Hello and welcome to Part Two of my Darkest Dungeon boss series (Part One is over here). This one concerns the Crimson Curse DLC's challenging stand-out fights.You'll find descriptions of their attacks, their weaknesses, and suggested party composition for tackling each - as well as more general information about the Courtyard and how to manage your growing raspberry juice addiction.

Everything said at the beginning of the first guide still applies. I'm going to blithely assume you've got the gameplay basics of Darkest Dungeon down, and have maybe dipped your toes in the swamp already. Again my opinions are still very much subjective, so if you think you've found a better way of taking these things down, go ahead and use it!

Small note concerning the Flagellant: Although he has relatively strict rank restrictions the Flagellant is really, really good in the Courtyard and against most of these bosses. I haven't included him in any suggested team though, because I'm all but certain Red Hook will hard nerf him at some point, so can't swear he'll remain as great as he is now. Get as much use out of him as you can now, though!

• My advice is to not activate the Courtyard/Crimson Curse until you're a decent way into the game already. Far enough that you've got some Blacksmith and Trainer upgrades, have a fairly large and solid roster with some veterans etc. If you kick off with it straight away, the Curse can be difficult and very annoying to manage.
  
  
• The Sanguine Vintners district, which gives you 2 vials of Blood every week, is really useful early on for managing the Curse. I'd strongly recommend saving your bust heirlooms to get it built asap.
  
  
• To begin with, there are two main ways of curing the Curse: you either beat a boss, or you beat the Fanatic. The former will clear your whole roster of it, the latter drops a single-use cure. Once you've defeated the Countess the swarms will stop spreading, and the Curse can be cured at the Sanitarium.
  
  
• Obviously take Blood with you if any of the heroes you're using have the Curse. They'll likely die if you don't. Waiting until you're about to take a boss on before feeding cravers can be a useful tactic. They'll be less reliable, but they'll do more damage and will heal stress off themselves, which is really handy.
  
  

• Get the invitations you need to enter off Gatekeepers. They'll show up with increasing frequency in every other dungeon as the infection level gets higher. Once you do encounter a party with one in, kill the little bastard as quickly as you can. If allowed to hang around for 2-3 turns unstunned, he'll disappear, inflicting horror on your party and spawning more bloodsuckers. Which sucks.
  
  
• The main maps are massive and have the same 'slow reveal' mechanic the Darkest Dungeon has. Scouting does work, however, and is really useful (particularly to find the hidden prisons). The game expects you to retreat from them after you've had enough for one go. Once you enter them again, you'll be back where you left off. Any keys you find will carry over to your next attempt until you find their door.
  
  
• The bloodsuckers are tough, but there a lot of seriously powerful anti-bloodsucker trinkets around. In particular, the Dazzling Mirror and Mercurial Salve are beyond useful in the Courtyard, and if you see them being offered as a quest reward get on it if you possibly can!
  
  
• There is no torch level in the Courtyard per se, but torches are still very useful. Using one will boost your parties' ACC for the next battle, and can be used upon egg piles and hives to cure stress. Note that for all other purposes, the torch level is actually always radiant. This means all trinkets and quirks which rely on 75+ light are handy!
  
  
• Here is a collection showing the lay-out of every boss map[imgur.com], including where the Crocs are hidden. I think it's fun to explore them without knowing their exact lay-out; on the other hand you really need to know where the boss is so you can adequately prepare, and finding keys can be annoying.
  
  
• Hunger checks are much rarer in the Courtyard, to compensate for the map sizes. They still do happen, however, and you'll still need food for healing.
  
  
• Use shovels on bottle crates to generate firewood. Try to find and leave a bottle crate near the boss room, so when you take them on you can camp up and stack up those all-important buffs. Under no circumstances bring a dipsomaniac to this dungeon. They will ruin the most valuable curios with their faces.

Overview

http://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Crocodilian

The Crocodilian is a mini-boss that turns up on apparently-innocuous treasure squares once in the initial Courtyard mission, and then infrequently on the other maps. It's a deeply unpleasant surprise that can do a lot of damage to unprepared parties, but once you know it's coming it can be dealt with relatively easily.

Behaviour

The Crocodilian is a bloodsucker that attacks twice per turn. The rest of its side is taken up by reeds, which are invulnerable. The Crocodilian itself is vulnerable to stun, bleed and move, fairly resistant to debuff and blight, and has a small amount of PROT.

Each turn the Croc will use Lurking Fear to move into ranks 2-3. From there it will either use one of its lesser attacks (Teeth Rake, which pulls and bleeds, or Swarming Corruption, a full party stress attack) or Submerge, which will buff itself in preparation for its party piece Apex Predator, which does heavy damage against two random ranks.

Later iterations

The L5 Crocodilian will heal off blight/bleed when it uses Submerge.

