Shuffling Horror

Shuffling Horror

Enemy Class	Eldritch
Size	Gigantic (3)
Actions per round
Stats
HP	162
HP (Stygian/Bloodmoon)	195
Dodge	23.75%
Protection	33%
Speed	2
Resistances
Stun	147.5%
Blight	107.5%
Bleed	67.5%
Debuff	87.5%
Move	98%

Shuffling Horror is the first of four bosses in the Darkest Dungeon. It resembles a Shambler that has been overtaken by the eldritch, fleshy growths that pervade the rest of the Darkest Dungeon.

Behavior

Shuffling Horror spawns with a Cultist Priest. If the Priest is killed, it will summon another enemy.

Shuffling Horror has 2 moves in a single turn and 3 different attacks:

If the Priest is left alive, Shuffling Horror's attack pattern will remain always the same, making it a very predictable enemy. Since both of Lacerate and Undulations have a 1-turn cooldown, it will alternate between each of them every one of its turns. Therefore expect the following succession of Bleed-Shuffle-Bleed-Shuffle for this fight.
Should you decide to eliminate the troublesome Priest, Shuffling Horror will always summon another monster right away with Echoing Disassembly. Although coded to only use it if Shuffling Horror is alone, it may also keep using the skill every other turn after the summon, dealing heavy stress across the party.

Strategy

If the Priest is killed, the Shuffling Horror will just summon another enemy with Echoing Disassembly, making it pointless. The better way to deal with it is to stun the Cultist Priest every other turn. To this end, the Plague Doctor can prove herself particularly useful, being able to stun both targets at once with the right trinket selection (i.e. Blasphemous Vial and Stun Amulet). Be wary, though, as the Plague Doctor cannot use her strongest skills if she is shuffled to the front of the party.

As the name indicates, this particular boss is especially adept at disrupting your hero's party order, shuffling them with Undulations. It has two actions per turn, does massive stress damage with Echoing Disassembly and inflicts bleed when Lacerating your party members. As common with most two-action enemies, debuffs and stuns will not be very effective. Bleed, on the other hand, procs twice per turn, making it an excellent choice. Blight is slightly less effective because of higher resistance. Additionally, it might be a good idea to decrease Shuffling Horror's PROT with a mark, as it is fairly slow and the party has a decent chance to capitalize on the mark before it runs out.

It is recommended to bring Heroes who can attack from multiple positions (Bounty Hunter, Hellion, Grave Robber). Heroes like the Leper and Arbalest would be ineffective. Relying on both Man-at-Arms' and Highwayman's Riposte skills is another viable strategy, as all of Shuffling Horror's attacks target the whole party. Riposte can kill the Cultist Priest however, resulting in a threatening stress-dealing attack from Shuffling Horror.

If you are already familiar with fighting the Shambler, preparation and combat strategies for Shuffling Horror is similar, but also significantly easier - You will know when the fight is coming, are not shuffled from the get-go, have fewer targets to handle, and have the benefit of Torchlight.

The fight is not over if Shuffling Horror dies, as the Cultist Priest it summons will remain to clean up any stragglers. As long as you've killed Shuffling Horror, though, the game will recognize the quest as complete, even if they were all killed by the Cultist Priest afterwards.

Team Selection

Preferred Heroes

These Heroes are capable of acting in many positions, or have good mobility to recuperate from a shuffle.

Jester - Dirk Stab can be used to reposition the Jester and/or one of his allies, while dealing damage at the same time. Finale can be used to help end the fight quicker.
Highwayman - Riposte from Duelist's Advance is useful against the party-wide attacks that Shuffling Horror does. Be careful, though, as riposte may accidently kill the Cultist Priest.
Grave Robber - Can reliably deal damage from any position, and has armor penetration on her Pick to the Face.
Shieldbreaker - Can easily reposition, also pierces through Horror's PROT with Pierce or give the party armor penetration through her camping skill.
Man-at-Arms - Has Riposte as well. Can also use Bolster to improve the party's DODGE and Stress resistance.
Crusader - Holy Lance is the movement skill of choice here. Also has backup healing and Stress relief.
Occultist - Can heal from anywhere and even has bonus damage on Shuffling Horror.
Hellion - Can use Breakthough to get back into position. Her Bleed-based skills also hit the Shuffling Horror at its weaker resistance, and Adrenaline Rush allows her to remove Bleed inflicted by the pesky Cultist Priest.

Reasonable Choices

Flagellant - Can return to the frontlines in a single step. Excellent heals and Stress relief as a front-liner too.
Bounty Hunter - Able to act from positions 1 to 3 and can deal increased damage to Shuffling Horror with Planned Takedown.
Abomination - His human form is limited in usefulness due to the Horror's high Stun and Blight resist. His beast form, however, can deal competent damage and/or reposition himself with Slam. Bear in mind that he loses a lot of skill use if he is forced to position 4.

Discouraged Heroes

These Heroes are not ideal due to their position restrictions or low movement.

Leper - He can only attack while in the front two ranks.
Vestal - Unliked Occultist, she cannot heal if shuffled to the front position, and her damage output is unimpressive. Despite this, it may still be worthwhile to bring one due to the importance of reliable healing in the Darkest Dungeon. Equip a frontline skill prior to entering the fight with the Horror if you do decide to bring one.
Arbalest/Musketeer - Cannot use most of their skills if they are shuffled to the front ranks.

Ancestral Trinkets

As with Shambler, Shuffling Horror carries with him Ancestral Trinkets. However, since only one of each trinket can exist in the player's inventory, when they are all obtained, Shuffling Horror will not drop any Ancestral Trinkets unless one of the trinkets is lost.

Ancestor's Map	Ancestor's Bottle	Ancestor's Candle	Ancestor's Tentacle Idol	Ancestor's Scroll

+25% Trap Disarm chance +25% Scouting chance +10% Stress	+25% MAX HP +50% Food consumed +10% Stress	+15% DMG if torch is above 50 +2 SPD if torch is above 50 +5 DODGE if torch is above 50 +10% Stress	+20% Virtue Chance +8% Deathblow Resist	+25% Healing Skills +25% Stress Healing Skills +10% Stress

Abilities

Darkest Level
Skill Name	Range	Rank	Target	Accuracy	Crit Chance	Damage	Effect (Target)	Effect (Self)	Notes
Lacerate	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1, 2, 3, 4, 100% +1 Target.	110%	5%	5-9	150% Bleed 4	No Effect
Echoing Disassembly	Ranged	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	120%	7%	1-3	Stress +15 Summon 1 Cultist Priest or Defensive Growth Torch -25	No Effect
Undulations	Melee	1, 2, 3, 4.	1+2+3+4.	110%	0%	1	140% Shuffle Party	No Effect