The Crusader is a versatile damage dealer and support hero in Darkest Dungeon. He has the second highest max HP among heroes but comes with very low speed.
The Crusader can deliver blows from any rank, while at the front he can stun enemies or mark himself to draw their fire.
Battle-hardened and stalwart, the Crusader has held the front lines in a hundred holy wars. He either attacks foes head-on with righteous fury, or embraces a melee support role by leveraging his powerful defensive buffs & off-heals.
Righteousness and conviction inspire compelling speeches around the campfire! In the face of mounting stress, the Crusader is a leader, standing tall and refusing to break. His unshakable belief can assuage companions' fear, reassuring them that despite the hardships they will most certainly endure, all will be well in the end.
Camping skills are special skills heroes can use while they are camping. They take a certain number of "respite" points to use, and can only be used once per camp (unless the skill says otherwise). Most heroes have three shared camping skills and all heroes have 4 unique camping skills (with the Flagellant being the exception, having only unique camping skills). Only 4 of these can be equipped at one time. Any Buffs or lasting effects given from a camping skill lasts for 4 battles.
At camp the Crusader focuses on keeping his party's stress levels in check. All his skills involve reducing and resisting stress of himself or his party. He can also pray for The Light to keep them safe during the night.
Unshakable Leader
Time Cost
Target
Description
2
Self
-25% Stress (4 Battles)
Bark
"My friends, we can pass any test. Do not despair!"
Stand Tall
Time Cost
Target
Description
3
One Companion
-15 Stress Remove Mortality debuffs
Bark
"Remain vigilant, my friend!"
Zealous Speech
Time Cost
Target
Description
5
Party All Companions
Party: -15 Stress
All Companions: -15% Stress (4 Battles)
Bark
"Forget not that our errand is holy and just! Light will prevail!"
Zealous Vigil
Time Cost
Target
Description
4
Self
-25 Stress -15 Stress if Afflicted Prevents nighttime ambush
Bark
"Light, grant me the strength to overcome whatever appears on our path."
Encourage
Time Cost
Target
Description
2
One Companion
-15 Stress
Bark
"Your strength honors the Light." "Sit straight! Dignity is thy greatest weapon!" "You would have made a good soldier... in another life."
Wound Care
Time Cost
Target
Description
2
One Companion
Heal 15% HP Removes Bleeding Removes Blight
Bark
"Of course I know what I'm doing! I'm a soldier!" "Incidentally, if ye perish, I can perform last rites." "You heal quickly. Praise the Light."
Pep Talk
Time Cost
Target
Description
2
One Companion
-15% Stress (4 Battles)
Bark
"I've led more difficult charges than this." "Justice is on my side. No evil can stand against that." "One need merely avoid the shadows to stand in the Light."
Equipment
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The Crusader wears heavy plate mail and wields a longsword. While affording him excellent protection and damage, his armor restricts movement, and his sword cannot be swung effectively in the back ranks.
Equipment upgrades are all bought at the Blacksmith.
Great Sword
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Battered Longsword
Longsword
Questing Longsword
Greatsword
The Long Crusade
DMG base:
6-12
DMG base:
7-14
DMG base:
8-16
DMG base:
9-17
DMG base:
10-19
CRT base:
3.0%
CRT base:
4.0%
CRT base:
5.0%
CRT base:
6.0%
CRT base:
7.0%
SPD base:
1
SPD base:
1
SPD base:
2
SPD base:
2
SPD base:
3
Chain and Plate
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Rusty Hauberk
Chainmail
Chain and Plate
Plate
Zealous Conviction
DODGE base:
5
DODGE base:
10
DODGE base:
15
DODGE base:
20
DODGE base:
25
HP base:
33
HP base:
40
HP base:
47
HP base:
54
HP base:
61
Each Hero has Trinkets unique to them that only they can equip. The Crusader has eight; 3 common, 2 Crimson Court, and 1 uncommon, rare, and very rare. In the base game, his lower level trinkets are crests (likely war decorations) and his high level trinkets are scrolls, likely what he uses in his Zealous Accusation attack. The Crimson Court DLC adds a pauldron and conscription letter, while the Color of Madness DLC adds a crystalline sword hilt.
