When it comes to Darkest Dungeon, putting together the strongest team is the name of the game, but to do that, you have to know which characters are the best. If you are a veteran player, you already know the best tier list based on your own gaming experience, but as a new player, you won't have this kind of knowledge yet. That's where we come in. In our Darkest Dungeon tier list, you'll find out everything that you need to know about the characters, who are the strongest and who are the weakest as we rank them in tiers based on their overall performance.
Darkest Dungeon tier list
First things first, there are no useless characters in Darkest Dungeon. Every unit is viable in the right situation. In terms of power level, the differences between them are not really that huge, making the whole ranking process very subjective. So if your favourite heroes are ranked lower than you would expect, that doesn't mean you should stop playing them. Also, some of the characters are more viable in certain dungeons, so again, this tier list is not set in stone, and there is no character that you can't use.
That said, we did our best to rank all the adventurers not only based on our personal experience playing the game but also by taking into account all the data that we've managed to gather from multiple sources over the internet.
With all that out of the way, let's jump straight into our Darkest Dungeon tier list!
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1
Tier S
Plague Doctor
One of the best characters in the game, Plague Doctor is a staple in almost every party. Due to her kit she excels in different roles. As one would expect from a 'Doctor', she can be great in a support role but not in the conventional way. What she's known for is her powerful control abilites and damage over-time. She can pretty much neutralize the enemy backline with her Blinding Gas and Disorienting Blast. When it comes to her trinkets, usually players opt for ones that increase stun chance. Overall, Plague Doctor is one of the best characters in Darkest Dungeon.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
22
7
4-7
2%
0
38
9
7-13
6%
20
Helion
Arguably the best character in Darkest Dungeon, Helion is an offensive juggernaut. She can be a part of pretty much any party, as all she really needs is to be in the first position. Put her there and let her deal tons of damage with high crits and bleeds that can reach the enemy back line. She doesn't enjoy fights that go on for a long time, but once she crits and goes on a rampage, everything dies fast. Simply an overpowered adventurer that deserves the spot at the top of the Darkest Dungeon tier list.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
26
4
6-12
5%
10
44
6
10-19
9%
30
Crusader
Crusader is what you call a jack of all trades. Even though he's considered to be a tank, he brings a lot to the table. His kit includes crowd control abilities, stress healing as well as HP healing. And, of course, he has decent damage output with skills such as Zealous Accusation, Smite and Stunning Blow. His Holy Lance ability allows him to jump right back to the frontline in case he was moved. His bonus damage against unholy targets makes him a staple for any party that wants to go through the Ruins. Even though is a generalist adventurer, Crusader is definitely top tier.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
33
1
6-12
3%
5
61
3
10-19
7%
25
Find out the which are the best characters in Punishing: Gray Raven according to our tier list!
2
Tier A
Vestal
If you are looking for a dedicated healer to join your party, Vestal might be what you need as her kit includes both single target as well as whole party healing. It doesn't matter if you are facing endgame content or you just started playing, she's equally good at what she does. That said, healing is all she brings to a team. Because of that, she really has no place in teams that want to mitigate damage in other ways, for example with heavy crowd control skills. She's S tier for new players, though.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
24
4
4-8
1%
0
44
6
7-14
5%
20
Shieldbreaker
If you could somehow skip to the endgame stages, Shieldbearer would easily be an S tier adventurer. Problem is, there's also early and mid game content that you need to deal with. Due to her flashback mechanics during camping, you need to pay attention to her stress levels. Pairing her with heroes like Jester, Hellion or Crusader can be helpful. Her armor penetration and move skills plus her ability to break guard makes her a great fit for a party that likes to move heroes around.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
20
5
5-10
6%
8
36
9
9-18
10%
28
Occultist
Occultist is one of the most versatile adventurers in the game. He can be played either as a damage dealer or a dedicated healer, or even a support hero with his crowd control and debuff abilities. Because of that, Occultist can easily fit into various teams. That said, most players opt to use Occultist in a healer role. Due to his RNG healing mechanics (sometimes you might roll 0), he works great with adventurers that provide some type of healing.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
19
6
4-7
6%
10
35
8
7-13
10%
30
Man-at-Arms
Man-at-Arms is primarily a tank, but he brings a lot of utility to the team. Even though his damage output is underwhelming, this hero can easily fit into pretty much any team comp that needs some solid defense. His camp skills are arguably some of the best in the entire game, and his party buffs are also pretty good. If you opt to go for the Guardian trinket, keep in mind that will move him to the last place of the formation, and he won't be able to use any attacking skills.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
31
3
5-9
2%
5
55
5
8-14
6%
25
Highwayman
