Occultist

This article is about the hero in Darkest Dungeon. For other appearances, see Occultist (disambiguation).

• Occultist
• Strategy
• Butcher's Circus
• Barks
• Gallery

Occultist
Stats [Compare]
Armor	1	2	3	4	5
MAX HP	19	23	27	31	35
DODGE	10	15	20	25	30
Weapons	1	2	3	4	5
SPD	6	6	7	7	8
CRIT	6%	7%	8%	9%	10%
DMG	4-7	5-8	6-10	6-11	7-13
Base Resistances
Stun		20%	Move		20%
Blight		30%	Bleed		40%
Disease		40%	Debuff		60%
Death Blow		67%	Trap		10%
Other information
Movement		2 forwards, 2 backwards.
Crit Buff Bonus		+25% Healing Skills
Religious		No
Provisions		None

“	To fight the abyss, one must know it.	„
	~ The Ancestor

The Occultist is one of the playable Character Classes in Darkest Dungeon.

Description

“

Knowledge - the poison of man. Since time began, it has been the folly of men such as the Ancestor. Many have sought it out, but those who discover the truth of this world's secrets have found the revelations too much to bear. The Occultist, however, has utilized that same knowledge to further his understanding of the eldritch. His pursuits in antediluvian apprehension have left his body fragile and weak, but it has made his mind sharp and his capabilities most versatile. From the back, he can channel his baleful energy to strike those hiding in the shadows or pull them forward, removing all filth from his presence. With his curses, he can expel a foe's strength or open them up for devastation. His eldritch powers can rend the souls of even the most foul of beasts leaving them motionless, but at the cost of calling the ever-looming shadows closer. While mostly destructive, the Occultist can also use his profane powers to reconstruct flesh and heal wounds. This technique is powerful, but unpredictable as it may restore a man to perfect health or tear apart their flesh. At camp, he practices rituals and rites that can empower his allies and even bring them back from the brink of death, but many of these eccentric practices can leave both the Occultist and his companions troubled. The gate to hell is open, and this man will seal it away with the very power it gave him.

„

Combat Skills

“	A lifetime of scholarly inquest into ancient and forbidden lore has opened the Occultist's mind to the powers of the void. Debilitating curses and maddeningly impossible support skills are his specialty. The void, however, is an unpredictable power, and consequently skills effectiveness can vary dramatically, and usually come at a cost of light, or stress.	„
	~ Guild

Note: New Occultists will always come with the Wyrd Reconstruction skill.

(All buffs and debuffs last for 3 rounds unless otherwise specified.)

Sacrifical Stab#
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Melee			+0%	80	9%	+15% DMG vs Eldritch
Further levels Level 2 +0% 85 10% +20% DMG vs Eldritch Level 3 +0% 90 11% +25% DMG vs Eldritch Level 4 +0% 95 12% +30% DMG vs Eldritch Level 5 +0% 100 13% +35% DMG vs Eldritch Sound

Abyssal Artillery#
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Ranged			-33%	85	0%	+15% DMG vs Eldritch
Further levels Level 2 -33% 90 1% +17% DMG vs Eldritch Level 3 -33% 95 2% +20% DMG vs Eldritch Level 4 -33% 100 3% +22% DMG vs Eldritch Level 5 -33% 105 4% +25% DMG vs Eldritch Sound

Weakening Curse#
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Ranged			-75%	95	5%	-10% DMG (100% base) -10% PROT (100% base) (3 rds)
Further levels Level 2 -75% 100 6% -12% DMG (110% base) -13% PROT (110% base) (3 rds) Level 3 -75% 105 7% -15% DMG (120% base) -15% PROT (120% base) (3 rds) Level 4 -75% 110 8% -17% DMG (130% base) -17% PROT (130% base) (3 rds) Level 5 -75% 115 9% -20% DMG (140% base) -20% PROT (140% base) (3 rds) Sound

Wyrd Reconstruction#
	Rank	Target	Heal	Effect	Self
			0-13	Bleed (60% base) 1 pt/rd for 3 rds
Further levels Level 2 0-15 Bleed (70% base) 1 pt/rd for 3 rds Level 3 0-17 Bleed (70% base) 2 pt/rd for 3 rds Level 4 0-19 Bleed (80% base) 2 pt/rd for 3 rds Level 5 0-22 Bleed (85% base) 3 pt/rd for 3 rds Sound

