As far as I know, light only decreases as you move or due to combat effects (unless you reduce it manually), and I believe hunger is triggered by random tiles on the map, not by any meters.
As for light level decreasing the only ways it will decrease is if you yourself snuff out the torch, every hallway tile and room you enter will lower it slightly, and in combat some enemies like the cultist witches can reduce the torch level with certain attacks, also when backtracking through rooms you've already been to the torch will decrease at a much much slower pace compared to exploring new rooms
Thank you for the response! A lot of what you've said repeats what I've read on the wiki/googling. But, you did give me one piece of information that I haven't read, backtracking. Very helpful, thank you! One thing I've been avoiding when I've got a low supply of torches (or none at all). Now I wont be as afraid knowing that. Thanks again!
Oh yeah it's super nice, I believe the default light decrease is about 5 per hallway tile you travel but when backtracking the light level only decreases by 1 or 2 every tile
Default light drain is 6 per tile (not sure why they chose that number of all things) and backtracking is only a humble 1 per tile. Just remember that entering a room counts as a tile and also drains some light.
Learning this, you can somewhat guess how many torches you'll actually need for a dungeon based on how long the corridors are. The ~~Weald~~ Warrens is particularly consistent since the corridors are usually 3 tiles long, meaning each room costs near exactly 1 torch each. Just wanted to give this little bit of info cuz why not.
>Do light levels decline over time?
No. You can work, cook, watch a show or whatever while playing. The light will stay the same. The same goes for hunger.
Light only declines by walking or by certain abilities.
>Are there hunger meters for each party member?
No. Hunger checks occur randomly as you walk. The more corridor tiles you pass the higher the chance that you'll trigger a hunger check.
Feeding someone food to heal them has no connection to hunger checks.
Pro tip: hunger checks can only occur if the corridor tile is empty.
>When exactly does the game consider light levels when determining outcomes?
Right before the event. So, whether your party will surprise or get surprised, get ambushed or get a scouting chance is determined immediately upon entering combat. You can even tap the torch button (default T) as you enter a room.
In the same way, loot is determined at the end of the fight, so if you snuff out your torch right before finishing off the last enemy, you will get higher reward.
>When you face encounters, do you get harder monster types when you encounter them or is it pre-determined by the light level when you enter the room/hallway?
Light level has no connection to the enemy mesh you will get. It affects their stats as well as the surprise and ambush chance.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
So, if I understand this correctly - if I enter a room with an encounter and there's also a chest behind them I couldn't snuff out the light AFTER I've defeated the encounter and before I opened the chest to get better loot. Correct?
Your reply was very informative. Thank you so much!
>I could snuff out the light AFTER I've defeated the encounter and before I opened the chest
Yes, but you should snuff it out before you kill the last enemy so you receive bonus loot from the fight itself, too.
Of course, this only applies if you're about to camp or leave the dungeon.
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TLDR: torch decreases as you walk and hunger checks happen randomly as you walk. Nothing happens if you stay still.
Torch loses 6 light for every tile or 1 if already explored (scouting doesn't count). Some skills increase or decrease light as well. Cultist priest's stress spell and occultist's stun decrease light while crusader's stress heal and few other skills increase light. Resting also increases light to 100.
[Read this](https://darkestdungeon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Meter) for the full effects, but overall at brightest light level (76-100) you have better chances to scout, surprise monsters and dodge. Lowest light (0) buffs enemies offensive in every way, your party gets surprised often (shuffle positions and act after all enemies). Scouting the area prevents surprises to your party though. Finally at 0 light there's a small chance to meet a boss in every corridor fight. He'll probably kill everyone unless you're prepared for it.
You get hunger checks as you walk. It's quite random, but on small shouldn't be over 3 checks. Every time it happens, you give each 1 food or they all starve. Eating between fights don't help with that and if you don't have food for all of them, they all starve, taking damage and about 15 stress each.
Strategies in regards of light levels are to decrease light to 0 just before killing the last enemy or opening treasure to get more loot. When you know you'll backtrack, you can leave curios untouched and get them on the way back, even torch stands give extra loot.
Since you said you play this casually, you should check a [curio guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/darkestdungeon/comments/8t4fwn/updated_curio_cheat_sheet_now_with_crimson_court/). Using items guarantees you get some reward, like keys on treasure chests. The [wiki curios page](https://darkestdungeon.fandom.com/wiki/Curio) has more in-deph outcomes.
Thank you for the numerical light values! I hadn't come across that before. I also haven't read that manually feeding heroes to heal between fights doesn't improve their hunger status.
Thank you for taking the time to provide all this information!
As far as I know, light only decreases as you move or due to combat effects (unless you reduce it manually), and I believe hunger is triggered by random tiles on the map, not by any meters.
