Gloomhaven Enhancement guide

Minor spoilers ahead!! 

While the existence of Gloomhaven enhancements is not a spoiler, how and when you get access to them is. 

The goal of the this guide is to provide some guidance and options on selecting your enhancements. If you haven't got access to enhancements yet, I recommend you go back to your game until you eventually unlock it. 

Enhancements are also very expensive!

Enhancements allow for personal choice and allow for plenty of room to experiment with different playstyles. This guide is to give some general advice on choosing your enhancements and what cards to improve.

It's sticker time!

How much does it cost?

Figuring out how much an enhancement costs can seem like a silly math puzzle, but it doesn't need to be. My suggestion is to use a calculator. Any one of these will do. 

• The Arcane Library - Enhancement calculator
• Excel Enhancement calculator on Boardgamegeek by Dathras.
• Gloomhaven Companion App by TomKat Creative

 But for those who don't have a calculator handy, the price list is below:

At a glance:

• Enhancing higher level cards costs more. If we were trying to be cost effective, we would aim enhance good, powerful level 1 cards first.
• Previous enhancements really up the pricing. 
• Disarm is the most  expensive enhancement, for good reason. Jump, Strengthen, Bless and Muddle are the cheapest effects. +1 to Heal, Push, Pull, Pierce, Range and Move are the cheapest +1 effects. 

Overall enhancements are costly. In general, items are typically more cost effective than enhancements. For example, this convenient set of Boots costs 20g. It adds +2 points of movement with any move action on any card played. It recovers after a Long Rest.

Now to add +1 Movement to a single level 1 card, costs 30g! It already costs more than the Boots and you still need to rest to pick the card back up (yes although short rests and Stamina potions work though). Overall, items are more powerful for their cost. However there are only so many boots your character can wear - enhancements are far more flexible. 

Enhancement Limits

Enhancement do have limits, you can only have enhanced cards at most, equal to your prosperity level.

The total number of enhanced cards in a class’s ability deck must be equal to or less than the prosperity level of the town. Once placed, enhancement stickers should never be removed. Enhancements persist through all instances of a specific character class, even after retirement.

There's also limits to where you can place each respective enhancement effect. For example you can't add poison to a move effect or a jump to an attack effect. 

General Enhancement Guidelines

Righto! So that's alot to take in. Where do we start? Each character has alot of cards, and there's a near infinite combination of enhancements you can put on your cards. What's good? What's bad? 

Without breaking into the specific classes yet, these are some general tips for getting the most out of your enhancements.

• Adding a jump to a strong move card is always useful. For scenarios where the objective is to loot or reach a certain point, you will be thankful to have an extra jump handy. 
• Elements can be added on any main ability line. This is best used for Move effects. For Characters like the Cragheart, adding extra Earth Elements to your Move cards will go a long way for you. 
• If your character struggles against enemies with high shield values, try adding Wound effects to your cards. Even if you don't break through the shield, the wounds will still damage them. 
• Adding immobilize to push effects is amazing. By immobilizing and then pushing a melee monster away, you make sure they can't hit you back on their turn!
• Curse gets better the more you stack it. It's expensive, but if you can add curse to your multi target attacks you'll find it does alot for helping your party survive monster attacks.
• Disarm is expensive, but if you can afford it, put it on your low initiative attack cards. When you do go for a disarm, you generally want to act before your enemies do.
• Bless is more powerful on characters who make strong attacks consistently. Otherwise you're generally better with Strengthen. For example a Scoundrel who regularly pulls Attack 3-5 regularly will benefit more from Bless than a Cragheart using Dirt Tornado doing an Attack 1 to soften enemy groups. 
• In general, you get more out of your enhancements by placing them on non-loss cards. Some powerful loss cards may still benefit tremendously from certain enhancements.
• Enhancing any multi target attack doubles the base cost. This means whether it's sticking a curse effect on Dirt Tornado or Reviving Shock, it will cost the same. Big area attacks like Dirt Tornado are prime targets for piling on status effects.
• UPDATE: Adding strengthen to the bottom action such as the heal on mana bolt helps set you up with advantage for when need it. 

Curse costs 75g. Both are level 1 cards that hit multiple targets. The cost to enhancing both these cards is 150g each (75g multiplied by 2).

Character specific enhancement guide

I've written up class specific suggestions for early campaign enhancements. Some of these will still be useful mid campaign. Late campaign where you are earning alot more gold, there are so many more possible enhancement combinations. 

