Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition: Complete Guide

This guide covers Death's combat, the two skill trees and build archetypes, loot and Possessed weapons, the world and progression, the integrated DLC, side content, difficulty, and a 100% achievement roadmap.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Deathinitive Edition's final Steam build (the November 2015 remaster with all DLC integrated). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Death is fast. Dodge, don't block. You have no shield. Evading is your defense, and combos flow better when you dodge-cancel.
Scythes are your primary weapon. The secondary weapon changes your style. Secondaries are either slow and heavy (hammers, axes, maces) or fast (claws, gauntlets, and similar). Mixing them into combos is the core of combat.
Pick a skill tree direction early. Harbinger is melee and self-power, and Necromancer is summons and magic. You can respec, but focusing your points early makes the midgame smoother.
Loot is randomized and constant. Compare stats (the arrows help) and sell or feed the extras. Don't hoard.
Feed Possessed weapons. Possessed weapons level up by consuming other gear, and you choose stat bonuses as they level. They're the best long-term weapons you can shape yourself.
Unlock Reaper Form. Fill the Reaper meter for a temporary, much stronger form that gets you out of tough fights.
Explore with your traversal tools. Death Grip, Voidwalker (portals), Soul Splitter, and Interdiction open up old areas later. Backtrack for chests and collectibles.
Vulgrim and the merchants matter. Trade collectibles and gold for items, and turn in side quests for strong gear.

Combat Basics

Element	What it does	Tips
Primary attack (scythes)	Fast combos, launchers, air juggles	Chain into secondary attacks for combos
Secondary attack	Heavy (hammers, axes, maces) or fast (claws, gauntlets)	Heavy for armor and breaking guards, fast for DPS and combo filler
Evade	Main defense	Dodge through attacks and learn boss tells
Wrath abilities	Skill-tree actives that cost Wrath	Tied to your build
Reaper Form	Temporary transformation when the Reaper meter is full	Save it for bosses or big waves
Death Grip	Grapple hook (combat and traversal)	Pulls you to enemies or anchor points
Pistol (Redemption)	Ranged shots	Useful for switches and flyers

Resources

Health: Healing potions and some loot and skills restore it.
Wrath: Pays for abilities. Builds up in combat and from Wrath potions and gear.
Reaper meter: Fills in combat. Unlocking Reaper Form gives "Grim Reaping".

Stats to know

Stat	Effect
Strength	Physical damage
Arcane	Magic and ability damage (Necromancer scaling)
Defense	Reduces physical damage taken
Resistance	Reduces elemental and magic damage
Critical chance / damage	Crit builds on scythes and fast secondaries
Health / Wrath	Pool sizes

Gear can also roll extra properties like life steal, Wrath on hit, elemental damage, and summon or ability bonuses.

Skill Trees and Builds

Death gains skill points as he levels. Each tree has three core active abilities, each with upgrades and passive branches.

Tree	Active abilities	Playstyle
Harbinger	Teleport Slash, Harvest, Unstoppable	Melee damage, mobility, crowd hits, crowd-control resistance
Necromancer	Exhume, Murder (crow swarm), Aftermath	Undead summons, crows, AoE magic

Build archetypes

1. Harbinger Brawler (Strength and crits)

Put points into Teleport Slash and Harvest, with Unstoppable for bosses.
Stack Strength, critical chance, and critical damage on your scythes and a fast secondary.
Good for players who like aggressive melee and quick kills.

2. Necromancer Summoner (Arcane)

Put points into Exhume (ghouls) and Murder (crows). Take Aftermath for burst.
Stack Arcane, Wrath, and Wrath regeneration. Summons tank for you on hard difficulties.
Strong on the harder difficulties because summons pull aggro.

3. Hybrid (Arcane melee)

Harvest plus Exhume, for example, with gear that mixes Strength and Arcane.
Flexible, and handles the Crucible's mixed waves well.

Respec: You can reset skill points ("Respec Yourself" is an achievement). Try both trees before committing on the hardest difficulties.

