• Guide

How Shadow Curse works in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2

One foot in the light, one foot in the dark. Let's take a look at the Shadow Curse.

Aidan O'Brien

January 31, 2025 4:47 AM

Crackshell

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While you are exploring the world of Heroes of Hammerwatch 2, you might run into a ghostly figure, seeming made of swirling shadows, lurking in the dark in some levels. This strange being will offer you objects, seemingly of great power. Sadly, such deals with the weird entity have a downside, and you will need to be aware of the impact of the Shadow Curse.

What is the Shadow Curse in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2?

In New Game + runs, you can be afflicted with Shadow Curse by taking damage from certain enemy ranged attacks. This curse will stack, and will remove five armor and elemental resistance per stack, making it extremely impactful. To check if you are badly impacted by Shadow Curse, open your character sheet by hitting the menu button on the controller or the "I" button on PC, then check the Effects tab.

It is possible to eat certain foods in the Tavern before a run, such as the Bishop's Blessed Bread, which will reduce the build-up of the curse, get a Blessing from the Church, and you can also use Pyres in the Dark Citadel, which will remove some of the curse for you. They seem to remove a maximum of eight stacks when used.

In your village, you can build a Pyre and upgrade it over time, which will also reduce the amount of Shadow Curse you have been inflicted with. Possibly the best way to deal with Shadow Curse is through the Enchanter. Once you have added the Enchanter to your village, you can find a blueprint while playing the game called Zeal. 

Zeal will give your gear a -10% Shadow Curse stat, which can then be stacked with all the other options to get you into a negative value, which means you cannot be afflicted by Shadow Curse.

Aidan O'Brien

Contributing Guides Editor

Hailing from Ireland, Aidan has been conditioned by local weather conditions to survive hours at his PC grinding through whatever game is offering the lowest possible drop rates for loot. He thinks the easiest way to figure out what fans of games want to read is to just be a fan of games. You can normally find him logged into Warframe, Destiny, or a gacha game. You can reach out to him on X @scannerbarkly.