Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Beginner's Guide: Tips and Tricks

Dark Alliance Tips and Tricks

This is a guide for the tips and tricks in Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance. Learn more about the basics of the game to get you started and advanced techniques that you must know that can help your game progression below!

Things to Know First

Choosing Your Character

All Characters
The first step of your Dark Alliance journey is deciding which character to play as. Each one has a different combat style that will cater to different kinds of players.

The best way to figure out what's best for you is to, simply put, just try each one out yourself. There is a practice area at your base camp where you can try out your abilities on a dummy, or you can play the tutorial level if you want real enemies.

Best Character to Choose

Character Attributes

Dark Alliance - Cattie-Brie Stats
Attributes are the core stats or traits of your character. Improving them will make it much easier to defeat your enemies. Make sure to prioritize the attribute that will improve your character the most.

Attributes (Stats) Explanation

Builds For Each Character

Dark Alliance Build Moves
Once you've picked your character, you'll want to make them as strong as possible by unlocking the best feats and purchasing the best moves. While you can also try to equip the best gear for your chosen character, this is a bit difficult since it'll be dependent on RNG drops.

Feats are special buffs that you can unlock using Feat Points that are given when you level up. Feats would include stat bonuses like Increased Damage or Stamina.

Moves can be unlocked any time as long as you have enough gold. They are special attacks your character can use through button combos.

Best Builds Guide

Challenge Ratings

Dark Alliance - Challenge Rating
Before embarking on a quest, you will be prompted to select a Challenge Rating. This lets you choose the difficulty of each level or mission in the game. CR1 or Adventure mode is the best setting for beginners and solo players as other modes are hard to complete even if you have the recommended Combat Power.

However, the higher the Challenge Rating is, the better the rewards. If you want to complete an Act with higher CRs, it would be best to play together with your friends.

Challenge Rating Guide

Using Short Rests

Dark Alliance Short Rest Screen
Throughout a quest, you will encounter Short Rest points after certain combat encounters. Here, you will be given the option to either take a Short Rest, which replenishes your health and useables and gives a new spawn point, or to increase the rarity of the loot that drops. Your choice will be dependent on your situation, but you may lean on the latter option more often.

Short Rest Guide

Check Your Stamina

Dark Alliance Stamina Meter
Stamina in Dark Alliance is especially vital. As usual, it depletes when you do any kind of attack, dodge, or special ability. But another mechanic is that it can also permanently deplete when you do heavy attacks or special abilities. This is signified by a white marker that cuts off a portion of the bar. This does not automatically replenish and you will need to use a potion or a Short Rest.

This mechanic makes conserving stamina properly even more important. Always check your Stamina to know when to attack your enemies, and be mindful of what kind of attack or ability you're going to use on them.

How to Restore Stamina

Merchant Guide

Dark Alliance - Merchant Guide
Once you finish a quest, remember to head to the Merchant so you can manage your newly acquired equipment. Here, you can upgrade them using materials, change their skins to fit your aesthetic, upgrade materials needed for your gear, or upgrade the potions you use during quests.

Keep in mind this is the only time you can do any of these, since once you're on a quest, you'll be stuck with whatever gear you already have.

Merchant Guide

Mechanics and Game Controls

How to Save Progress

Dark Alliance - How to Save your Progress
Dungeon and Dragons: Dark Alliance auto-saves your progress whenever you take a short rest during a mission or when you return to the base camp.

How to Save Your Progress

How to Invite Friends

Dark Alliance How to Invite Friends
Dungeons and Dragons is a game that is best to play with others. Team up with your friends and fight all the vicious monsters here in Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance.

How to Invite Friends

Adjust the Controls

Dark Alliance - Camera Shake
There are two control presets available for combat controls; change them to your liking before taking a mission. Camera Shake can also distract you during combat; it would be best to turn it off.

Controls and Best Settings

How to Improve Lag

Dark Alliance Frame Rate and Lag issues
Sometimes, you'll experience lag when playing the game. Here's how to improve the lag and framerates of Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance.

How to Improve Lag

Equipment and Farming

How to Get Better Equipment

Dark Alliance - How to Get Better Equipment
Here in Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, there's no option to buy better equipment for your character. You can only get them from the large chests you open during a mission and the rewards you receive after completing it.

The large chests you open in higher CRs will give you better equipment; try to find and open as many as possible. If your level's still low, just run past the enemies. If you are not satisfied with the equipment you get from the chests and mission rewards, you can improve them using the upgrade equipment feature.

How to Get Better Gear

How to Upgrade Equipment

Dark Alliance Crystal Guide - Upgrading Gear
You can upgrade your equipment through the merchant you find at the base camp. To upgrade each equipment, you'll be needing a specific amount of materials (Gold and Crystals) depending on the rarity of the equipment.

How to Upgrade Equipment

How to Get Better Loot

Dark Alliance - Collecting Loot from Chests
To get better loot, always increase the loot rarity by not using the Short Rest. Don't worry if your party dies; you won't lose the bonuses or loot that you already obtained in the run. Only take Short Rests when you're at dangerously low health and have no more useables.

How to Get Better Loot

How to Farm Gold

Dark Alliance - Farming for Gold
You can get gold from selling unwanted equipment and from chests and pouches scattered around levels. The obvious way to get more of it is to repeat Acts or Levels with a higher amount of gold as a reward.

But completing some levels is pretty hard. Try repeating the same Act or Level without completing it. Don't worry; you will still have the loot from your previous run. Once you are satisfied with the amount of gold you acquired, collect them all by completing an Act with the easiest difficulty. Now you have more gold!

