Gloomhaven - roguelike dungeon-crawling adaptation of the board game

[ERYFKRAD]

There's no wokeness in Gloomhaven - the accussations of such is about Frosthaven, the sequel that Childres is developing. Haven't followed development myself, so couldn't speak to it. But I wouldn't be surprised given how much it's infested the general boardgaming populace.

Thanks for claryfiying, I thought you meant GH. Haven't followed Frosthaven either, but if what you say is true that's discouraging.

There is extreme diversity in GH though - some idiots might consider that woke.

fixed

So much diversity it's a freak show.

I don't really give a damn.

HOWEVER.

The barbarian uses a shield. This game is therefore an unplayable piece of shit. 1/10, will remove the single point next week when I feel less generous.

Spoiler

Honestly though this is a thinking man's game so I foresee this game is gonna take a lot of my time.

You'll really like lightning bolt.

Spoiler

Methinks nay.

 

[whydoibother]

Wondering if I should get into this (the PC version on Steam). Is this good to play on your second monitor while pretending to work? Is it a game I can pick up/drop within a moment's notice, and just have it sit there while I do something?

EDIT: Also do I need to buy the DLC?

 

[Lacrymas]

1) You should get this.
2) It depends on how much you can concentrate on the game. It's not a simple game and you have to read card abilities quite frequently (until you memorize them) and pay attention to the environment. I'm leaning towards no.
3) It's turn-based and very slow-paced, so yes.
4) You don't need to buy it, but it's good.

If you want something like Gloomhaven that is as tactically rich but not as involved, I recommend Trials of Fire.

 

[Grunker]

1) It's fantastic.
2) No, in fact it's horrid for that, unless you're really good/used to it. It's quite a demanding game I'd say.
3) Yes, there's literally no point during the game you can't save and quit with ease except for an enemy's turn or very short text events.
4) No - it's basically self-contained and best played after you've familiarized yourself with the main game.

 

[Lacrymas]

Technically, Jaws of the Lion is designed to be a less expensive introductory adventure you can pick up first so you can decide whether to get the main game, but whether it succeeds at that I can't say. I played the main game first, so no idea.

 

[whydoibother]

20 minutes in, already seeing a triggering bug: my second tutorial doesn't get that [v] check on it to signal its completed

 

[Lacrymas]

Report it on Discord, they practically spam with patches.

 

[Grunker]

Report it on Discord, they practically spam with patches.

Except for the one issue that still matters: turn time with certain monsters

 

[Lacrymas]

There's also an issue where both you and the enemy are unable to move for some reason and you have to exit to the main menu and reload.

 

[Sacibengala]

RNG in this game is stupid, wish that it had some mod to get rid of it.

 

[Lacrymas]

RNG can and does fuck you over a lot, yes. And when it goes in your favor, it's usually overkill.

 

[Grunker]

RNG in this game is stupid, wish that it had some mod to get rid of it.

There's literally a houserule to remove the only form of RNG that can have massive negative impact if you're really unlucky (removes x0 and x2 cards).

However I don't agree with you or Lacrymas in this instance. Good Gloomhaven players can nearly win 100% of scenarios, it's that close to being deterministic if you're good enough. When you add the ability to houserule criticals and fumbles to that, I really don't get what the fuss is about. Probably people skirting by on a razor's edge difficulty-wise tired of that one time they drew three x0 in a single turn. I've never noticed it really and I'm not even that good (don't play on the hardest difficulty).

Also, perks are wonderful customization, why would you remove that. It's like if an RPG allowed you to change your personal set of dice for your character.

 

[Lacrymas]

There are ways to mitigate and play around the RNG, of course, but what I'm saying is that RNG usually screws you over instead of helping you out. You don't play your cards with the intention of RNG helping you, especially early on when you have no perks, so when it does go your way it's mostly overkill. Sure, there are moments where you one shot a full-hp elite with a 2x backstab, but those are rather rare.

 

[Parabalus]

RNG is pretty noticeable when you first pick up the game, and are still learning everything.

Later on you can exploit broken stuff to not have to worry about it, if you don't want to.

Works well.

 

[Sacibengala]

Good Gloomhaven players can nearly win 100% of scenarios, it's that close to being deterministic if you're good enough.

I'm not good, that's the problem, lol. But being seriously, I get it that you can get screwed or get lucky, but what I want for a game like this is the tactical aspect, the puzzle aspect, not the lucky one. I don't want this kind of surprise.

