Darkest Dungeon Curio Guide - Curios Interactions Cheat Sheet - Games Finder (2024)

Last Updated on December 20, 2023 by Samuel Franklin

This Darkest Dungeon curio guide is your curios cheat sheet of all interactions to remove the unknown factor and help you determine whether or not to trigger them during a hero expedition. Given curio can bestow a wealth of positive effects with a specific provision or seriously harm your heroes knowing the right opportunities to interact with them is pivotal to your long term survival and progression.

While you can memorise these interactions and Darkest Dungeon reveals the effect of provisions on curio once discovered having a curios sheet like this will assist with that initial discovery and importantly help you understand the risks if you lack the required provision. This interactions chart is split into different sections for each game location, includes all curio and provides clear explanations of each potential outcome. In this curio guide I also explore the mechanics of curios in Darkest Dungeon and my personal recommendations for when to activate them without a provision based on my own experiences of overcoming the Bloodmoon difficulty.

Table of Contents:
– Curio Overview
– Common Dungeon Curios
– Ruin Dungeon Curios
– Warren Dungeon Curios
– Weald Dungeon Curios
– Cove Dungeon Curios
– Courtyard Dungeon Curios (DLC)
– Farmstead Dungeon Curios (DLC)
– Unique Dungeon Curios

Darkest Dungeon Curio Overview

Curio come in a range of forms and are interactable objects of curious nature that players encounter while on an expedition within rooms and hallways. These include strange altars, library books, fountains, chests, piles of bones and everything in between that has been left behind by past adventurers or part of the scenario environment. The expedition location you select will impact on the curios you encounter which are randomly spawned although some general ones can be found across all locations. Players have the decision to interact with these curio or not and can select provisions from their inventory that may cleanse the curio for an added bonus. If players select the incorrect provision for a curio it will have no effect and once you have discovered the correct provision it will show an icon in your inventory when interacting with that curio underneath that item. For example the gold icon is shown underneath the shovel in the screenshot below for the shallow grave curio while other provisions show only a question mark.

Most curios can have their outcomes improved by selecting the applicable provision which encourages players to bring specific provisions on their expedition within their limited inventory space. Players also need to be careful of negative hero quirks that may force heroes to activate the curio automatically when in range with certain quirks triggering specific curios. This is particularly dangerous as it removes the option to select an item for the cleansed effect and some of these negative quirks result in complete loss of the items as they are stolen by the recruited Darkest Dungeon hero.

Players should always opt for the cleansed reward if you have the provision available although where you lack the particular provision it will be a judgement call. Given every Darkest Dungeon expedition is different I recommend based on my experience that players consider the following when deciding to interact with a non-cleansed curio:

• How likely the negative outcomes are compared to any positive outcomes.
• The strength of any potential positive outcomes and if the benefit outweighs the potential risk of negative outcomes.
• How permanent the negative outcomes are, for example a negative quirk can be expensive to remove and is more disruptive compared to a bleed or blight status.
• The current status of your expedition and heroes including the expected length remaining, goal of the expedition, health and stress levels.

Darkest Dungeon Curio Guide & Interactions Cheat Sheet Chart

The below section details the interactions you can make with each curio and are presented with the following information for each expedition type. Note that the loot reward is a generic term that includes any lootable item such as gold, gems, food, heirlooms and in some rare cases trinkets.

• Curio: The name and image of the curio.
• Provision To Cleanse: The provision(s) required to activate the cleansed reward.
• Cleansed Reward: The reward for cleansing the curio with one of the required provisions.
• Non-Cleansed Reward: The reward if players do not use a provision with the percentage chance of each outcome.

Common Dungeon Curios

These common curios can spawn regardless of your Darkest Dungeon location with these generally having limited cleansing provision requirements and fairly reasonable non-cleansed rewards.

Curio	Provision To Cleanse	Cleansed Reward	Non-Cleansed Reward
Crate	N/A	N/A	Heirloom (75%) Nothing (25%)
Discarded Pack	N/A	N/A	Loot (60%) Scouting (20%) Nothing (20%)
Eldritch Altar	Holy Water	Remove negative quirk	+25 Stress (40%) Remove negative quirk (10%) Nothing (50%)
Heirloom Chest	Skeleton Key	Heirloom	Heirloom (75%) Bleed (12.5%) Blight (12.5%)
Sack	N/A	N/A	Loot (75%) Nothing (25%)
Sconce	N/A	N/A	Torch (100%)
Shambler’s Altar	Torch	Summon Shambler	Nothing (100%)
Stack of Books	Torch	+100 Stress	+25 Stress (22.2%) Positive quirk (22.2%) Negative quirk (11.1%) -25 Light (11.1%) Journal entry (16.7%) Nothing (16.7%)
Unlocked Strongbox	N/A	N/A	Loot (75%) Blight (25%)

Ruin Dungeon Curios

These curios only appear when adventuring in the ruins with holy water, skeleton keys and shovels being a recurring theme for cleansing.

