Darkest Dungeon The Crimson Court: Character class - the Flagellant Darkest Dungeon Guide
Last update: 20 April 2023
The Flagellant is a new character class introduced by the Crimson Court DLC. An interesting hero, equipped with multiple extremely powerful attacks and unique Death's Door and health-related passive abilities.
The Flagellant is mainly a damage dealer. However, it differs heavily from, for instance, the Grave Robber or the Jester, as he relies on the Bleed mechanic. Every single offensive ability of this hero deals moderate damage and applies heavy Bleed DoT. This makes him completely ineffective in the Ruins, where most of the enemies are basically immune to Bleed. However, this allows him to shine in other areas, especially in the one introduced by the Crimson Court DLC - the Courtyard. Enemies you stumble upon there are fast and deadly, but very susceptible to Bleed. Those attacks also make him very useful when dealing with bosses that move multiple times per turn - like the Hag, Shrieker and the Fanatic (introduced by the same DLC).
This hero class has multiple "hidden" abilities as well. The first one is called Rapturous. This is the name of the only affliction that the Flagallent can get once he reaches 100+ Stress. Rapturous gives him +25% Damage, +3% CRIT chance and -20 Dodge. This makes him even stronger as he gains stress damage. However, keep in mind that it still works as a regular affliction - he can attack random targets, other heroes, or even himself. This should be a mechanic you rely on - rather one that becomes useful in a pinch.
The second mechanic is associated with the health of the hero. Once he drops below 50% of his max HP, two of his most powerful abilities (Exsanguinate and Redeem) can be used in battle. Going below 38% health gives him +20% Damage and +3% CRIT Chance. When he reaches 0 HP and goes to the Death's Door, he gains buffs instead of penalties - +5 Accuracy, +20% Damage, +2 Speed and +20% Resist to Stun, Blight, Bleed and Debuff. Additionally, he will also heal all of the remaining party members by about 20% of their max HP. Given his extremely high Death Blow resist (73% - it can be further enhanced with items and one of his abilities), this mechanic can be abused to heal all other party members and give the Flagellant a huge boost to his offensive capabilities - dropping down to 0 health and 100+ stress increases his damage by 65% and his CRIT Chance by 9%! Additionally, when the Flagellant is killed, he heals all the remaining party members and stuns all the enemies on the battlefield.
Stats
Level | Health | Dodge | Protection | Speed | Accuracy | Critical | Damage |
1 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0 | 2,5% | 3-6 |
2 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 6 | +0 | 3% | 4-7 |
3 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 8 | +0 | 3,5% | 4-8 |
4 | 34 | 15 | 0 | 8 | +0 | 4% | 5-10 |
5 | 38 | 20 | 0 | 9 | +0 | 4,5% | 5-11 |
Resistances
Stun | Blight | Disease | Death Blow | Move | Bleed | Debuff | Trap |
50% | 30% | 40% | 73% | 50% | 65% | 30% | 0% |
Additional information and tips:
- There are two viable positions for the class - 1st and 2nd. This will allow the Flagellant to use all of his abilities. He shouldn't be used from 3rd and 4th position, as he won't be able to attack.
- He can be a powerful support class. He can heal himself and another ally by up to 50% of their max HP (it can further be increased with trinkets), he can decrease the stress of an ally (while increasing his own), can apply a heal-over-time effect and can even take out Blight and/or Bleed effects off an ally. However, he shouldn't be used as a main healer of the party.
- The Flagellant can't be in the same team as the Abomination.
- The Flagellant is a high risk, high reward character. His damage increases exponentially as his health drops and he enters Death's Door, as well as when he gains 100+ stress, but it can backfire at you at any time. Even though he has extremely high Death Blow resist (you can easily reach 87%) he can still die. Additionally, Rapturous affliction increases his stats, but it might also cause him to attack your own heroes, applying extremely powerful Bleed effects.
- The main strength of the Flagellant is his Bleed. He is capable of causing up to 9 (!) points of Bleed with a single attack. What's more, his main attack, Punish, applies a Bleed resist debuff, increasing the Bleed chances of the Flagellant and other characters in the party.
