From tone-deaf bards to lawful kleptomaniacs...
It's no secret that the quirk system in Darkest Dungeon elicits very peculiar behaviours from our cast of loveable heroes.
While nurturing your roster through the long and arduous campaign, there are plenty of excellent quirks you may wish to keep, some that are utterly forgettable, and others that you should nuke from your character sheet with extreme prejudice.
Thankfully, the Sanitarium is open for business, ready and willing to shower you with leeches, smear you with questionable ointments, and tinker with your brain to reinforce the good quirks - or wash away the bad.
Due to the vast list of quirks, your limited control over their acquisition, and the hefty price of their management, you'd be wise to learn when you've struck gold - or when to start pre-ordering a lobotomy. The question is, which positive quirks are worth permanently burning into your hero's psyche?
Before we start, here's a link to the Darkest Dungeon Fandom Wiki, providing a list of all positive and negative quirks you can acquire. If you feel like checking specific details, don't hesitate to visit!
Prismatic Calm | -30% Stress
See also: Steady | Photomania
Ask any veteran of Darkest Dungeon, and they'll tell you that stress is far more prevalent than health when it comes to success. If a hero is lucky enough to acquire Prismatic Calm, they can enjoy a flat -30% intake of stress from all sources.
If you're partial to using legendary +stress trinkets, this perk goes a long way toward negating the detrimental effect. Junia's Head, for example, comes with a +20% stress modifier, so Prismatic Calm nullifies that detriment and leaves you with stress reduction to spare.
Any remaining reduction will reduce the volume of stress heals being cast in battle, helping you to squeeze out more aggressive abilities instead.
However, Prismatic quirks are unique – acquired (by chance) after killing The Thing from the Stars. While 30% (unrestricted) from Prismatic Calm is better than a restricted 20% from Photomania, it is still a good alternative. Even Steady (-10% Stress) is a worthwhile keeper.
Given stress is one of the most defining characteristics (and mechanics) of Darkest Dungeon, consider beating it at its own game using passive stress reduction. You won't regret it!
Prismatic Speed | +3 SPD
See also: Luminous | Early Riser | Quick Reflexes
Darkest Dungeon does not include a visible turn order, so it's not uncommon to see new players ask how it is determined, especially when they notice a slow enemy acting before a faster hero.
The explanation is simple. All participants (at the start of a round) have a hidden 1d8 "initiative" roll added to their speed. So, if a 3-speed enemy rolls high and a 7-speed hero rolls low, the slower enemy may still be placed ahead in the turn order that round.
Thanks to quirks like Prismatic Speed, Luminous and Quick Reflexes, you will have a much easier time competing with (or outright beating) initiative rolls, frequently allowing you to act ahead of your opponent(s) and dominate the round. Also, flat speed perks will retain their effectiveness throughout an entire battle, not just during the first round, like On Guard.
Increasing the speed of your heroes (overall) is almost always a worthwhile pursuit. After all, when using hyper-fast teams that can win most fights before they start, dire situations tend to become far rarer.
Corvid's Eye | +8 ACC, +8% Scouting
See also: Prismatic Eye | Natural Eye | Natural Swing
It's never fun to flat-out miss your attack, be it first or last in the turn order, which is why veterans will seek to cap their accuracy on practically all heroes via any means necessary.
With quirks such as Corvid's Eye – which can only be acquired (by chance) from the Shrieker – the recipient will have a juicy +8 accuracy increase, making it easier to reach desired accuracy caps. It can go a long way towards freeing up a trinket slot that was otherwise dedicated to accuracy, allowing more aggressive choices.
As a bonus, Corvid's Eye also comes with a handy +8% scouting chance, increasing the likelihood of scouting fights throughout the journey. Remember - when entering a scouted battle, it cannot surprise your party, not to mention a better chance of discovering secret rooms for juicy treasure.
Until you secure this powerful quirk, consider the alternatives such as Natural Swing and Natural Eye, for they are not far off the mark.
Hot to Trot | +25% DMG, +20 ACC, +5 CRIT (First Turn)
Given the prevalence of accuracy, speed, and initiative, let's talk about First Round perks like Hot to Trot - providing the owner with a whopping damage, accuracy and crit boost to their opening attack.
The first round of each battle is almost always the most important, and most fights - especially in non-DLC content - don't last very long. Less so when your opening attack is as impactful as possible.
Thanks to Hot to Trot, your quirked hero will have a greater chance to land their hit (even if inaccurate) and shall slap the target harder than usual. If it critically hits, even better, and if it is performed early in the turn order, happy days!
