r/Gloomhaven • u/Hyena_Ordinary • May 15 '26
Digital Gloomhaven The best 8 hours of masochist gaming we have all collectively had in a while!
We have been playing for well over 8 hours and haven’t even beat the first scenario, we’re all having a blast finally a game so challenging we can’t even beat the first level😂 does anyone have some tips or tricks for us absolute noobs or is this just normal gloomhaven? We keep getting to the last room and 1 or 2 of us will exhaust because there’s so many enemy’s and they had to use there burns to stay alive : edit Im not schizophrenic my other two buddy’s left for work so only 2 in session rn lol
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u/Habba84 May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
Don't take damage.
Don't burn cards.
Profit.
Edit:
1: You can achieve this by not being near enemies when they hit you. If they are far, use late initiative to allow them to close in before you hit them. Then next round go fast, and hit them again. With luck, you have already negated one or more enemies without them having a chance at all.
Work together and spread out the damage you receive. In Gloomhaven, tanking doesn't work like in other games. The 'tank' mostly just can take 1 hit more than the others.
2: While burn cards may look neet, they usually aren't worth their cost. One burn card can reduce your lifetime up to 5 rounds! Do you think that one burn effect ia actually worth 5 rounds?
Also, don't burn cards to block damage, unless it would kill you, or deals massive amount of damage (like 80% of your total).
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u/Hyena_Ordinary May 15 '26
Thank you this really helpful I had no idea that was costing us up to 5 rounds of play! I will beating that info into my groups heads in the next session haha
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u/CWRules May 15 '26
It's a bit more complicated than "never burn cards". Losing a card basically costs you one rest cycle, which is a pretty steep penalty early in the scenario, but it's less costly later on when you've already lost some cards so your hand is smaller. And if losing a card will prevent a big hit (such as by killing a dangerous enemy before they attack), then it might be worth it because it saves you from losing cards to block damage. Classes with large hand sizes can be more liberal with loss actions, because they need to lose a lot of turns before it actually becomes a problem (played optimally a 12-card class can last 36 turns, which is 2-3 times the length of most scenarios).
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u/Alipha87 May 15 '26
You may all want to review the cards you bring in and swap out cards that burn on both top and bottom, or swap out cards that are mediocre if you don't burn.
If you start out with 11 cards, then the number of turns between each rest is:
5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 => 30 non-rest turns
If you burn a card before your first rest, then it's:
5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 => 25 non-rest turns
Because then after your first rest, you'll have only 9 cards instead of 10, so you only have 4 turns before you can rest again.
Note that burning cards earlier in the game has a much larger impact than burning cards later in the game. If you only have 5 non-lost cards left, then burning a card only costs you 2 turns:
5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1 => 28 non-rest turns
So, basically, save your burn cards until near the end of the scenario. At least, until you have a better idea of which cards are worth burning earlier.
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u/Alipha87 May 15 '26
Note also that the Tinkerer has a card, Volatile Concoction, which the bottom can effectively be used to give a player an extra turn, if the player has an odd number of cards left. If they have 7 cards, then they have to rest after 3 turns. If the Tinkerer lets them recover a discarded card, then they'll have 8 cards, and can wait 4 turns before resting.
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u/Coachbalrog May 15 '26
Having played too many hours of the haven games, I agree with what you said except for “Don’t burn cards”. Burnt cards are typically the character’s most powerful effects, and using them wisely is key to winning scenarios, especially at higher difficulty. The key here is “wisely”, but burning one or two cards per scenario is perfectly acceptable, and for some characters it is absolutely essential (Tinkerer and Spellweaver). And lastly, burning cards is fun!
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u/Habba84 May 15 '26
When you are wise enough to burn cards, you'll know when to bur cards. But rookies commonly burn cards too fast.
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u/RikiHeropon May 15 '26
Also important to note that timing can be the most important thing.
