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The Sprawl is home to an array of powerful enemies that love to inflict the Burning status effect and are very capable of completely wiping a team should players get complacent. It’s also home to a powerful boss named The Librarian. Here’s a look at where players can find the imposing figure and just how to take it down.
Where Is The Librarian Located?
Those looking to track down the painful fire-infused Librarian will need to make their way through the twists and turns of The Sprawl, a once populous town set ablaze by a group of pyromaniacs known as The Fanatics. These powerful foes can quickly lay waste to a team with their burning status effects, powerful strikes, and exploding minions. As with the other areas in Darkest Dungeon 2, players will benefit greatly from familiarizing themselves with the enemies found throughout The Sprawl.
Once players have a good grasp on what to expect and who they’ll be facing, they’ll then need to find the Great Library, a Lair populated by a group of Fanatics and their imposing boss, the Librarian. Because the Lair is randomly generated, it is possible for players to miss out on it if they choose the wrong paths throughout The Sprawl. To ensure that gamers can reach their mark, they should locate a Watchtower or use a Tracker’s Map on one of the applicable slots in their Stagecoach. This will ensure that the Lair is easy to find.
Once players enter the Great Library, they’ll need to lay waste to two separate groups of enemies before they can go toe-to-toe with the Librarian themselves. Players should be fully stocked with items and trinkets to give them the best shot at making it successfully through the three stages of the Great Library.
What Can The Librarian Boss Do?
The Librarian boss is one of the most difficult bosses to contend with in Darkest Dungeon 2 thanks to its frustrating mechanic. Players who find themselves up against the firey brute may find themselves quickly overwhelmed by burning damage.
At the start of the fight, the Librarian will spawn with three stacks of books. Most players may be inclined to strike the books down but doing so is a huge mistake. Although the Librarian draws energy from the books, it’s much more dangerous when all of the stacks are depleted. Players should, instead, focus on taking the boss out as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, doing damage to the brute is rather difficult at the start of the fight.
The Librarian will position itself behind all three stacks of books at the start, making it impossible to hit with anything other than ranged attacks. To remedy this, players can attack the third row of books, eliminating it so that the Librarian ends up in the third position overall and easier to strike with Melee attacks. Thankfully, even with all of their books active, the Librarian isn’t particularly painful, although it can leave players with a nasty burning effect that can quickly spiral out of control if it’s not cleansed.
What’s worse is that, when the Librarian draws energy from the Book Stacks, they “burn them,” this process causes some serious stress on the characters witnessing it, which can quickly overwhelm the party can cause a meltdown.
If the fight drags on long enough for the stacks of books to disappear, or players accidentally eliminate them, the Librarian will unleash a powerful attack during each turn. This attack is capable of wiping out the party quickly, making this fight more of a “race against the clock.”
Stats For The Librarian
Here’s a look at the Librarian’s base stats:
101 HP 2 Speed
Resistances:
50 Bleed 30 Blight 200 Burn 40 Stun 200 Move 30 Debuff 33 Deathblow Resistance
Tips To Defeat The Librarian Boss
Players need to approach this battle with speed and efficiency in mind. The faster the boss goes down, the easier the fight will be. Burn resistance goes a long way here, as the Librarian’s primary attack after burning a Stack of Books will apply a nasty burn to whatever character it hits. Higher burn resistance means players will suffer the effect less often throughout the fight. The boss is most susceptible to Blight, and stacking the ailment can help whittle away its health quickly. Paracelsus is a great ally for this fight thanks to their ability to cleanse fire with their Battlefield Medicine (although it is important to note it can only be used 3 times per fight). Paracelsus also has access to Ounce of Prevention, which can help stack burn resistance for the whole party. Those who upgrade it also gain access to a spammable Stress Heal, which targets the whole party and is a God-send during this fight. Thanks to their stress-healing capabilities, Jester is a solid ally for this particular battle. Players need to bring as much burn resistance and burn heal as possible as The Librarian itself, and the fights leading up to it, can leave characters scorched. Using a character with Taunt can help greatly diminish the time that players need to heal. If multiple characters are targeted by the Librarian’s attacks before they’re able to cleanse the burning effects, gamers can end up with multiple characters that are suffering burns, requiring them to dedicate more time to “keeping the team healthy. " Taking characters that excel at ranged attacks and also equipping trinkets that provide ranged attack boosts and burning resistance can help a lot.
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