Plague Outbreaks, Explained for No Rest for the Wicked
While No Rest for the Wicked has an entire story to tell, it doesn’t shy away from giving players stuff to do on the side. After you beat the game’s final story quest, major changes will unfold around Isola Sacra. This officially marks the beginning of the endgame stage, and there’s going to be even more fighting involved from hereon out.
Just because you beat the last quest, doesn’t mean that your time with No Rest for the Wicked is over. If you still want to explore Sacrament’s territory, there’s still quite a few things you can do.
No Rest for the Wicked: Together – Official Co-op Update Trailer
No Rest for the Wicked shows off its upcoming 4-player co-op update, letting groups of players take on the action RPG together.
No Rest for the Wicked is still in early access as of writing this guide, and some things may change once the game is fully released.
How Do Pestilence Outbreaks Work in No Rest for the Wicked?
The first thing you’ll notice after beating the campaign is that some areas of the map are now covered in a vile, purple fog. This means that the area has an ongoing Pestilence Outbreak. In these zones, monsters are more plentiful and often more dangerous, but to compensate, they’ll drop better loot, including exclusive Pestilence Outbreak materials.
Whenever you defeat an enemy in one of these zones, the overall Pestilence Outbreak bar at the bottom of your screen will decrease. Once you beat all (or enough) monsters in the zone, a special Pestilence Outbreak boss will appear. You can find it by opening your map and looking for a skull icon. Beat the boss to end the Pestilence Outbreak and get even more rewards, including rare weapons and armor. You don’t necessarily have to be max level to fight here, but the extra stats will help a lot.
When Do Pestilence Outbreaks Appear?
Pestilence will cover one of the game’s zones at random times, usually within 24 hours since the last outbreak. However, you can force an outbreak to start by burning a Torn Effigy at a campfire. You can also force an outbreak to end by doing the same thing.
World Difficulty Level
One new feature that becomes available to players during Pestilence Outbreak events is the ability to raise the world difficulty. This can only be done within Pestilence Outbreak zones, and only these zones are affected as well.
To increase the difficulty of a Pestilence zone, head to any campfire, then select the Burn option. Here, you can choose to burn any item in your inventory. Sacrifice enough stuff, and the Corruption level will increase — the higher the level, the more rewards you’ll get once you successfully clear the Pestilence.
Every Corruption level adds a new enemy modifier to that zone, and they will significantly increase the difficulty. Such modifiers include:
- Enemies regenerate Health
- Players lose Focus when hit
- Enemies attack faster
- Enemies take reduced damage when on high health
Pestilence Outbreak Rewards
Monsters in Pestilence Outbreak zones seem to have a higher chance of dropping equipment compared to those in non-Pestilence zones. If you want to get a rare weapon or armor that you haven’t unlocked for manual crafting yet, then you can try your luck here.
More importantly, Pestilence Outbreak monsters drop the upgrade materials you need for Exaltation.
How Does Exaltation Work in No Rest for the Wicked?
Exaltation is an upgrade mechanic that pushes the stats on your gear to their limits. As of the game’s co-op update, this feature is only available for players who have beaten the campaign and reached the Pestilence Outbreak stage.
You can only Exalt an item that has reached it’s maximum potential, which means it must meet the following conditions:
- The item must be fully upgraded
- The item must have either all gem slots or enchantment slots filled
Exalting an item increases one of its gems’ or enchantments’ power values by 50%. The game will randomly upgrade one of your item’s attributes whenever you Exalt it, and the same attribute can be Exalted more than once.
Exalting items also requires materials that drop from monsters inside Pestilence zones, including:
- Torn Husk
- Torn Marrow
- Torn Sinew
A full set of Exalted gear will dramatically increase your power, making even the simplest builds in No Rest for the Wicked absurdly strong. However, the road to get there will be hard, as you’ll be facing stronger variants of enemies and bosses in outbreak zones.
The Crucible
Despite being available early during a No Rest for the Wicked playthrough, the Crucible is much better suited as an endgame activity where players can push the limits of their builds.
For those who don’t know, the Crucible is a roguelike mode that sends players through 10 combat arenas. All you need to do is clear each arena of enemies, then beat the boss waiting for you at the end. This is easier said than done, though, as one small mistake can spell the end of your run.
Like in most other roguelike games, players will get access to temporary power-ups during their Crucible runs. These range from perks that boost your basic stats, to ones that can make enemies explode on death or call lightning down on your targets when you hit them.
Crucible Rewards
While you won’t get as much XP or loot drops inside the Crucible, you’re guaranteed to get three chests’ worth of loot every time you reach the sixth floor. Additionally, beating the boss at the end has a chance to give you Unique weapons. Crucible runs are great if you really want to get a specific weapon, or if you’re just looking for something new to play around with.
The Seneschal
When you reach the sixth floor, you’ll meet the Seneschal, a giant, non-hostile monster that provides a number of services. You can unlock more of the Seneschal’s services by giving them Gloamseeds, which you get by clearing Crucible floors.
The Seneschal’s services extend to more than just helpful perks for Crucible runs. One upgrade turns them into a vendor, while another lets them repair your gear. Make sure to check out all of the Seneschal’s upgrades and services. You never know which one of them could prove invaluable to your current run.