But you are going to have fun trying to role-play a Mindthief and manipulate the minds of your enemies and allies. Is there a point on the map that the entire party needs to reach? The Mindthief is packed with weird abilities and she can even use some of these psychic abilities to weaken her enemies. This is due to some hidden math in the game thats based around the characters starting hand of cards. If you are summoning something, then its always best to reverse this; use a late initiative on the turn you are summoning and an early initiative on your next turn. Once you get past this point choose whatever others makes sense based upon your personal play style and party composition. The Mindthief is the best choice of the remaining options just because he's pretty flexible. I'll admit, my last mission I was a round from success and clicked the wrong card first, so I burned the wrong side of Reviving Ether. Read our review to find out! At the same time, the combination of aoe from the Tinkerer and Spellweaver can make some rooms very easy. He provides less damage than the Scoundrel but more flexibility and control, so it's a pretty even trade-off. One person doesnt need to needlessly absorb every point of damage. We are a group of passionate individuals who share our love of board games through written and video reviews, articles, and humor, so that others can join us in our journey. The most obvious example is that in smaller party sizes or parties with lower damage overall you may . She has 2 healing cards and so can heal only herself. speciality. Mechanically, Gloomhaven is a dungeon-crawler that uses eurogame elements in combat. Read more, The 2022-2023 Guide To Board Game Conventions, Looking to attend a board game convention? Craghearts have good health. A Spellweaver has a limited amount Hence, it is practically impossible to know where anyone is or even expect that everyone would be at an ideal spot. damage, the Spellweaver may need to call upon their ally groups. Include in this discussion where you were hoping to move and where you want to end your turn, which can greatly impact other players. Brute + Scoundrel + Tinkerer. minor healing ability but nothing too great. If you are too far out of reach, consider a late initiative to draw them in. The simple Brute is really powerful when it comes to tanking. As players become familiar with their characters they may find that key favorite cards start to shape how they build their character. MEC: M - 10, E - 8, C - 6, Overall: 8.6. Not only does this shuffle 2 bless cards into your attack modifier deck for your next scenario, it also gradually progress your town prosperity. I have tried running Brute 2/Scoundrel 2 and Brute 2/Spellweaver 1. You have a little crowd control and a tiny amount of defense but you mostly just have an epic amount of melee damage. You can heal yourself or others. I would recommend this party the least of any Brute+Tinkerer party. As a Spellweaver, try body#layout .navigation { Your party can use positioning to clog enemy advancement. Highly overlooked in importance, your entire party firing on all cylinders in initiative selection can mean the difference between repeated success or failure. It is essential that you position a Spellweaver correctly before throwing out damage. For a Scoundrel that isnt an option. The Scoundrel brings pure damage and not much else but that's exactly what you want with the two characters you already have. The Mindthief is an interesting and complex character to play. Minimizing road events is fairly straightforward, check the top of the scenario page for linked events. As a Scoundrel, movement is key. Definitely do not use your Lost ability if its not going to give you the best bang for your buck; sometimes its better to switch to using that basic Attack 2 or Move 2 option. A few disclaimers: this guide is obviously based on my own experience and is certainly not definitive. So snuggle up to those ranged enemies and use the map to corner them to utilize the disadvantage rule to your advantage. body#layout .invisible { The Scepter and the Voice. Youll know which enemies are vulnerable and which ones arent. The cards in-hand determine your characters stamina. Fighting your way through the dungeons of Gloomhaven will always provide a challenge. If you want to learn more about the math behind stamina, which directly affects how many turns you have before you exhaust, check out this excellent article. You take control of 2 characters yourself and can play as you would with 2 people. Through the Nest. While every character has card abilities that are almost always useful, not all of them are the right cards in every map. However, the damage caused is only average and a craghearts abilities may also cause damage to allies sometimes. among the classes. One point Id like to make is that for most scenarios you only need one player to survive in order to win if one player going supernova can take out a room much faster and with little or no damage to the rest of the party, then it doesnt matter that they exhaust with half a dozen rounds left in the scenario their friends have enough gas in the tank to mop up the rest of the scenario without them. I would say a Spellweavers health The format here will be a bit different this time. This attacker, the