Dark Forest
Dark Forest is a hard expedition in SideQuest. It costs 1,500 coins to unlock. A solo run takes 6,000 steps. It has eight crafting materials and Wanderer's Shadow Notes.
 | |
| Difficulty | Hard |
|---|---|
| Unlock | 1,500 coins, one-time purchase |
| Solo steps | 6,000 |
| Party size | 2 to 4 players |
| Discoveries | 9 |
Unlocking
Buy Dark Forest for 1,500 coins from the expedition selection screen or Coin Shop. This is a one-time purchase. Completing another expedition does not unlock it automatically.
Every player in a co-op party must have this expedition unlocked.
Getting started
Open Quests, go to Expeditions, and select Dark Forest. After buying the route, start a solo run, create a party with friends, or use Quick Join to find an open party.
For a solo run, walk 6,000 steps after starting, then claim the reward. Expedition Speed can reduce the walking needed for solo progress. Co-op uses each player's synced walking steps.
Rewards
These are the base rewards for one solo completion, before pet bonuses or other boosts. Co-op coins and XP are listed below.
| Reward | Amount or chance |
|---|---|
| Coins | 200 to 350 |
| XP | 300 |
 Adventurer's Crate |
18.8% |
 Hero's Chest |
18.8% |
 Legendary Vault |
6% |
 Rare Egg |
25% |
At most one equipment chest drops per completion. Legendary Vault is checked first at 6%. If that roll misses, Hero's Chest is checked at 20%. If that roll misses, Adventurer's Crate is checked at 25%. The table shows the final chance of receiving each chest after these checks. Drop Rate can increase the checks.
The pet egg roll is separate from the chest rolls. Egg Luck and Drop Rate can increase its chance. Egg protection guarantees a Rare Egg by the 8th completion on this route without an egg. Finding an egg resets that route's counter. Solo and co-op completions share the counter.
Each discovery has its own roll, so one completion can give several discoveries or none. See the discovery table for the base chances.
Co-op
Dark Forest supports parties of two to four players. Everyone walks at the same time. Each player has their own rewards; the coins and XP are not split between the party.
Steps and completion
Each player's usual share is 3,600 steps. With shared contributions, everyone must reach their 2,880-step marker, and the party must also reach its team goal. Each player can contribute up to 4,320 steps toward that goal.
| Players | Team goal | Usual share each |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 7,200 steps | 3,600 steps |
| 3 | 10,800 steps | 3,600 steps |
| 4 | 14,400 steps | 3,600 steps |
For example, a two-player party can finish with 2,880 steps from one player and 4,320 from the other. Two players at 2,880 each still need 1,440 more team steps.
Parties using the older equal-share rule require all players to reach 3,600 steps each. Check the markers shown in your party. If someone leaves, the game adjusts the party goal and reward bonus for the remaining players. At least two players must remain.
Co-op rewards
The party bonus increases coins and XP. It does not multiply equipment chest, pet egg, or first-discovery chances. These amounts are per player, before pet bonuses and other boosts.
| Players | Bonus | Coins each | XP each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | +15% | 230 to 402 | 345 |
| 3 | +30% | 260 to 455 | 390 |
| 4 | +50% | 300 to 525 | 450 |
The game adds the party bonus to each player's coin and XP reward and rounds the bonus down. See Co-op Expeditions for the general co-op guide.
Repeat material copies
First discoveries use the base rolls in the table below. After finding a material, later completions can give extra copies for crafting.
Without boosts, a solo repeat roll uses the material's base chance. Shared-contribution parties use 48% of that base chance for repeat copies. For example, Soul Stone has a 28% first-find chance and a shared co-op repeat-copy chance of 13.44%. The party's coin and XP bonus does not increase this chance.
Equal-share parties use 60% of the base chance for repeat copies. Drop Rate, Rare Find, and the guild's Discovery Chalice can increase repeat-copy chances. Wanderer's Shadow Notes is a unique keepsake and does not drop extra crafting copies.
Discoveries
All chances below are per completion, before boosts. The first-find column applies to discoveries you have not found yet. The shared co-op column applies to extra material copies after the first find.
Scroll the table sideways to see all chances.
| Item | Rarity | First find | Shared co-op repeat |
|---|---|---|---|
 Soul Stone |
Uncommon | 28% | 13.44% |
 Dark Feather |
Uncommon | 28% | 13.44% |
 Old Bone |
Uncommon | 26% | 12.48% |
 Obsidian |
Uncommon | 24% | 11.52% |
 Dark Rose |
Uncommon | 22% | 10.56% |
 Shadow Grapes |
Rare | 20% | 9.6% |
 Broken Arrow |
Rare | 18% | 8.64% |
 Battered Book |
Rare | 16% | 7.68% |
 Wanderer's Shadow Notes |
Rare | 16% | Unique keepsake |
Each item page has its artwork, crafting uses, and exact Tap to examine text from the game.
Progression
- First solo completion: awards the Dark Forest Explorer badge.
- All nine discoveries: unlocks the Dark Forest background. Discoveries from solo and co-op both count.
- Crafting: keep extra material copies for NPC recipes. The crafting menu keeps one original copy of each material.
- The Wanderer's quests: solo and co-op completions count toward expedition quests. Accept the quest before starting the runs needed for its objective.
- Grix: this route's discoveries count toward the 35 unique discoveries needed to meet Grix. Completing its collection gives nine of those discoveries.
- Next route: Volcanic Crater costs 3,000 coins to unlock and takes 10,000 steps solo. It is purchased separately; completing Dark Forest does not unlock it automatically.
Related guides
Expeditions · Co-op Expeditions · Crafting and Discovery Materials · Items · Volcanic Crater
References
SideQuest expedition information, checked 4 November 2026. Base values are before bonuses.