Dreaming General | Darkest Dungeon 2 Wiki

Video Strategies

[Video Example]

 

Strategy Writeup

• Dreaming General: 205 HP
• Tap Root: 99 HP -It is reacting to attacks

 

This fight is extremely straightforward, with the Dreaming General only having one attack - Unsettling Whispers - and the Tap Root 's actions reacting automatically to the player. The key to the fight is controlling the Tap Root, which eventually strangles Heroes if not maintained. A Strangled Hero will be forced to use Whispering Darkness which has an effect of 75% chance to cause +1 stress to other allies and uses up his turn. The Tap Root has an HP of 99 and cannot be killed, but it needs to be attacked to prevent it from strangling your Heroes. Below are the effects of each level of strangle: 

 

• Tangled Growth!: Ominous Vines encroach from above
  (the fight begins with all Heroes having this. This cannot be removed)
  
  
• Tangled Growth II: Vines hamper movement, reducing SPD
  (attacking the Tap Root will cause it to remove a stack from a random Hero with at least II)
  
  
• Tangled Growth III: Vines contract both body and mind
  (Strangled. Attacking the Tap Root will cause it remove a stack from a random Hero with at least II)
  

 

At the beginning of the fight, all Heroes will be affected by Tangled Growth. At the beginning of every turn, the Tap Root will automatically (does not count as a turn) add 1 Tangled Growth stack to 2 random Heroes. Since the Tap Root takes its position in rank 4, you will need a party that can attack rank 4 reliably two times every turn. Multi-target attacks - such as Plague Grenade and Abyssal Artillery - are more efficient here because the Hero does not lose their entire turn on the Tap Root. Attacking the Tap Root when everyone is at 1 stack of Tangled Growth will have no effect apart from adding tokens to the Tap Root. Therefore, it is advised to use turn 1 to nuke the boss. Attacking the Tap Root when there is one or more Heroes at 2 or 3 stacks of Tangled Growth will cause the Tap Root to automatically (does not count as a turn) react, removing a Tangled Growth stack from a random Hero with 2 or 3 stacks. If the Tap Root removes growth from a Hero with 3 stacks, it will return them back to 1 stack. This can be taken advantage of by intentionally letting one Hero reach 3 stacks, although it is risky, as you may end up having a Hero strangled that should attack the Tap Root.

 

In addition to this, the Tap Root gains a special token each time it is attacked. When it reaches 2 tokens, it will mark two ranks for its strong attack - The Waking Dead - with The Soil Stirs (very similar to the Prophet in the Ruins from Darkest Dungeon). The Waking Dead will be unleashed on the Tap Root's turn if it has 3 tokens. It deals heavy HP and stress damage and is the main threat of the fight. Since the Tap Root is immune to all types of damage and debuffs, this spell cannot be blinded or weakened. However, it can be easily predicted, moved away from, redirected through Defend, or dodged through tokens. 

 

The General's high health pool (205) makes it enticing to use DoT effects on him. However, players should be advised that he has moderate Bleed resist (as all other Cadavers) and he only has 1 move per turn, so DoTs will run slower. This has two implications:

 

1) - Using the Bleed skills of the Jester, Hellion and Highwayman is not advised.

2) - Due to his 1 turn per round, one viable tactic is to quickly ramp up DoTs on him and then finish him off with Plague Doctor's Cause of Death.

 

Below you will find the General's DoT resistances. Note that you can use Toxic Ichor to reduce his resistances.

•  RES 25
•  RES 35
•  RES 55

Do not attempt to Stun or Move the General as he is immune to these.

 

Recommended Combat Items

Items with HP and Stress healing are recommended for this Battle, in addition to heavy Blight and Burn items.

• Healing Salve - Managing  Health
• Triage Kit - Managing Health
• Laudanum - Managing Stress 
• Ichor Bomb - 5*3 Blight DoT
• Incendiary Cocktail - 5*3 Flame DoT

Recommended Trinkets

• Locked Jaw (Dark Impulse Required) -  + Resistance 
• Galvanizing Goblet - On Heal: Extra Action
• Gilded Mind - + RES
• Laden Lantern - +25%  Chance
• Sharpness Charm -  +x% DMG  
• Corrupting Cleaver  - +25%  Chance

 

Hero breakdown for this Fight:

 

- Man at Arms - can attract Unsettling Whispers and redirect The Waking Dead. Can heal Stress. Low damage.
- Leper - can attract Unsettling Whispers. Can deal heavy damage to the General. Heavy self-sustain.
- Hellion - can attract Unsettling Whispers. Can deal heavy damage to the General. Can ping Tap Root with Iron Swan.
- Plague Doctor - can use Plague Grenade to ping the Tap Root while damaging the General at the same time. Can also heal.
- Occultist - can use Abyssal Artillery to ping the Tap Root while damaging the General at the same time. Can also heal. Alternatively, can be be used as the main damage-dealer if he has the Ritualist path.
- Runaway - can ramp up Burn DoT on the General. If used at at ranks 3-4, can also ping the Tap Root with Firefly.
- Grave Robber - can reliably hit both the Tap Root and the General every turn if not at rank 1. Self-sustain through Absinthe.
- Highwayman- can reliably hit both the Tap Root and the General every turn if not at rank 1.
- Jester - can manipulate Hero positions to equalize damage from Waking Dead. Can reduce Unsettling Whispers hit rate through Fade to Black. Can deal moderate damage to the General. Can heal Stress.

Attacks & Counters

 

Dreaming General Lore

The Dreaming General is a General from the Lost Battalion, Slow, vacant, and resigned, the lost battalion shambles on. They had honour once. Now they have nothing at all.  Once men of honor, the Lost Battalion is made up of army men- turned undead. These enemies are now the Cadaver remnants of an honorable Battalion. The Dreaming General's comrades or solider, battle drummers, knights and bishops can still be found and fought against throughout the map, had forgotten outpost still wielding their old human armor and weapons. The Dreaming General has since found himself trapped in his own Keep, The General's keep surrounded by his cadaver army men, doomed to remain embedded and tangled in the overgrown Tap Root Vines that have perforated his body and now fight along side him. 

"Resigned to the end of things, they waited for death. And still they wait.
Emptied of mind and spirit by some existential shock,
the poor devils roam aimlessly amidst the trees.
These seasoned soldiers were deployed to a winding front...
... meant to prevent the cult's descent from the Mountain.
When the cult came, no orders were shouted, no swords were drawn.
There was only stupefying horror, and the catatonic lethargy that follows it."

 

Dreaming General Notes & Trivia

• The Dreaming General drops two Trophies - One of them significantly increases damage dealt to corpses and roots your group at the beginning of combat. This can be taken advantage of in many ways, for example by spamming Lunge or Point-Blank Shot, in addition to the obvious benefit of your party not being susceptible to pulls and pushes. The other trophy significantly reduces the cost of trinkets.
• Notes, & Trivia Go Here