Summary
Players don’t have much control over their Quirks inDarkest Dungeon 2. With an expensive trip to the Field Surgeon, gamers can make a positive Quirk permanent but should only spend that kind of gold if the positive Quirk is truly contributing substantially to victory.
This is not to say that none of them do. There are a handful of positive Quirks inDarkest Dungeon 2that are great to the point of overpowered. Players who get one of these Quirks on a character know that they’re going to be in for a good run.
Updated August 02, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:With July 15 marking the arrival of Darkest Dungeon 2 to the Xbox, fans of the dark fantasy series can finally use the console to save the world from eldritch forces threatening to fully bring humanity to their heel. The port comes with The Binding Blade DLC, which in itself comes with the Duelist and Crusader, whose skills players can rely on in their roster of Heroes.
However, for players who aim to create the perfect team composition, knowing how best to raise their Heroes is a surefire way of maximizing their use in combat. Among the many properties of Heroes that players need to study are positive quirks, which are the right combination to catapult a Hero into lead status. These buffs can help them perform properly in fights. Suggested Positive Quirks include opportunities to become more tanky, a significant boost to ranged prowess, and a buff that increases one’s critical chance.
1Evasive
Perfect For Countering Bosses With Combos
When a game likeDarkest Dungeon 2starts to amp up the difficulty the further players go through their experience, players might notice it’s just as important to focus on defense just as much as offense. In this regard, a Quirk likeEvasivecan give Heroes a better shot at surviving challenging encounters.
Acquiring this Quirk gives players access to two Dodge+ stacks, effectively giving its Hero two chances of likely dodging an enemy attack. This ability is useful when dealing with bosses that use consecutive attacks and may be decently paired with debuffs such as Blind to increase the chances of enemy attacks missing outright.
2Hard Skinned
Ever-Reliable Defense For Heroes
Players who want to enjoy theirDarkest Dungeon 2experience further should consider creating a more viable frontline withHard Skinned.This Positive Quirk is heavily tailored toward pure defense, with the user essentially starting combat with two Block stacks. The possession of this buff gives the Hard Skinned Hero two opportunities to take half damage from their next hit.
While some players might think Hard Skinned is wasted on regular encounters where the frontliner can tank two mediocre hits, this Quirk is essential in boss fights. Being able to deter the enemy assault by forcing them to make two half-damage attacks can give the frontliner a chance to fight back or protect allies. When used by a DPS unit, Hard Skinned allows them to lessen their chances of dying when enemies hit back.
3Tactical Thinker
Crit And Dodge Stacks For DOT Builds
At first glance, gettingTactical Thinkermight be less of an advantage inDarkest Dungeon 2with its effect. After all, the Hero in question only gets +5% Critical Chance while every start of the round will grant them a measly 15% chance to acquire a stack of Dodge+. However, it’s not necessarily with the Crit Chance and the Dodge+ Chance where this Quirk is useful but rather in its application.
For instance, a Hero like the Grave Robber, who can create her own CRIT, doesn’t necessarily need the extra juice from Tactical Thinker as they rely on Taunts and Guards for their rotations. However, builds that rely on Damage Over Time effects, such as Bleed and Riposte, can significantly benefit from Tactical Thinker, as the Crit and Dodge bonuses can ensure a Hero’s survival. At the same time, they dish out consistent damage in combat.
4Eagle Eyed
All-Around DPS For Ranged Combatants
Players still trying to master theirDarkest Dungeon 2experience should consider more straightforward approaches to combat. For instance, a long-distance character in the back row would likely want to amp up damage numbers as often as possible to maximize their use before they get targeted. It’s for this traditional ranged-go-wild approach to DPS whereEagle Eyedshines as a Positive Quirk.
With this activated, the receiving Hero gets +10% Critical Chance to all their ranged skills. This is a decent straightforward boost for the Highwayman, whose abilities often rely on building up crit damage for extra firepower.
