If you want to know just how heartless and savage numbers can be, you only have to play Darkest Dungeon. Its RNG (random number generation) governs most interactions in the game with an iron fist and with a chaotic smirk. Combat and exploration dice rolls are brutally haphazard and that's part of the game's charm. What can you do against such a random injustice apart from trying to maintain your Zen through raging blood vessels? By overcoming adversity using trinkets.
Trinkets are the best way in Darkest Dungeon to tell the game to stop toying with your heroes' fates. Apart from lessening the combat's dependence on its RNG, your heroes will also thank you as the trinkets are an integral part of their progression from awkward adventurers to exalted Eldritch exterminators. These trinkets will ensure that you execute those manor monsters with impunity.
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Updated November 1, 2021, by Sid Natividad: It's high time to dive back into the Darkest Dungeon, especially now that Darkest Dungeon 2 is looming on the horizon. As always, you want to be prepared for the sequel as much as possible and the best way to preserve you heroes' lives is through Darkest Dungeon trinkets.
Actually, these won't just preserve their lives but it will also make them mighty enough to not rely on the game's brutal handling of chance. That's why a Darkest Dungeon trinkets tier list or a simple recommendation for them is somewhat warranted. After all, these Darkest Dungeon best items might just save you from the headache of a failed run.
15 Tome Of Holy Healing
- +25% Healing Skills
- -15% MAX HP
The bonuses for the Tome of Holy Healing might look meager but that's usually enough for the Vestal to bring a party member out of a perilous situation. It's not just for the Vestal but also a viable trinket for someone like the Occultist who also has a healing ability.
A one-fourth boost combined with the other healing trinkets in the game (for the Vestal) usually beats allotting a tank in the party and opting for a healer. Because this way, your party has more opportunities for damage-dealers as they can be more reckless with their attacks.
14 Berserk Charm
- +3 SPD
- +15% DMG
- +15% Stress
- -5 ACC
- -10% Virtue Chance
Berserk Charm is quite a handful for any character thanks to the damage increase as well as the speed bonus. It helps a lot in determining whether a party member goes first or gets a shot at drawing first blood. For the most damaging of melee classes, this can be a devastating advantage.
Sadly, it also increases stress which isn't too much of a downside, as long as there's a way to heal. The Crusader, for example, has many ways to deal with this. Just make sure to avoid sticky situations such as getting the wearer to max stress, as it might introduce a domino effect for the whole party.
13 Legendary Bracer
- +20% DMG
- -1 SPD
- +10% Stress
The Legendary Bracer is pretty straightforward. It lets you deal more damage. That 20 percent damage increase can be massive in the right hands. Put it on someone like the Hellion and you can watch them obliterate enemies without even letting them have a turn.
Of course, the minus speed counterbalance here might make that a difficult situation to attain. But everything else is manageable for the Legendary Bracer. If you want, you can even put in on an inherently fast class such as the Highwayman or maybe a ranged character and stack them with CRIT bonuses.
12 Ancestor's Coat
- +15 DODGE
- +10% Stress
Looking to make your tanks tankier? Then give them this stylish piece of clothing. The Ancestor's Coat is also straightforward enough. It gives a significant amount of Dodge which might look small but you will feel its effects kick in in higher dungeon levels.
In fact, Dodge is one of the most underrated stats in Darkest Dungeon and if you want to get an estimate of how powerful it is, enemies in yellow-difficulty dungeons (or higher) give a pretty good idea. They're difficult to hit and have dodge bonuses.
11 Hunter's Talons for Bounty Hunter
- +6% CRIT
- +10 ACC
- +50% Food Consumed
Granted, Hunter's Talons is only available for the Bounty Hunter, but it's such a good weapon with negligible drawbacks that it'd be a disadvantage not to have it. Put it on a Bounty Hunter and you can watch him snipe out or fish the backline enemies and take them out before they can do debuffs and damage.
The CRIT bonus ensures this will happen quite often. The accuracy is also welcome and even necessary for higher-level dungeons. Meanwhile, food consumption isn't too bad of a negative effect since you can just bring extras or bring a healer.
10 Blasphemous Vial For Plague Doctor
- +10 ACC Ranged Skills
- +20% Stun Skill Chance
- +20% Blight Skill Chance
- +25% Stress
The Blasphemous Vial is first up in the must-have trinkets and it's mostly recommended or appears to have been made with the Plague Doctor in mind. That's not much of an issue considering the Plague Doctor is one of the most efficient characters to have in a party.
This trinket is a straightforward increase to all the Plague Doctor's expertise, minus the healing, of course. You can't sleep on that hefty Stun and Blight bonus as both of the skills ensure smoother and less painful dungeon runs. The drawback of added stress? That's manageable.
