Best Heroes In Darkest Dungeon 2

Key Takeaways

• Choosing top-tier heroes is crucial in Darkest Dungeon 2 for success on tougher difficulties.
• Some heroes shine in specific aspects while elite heroes cover multiple bases effortlessly.
• Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each hero and building a balanced team is key to victory in the game.

With how brutal Darkest Dungeon 2 can be, selecting anybody but the finest heroes is a mistake. On tougher Confessions and difficulties, trying to win with anything except the best is asking for a bad result. It’s possible to carry any given hero to victory, but some make the path much smoother.

To be fair, even “bad’ heroes can shine in a given group. Darkest Dungeon 2 does a great job of challenging the players with a myriad of debuffs, damaging strikes, and obstacles. Every hero finds their strength in at least one aspect of the game. But a few elite heroes can cover multiple bases with ease and don’t need particular builds to shine while others need some love to just be average.

Updated November 27, 2024 by Rhenn Taguiam: With Darkest Dungeon 2 releasing its Physical Edition for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, fans of the acclaimed RPG may be delighted to get their hands on an actual cartridge in today’s day and age of digital gaming. Not only that, this physical edition came just in time for players eagerly awaiting the Inhuman Bondage DLC, where the Abomination makes his return and players have to venture deep into the Catacombs to fight various threats.

Players who couldn’t wait for the Abomination’s arrival may want to experiment with more characters in their Darkest Dungeon 2 playthroughs, and perhaps the best way to do so would be learning the basics of using each Class at their disposal.

14 Flagellant

Hurt Through Getting Hurt

The combination of frontline and damage dealer is a careful balance. Characters like the Man-At-Arms do a great job of it. The Flagellant, on the other hand, does not. He has a unique healing token but only one skill that creates it. Experts using his best build will still find themselves wishing he wasn’t so bent on hurting himself.

Being able to heal allies and take away their debuffs is a strong perk but the Flagellant pays with its own Health and Stress. The character has no way to deal with Stress stacks and the self-damage can escalate out of control too easily compared to other tanks.

What Are The Flagellant Paths?

The Flagellant’s kit relies on using his own Health to proc his effects, both of which involve Blighting enemies for massive amounts of damage or healing his allies. Unfortunately, this means players need to be careful managing the Flagellant’s Health, as the wrong move can kill the Flagellant and leave the party with no one to help them. Health management can trigger the Flagellant’s kit in wildly different ways, such as spamming Blight with Punish and Acid Rain (Wanderer), debuffs via Weakness and Vulnerability (Maniac), triggering more powerful attacks at lower Health (Exanimate), and keeping teams alive with his own Health (Scourge).

13 Occultist

Deal Damage Through Self-Harm

The community keeps hoping a buff to the Occultist is coming. Yet as players try different team combinations to “fix” his healing, it becomes apparent that the Occulist needs to make too many gambles to use his best moves and those gambles often don’t pan out, doing the enemies’ job for them.

The hero needs to stack up Unchecked Power tokens to use his best skills but this can only be done by inflicting self-harm by getting lucky with combos. He’s got a perfect build but it requires a team that protects him and saves him from himself to make it work.

What Are The Occultist Paths?

The Occultist is a flexible support unit whose paths can help teams in different ways. For instance, he can gamble with the chance of a Vulnerable Token in turn-start with a number of buffing benefits (Ritualist), become a stronger backliner with a ranged damage buff (Warlock), or become a potent melee attacker (Aspirant).

12 Grave Robber

Flexible Kit Needs Support To Perform

The jack of all trades, master of none title goes to the Grave Robber with no debate. The character has abilities that tank, heal, deal damage, apply buffs, and apply debuffs. Since teams have to do all of this, Darkest Dungeon 2 might seem like the perfect place for such a hero.

Sadly, the Grave Robber’s ceiling is lower than any other on the list. While other heroes are unlocking abilities that make them amazing, the Grave Robber is choosing what to be average at. A great Grave Robber build can compensate for this issue but she’ll still be lagging behind while other heroes excel.

What Are The Grave Robber Paths?

Players should capitalize on the flexibility of the Grave Robber to accommodate different combat roles. Being a standard rogue-esque unit, the Grave Robber performs better when she gets a high-enough critical strike and evasive maneuvers. Ideal skills to have would be a Block-ignoring crit-trigger (Pick fo the Face), a crit-triggering ignore-Dodge-on-Stealth move (Thrown Dagger), and a standard poisoning ability (Poison Dart).

