Antiquarian (Butcher's Circus)

This article is about the Butcher's Circus version of the Antiquarian. For the regular character, see Antiquarian.

This article is about a hero in the Butcher's Circus. For the DLC, see The Butcher's Circus.

The Antiquarian is a playable class in Darkest Dungeon. In the Butcher's Circus, she becomes a support character that specializes in Blight, Stress, and healing.

Antiquarian
Base Stats & Resistences
MAX HP	29	Stun		10%
DODGE	15	Move		20%
PROT	0%	Blight		45%
ACC MOD	+0	Bleed		10%
CRIT	5.0%	Debuff		45%
DMG	6-11	Death Blow		75%
Other information
Movement		2 forwards, 2 backwards.
Crit Buff Bonus		+10 DODGE (2 rds)
Religious		No

Combat Skills

(All buffs and debuffs last for 3 rounds unless otherwise specified.)

Nervous Stab
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Melee			+0%	90	7%
Further levels Level 2 Base 100 0 None None Level 3 Base 100 0 None None Level 4 Base 100 0 None None Level 5 Base 100 0 None None Sound None

Festering Vapours
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Ranged			-80%	90	4%	Blight (100% base) 2 pt/rd for 3 rds Stress +8
Further levels Level 2 Base 100 0 None None Level 3 Base 100 0 None None Level 4 Base 100 0 None None Level 5 Base 100 0 None None Sound None

Take Cover
	Rank	Target	Effect	Self
		Self		Back 2 Stealth (2 rds) +20% Death Blow Resist
Further levels Level 2 None None Level 3 None None Level 4 None None Level 5 None None Sound None
Limit:	3 Uses per Battle

Flashpowder
	Range	Rank	Target	Damage	Accuracy	Crit mod	Effect	Self
	Ranged			-100%	110		-15 ACC (100% base) Bypass/Remove Stealth Stress +20
Further levels Level 2 Base 100 0 None None Level 3 Base 100 0 None None Level 4 Base 100 0 None None Level 5 Base 100 0 None None Sound None

Rejuvenating Vapours
	Rank	Target	Heal	Effect	Self
			3 pts/rd for 3 rds
Further levels Level 2 0 None None Level 3 0 None None Level 4 0 None None Level 5 0 None None Sound None

Invigorating Vapours
	Rank	Target	Effect	Self
			+10 DODGE
Further levels Level 2 None None Level 3 None None Level 4 None None Level 5 None None Sound None

Protect Me
	Rank	Target	Effect	Self
			+10 DODGE +20% PROT Force Guard by Ally (2 rds)*
Further levels Level 2 None None Level 3 None None Level 4 None None Level 5 None None Sound None
Limit:	3 Uses per Battle

* ^{Forcing a Guard on an Ally will cause them to forfeit any other guards they were previously doing. Meaning for instance, that the Man-at-Arms' and the Houndmaster's guards cannot be simultaneously applied to the Antiquarian's guard (buffs stack however).}

Tactical Analysis

Using an Antiquarian

Since the Circus is pure combat, her functions have been changed drastically. She can't help you find more rewards, but her combat capability has improved.

Festering Vapours is the strongest attack for the Antiquarian. Party-wide Stress is invaluable, and it can be used to stack Blight. Expect to see nearly any Antiquarian spam this attack when they're not supporting the party. Rejuvenating Vapours is not as strong as other healing abilities, but because it applies a Restoration buff instead of a direct heal, it can be used to keep heroes out of Death's Door when they're being targeted repeatedly. DoTs can counter this healing, however. Protect Me! is the Antiquarian's last resort if she finds herself being targeted, and can be used well with a Flagellant to direct hits towards him. Take Cover can counter any attempts to shuffle her out of position or can be used in response to marks. Her former staple Invigorating Vapours is not as valuable here since her action is often better spent on attacking or healing. Flashpowder is for the Stress-focused Antiquarian, and allows her to push a target into Affliction or Heart attack without provoking a Riposte.

The Antiquarian is not a good healer on her own, so you have to compensate with other units that can actively heal, in case someone falls to Death's Door after taking their turn with restoration active. Frontline healers like the Crusader or Flagellant can work to keep anyone - even the Antiquarian herself - alive. The Arbalest, Musketeer or Vestal can also supply emergency healing but you run the risk of a very crowded backline.

For trinkets, take those that improve her overall survivability or synergize with her kit. The Rotting Trophy, Monkey's Paw, Bloodstained Gambeson, and Gladiator's Helmet are good early selections until her exclusive Trinkets are unlocked. The Black Diamond Mirror and Tears of the Lost work together to improve her overall longevity in battle and are staples once acquired. The Ghoul Claw is for the more aggressive builds that use Nervous Stab and can work well for Stress-focused parties, and the Impossible Glyph is to augment Flashpowder and its ACC debuff to let the Antiquarian inflict Stress without provoking Riposte. The Materia Pestis, despite being the final Prestige-based Trinket you unlock, augments an admittedly minor feature of Festering Vapours and is very rarely used.

Fighting an Antiquarian

The Antiquarian may have been improved for this setting, but she's still mostly a support unit, and is not as strong as the combat specialists. The fact that she can force Guards or Stealth herself makes her difficult to kill, but she's not too lethal as her area Blight and area Stress are still less effective than the usual specialists. You can afford to ignore her for most part and take down the rest of the party. Once she gets dragged out of the back as corpses vanish, she loses access to her healing skill and becomes a lot more vulnerable.

Her Restoration effect is her only means of healing, but at 3HP a turn it can be easily offset by DoTs. Spread area Bleeds and Blights of your own so that anyone at Death's Door will need a turn of proactive healing to be spared from Deathblows. Because Restoration only applies when the character takes their turn, you can focus your fire on enemy units that have already acted so that the Restoration cannot save them from Death's Door.

Because a lot of players are likely to have Festering Vapours as her only attack skill, setting up Ripostes will make the Antiquarian hesitant to attack or she would risk killing herself.

DLC Exclusive Trinkets

Trinket Image	Trinket Name	Rarity	Class Restriction	Prestige Level Unlocked	Effect	Additional Notes
	Black Diamond Mirror	Ringmaster	Antiquarian	Prestige Level 8	+15% MAX HP +15 DODGE +10% Stress
	Tears of the Lost	Ringmaster	Antiquarian	Prestige Level 36	+30% Virtue Chance -15% Stress +20% Debuff Skill Chance +33% Restoration Duration
	Ghoul Claw	Ringmaster	Antiquarian	Prestige Level 44	+25% DMG Melee Skills +6% CRIT Melee Skills +10 ACC On Melee Attack Hit: Horror +6 Stress/rd for 2 rds (100% Base)
	Impossible Glyph	Ringmaster	Antiquarian	Prestige Level 65	+20% Stress Dealt +30% Debuff Skill Chance +6 ACC
	Materia Pestis	Ringmaster	Antiquarian	Prestige Level 69	+20% Blight Skill Chance +33% Blight Duration