Just got this game - play now or wait for the DLC?

[Velorien]

I've just received this game as a birthday present, and I notice that there's a DLC on the way with a bunch of stuff that integrates into the main campaign. Given that I do have other games to play, is it worth waiting for the DLC before I start on Gloomhaven?

[Slow Dog]

Not really. There's plenty to do without it. For the physical version it's best to start with Jaws of the Lion as an introduction, but the Digital version is going to bypass that aspect.

[pitiflauticus]

The DLC adds more scenarios, characters, and enemies, but not new mechanics or improvements to the gameplay, so I'd recommend playing it now, enjoy it, and then revisit the game again once the DLC is released (it's still easily 6 months away or more, I think). Keep in mind that the campaign is non linear and the campaign only truly "ends" once you run out of scenarios to play, so you could play now until there is "nothing else to do", and then when the DLC is ready, continue playing your old save file to play the new scenarios/classes... or start over again :)

[Druitt]

Agree with others: the base game starts out with 6 classes to choose from, so four more classes only complicates your life until you've got a feel for the game. I'd recommend starting in Guildmaster mode (not the Campaign) and on Easy difficulty. Learn the game, and play with what you've got. Once you have a good grasp of the game -- and it's VERY different from most RPGs -- the DLC will give you more variety of classes.

But remember there are 17 classes in the base game, so increasing it to 21 is more for someone who has played for a while and wants some variety than for a newbie. The tabletop Jaws of the Lion game is played standalone and is a great introduction due to the way that they sequence the early scenarios. But in the game, it's a DLC that integrates into and expands the base, so it no longer has that advantage.

[Artan]

I agree with all in regards to starting now and not waiting for DLC but I disagree with starting Guild Master Mode first. I would not start with this and would start with Campaign Mode and play Guild Master after if at all so as not to spoil anything. Playing campaign also means playing the digital representation of the board game properly with the boardgame systems like character retirements, correct Scenario Order and a much better progression and unlock system with regards to unlocking things at the merchant and unlocking new classes progressively.

- Campaign Mode is the very accurate reproduction of the board game in digital form and uses all the XP, scenarios and looting/progression systems direct from the board-game and is what people who had played Gloomhaven wanted from the digital version

- Guild master mode is digital only game mode that tries to turn the game into a modern videogame inspired from the boardgame rather than an boardgame on PC. The progression and unlocks systems are completely changed to be more videogame progression like with set quests rewarding single quantity items rather than them being looted from Sceanrio chsts and then added to the merchant and features in game rewards based on track-able achievements such as killing xx amount of xx enemy.

I started as Campaign and having played 110 Hours and having come to Guild Master mode after campaign - I am so glad I jumped into campaign right away and didn't do Guild Master mode first. had I don't so I would have got bored in under 20 hours and likely quit playing.

Campaign is the full on board game as it was designed (99% - there are a few very small differences on a handful of ability or item cards) and what made Gloomhaven popular.

EDITED TO ADD:

I would also recommend staring on Normal and not Easy and then turning it down if you find it difficult. It's best to get used to the game as it is intended to be played and not with less enemies on map etc. You will learn more from mistakes than from passing things that are more forgiving than they really should be and therefore not failing and having to re-approach with lessons learned!

[scott_smart2000]

Originally posted by Artan:

I agree with all in regards to starting now and not waiting for DLC but I disagree with starting Guild Master Mode first. I would not start with this and would start with Campaign Mode and play Guild Master after if at all so as not to spoil anything. Playing campaign also means playing the digital representation of the board game properly with the boardgame systems like character retirements, correct Scenario Order and a much better progression and unlock system with regards to unlocking things at the merchant and unlocking new classes progressively.

EDITED TO ADD:

I would also recommend staring on Normal and not Easy and then turning it down if you find it difficult. It's best to get used to the game as it is intended to be played and not with less enemies on map etc. You will learn more from mistakes than from passing things that are more forgiving than they really should be and therefore not failing and having to re-approach with lessons learned!

The reason we all suggest starting with GM mode is due to 2 reasons. 1) The tutorial is awful as are a lot of the YT videos about the campaign. 2) The first scenario is one of the hardest in the entire campaign which causes a lot of people to give up on the game. That's part of the reason that Issac made the first 5 scenarios in Jaws tutorial missions which are getting completely overhauled by these devs because they think their tutorials are enough.

GM mode is way easier at the start, you won't get anything spoiled btw, and with shared gold, it's easier to equip everything you need. Picking Normal or Easy really won't make that much of a difference so the OP can pick whatever. But it's just trying to ease new players in as easily as possible, and that first campaign mission isn't the way to do it. Probably if the tutorials were as good as the Jaws ones are, but with the ones in the game, not at all.