Despite dropping off once the first round has ended, most fights have already been decided by then, even if enemies are still alive, so it is no surprise to see many people citing Hot to Trot as one of their most locked quirks.
On Guard | +4 SPD, +5 DODGE (First Turn)
See also: Quickdraw
Hot to Trot may be valued for increasing the accuracy and impact of your first-turn moves, but raw speed - coupled with quirks like On Guard and Quickdraw - can help you perform those moves before the enemy has time to respond.
A dead or stunned enemy cannot harm you, so having a chance to put them down or lock them up before they do anything is tremendously valuable.
The comparative value between Hot to Trot and quirks like On Guard hinges on your stats and trinkets. Assuming your accuracy is sufficiently capped, it's time to push your hero higher in the turn order so they can make quicker use of it.
Conversely, not all strategies and situations involve opening the round with damage and stuns, so there may be times where speed takes precedence over accuracy, as rare as it may be. Either way, speed and accuracy are top billing, so pick and mix them however you deem appropriate.
Eldritch Slayer | +10 ACC & +5 CRIT (vs Eldritch)
There are numerous enemy types in Darkest Dungeon, such as Eldritch, Beast, Human, Unholy, Bloodsucker, Husk, and more. Unsurprisingly, multiple trinkets and quirks exist to provide perks (or detriments) against specific factions.
The most precious (positive) enemy-specific quirk is Slayer - closely followed by Hater - and it is no secret that Eldritch is generally the most commonly faced enemy type in Darkest Dungeon.
If a hero becomes an Eldritch Slayer, it is almost always worth keeping. After all, that's a +10 accuracy and +5 critical hit boost when attacking common threats throughout the game. Aside from being enemy specific, it's a great boon to have.
Accuracy is generally harder to come by than raw damage, so Slayer quirks tend to be valued slightly higher than Hater variants, with those related to Eldritch being the most beneficial overall. You could do worse than lock in a different variation, even if it's for different enemy types, but overall, Eldritch Slayer eeks out the comparative win, if only just.
Eldritch Hater | +15% DMG & -15% Stress (vs Eldritch)
Hater is only marginally less valuable when compared to Slayer perks.
If you have an Eldritch Hater in your group, and they hit an Eldritch enemy, the attack will deal +15% bonus damage. Additionally, attacks from an Eldritch enemy against an Eldritch Hater will deal 15% less stress.
Ultimately, it's a nice blend of aggression and defence against one of the most numerous enemy types in the game, although accuracy provided by Slayer variants is often more desirable. Still, both are worth reinforcing at the Sanitarium.
Beast Slayer | +10 ACC & +5 CRIT (vs Beast)
See also: Beast Hater | Man Slayer | Mankind Hater | Unholy Hater | Unholy Slayer
While Eldritch may be top of the chart overall, perks related to Beasts aren't far behind. After all, beasts are rife within the Warrens and the Weald, not to mention being a large part of the generic encounter table, so you will frequently meet spiders, maggots, corpse eaters, and various other beasts everywhere you go.
On the other side of the coin, Human-related perks typically involve enemies such as bandits and cultists. They're not as lock-worthy when compared to Eldritch and Beast perks, but still handy to have.
And lastly, Unholy is the least common faction - primarily confined to the Ruins (with a few exceptions), with the generic encounter table involving (mostly) simple skeletons. Handy to have, but not the most lock-worthy of the bunch.
Prismatic Coagulation | +25% Bleed Res
See also: Clotter
A hero - slapped to death's door by a bleed or blight-inflicting attack - rolling a dice to determine if they survive once their turn finally arrives. Yeah, we've all been there at some point. After all, it is one of the most common ways a hero perishes, particularly squishy speedsters like the Grave Robber and Jester.
On the topic of DoTs, bleeds are the most common in the game - both dealt and received. As a result, quirks like Prismatic Coagulation - and even its lesser alternatives - are almost always worth keeping.
Be it a Rend for the Old Gods from Cultist Brawlers, an Arterial Pinch from Uca crabs, or the barrage of bleeds encountered in the Darkest Dungeon itself - a resisted bleed saves health, or possibly, your hero's life.
Prismatic Purity | +25% Blight Res
See also: Thick-Blooded
So long as DoT's remain one of the most common causes of death, having quirks that help you resist them is always worth consideration, and everything said about bleed can apply to blight, though one tends to be received more often than the other.
While there is no shortage of blighters in the bestiary, it is most prevalent in the Weald, give or take a few generic multi-zone exceptions, such as spiders. Conversely, both types of DoT resistances are valuable for the final four dungeons in the game.
