[STRATEGIES] Frosthaven – Trapper strategy guide

Kuba J. was kind to prepare another strategy guide for one of our Frosthaven companions, whom he recently retired – Trapper. Make sure to also check our guide for Deathwalker. Enjoy!

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Trapper was my second character in our Frosthaven campaign – after short adventure with the Banner Spear I took another support class – the first non-starting we have unlocked.

It took me very long time to retire as my personal goal was truly challenging. So, it is not surprising that even despite me being “lazy” about earning tons of experience I managed to reach level 9 with that character.

CLASS

Trapper – the name could not be clearer about what your class will focus on – creating traps! There are few ways you could try to play it – offensive-ranged or even melee, but for me the most important task for the Trapper was to control enemy movement, creating narrow paths to group and channel monsters and maybe deal Area of Effect (AoE) attacks.

Usually, traps were used for dealing damage in later phases of scenario, to clean-up the battlefield and to finish off the enemies. What was a bit unexpected for me was that Trapper can create positive traps for its allies with extra healing, blesses or even strengthen. Oftentimes, they were crucial for survivability of our group.

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GLOOMHAVEN:

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FROSTHAVEN:

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STATISTICS

• Health – very low, just 6 Hit Points at the beginning, so a single critical hit may kill you outright. Keep your distance from enemies!
• Stamina – I wish my hand was bigger, not just 9 cards; still, you do not need to “burn” cards often to be efficient. On higher levels of your character, you even get 1-2 cards with persistent bonuses which are nice to play and help, but overall, your stamina is at best mediocre.
• Move – very, very mobile class, which starts with range 4 and 5 moves plus 2 cards allowing for a jump!
• Initiative – not the fastest class, only few cards with initiative below 20; you will be often forced to act mid-round or later.
• Loot – if you try to be efficient for your group, you will probably play without loot cards for quite some time, especially at early levels. Still, thanks to mobility your end-of-turn looting is a very good option. Card-wise, you start with top loot and may get another loot at the bottom – which is still better than most classes.
• Experience – your main source of experience is for creating traps, but if you start using them (i.e., attacking with them), you will overall earn much less. Usually, you will not get tons of experience – I rarely reached more than 7-10 per scenario.

EQUIPMENT

My goal and idea were to play as a support. I was ready to take one-two hits, to give my friends a turn to rest; on top of it, I really wanted my rare attacks (i.e. throwing strong traps) to be accurate and without fail:

My personal order of priority:

1. Head: Spyglass is a cheap option to secure a hit; refreshes every long rest.
2. Hands: Well-Strung Bow – throwing traps is just 3-range attack, extra range gives you more security not to be hit back by short-ranged or melee enemy.
3. Feet: Boots of Speed – my starting money was spent on Gloomhaven item giving me a chance to modify initiative by +/- 10 at the start of a round – again item refreshing every long rest. Trapper occasionally wants to be really quick to place few traps before enemies rush forward in order to channel them to choke-points.
4. Minor items – Stamina Potion is always handy; some Healing Potion to quickly heal up, instead of using healing traps that may be required for crowd control; Muscle Potion – if you plan attacks and already used spyglass, you may want to have another option to gain advantage.
5. Body – Cured Leather Armor – fairly cheap and no “-1” modifier to your deck for armor. You can take 1-2 hits every long rest and avoid critical hits – sometimes even tanks need a rest, and someone must take their place. Importantly, it works against ranged attacks as well.

Again, a lot depends on team composition and preferences. My choice was to go with a support build; it is solid overall and pretty flexible, however specific scenarios and team compositions may require slightly different approach. Frosthaven rarely gives you time to breathe and long rests are often luxury which is hard to get (thus, preventing the refresh of the items).

CARDS

With just 9 card it is difficult to have a fixed, permanent set. I oftentimes switched 1-2 cards to prepare for a specific scenario. As a support/crowd control build I attacked rarely – and then, by either throwing traps or pushing enemies through them.

Basic cards (level 1 choices)

Let me write a bit about cards which I generally skipped in most of the scenarios. I think I never used Furry Facade – but there are scenarios where the top with invisible can be crucial for achieving a victory. I did not need its bottom Ally, because I usually wanted my traps to stay as long as possible on the map; that Ally would unfortunately pull enemies through them, destroying my fortifications!

I also was not a fan of Spring-Loaded – always liked its initiative, but removing ability to fly from just one creature – when they are usually in packs of 3 or more – was not great. The upper part could situationally be useful, but since we had Deathwalker and teleport through shadows I never felt the need to use it. In the end, I took advantage of this card in a single scenario as a test.