Vulnerability Hex#
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Ranged			-90%	95	5%	Mark Target (3 rds) -15 DODGE (100% base, 3 rds)
Further levels Level 2 -90% 100 6% Mark Target (3 rds) -16 DODGE (110% base, 3 rds) Level 3 -90% 105 7% Mark Target (3 rds) -17 DODGE (120% base, 3 rds) Level 4 -90% 110 8% Mark Target (3 rds) -18 DODGE (130% base, 3 rds) Level 5 -90% 115 9% Mark Target (3 rds) -20 DODGE (140% base, 3 rds) Sound

Hands from the Abyss#
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Ranged			-50%	90	9%	Torch -5 Stun (110% base)
Further levels Level 2 -50% 95 10% Torch -5 Stun (120% base) Level 3 -50% 100 11% Torch -5 Stun (130% base) Level 4 -50% 105 12% Torch -5 Stun (140% base) Level 5 -50% 110 13% Torch -5 Stun (150% base) Sound

Daemon's Pull#
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Ranged			-50%	90	5%	Pull 2 (100% base) Clear all Corpses
Further levels Level 2 -50% 95 6% Pull 2 (110% base) Clear all Corpses Level 3 -50% 100 7% Pull 2 (120% base) Clear all Corpses Level 4 -50% 105 8% Pull 2 (130% base) Clear all Corpses Level 5 -50% 110 9% Pull 2 (140% base) Clear all Corpses Sound

Camping Skills

“	At rest, the Occultist will attempt communion with the dark and impossible forces of the void in an effort to strengthen himself and the party. Such efforts are frequently taxing, however, exacting a toll in darkness and stress.	„
	~ Survivalist

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.

All of the Occultist's rites and rituals during camp will cause stress — if not to himself, then the others who are unnerved by it. But with effects that buff damage, heal a great amount of his own stress, prevent the Night-Time Ambush, and even remove mortality debuffs, they may be worth the risk.

Unique SkillsShared Skills

Abandon Hope
	Time Cost	Target	Description
	1	Self All Companions	Self: -25 Stress All Companions: +10 Stress (50% chance) +5 Stress (50% chance)
	Bark	"Why should we fret? We'll all be worms soon enough."
Dark Ritual
	Time Cost	Target	Description
	3	Self One Companion	Self: Reduce torchlight by 100 / +15 Stress One Companion: Heal 50% HP / Remove Mortality debuffs
	Bark	"G'NATH ELDRATCHANAR F'THGYLL GRY'NDOT!"
Dark Strength
	Time Cost	Target	Description
	2	Self One Companion	Self: +15 Stress One Companion: +20% DMG (4 Battles)
	Bark	"Let the eldritch powers course!"
Unspeakable Commune
	Time Cost	Target	Description
	3	Self All Companions	Self: Prevents nighttime ambush All Companions: +7 Stress
	Bark	"G'NATH ELDARTCHANAR F'THGYLL GRY'NDOT!"

Encourage
	Time Cost	Target	Description
	2	One Companion	-15 Stress
	Bark	"Song is proven to raise morale. So... a one and a two and a..." "Two plus two is four. See? Things are not so uncertain." "Fear is a mental state; change your mind and you conquer it."
Wound Care
	Time Cost	Target	Description
	2	One Companion	Heal 15% HP Removes Bleeding Removes Blight
	Bark	"Anatomy is hardly my specialty, I'll admit." "I am now glad I attended a liberal arts university." "Best complete this procedure. The blood...it riles me."
Pep Talk
	Time Cost	Target	Description
	2	One Companion	-15% Stress (4 Battles)
	Bark	"We must work together, as the tribal-folk do." "You must distract your mind. Think of happier times." "I know a rite for this. It will calm you."

Equipment

“	Scholarly robes, better suited to the library than the harsh realities of adventuring, are all the Occultist has brought with him. His rituals and chants require deft movements of hand and finger, so better he be unencumbered that he may channel the power of his morbid fetish: the polished skull of a dead man.	„
	~ Blacksmith

Unlike other games, equipment upgrades in Darkest Dungeon are linear, all bought at the Blacksmith.

