Red Hook Studio warned that the update 'is a wholesale rework of the fundamental underpinnings of Darkest Dungeon 2’s metagame & progression,' and that all current hope scores will be reset, meaning that unlocked items and heroes, and any in-progress expeditions, will be wiped.

The Altar of Hope update is live today on the Darkest Dungeon 2 experimental branch on the Epic Games Store, so you'll need to be opted in to that if you want to give it a look. Not very practical, perhaps, but a nice touch. The Altar of Hope confers one other benefit to players in their battle against creeping evil: As candles are invested into it, the view of the Kingdom will gradually be restored to what it once was. These characteristics will persist until the hero's death.' 'Plus, heroes who survive a final boss battle can now have an additional Memory invested.

'While their Mastery level will be reset, surviving heroes will also keep their Hero Path, quirks, and name,' Red Hook explained.

Those lives aren't always especially long, but heroes who can stick around through the showdown with the final boss will keep their memories, making them even more powerful. The last category is different from the first three because it's not permanent: Memories are powerful but only last for the life of that specific hero.

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