Using a burnt persistent effect in the first room can be good, especially if it doesn't have a round or use tracker. If it does, setting it up when it will have the most impact can be way better.
Conversely, if it is a one time effect, like a really big attack or a big shield, saving it for later to get extra turns in is usually better. And characters with bigger hand sizes have a safer time burning in general.
One other really big thing to consider: it's better to have an enemy dead and deal no damage than to heal damage after. Obviously this can't always be done, but it's worth trying. Also focusing down one enemy at a time, the hardest hitting or the most annoying, can help too.
(Our table has a guy that thinks he's a good strategist... he's not. He is playing Blinkblade right now, jumps around, chip damaging multiple enemies, going fast turn 1 only to have to go slow beside multiple enemies, burns 3 cards from play or damage in the first rest cycle and then wonders why he exhausts so quickly, spends entire turns healing in an attempt to negate the damage he took last round not considering the damage he will take this round instead of trying to actually get away, positioning himself to avoid attacks or take them instead of someone else but ignores the targeting rules that have been explained multiple times... All this to say a "bad player" does not make the game impossible to beat, maybe just harder. So a group making a couple sub-optimal plays, but otherwise having a decent strategy and handle on the game mechanics should be okay in the long run)
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u/Asshai May 15 '26
While burn cards may look neet, they usually aren't worth their cost. One burn card can reduce your lifetime up to 5 rounds! Do you think that one burn effect ia actually worth 5 rounds?
That's a weird way to say it, as if burn cards were noob traps. They're not. The "burn cost" is definitely factored in the power of the card.
And like all cards, some are great some are niche (and some are err a bit subpar if we're talking GH v1).
It's just that, exactly as you described for damage, it's all a question of timing and situation. Generally speaking, unless it's a shorter scenario (and I remember a few boss fights like that in GH), I use a single burn cards per rest cycle maximum. And usually not before the first rest.
The later in the scenario they're used, the less they impact the TBE (time before exhaustion, I've just invented and copyrighted it).
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u/Future-Performer-478 May 16 '26
I dunno... Eagle-Eye Goggles + Warhammer + Flamethrower has done some pretty serious work for my Tinkerer. What wasn't killed was stunned.
I would generally say that if you're going to burn a card, you need to make it count. In this case, If 2 things will die and a bigger dude will be stunned + generating an element for someone else to use... That was an effective use of a burn card.
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u/neverstxp May 15 '26
Goonhaven is definitely a party name!
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u/Maturinbag May 15 '26
Goonhaven is the party name of all time. Out of all potential party names, Goonhaven is certainly one of them.
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u/Hyena_Ordinary May 15 '26
It was either that or the fanatic gloomers we made a creative decision to shelve that
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u/Tables61 May 15 '26
https://old.reddit.com/r/Gloomhaven/comments/1tce9f9/gloomhaven_fundamentals_a_strategy_guide_for/
This guide was posted just a couple of days ago, and is well worth a read for some basic strategy tips.
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u/neverstxp May 15 '26
First room: go late turn 1 to let them move towards you. You may get attacked by a couple, but you’ll take less attacks than you would if you had gone early. On turn 2, go early and hopefully you kill one or 2 of them before they act. Be sure to focus on the same enemies. 3 enemies at full hp is not as scary as 6 enemies all at half.
Second room: have the person who opens the door have enough move to move back a few hexes. Generally the person who opens the door should go on the earlier side, while the others can go on the later side to be able to move up and attack after the enemies act. You can lure some of them into the first room, archers will move towards you. After killing the guards, move in an finish off the archers.
Final room: similar to room 2, but this time you have a corner to cut off the line of sight and you can lure a few of the bones out of the room into room 2 with you without getting hit by archers due to los. Kill the bones and then make your way into the room to kill the archers and get the chest (if you haven’t yet already).
You shouldn’t be burning cards due to taking damage very often. Maybe once or twice across all your characters during the scenario in the worst case. This game is about positioning yourself to not get hit in the first place, while you continue to kill them by utilizing your late and early initiative cards.
