"I'm playing well, an enemy crit is the only thing that can sto-"

[Stallionista]

I'm still quite new to this game, I'm now doing level 3 dungeons and I'm still learning party compositions and what works well and what doesn't. However, for the life of me I feel so powerless against enemy crits. They're going to happen as it's part of the game, and I think that's great, like how accuracy is capped at 90% regardless to stop you being overpowered, always throwing you that curveball to be weary of.

But my God the last few dungeon runs I've done.. enemy crits are being quite obnoxious at the moment.. the Flesh boss battle (2/3) racked up a good handful of crits, at least one in three hits against me, and I lost a good houndmaster so I'm really bitter about that. Nearly lost everyone else who were on death's door as all were hit by crits which made it tough for the vestal to heal everyone back up, all I could do was group heal to keep us all off death's door!!

Rant over, I just wanted to ask whether there is a genuine in-game mechanic I can use to reduce the enemy crit-rate, please? I don't reckon dodge does much against crit-rates, my jester avoided some hits lately but he too was bring crit-hit as often as the rest. Is an in-game stat relevant here for avoiding crits?

Thank you in advance, loving the game even when it ♥♥♥♥♥ on me.

[sasiji]

Well i need tell you that Acc is always higher than shows. (actual values of acc is from 5-100% while game shows 0-95%).
Also your hided acc increase slightly everytime you miss.
And that mechanic was from always but since CoM release it was nerfed (before it was 10% guaranteed)

[Stallionista]

Originally posted by sasiji:

Well i need tell you that Acc is always higher than shows. (actual values of acc is from 5-100% while game shows 0-95%).
Also your hided acc increase slightly everytime you miss.
And that mechanic was from always but since CoM release it was nerfed (before it was 10% guaranteed)

ah ok i see, thank you. As for critical hits, do you know if they come into that equation at all? I'm starting to wonder whether it's simply a difference between lv 1 and lv 3 dungeon monsters, as I've just done two lv 1 quests and had little issues with enemy crits. In lv 3 quests though it's roughly 1 in 3 or 4 enemy hits that result in a crit.

[RopeDrink]

I just wanted to ask whether there is a genuine in-game mechanic I can use to reduce the enemy crit-rate, please?

Without giving away too much -- if your problem is with 'critical hits', then, in fact, your problem isn't with critical hits at all, but the fact that your strategy/comp is allowing too many hits to go through. As such, the more attacks enemies get to take, the more chance of crits, and the higher volume of problems you face, whereas most veterans won't have such problems because they'd be wise to methods that disallow these opportunities as much as possible. In short, no, there's no inherent game-mechanic that lowers crits, but there are plenty of comps and strategies that make it very difficult for enemies to achieve them.

Rather than focus on the crit aspect, I would turn attention to your strategy to see how you can prevent the enemy from gaining these advantages. Whilst you do that, you can rest assured that there are no fancy numbers or mechanics that make them crit more/less than the norm. Games like WoW have this - the difference in level having an impact on the damage and crit values given/taken - but this isn't the case in Darkest. The values are set for the most part.

As such, it is on you to level up your heroes skills and gear (as well as all the other variables like better trinkets etc) in order to better survive these trials. However, even with slightly sub-par gear/abilities, it is not impossible to still beat those areas with a solid comp and/or strategy and/or trinkets.

In short, I wouldn't think too hard about the critical aspect, as plumbing those depths won't help you in the long run.

[Dirty Dave]

Originally posted by Stallionista:

I just wanted to ask whether there is a genuine in-game mechanic I can use to reduce the enemy crit-rate, please?

There actually is but it probably isnt as useful as you would want, and it is the arbalest's suppressing fire ability which has a debuff to reduce enemy crit chance but it only affects the 3rd and 4th enemy positions and from what i can tell there are no other ability's that have the same kind of debuff, there might be trinkets that can help you but even if there are i dont remember what they are. I hope I've helped answer your question.

[No One]

You can absolutely win every time even if every enemy attack is a crit.

You can figure out how to do so yourself. Or if you want, I or another veteran can give hints, advice, or outright instructions. However, these constitute spoilers for this story-light game, so I'm not going to volunteer them.

[Stallionista]

Thank you all for your help!

Originally posted by Dirty Dave:

Originally posted by Stallionista:

I just wanted to ask whether there is a genuine in-game mechanic I can use to reduce the enemy crit-rate, please?

There actually is but it probably isnt as useful as you would want, and it is the arbalest's suppressing fire ability which has a debuff to reduce enemy crit chance but it only affects the 3rd and 4th enemy positions and from what i can tell there are no other ability's that have the same kind of debuff, there might be trinkets that can help you but even if there are i dont remember what they are. I hope I've helped answer your question.

