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Their sacrifices are not for nothing, however. Trial and error bought with piles of fallen heroes’ corpses can be a good teacher. Some players will want to be thrifty with that kind of currency; luckily, others have tested which heroes mesh well with one another and in what situations their synergy excels. Hence, certain Darkest Dungeon party compositions are more favorable.
Updated January 20, 2022, by Sid Natividad: Darkest Dungeon 2 is looking great so far even in its alpha stage. As always with these kinds of games, going in prepared is almost mandatory for those who value their fragile blood vessels and precious blood pressure rates. It just so happens that Darkest Dungeon is the best way to do this. To make things even easier, using some awesome Darkest Dungeon team comps is recommended. After all, the community veterans have simmered in the collective knowledge of Darkest Dungeon best team compositions for many years now. So picking the strongest teams based on community testing and preference is a good way to familiarize oneself in this foreboding and unforgiving game world.
All Around/Thematic Teams
These teams are the kind that players can take in two or more dungeon or area types, without having to shuffle around or change too much. They work well in several situations and scenarios, and are reliable to fall back on.
Four Lepers
That’s literally the party composition. Is it endgame material? Of course not. Unless all those Lepers are fully-equipped with the best trinkets, then don’t expect them to be viable for the toughest long dungeons. Even then, there are some teams that handle those locales better. This kind of team is the one players roll with for fun in short or medium dungeons at most.
Because it turns out, four Lepers pack quite a punch and can crush short and infrequent fights before things get out of hand. The only problem here is the Leper’s legendary accuracy (or lack thereof) but four of them should minimize the misses plus they have a good chance to become virtuous.
Anti-Move Team
Shieldbreaker Crusader Highwayman Vestal
One of the worst things that could happen to a team where each member has a specialized role is if that role-designation gets interrupted. Lots of enemies tend to do that with their chain or hook attacks. It can be difficult to recover from such a predicament and players will end up wasting turns healing from the fallout.
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That’s why this team exists. It’s well-equipped to counteract the devastating move attacks. Shieldbreaker does some heavy lifting here as even if she gets moved, she has an attack that will send her back to the frontline. The Crusader has the same, the Highwayman has a retreat attack and the Vestal is great as a backup.
Universal Team
Two Crusaders Grave Robber Vestal
The trick that makes this team work as a universal party for any locale is that the two frontline Crusaders should have Holy Lance and a heal. The Holy Lance is crucial as it lets both of them swap places and allows them to keep decimating enemies with that ability.
Vestal is generally great for healing and avoiding Death’s Door while the Grave Robber is excellent in dealing with evasive enemies using her high accuracy attacks or buffs. Moreover, the Grave Robber has a retreat attack for when the team gets ambushed or surprised and everyone gets shuffled.
Torchless Runners
Three Grave Robbers Vestal
Getting bolder, aren’t we? Torchless runs are some of the most difficult gauntlet challenges in Darkest Dungeon and the worst problem there is dealing with the lowered accuracy. That’s why the three Grave Robbers will be doing god’s work here and ensure that targets will be hit and will bleed.
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Having three of them at the front lets all of them perform lunge attacks. They can also shuffle enemy positions and serve some nasty critical attacks against the enemy. While it’s great for any locale, players might want to avoid areas with bony undead. This party shines the most when killing the Hag boss over and over again.
Two Doctors & Two Patients
Leper Flagellant Plague Doctor Vestal
Another all-rounder team, this setup has a bit of everything and then some. The Leper is great for unexpectedly erasing some big threats when they crit with their big attacks. The Flagellant is, of course, awesome with its bleed application and works great against bosses and mushy enemies.
The Plague Doctor applies Blight which is always recommended during prolonged fights, such as those against bosses. Again, the Vestal is almost mandatory here for bringing troubled teammates out of Death’s Door. For long dungeons, replacing the Plague Doctor for something that has a stress heal during camping is recommended.
Holy Land Misfits
Three Crusaders Plague Doctor
Gamers will probably see where the name came from, and how this party can inspire some gameplay zeal. Crusaders are some of the highest damage dealers in the game, and their holy lances can hit wide.
Moreover, they have small amounts of healing and stress healing, making the team extremely resilient. In fact, players can even replace the Plague Doctor in lighter dungeons. However, for instances where specialized debuffs and backline damage is warranted, the Plague Doctor might be necessary.