- You can't have more than one Flagellant in the party.
- The Flagellant can only use Penance Hall in the town for stress relief.
- The hero is completely useless in the Ruins due to the high Bleed resistances of the enemies present there. He is, however, extremely effective in the Courtyard area, where enemies are susceptible to Bleed. His Bleeds are also useful when dealing with bosses and mini-bosses that have multiple moves during a round - such as the Hag, Fanatic and Shrieker.
Upsides | Downsides |
+ A character that can easily adapt to a situation - you can apply powerful Bleed effects to enemies or support other heroes by healing them or reducing their stress. + Powerful health-related buffs that can increase his damage by over 60%. + Almost unkillable - once the enemy drops his health below 50%, he can easily restore it back with a single skill while also applying the strongest Bleed in the game or healing another party member. + Powerful stress-management ability. + High SPEED stat and powerful Bleed attacks allows him to counter Courtyard monsters with ease. | - You can't have more than one Flagellant in a team. - Completely ineffective in the Ruins due to high enemy resistances to Bleed. - Relies solely on the Bleed damage - he does very little "normal" damage. - Forces a risky, low-health high-stress tactic that can easily backfire and cause him to die. - Viable only from the 1st and 2nd position - he can't attack from the 3rd and 4th. |
Combat abilities
Name | Icon | Position | Target | Description (higher levels) |
Punish |  |  |  | Type: melee ACC base: 95 / 100 / 105 / 110 / 115 CRIT mod: 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 2% Bleed: (100 / 110 / 119 / 139 / 129% base) Bleed damage: 4 / 4 / 5 / 5 / 6 pts. / round (3 rounds) Decreased Bleed resist: -20 / -23 / -26 / -30 / -33 (100 / 110 / 119 / 129 / 139% base) |
Rain of Sorrows |  |  |  | Type: melee ACC base: 95 / 100 / 105 / 110 / 115 DMG mod: -90 / -90 / -90 / -90 / -90% CRIT mod: 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 2% Bleed: (100 / 110 / 119 / 139 / 129% base) Bleed damage: 2 / 2 / 3 / 3 / 4 pts. / round (3 rounds) Decreased Bleed resist: -20 / -23 / -26 / -30 / -33 (100 / 110 / 119 / 129 / 139% base) |
Exsanguinate |  |  |  | Type: melee Can only be used when below 50% MAX HP ACC base: 90 / 95 / 100 / 105 / 110 CRIT mod: 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 2% Bleed: (100 / 110 / 119 / 139 / 129% base) Bleed damage: 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 pts. / round (3 rounds) On self: Heal: 35 / 39 / 42 / 46 / 50% of HP -30% DMG -10 DODGE -4 SPD |
Reclaim |  |  |  | Type: support On ally: Heal: 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2 pts. / round (3 rounds) On self: Bleed: (120 / 130 / 139 / 149 / 159% base) Bleed damage: 3 /3 / 4 / 4 / 5 pts. / round (3 rounds) |
Redeem |  |  |  | Type: support Can only be used when below 50% MAX HP On ally: Heal: 33 / 35 / 38 / 40 / 43% of HP On self: Heal: 33 / 35 / 38 / 40 / 43% of HP -30% DMG -10 DODGE -4 SPD |
Endure |  |  |  | Type: support On ally: Reduce stress: -12 / -13 / -14 / -15 / -16 On self: Increase stress: 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 |
Suffer |  |  |  | Type: support On ally: Clear Marked Target Clear Bleed / Blight On self: Mark Receive Bleed / Blight +30 / 32 / 34 / 37 / 40% PROT +4 /5 / 6 / 7 / 8% Death Blow Resist |
Camping skills
Name | Icon | Time Cost | Target | Effect |
Lash's Anger |  | 1 | Self only | +40 Stress |
Lash's Solace |  | 2 | Self only | -50 Stress |
Lash's Kiss |  | 2 | Self only | 33% Heal HP Remove Bleeding / Blight +3 SPD (4 Battles) |
Lash's Cure | 1 | Self only | Remove Disease (aside from Crimson Curse |