by The Destroyer (in English it is known as Shambler) is an optional boss in Darkest Dungeon that stands out for its high difficulty and because its appearance is quite difficult to appear unless you know the way, which of course we will mention in this post.
It is clearly one of the most complicated bosses in the game and if by chance you run into him unexpectedly, without being prepared and especially if you are not yet a very veteran in the game, you should undoubtedly flee from his battle.
In general terms, I don’t recommend that you face him because despite the fact that he provides some interesting loot, he is a rather cumbersome boss and I don’t consider the risk worth it; especially speaking of the game we are talking about. But if you’ve set out to beat him more as a personal milestone (it’s not impossible either, it’s pretty hard, but he’s certainly a rookie killer for sure) and you feel like you already have the game pretty well down… keep reading.
HOW TO SUMMON THE DESTROYER IN DARKEST DUNGEON
To face the Destroyer, we have mainly two methods:
- Run into the ” Altar of the Destroyer ” Curio (it is a Curio that can appear in all areas) and interact with it using a Torch, after which the battle will begin. The curio is very easy to identify, it is a kind of pedestal with a bright red ball on top.
- Go with 0 light during expeditions as this will give you a chance to spawn in battle. Chance that increases significantly as the difficulty of the expedition increases (Apprentice, Veteran and Champion).
I highly recommend method 1 (let’s see, I really recommend you skip this boss) despite being somewhat cumbersome since we will depend on randomness, the appearance of this Curio is not guaranteed, in fact it does not usually appear too much.
Method 2 is much worse since we will start the battle with a great disadvantage: First, because we won’t be able to know exactly when the battle will start (it couldn’t even start); and second, because the boss will surprise us and move the group at the start of the battle. And if you skip the battle having the group in bad condition, you’re going to have a hard time.
My recommendation is that you use the first method and only call it when you meet these conditions:
- You’ve finished the expedition mission (so you can safely run away if things go south).
- You have your group in perfect or almost perfect condition.
- You have suitable characters for this battle (which I will tell you further down in the guide to defeat him).
Keep in mind that if you run away from him, once you have found him, he can appear again in the battles of this expedition.
HOW TO DEFEAT THE DESTROYER
The Destroyer itself is annoying, but hopefully that’s the only thing, there are a couple more things to keep in mind. Let’s go little by little to explain everything.
FIGHT IN ABSOLUTE DARKNESS
You will have to fight this battle with light at 0 whether you want it or not, which implies the following disadvantages (and some advantages… but nothing compared to the bad) for your party:
- +40% stress.
- +40% chance of being surprised (if you summon him with the Torch on the Altar it doesn’t matter).
- best loot
- +3% Critical.
- Enemies:
- +12.5 Accuracy.
- +25% Damage.
- +5% Critical.
These are the data for easy and normal difficulty, for maximum difficulty the debuffs get a bit worse.
THE DESTROYER
The Destroyer will start the battle on its own , but don’t worry, it will quickly summon some friends that we will talk about below. First let’s see the attacks of the Destroyer:
- Stubborn Advance : An attack that will affect all of our characters (all of their attacks affect everyone) with very little damage but can apply Bleed. Doing so will move one position forward and summon the Tentacles below (it will always keep 2 Tentacles on the field).
- Undulating Retreat : Same as above but applying Infection and moving one position back.
- Shrill Lament : Same pattern only in this one it will not summon the Tentacles or move. But, it will apply stress to all your characters (10 to be exact, but because of the darkness it will be more) and it can also move them.
A rather annoying move kit, but luckily, it only has one action per round and is also quite slow, so it will attack very little and will usually be one of the last to attack. Oh, and I almost forgot, the boss occupies 2 positions.
Otherwise, it has a lot of health and also a lot of Protection, so it’s not exactly going to drop fast.
THE HATEFUL TENTACLES
As I mentioned, the boss will summon his Tentacle friends to annoy us even more. He will always try to have 2 on the field. You might think that the best thing is to skip them and focus on the boss (since he constantly summons them again), but… the problem is that they will get stronger and if you don’t eliminate them, they will delete you to the team . We will have to deal with both the boss and the Tentacles, there is no other.
Let’s see his only attack:
- Pincer Grasp : Deals normal damage, but will only hit one of your characters. In the process it will also add +10 stress to your character. However… the worst thing is that when attacking the following buff will be applied:
- +20 Accuracy.
