The Occultist: Skills & Builds — Darkest Dungeon II Walkthrough

The Occultist: Skills & Builds

The Occultist is a versatile support hero in Darkest Dungeon II, capable of potent healing, debilitating debuffs, and surprising damage. His unique mechanics, particularly the unpredictable nature of Wyrd Reconstruction, demand careful planning and a willingness to embrace chaos. Mastering the Occultist means understanding how to mitigate risk and maximize his impactful abilities.

Core Skills & Their Applications

• Wyrd Reconstruction: This is the Occultist's signature heal. It can be a life-saver, healing for a substantial amount, but also carries a 25% chance to apply a Bleed to the target.
  • Strategy: Use this proactively when a hero is moderately damaged, rather than reactively when they're on Death's Door. Pair him with heroes who can clear Bleed (e.g., Plague Doctor's Indiscriminate Science) or have high Bleed resist. Consider upgrading it early for increased healing potential.
• Sacrificial Stab: A reliable melee attack that applies a Weak token. Excellent for reducing incoming damage from powerful foes.
  • Strategy: Position the Occultist in ranks 1 or 2 to utilize this. Prioritize high-damage enemies or those with dangerous single-target attacks.
• Abyssal Artillery: A ranged attack that targets ranks 3-4, dealing damage and applying a Weak token. Crucial for hitting backline threats.
  • Strategy: This is your primary damage and debuff tool against backline enemies. Upgrade it to increase damage and the chance of applying Weak.
• Weakening Curse: Applies a Weak token and a Vulnerable token to an enemy. A powerful debuff combination.
  • Strategy: Target high-priority enemies that your team needs to burst down quickly. The Vulnerable token significantly amplifies subsequent damage.
• Daemon's Pull: Pulls an enemy forward one rank and applies a Weak token. Essential for disrupting enemy formations.
  • Strategy: Use this to pull dangerous backline enemies into range of your melee heroes, or to break up enemy combos.
• Malediction: Applies a Blight and a Vulnerable token to an enemy.
  • Strategy: Great for adding damage over time, especially against enemies with low Blight resist. The Vulnerable token synergizes well with other damage dealers.
• Burning Stars: A powerful ranged attack that deals significant damage and ignores 25% of the target's Blight resist.
  • Strategy: This is your ultimate damage skill. Save it for high-health targets or bosses. It consumes a Token of Sacrifice, which can be generated by other Occultist skills or certain trinkets.

Recommended Builds & Synergies

1. Support & Debuff Occultist (Ranks 3-4)

This build focuses on keeping your team healthy and crippling the enemy with a barrage of debuffs.

• Skills: Wyrd Reconstruction, Abyssal Artillery, Weakening Curse, Daemon's Pull (or Malediction for Blight teams).
• Trinkets:
  • The Burning Censer: Increases healing from Wyrd Reconstruction and provides a chance to apply a random positive token to the target. Found in The Sprawl or general loot.
  • Chirurgeon's Satchel: Reduces the chance of Wyrd Reconstruction applying Bleed. Found in The Tangle or general loot.
  • Shambler's Eye: Increases debuff chance and provides a small damage bonus. Drops from the Shambler encounter.
• Combat Items: Healing Salves (to supplement Wyrd), Bandages (to clear Wyrd Bleeds), Weakening Vial.
• Team Synergy: Pairs well with heroes who can capitalize on Vulnerable tokens (e.g., Highwayman, Leper) or clear Bleeds (Plague Doctor).

2. Damage & Control Occultist (Ranks 1-2)

A more aggressive approach, utilizing Sacrificial Stab and Daemon's Pull to control enemy positioning while still offering debuffs.

• Skills: Sacrificial Stab, Abyssal Artillery, Daemon's Pull, Burning Stars (if you have reliable Token of Sacrifice generation).
• Trinkets:
  • Whispering Skull: Increases melee damage and provides a chance to apply a random negative token on hit. Found in The Foetor or general loot.
  • Accursed Scroll: Boosts damage and critical hit chance for all skills, but increases stress. Found in The Sluice or general loot.
  • Shambler's Eye: (Still good for debuff chance and damage).
• Combat Items: Controlled Burn (for extra damage), Weakening Vial.
• Team Synergy: Excellent with other frontline damage dealers like the Hellion or Man-at-Arms, who can benefit from pulled enemies and Weak tokens.

3. Blight & Vulnerable Occultist (Ranks 3-4)

This build focuses on maximizing Blight damage and setting up burst opportunities with Vulnerable.

• Skills: Malediction, Abyssal Artillery, Weakening Curse, Burning Stars.
• Trinkets:
  • Toxic Ichor: Increases Blight damage and Blight resist. Found in The Foetor or general loot.
  • Putrid Bile: Increases Blight chance and Blight duration. Found in The Foetor or general loot.
  • Shambler's Eye: (For increased debuff chance).
• Combat Items: Blight Bomb, Weakening Vial.
• Team Synergy: Ideal when paired with other Blight-focused heroes like the Plague Doctor or Jester (with Blight path).

General Tips for the Occultist

• Token Management: Pay attention to when your Occultist generates Tokens of Sacrifice. These are crucial for empowering Burning Stars. Skills like Sacrificial Stab and Abyssal Artillery can generate them.
• Stress Management: The Occultist's skills don't directly manage stress, so ensure your team has other means of stress relief or be prepared to use combat items like Laudanum.
• Positioning: While versatile, the Occultist generally prefers ranks 3-4 for maximum utility of Abyssal Artillery and his support skills. If you plan to use Sacrificial Stab, move him forward.
• Upgrade Priority: Wyrd Reconstruction is often a high priority for its healing. Abyssal Artillery and Weakening Curse are also excellent early upgrades for their debuff consistency.