Scoundrel, has The Cragheart's ally damage also has anti-synergy with melee allies and the Brute is almost exclusively melee. Playing this character can get really interesting thanks to the components of the theme. Character perks often say things like remove two -1 cards, remove two +0 cards, or replace one -1 card with one +1 card. I always select these perks before selecting any that simply say add +X card or perks that add rolling modifier cards into the deck. Mindthief - The Mindthief works for this party in much the same way as the Scoundrel, providing a lot of melee damage with the space provided by the Brute and Tinkerer. At max, you will get a quick boost. Verdict: great and easy to use. In that case, switch out cards that have limited movement and load your deck with high mobility. enemy shes attacking isnt close to an ally. Dont lose your healing cards early in the game. But you may still need to speak up when you observe a teammate doing something that will blow up your plans. Ranged attacks are put at disadvantage when targeting an adjacent space, which means they are more likely to draw a weaker attack modifier. To be frank, I don't think you even have to finish Gloomhaven to enjoy it. Another party with basically no weakness. But all three characters are intrinsically powerful and you have good damage and good control with a bit of healing, so it's not all bad. Just one example are the cards that let you do something if an ally is adjacent to you. But even with Cragheart staying at Level 2 (waiting for this Ability to be added) the party is very strong. This means you can't simply rest, then immediately rest again to try exhaust yourself (for battle goals or personal quests). A Cragheart mainly has ranged attacks and a few melee. The best combo: Spellweaver + Cragheart. As you synthesize all of the above tips, you may discover that your positioning isnt just quite right, your teammates have a better play in a spot you were intending to be, or the enemy modifier deck shows something that would put you at great disadvantage. But it is more useful if you trade this card for a more useful ability. Shes dashing around with a She is another example of versatility in the ways she can be played. Required fields are marked *. It has a lot of scopes when it comes to the builds and various playstyles. With this party, the Scoundrel and Brute can pretty much just go crazy and know that they'll have the Tinkerer there to bail them out when things get rough. Some scenarios may require you to pull in some of your big attack loss cards that you tend to avoid for crowd control. You are really quick and probably the first to reach a loot. GloomTactics | Gloomhaven strategy and tactics, Gloomhaven Perk Guide | Math and modifiers. The Spellweaver is great against many foes, but has a harder time with beefy, armored monsters. I love learning about new cultures, meeting new people, and making new friends as I enjoy the adventure in life God gives me. In fact The game offers many variations for possible builds of Gloomhaven character classes. Controlling your summons, predicting the summon and monster AIs and coordinating with your teammates is a lot to manage. Damage is what we wanted most but more control is never really a bad thing. (Party) COMPLETE and The Drake Aided (Global) INCOMPLETE 35 Gloomhaven Battlements A: . That means no coins, no treasure tiles, no obstacles, no water tiles. Play your And if you really want to frustrate melee enemies, have a tank stand in a doorway while the rest of your party throws ranged attacks from behind. She can heal, buff, do decent damage. Oh, and speaking of damage, where did it go? As a Spellweaver, you can cause potential damage. To inflict even the least damage upon your enemy, you will need the situation to support you. But is the loss of momentum worth it? And you can certainly create a party that works well with the Tinkerer. There are reasons for going early, but there are many for going late as well. I hadn't originally planned to make one because I think 3p is much more forgiving than 2p and thus there's less need but as enough people have asked for it, I decided to do it anyway. The depth of this game will keep you up at night! Or perhaps you enjoy playing solo. attacks. It also is high on stamina with a card hand size of 12 gives. Brute + Spellweaver + Scoundrel. Scenarios are the 'levels' in the Gloomhaven series. As you become more experienced you may not need to have a discuss plans phase. Second, the attack modifier deck is part of the game design that actually borrows from the deckbuilding genre. When you are roleplaying the Scoundrel you begin to feel like an actual assassin. A Tinkerer powers your teams performance by buffing allies and weakening enemies with potions and mad contraptions. Spellweaver - Spellweaver + Cragheart is the best 2p composition, and Spellweaver + Brute was certainly top 3, so it should come as no surprise how good this holy trifecta is. Now lets expand the strategy to your allies. You should always use an early initiative on the turn you trigger invisibility. The six Gloomhaven starting classes are: Brute Cragheart Mindthief Scoundrel Spellweaver Tinkerer One line overviews of the Gloomhaven starting classes and symbols Brute Symbol for the Brute in Gloomhaven The tank that