by Paracelsus the Plague Doctor is one of the characters with whom we begin our adventure in Darkest Dungeon 2 and the truth is that he is one of the best heroes we can count on (almost all the heroes at the beginning are very good in this game ).
It’s pretty much the same as the Plague Doctor from Darkest Dungeon 1 , but of course it has some new features. In the previous game he was already a tremendous character, but in the second installment he is even better.
It stands out for having a good application of Plague, for being able to heal health and altered states and for also being able to provide good support to its teammates. It is without a doubt one of the best options as a Healer; maybe not the best in terms of healing (that’s the Vestal), but it makes up for it with its good damage over time and with the great advantage of being able to remove debuffs through one of its improved abilities (see below).
BEST PARACELSUS SKILLS
These are the 5 abilities that we recommend for Paracelsus:
- Noxious Explosion : We can use it in all positions except the first one and it allows us to hit one of the first 2 positions of the enemy. Very low damage and little critical, but we will apply 4 Plague to the enemy and we will obtain +30% RES Pierce to Plague if it has a Combination Sign.
- Upgrading it increases the damage a bit (it’s still little) and now applies 6 Plague.
- Combat Medicine : We will heal a partner for 20% of health and we will remove their altered states. The Health heal only applies if the companion’s Health is below 50%; that of altered states always applies.
- Through the improvement we will heal 25% (very little more) and he will also heal the altered states himself.
- Plague Grenade : It can be used in the 2 rear positions to affect the same enemy positions simultaneously. It’s like Noxious Explosion, but it applies 3 Plague (being 2 enemies at the same time, it’s very good).
- Enhanced increases its damage a bit (again still very little) and will now apply 4 Plague.
- Indiscriminate Science : We will heal a friend for 10% of Life and 10% more for each positive sign that he has (in the process these signs will be eliminated). It has 1 cooldown.
- If we improve it, it is very worth it (the first skill you should improve) since it will also heal an additional 5% for each negative sign that the partner has and it will also eliminate them (this applies to many signs that bosses apply, such as that of the Child of the Harvest that makes the characters tempted by rotten meat).
- Magnesium Rain : It is used in the 2 rear positions and affects all enemies at the same time. Doesn’t do any damage, but applies 2 Burn to all enemies and also removes bodies (corpses).
- 3 Burn if we improve it.
The « An Iota of Prevention » Skill is another skill to consider as it will help the whole party to better resist status ailments (and diseases as well). If you want to take it, change it for “Magnesium Rain”, the others are sacred.
PLAGUE DOCTOR BEST PATHS
These are the paths of the Plague Doctor in order from best to worst based on my experience with the character; In my opinion, you should go with the first option, but the second is not a bad idea either if you want to heal better, which never hurts.
- Alchemist : -20% Health, +33% Pierce RES Plague, +10% CRIT on abilities that apply Plague, +50% RES to Stun, +20% RES to all status ailments and +33% RES to Depletion.
- There are too many virtues with the only cost of losing 20% of Life (which, being a character that we usually place in position 4, will not receive as much damage). The RES Pierce to Plague will make it so that we almost never miss applying the status ailment except for the typical enemies with colossal resistance, the +10% crit on Plague skills may seem like a lot, but those crits will allow us to heal more stress both him as the group and the resistances that we obtain suffice it to say that they are phenomenal.
- Surgeon : +25% Health, +50% Melee Damage, +33% Healing and -33% Pierce RES to Plague.
- The most relevant thing is the empowerment of cures, which is really quite tempting. But of course, the rest is not that bad (Life is fine)… we don’t want Melee Damage at all. The thing is, having to do without his powerful Plague abilities to do it makes it not worth it in my opinion (for that you play Junia and that’s it).
- Medic : I don’t recommend this one, it’s meant to further enhance your support skills, most of them I don’t even recommend. The price for this is also losing quite a bit of Plague damage, so it’s not worth it.
BEST TEAMMATES
Paracelsus can go on any type of team, he is not a character that requires special configurations or anything like that. Also, since he fulfills the role of Healer and in the end practically all the characters require healing… well, that fits you everywhere .
Anyway I will mention some characters with whom he has a very good synergy:
- Baldwin : Very key to removing the Blindness with Indiscriminate Science and thus being able to correct one of the biggest problems he has to deal with.
- Barristan : Since the Plague Doctor is rather short-sighted, it’s good for him to have someone who can cover him in a pinch.
- Sarmenti : To cure stress and because its good mobility, together with the fact that it is usually worn in position 3, makes it easier to put it back in its ideal place (4th position) if we move it a bit.
- Dismas : He also has very good mobility and finally, he is the god Dismas.
BETTER STATS AND ATTRIBUTES
The first and absolute priority will be to improve her heals as much as you can, so equip her with the typical Trinkets that improve this aspect (and if you miss any traits that improve her, that’s it).
Regarding the rest, you don’t really need much; RES Pierce is good for Plague, but with the Alchemist path it already has quite a bit of stock, so if you follow my recommendation you won’t need it. In any case, he tries to give it things that allow it to endure better, such as something that gives it signs of Evasion, Protection and that kind of thing.
