Last Updated on by Samuel Franklin
Darkest Dungeon Best Quirks For Each Class
What are the best quirks for each class in Darkest Dungeon? In this quirks guide we explore all of the positive quirks and the situations where you want to lock them on your hero to increase their power level during the course of a playthrough. While quirks can seem minor when you first start a Darkest Dungeon adventure there are a number of powerful traits within the quirk system that are the perfect way to either round out a hero design or cover for a weakness of that particular hero type.
These quirks won’t be necessarily be the first source of boosting hero power given the costs involved to lock them on a hero and other cheaper sources of hero strength such as backer trinkets, weapons, armour and combat skills that often come first. Regardless having a good understanding of which are the best quirks to look out for during the early game can pay significant dividends as it will save you grinding out positive quirks later to build the ideal hero roster if you are lucky to obtain them early on. Given this guide includes an overview of the quirk system and recommendations for the best quirks for each class in Darkest Dungeon there are some minor game spoilers below.
Darkest Dungeon Quirks Overview
The quirk system in Darkest Dungeons provides positive and negative traits that impact on each hero individually and listed on their hero page. The following are the primary mechanics of this system that players should be aware of:
- Darkest Dungeon Heroes will start with random quirks when recruited from the Stage Coach although backer heroes acquired from the Stage Coach have a fixed set of quirks that make some of them highly sought after.
- Additional quirks can be obtained through various means including Hamlet events, in response to Hamlet building activities or while on expeditions (either during through a curios or at the end of an expedition). End chance to acquire a positive or negative trait is influenced by your success or failure on that expedition and the ending stress of that hero with success and lower stress being beneficial.
- Characters are limited to a total of 10 quirks split evenly between negative and positive modifiers. When players are already at the maximum amount of negative or positive quirks and they obtain a new one it will randomly replace a current one.
- If you’re wondering how to lock in quirks you will have to wait until you unlock the Sanitarium. Positive quirks that are locked in through the Sanitarium (shown by a lock) or reinforced negative quirks overtime (shown by a red skull symbol) will not be replaced under the above mentioned mechanic. This creates some advanced tactics where players will purposefully reinforce negative quirks that have little impact on gameplay.
- Negative quirks can be removed in the Sanitarium for gold with the cost based on if the quirk is reinforced or not. Some expedition curio encounters can also remove these perks with many relying on players having the appropriate supply item to interact with the curio.
- Players can only lock a maximum 3 of positive quirks on a hero using the method described above with the best quirks to lock generally based on hero archetypes.
- The Sanitarium is limited to only changing one positive and one negative quirk per week.
- Most positive quirks have an inverse negative quirk that flips the effect around and may have a similarly themed name.
Darkest Dungeon Best Quirks Guide
The best quirks in Darkest Dungeon provide buffs to core character playstyles and consistently provide these benefits to their heroes rather than being conditional to be active (such as particular enemy types to trigger). With these quirks you’ll be able to have your turn before your enemy a greater portion of the time, deal more damage to the various enemy types you encounter and shrug off any damage that you receive along the way. With this information below players will also be able to avoid the Darkest Dungeon worst quirks and focus only on the best traits to have on their respective hero roster. The quirks below are presented in alphabetical order and includes quirks from DLC content although do not include the hard to obtain quirks (Corvid and Prismatic) from specific boss events. A full list of all positive and negative quirks is available here on the Darkest Dungeon wiki.
| Quirk | Quirk Effect | Best Heroes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Riser | +2 SPD if Torch above 75 | All | If you prefer to play at higher torch levels this is an okay source of speed although not the best of the available speed based perks. |
| Evasive | +5 DODGE | All | A simple but effective boost to dodge this quirk is effective across all heroes and will decrease the overall damage you receive during a playthrough. |
| Hippocratic (The Colour of Madness DLC) | +20% Healing Skills | Healing Heroes | Designed for heroes that have a healing role in the team such as the Vestal with this quirk you will find your heals simply go further. |
| Luminous (The Colour of Madness DLC) | +2 SPD, +5 DODGE | All | Providing speed and dodge this quirk is effective across all Darkest Dungeon heroes to improve your average turn priority and provide some defence. |
| Natural Eye | +5 ACC Ranged Skills | Ranged Heroes | For ranged heroes that want an additional chance to land their hits this quirk will improve your overall damage output. |
| Natural Swing | +5 ACC | All | With all heroes at some point needing to land their attacks on enemies this is a fantastic quirk that has broad effectiveness. |
| Photomania | -20% Stress if Torch above 75 | All | Another quirk that is more suited to players who regularly run at higher light levels with a health reduction of total stress which can quickly break a party through a domino effect. |
| Quickdraw | +4 SPD on First Round | Utility Heroes | One of the niche best quirk options in Darkest Dungeon this can be useful on a high utility hero where the additional speed in the first round is pivotal to your strategy (such as stun) although can be replaced with alternative generalist speed quirks later if available. |
| Quick Reflexes | +2 SPD | All | A simple and effective source of speed that is hard to pass for any Darkest Dungeon hero if available. |
| Slugger | +10% DMG Melee Skills | Melee Heroes | A reliable boost to damage for melee focused heroes that deal their damage primarily through melee attacks. |
| Steady | -10% Stress | All | Reductions to stress are useful when playing Darkest Dungeons given the various impacts that it creates. There are many sources of stress in an expedition and this quirk will help reduce the sting a little. |
| Tough | +10% MAX HP | All | HP is an effective method to increase our durability and helps to counter some of the debuffs like bleed and blight that make regular appearances. |
| Hard Skinned | +10% PROT | Frontline Heroes | While this can be used on all heroes with some effectiveness it shines on frontline heroes who are likely to take higher amounts of damage overall. |
| Unerring | +10% DMG Ranged Skills | Ranged Heroes | For heroes that are solely ranged the extra damage helps to dispatch threats faster and is a welcomed quirk for these ranged fighters. |
| Warrior of Light | +10% DMG if Torch above 75 | Offensive Heroes | For players that stay at high torch levels this is an alternative method to acquire 10% DMG buff through quirks. |
