I can count on one finger, the amount of times I have remembered to give the Houndmaster a dog biscuit.

most common mistake with leper is bringing 3 other people with him, they'll just drag him down

The moss common mistake with Leper is not miss on first turn. Giving enemies the time to fear his majestic oozing body.

Another mistake: renaming Dismas and Reynauld

Houndmaster: forgetting to give your doggo a Scooby snack.

Leper: giving him accuracy trinkets instead of damage trinkets

Crusader:Using him only in ruins because he does extra damage against Unholy. Meanwhile he wrecks everything in Cove and Weald.

Why argue plague grenade vs blinding gas, just take 2 doctors and use both.

Not going to lie, I still get mad at the leper when I have two accuracy trinkets and he still misses multiple times in a row.

Most common mistake for each hero is it not being a leper. The main mistake for Leper is not worshipping him as the god he is

"Don't get greedy, heal sooner" is a godly advice for anyone. While yes, the only hit point that matters is the last one, DD is a game where you can go from full HP to deaths door before you even get a turn yourself in. It's better to heal as soon as you can, because if you think "Oh my crusader still has 25 HP, I'm gonna use my vestal to attack" then he'll get crited, drop to Deaths Door, and might even get bleed or blight and you're out here hoping you can heal him before an enemy attacks him. It's almost always better to heal when you can unless youre 100% certain you can end the fight that turn

There is one thing you should fear, and that is 4 enemies in one turn, all targeting the same hero. Focus Fire. This is what you need to prevent. Not winning, not killing, only focus fire. Killing foes is a way of doing that. Blinding Gas is a very cheap way of getting this done, it borders on cheating.

a mistake I've done and seen a lot with abomination is running him in slot 1. especially if there isn't anyone else in the party who would work well in that slot. it basically limits you to transforming him. whereas in slots 2 and 3 he has his stun and blight moves, less temptation to transform.

Leper: he is perfect and needs no team to help him

Bounty hunter mistake. Never using caltrops. The speed debuff is actually really good on certain enemies. Caltrops allow for DoT parties to trivialize the thing from the stars.

2:37 "However, if you open with Plague Grenade..." You mean Blinding Gas, no? cheers Shuff.

I always save The Abomination Transformation for boss battles, his stun is really good with trinkets. I mostly focus on keeping an enemy from attacking with his chain whip attack.

People don't use "Pick to the Face"? That's like, my favorite all-time move, I use it every opportunity I can. Granted, it's not really out of any strategizing or optimization play; I just really like the idea of going up against unspeakable cosmic terrors from beyond the void, with a PICK to the FACE! Also, it seems silly for her to carry that pick around all the time, and not use it.

My girlfriend recently got the game, and got her ass handed to her so hard. Coached her with the help from these videos and she's already on her way to the first boss :')

Great list! The only point I disagree with is the blinding gas opening. There's usually two scenarios: 1. Your other heroes have enough dps to bring down at least one backliner on t1. 2. Your plague doc plays a major role in bringing down the backline. In scenario 1, your blinding gas often times stuns enemies who could've been dealt with. That saod, blinding gas is usually good here since your other heroes like flag or hellion can finish off the back row on t2-ish. In scenario 2 though you just prolongues the inevitable for one turn, only the enemy is now very resistant to stun. By using plague grenade on r3+4 first, you allow the enemy one turn, yes. But when you stun them the next turn they take 2 blight rounds compared to the 1 when starting with blinding gas.

Counterpoint for highwayman : Getting a numerical advantage by straightup deleting an enemy on turn one (except for the tankier enemies) prevents you from taking a lot of damage and it can renders half (or even all) of the enemy backline useless in some cases. So point blank is still a great move for most encounters.

One mistake I used to make was bringing Bleeding damage characters in area with enemy resistant to it and Blight damage characters in area with blight resistant enemies.

