Darkest Dungeon features an incredibly diverse hero roster, and each can be customised with various move sets. However, the Darkest Dungeon can easily consume your party without a thorough understanding of optimising each class for each level. However, Gamers Decide already has articles on building team compositions, so I will cover the ideal trinkets for each class instead.
Abomination
Unleash the beast.
The Abomination, like a coin, has two sides, and each has a different play style that benefits from a different trinket. In human form and the front row, the Abomination is great for dishing out stuns but becomes a target for enemy stuns. With this role in mind, I introduce the first possible trinket.
Stun Amulet
- +10% Stun Skill Chance.
- +20% Stun Resist.
- -4 Dodge.
Why This Is The Best Trinket
It buffs the human forms strongest skills.
- The Abomination's self-heal offsets nerf to dodge.
- The Stun Amulet is an uncommon trinket and should spawn in the merchant's shop or as loot.
The second trinket focuses on the Abomination's beast form; the beast form has great DPS potential but suffers from a slight lack of accuracy.
Broken Key
- +15 ACC.
- +35% Stun Skill Chance.
- +10% Stress
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Addresses the beast forms lack of accuracy.
- Buff to stunning allows them to dominate groups of enemies.
The Broken Key is a Colour of Madness DLC item available in the crystal trinkets shop.
Antiquarian
Everyone's favourite hero.
The Antiquarian is great for blighting and debuffing enemies whilst occasionally healing your party. As such, you will want to give yours a trinket that improves these skills as much as possible. Allow me to introduce the ideal trinket for this job…
The Master's Essence
- +50% Healing Skills.
- +35% Blight Skill Chance.
- +35% Debuff Skill Chance.
Why This is The Best Trinket
- It doesn't debuff the user.
- It significantly increases key skills mentioned earlier.
The Master's Essence is a Crimson Court DLC trinket you can acquire by killing the Garden Guardian boss.
Alternatively, you can improve the Antiquarian’s survivability with the following trinket.
Feather Crystal
- +8 DODGE
- +2 SPD
- -20% Stun resist
- -20% Move resist
Why This is The Best Trinket
- It Reduces the likelihood of incoming damage.
- The Increased speed means more effective stuns and blights.
The Feather Crystal is available in the merchant’s shop or as loot.
Arbalest
Halo's Jackal snipers have nothing on this archer.
The Arbalest is a sniper by nature and one of the few DPS characters that can easily reach out to target the back rows. In my humble opinion, this means you should be making the most out of every shot as it may be up to your Arbalest alone to deal with these tricky targets. You will want to use marks and maximise their damage to achieve this goal.
Dismas' Head
- +25% Damage
- -10% Max HP
- +20% Stress
Why This is The Best Trinket
- Provides the highest buff to flat damage in the game! Time to snipe some high-value targets!
- Arbalest should be in the back rows to mitigate the nerf to their HP.
- Dismas' Head is available in hidden room chests or as a drop when killing The Collector boss.
If you want to buff your Arbalest’s healing instead, consider the following.
Medic’s Greaves
- +33% Healing skills.
- Why This is the Best Trinket
- Buffed healing mitigates reduced HP from the last trinket.
- The trinket has no debuffs.
Medic’s Greaves are available from the merchant’s shop or as loot.
Bounty Hunter
The Bounty Hunter always gets his man.
The Bounty Hunter is adept at party shuffling or focussing on single targets. To make optimum use of this character, make sure you mark targets before he attacks them. The Bounty Hunter also has high critical modifiers on his moves, making his ability to wipe out single targets even more impressive.
Hunter's Talon
- +6% Crit.
- +10 ACC
- +50% Food Consumed
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- He plays to his strength of wiping out single targets.
- You can ignore the trinkets debuff by removing it before camping your party and reequipping it afterwards.
This trinket is available as loot in the Warrens.
You could also consider this next trinket.
Dazzling Charm
- +10% Stun skill chance
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Bounty Hunter has several stunning moves that can benefit.
Trinket available in the shop or as loot.
