As the starting tank in Darkest Dungeon 2, the Man-At-Arms might mistakenly be considered to be the worst of the tank options. While opinions might vary on who is the worst tank, most recognize that this particular hero is one of the best in the game as a frontline combatant.
The Man-At-Arms is also one of the best support heroes in Darkest Dungeon 2, giving him unrivaled abilities to take away damage from allies and reduce the stress levels of the squad. He fits into any party composition as a relationship-generating machine that gives enemies no quarter for their strongest abilities.
Skills
- Defender
- Bolster
- Retribution
- Crush
- Hold The Line
Between Defender, Bolster, and Retribution, the Man-At-Arms prevents damage from being done to his allies. These buffs also have opportunities to boost relationships and Affinity. When it comes to stress, he can single-handedly manage the levels for the entire squad.
When he's not dealing damage from counterattacks, the Man-At-Arms can use Crush to deal significant damage and potentially heal himself with a combo. Finally, Hold The Line does adds damage and defense while getting the Man-At-Arms back to the front if anybody should bump him back.
Path
- Sergeant
For the Man-At-Arms, two of the options try to turn the Man-At-Arms into something he isn't. Vanguard increases the hero's health and damage but penalizes its ability to resist status damage. Bulwark is a wash,t making away attack damage and boosting shield damage.
Sergeant is the strongest option here, taking away a bit of damage to add resistances for the Man-At-Arms and his entire party. It enables the Bolster ability to remove debuffs as well. This path alone makes the Man-At-Arms one of the best heroes in the game.
Trinkets
- Prince of Pride
- Befuddling Sundial
The Price of Pride has two drawbacks that apply if the Man-At-Arms goes first in a round or uses the Bellow skill. This is a slow tank hero that will not be going first in rounds and Bellow is not in the rotation. The upside is a 33% chance to add a 75% damage reduction buff.
As players increase the damage with tougher Ordainment levels, items like Befuddling Sundial that have a high chance of healing will help mitigate the damage accrued. Befuddling Sundial has a slight chance to increase stress, but the Man-At-Arms is uniquely equipped to handle that.
Combat Item
- Pustule Salve
The resistances given by this build are extremely high but there is still an off-chance of getting a debuff effect. A Plague Doctor with an ideal build can help alleviate this issue but the Man-At-Arms needs to be able to heal a bit on his own to deal with heavy-damage bosses.
The Pustule Salve stacks twice and can heal as well as dispel damage debuffs. In the rare event that an opponent gets by the Man-At-Arms and hits an ally, this combat item allows the Man-At-Arms to negate the damage plus any ongoing effects.
Darkest Dungeon 2 is available now for PC.