Vestal: I thought the stun was common because of how op it is? Plague Doctor: Her stuns so op, just spam as much as possible. Hellion: Didn't really know how good bleed out was, just took it as if it bleeds but with a debuff. Grave Robber: Her pick is so op man. Crusader: Personally treat him more as a destresser then a bruiser or if someones on death door, just heal them. Thanks for the tips.

love the different pics for the individual heros

I used transform on abomination every single combat, but i always use the low stress items and jester in the team, i know is not optimal, but hey, is much more fun to me in that way

Are you able to include the ability icons when you do videos like this, I think most new people like myself remember the ability icons not the ability name :)

I'm guessing HM will be forgetting to eat treats

Shuffle, I've been reading though the comments on this video, and your dedication to this community is unreal. Thank you for engaging so much with every person on your channel. It helps me understand your reasoning better, and it really makes this community feel responsive. Keep up the great work, king. 👑

Vestal: not using bonk vestal

One alternative to leading with Blinding Gas (albeit a situational one) is leading with Disorienting Blast because if used on an enemy in Pos 4, they can only end up being brought forward assuming it procs. Other common mistake with Occultist: Massively undervaluing Daemon's Pull and Hands from the Abyss. The high chance preventative healing of his stun and moving enemies out of position is so much better than relying on an inconsistent heal. One other common thing people try to do with Leper is go for a low probability hit on turn one, when a Purge would be both more disruptive to frontliners AND backliners, and it further buffs his ACC. Another common Flage mistake is being afraid of Reclaim because of the self-bleed.

I have done these mistakes(Crusader only bruiser) and actually played completely opposite to the mistake(Jester ballad usage). The only thing I would say is with Abomination you get the right trinkets and you can transform for days(I try to aim for this set up when possible), but that could be said of any hero if you have the right trinkets.

Leper: Party composition that moves him backwards, eventually to position 3 or 4 where there is little he can do for anyone else or towards the fight.

1) Crusader is fine with Leper as long as you're using a self-shuffling team, which is by far the strongest way to use one (Crusader, not Leper). Crusader actually has solid backline access when paired with Shieldbreaker, Highwayman, Man-at-arms, or Grave Robber. And while Leper doesn't really like shuffle-heavy comps, it's better than position-inflexible ones where no one has ways to get behind their Leper without having people pass turns or do multiple move commands (which is almost as bad as passing). 2) I'd argue Crusader is best as a generalist that leans bruiser; even with designated trinkets for healing/stress, they're too weak compared to his damage/stun ability. The ability to swap skills mid-dungeon gives you the freedom to not have to run multiple support skills at once and choosing one that best suits the team's needs. Putting him in the back is a waste of his humungous health pool and above-average move resist. He hits this really unique niche of being a position-flexible character that's literally slower than Leper, which pretty much guarantees that your other shuffler will go first and give you full control over whether you want to double-lunge (Rampart/Lunge/Whatever + Holy Lance) to snipe both backline units or do something else (idk, maybe Vestal outsped Highwayman and stunned the rank 4, so now Highwayman can just knife the rank 3 and Crusader is free to stun a frontliner or something)

Tbh I think that HWM is at his most fun when in 1&2. Counterattacking and blasting around the field and slaughtering every thing with crits is so much fun

I love running Vestal in position 2 with her special trinket, and Flagellant is an amazing hybrid tank/healer/bleeder who can sit in the front 2 spots all year long

God I remember when I ran into a Thing from the starts and my GR DIDNT have pick to the face

I really like these more concise videos you've been doing, they compliment your deeper dives.

My most common mistake as a player is forgetting to buy torches for a new party- it does not end well...

I've been having great results with Crusader, Highwaymen, Vestal and Plague Doctor, Ill open with Stunning blow, Pistol Shot 2, Judgement, and Disorienting Blast. Stunning the enemy Backline, possibly critting the other to death, Judgment has been treating me as a backline attack and Disorienting Blast stuns. Like your one video said "Battle should be over by turn 4" now my battles rarely go past Turn 5

Serious play improves and enjoyment since finding your channel Shuffle, thanks!

