Darkest Dungeon: Best Party Member Choices for Every Zone

Darkest Dungeon is a challenging and bleak RPG developed by Red Hook Games. It is a game that warns players upfront that failure is not only a possibility but somewhat inevitable. Players must learn to make the best out of bad situations, to persevere in the face of adversity, and above all, how to manage the party members.

Conquering the various areas of Darkest Dungeon can be a laborious practice of trial and error as players learn the game’s mechanics. Over time, players will realize that some classes are better in some zones than others. Building a good team is all about seizing on the strengths of those differences and mashing them together into powerful compositions.

The first area of the game, for example, is mostly filled with undead enemies that are immune to bleeding. For this reason, classes like the Crusader, which does extra damage to the undead, might excel in this zone, while classes like the Houndmaster, which relies heavily on bleeding, might do poorly. Finding team compositions that exploit the enemies’ weaknesses can be very rewarding. But, for new players that are just getting started in Darkest Dungeon or veterans looking for inspiration, here are some great comps to get them going.

The Best Party for Each Zone in Darkest Dungeon

The Ruins

Plague Doctor – Crusader – Crusader – Hellion

As previously mentioned, Crusaders excel against the undead, which most of the enemies in The Ruins are. Their role is to use “Holy Lance” to target the backline enemies that are often devastating to both the health and stress of the party. The Plague Doctor can use “Blinding Gas” to stun the backline, while Hellion can use “Yawp” to stun the frontline. This allows for very good control and damage. When the backline is dead, one of the Crusaders can use “Battle Heal” to top off anyone who needs it. During camp, ambushes can be prevented by one of the Crusaders “Zealous Vigil”.

The Weald

Arbalest – Occultist – Bounty Hunter – Man-at-Arms

Arbalests can be very useful here due to their ability to clear marks with “Rallying Flare” and to target the backline. Occultists do extra damage to eldritch enemies and can damage the backline with “Abyssal Artillery”. They are also very good for debuffing “Unclean Giants” who can devastate a party with their “Treebranch Smackdown” attack. Bounty Hunter is useful to keep enemies stunned and does extra damage to human enemies with “Collect Bounty”. Man-at-arms is there to protect the companions with “Guard” and other defensive abilities. To prevent ambushes during camp, use “Unspeakable Commune” with the Occultist.

The Cove

Occultist-Jester-Abomination-Man-at-arms

The Man-at-arms and the Occultist will work similarly to the best party composition for the Weald. The Abomination will do most of the damage by transforming and using “Rake” and “Rage”. The Jester’s main job is to reduce the stress caused by the transformation. If transforming is not a good option for certain fights, Abomination can use “Beast Bile” since blight works well in the Cove. During camp, Occultists can prevent ambushes with “Unspeakable Commune”, and Jesters can lower stress with “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”.

The Warrens

Vestal – Grave Robber – Houndmaster – Hellion

Vestal will focus on healing and Grave Robber on killing “Swine Wretch” with “Thrown Dagger”. The Houndmaster is very valuable in the Warrens as he does extra damage to beasts and is very good at making enemies bleed. If needed, he can also use “Guard Dog” to protect one of his companions. Hellion is very flexible in this comp and can help focus the backline with “Iron Swan”, stack more bleeding with “If It Bleeds” or handle the frontline with “Wicked Hack”. “Adrenaline Rush” can also be used to remove blight and buff Hellion’s offense. During camp, the Houndmaster can prevent ambushes with “Hound’s Watch” and Grave Robber can cure diseases (which are prevalent in the Warrens) with “Snuff Box”.

Darkest Dungeon is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and iOS devices.

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