I haven't been able to make use of that ability, even when the enemy debuff stat is low I still miss with it!! I'll keep an eye out for trinkets but I haven't seen any which sort it.

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

I just wanted to ask whether there is a genuine in-game mechanic I can use to reduce the enemy crit-rate, please?

Without giving away too much -- if your problem is with 'critical hits', then, in fact, your problem isn't with critical hits at all, but the fact that your strategy/comp is allowing too many hits to go through. As such, the more attacks enemies get to take, the more chance of crits, and the higher volume of problems you face, whereas most veterans won't have such problems because they'd be wise to methods that disallow these opportunities as much as possible. In short, no, there's no inherent game-mechanic that lowers crits, but there are plenty of comps and strategies that make it very difficult for enemies to achieve them.

Rather than focus on the crit aspect, I would turn attention to your strategy to see how you can prevent the enemy from gaining these advantages. Whilst you do that, you can rest assured that there are no fancy numbers or mechanics that make them crit more/less than the norm. Games like WoW have this - the difference in level having an impact on the damage and crit values given/taken - but this isn't the case in Darkest. The values are set for the most part.

As such, it is on you to level up your heroes skills and gear (as well as all the other variables like better trinkets etc) in order to better survive these trials. However, even with slightly sub-par gear/abilities, it is not impossible to still beat those areas with a solid comp and/or strategy and/or trinkets.

In short, I wouldn't think too hard about the critical aspect, as plumbing those depths won't help you in the long run.

I agree, to avoid crits the best method is to kill the high-threat targets or neutralise them quickly, and save one or two low-threat targets while you stress-health heal. Problem is whether or not I kill the two back-liners in a generic lv 3 dungeon fight, the front two attack and one of their hits is likely a crit. Maybe I need to try out other party compositions to better neutralise all enemies. I agree entirely that INVESTING in these heroes to dodge better and tank those hits, while also hitting harder and using upgraded skills, will help with this.

Originally posted by No One:

You can absolutely win every time even if every enemy attack is a crit.

You can figure out how to do so yourself. Or if you want, I or another veteran can give hints, advice, or outright instructions. However, these constitute spoilers for this story-light game, so I'm not going to volunteer them.

I'm still on my first save file and, despite being a perfectionist, I've learned to not worry about getting things right and optimal first-time. I'll play a bit longer and see what I can do, thank you for the offer though! Would be a nice offer to take up if I'm still not able to deter and take those crits.

[RopeDrink]

Problem is whether or not I kill the two back-liners in a generic lv 3 dungeon fight, the front two attack and one of their hits is likely a crit. Maybe I need to try out other party compositions to better neutralise all enemies.

You've answered yourself. Again, well-meaning vet's try to advise without giving away the holy grail (knowing too much can ruin enjoyment for most people), so all I'll say is that there are plenty of ways to address what you've just said. So, you have your next goal - to conjure a team that can burst the back as well as manage the front. There are plenty capable of this (and it's only one of many strategies to employ). Will leave that with you and see what you make of it.

[Begemot]

Also, you can approach this problem from a different angle. For example, as a survivability problem. And for this DD has plenty of solutions: Upgrade armour, take more tanky heroes, +heal/prot trinkets, guard skills, buffs, party rotation, take additional food for heal, etc.

[Asuzu]

I am doing no-torch runs only (I consider the game too easy in full torchlight).
The key to surviving is quite simple:

1) Scout a lot.
A scouted corridor + room is trivial. Unscouted one leads to party surprises, shuffles, crapped pants, crazy heroes and death.

2) Best defense is offense.
Turn 1 I delete 2-3 things from enemy party with my Houndmaster/Arbalest. The remaining enemies are stunned by MaA/Vestal.
Turn 2 there are 1-2 enemies left to delete and you can stun again and start recovering.
Turn 3 I am stunning what's left while healing up.
No fights last longer than 3-4 turns. I kill Shambler in 2 turns before he even makes a move if I land a stun on him thanks to high damage output.

3) Anything goes wrong - turn tail and run.
Nothing is worth losing a fully upgraded hero or a team-wipe loss of a pack of trinkets. Literally nothing. So, if anything goes funny - run away and don't look back. Bosses are not going anywhere. Retreats are disabled in DD, so this one is all-in, and you better be ready.