Strategy

The important thing to note here is that Crocodilian can only use Apex Predator after using Submerge, which requires it to be in rank 2-3. So the most effective strategy is to exploit its weak move resist and force it to be in either rank 1 or 4 as much as you can (ideally rank 4, because it can still use its nasty Teeth Rake in rank 1).

Bounty Hunter can move and stun with three of his attacks, and his new Caltrops ability is also great against this thing, making him ideal for this fight. I would round out your team with Hellion (can attack any rank, can stun Croc in ranks 1-2), Plague Doctor (can stun, move, and heal off bleed) and Occultist (can heal, place marks for BH, and isn't as badly affected by being moved as Vestal is). Stack bleeds where possible to get around the high PROT it can cast on itself.

Ultimately as long as you prevent Croc getting off Apex Predator as much as possible, you will wear it down much faster than it can you.

Suggested team

Hellion w/ Iron Swan, If It Bleeds, and Barbaric Yawp
Bounty Hunter w/ Collect Bounty, Uppercut, Flashbang and Caltrops
Plague Doctor w/ Disorientation Blast, Incision and Cure
Occultist w/ Vuln Hex, Wyrd and Daemon's Pull

Things to avoid

This is one of those bosses that Leper will be all at sea against I'm afraid. If you don't have at least one or two move-forces in your team you're in for a world of hurt.

Overview

http://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Baron

The Baron is the first bloodsucker boss proper, and the only L3 one. He has a lot of gimmicks and a formidable amount of health for a Veteran boss, but not many seriously powerful attacks. Bring riposters and tanky classes.

Behaviour

The Baron is a bloodsucker who gets three actions per turn. He's fairly resistant to stun, move and blight, weak to debuff and bleed. He has a small amount of PROT.

He starts off by summoning four egg piles and hiding in one of them. He does this three times in all during the fight, as his health drops. The other egg piles contain enemies (Sycophants, Supplicants and Chevaliers in each respective round), rupture when attacked, and block healing like the Virago's fungus does.

Once revealed the Baron has a variety of attacks, the most powerful of which is probably Necessary Discipline, which causes horror, bleed and pull to a single target. If there are any remaining egg piles by the second turn he was revealed, he'll break all of them and summon their inhabitants. All of his abilities cause him to move.

Strategy

If you're playing on Radiant (which I recommend to most players anyway) take this boss on with a full team of L6s. It's still plenty challenging; he's got more health and attacks than most Champion bosses.

The most important thing is to break the eggs one at a time. This way you can winnow down the Baron's forces one by one without, for instance, having to deal with 3 Chevaliers all at once. If you reveal him early pile into him with everything you've got. You should be able to force him to go on to the next act before he can summon the rest.

Like all bloodsucker bosses, the Baron has a lot of attacks including one full party attack, making him vulnerable to riposters. Man-at-Arms is exactly the kind of resilient character who's perfect for this battle, and can buff a HWM's dodge to make both of their ripostes even more effective. Houndmaster is also a good shout for this boss thanks to his ability to hit any rank and layer bleed with every attack.

Thanks to the eggs' heal blocking you may fancy chancing not bringing a healer at all, and go for another damage dealer/avoidance tank like Grave Robber. Because the Baron's got so much health though it's likely this fight will drag on, and you'll get one or two opportunities to heal up which you should take. For this reason I recommend Vestal, ideally attached to the Dazzling Mirror.

Suggested team

Man-at-Arms w/ Retribution, Bolster, and Rampart
HWM w/ Dueler's Advance, PBS and Pistol Shot
Vestal w/ Heals and stun
Houndmaster w/ Hound's Rush, Target Whistle, Cry Havoc and Lick Wounds

Things to avoid

You just need a team that can hit most ranks and last a while. Most sensible configurations stand a decent chance.

Overview

http://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Viscount

Probably the most straightforward DLC boss, which is to say he's a tough fight at the end of a ridiculously big dungeon. As with the Baron your team composition isn't vital, it's the order in which you dismantle his defences that's important.

Behaviour

The Viscount is a bloodsucker with fairly low HP, no PROT and weak resists across the board. He makes up for this with a total of four actions per turn - and his special ability. He starts in position 1 and doesn't move from there unless forced to. The rest of his formation is taken up by hanging bodies with varying amounts of HP.

Each turn, as long as a body remains, the Viscount will snack on one to heal himself, cure blight/bleed, and buff himself. If he choose the small body he'll also slightly debuff his attack, if he chooses the big one he'll remove two of his turns and debuff his ACC and dodge to compensate for the huge damage buff he gets.

With his other attacks he will set up a riposte on himself, try to force pushes and cause stress.

