Bosses (Darkest Dungeon II)

Bosses in Darkest Dungeon II are especially difficult enemies—often dealing large amounts of damage or Stress to the party, having high HP, acting multiple times per round, or using certain unique mechanics. Bosses may be encountered in many ways, with some appearing in fixed locations and others actively seeking out and ambushing the party. Many bosses serve as gatekeepers testing the party's combat power, and must be defeated before the expedition can continue.

Mini-Bosses

Mini-bosses may appear throughout a region, appearing in Nodes or Road Battles. Note that the term mini-boss is somewhat of a misnomer, since some of these bosses are even more difficult than the others listed below.

The Antiquarian, a friend-turned-foe capable of buffing herself and her team, making allies guard her, debuffs, and a Blight cleave.
The Chirurgeon is the boss found at the end of the Chirurgeon's Table node. He is a supportive boss with misleading DoT RES, powerful buffs and heals, and a potentially devastating attack if left without allies.
The Collector, a familiar face who spawns if a Trophy is in the parties possession. Alongside being able to Bleed, Stress and Combo, He is capable of summoning minions who can deal bleed, debuffs and stuns whilst buffing the enemy team with DoT-clear, Crit, Guarded and heals.
Death, a boss with a 6% chance of spawning if a Flagellant is present. Capable of applying wide-spread Shuffle, Bleed, and Stress, she is a force to be reckon with as teams are not healed nor are status effects or tokens removed, leading to potentially unfortunate Death encounters.
The Shambler is a returning boss capable of summoning weak pawns that can massively buff themself and heal the Shambler. The Shambler the party at Combat Start and applies a party-wide blight or bleed, along with spawning more Tentacles to fight for the beast.
The Warlord is a boss exclusive to The Binding Blade DLC with high base DMG, buffs, Bleed, and intense cleaves dealing high damage or Stun that are dependent upon Combo tokens.

Lair Bosses

Main article: Lair

In each region, there is a Lair where the faction boss for that region may be encountered. Defeating a lair boss is required to enter The Mountain.

The Librarian, the lair boss of the Sprawl who resides in the Great Library.
The Dreaming General, the lair boss of the Tangle who resides in the General's Keep.
The Harvest Child, the lair boss of the Foetor who resides in the Harvest House.
The Leviathan, the lair boss of the Shroud who resides in The Sacred Pier.

Cultist Bosses

Main article: Cultists (Darkest Dungeon II)

Cultist bosses are encountered at the Oblivion's Ingress node at the end of every region, and in The Mountain. Cultist bosses all have the Cosmic Enemy Type.

The Deacon, a tanky boss capable of dealing heavy single target damage and wide spread Stress.
The Cardinal, a debuff/DoT-heavy boss capable of removing and applying heavy debuffs, intense DoTs and Shuffle through cleaves and single target attacks.
The Exemplar, only appearing starting in Act III, is a fearsome enemy capable of summoning and sacrificing allies for powerful buffs, along with dealing high Blight, debuffs and Stress, and Horror
- Exemplar also appears as the Lair Boss of The Tundra in the Kingdoms gamemode.