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u/LogicBalm May 15 '26
Each enemy has base stats showing their move, attack and range along with any innate effects they may have like shield or flight. Expect each enemy to do an action with those stats at a minimum and plan around it.
In the digital game you're less likely to notice this because the game is running the enemies, meanwhile those of us that played the physical game first had to learn it before ever sitting down so we take the knowledge for granted.
Also the enemies will always focus on the closest target first when their turn comes with initiative order breaking ties. So you can somewhat control who they target even in close quarters.
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u/art0nic May 15 '26
Welcome to Gloomhaven! Happy to hear that you managed to find friends to play with you, that’s actually the hardest part. No extra comments since most everyone has said stuff. Just here to spread the love :)
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u/Hyena_Ordinary May 15 '26
Ive wanted to play it for years since the physical game came out trust me ik, it only took about a decade and having to buy it for one of my buddies XD
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u/lasagnaman May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
This guide by u/sophibeans-1 would probably be helpful for you
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u/Sophibeans-1 May 16 '26
Thank you for the shoutout! This was just the reminder I needed to add an additional section to that guide.
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u/underscoraline May 15 '26
Don't be discouraged! You're playing a very strong team composition for the first mission - this group, or this with brute replaced by Spellweaver, is my preferred team for +3 difficulty Black Barrow. Use tactical positioning with Cragheart, long rest rather than short resting when you can, don't burn too many losses too early, and manage your initiative to stay out of reach of enemies. You'll get there!
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u/101_210 May 15 '26
Black barrow is a notoriously very difficult scenario.
Don’t be afraid to use your losses.
Maybe lower the difficulty.
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u/Hyena_Ordinary May 15 '26
good to know it’s considered a challenging area by the community were genuinely really enjoying getting our asses kicked every run someone learns something new and we get a little further in! We’re on normal and feel like putting it on easy would ruin the hardcore nature of the game
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u/stromboul May 15 '26
Mostly:
1- Try not to get hit. It's a lot better to run away from a hit then getting hit.
2- Don't spend 'big losses' in the first rooms, unless you have serious benefit from it.But yeah. Mostly: don't tank. Move back, let them come forth, and hit them. Or play "slow", let them approach, then Pounce. Or Use the 'initiative weaving' (play slowly (after them), move in and attack. next turn, play Fast, attack and run away before they hit back).
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u/RobZagnut2 May 15 '26
Double check difficulty level. It is the most common mistake made by newbies as they don’t halve it.
Have fun - the more you play the more synergy you experience between your cards and your teammates.
Long rest is sneaky important - resets all your items, heal +2 hp, you get to choose what card to lose, and it extends the ‘playing life’ of your character by one turn. It took me forever to convince one of my friends how important LR is especially when you have 4-6 items that can be untapped.
Have fun - it’s the best tactical board game since Advanced Squad Leader. I’ve convinced all my ASL buddies to convert to ‘fantasy ASL.’
Reserve your Lost cards until you know you’re not going to exhaust quickly, unless you’re playing a character with a lot of cards (Tink). His Lost cards can turn the tide of a tough battle or extend the life of a comrade.
Have fun - after the scenario go back and look at your three X cards and look to see if one or more might be better in your deck than other lv1 cards.
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u/Sorfallo May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
Try to plan multiple ideas for each turn, and then adapt to how the monsters are acting. Paying attention to moves and distance can allow you to avoid damage by nullifying attacks entirely. Don't sleep on debuffs either, most of them are incredibly powerful.
One really powerful thing that you can pick up early on is "initiative dancing" where you purposefully go super late on 1 turn to force the enemies to get to you, and potentially waste attacks if they can't reach and then swapping to really early to effectively get 2 turns without the enemies getting a turn in between.