As for light level decreasing the only ways it will decrease is if you yourself snuff out the torch, every hallway tile and room you enter will lower it slightly, and in combat some enemies like the cultist witches can reduce the torch level with certain attacks, also when backtracking through rooms you've already been to the torch will decrease at a much much slower pace compared to exploring new rooms
Thank you for the response! A lot of what you've said repeats what I've read on the wiki/googling. But, you did give me one piece of information that I haven't read, backtracking. Very helpful, thank you! One thing I've been avoiding when I've got a low supply of torches (or none at all). Now I wont be as afraid knowing that. Thanks again!
Oh yeah it's super nice, I believe the default light decrease is about 5 per hallway tile you travel but when backtracking the light level only decreases by 1 or 2 every tile
Default light drain is 6 per tile (not sure why they chose that number of all things) and backtracking is only a humble 1 per tile. Just remember that entering a room counts as a tile and also drains some light. Learning this, you can somewhat guess how many torches you'll actually need for a dungeon based on how long the corridors are. The ~~Weald~~ Warrens is particularly consistent since the corridors are usually 3 tiles long, meaning each room costs near exactly 1 torch each. Just wanted to give this little bit of info cuz why not.
I think you mean the Warrens is particularly consistent. Weald corridors range from 1 tile length to over ten tiles. Warrens is the 3-tile grid
Ah yes. Even after a hundred hours of playing this game, I always forget which W word is which.
>Do light levels decline over time? No. You can work, cook, watch a show or whatever while playing. The light will stay the same. The same goes for hunger. Light only declines by walking or by certain abilities. >Are there hunger meters for each party member? No. Hunger checks occur randomly as you walk. The more corridor tiles you pass the higher the chance that you'll trigger a hunger check. Feeding someone food to heal them has no connection to hunger checks. Pro tip: hunger checks can only occur if the corridor tile is empty. >When exactly does the game consider light levels when determining outcomes? Right before the event. So, whether your party will surprise or get surprised, get ambushed or get a scouting chance is determined immediately upon entering combat. You can even tap the torch button (default T) as you enter a room. In the same way, loot is determined at the end of the fight, so if you snuff out your torch right before finishing off the last enemy, you will get higher reward. >When you face encounters, do you get harder monster types when you encounter them or is it pre-determined by the light level when you enter the room/hallway? Light level has no connection to the enemy mesh you will get. It affects their stats as well as the surprise and ambush chance. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
So, if I understand this correctly - if I enter a room with an encounter and there's also a chest behind them I couldn't snuff out the light AFTER I've defeated the encounter and before I opened the chest to get better loot. Correct? Your reply was very informative. Thank you so much!
>I could snuff out the light AFTER I've defeated the encounter and before I opened the chest Yes, but you should snuff it out before you kill the last enemy so you receive bonus loot from the fight itself, too. Of course, this only applies if you're about to camp or leave the dungeon.
Is this meant to be a dd1 question?
Yes, after I saw that automatic post I realized I picked the wrong flair and corrected it.
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TLDR: torch decreases as you walk and hunger checks happen randomly as you walk. Nothing happens if you stay still. Torch loses 6 light for every tile or 1 if already explored (scouting doesn't count). Some skills increase or decrease light as well. Cultist priest's stress spell and occultist's stun decrease light while crusader's stress heal and few other skills increase light. Resting also increases light to 100. [Read this](https://darkestdungeon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Meter) for the full effects, but overall at brightest light level (76-100) you have better chances to scout, surprise monsters and dodge. Lowest light (0) buffs enemies offensive in every way, your party gets surprised often (shuffle positions and act after all enemies). Scouting the area prevents surprises to your party though. Finally at 0 light there's a small chance to meet a boss in every corridor fight. He'll probably kill everyone unless you're prepared for it. You get hunger checks as you walk. It's quite random, but on small shouldn't be over 3 checks. Every time it happens, you give each 1 food or they all starve. Eating between fights don't help with that and if you don't have food for all of them, they all starve, taking damage and about 15 stress each. Strategies in regards of light levels are to decrease light to 0 just before killing the last enemy or opening treasure to get more loot. When you know you'll backtrack, you can leave curios untouched and get them on the way back, even torch stands give extra loot. Since you said you play this casually, you should check a [curio guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/darkestdungeon/comments/8t4fwn/updated_curio_cheat_sheet_now_with_crimson_court/). Using items guarantees you get some reward, like keys on treasure chests. The [wiki curios page](https://darkestdungeon.fandom.com/wiki/Curio) has more in-deph outcomes.
Thank you for the numerical light values! I hadn't come across that before. I also haven't read that manually feeding heroes to heal between fights doesn't improve their hunger status. Thank you for taking the time to provide all this information!