Darkest Dungeon Best Quirks for Every Hero

1. Abomination

The Abomination is a hero tortured by what he has done in his moments of weakness. He has multiple abilities and will deal good stun and blight damage in the second and third position while also being able to destress and heal himself. His secret is that he can transform into a werewolf-like creature and will deal good damage in the first position but also stress your entire party when transforming.

Best Quirk: Hot to Trot - +25% Dmg, +20 Acc, +5% Crit on the First Round

Hot to Trot is definitely my favorite Quirk in the game. The abomination is able to make this quirk useful because he can either do a guaranteed hurtful stun or can deal some blight which would have a good chance to get a nice Crit.

Second Best Quirk: Warrior of Light +10% Dmg if the torch is above 75

Warrior of light is useful for just about any class honestly; however, since the Abomination doesn’t deal much damage traditionally, Warrior of Light is nice to make him a little bit deadlier. 

2. Antiquarian

If you are looking for a fighter; then, you will have to search somewhere else. While not being a strong hero, the Antiquarian has been attracted by the promise of treasure. If you are in a tight spot for money, she will find you items; though, you should keep her in the back positions. She possesses some minor healing and buff skills and can force others to guard her.

Best Quirk: Evasive - +5 Dodge

I don’t know many people who enjoy the Antiquarian. If you are one of “those” people, I assume you’d want her survivability to be good. Increasing her dodge helps her survivability which in turn helps her stay around long enough to give out some buffs.

Second Best Quirk: Quick Reflexes +2 SPD

Useful for just about anyone, Quick Reflexes also can help the Antiquarian. She generally will issue out a series of small buffs to her allies, and it is good to give them these buffs before they activate or get attacked.

3. Arbalest

The Arbalest is useful in the third or fourth position and deals a good amount of damage while also being able to heal if need be. She can mark enemies or suppress them and make them less accurate. A good hero as either a damage dealer or support -  whichever way you prefer. 

Best Quirk: Eagle Eye - +5% Crit to ranged skills

The Arbalest is generally using her crossbow, and as you can imagine, that means shooting her crossbow with a ranged attack. Eagle Eye allows her to be a more devastating damage dealer.

Second Best Quirk: Unerring - +10% Dmg to ranged skills

Like Eagle Eye, this quirk is useful to the Arbalest since she only uses her ranged skills. Increasing her damage output makes her go from dealing good damage to dealing good kills.

4. Bounty Hunter

Like a lot of other heroes, this particular one is always on the lookout for someone to stalk down. He will be effective in all the positions if you choose the right skills. He can stun, move, and mark single targets. He gets bonuses for hitting human enemies as well as the ability to debuff enemies for them to take more damage which means he is great to bring as a secondary damage dealer. 

Best Quirk: Mankind Hater: +15% Dmg and -15% Stress vs Human

Seeing as Collect Bounty gives you bonus damage to humans, you will probably want to bring this lovely man along when killing some. Having this buff can easily be the difference between injuring an enemy heavily and a killing blow.

Second Best Quirk: Precise Striker - +5% Crit Melee skills

Perhaps you’ve seen the devastating blows this bounty hunter can deal when an enemy is marked. Imagine if the Bounty Hunter got crits more often. Well, now you don’t have to if you are lucky enough to get Precise Striker.

5. Crusader

The Crusader fights for righteousness and his god. A classic tank who is only really good in the first two positions, but can use his Holy Lance to push himself forward.. He has some minor healing abilities which will get rid of stress or deal a minor amount of healing but you shouldn’t depend on those.

Best Quirk: Hard Skinned - +10% Protection

Especially getting this quirk in the beginning of the game can help - and not just for the crusader. This a great quirk for tanks and helps make your heroes survive through more fights. The Protection naturally gets higher with better gear but this is a very nice quirk regardless.

Second Best Quirk: Resilient - +10% Stress Heal Received

The Crusader has an ability that gets rid of a small amount of stress. If your front line stresses out or doesn’t become virtuous; then, you won’t have tanks defending your support heroes. If you can manage your stress level before it becomes an emergency, you will be safer.

