Darkest Dungeon II
Darkest Dungeon II

The Jester: Skills & Builds — Darkest Dungeon II Walkthrough

Master the Jester's unique Combo mechanics in Darkest Dungeon II. This guide details his skills and effective builds for damage and support.

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The Jester: Skills & Builds

The Jester in Darkest Dungeon II is a master of both damage and support, capable of delivering devastating combo attacks or bolstering allies with crucial buffs and stress relief. His unique mechanics revolve around building up Combo tokens and using his diverse skill set to adapt to any combat situation. This guide will delve into his core skills and outline effective builds to maximize his potential.

Core Skills & Upgrades

Understanding the Jester's base skills and their upgraded versions is paramount. Prioritize upgrading skills that align with your chosen build early in a run.

  • Slice Off: Your primary single-target damage ability. Deals moderate damage and applies Bleed.
    • Upgrade: Increases damage and Bleed potency. Essential for damage-focused builds.
  • Harvest: An area-of-effect (AoE) attack that hits two front-rank enemies and applies Bleed. Excellent for clearing weaker foes or setting up multiple Bleed stacks.
    • Upgrade: Increases damage and Bleed chance/potency.
  • Battle Ballad: A powerful support skill that grants Speed and Crit tokens to two random allies. Crucial for accelerating your team and boosting damage output.
    • Upgrade: Increases the number of tokens granted or their duration. Always a strong upgrade.
  • Solo: A unique skill that moves the Jester to the front rank (Rank 1) and grants him multiple Dodge tokens. It also applies a Combo token to all enemies. This is a setup skill for Finale.
    • Upgrade: Increases Dodge tokens and/or the number of Combo tokens applied.
  • Finale: The Jester's signature ultimate attack. Deals massive damage to a single target, consuming all Combo tokens on that target for bonus damage. The Jester becomes Exhausted after use, making careful timing essential. Requires the Jester to be in Rank 1.
    • Upgrade: Significantly increases damage and/or reduces the Exhausted penalty.
  • Inspiring Tune: A stress-healing ability that removes stress from an ally and grants them a Strength token. Invaluable for maintaining party cohesion and preventing meltdowns.
    • Upgrade: Increases stress healed and/or the strength of the token.
  • Echoing March: Moves the Jester back one rank and applies a Weak token to an enemy. Situational, but useful for repositioning or debuffing dangerous foes.
    • Upgrade: Increases the rank moved and/or the potency of the Weak token.
  • Razor's Wit: Moves the Jester forward one rank and applies a Crit token to himself. Useful for setting up his own damage or repositioning for Finale.
    • Upgrade: Increases the rank moved and/or the potency of the Crit token.

Build Strategies

1. The Bleed & Finale Assassin

This build focuses on maximizing the Jester's damage output through Bleed and the devastating Finale skill. It requires careful positioning and setup.

Skills to Equip:

  • Slice Off (Upgraded): Primary damage and Bleed application.
  • Harvest (Upgraded): AoE Bleed for multiple targets.
  • Solo (Upgraded): Essential for setting up Finale and gaining Dodge.
  • Finale (Upgraded): Your ultimate damage dealer.
  • Battle Ballad (Upgraded) or Inspiring Tune (Upgraded): Choose based on your team's needs for buffs or stress relief. Battle Ballad is generally preferred for this aggressive build.

Strategy:

  1. Start the Jester in a middle rank (Rank 2 or 3).
  2. Use Slice Off or Harvest to apply Bleed to high-priority targets.
  3. When you identify a critical target to eliminate, use Solo. This moves the Jester to Rank 1, grants Dodge, and applies Combo to enemies.
  4. On the next turn, unleash Finale on the marked target. The Combo token applied by Solo will significantly boost its damage.
  5. After Finale, the Jester will be Exhausted. Use this turn to either reposition with Echoing March, apply a buff with Battle Ballad, or heal stress with Inspiring Tune if needed.

Recommended Trinkets:

  • Gnawing Gnashers: Increases Bleed chance and damage. Found in various Academic's Studies or as a combat reward.
  • Gambler's Charm: Boosts Crit chance, synergizing with Finale's high damage. Often found in Hoarder's shops.
  • Shrieker's Feather: Grants Speed, allowing the Jester to act earlier and set up Finale more effectively. Found in the Shroud region.
  • Greater Glimmer of Hope: Provides a significant damage boost when the Jester is at low health, a risky but potent option.

Combat Item Synergy:

  • Bandages: To mitigate incoming Bleed damage from enemies.
  • Laudanum: For emergency stress relief after a risky Finale.
  • Controlled Burn: To clear corpses and allow the Jester to hit backline targets more easily.
2. The Support & Combo Enabler

This build emphasizes the Jester's utility, focusing on buffing allies, managing stress, and setting up Combo tokens for other heroes like the Highwayman or Leper.

Skills to Equip:

  • Battle Ballad (Upgraded): Core buffing skill.
  • Inspiring Tune (Upgraded): Primary stress relief and Strength token provider.
  • Harvest: For AoE Bleed and applying Combo tokens.
  • Echoing March or Razor's Wit: For flexible positioning.
  • Slice Off: For occasional damage or Bleed application when support isn't needed.

Strategy:

  1. Position the Jester in a back or middle rank (Rank 3 or 4).
  2. Prioritize using Battle Ballad at the start of combat to buff your damage dealers.
  3. use Inspiring Tune to keep your team's stress low, especially after critical hits or enemy stress attacks.
  4. Use Harvest to apply Bleed to multiple enemies and generate Combo tokens for your other heroes to exploit.
  5. If you need to move, use Echoing March to retreat and apply Weak, or Razor's Wit to advance and gain Crit for a opportunistic attack.

Recommended Trinkets:

  • Stalwart Standard: Increases healing received and stress resistance for the Jester, making him more resilient. Found in the Tangle region.
  • Broken Hourglass: Boosts stress healing, making Inspiring Tune even more effective. Often found in Hoarder's shops.
  • Amulet of the Raven: Grants a chance to apply a Dodge token at the start of combat, increasing survivability.
  • Greater Glimmer of Hope: Can be used for a surprise damage burst if the situation calls for it, though less central to this build.

Combat Item Synergy:

  • Whiskey: For immediate stress relief on a highly stressed ally.
  • Healing Salve: To keep the Jester healthy so he can continue his support role.
  • Adrenaline Vial: To grant an ally an extra action, allowing them to capitalize on the Jester's buffs or Combo tokens.

General Tips for the Jester

  • Positioning is Key: The Jester's skills are highly rank-dependent. Always be aware of his current position and where he needs to be for his next action.
  • Combo Management: The Jester is excellent at applying Combo tokens. Coordinate with heroes like the Highwayman (Duelist's Advance, Point Blank Shot), Leper (Chop, Hew), or Grave Robber (Lunge) who can consume these tokens for bonus effects.
  • Stress is a Resource: While the Jester can relieve stress, he can also generate it with certain paths or if not managed well. Balance his stress-healing with his offensive capabilities.
  • Path Selection: Experiment with the Jester's different paths (e.g., Soloist, Virtuoso) as they significantly alter his playstyle and skill effectiveness.