Gloomhaven Perk Guide | Math and modifiers

So you got your 3 checkmarks... or  you leveled up. Amazing! But there are so many perks... which one do you choose? 

For the math nerds, there is a Gloomhaven Perk calculator here.  You get a perk each time you complete enough battle goals to receive 3 checkmarks. You also get a perk everytime you level up and start with a bonus perk during character creation for each character you've retired previously. 

Deck size

At the start of the game, your modifier deck is made of 20 cards total with the following results.

• 1x Null card
• 1x Double Damage
• 1x -2 
• 1x +2
• 6x +0 
• 5x -1
• 5x +1

Deck size is important, the general rule is a smaller modifier deck will magnify the impact of any future perks, as well as bless and curse effects. 

For example, in your base deck you have a 1 in 20 chance to pulling the double damage card (~5%). Adding 2 blesses to your existing 20 card deck will result in a 22 card deck that has 3 double damage cards in there, making your chance to pull a double damage card about 1 in 7 (~13.6%). 

Say we took the perk to remove 2x -1 cards, reducing the deck size to 18 cards. We buy the same 2 blessings increasing our deck to 20 cards. The chance to draw a double damage result is about 15%. 

The same is also true for curses, they become more prevalent in a smaller deck. 

Flip those beauties

Variance and Average

The average and median extra damage output is +0, but there is quite a bit of variance in the base deck. For example if you make an Attack 3 action, you only have a 30% chance of doing the 3 damage you expect, and a 70% chance of doing more or less. 

Some perks reduce the variance by replacing some of the results such as replacing a -1 card with a +1 card. In general consistency is good and helps you confirm kills in Gloomhaven. Characters who are expected to eliminate enemies quickly such as the Scoundrel should look to make a consistent deck.

In some cases, adding variance can be more beneficial to your party. Some characters can add a +3 damage card, while the Cragheart can add a -2 damage and 2x +2 damage cards to their deck. For characters who's main role is tanking or providing support, dealing damage and confirming kills isn't their main priority. So increasing the variance, adding extreme +3 damage cards into their decks can give them surprise kills that they would not normally be able to do, as well as give them a chance break through high shield enemies. 

Ignore Scenario Effects and Ignore Negative Item effects

Some scenario effects are nasty, and about 1/3rd of your scenarios will have negative effects. Consider getting this early in your adventure if available. Keep in mind, negative road events will still hurt, and this won't protect you from those. 

Ignore Negative Item effects is another perks that new players might have trouble grasping. Heavy armor in Gloomhaven comes with a catch, they add -1 modifiers to your deck. The value of this perk depends entirely on what armor is available and affordable to you. 

Prosperity 3 spoilers

Item #23 makes taking this perk worth it once you gain access to it. 

Status effects

Some perks allow you to add cards that tack on a Stun, Disarm, Immobilize, Poison or Wound effect to your attack. As these are unreliable effects, their value is questionable but in some cases, it can be worth it. 

If your character is a ranged attacker, being able to randomly immobilize enemies can be strong. You can stop enemies approaching or get them stuck in odd spots such as doorways. 

Stun and Disarm are great for characters that normally have low damage or attacks that target multiple enemies. You won't rely on it, but being able to randomly disarm enemies can save you from some extra damage. 

Status effects on rolling modifier cards don't increase the effective size of the deck. For example a 21 card deck with a rolling modifier in it, takes 20 draws to go through it, effectively the same as a 20 card deck. This can be useful if you want want to avoid bloating your deck. Keep in mind rolling modifiers do change the way advantage / disadvantage work, so if your character regularly uses Strengthen or other effects to gain advantage, you may want to deprioritize rolling modifiers. 

Elemental Infusions

Elemental infusions on modifier cards are only useful if your character has the ability to consistently consume elements or if your party does. Since you can't predict when you'll draw the elemental modifier, you need multiple cards that can consume the element for the elemental modifiers to be useful next turn. 

Spellweaver and Cragheart are two starting characters that can regularly consume the elemental infusions. 

Removing +0 cards

Some characters have the ability to remove their +0 cards from their deck. Initially, this wont increase your average damage output. However once you've picked up other perks, slotted in some extra juicy +2 damage cards, taking out the +0's is helpful as it reduces the size of your deck and increases your odds of pulling the big damage out. 

Removing +0 cards is also a massive boost if you are regularly adding blesses to your modifier deck. A smaller pool of cards makes it so those blesses come out more often.

Until next time, lets hope those null's don't come out and play!