Skull
Level 1			Level 2			Level 3			Level 4			Level 5
	Battered Skull			Bleached Skull			Fine Skull			Scholar's Skull			The Mentor's Skull
	DMG base:	4-7		DMG base:	5-8		DMG base:	6-10		DMG base:	6-11		DMG base:	7-13
	CRT base:	6.0%		CRT base:	7.0%		CRT base:	8.0%		CRT base:	9.0%		CRT base:	10.0%
	SPD base:	6		SPD base:	6		SPD base:	7		SPD base:	7		SPD base:	8
Robes
Level 1			Level 2			Level 3			Level 4			Level 5
	Tattered Robes			Scholar's Robes			Academic's Robes			Antiquarian Robes			Dark Inquisition
	DODGE base:	10		DODGE base:	15		DODGE base:	20		DODGE base:	25		DODGE base:	30
	HP base:	19		HP base:	23		HP base:	27		HP base:	31		HP base:	35

Each Hero has Trinkets unique to them that only they can equip. The Occultist has seven; 2 common, 2 Crimson Court and 1 uncommon, rare and very rare. In the base game, his lower level trinkets are incense and his high level trinkets are cauldrons. The Crimson Court DLC adds a vial of sand and tentacle idol, likely both symbols of the pact he struck.

Trinket Image	Trinket Name	Rarity	Class Restriction	Origin Dungeon	Effect	Additional Notes
	Eldritch Killing Incense	Common	Occultist		+6% CRIT vs Eldritch +15% DMG vs Eldritch
	Evasion Incense	Common	Occultist		+8 DODGE -1 SPD
	Cursed Incense	Uncommon	Occultist		+40% Debuff Skill Chance +20% Move Skill Chance -10% MAX HP
	Sacrifical Cauldron	Rare	Occultist		+20% DMG +10% Stress
	Demon's Cauldron	Very Rare	Occultist		+30% Stun Skill Chance +40% Debuff Skill Chance +3% CRIT -10% Virtue Chance +15% Stress

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
	Blood Pact	Occultist	+4 SPD if Torch below 60 +25% DMG if Torch below 60 -25% Bleed Skill Chance -10% MAX HP	+15 DODGE	"The bargain is struck!"
	Vial of Sand		+20% Debuff Skill Chance +20% Stun Skill Chance +20% Move Skill Chance +20% Stun Resist

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.

Trinket Image	Trinket Name	Rarity	Class Restriction	Shard Cost	Effect	Additional Notes
	Petrified Skull	Crystalline	Occultist	25 Shards	+40% PROT When Attacked By Husk -20% Healing Received +30% PROT When Attacked By Eldritch +15% MAX HP

District Bonus

The Crimson Court DLC adds Districts to the Hamlet, some of which confer passive buffs to heroes.

The table below lists all of the currently available buildings that can be constructed within Hamlet's Districts, the cost of doing so, and the benefits of each individual project.

The gold cost of most Districts in Radiant mode is significantly reduced. The price in Radiant mode is shown in parentheses.

Districts
Name	Image	Effect	Cost
Athenaeum		Antiquarian, Occultist, and Plague Doctor receive: +15% Blight Skill Chance +15% Debuff Skill Chance Interacting with Knowledge Curios heals 15 Stress. (Stack of Books, Bookshelf, Pile of Scrolls, Alchemy Table, Occult Scrawlings, Eerie Coral, Bas-Relief, Bloodflowers, Pile of Strange Bones, Throbbing Coccoons, Throbbing Hive) Note: this Stress heal only works for the three classes mentioned, and will not replace negative Stress effects from Knowledge Curios, such as the "The Hero Reads a Most Unsettling Passage..." event from A Stack Of Books.	2500 (1000)
			110
			1

Trivia

• The "eldritch language" the occultist often speaks during fights is R'lyehian, one of the languages spoken in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. Some can be translated but most seems to be made up by the devs. There is a partial translation here.

• He is a reference of the Lovecraft's character Abdul Alhazred also known as "the mad arab" , phantomatic writer of the Necronomicon. In fact, Alhazred is the Occultist's pregenerated name.
• He is the only hero to have both a combat skill to clear corpses and a camping skill to prevent nighttime ambushes.
• Given his bark while performing Wound Care while camping, he attended a liberal arts university.
• Given his "final" bark and some of the lines he uses when being on Death's Door/Afflicted, it can be assumed he has made a pact with an eldritch entity in order to gain his dark powers, and that this entity is at the same time pleased with the pact and angered by it (it speaks through him and orders his destruction to be free, and at the same time orders that no one touches him because they have a pact).
  • His comic implies that what he sealed within himself has been passed down for a long time to multiple people.

Spoilers
If you take him to the final Darkest Dungeon quest, it becomes clear that the final boss has been tormenting him directly. However the sequel game clarifies that his pact creature, the black-beast, is not the same entity; he is simply assailed by eldritch forces in general, in addition to the black-beast's presence.