Optimize your attack modifier deck — choose your class, select perks, and see exact draw probabilities
| Card Type | Base Count | Effect Value | Base Probability | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Null (×0) | 1 | Miss all attacks | 5.0% | Special |
| Crit (×2) | 1 | Double damage | 5.0% | Special |
| −2 | 1 | −2 to attack | 5.0% | Standard |
| −1 | 5 | −1 to attack | 25.0% | Standard |
| +0 | 6 | No change | 30.0% | Standard |
| +1 | 5 | +1 to attack | 25.0% | Standard |
| +2 | 1 | +2 to attack | 5.0% | Standard |
| Class | Total Perks | Key Strategy | Remove Neg? | Rolling Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brute | 11 | Remove negatives, add rolling | Yes (high) | Moderate |
| Spellweaver | 10 | Element infusion rolling | Yes (high) | High |
| Scoundrel | 10 | Poison/muddle rolling | Yes (high) | High |
| Cragheart | 11 | Remove null, add +1s | Yes (null) | Moderate |
| Mindthief | 11 | Stun/curse rolling | Yes (high) | Very High |
| Tinkerer | 10 | Wound/stun + bless | Yes | Moderate |
| Diviner | 10 | Bless allies, curse enemies | Yes | High |
| Deck Quality | Normal Avg | Advantage Avg | Disadvantage Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Deck (20 cards) | +0.50 | +1.20 | −0.15 |
| Remove 2x −1 (18 cards) | +0.78 | +1.45 | +0.10 |
| Remove 4x neg (16 cards) | +1.06 | +1.75 | +0.38 |
| Optimized + 4 Bless (20 cards) | +1.50 | +2.20 | +0.80 |
| With 5 Curses in deck | −0.25 | +0.30 | −0.80 |
| Card Type | Effect | Max in Deck | Removed After Draw? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bless | ×2 (like crit) | 10 total game | Yes – one-time use |
| Curse (self) | Null (×0) | 10 total game | Yes – one-time use |
| Bless (ally) | ×2 for that ally | Per ally deck | Yes |
| Curse (enemy) | Null for enemy | 10 total game | Yes |
Perks in Gloomhaven have big influence. The choice of the right perks genuinely helps to shape how a character performs during battle. During every attack of the character, the basic deck gets changed according to a card from the cover of attack modifiers.
By means of a Perk spot one can create the best version of this cover.
How does one get perks effectively? There are two main ways. First, a character receives a Perk each time when it moves to a higher level.
Second every three marks on the sheet of the character deliver an extra Perk. Those marks mostly come from finishing targets in fights during adventures. On the sheet of character are only eighteen places for marks, so that only six perks can happen from targets of fights in total.
Every character gets about fifteen perks, and that amount stays same for all classes.
The starting covers of modifiers are same for every character. It is made up of one card x0, one minus two, five minus one, six plus nothing, five plus one, one plus two and one x2 card. That mix gives around 35% chance to draw a negative, including the card x0 for failures.
Perks alter this cover over tiem, and that fixes them like this built in.
Here is something interesting about the cards x0 and x2. They only affect the others when the attack value reaches none. When the cover of modifiers becomes better, the card x0 actually hurts more than the x2 helps. Moreover, both cards cause reshuffling of the cover, so they appear around 1.5 times more commonly then the others.
If a Perk has two boxes next to it on the sheet of character, that shows that one can choose it twice using two different spots for perks. The players deserve to choose perks in any order instead of going from top until bottom.
Some perks allow a character to ignore negative effects of events, while others help to ignore the minus one because of usage of heavy items like armour. These usually rank between the most important choices. Choosing perks for roll modifiers can be tricky because of complex ties with the system of advantages, which makes them commonly less useful.
Reducing the risk of drawing the bad card is a choice that works for every class.
In the campaign rules there is no way to reset a character. All perks restart if a character rebuilds, but the same amount of spots for perks stays available. When a character retires in a physical campaign, the next one in the same group starts with one extra Perk.
On the net there is a calculator for perks, that helps players look atthe numbers of improvements in their decks.