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Front line heroes inDarkest Dungeon 2are tasked with the important mission of holding the line against the unending tide of horrors lingering around the Mountain. Out of all heroes who will join each expedition, few will match the resilience and protection offered by the Man-At-Arms.
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The Man-At-Arms is a specialized supporter who protects other heroes, grants buffs to his teammates, and has a large enough health pool to take most damage. Building him can be a straightforward process (especially with how middling his paths are), but there are times when it can still be unnecessarily complex to figure out what works best for this grizzled fighter. Here’s a guide to show you what to keep an eye out for when building your Man-At-Arms.
Man-At-Arms Summary
- Guards allies extremely well
- Low damage without help
- Removes most debuffs from allies
- Reliant on teammates to help him with either healing, damage, or combo set up
Can gain Block and Riposte tokens easily
Fourth-highest base HP in the game
- One dimensional because of subpar path options
- Bellow is amazing at protecting team’s offense
Best hero to beat Act 3 Boss
Incredibly tanky thanks to high HP stat and Block+ gain
- Flexible Trinket options
Man-At-Arms Stats
Resistances
Death Blow
The Man-At-Arms has the fourth-largest health pool in the game.This makes him extremely tanky and perfectly suited to be a front line hero. Since he has such a large health pool,food and other Inn itemsthat increase Max HP are even more helpful.
In addition to his average resistance against most of the negative status inflictions in Darkest Dungeon 2,the Man-At-Arms is extremely resistant to stuns.This makes him wonderful against enemies that have Stun skills, but thisStun Resistance also works extremely well if you come across the Oversprung Pocketwatch Trinket.
The Oversprung Pocketwatch (found in Academic Studies only) has a 50/50 chance of either granting your hero a bonus turn or being stunned. Since the Man-At-Arms has so much stun resistance, even if he gets stunned, there’s a good chance he can resist the debuff.
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Man-At-Arms Skills
Here’s a list of all of the Man-At-Arms' skills. Be aware that the effects of upgrading each skill are in parentheses.
How To Unlock
Smash (Melee)
Unlocked by default
Rampart (Melee, Shield)
Hold The Line (Melee, Shield)
Bellow (Ranged)
Complete Chapter 1 of Man-At-Arms' story
Stand Fast
Complete Chapter 2 of Man-At-Arms' story
Retribution
Complete Chapter 3 of Man-At-Arms' story
Courageous Abandon (Melee)
Complete Chapter 4 of Man-At-Arms' story
Strategic Withdrawal (Melee)
Complete Chapter 5 of Man-At-Arms' story
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Man-At-Arms Paths
Man-At-Arms paths are fairly straightforward to build because,outside of the Vanguard, the majority of them aren’t particularly useful.
The Sergeant’s biggest benefit is that it gives the Bolster skill the ability to remove Weak and Vulnerable without an upgrade, and allies have a 20% chance of gaining 50% Bleed, Blight, and Burn resistance for 3 turns.However,this comes at the cost of 20% less damage, which means fights will take much longer than they should. Since Bolster already removes those debuffs with an upgrade, that buff from the Sergeant isn’t very useful unless you find yourself struggling with upgrade points constantly. Gaining the extra resistances is the selling point of the Sergeant, buthaving it happen at inconsistent times further hurts how useful this Path is.
The Bulwark path isn’t a terrible option, butits builds have a tendency to become a worse version of the Vanguard ones.While the end result turns the Man-At-Arms into a nigh-impenetrable wall,it can also lead to some fights getting dragged out despite Rampart becoming an amazing offensive tool.This path stands out the most, since it can also deal out more stuns than the others.
Instead of the normal focus on how to build each Path, this guide will focus on two effective ways to build the Vanguard Man-At-Arms -as a front line Hero and a back line one.Before looking into those two builds, let’s see what makes the Vanguard such a good choice.
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Vanguard Man-At-Arms
The Vanguard gets several relevant buffs that bring it far above its alternatives.More Max HP allows the Man-At-Arms to both tank more damage and heal more.The increased Max HP also gives him a buffer if he needs to equip Trinkets that cost him max HP to be useful.
Next,Ripostes are a large part of the Man-At-Arms' damage.They allow him to attack out of turn order and, since Retribution is the main way he gets these buffs in the first place, it also meshes well with his game plan of setting up Retribution and using Defender to protect allies.
Crush is a versatile tool in the Man-At-Arms' kit.It fulfills a few important functions likes helping with stress relief, building Affinity, and finishing off enemies on Death’s Door.Its two most important functions, however, are healing and damage.With a partner who can help the Man-At-Arms set up combo tokens, it becomes an amazing tool to help the Man-At-Arms sustain himself, since each swing of his mace will also heal up to 20% of his Max HP. A Strength buff or an increased critical chance, combined with this path’s 50% increased damage, allows this skill to hit for solid chunks of HP. Plus, it can target Rank 3 from the front lines, which can help remove some obnoxious enemies hiding behind their allies.
