Gloomhaven Classes – Starting & Unlockable Classes Guide

Last Updated on May 10, 2025 by Samuel Franklin

This low spoiler guide to Gloomhaven classes will help you pick your ideal party from starting, unlockable and expansion classes. Including an overview of each character this page is suited to first time players or veterans looking to learn more about the theme, mechanics and team role of all Gloomhaven classes.

This information includes hand size, initiative values, durability, damage output, movement, experience gain rate, looting and other utility based on my personal experiences in over a thousand hours of Gloomhaven. The below Gloomhaven character guide includes minor spoilers of class names (linked to their Gloomhaven class symbols), character themes and core Gloomhaven mechanics.

Table of Contents:
– Gloomhaven Classes Overview
– Starting Classes
– Unlockable Classes
– Jaws of the Lions Classes
– Forgotten Circles Classes

Gloomhaven Classes Overview

The section provides a basic introduction to the various classes. To minimise spoilers for those that want to maintain the sense of discovery in Gloomhaven the table below only includes the character symbols, name, type, role, hand size and health.

Symbol	Name	Type	Role	Hand Size	Health (Level 1 / 9)
	Brute	Starting	Melee Damage/Tank	10	High (10 / 26)
	Cragheart	Starting	Damage/Support	11	High (10 / 26)
	Mindthief	Starting	Melee Damage	10	Low (6 / 14)
	Scoundrel	Starting	Melee Damage	9	Medium (8 / 20)
	Spellweaver	Starting	Ranged Damage	8	Low (6 / 14)
	Tinkerer	Starting	Ranged Support	12	Medium (8 / 20)
	Beast Tyrant	Unlockable	Melee Damage/Summoner	10	Low (6 / 14) & High (10 / 26)
	Berserker	Unlockable	Melee Damage	10	High (10 / 26)
	Doomstalker	Unlockable	Ranged Damage/Support	12	Medium (8 / 20)
	Elementalist	Unlockable	Ranged Damage	10	Low (6 / 14)
	Nightshroud	Unlockable	Melee Damage	9	Medium (8 / 20)
	Plagueherald	Unlockable	Ranged Damage/Support	11	Low (6 / 14)
	Quartermaster	Unlockable	Melee Damage/Support	9	High (10 / 26)
	Sawbones	Unlockable	Melee Damage/Support	10	Medium (8 / 20)
	Soothsinger	Unlockable	Ranged Support	9	Low (6 / 14)
	Summoner	Unlockable	Summoner/Support	9	Medium (8 / 20)
	Sunkeeper	Unlockable	Melee Tank/Support	11	High (10 / 26)
	Red Guard	Jaws of the Lion	Tank	10	High (10 / 26)
	Hatchet	Jaws of the Lion	Ranged Damage	10	Medium (8 / 20)
	Demolitionist	Jaws of the Lion	Melee Damage	9	Medium (8 / 20)
	Voidwarden	Jaws of the Lion	Crowd Control	11	Low (6 / 14)
	Diviner	Forgotten Circles	Support	9	Low (6 / 14)

Gloomhaven Starting Classes Detail

There are six starting classes in base Gloomhaven that offer a diverse roster for all tastes to build your initial party and generally have lower complexity than unlockable or expansion characters.

• Brute: The Brute is a melee tank brawler with a high health pool and various methods to mitigate damage which are supported with fairly quick card initiatives. With a middling hand size of 10 you can lose cards through enemy damage when necessary and utilise some of your loss cards which primarily focus on high burst or utility (stuns). The Brute has various non loss methods to perform consistent damage and while the Brute can’t compete with other starting classes on raw damage their attacks often have additional utility like area of effect, disarm, push and pierce that help you perform your brawler role.
  
• Cragheart: A balanced jack of all trades with damage, tanking and support in a single rock themed character. Capable of attacking from range and melee the Cragheart has a core theme of creating obstacles to limit movement of enemies and then using those obstacles for additional damage. The Cragheart has high stamina with a hand size of 11 which you’ll rely on to use a small number of devastating loss attack cards when the time is right. Across both melee and ranged attacks you have a speciality for area of effect damage although you do lack quick initiative values. For utility and support the Cragheart does have some healing options for themselves and allies but is not a core theme.
  
• Mindthief: A vulnerable character with a low health pool that relies on crowd control to utilise their single target melee attacks. This playstyle makes the Mindthief the least beginner friendly of the Gloomhaven starting classes although once mastered will be deadly. To support this playstyle you’ll find your cards are split between quick initiatives and slow initiatives so that you can jump in and out of battles across two rounds with some tools to muddle, stun and immobilise enemies for your own safety. A core theme is also the usage of augments that can be activated to empower your attacks alongside loot and movement cards with players able to bring a total of 10 cards for reasonable stamina in scenarios.
  