6. Grave Robber

As the name implies, the grave robber isn’t here to make friends. She is an exceptional hero who can do huge amounts of damage and save the day with her blight ability and ‘Pick to the Face’ which goes through the protection of enemies. Use her in the second or third position to maximize her usefulness. 

Best Quirk: Natural - +20% MAX HP, +20% Healing Received and +3 SPD while wearing no trinkets

The Graverobber has some great trinkets; yet, she doesn't need them. She has high dodge and great speed already; so, this only gives her a boost to her already good stats. 

Second Best Quirk: On Guard - +4 SPD and +5 DODGE on the first round

Like mentioned before, the Grave Robber is quick naturally. This guarantees her to be able to attack first and also increases her dodge throughout the first round. 

7. Hellion

The Hellion is my personal favorite. She is the best in the first position although she doesn't have the most hitpoints. What she lacks in health she makes up in damage; however, her best abilities come at a price. Overconfidence may be a slow and insidious killer, but she has every right to be.

Best Quirk: Slugger - +10% damage melee skills

The Hellion is one of the best damage dealers. Giving her extra damage can really hurt even the biggest bosses or enemies. 

Second Best Quirk: Deadly - +2% Crit

She already has a good Crit chance naturally, but giving her deadly is especially useful. It is always a beautiful sight to see an enemy get hit by a Crit in the first round.

8. Highwayman

Highwayman is one of your first two Hero classes. He will be useful in any position with both ranged and melee damage. His survivability is a little lackluster but he is a great character if you need him. Preferably use him either stationary in the second position or move him around with Duelists Advance and Point Blank Shot.

Best Quirk: Though - +10% MAX HP

The Highwayman has just a little less survivability then he should have. This quirk takes care of that problem.

Second Best Quirk: Natural Swing - +5 ACC

Especially with his pistol, the Highwayman misses often due to his bad accuracy. This quirk is great if you use ranged abilities a lot.

9. Houndmaster

The Houndmaster is a great Hero for the Warren and Weald as he relies on bleed damage. He is also able to lower protection with one of his abilities and get a powerful buff by using dog treats; so, he is a great hero against bosses who are susceptible to bleed attacks. Additionally, he can heal and destress himself for self preservation.

Best Quirk: Luminous -  +2 SPD, +5 DODGE

The Houndmaster can increase his dodge if he guards other people, and having this ability will make him faster and more effective at dodging attacks. 

Second Best Quirk: Weald Tacticians - +15% damage in the Weald

Because the Houndmaster relies heavily on his ability to bleed enemies, this skill would be very useful in the locations that he is frequently used in. 

10. Jester

The Jester isn’t a beginner class. He has a mixture of support and damage abilities and takes some skill to use correctly. He will move himself back and forth and should only be used in a versatile team. He can increase his dodge and move to the front where he uses Finale to do massive damage but takes a heavy debuff for the duration of the battle. If you don’t like that, use him in the second or third position to do a good amount of bleed damage and destress teammates. 

Best Quirk: Night Owl - +2 SPD if torch is below 26

Some people like taking risks, and when you look at the Jester’s many trinkets, you will realize the Jester likes taking risks too. He gets bonuses from these trinkets when it is dark, and having Night Owl would be the icing on the cake

Second Best Quirk: Lurker - +10% damage if torch is below 26

Like Night Owl, Lurker is an additional bonus to the Jester. Instead of increasing speed, it increases damage which makes your Finale ability more, uh, final (that pun was a stretch).

11. Leper

The Leper is arguably the best tank at your disposal. Dealing high amounts of damage, he can take almost anything that enemies attack him with. He is lacking in accuracy, but if you have good quirks and trinkets, you can negate those effects. The Leper can only be used in the first and second position.

Best Quirk: Fairweather Fighter - +20% DMG if HP above 99%

Honestly a lot of heroes deserve this quirk. The Leper is one of the people who can make the most of it. His healing ability paired with a good healer will help him stay at 100% health for the most part; therefore, the 20% damage are stacked on top of his already good abilities.

Second Best Quirk: Fated - Chance to turn any MISS into a HIT

Because of his low accuracy, this can change the outcome of a battle. The Leper deals high damage already, and the less he misses, the faster you can kill your enemies. 

