Darkest Dungeon: Color Of Madness DLC Refracted Affliction Guide

Surviving the perils of Darkest Dungeon requires making the best of a very bad situation, which means dealing with afflicted heroes who have gone mad or suffered debilitating physical maladies.

With the Lovecraftian “Color Of Madness” DLC, your soon-to-be-dead adventurers will get lost in time and space, gaining terrible new afflictions like the insidious Refracted effect!

This affliction isn’t explained very well with in-game text, however, so we’ve got a full breakdown of how you get it, how it works, and how it can be removed.

Looking for info on how to take out the trio of deadly bosses brought down from the stars instead? Check out the full breakdown on how to beat all three new Color Of Madness bosses here.

What is Refracted Affliction?

Refracted is a new affliction in Darkest Dungeon that can land randomly when a hero hits 100 or 200 stress. It can affect any character who has traveled to the Farmstead or played in the Endless mode. It will also sometimes land when dying in Endless mode, leaving the character Refracted rather than actually dead.

This new affliction seems to occur more often when fighting the extra “Color Of Madness” bosses like the Miller, Thing From The Stars, or the Sleeper. You will unlock The Blinders Are Lifted achievement for gaining the Refracted affliction the first time, so it’s not all bad!

Refracted has an effect on the hero both in the current dungeon and when you return to the Hamlet. During the current quest, a Refracted character is phased out of space, so they can attack enemies in stealth, although it won’t actually break the stealth buff. 

This effect can be modified with some of the DLC’s new trinkets by spending shards instead of money. At first, this makes it seem like Refracted is more of a positive quirk than a negative affliction since it can actually be helpful in some situations.

As with any other malady, a Refracted character will randomly say insane things during battle, potentially leading to larger stress gains for the rest of the heroes, so be ready with stress healing skills and camping abilities.

When you leave your current area, any affected character will remain in your hero roster but be unavailable to perform any actions in the Hamlet or go on any quests for a for a week. Don’t forget that the Endless mode twists time, so the calendar doesn’t progress!

If you finish your current quest or retreat to a safe room (not during battle) with a Refracted character, you get the option to return all their trinkets to your inventory so they will be available for other characters while the affected character is out. Otherwise, their trinkets go with them and will be locked out for the duration of the character’s missing time.

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Now that you’re done being refracted through the angles of time, are you still looking for more help with this devilishly difficulty dungeon crawler? Check out our other Darkest Dungeon guides here:

• Complete Color Of Madness Boss Guide
• The Best 8 Quirks for a Maddening Run
• Top 11 Darkest Dungeon Mods You Need to Download
• How to Complete the Wolves At The Door Quest
• Darkest Dungeon Provisioning Guide
• How to Beat the Crocodilian