Best Pets to Equip in Darkest Dungeon 2

The Stagecoach comprises core gameplay mechanics in Darkest Dungeon 2 that do more than just drive our heroes and adventurers through all sorts of horrors. The vehicle can be equipped with different items to improve combat and survival effectiveness, including a cute little Pet for a variety of buffs.

Once players reach the first Inn after starting a new run, they can choose one of 10 different Pets for their Stagecoach, depending on how many they have unlocked from the Altar of Hope in Darkest Dungeon 2.

Each Pet plays a role in how players build their team of heroes. From improving relationships and healing capabilities to stacking health and bolstering various resistances, having a Pet on the Stagecoach is not just for show. They synergize with Stagecoach items as well as with heroes. Hence, the right fluffy companion can help fend off the lurking horrors in the shadows.

Here are the best (and worst) Pets players should be keeping an eye on in Darkest Dungeon 2.

10 Unnatural Owlet

Increased Chance to Apply Debuffs

The Unnatural Owlet is a counterpart to the Mucilaginous Slime, and a highly situational Pet in the game. It improves the chance of heroes bypassing enemies’ resistance to apply debuffs. With a lot of great debuff skills to choose from, especially if players are running an Occultist debuff build in Darkest Dungeon 2, the Unnatural Owlet ensures that no turn goes to waste. That said, there is no guarantee that debuff skills will always proc, especially against the final bosses. RNG still plays a role with the Pet.

Additionally, the secondary passive of nearly doubling the chance of producing Stagecoach items is useful for cranking overpowered Combat items. However, again, most hero compositions will rely on their main damage-dealing skills instead of an RNG-gotten trap. The former is just more efficient at closing out rounds quicker.

9 Larval Carrion Eater

Gain Heals and Tokens via Killing Corpses

The Larval Carrion Eater can prove highly effective in fights where players can afford to use AoE skills to whittle down enemies. This is often in situations where enemies move around while attacking. In Creature Dens, for example, a pistol Highway Robber and grenade Plague Doctor are best used to beat the dancing spiders. Their AoE attacks can kill corpses to significantly heal and gain Block and Crit tokens, making their next turn powerful.

However, the corpse-dependent gameplay makes the Larval Carrion Eater a highly situational Pet in Darkest Dungeon 2. If players forcefully focus on killing corpses for their buffs, they are only wasting precious rounds which can be used to damage enemies directly. This makes the Larval Carrion Eater a fairly weak pet in most cases.

8 Pygmy Pliskin

Better (and More) Heals

The secret to surviving in Darkest Dungeon 2 is doing enough damage to close out encounters in as few rounds as possible. Hence, damage will always triumph over healing effectiveness. Considering how the sequel is more generous regarding heals when compared to the first game, the Pygmy Pliskin becomes a Pet to trap new players. The bonus heals, while great, will not take Darkest Dungeon 2 players far when playing the final, harder chapters.

Additionally, Flagellant and Plague Doctor, the best-ranking healers in Darkest Dungeon 2, are also excellent at dealing damage. When used right, players will never require the healing bonuses from the Pygmy Pliskin.

7 Shrieker Chick

More Baubles for Shopping

The Shrieker Chick doubles the amount of baubles players earn from all sources, allowing them to have more money to spend after reaching an Inn or the Hoarder. While the additional Crit bonus is always welcomed, Scouting Gear does not offer as much value as the others.

For example, scouting Hero Shrines becomes useless after players have maxed out all the heroes in Darkest Dungeon 2. Additionally, there are other ways to gain scouting bonuses, meaning there is little point in focusing on so many resources to find the best routes or specific locations.

6 Shambler’s Spawn

Unlocks Cultist Trinkets

With the Shambler’s Spawn, players can use Cultist trinkets without pairing them with a Dark Impulse in Darkest Dungeon 2. This gives players plenty of flexibility with their builds, allowing them to combine different trinkets for all their heroes for various effects.

With the Pet spawning more Oblivion Ingresses, and also scouting all of them, players are guaranteed to find a trove of Cultist trinkets for their team during a single run. Some ludicrously powerful Cultist trinkets can make short work of lair bosses. However, what trinkets players find and how they combine them determines whether equipping the Shambler’s Spawn is worth it.

