Darkest Dungeon Tier List - Best Classes For Your Party - Games Finder (2024)

Last Updated on July 10, 2024 by Samuel Franklin

This Darkest Dungeon tier list details the best classes for each expedition area in the brutal roguelike adventure game. With 18 total hero classes (16 base and 2 DLC) players have a wealth of choices for their 4 character party to adventure for resources and push their Hamlet upgrades.

While players can have their own playstyle preferences that influence party composition there are several heroes that perform better at specific roles. Leveraging these individual hero strengths players can improve the overall power level of their party and the odds of success. This characters tier list guide is focused on providing a comprehensive quick reference guide for new and returning gamers progressing through their initial playthroughs on Darkest or Radiant Mode difficulty. For players in this situation I recommend using the Crusader, Hellion, Houndmaster and Vestal primarily while pairing them with some of the other above average heroes explored below when these heroes are unavailable.

Table of Contents:
– Classes Tier List
– Tier List Ranking Factors

Darkest Dungeon Classes Tier List

The heroes tier list below is shown in tier rating order to provide a quick reference guide for which heroes to favour in your initial recruitment and party structure. For further information on the hero tier list factors refer to the end of this page.

Hero	Tier Rating	Notes
Crusader	S	A hero that can do it all in a party with damage across enemy ranks, healing, stun, stress management and the base stats to be a tank for your team. The Crusader is a huge asset to your early progression as they need little attention to be effective and likely part of the reason why it is a tutorial character in Darkest Dungeon.
Hellion	S	Flexible damage dealer that can stun and hit each enemy rank with some form of attack when in the first two positions that is supported by bleed and good base stats. A dual frontline stun is one of your greatest assets as it allows you to drag out a fight safely to patch up your other heroes with combat skills while a notable weakness is your selfish camp skills that need to be mitigated.
Houndmaster	S	Highly flexible at any position this character can fulfil many team roles in both combat and camping. The Houndmaster has an attack all enemy bleed, stun, enemy protection reduction, self heal and a stress reduction for all heroes that allow team survival and damage output. These themes continue in the camping skills where you can prevent night time ambush and remove some accumulated stress across the party with therapy dog. The Houndmaster is also unique for bringing their own dog treats that can buff damage and accuracy for a few rounds but don’t make the mistake of never using them as they do use one of your limited expedition inventory slots.
Vestal	S	The Vestal is a fantastic support character for starting adventures given her reliable heals and ability to stun enemies although she offers little outside of this role. As you progress in the game and with your own Darkest Dungeon knowledge you’ll often be better served by another support hero that offers more than just healing though so beware of getting overly attached to these healing specialists long term.
Arbalest	A	Reasonably flexible across damage and support roles although takes some investment to achieve their combat power potential. On the support side they can play as your main healing hero when you consider both their combat and camping skills while equally lowering the accuracy/critical chance of the enemy backline. Meanwhile on the offensive side they can hit all enemy positions across their attack skills so you can always attack when necessary.
Bounty Hunter	A	High flexibility with stuns, pull and damaging attacks that can be used from many positions in a party on a range of enemy target positions. This flexibility allows the Bounty Hunter to slot into many team compositions and roles while also adjusting to any shuffling that happens during combat with sufficient base states for all of these roles.
Grave Robber	A	A powerful damage dealer with investment but suffers from a niche damage role that other heroes can often do better at which places them on the lower end of the A tier. The damage is definitely there if you opt to bring the Grave Robber along (primarily through Lunge attack skill) but requires setup and they lack flexibility in combat to do much else. The Grave Robber camping skills do compensate somewhat with a decent mix of stress management and scouting utility.
Highwayman	A	Another tutorial hero the Highwayman is a damage focused hero that has a simple combo of Duellist’s Advance and Point Blank Shot that have you dance between positions effortlessly. Combined with a bleed and a ranged attack the Highwayman can hit every rank necessary although lacks notable party combat utility given the selfish rogue design of this character.
Leper	A	A hard hitting character that sacrifices some accuracy compared to other heroes although this can be easily overcome by basic trinkets (or skills). The Leper also includes a combined self HP and stress heal that are two things new players may struggle with that make them a reliable front position hero.
Musketeer	A	A reskinned Arbalest that was added as free DLC in 2018 and as a result is in the same tier list position as the Arbalest with similar strengths and weaknesses (note trinkets are unique between Arbalest and Musketeer).
Plague Doctor	A	One of the best support heroes in the game once you have a foundation of trinkets the Plague Doctor’s speciality is the double stun in Blinding Gas while also inflicting or curing Blight and Bleed to slowly lower enemy HP with each turn they make. For a new player you’ll still benefit from most of this utility with them being an above average backline character with them only getting better over time as your Darkest Dungeon game knowledge and trinkets grow along with them.
Abomination	B	A unique hero based around transformation that needs a specific team design focused on mitigating the stress this character inflicts on allies and usage of their own self stress heal. In this transformed beast state the Abomination is designed to be used as a fast high damage dealing hero and there are simply several other character options without the drawbacks as stress can quickly derail an adventure. Similarly while the transformation element can be ignored to focus on the Blight and stun effects of the human mode there are other choices to fill that role that offer more in terms of power, utility or camping skills.
Antiquarian	B	Highly effective at Antiquarian runs for gold where they interact with every curio you encounter to acquire valuable antiques to sell. The trade off for this is that they have low base stats that reduce their combat contribution to the team compared to other support focused heroes. The Antiquarian does still have some basics in the way of enemy accuracy debuffs, Blight damage and ally dodge buffs so isn’t a complete dead weight in a party.
Flagellant (DLC)	B	An interesting DLC hero designed for players with a good grasp of mechanics given your skills are focused around bleeding and healing in order to walk a fine line. This bleed focus means they are not effective against Unholy enemies in The Ruins though. Overall this is a high skill cap adventurer that can easily underperform for newer players so is best avoided until you feel confident in Darkest Dungeon mechanics.
Jester	B	Can be a complex character if players want to utilise their full kit potential but is still highly effective if focusing solely on buffs and the occasional attack from position 3. In this support mode their Battle Ballad and Inspiring Tune are some of the strongest you’ll find although this turns them into a single track hero without the flexibility of some other support classes.
Man-at-Arms	B	A simple hero that can stun and crush enemies with damage but is outclassed by other heroes that can bring extra utility or raw damage with much of their strength coming from camping and boss fights. In these situations though the Man-at-Arms kit stands strong so don’t be afraid to experiment with this hero when the time is right.
Occultist	B	A hero on the low side of damage output the Occultist is intended to fulfil a support role in your team with a heal, stun, pull and mark. Notably their heal can roll 0 and inflicts bleed so it is not as reliable as some other healing support heroes available. Despite this the Occultist can always do something (particularly against Eldritch enemies) regardless of position and does become a decent adventurer later in your game progression.
Shieldbreaker (DLC)	B	A hero that starts out in a weak state but like the Plague Doctor can reach impressive levels of power with the right team, upgrades and trinkets. Before this point the Shieldbreaker does offer decent attack flexibility through Pierce and Puncture although their unique camp nightmare mechanic may cause more problems for new players than they are worth.

