In Darkest Dungeon II, he is one of the most formidable tanks and durable frontline support option, the Man-At-Arms.
Throughout this guide, we will explore the intricacies of the Man-at-Arms, from learning how to effectively utilize his skills to formulating winning strategies. We'll delve into the optimal building options, discuss key abilities, and share advanced tips and tricks to help you dominate the darkness.
So, prepare yourself, brace your nerves, sharpen your blades, and let's embark on a perilous journey through the abyssal depths of Darkest Dungeon 2 in our carriage with Barristan and learn how to use the Man-at-Arms with the best build guide.
First, context will be provided regarding Barristan's arsenal of abilities to create strategies that will help you achieve efficient performance when using this hero.
Crush is like that friend who always seems to have a crush on someone. It starts off a little weak, dealing only four to seven damage, but hey, we all have to start somewhere, right? The real kicker is the five percent critical hit chance. It's like Crush is trying to impress its crush with some flashy moves. But here's the twist: Crush has a hidden superpower. When it encounters combo-empowered targets, it becomes a healing machine! It's like finding out that your crush actually has a secret stash of ice cream. When unupgraded, Crush can recover ten percent of its health, and when fully upgraded, a whopping twenty percent! Talk about using your crush to your advantage.So, next time you're facing a tough battle and feeling a little crushed, just remember that Crush has your back. It may not be the flashiest ability out there, but it sure knows how to leave an impact. Now, go out there and give 'em a crush they'll never forget!
Rampart, considered one of the community's favorite abilities, can be utilized starting from the first three ranks, targeting the first two ranks of enemies. While it doesn't deal a substantial amount of damage, with a low crit value of five percent, it possesses two highly advantageous aspects. Firstly, it propels the user one step forward while simultaneously pushing the target one step backward. This feature proves exceptionally useful for regaining a favorable position or disrupting enemy formations. Additionally, at its base value, Rampart has the potential to daze an enemy, providing a valuable crowd-control effect. When upgraded, this ability becomes even more powerful, as it applies a stun to comboed targets, further solidifying its status as an incredibly potent ability.
One of the fundamental skills possessed by Luke Cage Man-at-Arms is known as Defender. This particular ability allows him to provide protection not only to himself but also to a fellow team member. It can be utilized regardless of the positions of the individuals involved. When upgraded, it grants two guard tokens, which increase to three with further upgrades. Essentially, this means that whenever an enemy ability targets the hero being guarded, the Man-at-Arms will intercept and endure the damage instead. In scenarios where a cleave ability strikes both the Man-at-Arms and the hero he is safeguarding, the guarded hero will also sustain damage. This ability proves extremely valuable in assisting allies who are low on health or facing a significant risk of death.
Hold the Line is a fascinating ability that allows for strategic repositioning of the Man-at-Arms. This ability can be used from the back three ranks and inflicts a respectable amount of damage, ranging from three to six. When upgraded, the damage increases to four to seven, accompanied by a ten percent chance of landing a critical hit. Additionally, Hold the Line grants the Man-at-Arms a block token, while simultaneously moving him forward by three positions and immobilizing him in that stance. Hold the Line proves exceptionally valuable in battles where there is a risk of being shuffled or when it is crucial to prevent the Man-at-Arms from being pushed back. Its upgraded version even possesses the capability to stun a target when combined with other attacks, establishing the Man-at-Arms as one of the most effective stunners in the game.
Bellow is an AOE cleave attack that hits every single enemy. It doesn't do any damage but reduces everybody's speed by three, and five when upgraded. It also removes repost and crit when upgraded. This ability is useful for removing dangerous tokens like repost and crit and can help peel off multiple tokens at once.
Retribution stands out as one of the game's finest abilities, offering exceptional utility. With a short cooldown of just one, it can be utilized effectively from any rank. When unupgraded, Retribution grants the character two taunts and two reposts, and when upgraded, it further provides two block tokens. This ability compels enemies to target the user while enabling them to inflict damage in return, making it a valuable tool for removing tokens and absorbing incoming damage.
Command is a versatile utility ability that can be employed on a teammate regardless of their rank. It operates with a short cooldown of one. This ability applies a strength token to the targeted teammate while simultaneously removing a blind token. Upon upgrading, Command becomes even more potent, as it eliminates the cooldown entirely, enabling its repeated usage in consecutive turns. This ability proves highly advantageous for its ability to alleviate the effects of blind tokens and bolster the strength of the designated teammate.
Stand Fast is an ability that grants the user two block tokens or two block Plus tokens instantly when upgraded. It generates block tokens for subsequent turns, bolstering their defense. Additionally, it removes a combo token when unupgraded, and when upgraded, it eliminates a combo token, weakness, and vulnerable token.
Courageous Abandon is a formidable ability that amplifies the user's damage proportionate to the number of block tokens they possess. This ability exclusively targets enemies in the front rank and bypasses their block. Moreover, it inflicts vulnerability upon the user's foes. When upgraded, it expands the damage range and critical hit probability, enabling it to inflict significant harm.
Strategic Withdrawal allows the user to execute the ability from ranks one and two, affecting enemies in ranks one and two as well. It repositions the user one rank back and afflicts the target with a combo token. In its upgraded form, it also restores 33 percent of the user's health if they are on the brink of death. Furthermore, it applies Block Plus and a speed token, which can synergize effectively with other abilities such as Crush to enhance overall healing potential.
