Darkest Dungeon 2 has several characters you can use, but you only have access to four at the beginning. While the Highwayman, Man-at-Arms, Plague Doctor, and Grave Robber are powerful units, you won’t be able to progress far with only those four. You won’t be able to heal properly or deal with certain enemy situations without more character choices in your party. By unlocking more characters, you get more party combinations which improve your combat potential to take on powerful foes. Here is how you unlock characters in Darkest Dungeon 2 and get the power you need to fight against the darkness.
Darkest Dungeon 2 How to Unlock Characters
Unlocking new characters in Darkest Dungeon 2 requires an investment of Candles, and it can only be done after an expedition. You must head to the Altar of Hope and select The Living City. This allows you to upgrade your characters by investing Candles in their development. To unlock new characters, you must scroll down and select a character, then invest some Candles into unlocking them as an option. The characters you can unlock are:
- Hellion
- Runaway
- Leper
- Occultist
- Jester
- Vestal
- Flagellant
- Bounty Hunter
The Bounty Hunter is unique in that you can unlock them at the Altar of Hope, but they do not appear at The Crossroads. Recruiting the Bounty Hunter requires you to lose a character during your Expedition, then reach The Inn. The Bounty Hunter may be hired into your team at that point, joining up to replace the fallen character.
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Unlocking every character isn’t going to make you unstoppable, as you must invest Candles into the characters you obtain. Some characters might look pointless or have skills you don’t think are great. But if you learn their fighting styles, unlock their Paths, and learn what matchups they are good against, the battles start getting easier.
It’s going to take multiple expeditions (successful or otherwise) to get enough Candles to empower everyone. Fully unlocking a character’s potential is worth it, since it allows them to perform to the best of their ability, and gives you skills that can make a difference in your next battle. Some characters won’t be that great until you unlock all of their skills.
Getting everyone’s upgrades, special trinkets, and skills will definitely be worth it since they carry over to all future expeditions. Never stop learning how to use your characters after you unlock them, and always make sure you understand what situations they can thrive in.