The guys above are correct - the less enemy attacks you let in, the better. You cannot outheal damage and stress damage from enemies in lategame, it is ways too much. And with latest patching to reduce stalling mechanics (stress penalties for prolonging fights, enemy reinforcements etc) I no longer feel it is viable to try to stress heal through the dungeons.
So - delete as much enemies as you can as quick as you can and don't get hit in return. Stun what's left, heal up, finish and move on.
Damage and speed are crucial. You should be able to move first and delete an enemy even if you don't crit.

Best standard DPS trinkets for torchless I consider Moon Ring + Berserk Charm, that's total of +30% damage +3SPD +5ACC and some negatives I don't care about.
When you get access to ancestral trinkets like Pen and Gun, things improve a lot more.

Quirks I lock Quick Reflexes and Damage (Unerring/Slugger+Lurker).
I consider Quick Reflexes better because On Guard is useless when you surprise an enemy (besides + 5 DODGE) and then get next turn without speed buff, and in prolonged fight (bosses etc) Quick Reflexes > On Guard.

I disrespect +crit because crits are inconsistent, and the way to stay alive in this game is to reduce RNG clownfiesta as much as you can. When you have +50% raw damage on your hero from trinkets and quirks, you 1-shot most enemies even when you don't crit.
I disrespect Occultist because he is inconsistent healer. He overheals a lot when you don't need it and heals for 0 back to back when you desperately need it. He is amazing when things go great, and you crit the hell out enemies, while outrolling them on speed rolls. But if crap hits the fan, he will fail to carry, whereas Vestal will heal through anything, literally anything thrown at you.

I usually run Arbalest(dps)/Vestal(healbot)/Houndmaster(dps)/Man at Arms(stunner/tank).
This party setup is stupidly strong and durable. It has reach into any position 1-4, obscene damage, 3xstuns, guard, heals and backup heals , mark synergy, etc. I walk over anything with it.

[Stallionista]

Originally posted by Begemot:

Also, you can approach this problem from a different angle. For example, as a survivability problem. And for this DD has plenty of solutions: Upgrade armour, take more tanky heroes, +heal/prot trinkets, guard skills, buffs, party rotation, take additional food for heal, etc.

That's great advice, thank you! I'm at the stage of the game where I'm locking in quirks for my lv3+ heroes (got a bank and ~700k so money really is no issue anymore) and prioritising speed/damage buffs. Since I posted the thread I managed to have a few successful lv 5 runs (albeit in the ruins but it's an improvement!!) and I'm learning just how important party composition really is. I've become far too emotionally attached to my lv 5/6 heroes ( i know, big mistake) so I'm going to be much more willing to retreat from dodgy battles in future, as I said gold is no real issue now so it's not as if I'm spunking my money away on provisions and losing that permanently.

[Xalfína]

As others have addressed, crits aren't a problem if you kill enemies first. With pretty much every comp you run, if you aren't able to mitigate damage/stress well, you need to be able to kill at least 1-2 enemies at the beginning, before they can attack you and crit on you. That means you need speed, accuracy, and damage, or trinkets that can help surprise the enemy (Ancestor's Lantern, for example). Also, as Asuzu mentioned, scouting is a whole lot more important than you may think. You can avoid traps, fights, obstacles, and it simply prepares you and lets you know what lies ahead (and secret rooms too!)

As a few sidenotes, the crit rates get stupid at champion dungeons, so get ready, and also accuracy does not cap out at 90; when you have a 100% chance to hit, it shows 95% because every hero/enemy has a hidden +5 accuracy stat.

Also, for good comps, I like Vestal/Jester/Highwayman/Highwayman. Use damage trinkets (get speed and accuracy to boot if you can) on the highwaymen, and with jester and vestal you can kind of equip anything, though I would recommend have extra stress healing and regular healing is good to have. For skills, I like melee highwaymen, so Duelist's Advance, Wicked Slice, Open Vein, and Point Blank Shot. The riposte from DA is extremely useful, and you can usually one-shot enemies with wicked slice. Jester just supports, so I use Battle Ballad, Inspiring Tune, and then you can decide the rest of the skills (I just spam Battle Ballad the entire time). Finally, with Vestal, I use Divine Grace and Divine Comfort, Judgement, and Dazzling Light. Good heals, decent sniper damage, and stuns when you need it.

I recommend that comp because it can pretty much destroy anything in any dungeon and has most of its stress taken care of by the crit rate from Battle Ballad.

Good luck!

[Stallionista]

Originally posted by Thotimus Prime:

As others have addressed, crits aren't a problem if you kill enemies first. With pretty much every comp you run, if you aren't able to mitigate damage/stress well, you need to be able to kill at least 1-2 enemies at the beginning, before they can attack you and crit on you. That means you need speed, accuracy, and damage, or trinkets that can help surprise the enemy (Ancestor's Lantern, for example). Also, as Asuzu mentioned, scouting is a whole lot more important than you may think. You can avoid traps, fights, obstacles, and it simply prepares you and lets you know what lies ahead (and secret rooms too!)

