Jester in Darkest Dungeon: Stats, skills, and value analyzed

The Jester in Darkest Dungeon is one of the most versatile heroes. He can be placed anywhere in the party and he will always bring something to the table. If you are lacking damage, you can place him in the front and he will dish out massive damage while meeting a glorious death. You can also put him at the end and he will make sure the party’s journey is a heroic one.

The Jester is a fan favorite in terms of design and aesthetics. His maniacal grin, cynical nature, and overall touch of insanity make him stand out from the other heroes in the game. It is truly unfortunate that he didn’t get to make his appearance in the sequel, Darkest Dungeon II. In this article, we will go through the Jester’s story, stats, skills, and strategies.

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The story of Jester in Darkest Dungeon

Beware of the maniacal minstrel (Image via Red Hook Studios)

The Jester has relatively the most ambiguous backstory among all the other heroes. The official description of the character in the game only offers a very limited view of his past and motivations, but he is described as a “manical minstrel” who has “several tricks” up his sleeve.

The Jester uses a sharp sickle as his weapon and a lute to inspire his allies. The most unique aspect of the Jester is his ability to hop positions with other teammates. This ability is very crucial to his playstyle because although he can dish out good damage, he is also very squishy and can be killed easily if opponents focus on him.

Other than damage, the Jester also offers two incredible support skills. He can inflict the bleed debuff on the enemies and reduce the stress levels of his allies by playing the lute. He also has some incredible camp skills that allow him to buff his teammates as well as reduce their stress levels in upcoming fights.

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Stats of the Jester in Darkest Dungeon

Resolve	1	2	3	4	5
MAX HP	19	23	27	31	35
DODGE	15	20	25	30	35
PROT	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
SPD	7	7	8	8	9
ACC MOD	+0	+0	+0	+0	+0
CRIT	4%	5%	6%	7%	8%
DMG	4-7	5-8	6-10	6-11	7-13

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Skills of Jester in Darkest Dungeon

Combat Skills:

Dirk Stab
Range	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
Melee	+0%	85	5%		Forward 1 Bypass Guard Finale: +30% DMG (8 rds)

Harvest
Range	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
Melee	-50%	90	0%	Bleed (100% base) 2 pts/rd for 3 rds	Finale: +30% DMG (8 rds)

Solo
Range	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
Ranged	-100%	125			Forward 3 Mark Self (3 rds) +20 DODGE (4 rds) Finale: +75% DMG (8 rds) Finale: +8% CRIT (8 rds)
2 Uses per Battle

Finale
Range	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
Melee	+50%	140	5%		Back 3 -25 DODGE -3 SPD +100% Stress (1 Battle)
1 Use per Battle

Slice Off
Range	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
Melee	-33%	95	8%	Bleed (100% base) 3 pts/rd for 3 rds	Finale: +30% DMG (8 rds)

Support Skills

Battle Ballad
Effect	Self
+5 ACC +2% CRIT +2 SPD (4 rds)	Finale: +30% DMG (8 rds) Finale: +8% CRIT (8 rds)

Inspiring Tune
Effect	Self
Stress -8 -10% Stress	Finale: +30% DMG (8 rds) Finale: +8% CRIT (8 rds)

Camping Skills

Turn Back Time
Time Cost	Target	Description
3	One Companion	-30 Stress -15 Stress if Afflicted
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Time Cost	Target	Description
3	All Companions	-15 Stress -15% Stress (4 Battles)
Tiger's Eye
Time Cost	Target	Description
3	One Companion	+10 ACC (4 Battles) +8% CRIT (4 Battles)
Bark	"Lose not your grip on the dreams of the past, you must fight just to keep them alive!"
Mockery
Time Cost	Target	Description
2	One Companion All Companions	One Companion: +20 Stress All Companions: -20 Stress

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Strategy for using the Jester in Darkest Dungeon

Wipe the floor with a grand finale (Image via Red Hook Studios)

If you want to use the Jester in Darkest Dungeon as a damage dealer, you need to master his most crucial attack, Finale. This attack can dish out massive damage if it’s set up properly. However, it can only be used once in each battle, which is why you need to use it at the right time and with the proper build-up. Luckily, there are multiple skills that boost the damage and crit chance of Finale.

If you want the Jester to act as your party support then the bleed affect and stress level reducer skills in his arsenal are vital for you. Inspiring Tune has the potential to reduce the highest amount of stress, and it surpasses all other skills in the game in this regard. If combined with Bright Tambourine and Tyrant's Tasting Cup trinkets, a maxed-out Inspiring Tune can reduce 18 stress from an ally.