 

[Parabalus]

Good Gloomhaven players can nearly win 100% of scenarios, it's that close to being deterministic if you're good enough.

I'm not good, that's the problem, lol. But being seriously, I get it that you can get screwed or get lucky, but what I want for a game like this is the tactical aspect, the puzzle aspect, not the lucky one. I don't want this kind of surprise.

You can clear later maps without even rolling modifier, just need to get the higher level cards.

 

[pakoito]

Technically, Jaws of the Lion is designed to be a less expensive introductory adventure you can pick up first so you can decide whether to get the main game, but whether it succeeds at that I can't say. I played the main game first, so no idea.

It does, it takes 5 scenarios out of 25 to introduce the rules progressively. The rest of the scenarios feel manageable but retain GHs punch. The final boss is still a bitch to kill unless you come prepared.

 

[whydoibother]

Okay, so I bought and played this for a bit. So far, so good. My two big concerns are: the attack roll RNG is fucking abhorrent. Worse than Darkest Dungeon, and more influential too; and that missions seem to become much harder, very fast. A basic summoned skelly attacking me 2 times per turn, always rolling +1 attack, and hitting for half my health, and there's 2 of them (more in the next room), and they have shield, and basically I have to waste so much resources dealing with them or controlling them that I can't make it till the end of this basic dungeon.

I think I'll drop it for a few days, return to it during the weekend with a clearer head.

 

[Grunker]

The attack RNG is nowhere near DD level. In DD characters can die no matter how well you play, if you play well in Gloomhaven it is insanely unlikely (read: almost impossible) to lose to RNG alone.

 

[whydoibother]

The attack RNG is nowhere near DD level. In DD characters can die no matter how well you play, if you play well in Gloomhaven it is insanely unlikely (read: almost impossible) to lose to RNG alone.

I don't die due to RNG, but I waste cards due to RNG, and therefore I can't complete the mission. Which is a failure state.

 

[Lacrymas]

Yeah, the power of RNG is deceptive. Yes, it tends to not go in your favor, but it's extremely manageable once you know what you are doing. Also, whydoibother, are you playing the campaign or guildmaster mode? Fighting skellies as first missions sounds like the guildmaster mode to me. The campaign is harder.

 

[whydoibother]

Also, @whydoibother, are you playing the campaign or guildmaster mode? Fighting skellies as first missions sounds like the guildmaster mode to me. The campaign is harder.

I don't recall, whichever one is the default. I start in down, hire 2 guys, get a quest to do 2 quests linked to each other. There's city quests between other quests. The initial lady giving me quests is a baddie trying to unleash undead on town. There's temple, enchanter, trader. Which mod is that?

Edit: normal difficulty, btw. I can't imagine how bad its on higher difficulties.

 

[pakoito]

Stamina management is not intuitive and it's the easiest way of fucking yourself over. Rule of thumb is to never burn a card until cycle 2 or 3. And even then it's better to delay them to as late as possible as scenarios tend to get harder as rooms open. The only exception are infinite installs that are key to your class, and only if the board state allows you to.

 

[Parabalus]

Also, @whydoibother, are you playing the campaign or guildmaster mode? Fighting skellies as first missions sounds like the guildmaster mode to me. The campaign is harder.

I don't recall, whichever one is the default. I start in down, hire 2 guys, get a quest to do 2 quests linked to each other. There's city quests between other quests. The initial lady giving me quests is a baddie trying to unleash undead on town. There's temple, enchanter, trader. Which mod is that?

Edit: normal difficulty, btw. I can't imagine how bad its on higher difficulties.

The beginning is by far the hardest part, especially if you're learning the system.

I wouldn't worry about normal difficulty is giving you trouble, it's expected, especially if running a 4 man (lots of things to keep track of immediately).

 

[Grunker]

The attack RNG is nowhere near DD level. In DD characters can die no matter how well you play, if you play well in Gloomhaven it is insanely unlikely (read: almost impossible) to lose to RNG alone.

I don't die due to RNG, but I waste cards due to RNG, and therefore I can't complete the mission. Which is a failure state.

Equivalent to dying. My point is the same. In DD you can play near-perfect and still lose a character, Gloomhaven is practically deterministic in comparison.

It’s a very hard game however, especially if you play solo controlling four characters. My hardest diff run doing just that may be my hardest gaming experience to date.