Bleed and Butter
Flagellant/Hellion Highwayman Jester Houndmaster
Bleeding one’s enemies to death in Darkest Dungeon is a safe tactic, but it does have its limitations. Bleed attacks don’t work well against undead, so players will want to avoid using this team in dungeons with those kinds of enemies.
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The best part about this aspect is that most party members can hit multiple enemies and make them bleed all at once. Meanwhile, the Jester is the real MVP of the party due, to his stress healing and effective bleed procs.
Top Brass
Man-at-Arms Houndmaster Arbalest Vestal
These guys are all battle-hardened individuals and form a perfect military team, with the Man-at-Arms holding the battle standard. He’ll also be doing the tanking, as anyone behind him isn’t that tough.
In terms of efficiency, this team has a high damage output with tons of crowd control potential. Having an Arbalest and a Houndmaster also allows players to deal with troublesome backline enemies.
The Outcasts
Hellion Abomination Occultist Plague Doctor
Granted, all heroes in Darkest Dungeon are outcasts, but these guys take the cake for being socially deviant. They’re also a surprisingly effective group of misfits. The two spellcasters in the backline (Plague Doctor/Occultist) can stun and debuff the enemies as well as heal.
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The Abomination can also provide some nasty stuns. Meanwhile, the Hellion will outright kill everything while the targets can’t move. Against bosses? As long as players can keep them stunned, it’s a breeze for the Hellion.
Heroic Heroes
Man at Arms Crusader Bounty Hunter Vestal
In contrast to the team of outcasts above, these heroes are as morally upright as the game allows them to be. It performs similarly to the Outcasts team, except the Vestal is a better healer. Stress relief is also done better by the Crusader in this group.
Damage-wise, it deals a good amount, especially to the backline enemies thanks to the Bounty Hunter. The stun capabilities of this team are also decent enough against bosses.
Hunting Party
Bounty Hunter Houndmaster Occultist Arbalest
When it comes to maximizing damage outputs, players won’t find this team wanting. It’s all about weakening the enemies before unleashing wrath upon them. This is done with mark abilities that all party members possess.
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After that, it’s a matter of killing the enemies, which is easy enough if they’re all marked for execution. For other purposes, such as crowd control and survival, this team isn’t bad thanks to the Occultist and some stress management at camp.
For The Ruins
Ruins Team
Hellion Crusader Vestal Plague Doctor
The Ruins can be a nauseating place teeming with undead, so having teams that specialize in dealing with them is often mandatory. The Hellion in the frontline can keep frontline enemies incapacitated with her stun.
The Crusader is effective at killing backline enemies, while the Vestal is just there for healing and some occasional emergency damage dealing. The Plague Doctor shines best at casting Blight on enemies with high protection.
For The Weald
Weald Team
Man-at-Arms Bounty Hunter Occultist Arbalest
The Weald is filled with organic and meaty enemies, so anything that can cause bleeding will be good there. However, Bleed compositions might not be for everyone, so a more standard team would be the Weald Team above.
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The Bounty Hunter keeps things under control, while Man-at-Arms soaks up damage and protects his allies. The Arbalest clears any stress-inducing nuisances, and the Occultist can prevent ambushes while dealing good damage to the backline.
For The Cove
Cove Team
Man-at-Arms Abomination Jester Occultist
This team is similar to the one used in the Weald. It also utilizes the same tactics, with Man-at-Arms keeping everyone alive by being the distraction. Meanwhile, Abomination is great at incapacitating enemies and inflicting Blight against the tough ones.
Jester is just invaluable in this sort of setup since he diminishes the Abomination’s stress-causing disposition. The main damage-dealer here is the Abomination, who can tear through enemy ranks after transforming. Even without his transformation, he can still be useful to the party.
For The Warrens
Warrens Team
Hellion Houndmaster Grave Robber Vestal
The Warrens is a disease-ridden place, but the enemies there all bleed. Thus, Bleed-heavy teams are welcome here. If not, then something lighter like the Warrens Team will do. The Hellion has multiple roles here, from stunning the frontline to making enemies bleed. The Graverobber is a useful hero all-around due to her Snuff Box, which can cure diseases during camping.
The Houndmaster is the primary source of Bleed status and can attack several enemies. Then, of course, there’s the Vestal, who makes every team competent enough to survive even in the darkest of dungeons.
Darkest Dungeon is available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PS4, PSVita, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
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