Darkest Dungeon made its mark as one of the ‘cruelest’ and most gripping RPGs that revolves around dark, gritty themes. The game is unique because of an unnoticed boundary which developers are willing to push its players beyond.
In Darkest Dungeon 2, several characters defy the stereotype of knights, clerics, and rogues found in most role-playing games. Because of its somewhat realistic portrayal of relationships psyches, only certain characters get along with others. You’ll need to balance your heroes’ mental health and make your team thrive at every encounter throughout the game.
Here’s a guide to each of these characters and their unique traits- more importantly, how they may synergize with each other.
All Darkest Dungeon 2 characters and their abilities
Grave Robber – Audrey
Audrey’s biggest strength is that you can play her at any rank. She can also deal high critical damage, which makes her deadly in many situations. Her agility and proficiency in delivering quick, fiery attacks make her extremely versatile.
Audrey’s abilities include:
- Pick to the face
- Poison dart
- Dead of night
- Flashing daggers
- Absinthe
- Repartee
- Thrown dagger
- Glint in the dark
- Lunge
- Pirouette
- Shadow fade
Runaway – Bonnie
With stealthy and pyromaniac tendencies, Bonnie becomes a fair synergy between defensive and aggressive gameplay. She’s also equipped to remove buffs from certain enemy types, making her an essential part of the roster.
Bonnie’s abilities include:
- Firefly
- Controlled burn
- Smokescreen
- Dragonfly
- Run and hide
- Backdraft
- Firestarter
- Hearthlight
- Searing strike
- Ransack
- Cauterize
- Firestarter
Hellion – Boudica
Boudica is a tough melee brawler who also plays well as a support teammate. While she can break through tough armor, she also provides the team with healing and attack boost capabilities.
Boudica’s abilities include:
- Barbaric YAWP!
- Adrenaline rush
- Wicked hack
- Barbaric YAWP!
- If it bleeds
- Bleed out
- Howling end
- Iron Swan
- Toe to toe
- Bloodlust
- Breakthrough
- Raucous revelry
Plague Doctor – Paracelsus
Paracelsus is an obvious choice for players who focus on support reliability. While most of his combat techniques ask enemies to be at 50% or lower HP, this will be fine if your team has a good roster of attack-focused characters.
Paracelsus’ abilities are:
- Ounce of prevention
- Indiscriminate science
- Magnesium rain
- Plague grenade
- Incision
- Disorientating blast
- Cause of death
- Noxious blast
- Emboldening vapors
- Blinding gas
- Battlefield medicine
Man-at-Arms – Barristan
Barristan is a true powerhouse and will undoubtedly finish your run. He can resist even the most lethal of blows while dealing incredible damage. He has a heap of armor and can retreat if things get heated. He’s a dependable teammate and one of the finest at getting you through multiplay playthroughs.
Barristan’s abilities include:
- Defender
- Rampart
- Retribution
- Bellow
- Stand fast
- Courageous abandon
- Hold the line
- Command
- Crush
- Bolster
- Strategic withdrawal
Highwayman – Dismas
Dismas can use two attack tactics: he has a pistol and a melee weapon. Both pistol and knife attacks can make a target bleed, allowing you to use other party members to eliminate them more quickly. Pistol attacks frequently throw foes back. Highway Robbery also enables him to remove beneficial tokens, which will be helpful in later conflicts.
Dismas’ abilities are:
- Double tap
- Pistol shot
- Tracking shot
- Highway robbery
- Grapeshot blast
- Take aim
- Duelist’s advance
- Open vein
- Wicked slice
- Point blank shot
- Double cross
Occultist – Alhazred
The Occultist is the riskiest hero to play. He requires quick and sneaky maneuvers, and these risks frequently backfire, making the adversaries’ work easier. To unleash his most vital skills, the hero needs to build up Unchecked Power tokens, but he can only do this by intentionally harming himself through successful combinations.
Alhazred’s abilities:
- Sacrificial Stab
- Abyssal Artillery
- Weakening Curse
- Wyrd Reconstruction
- Daemon’s Pull
- Vulnerability Hex
- Binding Shadows
- Malediction
- Anamnesis
- The Burning Stars
- Chaotic Offering
Leper – Baldwin
The Leper is an extremely high ceiling tank and raw damage dealer. He starts with two stacks of blindness and has moves that can increase stacks of blindness. Players may want to avoid him because of this. Leper’s Reflection, which also lessens his stress, makes it simple to overcome Leper’s blindness, assuming players are a bit experienced. He makes a fantastic tank, even if he never takes damage and heals himself while fighting.
Baldwin’s abilities are:
- Chop
- Purge
- Withstand
- Solemnity
- Reflection
- Hew
- Revenge
- Intimidate
- Ruin
- Break
- Bash
Jester – Sarmenti
Jester requires a lot of mobility to play, which often becomes an issue. Players frequently have teams with preferred rank locations, and he will rapidly ruin that strategy. The Jester typically makes up for this by moving about and applying more combo tokens frequently.
Sarmenti’s abilities are:
- Razor’s Wit
- Fade to Black
- Slice Off
- Battle Ballad
- Inspiring Tune
- Harvest
- Finale
- Solo
- Play Out
- Encore
- Echoing March
Vestal – Junia
Junia has special buff and debuff abilities that vary depending on the path chosen and has the most challenging build options. The character’s performance is changed midway through the game by these different paths, which modify how some skills work. One of the deadliest curses in video games may be possessed by the Vestal. Unfortunately, the Vestal is weaker than some of the other early alternatives because it genuinely needs a path to shine and must wait until an opportunity comes.
Junia’s abilities are:
- Hand of Light
- Illumination
- Judgement
- Divine Grace
- Consecration of Fortitude
- Ministrations
- Mace Bash
- Sanctuary
- Consecration of Light
- Divine Comfort
- Mantra
Bounty Hunter – Tardif
Tardiff is a transient hero that can occasionally be hired at an inn for four candles. He vanishes at the following Inn and is no longer available for hire for the remainder of the run.
As well-known individuals return, defending the Bounty Hunter’s transient nature and high hire cost can be difficult. He can provide a battered character a chance to rest and has high damage. He cannot be developed around; he will only partially fit in perfectly with the group dynamic. As a result, he should not be relied upon.
Tardif’s abilities include:
- Collect Bounty
- Mark for Death
- Come Hither
- Caltrops
- Flashbang
- Staredown
- Hurlbat
- No Escape
- Finish Him
- Uppercut
- Bodyguard