11 Bounty Hunter

A Temporary Powerhouse

The Bounty Hunter is perhaps unfairly placed on this list. He’s a temporary hero that costs four candles, occasionally available for hire at an Inn. Upon reaching the next Inn, he disappears and will not be available for hire for the rest of the run.

The Bounty Hunter’s temporary nature is tough to justify even with the best build. He’s got great damage and can give a beat-up character a chance to rest. But since he’s not permanent and can’t be built around, he’ll never quite fit in perfectly with the group dynamic and should not be counted on. He’s also not very tanky so it can be tough getting him to survive until the next Inn.

What Are The Bounty Hunter Paths?

Given his well-rounded nature, players should maximize the Bounty Hunter for his capabilities of supporting more dynamic teammates. Among his Skills, “No Escape” and “Uppercut” are must-haves for their stunning capabilities, as well as “Staredown” and “Bodyguard”, which cement the Bounty Hunter’s tanking nature. When used correctly, his “Come Hither,” “Mark for Death,” and “Caltrops” can be decent combo-openers for the rest of the team.

10 Crusader

Flexible Tank For Plugging Gaps In Offense, Defense

While similar to the Man-At-Arms in terms of frontline viability, the Crusader gives an emphasis on survivability instead of dishing out damage. He can provide a targeted heal (Battle Heal), healing-over-time (Battle Heal), and attack two enemies to get a slight heal (Reap).

Despite the expectation of being a hardline tank, the Crusader is surprisingly flexible with his Paths. As the Wanderer, the Crusader can support teams by reinforcing or filling gaps missing in offense and defense. Meanwhile, the Aggressor can be set up for fast kills with the right support. Moreover, the Templar can become a formidable tank with the right assist, while the Banneret can off-tank while securing survivability through defensive setups.

What Are The Crusader Paths?

When using the Crusader as a team-reliant Wanderer, it’s best to give him skills that provide Taunt with a dash of Regen and Block (Bulwark of Faith) and a minimal move with Burn (Holy Lance). The Aggressor relies on dealing heavy damage through Execute and Burn, with Smite and Reap as priority attacks with Tenacity as a Burn-dependent heal. Alternatively, the Templar can apply Guard and transfer the Crusader’s Regen (Rallying Cry) as well as a self-Block and boost healing received (Tenacity). Lastly, the supportive Banneret has a small heal (Battle Heal) and a team-wide Block (Tenacity).

9 Duelist

Decent Performer When Combo Tempo Is Understood

Acquired in The Binding Blade DLC, the Duelist is a mid-rank DPS unit whose skills rely on her moving around the second and third ranks. When using Feint, Duelist gains Riposte, which enables her to counterattack enemies – essentially encouraging more fluid gameplay. Other skills include her default moving attack (Touche), an attack that grants Dodge alongside a pull or push effect (Disengage), as well as extra defense (Flick) or attack (Preparation).

At its core, the Duelist can become a solid part of a team comp, provided players manage the proper pacing of her tempo. The Duelist’s kit allows her to maximize her turn to manipulate the field as soon as she’s done with her setup: Wanderer relies on Riposte for a decent balance between damage and survivability, while the Antagoniste is a combo-heavy debuffer perfect for ruining enemy setups. The Intrepide can stack buffs to prep heavy-hitting attacks, while Instructice plays with Stress to grant buffs to allies.

What Are The Duelist Paths?

The mobility of the Duelist makes it a rather complicated character to deal with at first, especially with her relatively low durability. Moreover, her subclasses dictate how she uses her mobility in combat. The Wanderer focuses more on Riposte and mobility, with her Aggressive Stance possibly healing her while Defensive Stance may grant her Dodge. As the backrow Instructice, “Again” in an Aggressive Stance now boosts damage per Stress Level and she may reduce her Stress (Defensive Stance) or get Regen (Aggressive Stance) on kills.

The Antagoniste is a debuff master capable of applying Vulnerable or Weakness (Coup de Grace, Touche) depending on stances. Lastly, the Intrepide focuses on DPS in exchange for being a glass cannon, as she receives more damage in exchange for boosting her own when others miss her (Defensive Stance) and gets less resistrance against DOTs in exchange for higher CRIT when someone misses her (Aggressive Stance).

