so it's not surprising that its modding community is full of so many creative people. I've been keeping an eye on it for a while, and I've decided to compile what I believe are some of the best out there right now.
Gameplay mods
If Darkest Dungeon had its own version of XCOM's Long War, then it would definitely be Maester Silvio's Pitch Black Dungeon. It changes almost everything about the game, from the heroes and inventory, to the enemies and UI. The very first quest you set out on is a scripted tutorial test that's been set up by the mod's developers to help you learn exactly what's different about the game—a clever way to welcome players who just want to jump in and play. It might not be the best choice for someone's first time playing through Darkest Dungeon, but you don't have to finish the vanilla game to make it worth restarting and setting out on a PBD run.
Notes: If you have Androu's Musketeer class mod installed, you're going to want to install this Musketeer Patch for Pitch Black Dungeon.
Pitch Black Dungeon is a fantastic mod, but if the vanilla game is all you want—and as far as I'm concerned, it's one of the best games from 2016—you can still benefit from PBD's enhanced UI with Maester Silvio's UI Enhancement mod. It basically puts everything into way more detail, so it's less confusing as to what effects actions will have.
Anti-Grind Stage Coach + Larger Roster
This mod from Spyboy makes it so stronger heroes appear more frequently in the Stage Coach, in addition to expanding your roster. However, it's not game-breaking, as you still need to level up your Stage Coach to take advantage of the mod's additions. This mod just makes it a little easier to recover from the death of a hero, alleviating much of the grind that Darkest Dungeon is known for. And if you just want one part of this mod, then you can install them separately (Anti-Grind Stage Coach and Larger Roster).
This mod by Maester Silvio does exactly what it sounds like: it changes the values of gems, quest items, and certain supplies to allow for stacking. The supplies that are affected are Firewood and Dog Treats, which can now be stacked to 5 and 8 units respectively.
Among the PC Gamer staff, I'm known as a guy who enjoys his controllers. Don't get me wrong: I like keyboards—heck, I'm writing this article with one right now. But sometimes you just want to sit back, relax, and use a controller. Now saying that, I have to admit that I actually prefer the keyboard and mouse for Darkest Dungeon, but I'm sure there are people who would like to use a controller. Jonathan11197's Xbox One Prompts is another mod that does exactly what it says: it adds Xbox One button prompts. Without it, players would be forced to use PlayStation 4 button prompts, regardless of the controller they're using. This mod isn't life-changing, but I thought I'd include it here for fellow controller lovers.
Skins
I didn't want to dilly-dally around. Darkest Dungeon's standout skin is easily 铁制护腕's Geralt skin for the Bounty Hunter. Since installing this mod, I've named all my Bounty Hunters Geralt because there is no dang way that I'm not making them all look like the White Wolf of Rivia. The skin covers all fronts: it looks like Geralt, it replaces the Hunter's axe with Geralt's silver sword, and it even makes use of the Quen sign when you get attacked. It is, without a doubt, my favourite mod for the Darkest Dungeon. And based on an image in its Steam Workshop description, 铁制护腕 has made a skin for Ciri. I would be ecstatic to have skins for Geralt and friends.
Abyss Watcher and Darkwraith from Dark Souls III
However, Geralt isn't the only character 铁制护腕 has taken a stab at. They've also created a couple inspired by Dark Souls III. The Grave Robber has been turned into an Abyss Watcher and the Bounty Hunter has turned into the Darkwraith. I'm not as big a fan of Dark Souls as The Witcher, but there's no denying these skins are impressive. The Darkwraith in particular has a lot of detail, completely transforming the character into something else entirely. On top of that, the Abyss Watchers just look cool, and 铁制护腕 has captured that perfectly.
Faraam Knight from Dark Souls II
If you didn't know Dark Souls was a popular video game series then you know now. This mod by Willydamn isn't on the Steam Workshop, but it's as easy as downloading the files and putting them in a folder—though it's always important to practice caution when downloading anything from this here internet. Once you get it up and running, your Crusader can look like the character from Dark Souls II's boxart, which is a good thing because they look awesome. Just like the Geralt mod, this skin is always in use by every single Crusader I have. It just looks so good.
Willydamn is back at it again, and this time, it's with Dark Souls' estranged cousin Bloodborne. I'll tell you what. If there's one thing the Highwayman needs, it's a dang hat. And what better hat than the one from Bloodborne? This skin makes the Highwayman look more like the player character from Bloodborne.
Unofficial Palette Expansion Pack
Of course, not every class in the game has a skin as good as the four I just mentioned. That's where Saint_Michaels_'s Unofficial Palette Expansion Pack comes in handy. It adds five new colours to every class, and it brings purple to characters that didn't already have a skin of that colour. That's an A+ in my books.
This one isn't a skin for a class, but instead a skin for the world around you. It adds snow to the Hamlet and outside areas. You can use it anytime of the year, but it's one that you might want to hold on to for the holiday season. It's created by Monsoontide, but it's uploaded and maintained by Maester Silvio.
Classes
The Musketeer has a bit of a history. It was offered as a reskin of the Arbalest class if you backed Darkest Dungeon on Kickstarter at a certain tier. It had its own unique descriptions and story, but it basically functioned as the Arbalest does. However, modder Androu1 used those assets to make the Musketeer its own class, and it's a pretty dang good one. The only problem is you need the Musketeer assets for it to work. $50 Kickstarter backers are set in this regard, but anyone else will have to acquire the assets in more nefarious ways (by downloading them from somewhere on the internet).
The Revenant is a tank who is such a dang tank that heavy armoured characters won't accompany him on quests because they don't want to be out-tanked. He can also heal and deal attacks that make enemies bleed. If you're looking for a character who can lead the charge, the Revenant might be a good idea—though he's not the best against the Undead.
If you're looking for a Crusader-like class, then Seventh's Warden is a good choice. She's able to deal damage to enemies, while also using her multiple banners to produce different effects. The first banner lowers your enemies' DODGE and PROTECT, the second buffs and destresses your allies, and the third produces a small healing effect to one of your teammates.
The Pit Fighter is a big, dumb brute who attacks enemies with his bare hands. If you're not sold already, then I don't know what to tell you. He's probably my favourite design for a class mod, looking a lot like the human enemies you can encounter in various areas. But he's on your side. Its creator, ActionJack, has made a couple classes that are definitely worth checking out. However, the Pit Fighter is definitely his crown jewel, as far as I'm concerned.
