Basically if your strategy is very flawed from the start you will be exposed once you step up a notch or two, like trying to out-heal the enemy damage output, which simply doesn't work in the latter dungeons, instead of mitigating it by using debuffs/protection moves/pulls/stuns or even out right bumrushing them before they can attack. The apprentice levels can be beat with any stupid party composition, specially if you get good RNG. just make sure to take some stuns (pref 2 stunners if having trouble with stun trinkets) and you will be fine even with lvl 0 party The giant crab does 10 bleed damage in the Champion Cove, as opposed to 8 in the Veteran.

pls stop bullshitingĬove is a bit harder, but not that much harder. I'm yet to meet a crab in green cove that applies 10 bleed for 3 rounds. HM is good I agree, at least 3 enemy types have protection there. And debuffing spear users is a waste of time mostly, is is just better to outright kill them faster by placing Occ on row 3 and using his dagger skill.

Occ does nothing to the crab that applies 10 bleed for 3 rounds through. Your party loses damage output by having a dedicated healer, so you're better off having PD blighting and stunning the enemies while occasionally curing the DoTs to keep the party off Death's Door. She can't cure DoTs and she can't outheal the damage.

Speaking from experience, I'd just leave the vestals back in the Hamlet. (I still don't, since Lepers have the lowest bleed resist out of all classes with low bleed resist the bleed DoT can stack up to 30+ bleed per round) A MAA guarding a squishier hero is also a good idea his increased PROT mitigates the incoming damage. (If you have Eldritch Killing Incense trinket equipped plus have Eldritch Slayer + Eldritch Hater quirks locked in on an occultist, the Cove becomes a cake run.) Because some enemies attack shuffle your party, I'd advise against bringing a Leper unless he has great move resist. Occultist is also essential because of his +25% DMG vs eldritch attacks.

You need to use blight to kill the fishies since they have high PROT and high bleed resistance.

Darkest dungeon cove bleed