Struggling with a few classes

[Vudak]

I've unlocked everyone, i'm probably 80% through unlocking all hero skills. Currently working through act 4 but have a few classes that I don't feel i'm getting much out of so would like some ideas on how yall are using them effectively & who they pair with (marks etc).

This is all based on the teams & synergy i've come to terms with on my own thus far, so apologies if i've missed something blindingly obvious.

The Vestal feels like a wasted spot in the back rows for her heal, consecrations don't really look strong enough to bother with (except maybe in more long and drawn out fights?) and doesn't feel like she can justify a spot up front, as her damage output and utility just seems lackluster. I don't have her final 2 (or 3?) abilites though for the record.

The hellion, loved this lass in the previous game but can't help feel disappointed with her this time around, due to her self sabotaging winded system (can she resist winded if I stack debuff res?) she always feels like she's late to the party. I admittedly haven't done much toying around with her, I tried using her as a tank with the path which gave taunt/armor tokens iirc, I also tried her as a bleeder but it seemed counterintuitive given her skills demanded either pos 1 or 2, she didn't feel particularly flexible (probably worth noting that I enjoy using the Highwayman as Rogue up front with riposte, and the Graverobber as a Nightsworn 1 shotting enemies with shadow fade / lunge).

Final one is the Runaway, she just seems to like moving around and not doing much damage lol, I considered using her as an offhealer but it seems she can only cauterize wounds? So i'm guessing she mostly functions as a sorta smoke and mirrors character who can heal via stealth (a trinket / or path maybe - i forget where I saw it).

Anyway, really enjoying the game - but I can't help feel i'm struggling to make use of these few.

[Domino/DarkEyv]

Vestal is definitely in a little bit of a weird spot, I think the idea is to use her as more of an off-tank of sorts since her health pool is way higher compared to DD1/most heroes in DD2, and do that in ADDITION to her other more obvious roles, otherwise you just aren't getting the most potential out of her. Hellion I love even if I would like more flexibility in her ways of applying bleed.

Runaway though I completely agree, she just feels kinda... bad. Regardless of path, she can't even meet the same damage as other front rank heroes, and Plague Doctor already seems to do everything else she does, but better. Stealth and movement is pointless if it doesn't supplement anything. I'm not even sure why the game refers to her as a "front rank" when she's EXTREMELY squishy and seems to do best in the 3rd rank if anything.

[Vudak]

Yeah, plague doctor seems incredibly good - every time i'm not using her its because i'm forcing myself to change it up lol. I just unlocked the orphan path so will try making the runaway nothing but a dot machine and see how that works out, ideally with someone providing combo marks for her.

[snuggleform]

I don't like the Vestal or Hellion either.

Runaway I have a lot of positive experience with - I completed Grand Slam and Hard Mode achievements with her. I will say that there are probably a number of classes that can compete with her slot, but she is plenty strong.

I use her as an Arsonist because without it fire resist is painful. I start her in the front, then tap dragonfly twice. Dragonfly is a really good skill it's basically the fire equivalent of plague grenade except that it hits the first 2 ranks compared to the last 2 ranks, and I think this speaks for itself. The "problem" with it is that it knocks herself back, which is why I start her in rank 1 so she can tap it twice before she can't use it anymore.

Assuming you have a taunting tank, the squishiness isn't an issue. And in fact, her healing is quite good - bleeding is an extremely common dot in all regions because of cultists.

I think you're looking at it wrong comparing it to the PD. Nothing replaces the PD. The question is if the PD is already a guarantee slot on the team, what else do you bring. The firestarter's dots are great against blight resistant zones (faetor, some bosses are 100 blight resist). So as a complement to the PD, she performs well. Again there are other competitive options you can certainly choose to bring an occultist or HWM instead of runaway but again I think it's a really bad idea to compare her to PD, because nothing compares to PD.

[Christ Goodbye]

Seraph vestal with virtuoso jester is pretty good , double consacration and you will double damage judgement every round + the obivious buffs of the consacrations for 5 rounds .
Hellion ravager is quite strong since she can howling end then toe to toe , about the position flexibility she wasn't that good even in the first game , always been the "i'm stronger if i'm in rank1 character". She also has very good self sustain once you get adrenaline rush.
Runaway's best thing is the reliable and good damage over time she can deal with arsoninst.
Her other 2 paths are meh (orphan can be very good but you will need to find burn application trinket and bring her to the sprawl where she's basically gonna be almost useless, unless you have the chance to hire BH)but she's gonna do her job against multiple action bosses. She also has smokescreen which is in my opinion one of the best support skills in the game , cauterize can be good many encounters since bleed is the most common dot . Sadly the rest of her kit isn't spectuacular overall.
Edit : sorry for the short answer but i don't feel like i want to write a wall of text to explain the strenght of these 3 characters . There is a youtuber called Shuffle Fm , he does a lot of dd1 and dd2 guides and if you need some extra tips just check some of his videos

[Vudak]

I just finished a run with Jester / Runaway / Vestal / Hellion in order to just get some hands on time with them and put em all to use. I ran hellion as Berserker Path as that Bleed Out / Bloodlust is really nice, plus she was able to benefit from the Runaway & Jester combo generation, she could also iron swan the back line to apply tokens for said Runaway to use to spread fire.

Agreed with Runaway and her smokescreen ability, very utility tool - she seems to be a fair all rounder, as Snuggleform mentioned - bleeding is very common, so she was quite useful. She just doesn't seem to excel where others do - which is fine, not everyone has to be the toppest of top tier.

I'm gonna try another run with the hellion as a ravager, as whilst her bleed build is attractive, i'm not so keen on her quickly getting winded finding herself last in the queue, i know its a class decision - it's a me problem. Aiming to use a lot of hack / iron swan / howling end from Pos1, taking an intermezzo Jester along to see if he can keep her up front after she jump back now and then. I could always use her as just a basic taunt tank, but she feels the least qualified for it tbh (I admittedly adore the Leper).

Vestal running between the two middle ranks was interesting, having the Runaway able to spot heal obviously helped cover bases to a degree, but i think i'd underestimated just how much support she brings with her hand of light buffing people etc. She also is surprisingly sturdy, I didn't realise her base health was so high. Will experiment more with her when I have her final abilities (i think i had ZERO hero shrines in my last run, joy).

Cheers for the help all, feeling slightly more well versed with these guys now :)