Dev Blog #1
[h3]Hail Adventurers![/h3]
The time has come to introduce you to the shady individuals available to hire as part of your mercenary troupe in Jaws of The Lion.
Each of these characters brings something new to combat within Gloomhaven Digital, including their own unique powerful ability when they reach level 5 so be prepared for spoilers about their gameplay and stop reading now if you want it to be a surprise!
[Note: some parts of this article are hidden under black lines to avoid spoilers - Hover over them if you wish to reveal the content!]
The important thing to know is that these characters are available to use in your core Gloomhaven scenarios and core mercs can take part in Jaws scenarios, neither are limited to their own content, so the amount of combos has increased massively.
For example, base Gloomhaven Digital has a total of 2380 mercenary combinations for a group of 4 characters, with the extra four Jaws mercs added unlocked, the number of combinations almost triples with 5985!
(Just be glad you aren’t the ones who have to ensure every single possible combination of abilities works!)
[h3]Get to the Chopper![/h3]
The Inox Hatchet comes fully loaded with an infinite array of deadly Axes, but like any other good craftsman, they have their Favorite. In this case it is represented by an ability that adds a reusable +3 modifier when used on your enemies.
Be aware though, that as an axe, it tends to get stuck in vital organs, demonic viscera and other people’s faces. Therefore an important thing to remember is that after you use the Favorite, you’ll have to go pick it up when the enemy is dead. Be careful not to spend turns retracing your steps while the rest of your party gets murdered in the next room!
[h3]A Breath of Fresh Air[/h3]
The Hatchet’s abilities generally enjoy a fresh breeze, so pairing them with Cthulhu or a character with access to infuse or consume any brand of element will unlock their more powerful effects.
At Level 5, the Hatchet gets access to an even better weapon that adds Wound and Push to the ranged attacks of your choice - unfortunately, they didn’t come up with a particularly imaginative name for the new axe.
[h3]When Push comes to Shove[/h3]
Even though the Hatchet is primarily a range damage dealer, they share the Brute’s penchant for shoving enemies around dungeons. This makes them a great choice for those dungeons full of traps and hazardous terrain. Of course, you can always bring along someone to make some traps for you.
[h3]Get Over Here![/h3]
The Valrath Red Guard has a decent selection of both melee and ranged attacks, but where they excel is targeting and damaging adjacent enemies with fire or just hitting them with a thing on a chain!
Flame Shroud is an early powerhouse and works somewhat like a simplified Retaliate, although the enemy only needs to become adjacent to trigger it.
Combine that with a wide array of abilities which Pull hapless adversaries towards you and follow up with radial attacks and damage and the Red Guard can hold the front line - especially against Shielded enemies.
[h3]The Luck of the Devil[/h3]
At Level 5, the Red Guard has access to the Sand Devil ability. Similar to a Summon, the Sand Devil allows the Red Guard to move enemies around the dungeon, triggering Muddle and dealing damage as they go. Combine this with their adjacent enemy targeting abilities and you’ll see the Red Guard is a master of positional combat.
Be aware, the Sand Devil can also move allies to give them an extra speed boost, just make sure to ask first, many people don’t enjoy the damage and muddling that comes with a free ride!
[h3]Flame War[/h3]
The Red Guard uses both Light and Flame elements and therefore combos well with Sun and certain Spellweaver builds. You’ll always need to balance both using the Elements but also setting up infusions to be used the next turn, the Red Guard without access to their consumes isn’t quite as effective.
That’s it for today! We will see you next time with a blogpost about the 2 remaining mercenaries of Jaws of the Lion: Voidwarden and Demolitionist.
Make sure to check it out since we will be explaining key differences between the physical and digital format of the game!
Until then, why not tell us which merc you're most excited to try, or come to our Discord server and discuss strategies or find other players to take Jaws on with?
You can always follow updates, share content and memes with us on our Twitter or Facebook page, and check our awesome visual content on our brand new Instagram!
