Cardinal | Darkest Dungeon 2 Wiki

Video Strategies

[Video Example]

Strategy Writeup

The team lineup that was used for this guide are the base Heroes you receive at the start of the game. If you've managed to increase your player profile level and unlocked new heroes, you may use them and still follow the strategy by using similar skills and tactics listed down below.

Team Lineup used:

• Plague Doctor
• Grave Robber
• Highwayman
• Man at Arms

The Cardinal can be positioned in 3 different ways during its encounter, depending on the type of enemy it is being accompanied with. It can spawn at the front ranks when it is being accompanied by 2 Cherubs at the rear. It can spawn at the middle ranks when accompanied by 1 Evangelist at the front and 1 Cherub at the back. And lastly, it can spawn at the rear ranks, when being accompanied by 2 Evangelists at the front. Your strategy should depend on where the Cardinal will be positioned and also consider the enemies accompanying it.

For this guide, you will need to focus on eliminating the support enemies first, be it an Evangelist or a Cherub, while simultaneously laying down attacks on the Cardinal. These support enemies can be a pain to deal with especially since they can apply certain buffs to the Cardinal and also deal damage and inflict certain debuffs to your heroes. The Cherubs are always placed at the rear ranks 3 or 4, so try using heroes specializing in ranged attacks that can deal significant damage and can inflict DOT effects, it is also worth mentioning that the Cherubs can also activate their skill that grants themselves a Dodge buff token, you can use the Highwayman's Skill called Tracking Shot, this skill is useful at disabling enemies that are buffed with the Dodge token, and upon using it against the enemy, it removes the Dodge token, allowing your team to attack the Cherubs and the Cardinal simultaneously. You can also use the Grave Robber's skill Thrown Dagger if you have a Stealth token equipped, as it will also ignore enemies buffed with the Dodge token. While the Cherubs' Dodge buff token is disabled, you can use any of your heroes' attacks that deals a lot of damage to quickly cut down the HP of the Cherubs. The Evangelists are always placed at the front ranks 1 or 2, so try using heroes specializing in targeting enemies placed at the front ranks that can deal decent damage and can also inflict DOT effects to quickly reduce the Evangelists' health.

Once the support enemies have been dealt with, you can now focus on the Cardinal. The Cardinal has 3 skills you should look out for. Hollow Vessel, a ranged attack that targets 1 hero, applies small damage, and also inflicts Bleed, Blight, and Burn. You can use skills or Combat Items that can heal or increase resistance to Bleed, Blight, and Burn. The Plague Doctor's skill Battlefield Medicine can cure all Bleed, Blight, and Burn status effects on the selected hero, as well as heal their HP if it is < 50%. As useful as it may sound, this skill can only be used up to three times per battle encounter, so use it wisely. Ounce of Prevention is another one of the Plague Doctor's skills that can be useful, as it increases the resistance of the whole team against disease and DOT effects such as Bleed, Blight, and Burn, as well as lowering the stress level of the team by 1 if the skill has been mastered. Upon using the skill, it has a cooldown of 3 turns before it can be used again. Entropic Star is an attack that targets all the party members, applies decent damage, and also inflicts Vulnerable. You can also use skills or combat items that can remove the Vulnerable effect such as the Man at Arms' Bolster, a skill that applies the Block buff to the Man at Arms and removes the Vulnerable negative status effect on any team member that has the token. The Yawning Void is an attack that damages all the party members and also shuffles their positions. You just have to make sure that you can spend a turn where you can move your characters around before this skill could be activated.

In summary, try eliminating the supporting enemies first while simultaneously laying down attacks on the Cardinal that can inflict damage or deal Bleed, Blight, or Burn status effects. Equip skills and combat items that can heal and remedy Bleed, Blight, and Burn status effects on your heroes. Just take turns in dealing damage to both the Cardinal and the supporting enemies, be it an Evangelist or a Cherub, once the supporting enemies have been eliminated, it'll be easier for your Heroes to deal with the Cardinal.

Attacks & Counters

Cardinal Lore

Boss Lore & Story Goes here

Cardinal Notes & Trivia

• ??
• Notes, & Trivia Go Here