by Barristan the Man-at-Arms is a character from Darkest Dungeon 2 that well, what am I going to tell you, he is a man with an eyepatch who wears very heavy armor, so I suppose no one will be surprised that he is a Tank .
But… it’s not just any Tank , it’s the Lord of Tanks . I mean, when it comes to Tanqueo , there is no one better than him. He won’t deal as much damage as the Baldwin Leper , which would be his only worthy opponent in this role, but he more than makes up for it by having many useful support abilities that can make or break him in more than one situation, and by having More protection capacity. What he told you, a real Tank .
In my opinion, he is one of the best characters in the game, so I highly recommend that you take a look at his set, especially if you want to get the most out of this powerful and resistant character.
BEST BARRISTAN SKILLS
These are the 5 skills that we recommend for Barristan:
- Sledgehammer : It can be used in positions 1 and 2 to hit the enemy’s 1, 2 and 3. Basic attack with normal damage (the numbers are not bad, but he is not a character that stands out for his damage) with the peculiarity that if we attack an enemy with a “Combination” Sign (the blue skull) we will heal 10% .
- Upgrading it increases the damage a bit and the heal will go to 20%, so it’s very worth it since it’s the only solid way it has to self-heal (you’ll see that it has another heal below, but much more situational). .
- Defender : Apply 2 «Block» Signs to himself (-50% damage received) and apply 2 «Protection» to the ally you choose (Barirstan will receive the individual hits that his partner would receive).
- The improvement will grant us «Block+» signs and 3 «Protection» signs.
- Hold Formation : It can be used in positions 2, 3 and 4 to hit the first two of the enemy. Average damage again, but more decent CRIT. In any case, the important thing is that it will move us 3 positions forward, we will apply a “Block” Sign and also a “Immobilization” Sign. It comes in very handy because we are interested in being in the first position in the vast majority of cases and it is a very good way to come back if they move us.
- Improved will increase the Damage a little, it will give us 2 «Block» Signs and the best, that we will stun the enemy if it has «Combination». Its improvement is not a priority since it is a situational ability, but it is true that the Stun will be phenomenal.
- Retribution : His best skill in my opinion. We will apply 2 “Counterattack” Signs and 2 “Taunt” Signs, which is very useful precisely to activate the “Counterattack”. Has 1 cooldown.
- If we improve it, the Damage of the «Counterattack» will increase a little and we will also apply 2 Signs of «Block».
- Tactical Recoil : Used in positions 1 and 2 to hit the same enemy positions. Normal damage, we move back one position and apply a “Combination” Sign to the target (for a syncy or us to take advantage of to heal ourselves). It has 1 cooldown.
- The best thing is when you improve it, since in addition to increasing the Damage and CRIT, we will also obtain 1 “Block+” Sign, 1 “Speed” and on top of that when we are at the Doors of Death we will heal 33%. Brutal for an emergency.
These are the ones I usually use since they adapt quite well to most situations, but something very good that Barristan has is that he has very interesting abilities depending on the situation ; His thing is that you adapt them according to the boss/situation:
- Wall : By Stunning targets with a “Combination” Sign that, unlike “Maintain Formation”, we can use it in the first position.
- Reinforcement : Very key especially if we go without Sarmenti (bad idea that anyway) to relieve stress while we empower our Barristan and remove some debuffs from the partner we choose.
- Bellow : Ideal against confrontations against enemies that apply «Counterattack» to eliminate it, something very common for example against the Cultists and that is phenomenal against bosses like the dreaded Paradigm.
- Order : Very good to remove signs of «Blindness» and incidentally provide one of «Strength» to a syncy (brutal next to a Leper , although I would not recommend going with 2 «Tank» characters). The Librarian would be an example of a boss where he would be very interested in this because he applies “Blind” very often.
- Firm Position : Improved it will allow us to mitigate a lot of damage and it will take away «Combination» if an enemy puts it on us (as often happens with Bandits).
BEST MAN-AT-ARMS PATHS
These are the paths of the Harlequin ordered from best to worst based on my experience with the character. On this occasion I recommend the first option well above the others.
- Vanguard : +20% Health, +25% “Counter” Damage, +50% “Sledgehammer” Damage, -20% RES to all status ailments.
- The issue of losing resistance to altered states is true that it is quite annoying, but I consider that for all the pros we get in exchange, it is well worth it. Life is phenomenal for a “Tank”, the Damage of “Counterattack” also because it ends up being one of the main sources of Damage for the character and the tremendous boost to “Mazazo” is noticeable (which is our healing attack and spreads) .
- Sergeant : -20% Damage, +100% RES to movement, “Reinforcement” abilities remove signs of “Weak” (-50% Damage dealt) and “Vulnerable” (+50% Damage taken) and each ally has a 20 % to receive +50% RES to all status ailments for 3 turns each turn.
- The RES theme is brutal, as well as the enhancement of “Reinforcement” abilities, but… that -20% Damage makes it not worth it in my opinion (especially on the way up). The RES to movement is also not so relevant since he is a character with very good mobility and sometimes it is even good for us to be moved.
- Bulwark : -25% Damage on “Sledgehammer” and “Counterattack”, +50% Damage and 10% RES Pierce to Stun on Shield Attack and Stance applies 2 “Taunt” Signs.
- It seems to me a nonsense, this is the truth. Sledgehammer and Counter Strike are very useful and while the Shield Attack buff is nice, I think the price for it is exorbitant.
BEST TEAMMATES
Every good team requires a Tank and Barristan is the Lord of Tanks , so you can put him in pretty much any combination as long as you follow the basics of following the typical Tank , Healer and 2 DPS strategy .
In any case, we will do as usual and I will tell you about those characters that get along a lot with him:
- Junia : Obviously the Lord of the Tanks had to make a good pairing with the Lady of the Healers (in terms of pure and simple healing/protection, the truth is that as a Healer I prefer Paracelsus). Together with Junia it is difficult for them to knock him down, but anyway, this is Darkest Dungeon 2… don’t trust yourself.
- Paracelsus : “An Iota of Prevention” can make up for the loss of resistances that comes along with the “Vanguard” path, plus it can remove status ailments. Heals from him will be phenomenal (he can even remove Signs) and his damage over time is always appreciated. Also, it’s somewhat fragile, so it will appreciate Protection if things get complicated.
- Dismas : Dismas won’t mind if he moves back with “Tactical Knockback” and can even come in handy for a “Point Blank Shot”. Also, anyway, it’s Dismas, he’s a tremendous character.
- Sarmenti : To reduce stress; Barristan can also reduce it with “Reinforcement”, but he doesn’t remove Signs of Terror. In addition, this character will appreciate the Protection a lot as well and applies a lot of Combination Signs to be able to heal us with “Sledgehammer”.
BETTER STATS AND ATTRIBUTES
As a tank that he is… well, his thing is to mainly improve his defensive attributes . Health, Block, Evade… something that helps him apply more “Combination” Signs is also very useful for him to be able to self-heal more often or to support his teammates more.
In any case, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to boost the offense a bit since in the end the Damage is the most important thing in this game; lie, the most important thing is not to die and then the Damage.
