Enemy Type

Enemies in Darkest Dungeon belong to certain classes or types. The class (or classes) to which an enemy belongs has no effect in most cases, but certain quirks have positive or negative effects in relation to them. Positive quirks can grant bonuses (e.g. increased damage, accuracy or critical chance) to a hero when facing enemies from particular classes. Meanwhile, negative quirks can inflict penalties (such as increased stress) when facing those classes of enemies. In addition, there are also certain hero abilities and trinkets that grant bonuses against particular enemy classes.

Human
Humans are mortal creatures that stand against you, either for their own selfish gains or a mad desire to assist the evil lurking in the depths of the Estate. They have no built-in resistances and are quick to fall compared to other enemy types; however, their skills are versatile and form the backbone of many teams. From lowering heroes' resistances, multi-target attacks, causing stress and even marking their foes so other vile monstrosities can finish the weakened prey off, Human enemies should not be underestimated and be dealt with swiftly.

Humans are most often found within the Weald and the Warrens, as fungal troops and the Swine are all half Human. However, they can potentially be encountered anywhere: Cultists, Brigands, and Madmen are all Human, and they can show up in any region. The Bounty Hunter's Collect Bounty does bonus damage against Humans by default, and some Trinkets give heroes bonus damage against Humans.

Beast
The Beast type encompasses all of the savage animals that have been tainted by the spreading darkness or awakened by those who trespass into their ancient domain. As a general rule, they prefer to debilitate your heroes to wear them down over time; Beasts will assault you with bleed, blight, disease and even lowering your immunity to disease. Many of them will also cause Stress while trying to infest you with their maladies, such as the Swine Wretch and Carrion Eater.

Beasts are most commonly found within the Warrens (as the Swine are all half-Beast, and the type is also carried by Carrion Eaters and their larger relatives) and Weald (dogs, spiders, and giants are all Beast-type); conversely, they're rarely found in the Cove, as no enemies native to the region are classed as Beasts. The Hound Master's Hound's Rush does extra damage to Beasts, and some Trinkets give a hero bonus damage against Beasts.

Unholy
These twisted creatures defy the natural order by their mere existence, often by being animated (or reanimated) by dark forces. Unholy enemies can be encountered in any dungeon, but they are particularly rife in the Ruins, where the Necromancer raises them without end. Unholy creatures commonly have a high enough resistance to Bleed to be virtually immune; however, the corrosion that Blight provides will decay their abominable bodies back into the dust. Ghouls are a notable Unholy enemy that can Bleed; however, they are also one of the most dangerous creatures you will find outside of bosses and should not be taken lightly. The Crusader and the Vestal both use attacks that do bonus damage to Unholy creatures, and some Trinkets give heroes bonus damage against Unholy.

Eldritch
By all rights these creatures should not exist. At best they are alien; at worst, they are a terrible reminder of how easily even the toughest minds can be torn down. Normally, they are entirely restricted to the Weald, the Cove, and the Darkest Dungeon...but who knows when their madness will come crawling out of the darkness to sink their tendrils into an unsuspecting party?

The resistances of these creatures vary depending on where you find them. For example, the fungus-ridden Eldritch creatures of the Weald are resistant to Blight but weak to Bleed, while the fish-headed abominations of the Cove have extra resistance to Bleed, but weak resistance to Blight. Many of the Occultist's attacks do bonus damage to Eldritch monsters, and some Trinkets give heroes bonus damage against Eldritch.

Bloodsucker
Once a court of nobles who reigned alongside the Ancestor in his formative years, an unpleasant encounter has transformed them into sinister creatures enthralled to their need for The Blood. They dwell within The Courtyard, once a palatial sanctuary for the aristocracy that ruled over the Hamlet. Now sunken into the swamp, these grotesque creatures thrive within its virulent waters. They are consumed by their hunger, though they still cultivate a veneer of the humanity that has long since been lost. But the veneer is just that, and a few sips of blood will bring out the monsters that lurk within.

The swamp is the perfect place for these insect-humanoid creatures, and it has given them astonishing resilience to any man-made poison. However, their curse and obsession with The Blood has made them easy to bleed. You must dispatch them quickly, lest you unwittingly bring their curse out of the swamp...or worse, some of their number find their way out of the Courtyard.

Husk
Husks were once living, breathing, feeling beings before they were touched by the malevolent crystalline corruption from the stars. The Crystalline Corruption seeks to consume all living and nonliving things that are made from flesh, blood, bone or any other organic materials; people, animals and even certain inanimate objects that are infected by this Crystalline Corruption are all turned into Husks. Upon infection, the crystals rapidly spread throughout the unfortunate victim and consume them from the inside out, turning them from beings of warm flesh and blood into cold, empty and cruel mockeries made of crystal and stone. When a Husk dies, the crystals inside its hollowed-out body quickly consume whatever remains of the body and blossoms forth from it like a crystalline flower to spread its corrupting "pollen" or "seeds" in a rather explosive fashion. Deadly shrapnel in form of crystalline shards and splinters lodge themselves into the body of their victims; if not quickly removed, another poor soul will be turned into a Husk.

With most of their bodies converted to stone and crystal, Husks are nearly impervious to bleeding. But their forms are unstable and any man-made poison or acid would quickly erode their shells.

Unique types
A few other types exist, limited to a select few enemies (mainly found in boss fights). For these classes, there are no advantages to be had against them, but neither are there any disadvantages. The types are as follows:


 * CORPSE: When most enemies are killed, a Corpse is left behind, bearing this type.
 * CARPENTRY is the type of various wooden constructs; the Pews that the Prophet uses to defend himself and the Barrel O' Bombs that allow Vvulf to use his Bombs Away ability.
 * CROCKERY is the type of the Cauldron the Hag uses for her potion brewing.
 * IRONWORK is the type of the Brigand Pounder that the Brigands use to terrorize and pillage.
 * THATCHERY is the type of the Nest that the Shrieker hoards its treasures in.
 * VEGETATION is the type of the Bulrush and Cattail that the Crocodilian stalks its party from.
 * BLOODBAG is the type of the hanging bodies that were the Viscount's previous meals.
 * STONEWORK is the type of various statues brought to life by evil forces; the Garden Guardian found deep within the Courtyard and the Gargoyles that roam the Estate.
 * UNHOLY WOOD is the type of the Pyre that The Fanatic burns his victims upon.
 * POOR SOUL is the type of the Miller, frozen in time with no memory, yet unable to forget.
 * COSMIC is the type of the Final Boss's ultimate form (Spoilers here), as well as the Absolute Nothingness used to support its second form.

Trivia

 * Eldritch is the most popular type, with 40 different enemies in the base game having that type. Ignoring unique enemy types and enemies not found within the base game, Unholy is the least popular with a mere 17 enemies. Note that this refers to the number of different enemies; the actual total frequency of enemies of each type is similar, and instead depends on which area the party is adventuring in.
 * The Crimson Court DLC adds 4 new Eldritch enemies, bringing the total up to 44. The new type Bloodsuckers had the lowest population, with only 12 enemies. The Husk type, introduced in The Color of Madness (DLC), is currently the type with the lowest population; it has 13 enemies, but only 6 of them are non-unique.
 * Bloodsuckers and Husk are the only non-unique enemy types in the game that do not have Quirks based around them.
 * The Garden Guardian, its arms and Gargoyles are the only enemies in the game that have an unique type and a standard type. Both are Stonework with the Garden Guardian and its limbs also being Eldritch and Gargoyles also being Unholy.
 * Gargoyles are the only enemies in the game to have one of their types change from a standard enemy type (Beast) to a unique one (Stonework).