Sergeant path. This is the first path you unlock and it serves as an interesting utility support path for the hero. However, it reduces his damage output by 20, but increases his move resistance. It also enhances his bolster skills, allowing them to remove vulnerability and weakness not only from the target but also from himself. Additionally, each ally on turnstart has a 20% chance to receive a buff, granting them an extra 50 resistance to damage over time effects such as bleed, burn, and blight. While this path may not be used effectively in some cases, it can be extremely useful when protecting squishy heroes who are close to death.Bulwark path, which happens to be a personal favorite. This path focuses on reducing damage from crush and repost skills while increasing the damage dealt by shield attack skills. Shield attack skills refer specifically to Rampart and Hold the Line. It also provides an additional 10 stun resistance piercing to the shield attack skills, benefiting Rampart's application of days. Furthermore, the ability Stand Fast gains a modifier that allows it to apply taunts. This makes the hero more effective at drawing enemy attacks and can be paired with Retribution for consistent taunt generation, even with cooldowns. Overall, this path is ideal for players aiming to use the hero as a tank.Vanguard path, which serves as the hero's offensive path. Choosing this path grants an additional 20 maximum HP, making the hero more durable. His repost and crush skills also receive a damage boost, enabling him to deal significant damage to enemies. However, this damage increase comes at the cost of having all debuff resistances removed. Consequently, the hero becomes highly vulnerable to bleed, burn, and blight effects. Players should keep this drawback in mind when considering the Vanguard path.
The first one we're going to take a look at is "Price of Pride" This one, when he gets hit, will give him a chance to generate a Block Plus token. It will also give his Bellow skills a 10% chance to apply a stun and also give him the debuff of being first in the round, causing him to be blinded. Essentially, this kind of works well with his tanking abilities. You can make sure that he can soak up more damage by generating those Block Plus tokens. It does give Bellow a pretty interesting utility here, which makes it one of the few attacks that can actually stun without a combo token, in fact, one of the only ones outside of the Bounty Hunter. So, pretty interesting things there. Definitely a powerful trinket.
Alright, so the next one we have is "Standard of the Ninth" What this does for you is that, on combat start, it will give each Ally a Block Plus token. This is a really powerful way to start off, as a lot of damage can come through in that first round when you haven't really set up yet, and this can allow you to soak up a lot of it and keep a lot of your heroes feeling tip-top. The next thing it does have is a debuff, which is that if he misses and he is in rank 1, it will apply a weakness token to him. So that is something to keep in mind, but it does also give his Courageous and Abandon skills an additional 50% crit. Considering how much damage those skills can do, this could be a pretty potent combination.
Finally, we have the "Undeserved Commendation" trinket. So, this one is a little bit more nuanced. Basically, when using command skills, he can go ahead and possibly apply a crit token with a 33% chance. This is very useful and can make Command feel a lot more practical and powerful when those tokens do stick. He does have a debuff here that when moving, if rank equals one, he will stress. I believe what that means is that if he is in rank 1 and he moves from it, it will cause him stress. So, do keep that in mind. He also gets an additional 25% more health when in rank two, so you kind of want to play him in rank two. You really don't want to be moving him back and forth using things like Rampart. That's kind of how they want you to play this one.
The Man-at-Arms in Darkest Dungeon II is a versatile hero who excels in multiple roles within a team composition, here are some tips:
Let's begin by discussing the Man-at-Arms' exceptional capacity to serve as a highly efficient tank for your team. This is arguably his greatest strength, as his considerable Health pool allows him to absorb damage effectively. Additionally, he possesses numerous abilities that aid him in generating the necessary defensive measures to endure even greater punishment.
When upgraded, Retribution not only grants him taunt but also riposte and even block, making it one of the most powerful opening moves in the game. This is particularly advantageous if you can enhance his speed, as it significantly reduces the impact of early-round damage by allowing him to absorb their attacks.
Defender provides a reliable means of diverting damage from your vulnerable backline allies, particularly when confronted with formidable foes such as the Arbalest or the Crackshot, known for their ability to deal substantial damage to backline targets. When paired with the Bulwark path, Defender gains an additional taunt ability, enhancing the effectiveness of Stand Fast in shielding him and reducing damage, while also generating extra block tokens.
Stand Fast, in conjunction with Courageous Abandon, can be employed as the most potent offensive maneuver for the Man-at-Arms. By executing this move, he relinquishes his block tokens in exchange for a substantial increase in damage output, often resulting in astonishing figures. Its effectiveness is further amplified when combined with a character such as the Vestal, who can utilize her consecrations to generate block tokens for the Man-at-Arms to utilize in defeating adversaries.
When paired with a complementary team, the Man-at-Arms experiences remarkable advantages due to their ability to create combos. With this synergy, his Crush skill transforms into an effective healing technique, enabling him to mend his own wounds while dealing significant damage to foes.
One of his most powerful offensive abilities, Rampart, receives a significant boost when upgraded. With its inherent knockback and daze effects, Rampart is already one of the most disruptive moves in the game. However, the ability to stun enemies when combined with a combo takes it to another level of excellence. Moreover, when following the Bulwark path, this ability also receives increased damage, further enhancing its potency.
The Man-at-Arms also pairs well in a team as a support and utility hero. His Command ability, being able to remove blind while also giving strength tokens, makes him the Leper's best friend and could also be very potent against enemies that like to blind you, such as spiders and evangelists. His Bellow ability can slow down the entire enemy team, giving yours the upper hand in the following round and letting your teammates remove threats before they can do anything about it.
Lastly, let's discuss the impressive versatility of this hero. While many perceive him solely as a frontline character, he possesses practical abilities across all positions. Pairing him with a Highwayman allows for great synergy with Rampart and Withdrawal. Employing Point Blank Shot enables frequent usage while maneuvering alongside the Man-at-Arms. Furthermore, his Hold the Line skill makes him an excellent choice against specific adversaries.