Cultists (Darkest Dungeon II)

"Emptiness and disillusion have wormed their way into the world."

- The Academic

Cultists are a type of enemy in Darkest Dungeon II.

Lore
Throughout human history, in every religion, every civilization, the cryptic Iron Crown could always be found hidden within their iconography. Little is known about the crown and it's influence upon humanity over the centuries, and perhaps even less is known about the Cult worshiping it. It is believed that some catalytic event took place somewhere deep beneath the earth, kick-starting the apocalypse and setting the cult loose upon the world. Unshackled from the void in-between realities, the cultists poured out from their Cathedral on The Mountain, a structure with an origin as shrouded in mystery as the origins of the Iron Crown irself, and into a world untouched by their malign doctrines. With them came The Stain, a spreading manifestation of the most fierce feeling of Loathing. Armed with weapons of steel forged in the void's darkness, as well as cosmic powers incomprehensible to the human mind, the Cult assists in spreading the sprawling corruption, cutting down all who would stand before their unholy crusade of global obliteration.

Whether by their own design or because of some esoteric force imposed onto them by the world they now are attempting to conquer, most of the cultists have adopted a humanoid shape, save for a few that have weirder, much more unsettling forms.

Overview


Cultists are encountered at the Oblivion's Rampart at the end of each region, as well as the Oblivion's Ingress nodes in each region and The Mountain. Additionally, Cultists will ambush the party when the Flame drops to 0. The Cultist battles at Oblivion's Ramparts are essentially predetermined. The Exemplar, for example, always appears at the end of the last region before The Mountain from Act III and onward.

There are a number of combat mechanics that can make fighting Cultists more difficult for the player.

Altar
While the Altar poses little threat by itself, it grants, depending on the Confession, a set of powerful bonuses to its allies.

Unholy Congregation
Worship is the mechanic that enables Cultist bosses to use their most powerful attacks. Whenever a boss (Deacon, Cardinal, or Exemplar) is present, all other Cultists generate Worship tokens with each action.

Dd2 token worship.png Worship

 * When two tokens are present, enables a powerful set of skills.
 * Consumed upon use.
 * Duration: Until end of combat
 * Limit: 2

When an enemy has two tokens, a number of powerful skills are unlocked:
 * After gaining two tokens, regular Cultists (Altar, Cherub, Evangelist, and Herald) will use the skill Worship, a free action that heals the boss and grants it a  token.
 * Bosses, in turn, gain access to a number of devastating attacks.

Because of Worship, it is imperative to kill as many regular Cultist enemies as quickly as possible before they can empower the bosses. However, sometimes this is risky or infeasible—the Exemplar fight being the most notorious example.

One Combat Item, the Shred of Decency, removes a single token from its target.

List of Cultist Enemies

 * Altar
 * Cardinal
 * Cherub
 * Deacon
 * Evangelist
 * Exemplar
 * Herald