• Scoundrel: Serving as the traditional rogue the Scoundrel is focused on single target melee damage provided certain conditions are met. With a small hand size of 9 and moderate health pool the Scoundrel needs to be played carefully to maximise damage and survivability with their main damage theme being centred around having allies adjacent to targets which allows you to flank the enemy. High movement cards, invisibility and super quick initiative help players to achieve this playstyle goal with added utility for acquiring loot in a scenario.
  
• Spellweaver: A mage that primarily uses fire and ice to deal single target and area of effect damage. The Spellweaver is themed around recovering lost cards that allow you to use your high power cards more freely than other Gloomhaven starting classes and helps to mitigate your small hand size of 8. As you would expect the Spellweaver has a low health pool and doesn’t fair well in direct confrontations with a mostly middling initiative that encourages you to stay behind other allies.
  
• Tinkerer: A supporting character with a mechanical theme that focuses on healing allies and providing other team utility through traps, summons, status effects and limited damage. Their high starting hand size of 12 is the highest of your initial class options and allows the Tinkerer to bring a flexible deck of cards for situations that might arise in a scenario and freely play more loss cards than other characters. These loss cards are often pivotal to your success with loss cards providing high damage, area of effect attacks and super charged heals for your allies with various initiatives to achieve your goals.

Gloomhaven Unlockable Classes Detail

Locked classes in Gloomhaven can be obtained once you complete a personal quest and have higher complexity than starting characters.

• Beast Tyrant (Two Minis): A unique Gloomhaven character often referred to as “two minis” as it has two miniatures in the physical board game. One of these represents the low health beast tamer Vermling that is your traditional Gloomhaven character while the other is a high health pool bear summon that they bring to each scenario. While the bear will primarily perform its own actions in accordance with Gloomhaven rules players can direct it with certain cards that gives you greater control. The Beast Tyrant’s hand size of 10 is also capable of other summons, healing, ranged attacks and has the unique utility of moving the positions of allies or enemies on the scenario board.
  
• Berserker (Lightning Bolts): A melee fighter with a high health pool and a 10 hand size that lives on the edge with their core mechanic being increased damage at lower health values. With a spread of initiative players will find cards that damage themselves, heal themselves and deal a range of variable damage based on your own health. The result is a class that can deal some of the largest damage in Gloomhaven to single targets but requires careful balance to achieve that.
  
• Doomstalker (Angry Face): With a hand size of 12 and medium health pool the Doomstalker is a durable mercenary that is a reliable contributor to a scenario. A core element of this class is persistent debuffing effects known as Dooms that linger on enemies while you continuously attack them from range and trigger effects when the marked enemy dies. The Doomstalker has a large number of movement cards and ranged attack cards (several at range 5 and 6) that give them reach well ahead of other Gloomhaven classes. Between these you’ll find minor themes of summons, heal and loot that make the Doomstalker a self sufficient character that relies on themselves.
  
• Elementalist (Triangles): As the master of elements players create and spend elements for deadly crowd control and damage when playing as the Elementalist with a hand size of 10. Without elements you are a weak mage but once empowered with elements have access to all manner of damage and utility for the team. Careful planning is critical when playing as the Elementalist and you benefit heavily from having other elemental generation on the team.
  
• Nightshroud (Eclipse): The Nightshroud prefers to stay in the shadows when possible while combining it with powerful physical attacks focused on a single target. When empowered with dark they can use their their 9 card hand pure assassination which ignores the health pool of non boss enemies. While this might give you the impression of a fast moving assassin archetype the Nightshroud actually has fairly limited movement cards and a medium health pool that combines with quick initiatives. Your turns when playing the Nightshroud are highly combo based with a setup turn to create your dark element before using it to deadly effect which is significantly stronger if you have allies around you that are capable of generating the elements for you instead.
  
• Plagueherald (Cthulhu): Debilitating enemies with curses and poison this class is master of debuffing enemies. The Plagueherald has a small health pool but has a strong 11 hand size for longevity through a scenario that gives time to deal their consistent damage and layer enemy decks with curses to reduce damage taken. As a backup to damage the Plagueherald has some minor healing and bless potential but can’t solely fill this role in a mercenary party.
  
• Quartermaster (Three Spears): This locked class has high flexibility with elements of tanking, support and physical attacks (ranged and melee) which results in a hero that can do it all. This is supported with a high health pool so you aren’t afraid to sit in the front lines although you still need to be careful with the 9 hand size and the mostly middle to late initiatives of the Quartermaster. You won’t be hitting the maximum damage numbers in most parties but you’ve got some insane area of effect potential to deal consistent damage with unique item focused utility that nobody in your party will be sad about having available.
  
