Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon

Quest: Clearing the Way

Complete Darkest Dungeon's 'Clearing the Way' quests by efficiently clearing rooms. Master exploration, combat, and resource management for long expeditions.

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Quest: Clearing the Way

The "Clearing the Way" quest type in Darkest Dungeon is a fundamental expedition objective, requiring you to clear a specific percentage of rooms within a dungeon. Unlike quests focused on boss elimination or item retrieval, these missions emphasize thorough exploration, efficient combat, and sustained resource management over a potentially longer expedition. Success hinges on a balanced party, strategic provisioning, and intelligent decision-making in the face of constant attrition.

Quest: Clearing the Way - Darkest Dungeon screenshot
Clearing the Way quests demand comprehensive exploration and combat efficiency.

Understanding the Objective

Your primary goal is to engage and defeat all enemies in a set percentage of rooms (e.g., 90% of rooms cleared). This means you'll be fighting through most, if not all, combat encounters the dungeon has to offer. This quest type is an excellent opportunity to gather heirlooms, gold, and trinkets, but it also presents a significant challenge in terms of stress management and HP sustain.

General Exploration & Resource Management Tips

  • Prioritize Scouting: Heroes with high scouting chance (e.g., Highwayman, Grave Robber, Bounty Hunter with specific trinkets) are invaluable. Scouting reveals room layouts, traps, curios, and ambushes, allowing you to plan your route and avoid unnecessary stress or damage. Always prioritize paths that have been scouted.
  • Efficient Combat: Speed and damage are paramount. The faster you eliminate enemies, especially stress dealers, the less damage and stress your party accumulates. Focus fire on dangerous targets (stress casters, backline damage dealers) first.
  • Inventory Management:
    • Provisioning: Always over-provision rather than under-provision for these quests. You'll be in the dungeon longer and fighting more.
    • Food: Bring enough food for every camping opportunity (if applicable) and for hunger checks. A good rule of thumb is 8-12 food for short, 16-20 for medium, and 20-24+ for long expeditions.
    • Torches: Maintain high light levels (75%+) to reduce surprise chances, increase scouting, and prevent stress. Bring 8-10 for short, 12-16 for medium, and 16-20+ for long.
    • Shovels: Crucial for clearing obstacles without taking damage or stress. Bring 2-3 for short, 3-4 for medium, and 4-5 for long.
    • Keys: Useful for secret rooms and locked curios. Bring 1-2 for any expedition length.
    • Bandages/Antivenom: Depends on the dungeon. Cove needs more Antivenom, Weald more Bandages. Bring 3-4 of each.
    • Medicinal Herbs: Excellent for clearing debuffs and interacting with certain curios. Bring 3-4.
    • Holy Water: Essential for stress relief from certain curios and for buffing against specific enemy types. Bring 2-3.
    • Stacking Loot: Be mindful of your inventory space. Prioritize heirlooms and valuable trinkets. If you have to choose, heirlooms are generally more important for Hamlet upgrades.
  • Curio Interaction: Learn which curios provide positive effects with specific items and which are best left alone. A well-placed Holy Water or Medicinal Herb can save a run.
  • Camping: On medium and long expeditions, camping is vital for stress relief, healing, and powerful combat buffs. Plan your camp strategically, ideally before a difficult fight or when stress levels are high.

Recommended Party Composition & Hero Selection

While the Crusader and Vestal are indeed strong choices, especially against Unholy enemies, "Clearing the Way" quests benefit from a more generalized approach to combat efficiency and sustain. Here are some hero archetypes and specific heroes that excel:

Core Roles for Clearing Quests:
  • Damage Dealer (Primary): Heroes who can consistently deal high damage to multiple targets or quickly eliminate priority threats.
  • Damage Dealer (Secondary)/Off-Healer: A flexible slot that can contribute damage, off-healing, or utility (stuns, blights/bleeds).
  • Stunner/Debuffer: Crucial for crowd control, preventing enemy actions, and reducing incoming damage.
  • Healer/Stress Healer: Essential for keeping the party alive and managing the inevitable stress buildup.
Excellent Hero Choices for General Combat & Exploration:
  • Vestal (Healer/Stress Healer): Remains a top-tier choice for her reliable group heal (Divine Comfort) and single-target heal (Divine Grace). Her Mace Bash can also finish off low-HP enemies. Essential for sustained expeditions.
  • Crusader (Damage/Stress Healer/Tank): While his Unholy bonus is situational, his high damage, ability to hit all ranks (Smite, Holy Lance), and powerful stress heal (Inspiring Cry) make him incredibly versatile. He can also tank hits effectively.
  • Highwayman (Damage/Scouting): Excellent damage output with Point Blank Shot and Duelist's Advance. Open Vein provides bleed, and his high scouting chance (especially with trinkets) is invaluable for exploration.
  • Grave Robber (Damage/Scouting/Utility): High damage with Lunge and Pick to the Face. Her ability to blight and her high scouting chance make her a strong pick. Shadow Fade is great for repositioning and stealth.
  • Bounty Hunter (Damage/Stun/Mark): Can deal massive damage to marked targets and has one of the best single-target stuns (Flashbang). Collect Bounty is devastating. Good for eliminating priority targets quickly.
  • Man-at-Arms (Tank/Guard/Stun/Buff): Provides incredible protection with Guard, can stun multiple enemies with Rampart, and buffs the party with Bolster. His Riposte (Retribution) is also a strong damage deterrent.
  • Plague Doctor (Blight/Stun/Heal): Unmatched blight application for consistent damage over time, especially against high-PROT enemies. Blinding Gas is a phenomenal double-stun. Battlefield Medicine can cure blights/bleeds and provide a small heal, saving precious turns for the main healer.
  • Occultist (Healer/Debuffer/Mark): While his Wyrd Reconstruction heal can be unreliable, his ability to mark enemies, debuff their damage (Weakening Curse), and pull backline threats (Daemon's Pull) makes him a strong utility pick. Pair him with heroes who benefit from marks.
  • Hellion (Damage/Stun): High raw damage and one of the best front-line stuns (Breakthrough). Iron Swan can hit the backline. Adrenaline Rush is great for clearing debuffs and buffing herself.
Example Party Compositions for "Clearing the Way":

These compositions offer a balance of damage, healing, stress relief, and utility:

  • Standard Balanced: Vestal (Heal/Stress), Crusader (Damage/Stress), Man-at-Arms (Tank/Guard/Stun), Highwayman (Damage/Scouting)
    • Strengths: Robust healing, good stress management, strong front-line and back-line damage, excellent protection.
  • Blight/Bleed Focus: Plague Doctor (Blight/Stun/Cure), Grave Robber (Damage/Blight/Scouting), Houndmaster (Bleed/Stress Heal/Guard), Hellion (Damage/Stun)
    • Strengths: Consistent damage over time, strong crowd control, good stress relief from Houndmaster, high scouting potential.
  • Marked Target Focus: Occultist (Heal/Mark/Debuff), Bounty Hunter (Damage to Marked), Arbalest (Damage to Marked/Heal Buff), Man-at-Arms (Tank/Guard/Stun)
    • Strengths: Explosive single-target damage, good healing support, strong protection and stuns.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

  • Under-provisioning: Running out of torches, food, or healing supplies is a death sentence. Always err on the side of bringing too much.
  • Ignoring Stress: Stress builds up rapidly in these quests. Utilize stress-healing abilities, camping skills, and positive curios. A hero at 100 stress is a ticking time bomb.
  • Lack of Scouting: Blindly walking into traps or ambushes can quickly deplete HP and stress. Prioritize scouting chance through trinkets and hero choices.
  • Poor Target Prioritization: Allowing enemy stress dealers or high-damage backline units to persist will lead to a quick demise. Focus fire on the most dangerous threats first.
  • Ignoring Debuffs/Blights/Bleeds: Let these status effects linger and they will chip away at your party's health. Use Bandages, Antivenom, Medicinal Herbs, and hero skills (e.g., Plague Doctor's Battlefield Medicine) to cleanse them.
  • Getting Greedy with Loot: Sometimes, it's better to leave a low-value heirloom behind to make space for a more crucial supply item, especially if your inventory is full and you're far from the exit.

By focusing on comprehensive preparation, intelligent party composition, and efficient dungeon navigation, you will consistently clear "Clearing the Way" quests, securing valuable resources for your Hamlet and strengthening your roster for the challenges ahead.