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Next to the Crusader, one of the most iconic heroes inDarkest Dungeon 2is the Highwayman. The dashing rogue makes his return from the original game, with many of his skills buffed from his first appearance, some significant changes, and some impressive new tricks up his sleeves. His impressive damage potential, however, remains as potent as it ever was. Like any other hero, though, there are a lot of factors involved in making him truly effective in battle.
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Thanks to the HIghwayman’s versatile nature and the randomized items available in a run, it can be difficult to figure out exact builds that work best for him. While he can begin each journey performing well in every rank, it’s good to know which elements of a build to keep an eye out for that will enable him to specialize into a particular role.
Highwayman Summary
- Huge damage numbers from Point Blank Shot
- Requires specific strategies to fit into a team
- Performs well in almost every rank
- Outside of Point Blank Shot, damage can be lacking without help
- Great at stacking Riposte
- While he can gain Riposte, he can’t gain Taunt or Protect
- Can do a little bit of everything except heal
- Can be reliant on teammates to help set him up or follow up his set-up
Amazing at stacking dodge and block
Take Aim is ridiculously good
- High base speed
Highwayman Stats
Resistances
Death Blow
The Highwayman has a set of well-rounded stats on almost every front. He has a solid amount of HP and enough speed to stay ahead of most threats.Speed is particularly useful for him if you plan to run a Riposte-heavy build.His resistances are also well-rounded enough to handle almost every encounter at least decently well. The only weakness he has is a slightly below average resistance to Debuffs.
Highwayman Skills
Unlock Conditions
Wicked Slice (Melee)
Unlocked by Default
Pistol Shot (Ranged)
Duelist’s Advance (Melee)
Tracking Shot (Ranged)
Point Blank Shot (Ranged)
Complete Chapter 1 of Highwayman’s Story
Open Vein (Melee)
Complete Chapter 2 of Highwayman’s Story
Highway Robbery (Melee)
Complete Chapter 3 of Highwayman’s Story
Grapeshot Blast (Ranged)
Complete Chapter 4 of Highwayman’s Story
Double Tap (Ranged)
Complete Chapter 5 of Highwayman’s Story
Double Cross (Melee)
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Highwayman Paths
The Highwayman has four path choices:Rogue, Sharpshot, Yellowhand, and Wanderer.The Wanderer path has the most flexibility, but it should rarely be used because it lacks the large advantages found in the other paths.
A strong competitor for one of the best Highwayman paths.The Rogue capitalizes on the large amount of damage the Highwayman can output. It also makes one of his best attacks, Point Blank Shot, even more useful by letting it apply Riposte stacks. However,the Rogue has a small weakness when it’s moved into Rank 3 or Rank 4, where its damage will be decreased.Bringing skills that move the Highwayman to Rank 1 and 2 will help mitigate this weakness down to a minor nuisance.Inn items are useful for every heroand every build, but the Rogue benefits from increases in Speed and resistance to movement effects, so keep an eye out for those items when you see them.
One strategy with the Rogue is to start him in Rank 1 and stack as much speed as possible to get a fast Point Blank Shot off. Alternatively, Take Aim can be used before Point Blank Shot for more damage.
Best Skills For The Rogue
The point of this build is to bounce between Rank 1 and 2 as often as possible and accrue as much Riposte as possible.In Rank 1, use Point Blank Shot for damage and Riposte stacks. Once in Rank 2, use Duelist’s Advance to move to Rank 1, deal damage and acquire more Riposte stacks. Players will want to keep using these two abilities and then watch as their Highwayman starts counterattacking in almost every situation possible.
Take Aim will help the Highwayman protect himself and set up a massive Point Blank Shot.If fans don’t mind waiting out an entire turn for the guaranteed critical Point Blank Shot, then using Take Aim first is an easy way to delete most enemies in Rank 1.Thanks to the Speed buff, once Take Aim is upgraded there is also very little time lost between the Highwayman using Take Aim and when he gets to act again in the next turn.
His final two slots should be used for utility and to cover any corner cases your team may struggle with.
Each of the ranged attacks are great if keeping the Highwayman in Rank 2 for a turn instead of using Duelist’s Advance.Double Tap also has the added benefit of piercing through Death Blow resistance, which makes it a good way to finish off bosses and particularly tough enemies.Pistol Shot should be taken if the team needs more ways to reach the enemy’s back line.
Tracking Shot and Highway Robbery are used to get rid of stacks of dodge. Between the two,Highway Robbery is often more useful, because it hits the front rank (where most buffs are applied) and it removes a larger variety of buffs than Tracking Shot.However, Tracking Shot eliminates stacks of Dodge and Stealth, and adds a stack of combo for teams that are reliant on combos. Double Cross is also an option for this slot, because it can help the Highwayman protect himself with stacks of Block and set up an enemy with Vulnerable so his team can follow up.
Best Trinkets for the Rogue
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The Sharpshot wants to lean into the Highwayman’s ranged attacks as much as possible. However,its biggest problem is the low damage the Highwayman’s ranged attacks deal (Point Blank Shot excluded).