Loot and Possessed Weapons

Loot comes in color-coded rarity tiers, with the top tiers carrying extra properties and unique names. The "Mass Ruckus" achievement asks for elite items in every slot at once, so keep your best elite drops.
Gear slots per Wikipedia: primary and secondary weapons, shoulders, armor, gloves, boots, and talismans.
Stonebites are colored stones hidden around the world. Trade them in groups of three to Blackroot for permanent stat upgrades, so grab every one you see.
Possessed weapons have a soul you feed with unwanted gear. Each level-up lets you choose a stat to raise. "Feeding Time" is your first level-up.
Rule of thumb: Feed weapons from your build's stats (for example, Arcane gear into an Arcane scythe) and sell the rest.
The Deathinitive Edition reworked loot distribution and balancing compared to the 2012 original, so older loot guides may not match exactly.

World and Progression

Death travels across several realms. Each has a hub, dungeons, and side areas:

Realm	Notes
Forge Lands	The first big open realm. Home of the Makers, with a spreading Corruption to fight
Kingdom of the Dead	Lord of Bones and the Court of Bones. Darker dungeons
Shadow's Edge / Lostlight	Later-game realms
Earth	The ruined world from the first game's timeline
Well of Souls	The endgame area

Travel on your horse Despair in open areas, and fast travel from the map between discovered points. Your raven companion Dust points the way when you're lost. Dungeon progress is saved even if you fast-travel out to the overworld, so you can leave to restock and come back.

The story in brief (spoiler-light)

Death sets out to clear his brother War's name after the events of the first game. The Tree of Life is blocked by Corruption, tied to the fallen Nephilim Absalom. Along the way Death fights the Guardian, a corrupted construct in the Forge Lands, deals with the demon lord Samael, and learns that humanity's souls have been taken to the Well of Souls, where the spirits of all living things are cleansed before rebirth. You don't need to know Darksiders 1 to follow it.

Traversal abilities (unlocked through the story)

Ability	Use
Death Grip	Grapple to anchors and enemies
Voidwalker	Create linked portals
Soul Splitter	Split into two bodies to press switches together
Interdiction	Command spirits to act on objects

Revisit early dungeons with later abilities. Many chests and Death Tombs need them ("Abracadabra" means opening all Death Tombs).

Integrated DLC

The Deathinitive Edition folds all DLC into the main game:

Argul's Tomb
The Abyssal Forge
The Demon Lord Belial

Each is a self-contained story area with its own dungeon and bosses. Per Wikipedia, The Abyssal Forge is set in the Shadow Lands and The Demon Lord Belial on Earth. The original's item packs (the Maker Armor and Scythe set, the Angel of Death pack, and the Deadly Despair pack that speeds up your horse) are also included, so there's no separate download to install.

Editions and Platforms

Version	Release (per Wikipedia)
Deathinitive Edition, PS4 and Xbox One	October 27, 2015
Deathinitive Edition, PC (Steam)	November 5, 2015
Nintendo Switch	September 26, 2019
PS5 and Xbox Series X/S	October 15, 2024

On Steam, the Deathinitive Edition is its own store page (app 388410). It advertises all DLC integrated, reworked balance and loot distribution, an improved renderer, reworked graphics, native 1080p, and Steam Trading Cards. The follow-ups are Darksiders III (Fury, November 2018) and the top-down co-op Darksiders Genesis (Strife and War, December 2019 on PC).

Side Content

The Crucible: A wave-based arena challenge. "Is There Anyone Else?" means completing it. Bring a strong build with self-healing.
Wicked K: An optional boss ("Bravo Old Chap").
Secondary quests: "The Secondary Adventure" means finishing all of them. Many reward legendary or elite gear.
Collectibles: Book of the Dead pages ("The Book of the Dead"), relics ("Antiquing"), gnomes ("Gnomad"), and other hidden items turned in to NPCs. Check each hub's NPCs for the related quest giver.
Soul Arbiter's Maze: A puzzle dungeon that community guides cover in detail.

