by The Cannon is the second boss of the Darkest Dungeon Forest , we can do this boss when we have defeated the previous boss of the area, which is the Witch .
Its name will change depending on the difficulty of the Dungeon:
- Apprentice: 8 Pound Cannon.
- Veteran: 12-pound cannon.
- Champion: Cannon of 16 Pounds.
The key to this battle will be to prevent the Cannon from firing at us since if it does it will cause terrible damage to all our characters and most likely it will leave all of us with 0 Life. For this we will have to deal with the bandit known as “Arsonist Outlaw” since he is in charge of making it shoot.
HOW TO DEFEAT THE CANNON IN DARKEST DUNGEON
The cannon as such is a single entity that occupies a single position that will be in position 2 by default. It will be accompanied by 3 bandits (like the ones you have already encountered in normal combat) except 1 specifically called the Arsonist Outlaw (the that carries a kind of huge “match”) that will be the one that will give us the most problems since it is the one that can activate the extremely powerful attack of the Cannon .
We will start talking about the Arsonist Outlaw and then about the Cannon itself, the other 2 bandits that will be in the battle are not very mysterious, they will be doing us damage and so on. The main mechanic revolves around the Cannon and the Arsonist.
ARSONIST OUTLAW
This bandit has some attacks, but that’s not what’s relevant. What is really relevant is that if the Arsonist Outlaw is alive and conscious (he is not Stunned) when the Cannon’s turn comes, it will activate it to attack , something that we must avoid at all costs.
Luckily for us, the Cannon will always be the last to hit in the round, so we must manage our characters’ turns well to always deal with the Arsonist so that the Cannon doesn’t fire at us. Keep in mind that this enemy will normally be in position 4 and sometimes in position 3.
THE CANON
As we have already mentioned, it will be the last to attack (between the enemies and our characters) and it will only attack if the Arsonist Outlaw is alive and not Stunned; he also has only one action per turn. The Cannon has a high Protection and you will not be able to apply Infection, Bleeding or Shrinkage to it (if we can Mark it, that will be great); it’s pretty hard to download.
These are the Cannon attacks:
- Reinforcement! : Attack that will be made if you have killed the Arsonist Outlaw. It will basically bring you back to life, and if you’ve defeated any other bandits as well. It’s the attack you want me to do every time.
- BOOOOOOM! : Pretty descriptive by name. This is the attack he will make if the Arsonist Outlaw is alive and not Stunned when his turn comes. It’s an extremely powerful blow that will affect all of your characters and most likely send them all to death’s door (so their Stress will also increase a lot ), so unless you act super fast and don’t have something luckily, the most likely thing is that after this some bandit will kill one of your characters.
- Failed! : Luckily if for whatever reason the Cannon attacks us, there is a chance that the shot will miss, thus causing no damage and incidentally reducing the Stress of all our characters a bit (normal, what a joy they get after the scare). The chance to miss changes depending on the difficulty of the boss (you should never risk it anyway):
- Apprentice: 35%
- Veteran: 30%
- Champion: 25%
RECOMMENDED CHARACTERS AND EQUIPMENT
We are interested in having a group of characters that can deal well with all enemy positions , especially 2 (where the Cannon is usually) and 3 and 4 (where the Arsonist is usually). It is also important to take characters that can damage the Cannon well (remember that we cannot apply Bleeding or Infection to it) and it is highly recommended to have a character that can Stun positions 3 and 4.
- Diabla : The character that I recommend the most for position 1 since she can hit all positions very well and since the Pyromaniac Outlaw is usually placed in position 4, it will be very easy to delete him with a hit from Iron Swan.
- Leper : An alternative to Diabla to take into account since it will cause good damage to the Cannon. I prefer the Devil because the Leper will not be able to hit the Outlaw and therefore it seems riskier to have him. Which does not mean that with luck on your side the barrel will go down quickly, but you know… better not to count on luck in Darkest Dungeon.
- Bounty Hunter : A character that cannot be missing in this battle because he has everything we need for this battle. It does more damage to Humans (for dealing with the Outlaw it’s great), it can Stun late positions (you know, ideally stuns the Arsonist), it has good damage to all enemy positions and it can also Point the Cannon so that himself and other characters can deal more damage to him.
- Arbalestera : Another character that is phenomenal. He can point, he has good damage to all but the first position (which position you normally won’t attack because you don’t want the Cannon to move) so he will be able to hit the Cannon or Outlaw. Also, he can support with heals if you take a cannon shot, but you don’t want to live that situation. Along with the Bounty Hunter (since they both take advantage of the Sign), he is a very good combo.
- Canine Master : Also benefits from Signals (and can point) and can hit all positions well.
- Bandit : Not so recommended in this boss because his counterattack with Duelist’s Advance is not very effective in this battle and it doesn’t pay to throw it. We can limit ourselves to shooting from a distance (it also benefits from Marked enemies), but for that we better take the Arbalester directly.
- Grave Raider : He hits all positions well and his melee attack is very interesting against the Cannon as it ignores Protection.
- Vestal / Occultist : You will need a Healer, although pray you don’t have to use it (by the Cannon shot I say it, obviously you will have to deal with the health that the Bandits take from you, but that is the least of it). The Occultist has more damage, but if they hit us with a Cannon Shot we will be in serious trouble because his cure is a Russian roulette. The Vestal will be able to deal much better with a Cannon Shot with her heal in area, but since she has less damage it will also drag out the battle longer; she also has a Stun to rear positions, which is great. But what has been said, the damage of the Occultist is also noticeable.
STRATEGY
Before the battle, try to keep your characters with high health and very low stress so that in the camp before the fight against the Cannon, you can get as many damage buffs as you can, which will be worth gold in this battle.
Facing the battle, you will have to be very patient and not rush. Never attack the Cannon if the Arsonist Outlaw is alive (if you go with a Leper yes because he won’t be able to attack the Arsonist) and is not Stunned. Don’t gamble too much with Stuns, either, which can eventually miss (best to use when you know you have a couple of characters with the action available behind you just in case you miss); In the end, the safest thing is to kill him.
Only when you have the Pyromaniac Outlaw under control is when you should go damaging the Cannon (very key to Point it out to do more damage). The other bandits ignore them, focus only on the Arsonist and the Cannon. If for whatever reason you get hit by a cannon (if you follow the recommendations in this guide it is highly unlikely to happen, but not impossible) you will have to try to quickly heal your characters to get them out of the Doors of Death while you continue dealing with the Arsonist … the best thing is that it does not happen, because if it does, you will be in serious trouble.
