The Butcher's Circus Meta: Tier list of heroes

List of hero positions according to their abilities, and analysis of each one.

Introduction

Hello gladiators of darkness, I am DZaike and in this guide you will find a rough classification of the heroes. It should be clarified that the guide is designed taking into account the heroes individually, without focusing on compositions, and analyzing only the most relevant skills. For credibility reasons, here are some photos of my current rank, achievements and hours played in recent weeks (approximately 46 of those 72 hours were just playing The Butcher Circus, I haven't slept much). I ask you to forgive my English, I am intermediate in the language.

Clarifications

The ranks of the heroes are taken into account according to their damage, versatility, resistances, etc. Your individual potential is what will define your position on the list. This can and will change over time, as the metagame is updated.
While all heroes are useful and strong in certain compositions, here are some criteria to keep in mind:

Damage: Potential for damage
Stress damage: Strees damage potential
DoT damage: Bleeding / blight damage potential
Survival: Defensive Skills (Evasion, Heals, Stealth, Protection, and Guard)
Versatility: Ability to be part of any team

Tier List

Leper

Damage: Very heavy
Stress damage: Medium
DoT damage: Null
Survival: Medium
Versatility: Low

The leper has a scary damage, capable of leaving a single "Chop" at the gates of death. "Solemnity" gives it a decent sustain, and "Revenge" boosts that already high damage and gives it a necessary buff of precision. While his resistance to movement is good, this hero becomes completely useless if he gets caught in the back rows. He does not have any ability that allows him to accommodate himself, nor does he have abilities that allow heroes to be executed at the gates of death. It also has poor precision and is very vulnerable to shrinkage.

Plague doctor

Damage: Low
Stress damage: Medium
DoT damage: Very heavy
Survival: Low
Versatility: Medium

The plague doctor is capable of causing massive blight damage, while stressing enemy heroes with "Plague grenade" and "Noxious blast". Disorienting blast can disarm enemy formations, Emboldening Vapors is a very strong buff and can cure DoTs with Battlefield Medicine. However, her poor resistance to movement (5%) leaves her very vulnerable to movement skills. Like the Leper, he is a character without mobility and very easy to kill.

Hellion

Damage: Medium
Stress damage: Heavy
DoT damage: Medium
Survival: Medium
Versatility: Medium

The Helion can get the first two heroes into trouble with "Scary Squawk," taking away a lot of accuracy and causing extensive damage from exertion. Still, he doesn't possess any other very interesting abilities. It has decent mobility with "Breakthrough" and can remove the DoTs it receives with "Adrenaline Rush".

Highwayman

Damage: Heavy
Stress damage: Low
DoT damage: Medium
Survival: Low
Versatility: Heavy

Our beloved Dismas is pretty good at executing characters thanks to "Wicked Slice" and "Pistol Shot", and he punishes area damage compositions with his Riposte from "Duelist's Advance". While the bleeding it causes is decent, the fact that it only affects one character makes it rather weak in the face of highly healed compositions. He is also humiliated by the guard characters.

Jester

Damage: Medium - Very heavy with "Finale"
Stress damage: Medium
DoT damage: Heavy
Survival: Medium
Versatility: Heavy

"Finale". That ability is equivalent to an enemy hero killed in the first-second round. The problem with this hero is that after that he becomes almost useless. Yes, you can use "Harvest" (which is an excellent bleeding skill ") but for that you need to spend a turn to rearrange after your big act.

Grave Robber

Damage: Medium
Stress damage: Heavy
DoT damage: Medium
Survival: Heavy
Versatility: Heavy

"Shadow Fade" and "Toxin Trickery" make it difficult to kill this lady. Using "Lunge" after stealth can instantly leave an unprotected hero at the gates of death. Spamming "Toxin Trickery" into the same hero guarantees his death by stress or blight in a few turns. If it had damage in the insurance area, it would be higher on the list.

Bounty Hunter

Damage: Medium
Stress damage: Nule
DoT damage: Nule
Survival: Low
Versatility: Very heavy

The destroyer of compositions par excellence. "Come Hither" and "Uppercut" can knock many heroes out of battle for several turns. It also guarantees the death of a hero at death's door with "Finish Him", and "Caltrops" wears away with his bleeding. He is the only hero with two skills to apply marks.

Vestal

Damage: Low
Stress damage: Low
DoT damage: Nule
Survival: Heavy
Versatility: Very heavy

A great healer, there is not much to clarify about "Divine Grace" and "Divine Comfort". Your stun with "Dazzling Light" can be very annoying. Still, its cures may not suffice against bleeding teams, and it presents problems against movement abilities.

Arbalest and Muskeeter

Damage: Very heavy
Stress damage: Low
DoT damage: Nule
Survival: Medium
Versatility: Medium

Both are similar, with the difference that the Arbalestera cures bleeding and debuffs / stuns / marks and the Musketeer cures blights (with a certain bead), buff heals and cures stress. Both possess ridiculous damage vs. marked enemies, being able to leave death gates with a single attack and executing those who already are. They can solve their positioning problems with “Bola” and their resistance to movement is good (50%).