- +5% Critical.
- +50% Damage.
- +3 Speed.
- +25% Protection.
The buff above accumulates , so if you leave them alive for a long time they will leave you fine. They also have one action per round (each).
CHARACTERS AND RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
From the outset, comment that characters with Riposte (the counterattack) are phenomenal because all of the Shambler’s attacks are in the area. Bleeding and Infection is better to pass because both Destroyer and Tentacles have only one action (although for Tentacles if they are too chequed they will come in handy as status ailments ignore Protection).
Since the boss moves and also usually moves the characters, very versatile characters are also highly recommended in terms of their positioning and ability to hit multiple positions.
- Man-at-Arms : The best option for the first position due to his good endurance and especially his Riposte (counterattack) to passively damage enemies. His ability to protect can come in very handy too and he has an ability to move one position forward while attacking (in case they move him) that can also stun (something that slows down the potentiation of the Tentacles a lot, since they only boost if they hit us with success).
- Crusader : Highly recommended also to go damaging especially the Tentacles (since they are usually in front) or the Shambler (if it is not at the end), as necessary. In addition, he has an ability to attack while moving forward (quite powerful as well) and can support a bit with heals and stress reduction if necessary (last resort, you prefer to deal damage).
- Bandit : The best DPS that you can take without any doubt. His counter is very powerful and will go a long way in this battle and he has incredible mobility (attacks that allow him to go back and forth). Point Blank (when in first position) is an attack that kills anything in that position (you’ll probably delete the Tentacle unless it’s boosted). You could even consider taking two for battle.
- Grave Raiders : For its good damage regardless of its position. Also, his Infections and his attack that ignores Protection can come in handy. Let’s not forget about his ability to heal Bleed and Infection while in the boost step .
- Jester : Highly recommended for battle. It will help us reduce stress , it can boost our characters a lot and its attack with which we hit 2 positions that can apply Bleeding will be very useful.
- Antiquarian : As strange as it sounds, it is a tremendous option for this battle, especially since it can greatly buff the Evasion of the whole party, something invaluable in this battle since if the Tentacles miss the hit, they do not boost . In addition, it has a movement to go back if they move it with which it is also quite powerful.
- Occultist : Both the Destroyer and the Tentacles are Eldritch, so we’re going to do some really interesting bonus damage with the Occultist. Anyway and as I always say… be careful with his cure. His debuff to the Protection and Damage of the enemy will be great especially for your characters to cause more Damage to the Shambler.
- Vestal : The alternative as a Healer. Safer healing and also in area (which will come in handy in this fight). It can help with Stuns, but I highly recommend the Occultist for the higher Damage and Debuff from him.
STRATEGY
It is highly recommended to camp before the battle to go in perfect condition and to buff the Damage of our characters. Camping skills like the Jester’s that reduce the stress the party receives are also very interesting. Also take a few Bandages and Antidotes to eliminate the Bleeding and Infection of your characters.
Now facing combat, you will have to deal with both the Destroyer and the Tentacles. 2 Heroes more destined for the boss and the other 2 for the Tentacles is a good example, but obviously you will have to adapt according to your team and your situation. Remember that Evasion has a very high value in this battle when it comes to riding your characters.
For the rest, and as I have already mentioned, the Man at Arms and the Bandit are highly recommended for the Riposte and the Jester to help us deal with stress. Cheers!
REWARDS FOR DEFEATING
These are the Trinkets that he can give us when we defeat him. Keep in mind that they are unique Trinkets , so you can never have two alike. When you get all of them, he will give you that gem that can be sold for a lot of money (like the ones that the Collector gives very often and that also appear in the chests of the secret rooms).
The case, let’s go with the Beads:
- Bottle of the Ancestor : +25% Life, +50% food consumed and +10% stress received.
- Ancient Tentacle Idol : +20% Virtue and +8% resistance to Death Strike.
- Map of the Ancient : +25% deactivate trap, +25% Patrol and +10% received stress.
- Scroll of the Ancient : +25% healing abilities, +25% improvement in stress reduction abilities and +10% received stress.
- Candle of the Ancient : +15% Damage, +2 Speed and +5 Evasion if the torch is above 50. +1o stress received.