- +25% Healing Skills
- +25% Stress Skills
- +10% Stress
Another character that's mandatory for most Darkest Dungeon parties is the Vestal and she's the best healer hero in the game. Consequently, the best trinket for her is something that will turn her into a walking Emergency Room for all your heroes.
Ancestor's Scroll is the best trinket for such matters. It gives one big stat bonus which is substantial enough and will reduce your reliance on food for healing. It will give tons of stress to the Vestal but she's a field medic anyway so that's part of the occupational hazard.
8 Sacred Scroll For Healers
- -10% Stress
- +33% Healing Skills
- -10% Stun Skill Chance
- -33% DMG
Okay, so that stress drawback for the Ancestor's Scroll is a little too much for the Vestal's troubled mind. If you want to counterbalance that, then the Sacred Scroll is a lovely bandage for her aching soul.
It might even be better than the Ancestor's Scroll due to the bigger healing bonus. It will also reduce stress given by the Ancestor's Scroll. Do keep in mind that it will also turn your Vestal or healer into a pacifist.
7 Ancestor's Musket Ball For Ranged Heroes
- +10% DMG Ranged Skills
- +8% CRIT Ranged Skills
- +10% Stress
Now on to something more offensive, literally. Ranged heroes are somewhat underrated but give them the right placement and tools and they'll take out backline enemies with ease. To ensure the faster demise of those pesky glass cannon monsters, the Ancestor's Musket Ball is ideal.
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It's made for all the ranged heroes such as the Arbalest, Highwayman, or the Musketeer. For some reason, it will also increase their stress, probably due to the pressure of expectation from a good marksman. Or probably because the game doesn't want you too happy.
6 Ancestor's Pen For Melee Heroes
- +10% DMG Melee Skills
- +8% CRIT Melee Skills
- +10% Stress
The Ancestor's Pen is the melee equivalent of the Ancestor's Musket Ball and it's likely a wordplay on the old adage, the "pen is mightier than the sword." This time, the pen makes the sword mightier, specifically the blades of the Crusader, Hellion, Leper, and many other melee classes.
The bonuses are impactful enough and it's highly recommended for any frontline hero so they can dispatch the opposing team's frontline faster. Again, it also adds stress
5 Ancestor's Candle For DPS Heroes
- +15% DMG if Torch above 50
- +2 SPD if Torch above 50
- +5 DODGE if Torch above 50
- +10% Stress
Want to know what makes your damage dealers tick? Light, lots of it. The Ancestor's Candle is a testament to that as it rewards a healthy supply of torches in the inventory. It's by far one of the best trinkets to have in the game.
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The bonuses are all general but the most important out of all of them is the significant damage increase. Strangely enough, it also increases stress but since you're going to have lots of light, then that should be offset pretty easily.
4 Ancestor's Portrait For Leveling
- +50% Resolve XP
- +10% Stress
Leveling is one of the more crucial activities in the game that's often ignored by many players in Darkest Dungeon. Leveling fast ensures that whatever losses you incur are easily compensated or remedied.
The ideal trinket for that is the Ancestor's Portrait. It's great for replacing a fallen hero. Just slap it on the hero you want to be leveled quickly and run a dungeon. Rinse and repeat until you're no longer bothered by hero deaths since they're now easily replaceable.
3 Ancestor's Map For Scouting
- +25% Trap Disarm Chance
- +25% Scouting Chance
- +10% Stress
Scouting is also another underrated aspect of dungeon exploration but once you start respecting it, you'll see just how important it is for your party. You get to avoid rooms with traps and have a bit of foresight.
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The Ancestor's Map lets you utilize scouting far better and more often. On top of that, any kleptomaniac hero you have has less chance of triggering traps now. It still gives stress though; maps do that.
2 Vvulf's Tassel For Mark And Bleed Parties
- +20% DMG vs Marked
- +10 ACC vs Marked
- +5% CRIT vs size 2
Certain kinds of parties, such as those consisting of Highwayman, Arbalest, Jester, and Houndmaster exist to put out the most damage in a team composition. If you want to squeeze out even more from them, then give one of them Vvulf's Tassel.
It's a lovely artifact with no drawbacks but highly difficult to obtain. Once you have it, though, any marked enemy has little to no chance of escaping their pre-ordained death.
1 Sun Ring Is Generally Great For Anyone
- +10% DMG if Torch above 75
- +5 ACC if Torch above 75
- +10% Stress
For an even better version of the Ancestor's Candle, it's hard to match the Sun Ring. This trinket is a universally good tool for any hero and the best part is that you can use it alongside Ancestor's Candle.
It's a bit more demanding compared to that trinket, however, as it demands more light from your torches but that's a small price to pay to shorten any dungeon exploration and depopulation time.
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