Front Line Man-At-Arms
This is the most common and straightforward build for the Man-At-Arms.It wants to focus on keeping the Man-At-Arms in Rank 1, tanking as much damage as he can and keeping his teammates out of harm’s way.Unlike the other version of the Man-At-Arms, front line builds have the option to use Crush for damage and self-sustain, allowing the Man-At-Arms to have more self-sufficiency instead of relying solely on teammates for damage or healing.
Since you’re using Crush in this build,a teammate that can put down combo tokens will help as much as a healer does for this Man-At-Arms.
Best Skills For The Front Line Man-At-Arms
These skills help the Man-At-Arms protect his allies and draw attention to himself in the front lines.Ideally, you’ll want to use Retribution each chance you get, so the enemies focus on the Man-At-Arms while leaving the rest of your team (mostly) unharmed. If a teammate needs protection, Defender will keep wounded heroes alive. Defender is also a wonderful way to make the most of Retribution’s Riposte stacks (if you have any left over by the time the Man-At-Arms' turn rolls around again).
Bolster is an underrated skill. It can remove the Weak and Vulnerable debuffs from teammates, applies Block to the Man-At-Arms, and it can remove up to 2 stress from the Man-At-Arms' target and himself.Team compositions that lack a Jester or other means of stress control will want Bolster for its stress removal alone.If you pair the Man-At-Arms with a Highwayman or Grave Robber (two classes that have high burst potential that could be ruined by a Weakened status effect), then Bolster will pay off in massive dividends later in your runs.
The final slot is flexible depending on what you need.Bellow helps remove Dodge stacks, and lowering the enemy’s Speed helps your damage-oriented heroes set up their tricks before the enemies get to act.Heroes that rely on damage-over-time effects, like the Plague Doctor and Grave Robber, will appreciate this, since they want to stack on as many Blight effects as possible before the enemy gets their turn.Command is best used with the Leper, since it removes Blind and adds Strength.Hold The Line helps keep the Man-At-Arms in Rank 1, regardless of foes' attempts to shuffle him to the back.
Best Trinkets For A Front Line Man-At-Arms
A front line Man-At-Arms can also be built in the Bulwark path, by swapping out Crush for Rampart and Retribution or Defender for Stand Fast. This gives you more disruption at the cost of self-sufficiency and damage.
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Back Line Man-At-Arms
The back line Man-At-Arms functions in every slot and will focus on solely support.This version of the Man-At-Arms is usually paired with another hero that can take over the front line duties and a healer that can keep both the Man-At-Arms and the Rank 1 hero healthy. From there, the Man-At-Arms can now be placed in any rank and becomes a buffing machine who removes debuffs, applies buffs, and guards vulnerable teammates from damage.
Best Skills For A Back Line Man-At-Arms
This version of the Man-At-Arms trades Crush for a purely supportive set.Using Defender and Retribution together will be its main form of damage. Bellow, Command, and Bolster will be used to support his team from any rank.
The main way to use this set is to focus on protecting other back line heroes who may not be able to take very many hits with Protect, then use Retribution so the Man-At-Arms himself can both deal damage and be protected as well.Command and Bolster are best used to remove debuffs once the protection and Ripostes have been set up, or if you need to push through damage that might be dulled by a Blind or Weak debuff. This combo works particularly well with the Leper, who suffers from self-inflicted Blind debuffs and can take damage in Rank 1 extremely well.
Bellow performs a similar function in this set when compared to the front line Man-At-Arms. However, you’ll have more opportunities to use it in the back line than the front.
Best Trinkets For A Back Line Man-At-Arms
This build can also benefit from the Sergeant path and its team-wide buffs. However, dealing 20% less damage on Ripostes and losing the Vanguard’s +25% Riposte damage can be an annoyance.
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First Skill To Upgrade For The Man-At-Arms
The first skill you want to upgrade is Bolster or Retribution.Bolster is the better option when you need a strong stress heal on your team, and/or if a stack of Weak will ruin a teammate’s burst damage. This is especially useful for the Highwayman and Grave Robber, who will take a turn or two to set up their damaging skills.
However,if you have a Jester (or another way to handle stress damage) and you don’t mind dealing with the Weak debuff, then Retribution is a priority to upgrade first.This gives the Man-At-Arms much more survivability, because each hit they take while Taunt is up will also deal reduced damage.
Best Position For The Man-At-Arms
Front line Man-At-Arms will want to be in Rank 1.This way they can soak up damage and still have access to all of their relevant abilities. While you can put them in Rank 2, there are usually other Heroes that can perform better in Rank 2, like the Flagellant orthe formidable Highwayman.
Back line Man-At-Arms can be in every rank, including Rank 4. The available Trinkets and the roles of the rest of the team will determine the best position for this build.