As a few sidenotes, the crit rates get stupid at champion dungeons, so get ready, and also accuracy does not cap out at 90; when you have a 100% chance to hit, it shows 95% because every hero/enemy has a hidden +5 accuracy stat.

Also, for good comps, I like Vestal/Jester/Highwayman/Highwayman. Use damage trinkets (get speed and accuracy to boot if you can) on the highwaymen, and with jester and vestal you can kind of equip anything, though I would recommend have extra stress healing and regular healing is good to have. For skills, I like melee highwaymen, so Duelist's Advance, Wicked Slice, Open Vein, and Point Blank Shot. The riposte from DA is extremely useful, and you can usually one-shot enemies with wicked slice. Jester just supports, so I use Battle Ballad, Inspiring Tune, and then you can decide the rest of the skills (I just spam Battle Ballad the entire time). Finally, with Vestal, I use Divine Grace and Divine Comfort, Judgement, and Dazzling Light. Good heals, decent sniper damage, and stuns when you need it.

I recommend that comp because it can pretty much destroy anything in any dungeon and has most of its stress taken care of by the crit rate from Battle Ballad.

Good luck!

Wow thank you! Yeah I really enjoy the riposte mechanic and use it on my MAA and Highwayman, I used them both with a vestal and hellion before and they dominated well! I think another issue I have is knowing which heroes do better for particular dungeons, for example the occultist is fantastic in the Cove but not utilising his strengths in the Ruins. I suppose in time I will learn which comps work well for particular dungeons, and in time you will know the tragic extent of my failings.

[Asuzu]

Originally posted by Stallionista:

Wow thank you! Yeah I really enjoy the riposte mechanic and use it on my MAA and Highwayman, I used them both with a vestal and hellion before and they dominated well! I think another issue I have is knowing which heroes do better for particular dungeons, for example the occultist is fantastic in the Cove but not utilising his strengths in the Ruins. I suppose in time I will learn which comps work well for particular dungeons, and in time you will know the tragic extent of my failings.

Using Hellion with dancing parties is not very effective. By all means, she wants to stay in position 1, where she can deal damage to any rank - Hellion is a very static hero.
She's also very slow to reposition if ever shuffled, moving at 1 tile forward, and her skill bars are so busy with better skills than Breakthrough...

That's why best front-line for dancing parties (e.g. Highwayman or Grave Robber) is considered to be Man-at-Arms and Shieldbreaker - because their skills include a movement part.

[Wild colonial boy]

The game is biased against player. You should install "easy mode" mods from workshop.

[Stallionista]

Originally posted by Asuzu:

Originally posted by Stallionista:

Wow thank you! Yeah I really enjoy the riposte mechanic and use it on my MAA and Highwayman, I used them both with a vestal and hellion before and they dominated well! I think another issue I have is knowing which heroes do better for particular dungeons, for example the occultist is fantastic in the Cove but not utilising his strengths in the Ruins. I suppose in time I will learn which comps work well for particular dungeons, and in time you will know the tragic extent of my failings.

Using Hellion with dancing parties is not very effective. By all means, she wants to stay in position 1, where she can deal damage to any rank - Hellion is a very static hero.
She's also very slow to reposition if ever shuffled, moving at 1 tile forward, and her skill bars are so busy with better skills than Breakthrough...

That's why best front-line for dancing parties (e.g. Highwayman or Grave Robber) is considered to be Man-at-Arms and Shieldbreaker - because their skills include a movement part.

May I ask if dancing parties are those that shuffle you around? I haven't heard of the term before! Yes I love the Hellion for being able to hit hard on ranks 1 and 2, able to hit 3 if necessary, and iron swan is awesome. On the occasion she is shuffled I can generally recover well but for lv 5 dungeons that's going to be something I'll need to be very aware of. And I never really used a grave robber until very recently, wow she is good!! I had bad luck with her to start but really enjoying taking out the enemy backlines with some of the abilities of my hero comps now, massive
thanks to the helpful community!!

Originally posted by Wild colonial boy:

The game is biased against player. You should install "easy mode" mods from workshop.

Crazily enough I choose to never play with mods! Mainly because I like achievement hunting and mods interact with that. Thanks for letting me know about easy mode but I feel the best way to improve is to jump down the rabbit hole and fight the intended difficulty and learn from it.