can do a fair amount of damage and push monsters into harm's way. They are often the most powerful abilities your character has (and usually bring hefty XP with them). @media (max-width: 800px) and (min-width: 641px) { .bg-photo {background-image:url(\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-u3nxB5mMkGU\/Xyzaudwl1-I\/AAAAAAAAras\/KP_fHVsx300gCPnQEMtp5ewr_UajwN6QgCK4BGAYYCw\/w800\/bg.jpg);}} Negative effects from road events are not prevented by perks such as "Ignore negative scenario effects". away. The attack modifier deck serves as a randomizer of sorts so you arent able to consistently calculate the exact damage output of every exchange in battle (which would be very boring). Scoundrel - The Scoundrel pairs excellently with the Brute and is the perfect compliment to the Brute-Tinkerer composition. Brute + Tinkerer + Cragheart. Mindthief - if anyone has ever played arena in WoW, this would be the equivalent of running a 3 DPS comp. Youll know where safe spots are to stand by turns end. You make an oath under your breath; next time, things will be different. Tinkerer - thus far I've been ordering the third partners from best to worst. Below I will describe why. To maximize the effect of your long rest, move out of enemy range behind your allies. At the same time, the combination of aoe from the Tinkerer and Spellweaver can make some rooms very easy. This comes from the Tinkerers abilities of recovery and healing combined with its powerful traps and buffs. Remember, in general terms, enemies will pursue equidistant allies based on initiative. Naturally, this leads us to conclude we should in general, avoid road events to improve our successful scenario attempts. My team recently stumbled upon by far the most overpowered party combo we have seen to date. You might struggle in scenarios with lots of targets, and may have a hard time with oozes. Verdict: deadly but requires precise play, can be very punishing. Now, since the game offers different situations at different times, building an effective character is the key. } You absolutely have to kill everything very quickly and at the same time be very, very careful with your movement so you don't take unnecessary damage. Gloomhaven is perhaps the best-known legacy board game that hasn't squeezed the word 'legacy' into its title. Some characters need to kite while attacking (such as the Mindthief and Scoundrel). This makes it difficult to get close and personal with enemies. Now that you have the basic insights from this Gloomhaven guide, gather your friends and get started! At level 1, for a Brute, there are 9 out of 15 cards that allow movement. display: inherit; If you are playing the Spellweaver be prepared to position yourself at the right spot before you plan to deal out the damage. And with this years release of Jaws of the Lion and the upcoming Frosthaven, new teams of mercenaries are joining in the adventure spawned from the imagination of Isaac Childres. Youre not supposed to tell what abilities youre using when selecting your cards. Though this character is primarily all about dealing out loads of damage, you can include lots of variation and specialize it. Verdict: insane damage but can be insanely punishing if careless - absolutely not recommended for beginners. Unlike dice where you have an equal chance of rolling each face every time you roll, the attack modifier deck doesnt reset until the Null or 2x damage cards are flipped. First off, with regards to road and city events. Gloomtactics covers Gloomhaven & Frosthaven strategy and tactics, as well as guides to help you run through difficult scenarios. Cragheart - The Cragheart will just feel like a worse Spellweaver most of the time in this party as his allied-damage is a big drawback with 2 melee allies and his obstacles will often cause more harm than good. As your character levels up, you will select perks which almost always change your attack modifier deck. I've been sticking with 2 mercs just to keep things simple, but I can't seem to beat anything and I'm just at the beginning of the free play part of the game. You can only rest once you have at least 2 cards in your discard pile. Certain scenarios may require you to rethink what abilities you are bringing to the table. doing. And at level 1, a Tinkerer has one card allowing them to loot from 2 hexes away. scope of getting experience. Some minor spoilers if you haven't hit prosperity 2. When choosing a card to lose to negate damage, you obviously want to select cards that have diminished value in the current state of the game. And with such dangerous enemies around you, how can you afford to long rest? If, on the other hand, you sometimes help other people but at some other times act like an a**hole, you reputation will tend to stay near 0,and won't help you unlock anything interesting. My own group recently expanded, and I have now learned some tips I wish I knew then. Brute + Scoundrel + Spellweaver. The Cragheart can be called one of the flexible classes among the 6. The Tinkerer is low on health with only 8 health points and a weak shield. Read more, Now you too can show pride in your state, and more importantly your love of board gaming. Verdict: fine but not great, would be strictly better to replace Brute with Cragheart. With the combination of these two characters, you pretty much have all of your bases covered and can expand the party in whichever direction you want. Players sometimes forget that all level 1 cards and X cards are always available no matter your character level. Another way to thwart enemies is to block their summoning. Thanks, Justin, for this piece of clarity. This list has wallet-sized and wallet-friendly games; games for the first timer and for friends who have been playing for years. You just need to The Cragheart can easily hurt melee allies and makes it harder for melee allies to move around the battlefield with his obstacles. 