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There are a few different roles any of the characters inDarkest Dungeon 2can bring to each lineup. This can vary greatly depending on thePathorPositionyou put them. In the case of the Flagellant, he is themost flexible tankin the game. His ability to rideDeaths Doorlike a surfboard (and all the increased benefits of being subjected to a beating) makes him hard to take out. This allows you to funnel the damage and stress onto one character.
RELATED:Darkest Dungeon 2: Tips & Tricks For BeginnersHe is a tank that alsoBlights, which can help bring down tanky foes. He can also buff the team or even debuff enemies. He can dominate the front line and absorb all the heat while jumping back to full health quickly. He also falls into a more supportive role the further back he gets. This guide will go over how to bring the Flagellant to that sweet ecstasy he is chasing.
Flagellant Abilities Overview
Flagellant is aBlight-inflicting support/tank character. Depending on how you build him, he can also deal some good damage with Blight. He is flexible and can be built to fit whatever position or purpose you need him in. He is incredibly hard to kill. He can absorb the Stress Damage for the team and gains theToxictrait for his Meltdowns, which makes enemies who hit him get further Blight stacks. Most of his abilities hurt him.Punish, Acid Rain, andLash’s Giftare more support based.Endure, Undying, andMore! MORE!help him tank and heal back up.
The abilities you choose will depend on a lot of factors, as many are situationally effective. Swapping abilities out for what you need is heavily encouraged, especially when fighting enemies you’re able to predict, like Cultists and Lair bosses. His flexibility is one of his greatest assets and rewards intelligent play while rewarding risk.
Flagellant Paths Overview
The various Paths available to the Flagellant can drastically change his purpose and strengths in a fight. Each path affects the same handful of abilities but benefits them to vary the core playstyle. However, he always keeps his identity as a tank who revels in punishment. He can be Blight, debuff, or even be a weird type of healer.
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Best Flagellant Playstyle
Flagellant is a supportive blight tank thatthrives when he is taking damage and stress for the party. While his different paths can drastically change what his abilities do, his core identity remains the same. He is a flexible character that is able to do pretty well in the first, second, and even third position. Flagellant excels in hisadaptability. Switching his abilities to meet your needs is something you can do throughout your run much more often than with other characters.
He has many answers to situations. Instead of Meltdowns, Flagellant becomes Toxic, which makes it so when enemies hit him, they have a chance of being Blighted. This will always happen when you reach full stress, and it will still harm his relationships with the party. It will also bring him to about 30% hp every time, so if you are very low health or on Death’s Door, this will be a guaranteed heal. If you are at full hp, you will lose about a two-thirds of your health. This will allow you to use some of your stronger abilities that only work when at low health. It will also reset all of their cooldowns, so you can really swing with momentum in full force. The core playstyle is all about absorbing punishment before dishing it out. He excels at battles of attrition as his health bar jumps up and down with ease, and his Blight eats away at even the toughest enemies.
There are a few cons to Flagellant; the first is thatDeath Incarnatewill sometimes try and claim her quarry and attack your party randomly after a battle. It doesn’t happen often, but there is always a chance. This is something to consider, as she can claim your whole party pretty easily if you aren’t careful. She has party shuffles and high-damage combo attacks paired with a bleed that makes her hard to fight. Defeating her will reward you with anice trinket, which can make the fight worth it if everyone survives. Additionally, a lot of the skill needed to play this character is in cooldown management. Knowing the best move in any situation is what Flagellant is all about — and if you should gamble Death’s Door or heal up.
Best Flagellant Trinkets
Flagellant can make a lot of use out of trinkets that either buff or debuff at random. He also greatly benefits from anything that gives him more health to work with. His class trinkets are very effective, likeEmancipation,which increases your damage when low on health and lets you stealPositive Tokens. If you are running a debuff Flagellant, certain trinkets that provide debuffs can actually be useful, as you can transfer all the negative tokens to your enemies.
When you have a Flagellant in your party make sure you useInn Itemsto help with his relationships. Every time he goesToxic, he loses two pips of friendship with the party. It’s okay to be the damage and emotional damage punching bag; just be prepared to remedy them, lest you always have negative relationships, forcing you to use abilities you may not want to. Luckily, with how flexible he is, one ability you don’t want won’t exactly ruin your build in most cases, and any negativity that comes with using it (so long as it stresses him out and not the other party members) is actually sometimes a boon rather than a bane.