The number ONE mistake with Hellion is a bad teamcomp with allies that like to dash into first position pushing her back. Jester and his stab, Grave Robber and her lunge attack, Shieldbreaker and her pierce. These guys mostly.

I noticed that your thumbnails have been looking way better recently. This one in particular looks really good!

I tend to have a vestel act as a stunbot instead of my plague doctor because I like the Frontline stun option, even if I can only stun one at a time. The stun resist on fungal scratchers and artillery in the weald is super low which can save a lot of damage if someone gets marked. (You can replace vestel with abomination if you would prefer as well they hit the same 3 ranks) Don't forget that noxious blast debuffs ACC as well, which if you're not running bloody herb or something you should use instead of incision if you're going for blight.

This is all rock solid advice, good stuff. One of these days ill stop levelling 100 characters to 6 and actually go into the darkest dungeon proper :)

Opening with ballad for jester has helped me a lot with him. I used to open with dirk stab so I could rush finale but I’ve been using finale as a panic button more lately. Opening with ballad works really well since I like pairing leper with jester (Lester?) and ballad fixes the accuracy and speed problems on leper. Thanks! :)

I haven't played DD since February, and I keep telling myself I'll get back to completing my Stygian playthrough - but I still watch these from time to time. I'm definitely guilty of the Arbalest mistake, I mark everything for her because I'm a sucker for those big damage numbers.

First time DD Player here: I made a lot of these mistakes when I started playing. Especially with the Abomination and the Grave Robber. I kept using transformation with Abom and it absolutely destroyed my team’s stress level, also I never ran pick you the face with GB because I always just overlooked it in terms of her other abilities. And of course, she would be taken into Rank One or Two and barely be able to do anything. Either way, this video helped quite a lot, much appreciated!

U should add the skill icon and their effects when comparing them… by the time someone memorize the skill by name. They'd already be good enough to even go without the guide.

0:46 yes, healing is best reserved for when the enemies are already weakened and their DPS is lower than your healing.

Leper: Not running 4 Lepers.

Shuffle: “With the abomination, you dont need to transform in every fight bruh” Me: uuuummm

Hohoho, man, you REALLY had me going with the Flagellant "Suffer" tip

I mean the abomination transform always felt like a panic button, I always assumed that was the lore of it.

I agree so much with Crusader. Some people underestimate Crusader as frontliner just because they didn't deal as much damage as Hellion or not as tanky as Man At Arms. Crusader has so much utility on one character. - damage dealer - tank - stress healer - secondary healer - stun - buff - great camping skill - doesn't worry too much even if he's out of position

If I run Vestal or Occultist with Plague Doctor, the enemies are surprised, & I’m confident I can kill the 3rd or 4th enemy on the 1st turn, then I use plague grenade. If the enemies are not surprised then I use blinding gas. In my experience this is the proper way to use plague grenade over blinding gas.

I don't think there's even a mathematical argument for opening with plague grenade, unless your math is specifically regarding your plague doctor's theoretical dps. When you're trying to min/max the action economy, the "math" pulls blinding gas wayyyy ahead. But I'm glad you mentioned that because I remember telling a friend to open with blinding gas before and they were like "naw gotta start with the blight"

People thinking leper is bad and not their team comp is such a "spare the rest, I am ready" leper moment.

5:00 I like how the worst thibg you can do on Lever is put him in a wrong team... He is my favorite hero - self heal is so good Bounty hunter is cool with Leaper, i think. You can, like, stun enemy or pull him into claws of Leaper.

Love to bring the skinny little evil people that lurks behind up to front with Daemon Pull and Dis. Blast. The corpses clearing make them even better.

I learned the pick to the face rule when I was in that literal situation. All the doge means nothing when you can't fight

You totally should have had a section for Musketeer where you literally just read the exact same script as Arbalest but replaced all instances of the word “Arbalest” with “Musketeer.”