Unfortunately, players can seek out Clotter for 15% bleed resistance, whereas the blight equivelant, Thick-Blooded, only provides 10%. Despite the disparity, both are still very valuable quirks to keep.
Risktaker | +10% DMG, -10 DODGE
See also: Warrior of Light | Lurker
What's this? A negative quirk in the best positive quirks list? Well, of course! It's a non-specified +10% damage boost tied to a situational (but mostly ignorable) detriment.
Considering how easily you can strangle overall damage intake via fast compositions, trading lower dodge for better damage is a no-brainer more often than not.
However, alternatives (such as Warrior of Light) do much the same with no detriment, so long as the torch is 75% or higher. If you prefer low or no-torch runs, Lurker serves as the inverse – an extra 10% damage so long as the torch is 26% or lower.
Combining quirks such as Risktaker, Warrior of Light, and Slugger or Unnering can lead to spicy damage boosts, so reinforce them at your leisure.
Slugger | +10% DMG (Melee)
See also: Unerring | Precise Striker | Eagle Eye
Heroes can avail of perks such as Slugger and Unerring to passively increase their overall output. The downside is that they only affect melee or ranged skills. Similarly, Precise Striker and Eagle Eye give higher crit chance, but again, for specific attack types only.
For example, a Highwayman who frequently uses skills such as Duellist Advance and Open Vein will enjoy having Slugger or Precise Striker, even though their ranged skills (such as Pistol Shot) gain no benefit. The reverse is true when a Highwayman has Unerring and Eagle Eye, improving skills such as Pistol Shot and Point Blank Shot with no change to their melee skills.
Arbalests who gain melee quirks (such as Slugger) may not be happy, but it is beneficial if their negative slots get filled with melee variations, such as Weak Grip and Torn Rotator. If you're ever unsure about which abilities might be affected by which quirks, double-check which attacks are "Ranged" or "Melee" using the hero's tooltips.
Hippocratic | +20% Healing Given
With quirks like Hippocratic, potent healers will have extra leeway when considering their healing trinkets, and lower potency healers can enjoy supporting the team with peppier skills than usual.
Even the Occultist - a walking meme due to possibly healing for nothing - can rest easier knowing that lower dice rolls get increased slightly, so long as they are above 0.
Whenever you find yourself healing a team member, no matter how frequently or infrequently that may be, it is always nice when it comes with extra spice. Besides, less time healing means more time dedicated to preventing the need for healing. Such as, you know, killing or stunning the enemy.
No matter how hard you try, heroes will inevitably take some form of damage. The easier that is to top off, the better. While stress is more important than health overall, a hero dying is still one of the worst possible outcomes.
Hard-Skinned | +10% PROT
While not the most exciting quirk in the universe, Hard-Skinned is still an undeniably useful one. While it is possible to strangle the bulk of damage intake via competent compositions, heroes will eventually eat damage at some point. Thanks to Hard-Skinned, raw damage will be flatly reduced, saving you health over time.
Hard-Skinned is arguably more beneficial on squishier heroes compared to health-related quirks like Tough. After all, percentage-based increases to low health pools do not provide a lot of extra health, and healthier heroes generally don't need more.
By comparison, raw damage reduced by 10% can make a noticeable difference even on low-health heroes, turning moderate attacks into grazing blows, or stopping nastier attacks from taking the entire health pool in one go. If that allows a hero to squeeze out more aggression instead of healing or self-sustain, it's a net gain.
On high-health heroes, Hard-Skinned makes them even more durable. A welcome bonus, especially for heroes who love guarding their allies. Assuming you are not dominating all battles or strangling intake into negligibility, keeping Hard-Skinned as a passive safety net is not the worst decision in the world.
Tough | +10% Max HP
Not every player knows how to strangle damage intake into oblivion right away, so if you acquire a quirk like Tough, there are infinitely worse perks you could keep or reinforce in its stead.
It's a solid stop-gap while waiting for better alternatives. After all, extra health is extra health. Yes, even if it's only 2-5 bonus health for a squishier hero - or a hefty boost to a meaty hero who doesn't necessarily need it. Despite the presence of caveats, it may still make a huge difference.
You won't be upset if a hero had it by default or if they randomly acquired it during a dungeon, though you may prefer something else in the long run.
I hope this list proved valuable or informative! If so, check out the upcoming breakdown of the Top 10 Worst Quirks in Darkest Dungeon. If the positive quirks didn't have you rushing to the Sanitarium, the negatives certainly will!