Difficulty and Achievement Roadmap

The Steam achievement list ties completion achievements to three named difficulties:

Achievement	Requirement
A Stroll In The Demonic Park	Finish the game on any difficulty
Four My Brother	Finish the game on Normal
A True Horseman	Finish the game on Apocalyptic
It's Definitive	Finish the game on Deathinitive, the setting named after this edition

Apocalyptic and Deathinitive are the ones that punish sloppy dodging; do them after you know the bosses and have a committed build. Check the in-game menu for any other settings in your version.

Suggested roadmap:

Playthrough 1 (Normal): Story achievements, collectibles, secondary quests, and Death Tombs. Unlock Reaper Form, level a Possessed weapon, and try both skill trees.
Level 30 ("Epic!"): Comes naturally with side content and replays.
The Crucible and Wicked K: Once you're high level with good gear.
Apocalyptic, then Deathinitive: With a strong summoner or crit build. Summons make the highest difficulties much safer.
"Mass Ruckus": Equip elite items in every slot at once. Easiest late, when elite drops are common.
"Full Potential" (all combat moves and upgrades) and "BFA" (unlock everything) are your final checks.

Story and side-content achievements

Many of the 50 achievements pop naturally as you progress (for example "Grim Reaping" for unlocking Reaper Form and "Feeding Time" for your first Possessed weapon level-up). The ones that need deliberate work:

Achievement	What to do
Abracadabra	Open all Death Tombs
The Secondary Adventure	Complete every secondary quest
Is There Anyone Else?	Complete The Crucible
Bravo Old Chap	Defeat Wicked K
Epic!	Reach level 30
Respec Yourself	Respec your skill points
Mass Ruckus	Equip elite items in all slots
The Book of the Dead, Antiquing, Gnomad	Collectible-related; hunt the hidden pages, relics and gnomes as you explore

Boss Tips (General)

Learn the tell, then punish. Nearly every boss has a clear wind-up. Dodge through it and counterattack.
Save Reaper Form for phase changes. It's a burst window.
Summons pull aggro. Necromancer builds make boss fights much safer.
Use Death Grip on ranged bosses to close the distance.
Carry potions. Restock at merchants before dungeon finales.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Trying to block. Death doesn't. Dodge.
Spreading skill points thinly. Focus one tree's actives before branching.
Hoarding gear. Feed Possessed weapons or sell.
Skipping side quests. They give some of the best gear and several achievements.
Forgetting to backtrack. Early chests and tombs need later abilities.
Going into Apocalyptic unprepared. Play Normal first and learn the mechanics.

Advanced Tips

Dodge-cancel combos keep damage flowing and keep you safe.
Air juggles with scythe launchers let you avoid ground attacks and control single targets.
Wrath economy: Gear with Wrath on hit or Wrath regeneration keeps summons and abilities running nonstop.
Pick crit or Arcane and commit. Hybrid builds are fun but less efficient at the top difficulties.
Possessed weapon planning: Pick stats that match your build every time. Scattered picks waste it.

FAQ

What's different in the Deathinitive Edition? All DLC integrated, reworked balance and loot distribution, an improved renderer (lighting and shadows), reworked level, character, and environment graphics, and native 1080p. Steam Trading Cards were added too.

Is the DLC included? Yes. Argul's Tomb, The Abyssal Forge, and The Demon Lord Belial are part of the game, along with the bonus equipment.

Which skill tree is best? Necromancer (summons) is the safest for hard difficulties. Harbinger is great for aggressive melee. Try both, since you can respec.

How long is Darksiders II? The store page lists over 30 hours with all DLC. Completionists will spend longer.

Do I need to play Darksiders 1 first? No. Darksiders II runs parallel to the first game's events and tells its own story from Death's point of view, though knowing War's story adds context.

What are Stonebites for? Collect them and hand them to Blackroot in sets of three for permanent stat boosts.

What's the hardest difficulty? The two demanding settings are Apocalyptic ("A True Horseman") and Deathinitive ("It's Definitive"), each with its own completion achievement. Check the in-game difficulty descriptions to see how each one changes enemies before you start.

What level should I expect to reach? The "Epic!" achievement is for reaching level 30, which a thorough first playthrough with side content approaches. Plan your skill points around that range.