[h3]Till next time, mercenaries.[/h3]
The time has come to introduce you to the shady individuals available to hire as part of your mercenary troupe in Jaws of The Lion.
Each of these characters brings something new to combat within Gloomhaven Digital, including their own unique powerful ability when they reach level 5 so be prepared for spoilers about their gameplay and stop reading now if you want it to be a surprise!
[Note: some parts of this article are hidden under black lines to avoid spoilers - Hover over them if you wish to reveal the content!]
The important thing to know is that these characters are available to use in your core Gloomhaven scenarios and core mercs can take part in Jaws scenarios, neither are limited to their own content, so the amount of combos has increased massively.
For example, base Gloomhaven Digital has a total of 2380 mercenary combinations for a group of 4 characters, with the extra four Jaws mercs added unlocked, the number of combinations almost triples with 5985!
(Just be glad you aren’t the ones who have to ensure every single possible combination of abilities works!)
[h3]Get to the Chopper![/h3]
The Inox Hatchet comes fully loaded with an infinite array of deadly Axes, but like any other good craftsman, they have their Favorite. In this case it is represented by an ability that adds a reusable +3 modifier when used on your enemies.
Be aware though, that as an axe, it tends to get stuck in vital organs, demonic viscera and other people’s faces. Therefore an important thing to remember is that after you use the Favorite, you’ll have to go pick it up when the enemy is dead. Be careful not to spend turns retracing your steps while the rest of your party gets murdered in the next room!
[h3]A Breath of Fresh Air[/h3]
The Hatchet’s abilities generally enjoy a fresh breeze, so pairing them with Cthulhu or a character with access to infuse or consume any brand of element will unlock their more powerful effects.
At Level 5, the Hatchet gets access to an even better weapon that adds Wound and Push to the ranged attacks of your choice - unfortunately, they didn’t come up with a particularly imaginative name for the new axe.
[h3]When Push comes to Shove[/h3]
Even though the Hatchet is primarily a range damage dealer, they share the Brute’s penchant for shoving enemies around dungeons. This makes them a great choice for those dungeons full of traps and hazardous terrain. Of course, you can always bring along someone to make some traps for you.
[h3]Get Over Here![/h3]
The Valrath Red Guard has a decent selection of both melee and ranged attacks, but where they excel is targeting and damaging adjacent enemies with fire or just hitting them with a thing on a chain!
Flame Shroud is an early powerhouse and works somewhat like a simplified Retaliate, although the enemy only needs to become adjacent to trigger it.
Combine that with a wide array of abilities which Pull hapless adversaries towards you and follow up with radial attacks and damage and the Red Guard can hold the front line - especially against Shielded enemies.
[h3]The Luck of the Devil[/h3]
At Level 5, the Red Guard has access to the Sand Devil ability. Similar to a Summon, the Sand Devil allows the Red Guard to move enemies around the dungeon, triggering Muddle and dealing damage as they go. Combine this with their adjacent enemy targeting abilities and you’ll see the Red Guard is a master of positional combat.
Be aware, the Sand Devil can also move allies to give them an extra speed boost, just make sure to ask first, many people don’t enjoy the damage and muddling that comes with a free ride!
[h3]Flame War[/h3]
The Red Guard uses both Light and Flame elements and therefore combos well with Sun and certain Spellweaver builds. You’ll always need to balance both using the Elements but also setting up infusions to be used the next turn, the Red Guard without access to their consumes isn’t quite as effective.
In Conclusion
That’s it for today! We will see you next time with a blogpost about the 2 remaining mercenaries of Jaws of the Lion: Voidwarden and Demolitionist.
Make sure to check it out since we will be explaining key differences between the physical and digital format of the game!
Until then, why not tell us which merc you're most excited to try, or come to our Discord server and discuss strategies or find other players to take Jaws on with?
You can always follow updates, share content and memes with us on our Twitter or Facebook page, and check our awesome visual content on our brand new Instagram!
[h3]Till next time, mercenaries.[/h3]