Curio	Provision To Cleanse	Cleansed Reward	Non-Cleansed Reward
Alchemy Table	Torch Medicinal Herbs	100 Light Loot	Blight (50%) Loot (25%) Nothing (25%)
Altar of Light	Holy Water	+30% damage until camp	+20 damage until camp
Bookshelf	N/A	N/A	Scouting (20%) +15 Stress (20%)
Confession Booth	Holy Water	-30 Stress	+15 Stress (50%) Loot (25%) Remove negative quirk (25%)
Decorative Urn	Holy Water Shovel	Loot Negative quirk ‘Guilty Conscience’	Loot (44.4%) Blight (22.2%) Disease ‘Creeping Cough’ (7.4%) Random disease (3.7%) Nothing (22.2%)
Holy Fountain	Holy Water	-20 Stress, cure status effects and +12 HP heal	-10 Stress, cure status effects and +5 HP heal (50%) Loot (50%)
Iron Maiden	Medicinal Herbs	Loot	Loot (40%) Negative quirk ‘Claustrophobia’ (20%) Disease ‘Tetanus’ (66.7%) Random disease (6.7%) Nothing (20%)
Locked Display Cabinet	Skeleton Key Shovel	Loot Loot	Bleed (50%) Blight (50%)
Locked Sarcophagus	Skeleton Key Shovel	Loot Loot	Bleed (50%) Blight (50%)
Sarcophagus	N/A	N/A	Loot (60%) Negative quirk ‘Thanatophobia’ (20%) Nothing (20%)
Suit of Armor	N/A	N/A	+15% Protection and +10 dodge until camp (75%) Positive quirk ‘Ruins Adventurer’ (12.5%) Positive quirk ‘Ruins Tactician’ (12.5%)

Warren Dungeon Curios

These curios only appear when adventuring in the warrens with holy water and medicinal herbs being a recurring theme for cleansing.

Curio	Provision To Cleanse	Cleansed Reward	Non-Cleansed Reward
Bone Altar	N/A	N/A	+15% Damage, +10 accuracy and 5% critical until camp
Dinner Cart	Medicinal Herbs	Loot	Loot (37.5%) Blight (25%) Disease ‘Black Plague’ (12.5%) Nothing (20%)
Makeshift Dining Table	Medicinal Herbs	Loot	Loot (25%) Blight (25%) Disease ‘Tapeworm’ (25%) Nothing (25%)
Moonshine Barrel	Medicinal Herbs	+30% Damage until camp	Loot (33.3%) Blight (33.3%) Negative quirk ‘Tippler’ (11.1%) Nothing (22.2%)
Occult Scrawlings	Holy Water	-20% Dodge	Random positive quirk (33.3%) +25 Stress (25%) Random negative quirk (16.7%) Nothing (25%)
Pile of Bones	Holy Water	Loot	Loot (25%) Random disease (25%) Negative quirk ‘Bloodthirsty’ (25%)
Pile of Scrolls	Torch	Remove negative quirk	Scout (26.8%) +15 Stress (14.3%) Journal entry (14.3%) Random positive quirk (9.5%) Random negative quirk (4.8%) Nothing (28.6%)
Rack of Blades	Bandage	Loot	Loot (40%) Bleed (40%) Nothing (20%)
Sacrificial Stone	N/A	N/A	+50 Stress (50%) Remove negative quirk (25%) Positive quirk ‘Warrens Explorer’ (12.5%) Positive quirk ‘Warrens Scrounger’ (12.5%)

Weald Dungeon Curios

These curios only appear when adventuring in the wealds with holy water, antivenom and bandages being a recurring theme for cleansing.

Curio	Provision To Cleanse	Cleansed Reward	Non-Cleansed Reward
Ancient Coffin	N/A	N/A	Loot (50%) Positive quirk ‘Weald Adventurer’ (8.3%) Positive quirk ‘Weald Explorer’ (8.3%) Nothing (33%)
Beast Carcass	Medicinal Herbs	Loot	Loot (42.9%) Disease ‘Rabies’ (25%) Random disease (19%) Negative quirk ‘Zoophobia’ (14.3%) Nothing (14.3%)
Eerie Spiderweb	Bandage	Loot	Loot (40%) Negative quirk ‘Slow Reflexes’ (10%) Negative quirk ‘Slowdraw’ (10%) Nothing (40%)
Left Luggage	Skeleton Key Antivenom	Loot Loot	Loot (50%) Blight (50%)
Mummified Remains	Bandage	Loot	Loot (40%) Blight (40%) Nothing (20%)
Old Tree	Antivenom	Loot	Loot (50%) Blight (25%) Nothing (25%)
Pristine Fountain	Holy Water	-30 Stress	-20 Stress (100%)
Shallow Grave	Shovel	Loot	Blight (50%) Random disease (50%)
Traveller’s Tent	N/A	N/A	Loot (37.5%) Scout (37.5%) +25 Stress (12.5%) Nothing (12.5%)
Troubling Effigy	Holy Water	Random positive quirk	Random positive quirk (18.8%) Random negative quirk (18.8%) Bleed (18.8%) Blight (9.4%) +15 Stress (9.4%) Nothing (25%)

Cove Dungeon Curios

These curios only appear when adventuring in the coves with medicinal herbs and shovels being a recurring theme for cleansing.