Strategy

There are two ways of fighting this guy. The first is to focus entirely on burst damage and crit buffing and just pile into him with everything you've got. Something like a HM, Jester, HWM and Leper formation might be able to kill him straight off. It's basically reliant on him not choosing the big corpse ever, though.

The second, safer option is to clear the bodies first. I strongly recommend focusing down the middle-sized one first, as that hands him a substantial buff with no downsides. Once they're done with, he's really not that tough.

Take at least one stunner so he isn't actually getting four turns per round against you. Mark teams aren't all that effective against him, because a) he doesn't need his Dodge or PROT reduced and b) because he gets so many moves, the mark wears off fast. Focus instead on heavy damagers, stunners and tanks like Leper, Hellion, MAA, and Vestal.

Worth also saying that although he heals off bleed and blight, stacking bleed/blight on the bodies causes them to be transferred over to him. So worth doing on the last body hanging!

Suggested team

Leper w/ Hew, Cleave, Solemnity and Withstand (Salve!)
Hellion w/ Yawp, Breakthrough and Wicked Slice (bring herbs)
MAA w/ Crush, Bolster and Rampart
Vestal w/ Heals and stun (Mirror!)

Things to avoid

Don't pepper this boss with bleed/blight to begin with as you ordinarily might, he will heal it off straight away. Ordinarily a good boss fight choice, Arbalest is really bad in this fight since she can't hit the first row and as already discussed mark isn't much use here.

Overview

http://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Countess

Won't lie, this is one of the toughest and most complex bosses in the game. You need to be working every possible advantage available to get through it with an intact party. Basic gameplan: Bring dodgy classes that don't mind being shuffled.

Behaviour

The Countess is a bloodsucker who takes up every rank in her formation. She has three different states. She starts off in Thirsty, moves to Flushed, then to Bloodlust, then to Thirsty again.

In Thirsty state she has three attacks, high resists to everything except bleed, and a fair amount of PROT. She will always try to use Love Letter on one of your heroes in this state. This will cause increasing amounts of damage to the implanted hero until the egg bursts, inflicting more damage and heavy debuffs. She will also use Sway With Me, which causes blight and stagger to the whole party (forces them to randomly move each turn).

In Flushed mode she only has one attack and her dodge and PROT are set to zero. She doesn't do anything in this state except give herself small buffs and then move to Bloodlust.

In Bloodlust mode she has four attacks, high PROT and increased resists (except to bleed, which actually decreases). She has a stun, the Thirst, an all-party bleed and a stress attack at her disposal.

Strategy

At 400 HP (not to mention varying amounts of PROT) this is the most formidable boss in the game. Be prepared for the fact this fight is going to take a while. Take as many bandages, blight cure and herbs as you can, and absolutely camp up and get plenty of buffs going before proceeding.

Classes reliant on being in particular ranks like Arbalest and Leper are right out. If the Countess has a weakness it's the fact that like the Baron she likes her full-party attacks - this gives the riposters HWM and MAA a key advantage, enabling them to take chunks out of her multiple times per turn. MAA is also vital for the full party dodge buff he can give both in battle and in camp. Stack both. HWM should use his blade sharpening camp ability and basically as many other damage and dodge related buffs as you can (his trinket set is particularly good for this fight).

I would take either Houndmaster or Graverobber as your third attacker. With the additional MAA buffs GR will be virtually untouchable to the Countess, Toxic Trickery and Lunge are her key strats. Houndmaster is not quite as dodgy but can reduce her PROT, feasibly do more damage and stack bleed as well.

Because this battle goes on for so long I would definitely take a healer. Occultist is the better pick for mark-casting (HM, HWM and GR can all benefit), Vestal is tankier and more reliable. Bear in mind Countess has high debuff and stun resists, so neither is going to be making much impression offence-wise.

Suggested team

Man-at-Arms w/ Retribution, Bolster, and Rampart
HWM w/ Dueler's Advance, PBS, Tracking Shot and Open Vein
Occultist w/ Wyrd, Vuln Hex, Weak Curse and Abyss Hands (Demon's Cauldron for increased debuff/stun chance)
Houndmaster w/ Hound's Rush, Target Whistle, Guard and Lick Wounds (Wilbur's Flag recommended)

Things to avoid

This fight has a strong chance of going south, one way or another. Try and leave more than one crate of bottles on the map, so you can hedge your bets. As already said dedicated front/back line classes will struggle in this fight. If you're going to use one I strongly recommend Crusader, thanks to his Holy Lance and battle-long PROT buff.

Overview

http://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Fanatic

The Fanatic is a corridor-wandering mini-boss that starts showing up once your roster gets heavily infected. He's a total pain in the ass who is better off avoided, if at all possible.

Behaviour

The Fanatic has a town event announcing his arrival during each wave of infection. Before then you can party without worrying about him. Defeating him does NOT stop him from appearing, but will make him lie low for a while. Finishing off a Courtyard boss will also curtail his appearances until the next wave.