Class Tier List Ranking Factors

The following factors are the primary considerations for these rankings to determine the best class for your first Darkest Dungeon adventures:

• Base Stats/Skills: Strong starting positions are favoured on this character tier list given this provides a foothold at the start of a playthrough with these not requiring a significant investment to reach their potential. This considers raw stats at lower resolve levels such as maximum health, damage, dodge, speed, protection, accuracy and critical while also factoring in your combat and camping skills that define how a hero plays and their overall party contribution. While some heroes reach an entirely new power level with the best trinkets for them they have been rated in this Darkest Dungeon tier list based on what you’ll have available primarily at the common or uncommon levels during the early game. Base stats can also help overcome the abundance of negative quirks you might have to manage early before it is feasible to remove them on your core adventurer party.
• Flexibility: Flexibility is key to a Darkest Dungeon party with heroes that are effective in more than one position and situation thriving in the randomisation that the various game areas offer. Some heroes do also shine in particular expedition areas based on the types of enemies you’ll encounter. Flexible heroes are ones that don’t mind getting shuffled a position or two when surprised by monsters or by yourself during attacks, can be paired with many other adventurers and have a range of skills to be able to damage most enemy positions to adjust to your current needs are powerful to reduce overall planning and forethought required.
• Utility: Other utility can make the difference between a good hero and a top tier one with utility such as HP healing, stuns, stress healing and debuffs (e.g. bleed or blight) all having an important role in the team and can come from combat and camping skills.

Based on the above factors the following tier ratings are used, as with all tier lists even the lowest tier of heroes can win with enough game knowledge, particular setup or in the right hands although your path to victory will be harder on average.

• S Tier: The top tier of Darkest Dungeon heroes that are always worth having in your team compositions. They are strong from the moment they are hired from the Stage Coach and bring fantastic flexibility and utility to a team that make them staple early and late game in their preferred positions.
• A Tier: Strong additions to your team these heroes don’t quite reach the power levels of S tier but still hold their own during an adventure and are only limited by a weakness or two that players need to be aware of when utilising these.
• B Tier: If your team is built with these heroes in mind you’ll still be able to find some success in Darkest Dungeons although it will be tougher than a team of S and A tier options. This tier is reserved for the characters with niche uses or where there is an alternative pick that fills their intended party role better.