Some are found at the end of long quests (and we mean loooooooooong – these are much bigger than the standard dungeons by a factor of five or six times) while others are found randomly under certain circumstances.

As with the base game, boss fights aren’t just harder versions of normal hallway battles. They have very specific tactics and combat flow you need to follow, as having a full team of high health damage dealers won’t help you win if you don’t have the right heroes who are able to hit the correct positions. Below we explain how to best defeat all the Crimson Court DLC bosses.

How to Beat the Crocodilian in Darkest Dungeon

The Crocodilian’s stats are as follows:

HP: 108 Stun Resist: 50% Blight Resist: 80% Bleed Resist: 50% Debuff Resist: 75% Move Resist: 35%

Defeating the mutant Croc and ending this quest starts the infestation level, which leads to the rest of the Crimson Court quests. He’s tough to beat though, with high health after a medium dungeon (even though it’s listed as “short”), where you will likely have rank 0 or 1 heroes.

The Crocodilian begins in the 4th position, with vegetation featuring huge HP totals in the first three spots. Unlike the pews in the Ruins Necromancer bosses, there’s no point in trying to attack or move the vegetation. Those three slots are just there to take up space so the boss can screw with your tactics.

To win this battle, you need to bring a group of heroes who can all attack all four slots, as the Crocodilian moves between front and back row (and can move your party members). It’s a good bet you’ll have numerous heroes at death’s door throughout the battle – so if you a bring a healer, equip a skill that heals everyone a small amount rather than one person a large amount. It’s better to keep getting out of the death’s door condition than to try and keep your tank at full health.

Trinkets and abilities that buff your Dodge stat are incredibly useful here, as the Croc’s attacks can be devastating. Your goal is to evade attacks while dealing as much damage as possible before he submerges to heal.

Marking skills that increase damage and the bloodlust buff (attained by giving blood to a cursed hero who is in the craving state) will get you enough damage to win.

Don’t discount damage-over-time effects though. With his relatively low bleed and stun resist, you can keep knocking the Croc off his turn schedule and still deal damage each round to prevent submerging and healing.

For added fun, upgraded versions of the Crocodilian will appear randomly in the Courtyard when you move into the next phase of the Crimson Court quest.

 Fighting The Crocodilian

How to Beat the Fanatic in Darkest Dungeon

The Fanatic’s stats are as follows:

HP: 119 Stun Resist: 45% Blight Resist: 80% Bleed Resist: 45% Debuff Resist: 35% Move Resist: 55%

Like most bosses, there are three upgrading versions of the Fanatic. The stats above are for his first encounter.

This wandering boss has a small percentage chance of appearing anytime you enter a dungeon with cursed heroes. The more cursed heroes in your lineup, the more likely he will appear (you’ll know he’s coming because the intro screen for the area will change to show the Fanatic). He shows up in a random room of the dungeon, so it’s actually still possible to miss him even if he spawns.

Very similar to the Hag boss from the Weald, the Fanatic will take one of your heroes and put him in the pyre, where that character takes damage each round. In other words, you’ll actually be fighting with three heroes instead of four.

If you hit the pyre and free your companion, the Fanatic will just grab another hero in the next round or two anyway, so don’t bother – just hit the boss instead. High health isn’t a boon here, because the pyre deals a percentage of health each turn, rather a specific number of damage points.

With three moves per round, there’s not a lot of point to stun or marking tactics here. Bleeding, however, is incredibly effective as it will hit him constantly – so bring along characters who can cause bleed.

In particular, a lineup of Hellion, Flagellant, Hound Master, and Jester is useful since they all can cause bleed and attack different positions. The Fanatic starts in the back row but can move during the battle, so avoid heroes who are best at only attacking the first two slots, like the Crusader or Leper.

Fighting the Fanatic

How to Beat the Baron in Darkest Dungeon

The Baron’s stats are as follows:

HP: 233 Stun Resist: 87% Blight Resist: 85% Bleed Resist: 55% Debuff Resist: 60% Move Resist: 85%

After an absurdly, punishingly long map, you finally get to fight the Baron. He hides inside a random pulsating egg and makes you search for him by hitting each position.

You want some serious buffs for this fight, so having blood on hand for your cursed heroes is a must. The Houndmaster’s Guard Dog ability is useful, as is the Bolster skill from the Man-At-Arms class, both of which will make you less likely to get hit.

Having an Occultist in the back row can be helpful, since Vulnerability Hex hits any position and will knock the Baron out of his egg (and can then be used to mark the boss and lower his defense), while Wyrd Reconstruction is of course always useful for healing. 

Bleeding skills, in addition to getting your cursed characters into bloodlust mode, is a good way to whittle down the Baron’s huge health pool.

   Fighting the Baron

How to Beat the Viscount in Darkest Dungeon

The Viscount’s stats are as follows:

HP: 127 Stun Resist: 55% Blight Resist: 95% Bleed Resist: 70% Debuff Resist: 70% Move Resist: 95%

If you’ve found the Mercurial Salve trinket (increases damage substantially against bloodsuckers), this battle can be over quickly because of the Viscount’s lower health for a big boss. Any trinket or ability that ups your damage potential should be equipped here, and of course don’t forget about bloodlust.

The Viscount moves between positions, so again your typical damage dealers like the Crusader and Leper aren’t as useful – you want something that can attack multiple slots and do mid-to-high damage.

A hyper-focused party of two transformed Abominations and two Houndmasters using dog treats for bonus damage can make quick work of this boss. Otherwise, focusing on Bleed, Stun, and Riposte makes for a longer but more manageable battle.

 Fighting the Viscount

How to Beat the Countess in Darkest Dungeon

The Countess’ stats are as follows:

HP: 400 Stun Resist: 140% Blight Resist: 119% Bleed Resist: 90% Debuff Resist: 120% Move Resist: 220%

With tons of health and high resistances, The Countess is tough. Continuously hitting yourself with the Bolster skill can be incredibly helpful, though, as you won’t get hit by her devastating group attacks nearly as often.

Although it’s sort of cheap, a team of three Man-At-Arms heroes and one Graverobber in the third position (to hit with ranged attacks) will take a long time to win – but you’ll almost never get hit, since you can keep Bolstering every time it runs off. Don’t forget to feed blood to your cursed characters for the speed and damage boost!

Once again with this boss Bleed resist is lowest, so using those skills can be devastating since she moves three times every single round. Just make sure to keep applying Bleed as it wears off. A Flagellant kept at death’s door will do some devastating damage as well, if you’re equipping trinkets that increase damage when at low health.

 Fighting the Countess

Now you have all the knowledge you need to make your way through all of the Crimson Court’s big, bad, and bloodthirsty bosses! Do you have any other strategies we didn’t list here that work well? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re having trouble with any other part of the Crimson Court DLC, be sure to check out our other Darkest Dungeon guides:

Starting the Crimson Court quest How to get the Crimson Court invitation Complete guide to the Flagellant class New Crimson Court curios and achievements