Audrey is a glass cannon. Most people realize that within five minutes of bringing a Darkest Dungeon Grave Robber into the Weald or the Warrens. She has a hat that looks like it belongs at a funeral and a health pool that basically guarantees she’ll be at Death's Door if a Ghoul so much as sneezes in her direction. But here’s the thing: if you’re playing her as a backline sniper who just throws daggers every turn, you’re kind of missing the point of why she exists in Red Hook's brutal masterpiece.
The Grave Robber isn't just a damage dealer. She’s a mobility tool.
Why the Darkest Dungeon Grave Robber Is Better Than You Think
Success in this game is usually about action economy. You want to kill the backline stressors—the Bone Courtiers and the Madmen—before they can turn your Crusader into a paranoid mess. Audrey is built for exactly that, but she requires a dance partner. If you place her in rank 4 and expect her to carry, you'll be disappointed by her base damage.
The real magic happens when you embrace the "Lunge" cycle.
Lunge is arguably one of the most powerful moves in the game because of its massive accuracy buff and high crit modifier. It moves her forward two spaces. This is where most players mess up. They Lunge, Audrey ends up in Rank 2, and then she has nothing to do because she’s too squishy to tank. You have to build the rest of your team to push her back or leap-frog over her. Think of a composition with a Crusader using Holy Lance or a Man-at-Arms using Rampart. This keeps the Darkest Dungeon Grave Robber in a constant state of motion, resetting her position so she can Lunge again and again.
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The Accuracy Myth and Critical Hits
In the late game, specifically Champion level dungeons, missing an attack isn't just annoying. It's a death sentence. Audrey has some of the highest base accuracy in the game. While your Leper is swinging wildly at thin air, the Grave Robber is consistently hitting those high-dodge Pelagic Groupers.
She also has a massive crit rate. This isn't just about big numbers. Crits are the primary way to naturally heal stress mid-battle without wasting a turn on a Jester’s ballad. When Audrey lands a crit with a Throwing Dagger, she often self-buffs her accuracy or dodge, making her harder to hit in the following round. It’s a snowball effect. You aren't just buying damage; you’re buying safety through momentum.
Advanced Trinket Selection: Moving Beyond the Lucky Talisman
Most guides will tell you to slap a Lucky Talisman on her and call it a day. It’s a solid choice, sure. +12 Dodge and +10 Accuracy is nothing to scoff at. But if you really want to see what a Darkest Dungeon Grave Robber can do, you need to look at the Letter Opener (found in the Crimson Court DLC).
The Letter Opener gives a massive +25% Melee Damage and +10 Melee Accuracy. This turns Lunge from a "good" move into a "boss-deleting" move. Suddenly, Audrey is hitting like a Point Blank Shot from a Highwayman but with the ability to target Rank 3.
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- Raider's Talisman: Great for scouting. Bad for trap disarm if you're already capped.
- Blinking Moon (Color of Madness): Extremely niche. Use it only if you're running a high-stealth composition.
- Sharpened Letter Opener: The undisputed king for Lunge builds.
Don't ignore her Blight synergy either. Shadow Fade gives her a massive damage boost against Blighted targets. If you pair her with a Plague Doctor or a Shieldbreaker who can soften up the frontline with poison, Audrey’s Lunge becomes an executioner’s axe.
Managing the Squishiness Factor
You have to talk about the health pool. It’s bad. Audrey has some of the lowest HP in the game, rivaling the Anti-Quarian. If she gets marked, she’s likely dead. This is why "Shadow Fade" is your panic button.
Stealth was a mechanic added later in the game's life cycle, and it changed the Grave Robber significantly. Going into Stealth doesn't just make her untargetable by most attacks; it gives her a massive damage multiplier for her next hit. It’s a "tempo" move. You spend one turn disappearing and the next turn deleting an enemy from existence. Honestly, it's often better than just attacking twice because it protects her from being focused down by enemy heavy hitters like the Swine Skiver.
The Darkest Dungeon Grave Robber in the Farmstead
The Endless Harvest is a different beast entirely. Here, the Darkest Dungeon Grave Robber struggles a bit more because of the sheer endurance required. However, her ability to ignore PROT (Protection) with Pick to the Face is invaluable against those crystalline husks.
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A lot of enemies in the late game have 40% or 50% PROT. Your Highwayman's Wicked Slice will do half damage. Audrey’s pickaxe ignores that entirely. In the Farmstead, she acts as a "tank cracker." You don't bring her for the waves of trash mobs; you bring her for the bosses and the armored high-threat targets that your other damage dealers can't touch.
Common Mistakes You’re Probably Making
Stop using Toxin Trickery every fight. It’s a trap.
While the self-buff and cure look great on paper, the action economy is usually against you. Unless you are fighting the Formidable Flesh or a boss that stacks heavy Blight/Bleed, you are almost always better off just killing the thing that's hitting you. The best status-cure is the death of the enemy.
Also, don't forget her camp skills. "Nightlift" is one of the best scouting buffs in the game. Information is the only thing that keeps you alive in the Darkest Dungeon. Knowing where the encounters are allows you to path around threats when your torch is low and your heroes are screaming for a drink at the tavern.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
If you want to master the Darkest Dungeon Grave Robber, stop treating her like a static unit. She is a dancer. Follow these steps for your next expedition:
- Pair her with a Crusader or Highwayman: Ensure they have "forward" moving skills (Holy Lance or Duelist's Advance) to reset Audrey's position after a Lunge.
- Focus on Rank 3 first: Use her daggers or Lunge to take out the stress-casters. Do not waste her high-crit potential on the high-HP frontliners unless they are the only things left.
- Prioritize the Letter Opener: If you have the DLC, hunt for this trinket immediately. It transforms her from a support-DPS into a primary-DPS.
- Use Shadow Fade defensively: If Audrey is below 50% health, do not greed for a kill. Use Shadow Fade to drop aggro and setup a massive hit for the next turn while your healer catches up.
- Ignore Pick to the Face until the Cove: The armor piercing is mostly wasted in the Weald or Warrens, but it's a godsend against Uca Crushers and armored sea-life.
The Grave Robber is a high-skill floor character. She isn't as "set it and forget it" as the Hellion or the Houndmaster. But once you understand the rhythm of her movement, she becomes the most reliable way to dismantle the Horrors that wait in the dark.