8 Runaway

Deal Stealthy Damage Over Time

Darkest Dungeon 2 doesn’t give any single hero everything they need to succeed, making them rely on teammates to cover certain areas. But the Runaway comes close to doing it all with her best build as her stealth makes her tough to hit and her damage over time fire effects slowly take out enemies.

She moves ranks often and this can make her difficult to use when she changes up an ally’s attacks. But players who have a versatile team will enjoy how the Runaway can situationally heal, remove stealth from enemies, take care of her defenses, and continuously stack fire damage.

What Are The Runaway Paths?

For players who prefer dealing damage over time, the Arsonist is the best path for them – not only can she frequently apply Burn but the same Burn-based skills have a higher chance of landing criticals, which unfortunately also means the Arsonist begins the turn with a 1-in-4 chances of having Burn Tokens herself. As the Survivor, the Runaway can heal and receive healing more efficiently in exchange for having less chance to inflict Burn. Should she become an Orphan, she deals more damage the closer she is to the front and deals more Burn the closer she is to the back.

7 Leper

A Tank With Decent Survivability

The Leper is a tank and raw damage dealer with an incredibly high ceiling. Players may steer clear of him because, like some of the heroes lower on this list, he comes with a drawback; he often starts with two stacks of blindness and has moves that can add blindness stacks.

The Leper’s blindness can be negated by his skills or by using up and placing combo tokens with his ideal build. He’s a great tank even if he never lands a single hit and heals himself on the frontlines which is a good bonus for players that don’t want to overstuff the squad with healers.

What Are The Leper Paths?

The Leper becomes an efficient damage-dealer depending on the player’s reference. As the Tempest, the Leper starts with lesser Health and Speed but makes up for it with stronger damage. In contrast, the Poet gives the Leper better self-healing and Stun resistance in exchange for a damage debuff. As a Monarch, the Leper suffers from a stronger Health debuff and a mere 25% damage to the Chop skill in exchange for buffing Health and Movement.

6 Hellion

A Literal Stress Relief Tank

Video games are perfect for medieval settings and the Hellion fits right into the style. She gets stronger as her health dwindles and has Raucous Revelry, a skill that heals herself and reduces Stress levels for the entire group. She can also remove debuffs from herself.

The only drawback is a unique debuff, Winded, which reduces her damage output. But she has so many moves that will clear all stacks of Winded that this doesn’t become an issue. When paired with a great healer and using her best build, the Hellion is overpowered.

What Are The Hellion Paths?

The Hellion’s heavy-hitting Bloodlust and Bleed toolkit makes her one of the best frontline characters in the game. Players can tank hard with the Ravager as she enjoys more Health and gives her team a damage boost if she’s at the front in exchange for less Bleed chance. As a Berserker, the Ravager has a higher chance of applying Bleed – of which the abilities that can cause them also have better chances of scoring crits.

Unfortunately, this does come at the cost of lesser Health. The more intriguing Carcass can help the Ravager lose Stress on crits as well as get Move-based Taunts and Block-removal – all of which in exchange for starting with Winded and ending a turn with a 75% chance that Winded Token generates a Block Token.

5 Jester

Win Through Combat Positions

The Jester’s biggest drawback is that most of his skills move him around. Players will often have a team that has preferred rank spots and he will mess up that vibe quickly. However, more often than not, the Jester makes up for this shifting around by applying more combo tokens than anyone in the game.

This is a big deal because some heroes, such as the Occultist, are terrible without combos getting set up and other heroes can have their damage get out of control, such as the Leper. The best build for the Jester quickly makes him a party favorite.

What Are The Jester Paths?

Players who want to use the Jester for Support should get the Virtuoso, wherein he gets higher Health and Speed and a chance for the party to get a full Stress RES buff – in exchange for a hefty debuff on Bleed, Burn, and Blight. Meanwhile, the Soloist starts the Jester with less Health in exchange for higher damage, Bleed chance, and Bleed skills proccing crits. Lastly, the Intermezzo is a move-heavy path that provides extra conditions, such as Songs and Echoing March on Move applying more Bleed, and Battle Ballad and Play Out now having chances of proccing Block, Strength, Dodge, or even Crit.

4 Highwayman

Set Up Combos From Any Position

The Highwayman is as close as it gets to a straight-up damage dealer. He’s got a mix of ranged and melee attacks, enabling him to have some usefulness at any rank, even the first (though his low defenses make him a liability up front).