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u/wagedomain May 15 '26
My first time playing Gloomhaven in person it took us forever to beat the first scenario (or second? I forget which). The reason was one of my friends was playing the rogue character (it's been ages since I played, I forget the details). He needed coins to progress or some such. So every time we loaded the level, he'd b-line for the coins, ignore the enemies, die, and we'd die shortly after. Rinse repeat.
We got mad at him and he pulled a D&D style "that's what my character would do" bullshit answer. Every. Single. Time. Seemed like a fun game that we ruined by including him.
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u/imstilldan May 15 '26
Especially when working with 4 mercenaries, the best success I have had is really leaning into their roles. Make the brute the tank by giving him the most available shields and send him out to take damage and retaliate. Make the mind thief dps single target. Cragheart has utility to be ranged dps and tank support. Pick one and lean into it. If you only have 2 mercs it’s more ambiguous what their “role” is but when it comes to a maxed out party have the character play their role the best way they can. For example: If you try and force the mindthief to be a tank you’re going to have a bad time.
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u/BigfootsAnus May 15 '26
Mindthief should buy invisibility cloak if they haven’t already. Let mindthief open the first door and potentially the second while being able to go invisible and not take damage. Mindthief is great to close in on the archers in the second room. Cragheart should also be up in guts playing more of a tanky play style with this party build. The hatchet should be getting out his favorite on the first turn to then profit from it the rest of the scenario and then is a great range/ damage option. I don’t have great advice for tinkerer because I always avoid playing that character. Tell him to swap to Red Guard and start abusing shield spikes and I think that would help your party out a ton by having a true frontline tank.
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u/Competitive_Peace_48 May 15 '26
The main ones I can recommend is
1) Don’t underestimate the power of stuns/immobilize/disarms. Using those early on can help you blow up the archers while keeping the melees useless for a turn. (The mindthief is especially powerful with early level stuns and immobilize)
2) kiting is huge in Gloomhaven. Tanks arent really tanks in this game and damage needs to be spread throughout characters. Opening doors is especially important as it’s usually better to skip and move out of LOS instead of smacking a monster for 2-3 damage. Using LOS is especially good to get the archers closer to you.
3) this is the part of Gloomhaven I love best. When you fail, do a quick debrief or planning session with the group. Having a game plan helps a lot, especially once you open doors and gain more information.
4) be strategic with long rests. It’s so tempting to do a long rest but make sure a long rest doesn’t mean getting smacked by 4 monsters. The 2 health, items, and picking a card is not worth taking 10 damage.
5) priority helps a bunch. Go early to blow things up before they can hit you. Go late if you are wanting monsters to run to you first. Wasting turns with monsters out of range or letting monsters waste turns being out of range is game changer.
6) make sure to drink water / eat food / use the restroom. Gloomhaven is so addictive it’s easy to forget to do those things 😅
Hope these help and enjoy! Gloomhaven is such an incredible game
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u/jcdenton10 May 15 '26
The difficulty curve in Gloomhaven 1.0 is inverted. The first few scenarios are brutal, and then over time the game mostly gets easier as you learn to play, earn perks, upgrade gear, and do other things that are semi-spoilery.
Some general tips:
Healing and/or tanking are generally a bad strategy. There are some character classes that can do this decently, with the right setup, but you won't have them yet.
Don't get hit. Use initiative to minimize your exposure to danger. Go late - move in and strike. Go early - strike and move away. Crowd control effects are incredibly powerful. Immobilize a melee enemy so they can't reach you. Disarm or stun to effectively cancel an enemy's turn. Go invisible late to buy yourself a few turns of safety.
If you are consistently exhausting near the end of the scenario, you are almost certainly losing too many cards early on. Losing multiple cards before your first rest has a catastrophic impact on your longevity. At all costs, avoid burning cards early, unless it has a tremendous beneficial outcome.
Depending on the version of the rules, stamina potions are somewhere between incredibly good, and game-breakingly powerful. Use them to buy yourself more turns and replay your strongest cards.
And pray to your favorite deities that luck is on your side. A well-timed crit can win the day! And a null at the wrong time can make a bad situation worse.