Gold Farming Guide

How to Farm Crystal

Dark Alliance - Red Crystals
On each level, you'll find Red Crystals all over the place. Destroy all the Red Crystals that you'll encounter to get different rarity of Crystals. You don't need to go near the Crystals to destroy it when your character is Catti-brie; strike it using your bow.

Crystal Farming Guide

Tips in Battle

Mind Your Stamina and Weapon

Dark Alliance Mind Your Stamina and Weapon
There are a lot of things to keep in mind when you are in battle. But the most important here in Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance are your Stamina and Weapon.

All combat actions rely on your Stamina, and its depletion will affect your ability to do well in battle. Also, having the best equipment set for your character will help you. Know the effects of each equipment set and how they can counter your enemies.

Once you know the equipment set you need, focus on getting each piece of equipment on that set instead of looking for other equipment with a higher rarity.

Combat Techniques

Use Parry

Dark Alliance - Parry
Using a parry will deflect your opponent's attack and, at the same time will restore your character's stamina. Using this will also allow you to counterattack and defeat your opponent, as it will break your opponent's ability to block for a few seconds.

How to Parry

Use Empowered Strikes

Dark Alliance - Empowered Strike
Empowered Strikes deal more damage to your enemies for the price of 25% of your Ultimate bar. Utilize Empowered Strikes by using it while you are still waiting for the Ultimate bar to fill up.

How to Use Empowered Strikes

Combo Guide

Dark Alliance - Combo Guide Veteran
You'll learn more moves as you progress through the story, mix and match them to create combos of your own. Performing combos help enhance your damage.

Combo Guide and Bonuses

Improve Your Character

Level Up Your Character

Dark Alliance - Get Attribute and Feat Point from Leveling Up

To level up your character, you need to fill up the experience bar. Every time you fill it up, your level will increase. To fill up the experience bar, you will need to gain experience points. The easiest way to farm for EXP is to play co-op missions.

You can also kill optional bosses but skip optional objectives that require you to collect objects; they will only give crumbs of experience points. You can level up your character up until level 20.

Character Level Cap

How to Get Attributes and Feats

Dark Alliance Feat Structure
Each time your character levels up, you gain an Attribute Point. You will receive Feat Points as well, which you can use in adding passive skills or Feats.

How to Get Attribute and Feat Points

Increase Condition Penetration

Dark Alliance Condition Penetration Do
Conditions are Status Effect that can help you in battle and get you out of tough situations. Increase your Condition Penetration to increase your character's ability and chance to deal Condition damage to enemies.

Condition Penetration and Conditional Resistance

Status Effect

Dark Alliance Silenced
There are several Status Effects available in this game. See the list together with the effect of each status on the guide below.

Status Effects Explanation

Increase Combat Power

Dark Alliance Combat Power
Combat Power determines if your character is ready to tackle an Act or mission with higher CRs. Increase your Combat Power to defeat the enemies in higher CRs easily and get better loots and equipment.

How to Increase Combat Power

Unlock More Abilities

Dark Alliance Unlock More Abilitiess
Abilities are powerful spells that you can use in combat to damage enemies or support your allies. Unlock more abilities to have more options, but make sure to check the pros and cons of each before equipping them.

How to Unlock More Abilities

FAQs

Can You Respec Attribute Points?

Dark Alliance Can You Respec Attribute Points

Unfortunately, you can't respec attribute points for now. Make sure to spend them wisely, double-check the stats that you are upgrading before saving any changes.

Reset Attribute Points

Should You Do Optional Objectives?

Dark Alliance Should You Do Optional Objectives
Optional objectives that require you to collect objects will give you small amount of EXP. With this, it is best to skip them unless it involves killing a boss. Completing this drops loot in addition to bonus experience.

Guide and Rewards

Is There Endgame Content?

Is There Endgame Content
Unfortunately, there is no unlock content after beating Icewind in the final dungeon. Though, you can do other things, like challenging yourself to get the best equipment and more!

What to Do after Beating Icewind

Puzzles

All Puzzle Solutions

Dark alliance - Puzzles
There are a few Shrines and chests that are blocked from the player and will require you to solve some puzzles to get to them! Check out our guide below to find out where to find these puzzles and their solutions!

All Puzzle Locations and Solutions

Lore

All Collectible Lore Objects

Dark Alliance All Tome Locations - Questions of Our Installations and Our Patrons.jpg

To better understand the story of Dark Alliance, there are Lore Objects hidden throughout the game. Find all 118 Lore Objects to piece together the story of Dark Alliance. Check out our guides below to know the locations of each Lore Object!

All Lore Objects
Paintings Tablets
Tomes Reliefs

Dark Alliance Related Links

Dark Alliance Top Page

All Categories
Dark Alliance Top Image 05.pngNews and Game Info Dark Alliance Quest Walkthrough.jpgQuest Walkthroughs
Dark Alliance Companions.jpegCharacters Dark Alliance Best Builds.jpgBest Builds
Dark Alliance Feats and Move Trees.jpegFeats and Move Trees Dark Alliance List of Equipment.jpegEquipment
Dark Alliance Tips and Tricks.jpgTips and Tricks Dark Alliance List of EnemiesEnemies
Dark Alliance Bosses.jpegBosses Dark Alliance UseablesUseables
Dark Alliance TrophiesTrophies Dark Alliance Discussion.pngMessage Boards

Author

    Walkthrough Menu

    Rankings

    All rights reserved