Trinket Image
Trinket Name
Rarity
Class Restriction
Origin Dungeon
Effect
Additional Notes
Defender's Seal
Common
Crusader
+5% PROT
-3% CRIT
Knight's Crest
Common
Crusader
+10% MAX HP
Swordsman's Crest
Common
Crusader
+10% DMG Melee Skills
-50% Healing Skills
Paralyzer's Crest
Uncommon
Crusader
+20% Stun Skill Chance
-2 DODGE
Commander's Orders
Rare
Crusader
+15% Stress Heal Received
+33% Healing Skills
-10% DMG
Holy Orders
Very Rare
Crusader
+15% Virtue Chance
-20% Stress
+12% Death Blow Resist
-20% Blight Resist
-20% Bleed Resist
The Crimson Court DLC added special Trinket Sets, two for each hero. They confer powerful bonuses to the hero equipped with them, and having both equipped at once yields an additional bonus, which is shown greyed out at the bottom. The origin dungeon for all Trinket Sets is the Courtyard and they all have the rarity Crimson Court. The Shieldbreaker Trinket Set, however, is only obtainable through her final 6th and 7th nightmare encounters and won't be dropped or given as a reward in the Courtyard. Trinkets you already have will stop dropping, so there's value in not selling the ones you don't like until you get the ones you want.
Trinket Image
Trinket Name
Class Restriction
Effect
Set Effect
Quote
Additional Notes
Glittering Spaulders
Crusader
+15% PROT
+35% Move Resist
-15% Stress
-2 SPD
+20% MAX HP
"I will forget them. Regret is sin."
Signed Conscription
+20% Healing Skills
+20% Stress Skills
The Color of Madness DLC added trinkets with a new rarity, Crystalline. Each hero has their own unique crystalline trinket which can be bought from Jeweler inside the Nomad Wagon with Crystal Shards found within the Farmstead.
The predetermined name of the Crusader is Reynauld, named after Raynald of Châtillon, a crusader who participated in the Second Crusade and died during The Battle of Hattin. The reason for Reynauld having the Kleptomaniac quirk is because Raynald was known to "always be in need of funds", resulting in the torture of Aimery of Limoges after the denial to fund his revenge against Manuel I Komnenos, since Komnenos refused to pay Raynald for his military services.
In early builds of the game, the name 'Lincoln' was used.
The Crusader has the most Backer Heroes with a staggering 64, with the runner up (the Man-At-Arms) only having half as many.
The design of the Crusader is based on the pop culture vision of the armors and weapons used by crusader knights during the Crusades (a series of wars sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church between the XI and the XV century against Muslims, pagans, and heretics). Since the time period covered is so large, a wide variety of of weapons and armour can be considered thematically appropriate; from early Medieval chain-based kit, emblematic of the First Crusade; to the full-body Milanese plate used for the later Reconquista, the crusades against the Hussites and the Ottomans.
A previous iteration of the Crusader during development featured an open-helmet chain mail design with the Crusader's face visible. This design has a wallpaper on Red Hook Studio's main website and it was shown off in the game's "Terror and Madness" trailer in 2013.
According to his Hopeless barks, the Crusader used to love somebody and was even married once. This was confirmed in his origin comic where he leaves his wife and child to embark on the crusade, but was changed so much by the war that he chose to remain on the crusade rather than return to his family.
Another one of his afflicted barks, this time while being Irrational, shows that he might have been mistreated by his father or a priest during childhood. The capitalization, "Father", implies the latter.
His Irrational bark, "Buff the pommel, boy! When it strikes, it must impress!" is possibly a reference to the meme "end him rightly" made popular by historical European martial arts YouTuber Skallagrim, whereby unscrewing one's pommel and throwing it is proclaimed to be a deadly and effective combat technique. However, it may also simply refer to striking with the pommel without removing it from the sword (as the Crusader does in-game).
While most characters have seven trinkets, the Crusader is one of four heroes to have eight (the others being the Highwayman, Plague Doctor, and Vestal).
Stun
Move
Blight
Bleed
Disease
Debuff
Death Blow
Trap
mark himself to draw their fire.
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, however, is only obtainable through her final 6th and 7th nightmare encounters and won't be dropped or given as a reward in the Courtyard. Trinkets you already have will stop dropping, so there's value in not selling the ones you don't like until you get the ones you want.
5000 (100)
200
1