These are spoilered and cover cards up to level 3. 

Spellweaver

• Mystic Ally (summon) +1 Range. (50g) 
• Mystic ally is already such a powerful summon. More range makes it more flexible to use/
• Mana Bolt (Top) +1 Atk (50g) 
• Mana Bolt (Bottom) Strengthen (50g)
• Flame Strike (Top or Bottom) +1 Range (30g)
• Flame Strike's 2 range can be tricky to use. Adding range to the top makes it better than Mana Bolt. 
• Impaling Eruption (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• If you need an extra jump card
• Impaling Eruption (Top) +1 Range (60g)
• Flashing Burst (Top) +1 Atk or Wound (75g / 100g)
• Coldfire (Top) Add hex (116g)
• Elemental Aid (Top) Bless (100g)

Brute

• Grab & Go (Bottom) / Fatal Advance add Jump (50g)
• Trample (Bottom) +1 Move (30g).
• It's a loss card but the combination is extremely powerful and relatively cheap on gold it's worth a mention. 
• Leaping Cleave (Bottom) +1 Move (30g)
• The 3 Move jump is already good. Make it 4 to help close the distance. Helps when combining with Balanced Measure. 
• Spare Dagger (Bottom) Add Poison (75g) 
• This helps when you combo your bottom dagger poison with another top attack.
• Brute Force (Top) Add Curse or Wound (200g)
• Curse is good if your party is also adding curses. Otherwise spreading those wounds is always nice. 

Scoundrel

• Flanking Strike (Top) +1 Attack (50g)
• Flanking Strike (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Flanking strike is your best level 1 card, so investing in it will go a long way for your campaign.
• Backstab (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Thief's Knack (Bottom) Poison (75g).
• Poison on bottom combines with a top attack for big damage. 
• Swift Bow (Top) Add Immobilize (100g)
• Good for shooting melee monsters to prevent them from approaching.
• Open Wound (Top) +1 Attack (75g)
• Smoke Bomb (Top) Strengthen (50g)
• Strengthen to gain advantage on following turn to make sure you hit your target. 

Cragheart

• Rumbling Advance (Bottom) +1 Move (30g)
• Extra movement helps position yourself and avoid friendly fire
• Massive Boulder (Top) +1 Attack (50g)
• Massive Boulder (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Heaving Swing (Top) Immobilize (100g)
• Stops melee enemies from hitting you back
• Dirt Tornado (Top) Curse (150g)
• When dropping into hot, deadly rooms, this lets you fill the monster deck with curses. If you can save up 150g this is one of the single most powerful enhancements you can make in the game.
• Adding Earth element to any level 1 card Move or Attack action (100g). 

Tinkerer

• Proximity Mine, Ink Bomb, Stun Shot (Bottom) Add Jump (50g)
• Stun Shot is the preferred card to enhance as both halves are non-loss effects, but each of these are solid movement cards. 
• Reinvigorating Elixir, Restorative Mist, Stamina Booster (Top) Add Bless or Strengthen (50g / 75g for Stamina Booster)
• Restorative Mist (Bottom) +1 Move (30g)
• Enhancement Field (Top) +1 Attack (50g) 
• This one's just a solid ranged attack
• Disorienting Flash (Bottom) +1 Move (55g)

Mindthief 

• Fearsome Blade (Top) Immobilize (100g) 
• Powerful early game enhancement for the Mindthief if you can afford it. 
• Empathetic Assault (Bottom) Strengthen (50g)
• Great to give yourself advantage and position yourself for an offensive. 
• Feedback Loop (Bottom) +1 Move (30g)
• Already decent jump card, more movement makes it much better. 
• Peverse Edge (Bottom) +1 Range (30g)
• Going from 2 to 3 Range Stun makes it much easier to use.
• The Mindthief benefits from consuming Ice elements but could use more help to generate Ice Element reliably. You can add Ice Element to any level 1 move or attack for 100g. 

Now for the locked classes. To avoid spoilers, only click the classes you want to see.