Crusader
A righteous warrior, fuelled by faith and fury.
The Crusader is predominantly a front line tank and skirmisher. He deals reliable damage while taking hits in return. There is a fair argument for a few different trinkets on the Crusader, but my choice will be to make him the best tank possible.
Heavy Boots
- +40% Move resist
- +20% PROT
- -2 SPD
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Provides the best protection buff without compromising the amount of damage your Crusader can put out (I'm looking at you tough ring!).
- The high move resistance keeps him right where he needs to be, in the front line.
- Combine with the move Bulwark of Faith to increase protection by a further 20% to a frankly outrageous 40%!
Heavy Boots are available in the merchant's shop or as loot.
A good alternative or complementary trinket is…
Paralyzer’s Crest
- +20% Stun skill chance.
- -2 DODGE
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Increases Crusader’s front row control and survivability as a tank by reducing incoming damage.
This trinket is available in the shop or as loot.
Flagellant
If it bleeds, he can kill it.
The Flagellant is in a tough spot for trinkets; most of the ones he has access to only take effect when his HP is very low! I think that charms providing a consistent buff are better. The Flagellant's main role is to apply bleed on as many enemies as possible, and with this in mind…
Bleed Stone
- +15% Bleed skill chance.
- -1 SPD.
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- It buffs the Flagellant's greatest tool, his ability to inflict bleeding.
- The cost of -1 SPD is also pretty low. Also, as a very common trinket, this should be very easy to get hold of.
The Bleed Stone is available in the merchant's shop or as loot.
Another great trinket for the Flagellant is the…
Martyr’s Seal
- +60% Damage at death’s door
- +14% CRIT at death’s door
- +12% Deathblow resist
- +15% Max HP
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Buff to max HP alone is enough to make this worth taking.
- Buffs at death’s door are good at getting you out of a dicey situation.
This trinket is available as loot.
Grave Robber
This hero takes the expression "giving someone daggers" very literally.
The Grave Robber has two damage outputs, blighting enemies for damage over time or inflicting flat melee damage. The trinket I will recommend focuses on making the most of its ability to deal flat damage. After all, the quicker you kill them, the quicker you can rob their grave.
Sharpened Letter Opener
- +25% DMG melee skills
- +10 ACC
- +5 DODGE
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Provides solid buffs that make them way better at killing enemies.
- Extra dodge makes it harder for them to be killed in return.
- It doesn't nerf the user.
The Sharpened Letter Opener is a Crimson Court DLC weapon you will need to kill The Garden Guardian to get.
A great second trinket for this class is…
Raider’s Talisman
- +5% CRIT
- +30% Trap disarm chance
- +2SPD
- +15% Scouting Chance
- -10% Max HP
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Adds utility outside of combat.
- The class’s use of dodge mitigates the nerf to HP.
Helion
The Helion is a strong independent warrior woman.
The Helion has access to some cool and varied moves but lacks accuracy on some of them. For example, Iron Swan is a great move because it can reach the back rows, but back row enemies often have high evade skills, and the moves base accuracy is only 85 (at rank one)! So, you want to find trinkets that buff their accuracy.
Heaven's Hairpin
- -25% Stress if the torch is above 75.
- +10 ACC if the torch is above 75.
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- It gives the Helion much-needed accuracy.
- Since most players will be playing at maximum torch light levels, the buffs will apply most of the time.
Heaven's Hairpin is available as loot or in the merchant's shop.
Another trinket to consider putting on your Helion is…
Surgical Gloves
- +8% CRIT melee skills
- +5 ACC melee skills
- -20% Move resist
- -10% Debuff resist
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Buffs a large part of their move set.
- Dodge mitigates the effect of the debuffs.
You can find this trinket in the Warrens.
Highwayman
Who needs sword skills when you can bring a gun?
The Highwayman is a great damage dealer with a lot of flexibility. However, I have written about the power of the Highwayman's riposte before, and I will do it again. The free attacks maximise his damage output per turn, but they also place him at a greater risk of death, and the following trinket will try to address this shortcoming.