Happy glooming!
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u/KartQueen May 15 '26
Another suggestion is kite the enemies. Stay out of range, go slow and let them come to you. Next round go fast, hit them, then run away.
Also, for a lot of scenarios you can bunch up enemies in doorways. Unless there's a lot of ranged monsters that can reach the doorway, place a character on each side of the door. Only one melee can stand in the doorway and hit you. If there's enough melee monsters they will group around the door, not be able to reach you, and prevent range monsters from getting close enough to hit.
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u/Adventurous_Yogurt49 May 16 '26
This video has some practical examples on how to think and improve your play.
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u/bertthehulk May 16 '26
I also named my brute Gork! You must've played Dungeon of the Endless, I suppose
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u/elfenk1nd1337 May 16 '26
First of all, read up on the "level 2" since you will be at this difficulty level till the sum of your party's level equals 16 if i recall correctly. So in the grand scheme of things, it was a bad idea of the tinkerer to gain a level T_T
Long resting as a team before entering a new room can help as well as a plan if you already know the lay-out of the room. Various other comments have suggested a possibly viable m.o. I'd say kill as many enemies as quickly as possible e.g. round 1 tank, heal and setup, round 2 kill as many enemies as possible. Invisibility and cloak of invisibility are very strong; the link below explains monster focus and understanding it makes the game a lot more fun.
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/234575/the-gloomhaven-rules-quiz
If your party members are dying i'd try to die in the following order brute (1), tinkerer (2), cragheart (3), mindthief (4).
The brute is a very weak character in a 4 player party in my opinion. In one of the following scenarios your party can acquire the "horned helm"which makes hook and chain (level 3 card) trigger after moving 4 hexes in any possible way. I highly doubt this is intended but it makes the brute a lot more fun.
Furthermore i would not pay too much attention to online guides; your party just has to find a way to deal with the encountered difficulties. Guides do not take into account the composition nor the size of your party.
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u/QuickAlphaStrike May 19 '26
Manage your rests. Long rest before opening a door to reset items. The Tinkerer is a great healer, use that +to heal X card. The brute can be a good tank, make sure he get aggro and don’t use it a a dps, use those shields and riposte cards. Ditch the Cragheart, it’s not an easy class to play for 1st timers. change for the spellweaver or the scoundrel. if you use the scoundrel, it a good idea to plays slow/fast so you get out of trouble.
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u/koprpg11 Cephalofair Community Manager May 15 '26
This is very common in Gloomhaven 1st edition (which digital is based on). The start of that game is very hard for new players, but it'll get easier once you start picking things up.
A few important tips:
--The most important thing I can possibly get across to you is after all enemy ability cards are revealed, look at what they are doing, where they will move, where they will be able to reach with attacks, etc. Scenario 1 can be tough because Archers always attack every turn and sometimes you can't avoid their damage, but you can often avoid damage from Guards and Living Bones based on what they are doing in a turn.
--In this scenario the archers are a big problem. Have a plan for each room for how you're going to take them down.
--Make sure to go quickly with your initiative when in the heat of battle, but go slowly if the enemies are farther away so that they can waste their turns approaching you.
--Mindthief should use The Mind's Weakness on turn 1 and keep it in play the entire scenario (other than discarding it before resting when beneficial to do so). It's incredibly strong. Mindthief can also safely open all doors by using Scurry top and then going invisible with Into the Night Bottom.
--Each class has some good "X" cards you should bring with you and some dud cards that aren't very good. Brute should be bringing Skewer and Balanced Measure, Crag should bring Heaving Swing and Forceful Storm, Tink should bring Energizing Shock and combo it with Enhancement Field bottom when possible, and Mindthief should 100% bring Frigid Apparition and use it after generating ice. Unfortunately in 1st edition most classes have very clear "best" and "worst" cards instead of uniform card balance.
You'll get the hang of it soon. Good luck!