Two Mini Class

• Patch fur (Bottom) Bless (50g)
• Two mini class benefits from bless quite a bit since the bear hits quite hard with concentrated rage. 
• Howling Bolts (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Nothing quite like a huge jumping bear.
• Vicious Ally (Bottom) / Unstoppable Beast (Top) +1 Attack. (150g).
• Energizing Strike (Top) +1 Attack / Wound (75g / 100g)

Lightning Bolt

• Strength in Agony (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Bounce Back (Bottom) Strengthen (50g)
• Adding a Strengthen to the bottom helps you attack with advantage when you need it. 
• Unbridled Power (Top) Wound (75g)
• Adding wound to a stun effect is great. Means they take at least 2 wound damage before they can act again after the stun wears off.
• Numb the Pain (Bottom) +1 Move (30g)
• Break the Chains (Bottom) +1 Move or Jump (55g / 75g)
• Fatal Fury (Bottom) +1 Move (80g)
• This makes the positioning easier. 

Three Spears

• Hastened Step (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Crushing Hammer (Bottom) Bless (50g)
• Crippling Blow (Bottom) Poison / Wound (75g)
• Already a useful bottom with a ranged immobilize. 
• The Quartermaster doesn't have alot of good early game enhancements, but the class benefits more from spending gold on items anyway. 

Angry Face

• Solid Bow (Top) +1 Attack (50g)
• A Moment's Peace (Bottom) Strengthen / Bless (50g)
• Swift Trickery (Bottom) Jump (50g) 
• Fresh Kill (Top) +1 Range (30g)
• Press the Attack (Top) +1 Range (30g)
• The Doomstalker is a fairly straightforward character. It does ranged damage and does it consistently. Enhancing more range and more attack

Cthulu face

• Creeping Curse / Gathering Doom (Top) Curse (75g)
• Curse is better when it stacks.
• Spread the Plague (Bottom) Poison (75g)
• Wretched Swarm (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Under The Skin (Bottom) Jump (75g)
• Paralyzing Bite (Top) Poison / Wound (75g)
• Unlike the Cragheart, none of the level 1 big area attacks can be enhanced with Curse. However, you still have plenty of Curses to give, and enhancing those will go a long way to helping your team survive Monster attacks. 

Sun

• Tactical Order (Top / Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Daybreak (Bottom) +1 Move / Bless (30g / 50g)
• Purifying Aura (Bottom) Bless (50g)
• Defensive Stance (Bottom) +1 Shield (100g)
• Permanent 2 Shield buff is extremely powerful.  
• Hammer blow (Top) +1 Attack (50g)
• Sun Class has many cards to use Light Elements. Adding a Light element to your cards will benefit you overall.

Eclipse

• Smokestep (Bottom) +1 Move (30g)
• Good card, but Move 1 is hard to use. Give it a +1 Move and this becomes a much better card.
• Doomed Breeze (Top) Add Poison or Wound (75g)
• Prepare for the Kill (Bottom) +1 Move (55g) 
• Eclipse class doesn't have many strong early campaign options for enhancement. Eclipse uses lots of Dark element. If in doubt, you can simply add a dark element to any move or attack action for (100g).

Circles / Ubisoft class

• Wild Animation (Top) +1 Move (100g)
• Helps the summon keep up with the party. 
• Wild Animation (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Living Night (Top) +1 Attack (100g)
• Since you get two summons out of this one, upgrading this has double the effect.
• Volatile Flame (Top) +1 Move (100g)
• The extra move helps this one close the distance and get into exploding range.
• Most of the Summon enhancements are expensive but are worth it. 

Music Note

• Tuning the Outcome (Bottom) Curse (75g)
• Nimble Knife (Top) Add curse (75g) 
• Singing Arrow (Top) Add Hex (66g)
• Curse is better, the more there is.
• Nimble Knife (Bottom) Jump (50g)
• Throw Voice (Top) Add Hex (66g)
• Marching Beat (Top / Bottom) Add Jump (50g) 

Triforce

• This class benefits the most from adding "Any Element" enhancement to their actions (150g). The elemental versatility makes it much easier to set up your turns and this class becomes significantly more powerful when able to consistently utilize elements.
• Examples of good places to add "Any Element"
• Pure Augmentation (Bottom)
• Raw Enhancement (Bottom)
• Encompassing Shadow (Bottom)

Saw

• Triage (Bottom) Add Jump (50g)
• First Aid (Bottom) Add Jump (50g)
• Precaution (Top) Bless (125g)
• Better in 4 person party. 
• Bloody Saw (Top) +1 Attack (50g)
• Hamstring (Bottom) Add Jump (75g)

Thanks for reading this far. If there's any other powerful enhancement combinations that I've missed, let me know and I'll update the post.