[Artan]

Originally posted by scott_smart2000:

Originally posted by Artan:

I agree with all in regards to starting now and not waiting for DLC but I disagree with starting Guild Master Mode first. I would not start with this and would start with Campaign Mode and play Guild Master after if at all so as not to spoil anything. Playing campaign also means playing the digital representation of the board game properly with the boardgame systems like character retirements, correct Scenario Order and a much better progression and unlock system with regards to unlocking things at the merchant and unlocking new classes progressively.

EDITED TO ADD:

I would also recommend staring on Normal and not Easy and then turning it down if you find it difficult. It's best to get used to the game as it is intended to be played and not with less enemies on map etc. You will learn more from mistakes than from passing things that are more forgiving than they really should be and therefore not failing and having to re-approach with lessons learned!

The reason we all suggest starting with GM mode is due to 2 reasons. 1) The tutorial is awful as are a lot of the YT videos about the campaign. 2) The first scenario is one of the hardest in the entire campaign which causes a lot of people to give up on the game. That's part of the reason that Issac made the first 5 scenarios in Jaws tutorial missions which are getting completely overhauled by these devs because they think their tutorials are enough.

GM mode is way easier at the start, you won't get anything spoiled btw, and with shared gold, it's easier to equip everything you need. Picking Normal or Easy really won't make that much of a difference so the OP can pick whatever. But it's just trying to ease new players in as easily as possible, and that first campaign mission isn't the way to do it. Probably if the tutorials were as good as the Jaws ones are, but with the ones in the game, not at all.

All I can say is I disagree completely with pretty much all you say and I stand by my post and that GM mode should be played 2nd IMO as per all I stated above.

The tutorials you play in GM mode are all available to be played from the main menu under the option "Tutorial" and all GM does is create a Videogame progression system that incorporates these tutorials as part of the game flow - so you end up doing them as missions and to meet the items that you collect in the tutorials in the GM mode. You can however just play them from the main-menu and not have to play GM mode to do them. Then, once you have done them to understand the game, you can pick to Start a Campaign or GM mode.

GM mode is not easier than Campaign at the start as others suggest and this is a fallacy. Instead Campaign Mode progresses at a better rate and this is because of the slow progression of unlocking only 1 items at a time from quests that happens in GM mode. In Campaign Mode the items and their availability in the shop relate to your Gloomhaven level which is raised by doing quests, retiring characters and making donations. It initially takes 10x donations (100g) to raise +1 prosperity and after that initial 100g it then raises +1 prosperity after every 50g donated. +1 proprieties lead to a Gloomhave level up and each time Gloomhaven lvl a large number of new items are available in the shop in multiple item quantities. This means you can fully kit the team out nicely with useful items whereas in GM mode you are very slow to unlock these items and the game is much harder and less balanced because of it. This leads to suggestions of turning down the difficulty where in Campaign mode this is not the case and in Campaign mode you instead might find yourself making the game harder and turning the difficulty up!

GM mode is also as a starting point and initial missions harder than Campaign. The first few missions on Campaign on Normal are very much easily completed with just a Brute and Cragheart. The first few missions on GM mode by comparison are very hard and feature a survive 10 rounds with Poisoned wolves quest. That mission is a hard mission that needs a powerful ranged group to pass it and you might fail it and have to retry with a better group composition.

All in all I have to state I completely disagree with the poster above me and what has been advised on GM mode at all and think it has everything backwards. Sorry!

[Mike Garrison]

The first scenario is not particularly hard. People have trouble with it because they don't know what they are doing, not because it is a hard scenario.

[Swamp Thing]

'soon' was more specifically reffered to by a dev as late Q2 or Q3 2022 so might be a very long wait in the end. No need :)

[scott_smart2000]

Originally posted by Mike Garrison:

The first scenario is not particularly hard. People have trouble with it because they don't know what they are doing, not because it is a hard scenario.

It's hard because you're at your absolute weakest, both in equipment and modifier deck. Knowing the enemies' decks is a large help, which you'll get if you play GM first. Also, the player will get used to how the RNG works in your modifier deck so they don't freak out when they draw horribly the entire scenario.

[Mike Garrison]

Originally posted by pitiflauticus:

Keep in mind that the campaign is non linear and the campaign only truly "ends" once you run out of scenarios to play, so you could play now until there is "nothing else to do", and then when the DLC is ready, continue playing your old save file to play the new scenarios/classes... or start over again :)

In my most recent (third, current) campaign playthrough, I somehow ended up beelining to the "final boss" and completed that scenario. I've played more scenarios since I "finished" this campaign than I did before, and I still have a bunch that are open for me to do.

[Lobinho]

Originally posted by Velorien:

I've just received this game as a birthday present, and I notice that there's a DLC on the way with a bunch of stuff that integrates into the main campaign. Given that I do have other games to play, is it worth waiting for the DLC before I start on Gloomhaven?

You can start this without having any issues with this DLC, if you like BGs, you most likely enjoy this game.