Altar of Hope
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| “ | You will find brief succour in the soft glow of the Altar. Meditate on that which you have lost and that which you would rebuild. | „ |
| ~ The Academic |
In the 
Confessions game mode of Darkest Dungeon II, every expedition begins and ends at the Altar of Hope. The Altar serves as the primary means for meta-progression, containing various locations where the player can spend their 
Candles of Hope to gain permanent buffs and upgrades, and unlock heroes and items for subsequent expeditions.
Candles of Hope
Candles of Hope are the currency for meta-progression in Confessions mode. Candles are primarily earned by successfully completing expeditions. Bonus Candles may also be awarded for completing a variety of challenges during an expedition, including Hero Goals and Region Goals.
Locations in the Altar of Hope
The Intrepid Coast
The Intrepid Coast contains a variety of expedition-wide upgrades, primarily upgrades to the Stagecoach.
The Living City
In the Living City the player may unlock new heroes, upgrade their attributes, and purchase new equipment for them.
The Working Fields
The vast majority of items in Darkest Dungeon II, from Trinkets to Stagecoach Items, are unlocked in the Working Fields.
The Timeless Wood
The Timeless Wood unlocks Memories—small bonuses that, when applied to a hero, allow them to persist across multiple expeditions.
The Mountain
Within the Altar of Hope, the Mountain is a location where players may purchase cosmetic options for their heroes. In addition to their default starting appearance, each hero may unlock three additional weapon skins and three outfits, each corresponding to one of their paths.
The Recollection
The Recollection panel lists all items that the player has unlocked. Note that certain items, particularly items that are not unlocked in The Working Fields, must be first discovered during an expedition before they can appear in the Recollection.
The Dam
The Dam is a location where players can enable or disable specific modifiers that affect their Confessions run. The Dam currently has 4 modifiers that can be enabled.
🔸 Enable Retreat Button: Effects from retreating is +2 Loathing and +2 Stress to all party members, this option is always available after the prologue/tutorial
🔸 Enable Selling to Hoarders: This allows players to sell items to the Hoarder for a small amount of relics/gold. This option is locked behind completing the Act 5
🔸 Enable Mountain at all Inns: This allows players to approach the mountain at any inn they reach, assuming they have a trophy to enter. This option is locked behind completing Act 5
🔸 Increased Chance of Battle Modifiers: Normally Battle Modifiers have an increasing chance to appear later in later regions during a confessions run, this option will try to roll a Battle Modifier at every fight when possible
🔸 Extended Act 1/2: extends Act 1 to be the same length as other Confessions. Requires a Trophy to enter The Mountain, all regions and mini-regions available. Adds Exemplar to both Act 1 and 2 at the end of region 3. Ordainment scales the same as Act 3-5. Requires Act 1 and 2 to be beaten
🔸 Death soawns without Flagellant: makes it so Death can spawn when Flagellant isnt in the party. Same spawn rules as when Flagellant is present. Requires Death to be beaten at least once
Gallery
The Altar of Hope as it appears without any upgrades.
Trivia
- The primary locations in the Altar are references to the Regions in Darkest Dungeon II.
- The Living City: The Sprawl
- The Timeless Wood: The Tangle
- The Intrepid Coast: The Shroud
- The Working Fields: The Foetor
- The Mountain: The Mountain