The Leviathan in Darkest Dungeon 2 is the Lair Boss of the Shroud and source of its inhabitants fishy transformations. You’ll really only see its head and hand of this humongous sea monster throughout the battle, but that’s enough for the Leviathan to wipe your party. Here’s how to beat the Leviathan and claim its trophy in Darkest Dungeon 2.
How to Defeat the Leviathan in Darkest Dungeon 2
The Leviathan makes its home at the Sacred Pier in the Shroud. Prepping for this fight is a bit easier than the others, since you really only need to focus on Stress resistance, Health buffs, and Debuff cure or resistance. Leviathan doesn’t inflict any DoT damage directly, but does utilize Barnacles to Bleed targets when they move.
Items to Bring to the Leviathan Fight
While at the Inn you’ll want to use some (or all if you have the money) of these helpful items:
- Wax Inoculant
- Invigorate Stew
- Tinned Delicacies
- Apple and Cheese
Bring down your party’s Stress levels as much as possible and boost their relationships for any additional bonuses. In addition to the Inn Items, there are a variety of Combat Items you may want to equip for this battle:
- Mineral-Rich Spring Water
- Healing Salve
- Triage Kit
- Laudanum
- Milk-Soaked Linen
If you’re using a team that relies on DoTs, you may also want to stock up on Toxic Ichor to reduce the Leviathan’s resistance to all DoT damage.
If you have any Pets available, and your pet slot is empty, if you can get the Orphan Wolf Cub, you may be able to get up to 20% Stress resistance with a full Stagecoach of Luxury Items.
No Lifeguard on Duty: Leviathan Fight Strategy
The hardest part of battling the Leviathan is that it does use an old tactic of the Hag from the original Darkest Dungeon: Taking one of your party and drowning them, inflicting damage and Stress. This time it’s just underwater instead of a boiling cauldron.
You’ll know which Hero may end up at the depths of the sea when it uses Eyes of the Storm, marking the members with a unique token. Its hand will only target those with this token in the first two positions, so moving characters back that have been marked can keep them safe. This is the best way to avoid losing a character to the water, as another hand can be called by the Leviathan next round if the first is defeated.
If a character is dragged to a watery doom, you’ll have to defeat the Leviathan’s Hand in order to reclaim them. While affected by Undertow, the Hero will take 4% of their HP as damage and +2 Stress each round. Leviathan’s Hand has 40 resistance to all DoT damage, making it rather hard to get any to stick. You can use your Toxic Ichor here if you have it to quickly save your Hero.
Focusing the Leviathan and moving characters away from its hand is the best tactic to follow in this fight. Instead of consistently losing a member to the water and having to defeat the hand, dealing damage directly to the Leviathan will end the whole fight. Since a new hand can be called every round, just focusing on them will create a viscous cycle that most likely ends in a party wipe.
The Leviathan has 30 resistance to Blight and Burn, but 50 resistance to Bleed. Using Toxic Ichor here will greatly increase your chance of inflicting DoT damage on the Leviathan. As with any Lair Boss, DoT damage can quickly reduce their HP and become the difference between a win and a loss.
Leviathan Best Party Compositions
Since you’ll be moving characters around to avoid Undertow, having a party comprised of multiple ranged Heroes will make this fight much easier. The Leper, for example, can only hit the first two enemy ranks when he is in the first two ranks, so moving him into the back line render him useless.
Leviathan Fight Party Composition 1
This initial party is made up of ranged attackers who’s skills move them around as well as a Plague Doctor for healing Bleed stacks and inflicting Blight.
- Rank 4 – Plague Doctor: Battlefield Medicine, Noxious Blast, Plague Grenade, Indiscriminate Science, Cause of Death
- Rank 3 – Jester: Harvest, Inspiring Tune, Battle Ballad, Solo, Finale
- Rank 2 – Highwayman: Duelist’s Advance, Point Blank Shot, Open Vein
- Rank 1 – Man-at-Arms: Rampart, Retribution, Strategic Withdrawal, Bolster, Hold the Line
Leviathan Fight Party Composition 2
Focusing on just stacking Blight or Burn, this party is more about finishin g the fight as quick as possible instead of moving away from the Leviathan’s Hand.
- Rank 4 – Plague Doctor: Battlefield Medicine, Noxious Blast, Plague Grenade, Indiscriminate Science, Cause of Death
- Rank 3 – Graverobber: Poison Dart, Absinthe
- Rank 2 – Runaway: Searing Strike, Firefly, Cauterize, Controlled Burn, Firestarter
- Rank 1 – Flagellant: Punish, Acid Rain, Sepsis, Necrosis, Lash’s Gift
Those are the two best teams to take on the Leviathan with. Focusing on it, instead of its hand, will lead to finishing the fight quicker without entering into a losing cycle. Having Toxic Ichor, as well as Milk-Soaked Linen, greatly increase your chances of doing consistent damage throughout the combat.
Leviathan Rewards
Once the Leviathan sinks down to its water grave, you’ll receive one of two Trophies.
- The Lashing Tides: Increases stacking for Combat items by 2 per stack
- The Beck and Call: 100% Bleed Dealt and 100% Bleed Received
Along with the needed Trophy, you can also receive the following items:
- Sodden Sweater
- Carved Bodkin
- Fisherman’s Line
- Nautical Compass
- 1 Mastery
- -2 Loathing
- +15 Flame
- 1 Random Trinket
- 1 Random Combat Item
- 1 Random Inn Item
- 1 Random Stagecoach Item
- Relics and Baubles
Those are all the potential rewards for defeating the DD2 Leviathan as well as the best tactics to use to bring around its demise. For more battle tactics for Lair Bosses, check out the rest of our Darkest Dungeon 2 guides.