Highwayman is all about doing damage to his enemies. If you are familiar with RPGs, then you probably know what a rogue class is. A glass cannon that can dish out high amount of damage but at the same time has low health and overall survivability. And that's what Highwayman is. He's an excellent damage dealer with great reach, but lower than average health pool and little to no defenses. While he's very good at doing damage, that's really his only contribution to a team.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
23
5
5-10
5%
10
43
30
9-16
9%
30
Bounty Hunter
Even though he's a specialist who excels in single target damage, Bounty Hunter's kit makes him a highly versatile adventurer that can fit into many formations. He has melee as well as ranged damage skills, he can mark and stun targets and can also move around the formation easily thanks to his movement skills. Because of that, he's a great fit to a party that aims to shuffle adventurers positions.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
25
5
5-10
4%
5
45
7
8-16
8%
25
3
Tier B
Antiquarian
As a support unit, Antiquarian's kit revolves around buffing her party members. Even though many new players don't like her due to her weak offense, she can be fantastic in certain teams and strategies. She's not a traditional support like Vestal, as she can't be the primary healer of your team, but she can boost your party's Dodge stat, raise their resistances or lower enemies ACC. Of course, her ability to raise the amount of gold you earn is what really makes her stands out.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
17
5
3-5
1%
10
29
7
5-9
5%
30
Flagellant
A frontline healer who can inflict bleed to pretty much any enemy regardless of position. Problem is, he also likes to be dangerously low on HP to get the most out of his kit. You need to constantly pay attention to his HP. Too much healing means no buffs, but leaving him on low-HP can also result in death. He has great synergy with heroes like Plague Doctor and Antiquarian and he's certainly a unique adventurer. That said, Flagellant isn't exactly what you would call a beginner-friendly hero. So if you just started playing the game, maybe you'll find his play style somewhat confusing.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
22
6
3-6
2%
0
38
9
5-11
6%
20
Grave Robber
An adventurer with high Crit and Dodge base numbers but somewhat low-HP, Grave Robber lies somewhere between a damage dealer and a support/utility unit. She can be pretty decent in what is known as moving parties, aka team comps that like to rotate the heroes' position, and she has great synergy with certain heroes. That said, she's not as good in other situations. Also, her cheap camp skills are notable and she has a good trinket set for the most part.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
20
8
4-8
6%
10
36
10
7-14
10%
30
Houndmaster
Even though many players dislike generalist adventurers for the most part, Houndmaster is a hero that can work well in certain party formations, mostly from the 2nd, 3rd or 4th position. As a support unit, his toolkit revolves around buffing his allies. His skill Target Whistle can mark targets and reduce their PROT is always useful along with his camp abilities. In terms of damage dealing, Houndmaster relies on bleed that causes damage over time, even though it's not really that strong. Because of his bonus against Beast enemies, he's highly effective in the Warrens.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
21
5
4-7
4%
10
37
7
7-13
8%
30
Jester
Jester is a unique support adventurer in Darkest Dungeon. He's primary known as a stress healer, and he's great at it, but that's not all he can do. Battle Ballad and Inspiring Tune, are two abilities that can provide buffs to all party members. On the offensive, Jester relies on bleed to do damage, but he really needs certain adventurers with him to be effective in that role as he wants to be locked in 3rd position.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
19
7
4-7
4%
15
35
9
7-13
8%
35
Leper
Leper is an adventurer with high base stats, great damage output, and a skill set that includes crowd control abilities and immunities. Even though all that sounds great, he's constantly ranked among the weakest heroes. Why's that? Well, that's because he's not that easy to work with. He needs to be in the first position of a team comp, and his accuracy is just bad. Of course, you can work around that if you pair him with certain adventurers such as Jester and get certain trinkets. That said, these trinkets won't come easily during the early stages.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
35
2
8-16
1%
0
63
4
13-26
5%
20
4
Tier C
Abomination
Abomination has a unique skill set that allows him to switch between human and beast form. Even though a shapeshifting character sounds fun and interesting, the end result is somewhat underwhelming. The fact that he can only transform once per battle, plus the disadvantage of a stress penalty to all party members whenever he switches to his beast form, makes Abomination a bad fit for most team comps. Many consider him to be the weakest character in the game, hence the spot at the bottom of our Darkest Dungeon tier list.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
26
7
6-11
2%
7.5
46
9
11-20
6%
27.5
Arbalest
Arbalest and Musketeer are essentially the same heroes. Musketeer is a visual redesign of Arbalest that was initially available only to 'Adventure tier' Kickstarter donators. The only difference between these two are their unique shard trinkets, so it makes sense to rank them together. Even though they are considered to be damage dealers, they are more of a support unit that adds utility to the team. Battlefield Bandage ability can boost the healing a hero receives, making them a great pair with dedicated healers such as Vestal or Occultist.
HP
SPD
DMG
CRIT
DODGE
27
3
4-8
6%
0
47
5
7-14
10%
20
Musketeer
Same as the Arbalest with trinkets being different. Read the Arbalest description above.
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