I have been watching your DD videos for a while now. thanks, I am shocked how new and current some it is for an old game. wow again

Can confirm my worst run was leper crusade antiquarian and vestal. Every fight was 10 turns and they all got afflicted.

5:15 Jestal Crus Lep isn’t actually that bad of a team composition, all things considered. You have Dirk Stab, which can reach 3rd, and sets up Crusader for Holy Lance, which can hit 4th, and as you mentioned yourself, there’s also Judgement which can project damage into 4th/3rd, if need be. As for Shieldbreaker, I think she doesn’t quite mesh as well with Leper, at least in 2nd, because she can disrupt Leper’s positioning for Purge or Intimidate, and makes dancing with anyone else in 3rd much harder. 10:54 I’d actually argue that the issue is not marking TOO much, but rather not knowing HOW to Mark. Just as an example, say that the starting turn order has Occultist going before Arbalest, and there’s a stress dealer in the backline. Occultist marks the target, and both it and the debuff land. Then, the Arbalest, with boosted accuracy, damage, and crit from the skill, on top of the Dodge debuff from Occultist, will most likely kill the stress dealer turn one. If the order was reversed, I’d likely go with Suppressive Fire and use Hands instead.

this was very informative. i haven't played the game in a long time because i got frustrated at the rng, but now i kinda want to jump back into it

I bought the complete edition of darkest dungeon a few months ago and have tried to get into it only to fail. Thank you for this advice! I really want to be better and I just struggle with strategy at times.

Antiquarian: Not building a team of 4 of her to fight bosses.

it's so awesome, that you still put content for that game out

infinite dd content never extinct. Shuffle: YES

Okay but turn 1 bolster is a good always. the -stress is amazing for long dungeons where stress is an issue, and the dodge buff is very nice too. This move gains value the longer the battle goes for, unless you're versing spiders or something bolster is the way to go.

Shuffle's fatal flaw is truly forgetting to guard with houndmaster...

The abom tip is so spot on - in fact he's AMAZING in the front row since he can heal and destress himself simultaneously making him a great damage sponge. I disagree with the MaA tip though - especially if you're going for the Dodge buff, at least in the right comp; Getting that evasion up can potentially save you from a lot of grief, again provided your team is built to take advantage of that.

Maa Bolster opening is sick when used in synergy with Antiquarian dodge buff on any level. With Graverobber shadowfade opener you are invincible on novice and late veteran missions

Exception to 6:36 never starting with point blank is when you either 1 shot frontline with a proper build. Or have 2 highway mans with staggered speeds endlessly chain pointblank shots.

Jester: i literally always start with ballad and either keep spamming it or use inspiring tune when someone is on high stress (i only use dirk stab to set up finale and that's my build)

Another comment made a joke about it, but Leper is nearly always the one that makes it out in a lone-survivor situation for me. Had a run turn south instantly when my Level 0 Occultist died to 4 spiders before he even got a turn, in the first fight. Whoever else it was I’d brought also died until it was just Antiquarian and Leper. Leper ended up never going below half health that run but the Antiquarian, on Death’s Door, survived 5 hits across two combats to earn herself a permanent spot on the team and a well earned visit to the brothel

8:59 this is a weird one because yeah the low health skills are usually saved for last but in longer fights its different. the healing debuff only lasts two rounds so opening with one of them and on round four doing it again. so either open with it or save it for last

For lepers team I use Vestal, jester, leper, hellion It's effective in places where enemies don't have much protection. So like the weald or the cove.

The biggest mistake about antiquarian is not using 4 of them

I'm something of a newer player, but it seems I just naturally started using Bounty Hunter, Vestal, and Plague Doctor pretty well. Cool. I did kinda goof up with the other mistakes, though.

Okay fiiiiiiiine, but only because I'm thirsting for _any_ kind of DD content at all at this point

HWM with point blank shot and riposte is the best way to use it. Leave pistol shot for range and open vein for high prot foes.