Ancestor's Ring
- +10 ACC.
- +10% PROT.
- +10% Stress.
Why This Trinket is the Best
- An increase in accuracy means more riposte attacks landing.
- Increased protection means he is less likely to die delivering ripostes.
This trinket is dropped by The Shambler boss or as loot if your torch is at zero.
An alternative or complementary trinket doing a similar thing is…
Shameful Locket
- +10 ACC
- +5% Crit
- +15% Stress
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Significantly increases Highwayman’s damage output reliability (especially ripostes).
This trinket is a Crimson Court DLC item. You will need to beat the DLC’S Garden Guardian boss to get it.
Hound Master
A dogged look of determination.
I learnt a new fact about the Hound Master while writing this article, all his attacks (except Blackjack) are ranged! This new information has factored into my choice of trinket. Unfortunately, the Hound Master struggles with accuracy, so your trinket choice should try to address this issue.
Ancestor's Pistol
- +15 ACC ranged skills
- + 3 Speed
- +10% Stress
Why This Trinket Is the Best
- It addresses his weakest trait. + 15 ACC is nothing to scoff at.
- Buff to speed gives you a chance to kill or stun your enemies before their turn.
The Shambler can drop this trinket, or it can appear as loot if your torch is at zero.
Another great trinket to use on your Houndmaster is…
Evidence of Corruption
- +25% Scouting Chance
- -15% Chance party surprised
- +10% Stress
Why This Trinket Is the Best
- This trinket gives him great utility outside of combat.
This trinket is a Crimson Court DLC item, and you must beat the Garden Guardian boss to get it.
Jester
A killer first, a musician second.
The Jester is a man of many talents. He can focus on buffing and stress healing your team, applying bleeds or even applying flat damage. Unfortunately, stress healing can be hard to come by in Darkest Dungeon, and the Jester is the undisputed best, so I will recommend a trinket to suit this key strength.
Bright Tambourine
- +20% Stress skills
- -25% Stress if torch above 75
- +15% Stress if torch below 51
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- It provides a big boost to stress heals while reducing self stress.
- Most players keep their torch as high as possible, so the debuff becomes a non-issue.
Bright Tambourine is available as loot or from the merchant.
Another trinket option for the Jester is…
Barristan’s Head
- +25% PROT
- +20% Stress
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- It helps compensate for Jester’s very low base HP.
This trinket is available by opening a hidden room’s chest or killing the Collector boss enemy.
Leper
Only leprosy gets to kill the Leper!
The Leper is a reject amongst the Darkest Dungeon cast, and that's not just because of his affliction! The Leper is highly inaccurate, which puts many people off, but this guy hits like a monster truck. For these reasons, I would recommend buffing his accuracy to make him more consistent and his damage to make the most of his attacks that do hit.
Focus Ring
- +10 ACC
- +3% CRIT
- -8 DODGE
Why This Trinket Is the Best
- Increased Crit chance maximises his already devastating damage output.
- The increased accuracy makes them connect more consistently.
The focus ring is available as loot or in the shop.
Another good trinket is…
Fortunate Armlet
- +8 ACC
- +3% CRIT
- +10% Stress
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- The Trinket gives Leper a much-needed accuracy boost.
- More CRIT means even more devastating hits.
Man-at-Arms
Age is the best teacher.
The Man-at-Arms is an excellent defensive character, and this predominantly manifests in his ability to guard other characters. If you intend to consistently put him in the line of fire in this way, I recommend buffing his resistances or his protection stat to keep him alive and doing his job.
Mirror Shield
- +10 DODGE
- +30% Damage reflection
- +20% Stun resist
Why This Trinket Is the Best
- It buffs guard ability by granting a good chance to negate incoming damage by dodging it.
- Damage reflection functions as a weak, passive riposte that improves his damage contributions.
- The stun resist is great because his guard can be ignored if he is stunned.
The Mirror Shield is a Colour of Madness DLC item available from the crystal shop.
Another possible trinket is…
Fortifying Garlic
- +33% Blight resist
- +33% Bleed resist
- +33% Disease resist
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- This trinket improves his ability to take hits for the party.