5Stout
Become Disease-Free
While the randomness of Quirks might makeDarkest Dungeon 2a more appealing title compared to its preceding game, some random Quirks are more useful than others. Such is the case ofStout, a Positive Quirk that essentially gives its user +10% Health. Looking at this Quirk from its main bonus, it’s not that different from other Quirks that add a similar value, such as Tough (+10%) or Iron Constitution (+20%).
However, where Stout may outmatch the others would be in its secondary benefit: +20% Disease Resistance. Considering how disease can derail the game’s main mission, the added Resistance to this cumbersome setback could allow a user to be a more reliable asset in combat.
6Breacher
A Tank’s Best Friend
Regarding party compositions inDarkest Dungeon 2gameplay, knowing where to place each Hero will likely dictate the effective range of their attacks. For a tank Hero like the Man-At-Arms, it’s important to ensure their placement at the frontlines to allow them to tank hits, generate threat, and boost the team’s survivability. A tank withBreachercan practically guarantee their survivability.
Despite this Quirk’s usefulness, players need to be aware that Breacher is best used with tanks or other frontline combatants. If players use thebest Man-At-Arms buildand get this Quirk, the odds of the enemy damaging the team or the character meaningfully are close to zero.
7Deadly
Get A Constant Critical Hit Chance
Given how the right attack can spell the difference between life and death inDarkest Dungeon 2, raising the odds of scoring a Critical Hit can allow a DPS unit to deal enough damage to eliminate threats. Of course, the luck-based nature of Critical Hit Chance means this stat can be challenging to rely on at base, which is why some classes, like the Grave Robber, build up her Critical Hit Chance to execute deadly combos.
For this reason,Deadlycan be an effective asset for specific Heroes, especially those who need the Critical Hit Chance bonus as a base buff. That way, they can stack this effect for a much higher amount instead of starting from scratch. Whilecertain Inn itemsthat raise this stat only last until the next Inn, Deadly’s lasting presence can at least ensure a Hero has enough juice to begin charging up their Critical Hits much faster.
8The Jinx
As with other roleplaying games,Darkest Dungeon 2gameplay allows Heroes to inflict status ailments on opponents to improve the player’s chances of ending fights quickly. In the case of theDarkest Dungeonsequel, enemies and players can apply positive or negative Tokens that affect each other through stacking. Most of the time, these Tokens can only be acquired by using skills during one’s turn.
While the randomness of statusesThe Jinxprovides can make combos hit-or-miss, it’s a useful Quirk simply because it allows mere attacks to inflict status ailments instead of costing a skill. At the hands of the debuffing Hero, inflicting two statuses at once ormulti-targeting enemies with statusescan make The Jinx a devastating Quirk against most enemies.
9Rummager
Talking Leads To Items
The nature ofDarkest Dungeon 2’s gameplay as a road trip with a splash of combat paved the way for Bantering between Heroes to develop each other’s Relationships. However,Rummagerelevates this mechanic further by incentivizing Heroes whenever a road trip prompts a conversation. Bantering happens often, usually at least twice between points in the game. In turn, Rummager can facilitate the acquisition of a boatload of extra items between Inns.
With enough luck, players might get crummy trinkets and some of thebest Restorative items in the game. Because this will be occurring constantly, even getting one or two valuable food items or trinkets out of this is a big deal. More often than not, players will get much more than that during their journey.
10Stress Knitter
Stress Is Wealth
Unlike other games with heavy tactical elements,Darkest Dungeon 2has sub-mechanics that attempt to realistically portray the horrors of fighting eldritch creatures. For instance, Heroes accumulate Stress, which represents the mental strain of their battles with darkness. Higher Stress levels can accrue debuffs such as lower HP and resistance to Death Blows.
The advantage ofStress Knitterwill make it so that gamers barely have to worry about the Stress level of the Hero who has this positive Quirk while traveling. It will always end up reducing to 3 as the characters converse. Players get a ton of extra gear with high Stress as the Stress level automatically corrects itself.