I played against the Swine King (or prince, I forgot), lost two teammates to Wilbur, barely finished off the boss and lost my last teammate to Wilbur. My last remaining character was Grave Robber, no Pick. It was humiliating, having to retreat from the battle.

the flipping image for your piece on Leper was perfect XD just super sad leper while you basically say "Everybody ask what is Leper doing but never HOW is Leper doing." xD

2:09 If the enemy is surprised, and you have a way to hit two backline enemies with other characters, then plague grenade turn 1 is great, especially in Ruins. Simply because killing enemies is as effective as stunning them permanently. I should also mention that stun resistance is a thing in this game, just like blight resistanse, successfully debuffing two enemies is hard, so it's more likely for you to debuff one, and Stun Vs Kill is a huge RNG debate unless the enemy's HP is very high. I've seen people trying to stun enemies that they can kill and receiving additional hits that they could avoid. Unless you are trying to heal stress and HP, you should avoid wasting time.

My issue with flashpowder at champion (and even veteran) is there is there is 2 checks you have to make when using it. 1. actually landing it 2. debuff chance While enemies typically don't have good chance to resist and anti has a trinket that raises it, I have missed enough and gotten enough of my flashpowders resisted, to pretty much never run it outside of apprentice missions. While it is rare, it happens and honestly do not prefer taking the chance, especially when running anti at higher dungeons is already a risk for most scenarios

It's funny how me having been playing darkest dungeon for so long can still be learning a few more thing to get better

I had that exact same issue with Grave robber in both DD1 and DD2! I dont remember the team layout, but we were going against the act 1 final boss, and about two of the easiest chains were remaining, and I had a grave robber and an occultist alive, the occultist was designed around weaking enemies and healing allies, whilst the grave robber was focused on taking huge chunks out with her advancing moove and blighing- so when my 2 upfront tank and dps died, i couldnt do anything. Almost happened exactly the same in DD1, during the shuffling horror fight, but this time, instead of the occultist, i had this GIGA CHAD FLAGELLANT who just REFUSED to die, and his crit after crit whilst the Grave robber just kinda... watched

The most common mistake with the hellion for me personally is taking her along at all, every time I do she afflicts in the first battle against some measly maggot and it's just disaster dominoes from there. I was hoping to find an explanation in one of these videos, bu honestly my RNG just seem to hate hate hate her.

Love this list and video! Highwayman: Duelist's Advance hits up to rank 3 from any position it's used in, so imo your strategy works even better starting in rank 2. Open with an Advance on rank 3 (riposte activates), then Point Blank (likely killing the front enemy and pushing you back into rank 2), rinse and repeat. The amount of dmg he puts out with just this combo is terrifying. Flagellant: I totally agree. It's worth noting that Exsanguinate and Redeem have evolved to now have limited uses (3 and 2), so they're more like panic buttons (similar perhaps to the Abomination's Transform)

MAA: Definitely agree. I can't speak for others, but I overvalued His buffs for the longest time. Now when I take him out, pretty much every build has Crush Retri and Rampart. 4th is up in the air depending on what I think I'll need.

Grave robber: Use her.

"You should be healing at about half. Don't be greedy, _Just, Heal, Sooner."_ Me, having not played this game in years and mostly just wanting to stir up shit for laughs: "Two thirds."

One mistake I find reynauld making is somehow contracting syphilis 3 times in a row

Nice video! Looking forward to 1 tip for every hero :D

You can blame Vestal’s camping skills for a lot of those teams with crusader and leper. Players see the bonuses for religious units and think it’s a good idea to pair the two in the team to maximise prayer.

Leper's problem is literally that everyone else sucks

I love these videos and your channel, I've all but given up on ever being good at this game but your videos give me hope that one day I'll pick the game up again

Shoofle back at it again

very helpful for a new player, ty.