To better ensure that players grow more attached to their fragile and flawed heroes in Darkest Dungeon, the developers introduced a personality quirk system. These are specific traits that randomly pop up and add some negative or positive stats to make each character class more personalized.
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Quirks, however, can be overwritten by the influx of more recent ones. So it's better to lock in a good quirk permanently since some positive quirks are simply too powerful. And among all the perks in Darkest Dungeon, the following ones are worth locking in to avoid having a hero with a constant identity crisis.
10 Hippocratic
- +20% Healing Skills
- Requires Color of Madness DLC
Being Hippocratic isn't recommended for all classes since not everyone can heal. At best, players ought to make this a mandatory lock-in just for the Vestal and the Occultist, and that's about it. Those two are the best healers in the game. Maybe the Arbalest can have it too, depending on her skills.
It's even better for the Vestal since her healing is a bit lower in bursts compared to the Occultist's though it's more reliable. This specific quirk can also change the way players approach combat encounters since they now know that they can heal more damage.
9 Luminous
- +2 SPD, +5 DODGE
- Requires Color of Madness DLC
Out of all the combat stats in Darkest Dungeon, Speed and Dodge are among those that scale well the most in terms of usefulness. Speed allows characters to act earlier while Dodge is pretty self-explanatory. So having both with this quirk is quite a godsend.
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It's one of the best traits to increase a character's survivability, especially if they have low health but hit hard. The lack of a negative also makes this quirk one of the most desirable, and it should be an automatic lock-in if players see it immediately.
8 Tough
- +10% MAX HP
Speaking of survivability, Tough is a quirk that's always good to have especially if players see it pop up in a class like Man-at-Arms or other tanky characters. It's best to reserve it for frontliners and melee sluggers though it won't hurt locking it in for other classes.
The max HP increase might not sound like much, but it just might save a character from a near-death situation. In any case, simply being able to soak up more damage opens a character up to many avenues of opportunity, reckless opportunities, usually.
7 Natural
- +20% MAX HP, +20% Healing Received, and +3 SPD while wearing no trinkets
- Requires Color of Madness DLC
Natural is a great quirk if players have a character that got the short end of the stick in trinket allocation. It's also somewhat preferable if players don't want the negative stats associated with a trinket. This quirk is practically a couple of trinket effects with no downsides.
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The HP bonus is even more robust compared to the Tough quirk. And having additional Speed can place the character on top of the food chain during an encounter. Still, it can be a situational quirk since players are sacrificing something here, and it's only ideal if players have had poor luck with trinkets.
6 Corvid's Grace
- +6 DODGE, +25% Move Resist
- Requires the Radiant update
Characters who survive the Shrieker boss can get one of these quirks, and they're impressive. The Corvid's Grace is a massive boost to a hero's survival arguably more so compared to other quirks like Hard Noggin which only add Stun resistance.
Not getting hit beats getting hit and resisting a stun, after all. Moreover, the Move resist is more valuable than expected since it allows players to follow their plan and not waste their heroes' turns reshuffling their positions, that is assuming they actually resist the disruption. But players can be more confident when specific characters have this quirk.
5 Corvid's Eye
- +8 ACC, +8% Scouting Chance
- Requires the Radiant update
Like Speed or Dodge, Accuracy is another stat that scales well in Darkest Dungeon, especially as the game gets progressively more difficult. A lot of enemies will be packing their own inflated Dodge stats. Thus, something like Corvid's Eye is more than an advantage.
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The huge boost to Accuracy pairs well with characters who hit hard like the Leper. In fact, quirks like these are a bit of a requirement for the Leper since their most devastating attack has poor Accuracy. Other classes like the Arbalest, Musketeer, Highwayman, and even melee heavy hitters could benefit from this as well.
4 Hot to Trot
- +25% DMG, +20 ACC, +5% CRIT on First Round
- Requires Color of Madness DLC
Why prolong the fight, though? There's no need to drag it out and endanger heroes, especially if the strongest one can end it in a few rounds. With the Hot to Trot quirk, performing a feat like that is a lot more achievable. On its own, it might not be enough, of course.
It might need a trinket or another quirk that gives the class a considerable Speed buff to ensure that they make good use of this. After all, it only lasts at the very beginning of an encounter, on the character's first attack. So it's best to take out the most threatening target.
3 Prismatic Calm
- -30% Stress
- Requires Color of Madness DLC
Stress is one of the slowest and most insidious killers in higher difficulties and when it comes to late-game areas. Hence, having a quirk like Prismatic Calm can help a lot in managing a character's sanity, particularly if they're prone to heart attacks or Afflictions.
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Stress-related debuffs are quite a domino effect on a hero's survival since Afflictions also lower resistances; preventing Stress from creeping up on them too much is the key to their longevity. Also, if one hero has this, players might even forego the need for a Jester or a dedicated Stress-healer class at camp.
2 Prismatic Speed
- +3 SPD
- Requires Color of Madness DLC
A good alternative is Quick Reflexes if players haven't ventured too far into the Color of Madness DLC just yet. However, Prismatic Speed is a bit better and ensures that anyone who has it stays on top of the initiative hierarchy.
Do take note that the Speed roll for whoever goes first in a turn is still quite unforgiving, so even with a +3 Speed buff, the specific class that has it might still come out last. That's Darkest Dungeon and its infamous RNG. Still, this quirk manipulates their chances for better luck.
1 Prismatic Force
- +15% DMG
- Requires Color of Madness DLC
A lot of the busted perks were introduced in the Color of Madness DLC it seems. Prismatic Force is the better counterpart to Risktaker, Lurker, or Warrior of Light— all of which only give out 10 percent damage.
Of course, players will need to trudge through the aforementioned DLC, and this quirk is also limited to just one character roster like the other Prismatic quirks. So while it might be a counterproductive mindset, it's best to pick a favorite hero and reserve this quirk for them; just weep harder or uninstall more furiously if they die, no biggie.
Darkest Dungeon is available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
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