To work around that, the Sharpshot will want to alternate between using Grapeshot Blast and a different ranged attack. Ideally, a teammate can help the Highwayman lower the HP of enemies in Rank 2 or 3 down to Double Tap’s threshold. Alternatively, teammates can also help get rid of Block or Dodge stacks, so the Highwayman can fire off a Point Blank Shot.
Best Skills For The Sharpshot
Grapeshot Blast is this build’s bread-and-butter.Fans will want to start with Take Aim for the assured critical hits, then go straight into Grapeshot Blast for the Strengthen buff.Once Strengthen has been applied, and if an extra assured critical hit is available from an upgraded Take Aim, Pistol Shot and Double Tap are able to do some solid damage to enemies.
Point Blank Shot is still useful for this build, because it’s also the highest damaging ranged attack the Highwayman has.Thanks to the Sharpshot’s 25% increase in ranged damage, it’s still a viable strategy to start battles with Take Aim and then a Point Blank Shot, followed by another Take Aim or Grapeshot Blast, to get his momentum rolling.It’s also useful to keep Point Blank Shot in a skill slot, just in case an enemy moves the Sharpshot into Rank 1: the only rank where he can’t use any other ranged attacks.
However, if players prefer their Highwayman to stay at longer range, they can have their Highwayman stay in Rank 2 or 3 and then use Highway Robbery or Pistol Shot. As always, these options should be taken based on what the team needs.Highway Robbery is better to get rid of pesky Riposte, Critical, or Block stacks on enemies. Pistol Shot is better if you more back line reach is required in the party.
If running the Point Blank Shot strategy, players should start the Highwayman in Rank 1, similar to the Rogue. Otherwise, the Sharpshot would prefer to be in Rank 2 or 3.
Best Trinkets For The Sharpshot
Yellowhand
The Yellowhand is the only Highwayman path that performs poorly with ranged attacks.In exchange for its ranged damage, the Yellowhand is much more durable than the others, clocking in at 40 HP (coming up just behind the Man-At-Arms at 42 HP), and it’s able to steal buffs from front line enemies without upgrading Highway Robbery first.
This version of the Highwayman will struggle more than the other paths to have any form of back line reach. Be sure to use it with a team that can consistently hit enemies in the back.
Best Skills For The Yellowhand
Open Vein will be the Yellowhand’s main source of damage.It deals melee damage, applies Bleed stacks on hit, applies additional Bleed stacks in a combo, and lowers Bleed Resistance. As a result, having a teammate who can apply Combo to enemies or apply Bleed will synergize well with the Yellowhand. This path’s synergy with Bleed is also what makes it amazing for boss fights.
Highway Robbery is a good way to steal front line buffs and either make the Highwayman more durable with block or dodge buffs, or deal more damage for his melee attacks if stealing a Strengthen or Crit.Stealing buffs also makes enemies much easier to manage, since they won’t be able to dodge or block to reduce your damage.
Take Aim is practically a staple, because of the number of buffs it gives the Highwayman.For the Yellowhand path, the assured critical hits are always welcome, but it’s not as necessary here. The Dodge stacks and Speed boost, in comparison, help keep the Yellowhand out of danger, since they’ll be in Rank 1 or 2 most of the time.
Double Cross functions similarly to Take Aim in that they’re both useful to keep the Yellowhand healthy. Double Cross also has additional utility because it adds Vulnerable to enemies. However, if the buff or survivability aren’t needed,Wicked Slice has a place here because it can finish off enemies through Death Blow resistance.
The final slot should go to Duelist’s Advance, but it’s also the most flexible slot.Duelist’s Advance is better than most options with an ally like Man-At-Arms or the Runaway, who have strong skills thatplace them forward by one spotand don’t mind taking Rank 1 for a turn.Since Riposte is able to apply the Bleed Resistance debuff, the first turn will have the Yellowhand use Duelist’s Advance from Rank 2 so he can counterattack as often as possible. After that, use Open Vein to apply Bleed, Take Aim for increased damage and dodge, and Highway Robbery when it’s relevant to steal buffs. Use the teammate’s Forward skill followed by Duelist’s Advance for more Riposte stacks.
Best Trinkets For The Yellowhand
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First Skill To Upgrade For The Highwayman
For almost every build of Highwayman,upgrading Take Aim first is recommended.Doing so gives access to increased Speed, and ensures that the next two hits dealt will be critical hits. This helps any Speed, survivability, or damage problems any particular Highwayman Build may have. After upgrading Take Aim, the next skill to upgrade will vary depending on the path the Highwayman has chosen.
Best Rank For The Highwayman
The Highwayman can be built to perform in every rank, however,his best ranks are 1 and 2. These two ranks give him access to some of his best tools, and his self-buffs allow him to front line with little worry.If planning on using Point Blank Shot, Rank 1 is the best place for the Highwayman. This way, a battle can start with Point Blank Shot, which can delete the enemy in Rank 1 and simultaneously move a tank into Rank 1.In addition, since Point Blank Shot will move the Highwayman to Rank 2, he can use Duelist’s Advance, Double Tap, and Highway Robbery in the following turn.
Best Team Compositions For The Highwayman
The best teammates for the Highwayman are heroes that can keep him healthy if he’s playing in Rank 1 or 2,or heroes that can help him move around in different ranks.
