Sarmenti the Jester is one of the characters available in Darkest Dungeon 2. He’s unlocked once you reach Profile Rank 9. Here’s our Darkest Dungeon 2 Jester guide to help you unlock the best skills and complete the Shrine battles. We also discuss the Violinist encounter in Music of the Night and the Melody puzzle in A Dark Song.
Sarmenti the Jester Skills | Darkest Dungeon 2
| Skill Name | Effect | Unlock Method |
|---|---|---|
| Razor’s Wit | A single-target attack that moves the Jester forward; gives him a dodge token; when upgraded, the target gains a combo token | Available by default |
| Fade To Black | A single-target attack that moves the Jester backward; causes blind on the enemy; when upgraded, the target gains combo and blind tokens | Available by default |
| Slice Off | A single-target attack that causes bleed | Available by default |
| Battle Ballad | Makes an ally move forward; gives them a strength token; when upgraded, it has a 15% chance to give a crit token, and it removes a combo token, too | Available by default |
| Inspiring Time | Can be used on a friendly with 5 Stress pips or more; removes 3 Stress pips; removes horror | Available by default |
| Play Out | Gives a target a block token and makes them move backward | First visit to a Shrine (narration) - Some Strange Melody |
| Harvest | Deals damage to two opponents in the middle; causes bleed; has a 33% chance to add a combo token | Second visit to a Shrine (battle) - Music of the Night |
| Echoing March | A support skill that pulls targets | Third visit to a Shrine (narration) - Play to the Crowd |
| Finale | Deals high damage; bonus damage if the target has a combo token; causes the Jester to move to the back; gives him dazed and vulnerable tokens | Fourth visit to a Shrine (battle) - A Dark Song |
| Solo | The Jester moves all the way in front; gains dodge and speed tokens; the enemy target gains a combo token | Fifth visit to a Shrine (narration) - Finale |
| Encore | The Jester grants an ally an extra action; the Jester gains dazed and weak tokens | Fifth visit to a Shrine (narration) - Finale |
Shrine Battle: Music of the Night - How to beat the Violinist
The Jester has one of the toughest Shrine battles in Darkest Dungeon 2 the moment he fights the Violinist. That’s because there are no clues or tells in-game. Instead, you have to select the correct actions in order. Otherwise, the Violinist will deal Stress damage. Oh, and if you go beyond the 10-point cap, you’ll fail this encounter.
The correct actions, believe it or not, are based on general song structure. Just follow the order listed below to complete the Jester’s Music of the Night battle in Darkest Dungeon 2. You’ll also receive the Harvest skill for your efforts:
- Verse
- Verse
- Chorus
- Verse
- Verse
- Chorus
- Bridge
- Solo
- Chorus
- Chorus
- Finale
Shrine Battle: A Dark Song - How to complete the Melody puzzle
The trick in the Melody puzzle in A Dark Song is to look at the arrangement and placement of notes to the right (i.e., enemy side). You have several actions here, such as moving back and forth, shuffling notes, or changing the notes on your side of the screen.
However, each action will also add a Stress pip. That’s why you need to correctly arrange the notes on your side so that they will match at least three on the enemy’s side. If successful, the Melody action will be unlocked. This will destroy all the notes for that set, while removing three Stress pips. If you can complete all three Melody puzzles, you’ll get the Finale skill.
The Best Jester Skills | Darkest Dungeon 2
The Jester’s playstyle revolves around mobility and creating combo tokens. These are ideal if you want to set up your own procs, or those from your allies. Here are our picks for the best Jester skills in Darkest Dungeon 2:
- Razor’s Wit and/or Fade to Black - These two abilities, once upgraded, also add a combo token to your target.
- Harvest - This is another great option since you can hit two foes. Unfortunately, combo tokens only have a 33% chance of popping up.
- Finale - This is basically your nuke. If a target already has a combo token, then watch this deal a ton of damage.
- Encore - If you need a teammate to attack twice in a single round, then this skill is a must.
- Inspiring Tune - This is fairly okay to remove Stress and the horror token, though other characters have cleansing mechanics, too.
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