5 Hatchling Crocodilian

Boosts Dancing Compositions

The Hatchling Crocodilian is one of the last Darkest Dungeon 2 Pets to unlock, and is significantly powerful. The only problem is that it is designed specifically for dancing compositions, meaning players must have moving heroes such as Jester, Grave Robber, Crusader, or Duelist to get any use out of the Hatchling Crocodilian.

Despite its situational aspect, the Hatchling Crocodilian can prove overpowered in the right hands, often increasing damage for heroes up to 30 percent in a few rounds. This, of course, is only useful if the heroes are moving with each attack.

Dancing compositions are incredibly tricky to pull off, requiring players to have an excellent understanding of their heroes and skills.

4 Mucilaginous Slime

Run Over Debris for Loot

The Mucilaginous Slime might seem underwhelming because it relies on road debris, but only a few runs should prove why it is one of the most useful Pets in Darkest Dungeon 2. Every time players run over road debris, they have a chance of obtaining random loot. The Mucilaginous Slime increases this chance by three times for Food and Combat items and by two times for Relics. Hence, players have a better chance of getting specific items for their heroes, and most importantly, more Relics to spend at the Inn.

Additionally, considering the number of debuffs in the game, gaining +20 percent resistance to enemy debuffs with four Road Gear equipped is always helpful.

3 Crimson Tick

Gain Horror for Powerful Buffs

None of the other Pets can match the power of the Crimson Tick. It gives players a small chance of looting The Blood on killing blows, a consumable Combat item that gives Strength, Crit, and Speed tokens alongside a three-round Horror token. This is an insanely strong set of buffs in return for a few Stress points that heroes can either resist or heal.

For heroes that can buff themselves to deal massive upfront damage such as Hellion and Leper, the Crimson Blood makes them hilariously stronger by stacking more offensive tokens. In addition, since the Crimson Tick does not rely on any specific Stagecoach item or gear, players are free to equip whatever they deem best.

2 Reanimated Rabbit

More Health and Faster Turn Speed

The Reanimated Rabbit is another highly recommended Pet players should consider in Darkest Dungeon 2. Stacking Food Stagecoach Items gives the entire party two powerful passive buffs to improve their survival and combat effectiveness.

Firstly, all heroes get increased Speed, which means they get to attack before enemies. Secondly, everyone gains bonus health, allowing even the squishiest heroes to soak damage without reaching Death’s Door in Darkest Dungeon 2.

Most fights are determined within the first round. Leveraging the Reanimated Rabbit to have all four heroes take their turns first means players can potentially beat one or two enemies, reducing their damage output in the next round.

Lastly, Food Gear is incredibly powerful in Darkest Dungeon 2. Depending on the Stagecoach Item equipped, players can stack Food to improve their Resolute chance and Disease resistance. Even better, players get to produce Flapjacks and Invigorating Stew, two of the best Inn items in Darkest Dungeon 2.

1 Orphan Wolf Cub

Max Relationships for Powerful Combos

Despite being the first Pet players unlock, the Orphan Wolf Cub is unarguably the best and easiest Pet to use in Darkest Dungeon 2. Equipping four Luxury Items boosts Stress resistance by 20 percent, allowing players to focus more on dealing damage instead of wasting a turn on Stress healing.

The biggest advantage of the Orphan Wolf Cub, though, is the additional 10 percent chance of heroes forming positive relationships with each other. This makes relationship-improving Inn items far more effective and less likely to fail.

Rest assured that all four heroes in a party will hit maximum affinity before reaching the final boss during a run without relying solely on RNG.

Reducing stress further increases the chance of gaining positive affinity, which stacks with the Orphan Wolf Cub.

Improving relationships between heroes increases their combat effectiveness. They gain a chance to apply powerful buffs to each other during combat such as increasing attack damage or dodge chance, reducing stress, removing status effects, or healing them.

While players are still expected to strategize around the Orphan Wolf Cub, the Pet is far easier (and straightforward) to use compared to most of the other Pets, especially for players new to Darkest Dungeon 2.