Boss

Bosses are large, difficult enemies which the player encounters in the Ruins, Weald, Warrens or the Cove.

Bosses tend to have a large health pool and have a gimmick that your party must get around.

Bosses
There are two types of bosses; Bosses and Mini-bosses. Bosses are only encountered in mission that require you to slay the boss. Mini-Bosses are encountered in the hallways of any mission. The only two Mini-Bosses are the Shambler and Collector.

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Unlocking bosses
Unlocking bosses requires successful expeditions in the relevant location. The longer the expedition, the more progress is made towards unlocking the boss. In detail:


 * For Apprentice bosses, successful short expeditions will increase the unlocking progress by 50%, medium by 75%, long by 100%.
 * For Veteran bosses, successful short expeditions will increase the unlocking progress by 33%, medium by 50%, long by 67%.
 * For Champion bosses, successful short expeditions will increase the unlocking progress by 25%, medium by 38%, long by 50%.
 * Excess unlock progression from expeditions which unlock the boss DO appear to carry over to the next boss. (egs. at 50% progression to unlock apprentice hag, a medium mission will unlock the boss AND progress to unlocking the apprentice Brigand Pounder by 25%)

Tips

 * When locating a boss, it is almost always the room farthest away from the entrance room. It is very rare to find a boss in a non-end room (excluding the warrens), but it does happen.
 * Try to trigger the event that gives 15% damage before going on a boss quest. It can help you finish the quest more easily. Read the Town Events section for more information.

Finding Mini-Bosses
The Shambler and The Collector are bosses that can be found on any mission, however they can only be found under certain circumstances;
 * The Shambler can be found in 2 ways; either in a hallway encounter if the light is at 0, or if a torch is used on a Shambler's Altar
 * The Collector can only be found during a hallway encounter if the player's inventory is at least 65% full.

DLC bosses
On December 20th 2016 Redhook revealed The Fanatic, a wandering boss like The Collector and Shambler who hunts down your heroes if they bear something known as the "crimson curse."

Darkest Dungeon Bosses
The Darkest Dungeon contains two bosses you must defeat to beat the game: the Shuffling Horror, and the Heart of Darkness. It also has its own set of minibosses, including the Templar Warlord, Templar Impaler, and Mammoth Cyst.