• Sawbones (Saw): The Sawbones is a deadly support and crowd control specialist known for their ability to grant players temporary cards for their turn. This character offers an abundance of healing, stuns and disarms that allow them to work on the front line effectively which is supported with a medium health pool and an average 10 card hand size. Your core gameplay loop revolves around providing players medical packs to heal themselves while wounding, disarming and poisoning enemies that get to close. With some strong movement values on the bottom of your cards and equally strong attack bottoms the Sawbones is capable of running around the battlefield but equally capable of sitting in a central location and swinging their saw around.
  
• Soothsinger (Music Note): Filling a supportive role the Soothsinger plays their instruments like a bard to buff the team and debuff enemies. Based around the playing of songs this playstyle also has crowd control to ensure the team can succeed while avoiding combat as a low health character with only 9 cards. Playing songs also reward experience at the start of each turn that makes for some easy experience gain when playing as this class in between throwing out bless, strengthen and curses.
  
• Summoner (Circles): This class is based around summoning allies into battle with a medium health pool and 9 hand size. These summons offer melee, ranged and utility options for a damage and support hybrid role although you are sometimes at the mercy of the uncontrollable summon actions. Similar to the Beast Tyrant you have some ability to influence summon action though with a number of cards themed around allowing adjacent summons to perform their standard actions with you in control.
  
• Sunkeeper (Sun): The ultimate paladin inspired tank of Gloomhaven with high health and reliable shield cards. The Sunkeeper has a durable hand size of 11 that allows you to play loss cards carefully or use them to shrug off damage if necessary. The trade off for this durability is limited movement options that make each movement an important consideration to ensure you are protecting your team appropriately. While not your primary role players will also find some reasonable damage options particularly when empowered by elements.

Jaws of the Lion Characters Detail

A large Gloomhaven expansion released in 2020 that adds four new characters with each having a class defining level 5 card. Given Jaws of the Lion itself changed some game mechanics the playstyle of these characters is impacted slightly (both for better and worse) if being used in the base Gloomhaven campaign scenarios.

• Red Guard: A character that is portrayed as a brawling tank with a wealth of abilities based around shields to absorb damage while crowd controlling enemies with disarms and immobilises. Their hand size of 10 and strong health pool make them comfortable being close to enemies and while they have some limited ability to heal themselves their focus is on mitigation instead. The Red Guard has many quick initiative cards to ensure you can fulfil this role with few loss cards other than some core persistent ones that help define your Red Guard playstyle.
  
• Hatchet: A character that throws hatchets at enemies from range although can utilise them for melee when necessary with an average health pool and 10 cards to help fill this role. Damage is your core focus with an array of single target, multi target and hard hitting abilities that combine with move, push and loot utility. Achieving this does require careful usage of your loss cards so someone that prefers to be aggressive and isn’t afraid of exhausting before their allies (similar to the Scoundrel) will do well as the Hatchet.
  
• Demolitionist: A melee damage dealer with large powerful fists to literally punch enemies and obstacles while buffing themselves. The Demolitionist comes with a 9 card hand size and middle health value that requires careful use of use the battlefield to deal high damage and stay safe. The Demolitionist has minor themes of stun, muddle and ranged attacks that allow you to rest between fights and reset your plans. Obstacles are central to your playstyle with your abilities dealing damage based on enemy locations next to walls or obstacles and moving traps around the battlefield.
  
• Voidwarden: A class that walks the line between damage dealer and support with their ability to control the game board while inflicting various negative effects or command enemies to attack each other. While you have some healing abilities these often have a trade off and are not your primary role but do make you flexible for various party dynamics and scenario needs. Your low health pool means you’ll want to stay behind your front line at all times and while you have a forgiving hand size of 11 you do have plenty of loss cards that you want to use as appropriate. Curse, poison, bless, wound, stun and muddle all make appearances in your deck along with themes of dark elements.

Gloomhaven Forgotten Circles Characters Detail

The Forgotten Circles expansion released in 2019 adds a single new class for players to select at the start of their adventure and the scenario content added within this expansion campaign is designed around their playstyle.

• Diviner: A supporting class that controls the battlefield through rift powers and the ability to gain knowledge you wouldn’t have access to otherwise which makes them a complex character to take advantage of. While you won’t be dealing a significant amount of damage yourself directly the information you have available through card reveal and the ability to debuff enemies is valuable to a party which primarily comes from some easy to use curse cards. The Diviner also provides some buffs to allies through healing, bless and strengthen within your low hand size of 9 and similarly low health pool.

Written by

Samuel Franklin

Samuel Franklin is the founder and lead editor of the Games Finder team and enjoys video games across all genres and platforms.

As a seasoned Gloomhaven adventurer Sam has delved into both the physical board game and the digital adaption for hundreds of scenario hours. While he enjoys the camaraderie and social aspect of the tabletop experience the digital version conveniences make it his preferred way to play where he has unlocked all of the Steam achievements. Sam frequently commands the Spellweaver, an elemental spellcasting powerhouse that he finds immensely satisfying for the risky, high reward playstyle that the class offers.