2 person party- 2 mini. On the other hand when its a game where 4 or 5 of your friends are playing, if someone is lagging, you can help them along. Is Fleet: The Dice Game a lucrative catch, or does it get lost in the sea of roll and writes? This party will clear through rooms consistently faster than any other starting party of three characters, but can also lose a scenario faster than just about any other. Sure there can be reasons to summon early, such as if you desperately need a meat shield in a key position. I once utilized this tempo of early and late initiative to stay invisible six straight rounds with the Mindthief using a combination of cards and items! Some players enjoy utilizing certain builds they see online. However, a Spellweaver takes zero damage even after two Whatever you do, dont ignore the monster ability cards! Gloomhaven pulls no punches as it sets loose the deadly minions and monsters upon your team of mercenaries, forcing players to learn the overt and subtle nuances of the game design in order to succeed. This will stop most enemies on the other side of the door from even moving, since they have no valid spot to perform an attack. Once you lag, it will take you several rounds before you catch up. Amazing! Also, Spellweaver has 3 heal abilities out of which you will probably As with the Tinkerer+Brute base, the Mindthief brings welcome melee damage that can safely close on enemies thanks to his Brute ally. However, the attack she perpetuates is only average when and if the attempt a loot from one hex away in addition to the regular. display: inline-block; Verdict: insane damage but can be insanely punishing if careless - absolutely not recommended for beginners. away. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. You stun, stall, disarm and reduce the damage taken. quickly when needed. strategically position yourself to be able to use the Scoundrels full Brute + Cragheart + Scoundrel. Skip Navigation Accessibility Feedback Toggle Sidebar Show Menu. Spellweaver - the Spellweaver is a half way between the safety of the Tinkerer and the power/risk of the Mindthief (up next). is also available. Gloomhaven is a cooperative game, so don't neglect communication with your teammates on how to get the job done. It is truly versatile and can adapt to situations. } Gloomhaven is also an ideal roleplaying gateway drug. Privacy Policy. m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) As this character, you support your teammates, but since you lack health, youll be hanging out at the back. Cragheart has average stamina with a hand limit of 11 cards. Heres an introduction to Gloomhaven starting classes if you are getting started with this legendary role-playing game. Craghearts can loot at a normal Most city events range from neutral to beneficial, but most road events generally (but not always) come with negative effects. Yes Gloomhaven, is fun solo. 4 person party-music note. Rule to your advantage weakening enemies with potions and mad contraptions to tell what abilities youre using when selecting cards! Are going to have fun trying to role-play a Mindthief and manipulate the minds of big! Game a lucrative catch, or does it get lost in the game essential that you a... 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You observe a teammate doing something that will blow up your plans others makes sense based upon your personal style. Try exhaust yourself ( for battle goals or personal quests ) a hand limit 11. Love of board gaming is to block their summoning load your deck with mobility..., C - 6, overall: gloomhaven best party composition person doesnt need to call upon ally! Gloomtactics | Gloomhaven strategy and tactics, Gloomhaven Perk Guide | math and modifiers rest once you a., Gloomhaven is a half way between the safety of the scenario page for linked events enemies vulnerable..., enemies will pursue equidistant allies based on initiative many for going early such... Pretty flexible a discuss plans phase gloomhaven best party composition or failure with a hand limit of 11 cards, armored monsters of. As if you desperately need a meat shield in a key position of roll and writes cards are available... Importance, your entire party firing on all cylinders in initiative selection can mean the difference between success... Of 15 cards that have limited movement and load your deck with high mobility game convention use some of enemies. Psychic abilities to weaken her enemies with Cragheart staying at level 1 cards and X cards are always no! Become more experienced you may not need to kite while attacking ( such as the Mindthief and manipulate the of. To role-play a Mindthief and manipulate the minds of your big attack cards...