Siren

The Captivating, Alluring, and Beguiling Siren is the first Boss of the Cove. She has 2 turns per round.

Ancestor's Memoirs: The Siren
"My lofty position wasn't always accompanied by the fear of office, and there was a time when I could walk the streets or raise a glass in the tavern without concern for molestation. Faithful as the tide, one precocious village waif made it her hobby to shadow my every errand. It was charming then, troublesome later.

In financial desperation, I struck a bargain with the ancient things that surfaced in search of sacrifice when the moon was right. Their price was the delivery of an obscure idol and one other item of more troubling portent. The pact struck, my new-found accomplices slipped silently beneath the brackish water. A fearful stirring at the edge of the torchlight betrayed a familiar witness and gifted me with malign inspiration.

Under the blood moon, I lured my wide-eyed prey to the pier's edge. Before she could properly appreciate her position, I clamped down a manacle, chaining her to the leering idol. A small push was sufficient to send both into the icy waters. And, when at length the tide receded, jewels of the most magnificent grandeur lay scattered upon the shore.

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- The Ancestor

Behavior
The Siren's main gimmick is her Song of Desire ability, which allows her to temporarily mind-control one of your heroes. Charmed heroes only have access to the moves on their bar and will move if they don't have a move they can use. Heroes will be put in a random rank either right in front of or behind the Siren (while she pushes herself backwards one rank) and typically fight for the Siren for two full turns (taking minor stress damage for every turn they spend charmed) before returning to your control - they will, however, be placed in Rank 4. Note that if you flee the fight while a Hero is currently ensorcelled by the Siren, that hero will be lost. In addition, the Siren's charm is able to target invisible heroes.

If it is the first turn of the round, and the following conditions are met, the Siren is guaranteed to use Song of Desire:


 * You have at least 1 hero not on Death's Door.


 * You have at least 2 heroes remaining in your party.


 * The Siren hasn't already charmed one of your heroes.

If it is not her first turn, but previous conditions are nonetheless met, the Siren still has about 1/4 of a chance to use Song of Desire again.

Aside from her powers of enchantment, the Siren can also inflict party-wide bleed and stress, or summon in Pelagic reinforcements. She will generally use one of Pressure Crash, Devour, or High Tide on her second turn. They are all equally likely to be used, unless the Siren has been unable to charm one of your heroes, in which case High Tide is twice as likely to be used in order to bring in additional firepower.

Strategy
The Siren has average stats overall, making most offensive strats, which are viable in the Cove also viable against her. Since she will likely use one of her actions on "Song of Desire" when nobody is charmed yet, a Stun can severely hamper Sirens first turn, allowing the party to deal damage to Siren without much retaliation. This is especially helpful since it delays a potential Pelagic Guardian spawn and action until turn 3.

The only thing you have to specifically plan for is the Charm. If someone with high damage output, like Leper, gets charmed, then the fight can get problematic very quickly. That's why it's recommended to not bring a Hero who carries the full damage of the team. Instead, bring a combo of multiple heroes to deal damage. A few ways of manipulating the targeting of "Song of Desire" also exist:

- Guard: Houndmaster and Man at Arms can both Guard someone you don't want to get pulled - Debuff resist. The Siren is more likely to target the hero with the lowest debuff resistance, so bringing a hero with a lower level and the lower debuff resistance can increase the chance of a specific hero getting pulled. Antiquarian is a good candidate due to her low offensive power when pulled.

Will barely grief you when pulled and do great against Siren

 * Antiquarian - A great hero to get pulled by Siren. Low offensive power and no really threatening attacks.
 * Arbalest - Can deal huge amounts of damage to a Marked Siren. When pulled, her base damage makes her not a huge threat and her heal won't do much if it's only pressed once. Suppressing Fire can suck, but it will only affect a single hero.
 * Occultist - He provides good utility all around with his healing and Stun. When pulled he will most likely Stun 1/2 people and do nothing special. This is also the only time you hope for crit 0 Bleed.
 * Vestal - Barely does damage and her Heals won't usually do too much damage.

Can potentially screw you or don't work too well against Siren

 * Abomination - Has a decent chance to Stun Siren, especially with Broken Key. If he gets pulled, Rage can be devastating, but most of the time Abom won't be a huge issue due to having essentially 6 moves available, which on average, aren't too bad.
 * Bounty Hunter - Can deal a solid amount of damage to you, but will often go for a more Utility-focused move like his Stuns or Mark, since Collect Bounty is likely the only damaging move you need for the fight.
 * Grave Robber - The only really big problem is Lunge. Her other moves are fairly weak, making her not too big a risk.
 * Highwayman - Will deal damage to you, but most of his damage comes from Riposte, so it's not too big a problem unless you hit him.
 * Houndmaster - Has a high chance of not dealing damage to you, but can Guard Siren, which extends the fight for a few turns. The damage he deals is low however. His Guard can also be used to prevent a priority hero to not get pulled. The Dodge he gets can also allow him to dodge the Pull.
 * Man-at-Arms - Similarily to Houndmaster, his Guard can be used to prevent a specific person to get but can also screw you over. The rest of his kit is really dangerous though. Bellow can screw you over similarly to Battle Ballad, but isn't as bad.
 * Plague Doctor - Deals insane damage to Siren with her Blights, but can equally screw you over with her Blights.
 * Shieldbreaker - She is most effective against Prot, which is not very common on heroes. Won't usually deal too much damage

Will likely screw you over/Don't work against Siren

 * Crusader - Deals heavy damage back with his Stun, Smite and Holy Lance.
 * Flagellant - Will either heal Siren for a good amount or deal heavy damage with his Bleeds.
 * Hellion - Will either hit you for heavy damage or potentially Stun two of your heroes.
 * Jester - Battle Ballad can turn the tide of the fight very quickly, giving Siren and whatever she spawns a huge power boost. The rest of his kit isn't too bad (just don't bring Finale)
 * Leper - A single Chop can oneshot someone.

Trophy
After completing the Siren's champion quest, she will drop her conch as a Trophy.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =

* A hero controlled by the siren takes 10 stress damage on each of their turns. When a hero is released from the Siren's control. they will go to rank 4. ** The Siren will summon either a Stinger, a Grouper, or a Guardian. The Guardian is twice as likely to be summoned.

Related Enemies
Cove: The Pelagics


 * Pelagic Grouper
 * Pelagic Shaman
 * Pelagic Guardian
 * Sea Maggot
 * Deep Stinger
 * Uca Major

Cove: The Drowned


 * Drowned Thrall
 * Squiffy Ghast

Bosses


 * Drowned Crew
 * Drowned Anchorman

Trivia

 * Her singing during Song of Desire can be also heard at the beginning of Darkest Dungeon's Official Launch Trailer.
 * In keeping with her "alluring" theme, the Siren's head sports the same shiny bulb on her forehead as the anglerfish's.