One issue that players have with tanks in Darkest Dungeon 2 is that they do a great job absorbing damage but this concedes defeat to an enemy that relies on a battle of attrition. As most tanks slowly die and dish out little in terms of damage, enemies get in repeated blows against the party.
The Hellion ensures that every run in Darkest Dungeon 2 is not lost by a lack of damage. She's a solid frontline combatant and an off-tank that can dish out some of the most brutal strikes against opponents as though she were a damage-dealing primary character. The combination of these two roles makes the Hellion a top pick for any squad.
Skills
- Toe To Toe
- Howling End
- Raucous Revelry
- Adrenaline Rush
- If It Bleeds
The trick to the Hellion is managing its unique Winded debuff. Certain skills will give it while others will take it away. Those that take the debuff away will remove all the stacks of Winded. Raucous Revelry heals the entire squad and reduces their stress levels and the damage from Howling End is completely over the top, well worth accruing a Winded stack.
Toe To Toe will help keep the Hellion up front to counteract the back movement from Howling End and it will get rid of the Winded debuff. Adrenaline Rush will also get rid of the debuff and heal the Hellion. Keep in mind the class does more damage when injured, so allow the health to dip low before healing to see why this is one of the best heroes in the game.
Path
- Berserker
The Ravager build is best for a pure tank because it adds maximum health and rank one damage while penalizing bleed chance. Carcass sacrifices virtually all damage by giving extra Winded stacks in exchange for shields. The Hellion excels the best at damage-dealing at low health, so the Berserker path is the one that fits her the most.
After unlocking the path, the one drawback is to maximum health but this acts as a buff for the Hellion who will do her best damage at low health. The extra crit and bleed chance is a perk as is the resistance to death, which can sometimes happen when playing around in the low-health territory as the Hellion likes to do.
Trinkets
- Bloodied Branch
- Thrilling Tablet
The penalty on Bloodied Branch and Rotten Tomato only applies when reaching rank four which should never happen for the hero. The extra bleed stacks and a high chance to do extra damage after dishing out a critical hit are fantastic perks.
The game is easier when players have a good relationship with teammates, but the Hellion can come close to carrying a game when one or two of them die off with Thrilling Tablet. The extra damage and maximum health give the Hellion a wider range of health values for her extra damage to kick in.
Combat Item
- Holy Water
No hero is truly an island. With an incomplete team, players will find they are shorthanded in some aspect. The Hellion, for all her strengths, does have a weakness. Once both her charges of upgraded skill, Adrenaline Rush, are gone, she can't do anything about damage over time effects.
The Hellion's goal is to get low on health and stay there; fire, bleed, and blight effects take away her health when she's already low. To prevent taking fatal damage, some Holy Water to clear up these effects go a long way.
Darkest Dungeon 2 is available now for PC.