Darkest Dungeon 2 Occultist Guide - Best Skills and Shrine Battle Tips

Last Update: October 31, 2021 5:22 PM /

Alhazred the Occultist is back in Darkest Dungeon 2. He’s unlockable once you reach Profile Rank 15. Here’s our Darkest Dungeon 2 Occultist guide to help you unlock the best skills and complete the Shrine battles. We also discuss how to beat the Dimensional Shambler in one particular encounter.

Alhazred The Occultist Skills | Darkest Dungeon 2

Skill Name	Effect	Unlock Method
Sacrificial Stab	A single-target attack; grants unchecked power if the enemy has a combo token; grants 1x unchecked power if the enemy is killed with this attack (upgraded version)	Available by default
Abyssal Artillery	Hits both enemies at the back; 25% chance to apply a combo token; stuns the targets if you have 2x unchecked power	Available by default
Weakening Curse	Can target one enemy regardless of its position; applies weak; applies combo token and removes critical token (upgraded version)	Available by default
Wyrd Reconstruction	Heals a target from 0-33% HP (or 0-50% if upgraded); causes target to bleed	Available by default
Daemon’s Pull	Can pull any of the two enemies at the back; applies a combo token; clears corpses; stuns the target if you have 2x unchecked power (upgraded version)	Available by default
Vulnerability Hex	Can target one enemy regardless of position; applies vulnerable; removes dodge	First visit to a Shrine (narration) - The Ritual
Binding Shadows	Hits a target and makes the Occultist move forward one space; 50% chance to gain 1x unchecked power; gain an additional 1x unchecked power if the target has a combo token (upgraded version)	Second visit to a Shrine (narration) - A Door In The Desert
Malediction	Can hit any enemy regardless of its position, but only if you have 2x or more unchecked power; target will be afflicted with either bleed, blight, or burn	Third visit to a Shrine (battle) - Some Parts Must Die
The Burning Stars	Can hit any enemy regardless of its position, but only if you have 2x or more unchecked power; ignores guard; applies combo token	Fourth visit to a Shrine (battle) - The Guest
Anamnesis	Hits all enemies, but only if you have 2x or more unchecked power; applies bleed	Fifth visit to a Shrine (narration) - An Eternal Flame
Chaotic Offering	Requires you to have 10-15% HP to cast; chance to gain 1x unchecked power by inflicting damage on yourself; chance to gain 1x unchecked power at the start of your turn	Fifth visit to a Shrine (narration) - An Eternal Flame

DD2 Occulist Guide — The Occultist meddled with powers that could only lead to certain doom.

Shrine Battle: Some Parts Must Die - How to slay your Virtues

The Occultist will be surrounded by several of his aspects in this Shrine battle. Simply use Repress to keep damaging one at a time. When you need to heal, use Ignore instead. Once only a single enemy remains, you can use Purge to finish the bout. You’ll receive the Malediction skill.

DD2 Shrine Battle Some Parts May Die — Alternate between offensive and healing actions to eliminate all targets.

Shrine Battle: The Guest - How to beat the Dimensional Shambler

This Occultist Shrine Battle in Darkest Dungeon 2 has you facing off against a Dimensional Shambler. You’re aided by your pupils, who act as though they’re in a seance. You can use Weakening Curse to debuff the enemy’s attacks. Likewise, Shifting Boundary lets you cause damage to it, but you end up with a combo token.

You have other abilities, too. Inner Strength grants unchecked power and an extra action. Meanwhile, Mind Over Matter heals for 20% HP, removes bleed and burn, and grants an extra action, too. The downside is that these will add Stress pips to the seance board. If you’re not careful, you’ll go over the limit and fail this Shrine Battle.

As such, you’ll want to revert back to using Shifting Boundary. Whenever you pick this, the Dimensional Shambler will attack you, inadvertently decreasing the seance board’s Stress. After winning, you’ll get The Burning Stars skill.

DD2 Occulist Guide Shrine The Guest — The same concept still applies: alternate between offense and healing. However, be careful of going too far since you don’t want too much Stress to accumulate on the seance board.

The Best Occulist Skills | Darkest Dungeon 2

The Occultist is considered a support character with some offensive capabilities. The problem is that you need to set things up first by acquiring unchecked power tokens. His eldritch magic spells do tend to be helpful, as killing an enemy with it causes their souls to get dragged into his device. That means no longer worrying about having to clear corpses.

Here are our picks for the Best Occultist skills in Darkest Dungeon 2:

Sacrificial Stab - It’s a fairly easy way to gain unchecked power as long as the enemy has a combo token already.
Daemon’s Pull - This is a way to set up a fight, by applying a combo token on a target and letting the Occultist (or a teammate) follow through.
Abyssal Artillery - You’ll hit two hostiles with this, and a chance to stun and apply combo tokens to boot.
Weakening Curse - This is good against bosses or hard-hitting elites.
Anamnesis - If you have 2x unchecked power, this is a quick way to apply bleed to everyone.
Wyrd Reconstruction - This is a strong healing spell, but it does have inherent risks (i.e., applying the bleed status effect on an ally). Ideally, you’ll want to use this only if you have items or teammate skills that can remove the debuff.