Abomination

Damage: Medium (Human) – Heavy (Beast)
Stress damage: Medium
DoT damage: Heavy
Survival: Heavy
Versatility: Heavy


A versatile character, the Abomination can do anything. His transformation causes Horror to the entire enemy team. It has large damage in its beast form and can push back with Slam. "Beast's Bile" is one of the best skills in the game causing blight to two heroes, stress and can be activated with Riposte. He can get out of trouble with "Absolution" and is one of the few characters with stun thanks to "Manacles". If it wasn't because it becomes useless if pushed to position 4 it would put it in tier A (maybe it should?).

Crusader

Damage: Heavy
Stress damage: Heavy
DoT damage: Nule
Survival: Heavy
Versatility: Heavy

Although Reynault is not the best at anything, he is capable of doing everything. You can heal yourself and another hero with "Concentration on the Flame", and eliminate stress and buff + 25% virtue with "Inspiring Cry". Zealous Accusation does impressive damage for an AoE damage, and deals severe stress damage to the first two heroes. You can go back to the front row with "Holy Lance" and last but not least, you have a stun with "Stunning Blow". "Bulwark of Faith" gives a decent buff of protection to everyone, but it is overshadowed by a certain loud old man ...

Flagellant

Damage: Medium
Stress damage: Medium
DoT damage: Heavy
Survival: Heavy
Versatility: Medium

An exclusive character can only be used by purchasing the “The Crimson Court” dlc. This psycho turns out to be one of the most annoying characters in the game. It causes unpleasant bleeding with "Punish" and "Rain of Sorrows" and some stress. It becomes dangerous when he is low on health due to "Exsanguinate" and heals quite a lot with "Redeem". This hero's main strength is his hidden passive, which causes all allied heroes to heal when he is on the verge of death. This can happen countless times and can cause critical heals (perhaps Red Hook should do something about this).

Houndmaster

Damage: Medium
Stress damage: Medium
DoT damage: Heavy
Survival: Heavy
Versatilidad: Heavy

The main reason you would wear this hero is "Hound's Harry". That ability alone can prove to be a win condition, causing cumulative stress and bleeding for all enemy heroes. Guard Dog is so good that it can be used only by the evasion buff, and "Lick Wounds" can make it difficult to kill with his regeneration. Blackjack is a stun that makes the Houndmaster even more upset.

Shieldbreaker

Damage: Heavy
Stress damage: Low
DoT damage: Heavy
Survival: Heavy
Versatility: Heavy

The other dlc hero, you have to buy "The Shieldbreaker" to unlock this young lady. Puncture is perhaps her most characteristic ability, rendering the guards useless (the main reason it is so good). "Impale" can annoy the entire party by her DoT, and "Serpent Sway" along with her massive base evasion make her one of the most difficult heroes to kill.

Occultist

Damage: Low
Stress damage: Very heavy
DoT damage: Nule
Survival: Medium
Versatility: Very Heavy

The hero with the most stress damage in the game. The Occultist can eliminate the entire enemy team only on the basis of stress. "Abyssal Artillery" does normal damage but causes horror to the last two rows, and in cumulative amounts this can be disastrous. "Weakening Curse" causes tremendous stress and protection and damage debuff, "Vulnerability Hex" also stresses and applies the brand to the target. "Daemon's Pull" draws two places to an enemy in the last position and causes horror, and "Embrace stigio" leads to very dangerous stress combos in addition to healing 1-2 health points. It also has another, though not very reliable, cure with "Wyrd Reconstruction".

Antiquarian

Damage: Low
Stress damage: Heavy
DoT damage: Heavy
Survival: Very Heavy
Versatility: Very Heavy

Who would say that the worst character in the Darkest Dungeon campaign is that good at The Butcher’s Circus. For starters, "Fortifying Vapors" gives the entire team enormous survival with its healing over time. Invigorating Vapors and Protect Me are other good evasion buffs and some protection. "Festering Vapors" is similar to Houndmaster's "Hound's Harry", being a respectable victory condition by causing stress and blight to all enemies although not as effective as the first one. And if you wanted to kill her quickly to avoid all these annoyances, the Antiquarian can use "Get Down!" going back two places, stealthily increasing their resistance to death’s blow (20%). It is certainly difficult to kill in good hands.

Man at arms

Damage: Low
Stress damage: Heavy
DoT damage: Nule
Survival: Very Heavy
Versatility: Very Heavy

GRWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH !!!! What makes MAA so good in pvp? Its enormous capacity to make allies survive. It can protect with "Defender" and causes a buff of resistance to bleeding and blight. Spending a single turn in "Bolster" can make the opponent waste a lot of their own, as it provides a permanent buff of +10 to evasion and a good resistance of 15% to stress. You can even completely bypass evasion-based teams with “Command”. But this hero's star ability is "Bellow", which decreases the attack of all enemies by 20% and causes decent stress damage. "Bellow" by itself can be a win condition, as it hinders the killing ability of teams without DoTs and gradually stresses the entire enemy composition. You can use all of your defensive skills in any position. He is certainly a hero you could take on any team, and that would be fine.

Farewell

Greetings to all and thanks for reading. I will update the guide as long as I can as the meta changes. Any constructive suggestion I will be happy to read it.

[Fenek]

Bounty Hunter should be higher he is definitely better than for example Vestal. But overall great guide!

[Aghast]

Ty for this list.
I love Antiquarian. I've seen her kill everyone by herself.

[Svardgarm]

can you add me for dueling grounds, want to practice against this team