Darkest Dungeon Mod Manager: Setup, Load Order & Fixes

To open the Darkest Dungeon Mod Manager, select the coming_in_hot Steam beta, let the update finish, then choose the manager when pressing Play. Back up your saves first. If a mod is missing, check its project.xml; if the manager reports conflicts, investigate the affected mods before changing a working campaign.

If the manager will not open, start with the branch and launcher steps. Once it opens, use the missing-mod checks for absent entries and the conflict sections for warnings or crashes. Red Hook’s September 15 announcement describes this as a Steam test release; sources were checked October 18, 2026.

Back up the campaign before changing anything

Close the game and copy your save folder to a separate location. On a typical Windows Steam installation, look under Steam/userdata/YOUR_STEAM_ID/262060; a custom Steam installation can be elsewhere. Copy the folder, not just a shortcut. Also keep a screenshot or written list of the enabled mods and their order.

Use a separate test campaign for diagnosis. Removing a class, item, or overhaul mod from a campaign that depends on it can introduce a second problem. Keep the original save and working mod list together so you can return to a known state.

Enable coming_in_hot and find the launcher

1. In your Steam Library, open Darkest Dungeon’s Properties → Betas and select coming_in_hot. Wait for Steam to finish updating.
2. Press Play and choose Mod Manager if Steam offers the launch choices. The official announcement also places its executable in the game’s installation root; use Steam’s Installed Files → Browse to find that folder.
3. Review the mod list before launching your campaign. Start with a test save and the mods you actually intend to use.

If the launch choice is absent, check the selected branch and completed download first. The announcement describes an executable and Steam support; it does not supply a native macOS or Linux installation procedure. Avoid copying a Windows executable path into those platforms as a purported fix.

Set load order around dependencies

Use this planning sequence: identify an overhaul or framework, read each add-on’s requirements, then follow the authors’ placement instructions for compatibility patches. Check which files the reported conflict concerns before deciding whether the overlap is intentional.

Our diagnostic recommendation: change one relationship at a time and record the result. If two mods both replace a hero’s skills, first decide which version you want; reordering cannot combine two incompatible skill designs. If a patch supports both mods, use the versions and order specified by its author. There is no useful universal order for every mod collection.

A subscribed mod is missing from the list

First confirm Steam has finished downloading the Workshop item and that it belongs to the original Darkest Dungeon. If it is present on disk but absent from the manager, inspect its project.xml and the author’s installation instructions.

Red Hook identifies missing or incomplete project metadata as a reason older mods are not recognized. Repeatedly changing load order cannot repair an entry the manager has not recognized. Check for an updated release or ask the author about manager support; do not invent a replacement XML file for a campaign you care about.

Conflict warnings appear, but the game still runs

A warning is a prompt to inspect an overlap, not proof that the modpack is broken. The launch announcement specifically notes false positives in large collections. Two mods may touch the same file intentionally, especially when one is a compatibility patch.

If the affected feature works in a test campaign, record the warning and continue checking that feature. If the game crashes, preserve the log and compare it with the manager’s reported overlap. Do not remove every flagged mod at once: that destroys the evidence needed to identify which change mattered.

The game crashes after a mod change

Return to your recorded working configuration on the test campaign, then reintroduce the changed mod with its required dependencies. Check whether the crash occurs at launch, when loading the save, or when using a specific class, skill, or item. Those are different reproduction steps.

For a report an author can act on, include the game branch, operating system, mod names and versions, load order, crash log, and the shortest repeatable trigger. This sequence is editorial troubleshooting guidance, not a claim that we reproduced your particular crash.

Return to the classic mod menu

Red Hook says the classic in-game menu remains usable; you do not have to adopt the new manager merely to keep playing. Preserve your current list before switching how you manage it. To leave the Steam test branch, select None in Betas and let Steam restore the public files; this changes the game files, not the contents of your backup.

Switching branches is not a repair for missing mod metadata. If the old configuration worked, restore that configuration and verify it with the preserved save before resuming a long campaign.

Sources and next steps

Feature availability and known recognition/conflict limitations come from Red Hook’s Mod Manager announcement. Steam’s beta branch instructions document selecting a branch and returning to None; that help page uses CS2 as its example. The isolation workflow above is this wiki’s editorial recommendation for narrowing a specific failure.

Check updates and branch status before following a newer setup video. Once the game loads, use the beginner expedition plan or Curio lookup for the decisions inside the run.