12. Man-at-Arms

The Man-at-Arms is a dependable protector for your heroes with less survivability. He is able to buff your entire party while dealing average amounts of damage and reduce the stress other party members take. You should only use him in the first two positions, but I’ve seen some cheeky party set-ups that put him in the back. 

Best Quirk: Tough - +10% Max HP

Tough is another quirk useful for many hero types. It also happens to be useful for the Man-at-arms as he has a habit of guarding people to take their damage.

Second Best Quirk: Quickdraw - +4 SPD on First Round

As previously stated, the Man-at-arms can many times be a great asset to a team when guarding. Quickdraw allows you to use his set-up move before the going gets too rough.

13. Occultist

The Occultist is a support healer who is a gamble. He can debuff enemies and deal damage to the back. His healing ability is a little unreliable though. The occultist has a chance to bleed you and also to do a Zero heal. If you get both at the same time, it might turn you sour. Only useful in the third or fourth position.

Best Quirk: Hippocratic - +20% Healing Skills

Obviously for any Healer, this is a great skill, especially the Occultist who can give extraordinary amounts of healing with this quirk. 

Second Best Quirk: Eldritch Slayer - +10 ACC and +5% crit against Eldritch 

The Occultist already has buffs against eldritch monsters;  however, this gives him the extra boost he needs to be able to hit them well.

14. Plague Doctor

Although you may not expect it, this doctor is a female and she is a great support class. She can blight the back and front positions if need be, do minor heals, and cure bleed and blight. Additionally she can stun and clear corpses and has a knife to make enemies bleed. She is best positioned in the back.

Best Quirk: Natural Eye - +5 ACC ranged skills

The Plague Doctor relies on the Plague Grenade and other ranged skills to deal damage over time. Increasing the accuracy for those only help your Hero to be better in combat.

Second Best Quirk: Unholy Slayer - +15% Damage and -10% stress against Unholy

The Plague Doctor will be taking a lot of trips to the Ruins and Cove. Both of these places will have Unholy enemy types and this will give you an edge to get through fights fast.

15. Vestal

The Vestal is a faithful healer. She won't let you down and also is the only person who can do group heals. As a healer, she should only be used in the back although she has combat abilities as well if you put her in the front. The only negative is that she isn’t very fast.

Best Quirk: Early Riser - +2 SPD if Torch above 75

The Vestal suffers from being very slow and usually going last in your party. As long as you bring enough torches, this quirk will make her faster and able to attack or heal before some of the enemies go.

Second Best Quirk: Steady - -10% Stress

It may not seem like a lot, but a healer is the backbone of your party; so, if they stress out or get a heart attack, you will be dead very fast. The less she gets stressed the better.

16. Flagellant

The first addition through DLC is the flagellant. He excels under the most difficult conditions; the lower his health is and the more stressed he gets, the better his abilities. Some of them even don’t work at full health.

Best Quirk: Last Gasp - +1 SPD if HP is below 50%

It is odd for a fighter to enjoy pain, but the Flagellant seems to make it work. He doesn’t have much dodge and is liable to take damage. When that happens, his HP falls and he will need to go faster than the enemy to heal; hence, last gasp is especially useful for him.

Second Best Quirk: Stress Faster - -100% Food consumed is stress above 50

The Flagellant works better if he is stressed or damaged and he can even increase his stress with a camping ability. If you are short on food, you might consider using that. 

17. Shieldbreaker

A beautiful class that will dance from one position to the other, deal huge blight damage, destealth enemies, and breaks through guard and armor. She is a very powerful hero but comes with a price if you camp with her. You will have to fight in one of her dreams and she will get stressed heavily. The Shieldbreaker is able to fight in any position as she moves around; so, only take people in her party that is not restricted by her movements.

Best Quirk: Photomania - -20% stress if Torch is above 75

Through the unavoidable fight in the camp with her, the Shieldbreaker will stress a lot and torchlight doesn't affect that. So if she doesn’t get stressed as much in the normal battles, you can take a load off your shoulders.

Second Best Quirk: Cove Tactician - +15% Damage in the Cove

The enemies in the Cove have low resistance to blight attacks, which means you will be taking the Shieldbreaker with you a lot. The extra damage only makes her more deadly.