He has an increasing chance to appear based on how many Cursed characters are in your party. If you have only one he's unlikely to, if you have a full party of them then he's almost certain to. You will know he's in the dungeon because the loading screen for it will be his mug. He does NOT appear in the Courtyard.

The Fanatic is a human who gets three actions per turn. He's got fairly low resists across the board except to blight, but quite a lot of health and a small amount of PROT. He takes up two ranks whilst his pyre takes up the others.

He will begin every battle by tying one of your cursed heroes to the stake. Similarly to the Hag's pot this takes them out of the battle and does damage to them every turn until they're on death's door, at which point they'll return to your side.

Meanwhile he has a suite of moves which cause stress and damage to the rest of your party whilst constantly swapping ranks with the pyre. In particular he has a full party attack, a marking attack which causes horror, and an attack which does more damage to marked.

Strategy

Basically, try and only meet this guy if you want to meet him, i.e. you've got a Fanatic-stalking party of Cursed ready to go. Mitigate the chances of running into him otherwise by only using 1-2 Cursed per party outside the Courtyard. If he's in the dungeon and you're getting scout rolls you can sometimes tell where he is in the corridor, because his red battle square appears directly after another generic battle or curio. I've managed to avoid him twice by seeing that and simply taking a route around him.

So how do you take him on? As you can probably see for yourself he's basically a souped-up Hag, so generally a party that does well against her should (might) be able to prevail against him. Houndmaster can reduce the PROT he puts on himself and set up the mark for BH to go nuts on him, with his increased damage vs. humans. Hellion and Occultist to round things out with bleeds, stuns and heals.

Bear in mind he can appear at any level, so if you fancy killing him for the cheev/cure try and get him at L1 where he isn't as tough, like you would with the Shambler. If you got enough Blood handy, you can do much worse than having as many of your guys bloodlusted as possible for this one as well.

Suggested team

Hellion w/ Wicked Slice, If It Bleeds, Adren Rush and Iron Swan
BH w/ Collect Bounty, Flashbang, Uppercut and Caltrops
Occultist w/ Wyrd, Vuln Hex, Weak Curse and Abyss Hands
Houndmaster w/ Hound's Rush, Target Whistle, Guard Dog and Lick Wounds

Things to avoid

Don't run in to him willy nilly with an Antiquarian party like I did the first time, I guess? Like the Hag you have to plan for the fact he's going to force you to fight with three most of the time, so be sure the party you use can cope with all being moved up one rank.

Overview

http://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Garden_Guardian

A fairly gruelling boss which is repeatable. Forever. Or at least until you've gotten all the DLC trinkets. Have fun!

Behaviour

Unlike the other Courtyard bosses, this thing appears on a generic randomly generated map and your party gets torchwood going in, so there's no need to muck about with bottles.

The Guardian is the unique stonework type. The main body takes up ranks 2-3 and initially doesn't do anything. Its shield appears in rank 1 and automatically guards the body. Its spear is in rank 4. All parts are immune to any type of effect and have a lot of PROT, like the Cannon.

Each round the shield disappears into the air, dropping its guard. The next round it will do heavy damage and inflict stun on two random ranks. The spear will also target two ranks each round, causing bleed and stress.

If the shield is destroyed the statue develops two moves, one of which gives it an increasing damage/crit/ACC buff, and the other attacks the whole party.

Strategy

The Sculptor's Tools trinket is pretty important for this one. The speed downside is a bummer but not too important upon Leper, who realistically expects to move last anyway. Leper and Crusader can both get beyond the Shield's guard by using their AOE attacks, and can also cast PROT on themselves, which is very handy for what is more an endurance test than anything. I would give Leper Crew's Bell, and Crusader have Holy Lance active, to counter the Shield's push.

Vestal and MAA are your backline. Vestal healbots, and MAA uses his Guard. You won't know who the Shield is going to target like you can the Prophet, but this team has enough PROT across the board that it shouldn't matter too much. Chip the Statue whilst the Shield is in the air, and whilst it's guarding focus on casting buffs and heals. Go nuts on the Spear if you want, it's more of a nuisance than anything as long as you brought plenty of bandages.

A Mark team centred around the Houndmaster's Target Whilst is also effective here, however the lack of PROT leaves it more vulnerable.

Suggested team

Leper w/ Hew, Cleave, Solemnity and Withstand
Crusader w/ Bulwark of Faith, Accusation, Smite and Holy Lance
MAA w/ Guard, Crush, Rampart and Bolster
Vestal w/ Heals

Things to avoid

Don't. Kill. The. Shield. The results are a lot like killing Wilbur. If it's getting close, quit with the AOE attacks unless the Statue is almost finished as well.