His best build utilizes his solid attacks from the second position but players that use the Runaway or Jester may want to keep the Highwayman a mix of ranged and melee so he can attack from anywhere. He’s nothing splashy, but he’s got solid damage and that’s an important role to fill.

What Are The Highwayman Paths?

Due to his movement flexibility and a wide array of skills, the Highwayman can accommodate a wide range of roles. As a Rogue, players can position the Highwayman on the frontlines, which gives him a Damage buff and a debuff the further back he moves along. In contrast, the Sharpshot positions the Highwayman on the back and makes him suffer melee drawbacks in exchange for more Speed and Ranged damage. Lastly, the melee-focused Yellowhand penalizes all Ranged attacks in exchange for more Health and Bleed RES reduction on melee hits – incentivizing damage-over-time builds.

3 Plague Doctor

The Resident Healer

The Plague Doctor is unlocked from the start and gamers will have a tough time finding a better mix of support and damage. The character has tremendous healing and can clear up any negative debuffs while turning those debuffs into even more healing.

If this isn’t enough, the best build for the Plague Doctor enables the hero to place Blight, Fire, and Bleed on its opponents, killing bosses a little bit every time their turn comes up. So long as the character stays in rank three or four, its only weakness, low defenses, doesn’t come into play.

What Are The Plague Doctor Paths?

Arguably one of the most famous Classes in the franchise, the Plague Doctor plays an intricate balance between healing and dealing damage. As the Surgeon, the Plague Doctor has less chance of inflicting Blight in exchange for more Damage and more potent Healing to allies. As the Alchemist, the Plague Doctor starts with less Health but gets more chances of dealing Blight and proccing crits with Blight-based skills on top of boosted Resistances. Lastly, the Physician deals less Bleed and Blight overall in exchange for more supportive effects such as inflicting Stuns and Vulnerables on opponents while granting Strength Tokens and Stress resistance to allies.

2 Man-At-Arms

The Universal Frontlin Tank

The Man-At-Arms is the undisputed king of applying block buffs to himself and maybe another at the second rank. What may appeal to players who use characters like the Runaway or the Jester is that the hero is capable of crawling back to the frontlines and can even “debuff” himself so that he can’t be moved back.

As enemy damage starts to escalate with increasingly common Ordainment enemy buffs, the number of allies who can take a hit and shrug it off will dwindle. The best Man-At-Arms build has no issue absorbing these blows and reducing the Stress from repeated hits.

What Are The Man-At-Arms Paths?

While straightforwardly a tanking character, the Man-At-Arms still offers some degree of diversity with his Paths. As a Sergeant, the Man-At-Arms deals less Damage but gains full Move RES alongside Bolster now removing Vulnerable and Weak (on self) and a slight chance to boost DOT Resistances (on allies). Alternatively, the Bulwark is a defense-oriented Path that once again nerfs the Man-At-Arms’ Crush and Riposte damage in exchange for Shield Attack getting more damage and a chance to Stun. Lastly, the frontline-specializing Vanguard receives a penalty to DOT Resistances but now begins the Man-At-Arms with more Health and a boost to Crush and Riposte abilities.

1 Vestal

An Extremely Flexible Buffer, Debuffer

Nobody has tougher build choices than the Vestal, who has unique buff and debuff abilities that change depending on the path selected. These various paths even change the way certain skills function, altering the character’s performance partway through the game.

With the right build for the Vestal, she has support capabilities that can’t be contested. The Vestal’s most overpowered abilities from the first game somehow make it back into the second game. Her Consecrations, once placed, support the team with her needing to re-use a skill.

What Are The Vestal Paths?

Being a dual healing and DPS unit, the Vestal’s subclasses can tackle multiple niches. For instance, the Confessor is a flexible backline Path who can use Conviction to potentially enhance negative debuffs, remove positive Tokens from the enemy, and Judgment possibly applying Weak on target in exchange for the Hand of Light dealing less damage and no longer giving the Vestal a Block Token. As a Chaplain, the Vestal’s Sanctuary can give more Guarded Tokens (to allies) and more Block and Block+ Tokens (to herself) and even use Conviction to heal targets or use special Consecration conditions (Mantra). Consecration in particular is an interesting Rank-affecting Token as its different types can boost damage or defense. Lastly, the straightforward backline Seraph makes Consecrations last longer and provides Conviction when the former is triggered in exchange for the powerful Mantra healing to now consume all Consecrations available.