Curio	Provision To Cleanse	Cleansed Reward	Non-Cleansed Reward
Barnacle Crusted Chest	Shovel	Loot	Loot (50%) Bleed (25%) Nothing (25%)
Bas-Relief	Shovel	+100 Stress	Random positive quirk (66.7%) Random negative quirk (33.3%)
Brackish Tide Pool	Antivenom	+5 HP heal (50%) -6 Stress (50%)	+33% Debuff resistances (75%) Random disease (25%)
Eerie Coral	Medicinal Herbs	Remove negative quirk	-10 Stress (50%) +25 Stress (25%) Nothing (25%)
Fish Idol	Holy Water	+18% Damage until camp	-25% Damage and -10 accuracy until camp (50%) -12 Dodge until camp (50%)
Fish Carcass	Medicinal Herbs	Loot	Loot (16.7%) Disease ‘Red Plague’ (16.7%) Blight (11.1%) Bleed (5.6%) Nothing (50%)
Giant Oyster	Shovel Dog Treats	Loot +25 Dodge	Loot (40%) Bleed (40%) Nothing (20%)
Ship’s Figurehead	N/A	N/A	-25-30 Stress (66.7%) +20% Damage and 4 speed until camp (33.3%)

Courtyard Dungeon Curios (Crimson Court DLC)

These curios only appear when adventuring in the courtyard with the blood, holy water, torches and shovels being a recurring theme for cleansing.

Curio	Provision To Cleanse	Cleansed Reward	Non-Cleansed Reward
Bloodflowers	The Blood Holy Water Shovel	Nothing +15 Stress Loot	+15 Stress (38.5%) Scout (23.1%) Loot (15.3%) Disease ‘Tetanus’ (5.3%) Random disease (2.5%) Nothing (15.3%)
Damned Fountain	Holy Water Torch	-30 Stress +5 Stress	Bleed (60%) Disease ‘Crimson Curse’ (20%) Loot (20%)
Disturbing Diversion	Shovel	Loot	+25 Stress (40%) Random positive quirk (15%) Random negative quirk (15%) Loot (10%) Nothing (20%)
Forgotten Delicacies	Medicinal Herbs	Loot	Loot (20%) Negative quirk ‘Stress Eater’ (20%) Blight (20%) Disease ‘Crimson Curse’ (13.3%) Random disease (6.7%) Nothing (20%)
Hooded Shrew	The Blood	Loot	+15 Stress (42.8%) Loot (28.5%) Random disease (7.6% Nothing (14.2%)
Wizened Shrew	The Blood	Loot	Random disease (7.6%) Scout (50%) Nothing (58.3%)
Pile of Strange Bones	Bandage The Blood	Loot (50%) / The Blood (50%) Summon a Supplicant, Sycophant and Esquire	Bleed (50%) Loot (20%) Disease ‘Crimson Curse’ (10%) Nothing (20%)
Throbbing Cocoons	Torch	-30 Stress (Courtyard only)	Summon a Supplicant, Sycophant and Esquire (75%) Loot (12.5%) Nothing (12.5%)
Thronging Hive	Torch	Loot	Loot (75%) Blood (25%)
Wine Crate	Antivenom Shovel	-30 Stress Firewood	Loot (41.7%) Negative quirk ‘Tippler’ (16.7%) Disease ‘Crimson Curse’ (16.7%) Scout (8.3%) Bleed (8.3%) Nothing (8.3%)

Farmstead Dungeon Curios (Colour of Madness DLC)

These curios only appear when adventuring in the farmstead with only the skeleton key used for cleansing.

Curio	Provision To Cleanse	Cleansed Reward	Non-Cleansed Reward
Gleaming Shards	N/A	N/A	Shards
Fresh Harvest	N/A	N/A	+90% HP heal
Stockpile	Skeleton Key	Loot	Loot (66%) Nothing (33%)
Rotted Fare	N/A	N/A	-100 Stress
Miller’s Hearth	N/A	N/A	Activate camping
Corrupted Harvest	N/A	N/A	-60 Stress (party)
Plentiful Bounty	N/A	N/A	+65% HP heal (party)
Mildred	N/A	N/A	Mildred’s Locket trinket or trinket/shards after initial encounter

Unique Dungeon Curios

These curios only appear during unique situations with only the skeleton key used for cleansing.