This trinket is available as loot. You may only have one in your inventory.
The Occultist
I wonder whose skull that is and if Hamlet is looking for it.
The Occultist fills the role of an oppressive controller. He specialises in debuffing, stunning and rearranging enemy parties. He can also provide (incredibly inconsistent) healing when required, but I would recommend using a trinket that aids his abilities as a controller.
Vial of Sand
- +20% Debuff skill chance
- +20% Stun skill chance
- +20% Move skill chance
- +20% Stun resist
Why this Trinket Is the Best
- Buffs the hero's ability to control the enemy.
- Lowers the chances of them being stunned and missing a turn.
- It doesn't apply any penalties to the Occultist.
This trinket is available in the Crimson Court DLC, which means you will have to defeat The Garden Guardian (again) to get it.
Another good Occultist trinket is…
Feather Crystal
- +2 SPD
- +8 Dodge
- -20% Stun resist
- -20% Move resist
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Quicker turns mean quicker stuns to preempt enemy actions.
- Dodge is great for low HP classes.
Feather Crystal is available in the shop or as loot.
Plague Doctor
This virtuous Plague Doctor is ready to take on the world.
The Plague Doctor is a damage over time specialist that applies blight to enemies. Unfortunately, they also have pretty low HP. To make the most of your Plague Doctor, I recommend trinkets that up your Plague doctors dodge stat to protect them and increase their speed to get turn one blight damage against enemies.
Feather Crystal
- +2 SPD
- +8 DODGE
- -20% Stun resist
- -20% Move resist
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Boost to speed enables the Plague Doctor to blight enemies before their turn and up the amount of damage over time enemies will take.
- Added dodge offsets the resistance penalties. If enemies aren't hitting the Plague Doctor, they won't receive the associated penalties anyway.
This trinket is available as loot or from the merchant's shop.
Another good trinket for your Plague Doctor is…
Blasphemous Vial
- +10 ACC Ranged skill
- +20% Stun skill chance
- +20% Blight skill chance
- +25% Stress
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- It buffs all the Plague Doctors key actions.
The Blasphemous Vial is a very rare loot drop.
Shieldbreaker
A deadly, mysterious and serpentine warrior.
The Shieldbreaker's job is to apply flat damage or damage over time through blight. Regardless of which method you prefer to use to deal death, the Shieldbreaker has access to an excellent class-specific trinket that, in my opinion, is the best.
Spectral Speartip
- +15% DMG.
- +20% Blight skill chance.
- +15% Max HP
- +5% Random target chance.
Why This Trinket is the Best
- It applies an unrivalled number of strong buffs.
- The 5% chance to hit a random target rarely takes effect.
This trinket is a Colour of Madness DLC item.
You should also consider…
Ancestor’s Ring
- +10 ACC
- +10% PROT
- +10% Stress
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- Prot buffs reduce the limitations of this class's lower HP.
The Ancestor’s Ring can be found as loot when killing a shambler or exploring dungeons with no torchlight.
Vestal
The mace isn't just for show.
The Vestal's primary function is to heal, their secondary function is to stun enemies, and their third is to deal damage when needed. Consequently, I recommend trinkets that buff their ability to heal.
Tome of Holy Healing
- +25% Healing skills
- -15% Max HP
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- An extra 25% to healing is a massive boost.
- Reduction to maximum health is ok if your Vestal is in rank 3 or 4.
The Tome of Holy Healing is available as loot or from the merchant's shop.
Another great trinket that you should consider taking with this one is…
Salacious Diary
- +33% Stress skills when camping
- +25% Healing skills
Why This Is the Best Trinket
- When using Tome of Holy Healing in conjunction with this, you have +50% healing!
- There are no debuffs when using this.
This trinket is a Crimson Court DLC item that you must defeat the Garden Guardian to get.
That concludes this list. I hope you find my recommendations helpful. You may also be interested in some of these articles:
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- Darkest Dungeon Best Trinkets For Each Class
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