Darkest Dungeon 2 has plenty of one-off combat encounters. Just surviving a handful of these is a feat in itself. If you think your party can handle the game's most ferocious horrors, visit a Lair to take your game to the next level.

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A Lair is a sequence of three battles in a row, culminating in a boss fight. They're challenging even by the standards of Darkest Dungeon, but there is plenty of loot to be found if you manage to claim victory. Here's everything you need to know about these tiered terrors.

Lair Encounters Explained

darkest dungeon 2 general keep entrance art

When the Stagecoach arrives at a Lair, the party immediately enters combat on the first floor. Unlike Resistance Encounters, the first fight at a Lair cannot be avoided and the party cannot gain a bonus by following a hero's suggestion. If the party wins this first battle, they receive some loot and are given the option to venture deeper into the Lair or retreat. Retreating ends the encounter and sends the party back to the Stagecoach with their spoils.

If the party presses forward, each living hero recovers some HP and a second battle begins. Once again, if the heroes win they receive a reward and may continue or retreat. Retreating here allows the party to keep all of the loot from both fights. Continuing to the third floor of the Lair triggers a boss fight; if the heroes defeat the boss, they get a very good loot drop in addition to everything they received from the previous battles, then return to the Stagecoach.

At the end of each Region, a series of Cultist encounters block your way to the Inn. While these encounters work identically to Lairs, they are not considered Lairs by the game and do not count if your side quest requires you to complete one.

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Lairs and Bosses

a close-up of the Harvest Child with its mouth open in Darkest Dungeon 2

Lair

Region

Boss

The Great Library

The Sprawl

The Librarian

The Harvest House

The Foetor

The Harvest Child

The General's Keep

The Tangle

The Dreaming General

Each Lair will only appear in a specific Region and will contain enemies associated with that Region. For example, the Great Library - which is found in the Sprawl - will contain plenty of fire-wielding Fanatics. This also means that each Lair boss is only accessible in the correct Region. These include some of the toughest enemies in the game, so be sure to check out our boss fight breakdown before attempting these brutal battles.

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