The third boss in Darkest Dungeon 2 is widely and without much debate considered the toughest fight in the entire game. Because it occurs halfway through the game, players may not be prepared for the absolute smackdown they're going to receive.
In some cases, the fun of Darkest Dungeon 2 is in failing and trying again. But the failure count against this boss can get to three-digit territory if gamers don't understand exactly what the Focused Fault does. With a careful strategy and a little bit of luck on the run, victory is possible.
Phase 1: The Small Eyes
It goes without saying that players will need the best heroes available for the fight. Glance over the stats and abilities of the first phase of opponents to see what kind of heroes will survive and deal the right kinds of damage.
Cloistered Eye Stats & Abilities
Stat | Number/Effect |
Health | 6 |
Speed | 8 |
Bleed Resistance | 20% |
Blight Resistance | 20% |
Burn Resistance | 20% |
Stun Resistance | 10% |
Move Resistance | 10% |
Debuff Resistance | 10% |
Size | 1 |
Turns Per Round | 1 |
Effects | Spawns with Dodge, will respawn next round when health reaches 0 |
After facing enemies with high Ordainment buffs, this enemy may not look threatening, but killing the Cloistered Eyes is actually not the entire goal of the battle.
Ability | Target | Damage | Crit Chance | Effect |
Observe | Matching hero rank | 0 | 0% | Self and target gain Focus token, if target has matching focus token, transform into Bifurcated Eye or Cluster Of Eyes, adds one Stress stack to the target, ignores Blind token |
Gaze | Hero with Focus token | 2-4 | 30% | Self gains Stealth token, Transform into Bifurcated Eye or Cluster Of Eyes, on a critical hit, place either a Weakness, Vulnerable, or Daze token, ignore Blind token |
The advantage of taking out a Cloistered Eye is that it will need to replace its token. With some careful maneuvering, gamers can stack the tokens on a tank such as a Man-At-Arms with the best build.
Bifurcated Eye Stats & Abilities
Stat | Number/Effect |
Health | 8 |
Speed | 6 |
Bleed Resistance | 30% |
Blight Resistance | 30% |
Burn Resistance | 30% |
Stun Resistance | 20% |
Move Resistance | 10% |
Debuff Resistance | 20% |
Size | 1 |
Turns Per Round | 1 |
Effects | Becomes Cloistered Eye when health reaches 0 |
Killing the Bifurcated Eye will devolve the enemy into a Cloistered Eye. This is sometimes necessary to avoid a big hit though this phase only ends when all eyes reach the final stage.
Having positive relationships can alleviate the Stress gains.
Ability | Target | Damage | Crit Chance | Effect |
Detect | Random hero | 0 | 0% | Self and target gain Focus token, adds two Stress stacks |
Glare | Random hero | 4-8 | 30% | On hit, gain Dodge and Strength tokens, transform into Cluster Of Eyes, on a critical hit, place either a Weakness, Vulnerable, or Daze token, ignore Blind and Stealth tokens |
The Glare is an upgraded version of Gaze, so be wary of this. Some upgraded skills will apply Blind or gain Stealth and they won't work against this particular ability.
Cluster Of Eyes Stats & Abilities
Stat | Number/Effect |
Health | 12 |
Speed | 4 |
Bleed Resistance | 40% |
Blight Resistance | 40% |
Burn Resistance | 40% |
Stun Resistance | 40% |
Move Resistance | 10% |
Debuff Resistance | 40% |
Size | 1 |
Turns Per Round | 1 |
Effects | Becomes Bifurcated Eye when health reaches 0 |
The goal is to get four Cluster Of Eyes which will spawn the final boss. However, it may be necessary to kill a Cluster Of Eyes if their abilities are about to level a hero.
Ability | Target | Damage | Crit Chance | Effect |
Detect | Random hero | 0 | 0% | Self and target gain Focus token, adds two Stress stacks |
Glare | Random hero | 6-12 | 30% | On hit, gain Improved Dodge and Strength tokens, on a critical hit, place either a Weakness, Vulnerable, or Daze token, ignore Blind and Stealth tokens |
Unless the unlocked and chosen hero path is meant for tanking, gamers will need to avoid this improved version of Glare landing on the hero.
Strategy
The goal for phase one is to get all enemies to evolve into Cluster Of Eyes while still managing to survive. To whether the blows, the party will need to attack any enemy that evolves ahead of the rest and allow the rest to catch up. Only kill a unit that is evolving ahead of the rest or is about to deliver a severe blow.
Movement and turn order are key. New Cloistered Eyes will place a token on their turns against their opposite rank. Move the tanks around just before these turns to get the tokens stacked on the heroes best equipped to endure the hits. Mobile teams that use the best Jester build will want to get their vulnerable heroes out of ranks that are about the receive tokens.
The next phase will nuke any heroes with Focus tokens on them and debuff the rest. Any hero with a Focus token at the end of this phase essentially becomes an automatic tank, so don't end the fight until the Focus tokens are properly stacked. The best Plague Doctor build is good, but even it can't withstand the next part.
Phase 2: The Focused Fault
Now it's time for the boss itself. If players got through the last phase relatively intact, this portion of the battle is a bit more straightforward but no less deadly. Prepare to block damage or heal up with the ideal Vestal build.
Focused Fault Stats & Abilities
Stat | Number/Effect |
Health | 250 |
Speed | 8 |
Bleed Resistance | 30% |
Blight Resistance | 30% |
Burn Resistance | 30% |
Stun Resistance | 100% |
Move Resistance | 100% |
Debuff Resistance | 30% |
Size | 4 |
Turns Per Round | 2 |
Effects | Starts with an extra action, copies all positive tokens on a critical hit |
The Focused Fault gets to start with an attack immediately so end preparation that must be done has to occur in phase one.
Players should still use positive tokens, just know there is a chance they could be stolen after receiving a critical hit. The best Restorative items can recover some of the damage done.
Ability | Target | Damage | Crit Chance | Effect |
Behold | All heroes | 0 | 0% | Places Focus tokens, add 4 Stress, only used when no hero with a Focus token remains |
Suppress | All heroes without Focus | 0 | 0% | Adds 2 Blind tokens, 2 Weakness tokens, one Daze token, and a 33% chance of a Stun token |
Limerance | All heroes with Focus | 20-40 | 30% | Adds -25% healing received debuff (impossible to resist), 50% chance of a Horror token, ignores Stealth and Blind tokens |
Behold will basically end the game as all players from that point forward will be targeted by Limerance. Keep the tanks alive. Using the best Leper build might be a wise choice.
Strategy
The clear issue is that the heroes are either getting hit or receiving massive debuffs. Any hero that can apply damage over time will be welcome as these effects are not subject to constant damage reduction. Having multiple healers can help overcome the 25% healing reduction on the tank.
Gamers going for raw damage will want to either use the best trinkets or find a way to overcome debuffs. Stacking up combat items that clear debuffs can be a huge help.
This part is fairly straightforward. If phase two goes south, it's likely because of the way the tokens were placed in phase one. It might take a few tries. With this knowledge, though, gamers can give themselves the best odds of pulling out a win.
Darkest Dungeon 2 is available now for PC.