Courtyard

The Courtyard is similar to the unique dungeons presented in other parts of the game, such as the Darkest Dungeon and the Vvulf Dungeon. As you progress through the Courtyard, more and more will be revealed through preset scouting, and if you do not know where you are going it is easy to become lost looking for the way forward.

Don't be fooled by the early appearance of the Courtyard. While its first quest is a short Novice-tier one, it serves as the introduction to the area, hosting deadly recurring enemies that will push your team to the limit and easily kill any weak heroes sent to the place. It's best to hold off on tackling this first quest only with a team of Resolve Level 2 heroes, even if it means dealing with a recurring town event that drowns out almost all other events.

Completing the introduction will unlock a series of unique Epic-length quests that form the main quest line in the Courtyard; these dungeons are extremely long, with dozens of rooms and corridors in a labyrinthine layout, and locked doors that require keys to open. Epic quests have a number of unique mechanics detailed in the section below. In addition to the Epic quests, there are also (more or less) normal quests that will allow the party to gather more vials of The Blood.

Because of the extreme prevalence of Bloodsucker type enemies, be prepared for any party member that goes inside to become inflicted with the Crimson Curse, if they haven't already. Bringing a reserve of The Blood is therefore a necessity, not only for Curios, but to assuage your heroes' cravings. While The Blood may be dropped by Bloodsuckers, it is not enough to sustain them for the long term, although abuse of Curios such as Throbbing Cocoons can force combat with Bloodsuckers. Also note that non-human wandering enemies may also be found within the Courtyard but will not drop The Blood.

Another threat the party faces is constant stress. For each square you travel through the Courtyard's winding corridors, one random hero will always receive 1 Stress point. This may not seem like much compared to the normal rate, but it can quickly accumulate over a long expedition. Add that to the constant stress damage dealt by many Bloodsuckers, and stress can quickly build out of control, something that can be catastrophic when facing the minibosses, or the bosses proper, inside the Courtyard.

The lighting in the Courtyard is a unique, static "Bloodlight" state that lowers Bleed resistance and raises Stress gain. It is considered above 75%, so make use of Trinkets or Quirks that benefit from these conditions. Be aware that nighttime ambushes can still happen if you choose to camp, though they will play out under Bloodlight conditions like the other random encounters.

Because of the sheer length of an Epic mission, the party will allowed to leave with no penalty: heroes will not receive Stress for leaving, and may in future weeks resume the quest from the same place where they left. A week will still pass, however, and the party will not recover any rewards aside from whatever is in the inventory.

Note that starting or resuming an Epic quest will consume one Invitation; one is given for free upon the completion of the previous quest, and additional Invitations will be dropped by Gatekeepers that randomly appear in other dungeons.

You never begin an Epic quest with Firewood in tow; instead, you will have to interact with certain curios to gain Firewood for camping.

Unlike other quests, in Epic quests the layout of rooms and hallways is not revealed upon entering the dungeon. Instead, entering a room will also reveal adjacent rooms and hallways. These rooms are hallway tiles are still masked by default, and Scouting is required to reveal any tile information (traps, combat, curios, etc...). A critical scout will reveal information up to two rooms ahead, and can reveal a Secret Room which holds an imprisoned hero. If you find and free a prisoner, they will appear in your Stagecoach the moment you return to the Hamlet; this is your only opportunity to recruit them, or they will leave for good.

• Holy Water may be used on Damned Fountains for significant stress relief. Holy Water's disease resist buff also works in protecting against the Crimson Curse.
• Torches have no effect on light, but will boost your accuracy for the duration of one battle when used, and may also be used on Throbbing Cocoons and Thronging Hives to reduce stress and gain treasure, respectively. They are also required to clear the Shifting Mist obstacle. One stack of Torches should suffice for a typical venture in the Courtyard.
• Bandages are continually useful as many bloodsuckers cause bleeding, and heroes with the Crimson Curse have lowered bleed resistance even while in Bloodlust. Bandages can also be used to clean the Pile of Strange Bones curio.
• Antivenom is less important than Bandages. There are essentially no curios which benefit from Antivenom, but it can still prove useful against the spiders, Carrion Eaters, and Supplicants who routinely cause blight.
• The Blood may be given to Hooded Shrews and Wizened Shrews, which will grant trinkets, but much more importantly will be needed for infected heroes.
• Shovels are used for clearing Crumbling Pillar obstacles, as well as for obtaining loot from numerous curios such as Bloodflowers and the Disturbing Diversion. In particular, it may be used on a Wine Crate curio to gain Firewood for camping, the only method of obtaining Firewood in the Courtyard.
• Medicinal Herbs may be used on Forgotten Delicacies curios to obtain extra food supplies.
• Do not bring Skeleton Keys, as using them on a chest will replace the trinkets contained within with random loot.

The Bloodsucker type-enemies that infest the Courtyard are vulnerable to Bleed and resistant to Blight. Many also have strong defenses against stun while others are weak against stun (especially Sycophant and Chevalier). If a Bloodsucker is able to wound a party member with the attack "The Thirst", they will mutate into a second form with a different move set. Kills need to be quick as they will quickly heal themselves with "The Thirst" (and they tend to use it only when they lose some HP).

Bloodsuckers often have many ways to inflict Bleed on your party, but in turn are more vulnerable to Bleed than Blight. Bleed-inducing heroes like the Flagellant, Jester, Houndmaster, Hellion and Highwayman shine here, especially against high-PROT targets. A Plague Doctor can also function here by inflicting Bleed with her Incision skill and removing Bleed with Battlefield Medicine.

Because of the length of dungeon runs you want your teams to be self-sufficient with healing and Stress relief. Thus, the Jester, Houndmaster and Flagellant are good choices to bring for this purpose. For example, the Flagellant could move the party's stress onto himself with Endure while the Jester is also removing stress from the Flagellant with Inspiring Tune. This strategy is enough to hold an entire Courtyard quest.

The Occultist's Hands of the Abyss can be used completely without penalty in the Courtyard, since Bloodlight fixes the light level at 100. Note that Bloodlight will also make the bleed chance from Wyrd Reconstruction slightly greater (+10%), so (as in all the other dungeons), it is recommended to supplement him with a more reliable healer.

The Fanatic, despite being known for hunting down parties with the Crimson Curse, will never appear in the Courtyard, so you can bring a team full of infected heroes without fear of him appearing.

• Crocodilian - A powerful mini-boss with extremely high damage, health, and mobility. First encountered in the first Courtyard mission, then later on as a miniboss in later missions, a low-level party can be in trouble when facing this creature. Vulnerable to stun, but on Champion difficulty clears Bleed and Blight with its Submerge ability.
• Trap - Courtyard traps either inflict a high amount of damage or spawn enemies.
• A Secret Door can spawn inside this area. Within it, you can find a randomly generated leveled hero who can be rescued by clicking on them. Upon returning to the Hamlet, the hero will be available at the Stage Coach.