I will write shortly which cards were most important for my build:

• Honeypot – very quick initiative of 18 for Trapper. Also, one of my favorite kind of cards with bottom movement and traps creation! I rarely used the top in order to spawn traps (maybe once or twice). At some point can be replaced by stronger card.

• Dismantle – one of a very few cards that allows you to upgrade traps; you do it via bottom action; sadly, it is not creating a new trap. Using it a few times on a single trap may result in creating “super-traps” (with 10+ or even 20+ damage – if you were determined enough to repeat it several times)

• Spike Pit – I used upper part of the card for creating immobilize traps – so when enemy tries to reach you, it will be forced to stop! Bottom part was used for the rare opportunity to move traps (still at early games many will be left behind and not used).

Cards available during level-ups

• Level 2 – I took Path of Pain over Unavoidable Outcome. Without that card it is impossible to do one of the masteries, and at such level I still hoped I will have a chance for that feat 😊 It can be a powerful hit that can instantly kill enemy tank or push dangerous creature far away if pushed through several traps.
   
  However, the most crucial aspect of that card is not the top action, but the incredible bottom action. As a crowd controller, your goal is to rapidly create a barrier of obstacles or traps. This card allows you to quickly place two traps, and when combined with the top actions of other cards, you can place 4-5 traps in a single turn. This strategy uses existing obstacles to divert enemy movement away from your party, buying time to prepare for a battle against a larger force.
   
  Unavoidable Outcome can be useful for more damage inclined trapper and in cases when the team already has solid crowd controller, and they divide tasks. Still mastery is tempting and probably most players will take the Path of Pain.

• Level 3 – As a more support-oriented class, I chose Pyrotechnics. I value its mobility, and the ability to increase the strength of the next trap by 3 adds extra value, enabling the creation of super traps more quickly. Extra Teeth was also very tempting, as it potentially allowed for building super traps. However, given my playstyle of usually creating a long continuous path of weaker traps to funnel enemies into a narrow corridor, I rarely had enough traps around to fully utilize its bottom action. Both cards are excellent, but I opted for the more supportive and versatile option.

• Level 4 – Another seemingly difficult choice for a Trapper is between two offensive traps or two defensive (healing) traps. For me, the choice was easy—Stalker’s Spoils is fantastic. Its excellent initiative alone is impressive, and when combined with Boots of Speed, it guarantees you act before enemies. The ability to move 2 and loot is superb, even without the extra healing. The top action is outstanding, allowing you to create two traps in a single action. A tanker can go on the counter-offensive, walking through these traps and healing by 6 (or 9 if combined with Pyrotechnics). I cannot imagine a better card for a support role.
  

• Level 5 – I chose Proficient Hunter for its solid initiative and high movement, combined with the ability to create a trap using its bottom action. In rare cases where shorter scenarios require more damage, you can use it for the upper persistent bonus. With a limited hand, playing any persistent bonus or lost card (such as Electrified Net with three stun traps) requires caution, as it reduces the number of actions and possibilities.
   
  By combining Proficient Hunters persistent ability, Pyrotechnics bottom action, and Boar Catchers top action, you can create a 9-damage trap in a single turn. The Lure of the Snare was not needed because we did not want enemies coming closer, destroying fortifications, and attacking us from multiple sides.

• Level 6 – Both cards are good. I chose Persistent Pitfalls primarily for its excellent initiative combined with a high-power, non-lost stun trap. With Proficient Hunter and Pyrotechnics, this can become an 11-damage + stun trap in one turn! I rarely used the bottom action, but it offers a great combination against strong bosses. When paired with Path of Pains top action, it can even help you achieve mastery by pushing an enemy through several traps, though this is very difficult to execute. I mainly used it for the top action, as stun is the best de-buff.
   
  Cage of Thrones allows you to transport traps and set up new lines of defense. It is solid and can be more useful when combined with other cards. However, for my build and tactics, I preferred the 13 initiative and the stun trap.

• Level 7 – The obvious choice for me was Foxhole. What is better than a very strong, non-lost attack with stun? The same attack against two targets! While 8 initiative would be great, I already have cards with 10 and 13 initiative in my deck. The bottom action of Grasping Hazards can be useful when dealing with enemies like Living Spirits that have high shields but low health, but there are other ways to handle them. The upper part of that card is very weak at this level.

• Level 8 – An easy choice for my build is Spike Trap. It allows for the creation of up to 3 traps with immobilize, which is an awesome ability for crowd control, securing us from enemies for up to 2 turns if they enter the area. With a bottom action, it can create up to 3 traps, and with a top action, it can create up to 4 – making it an awesome crowd control card. While its initiative is terrible, neither very fast nor very slow, we can pair it with a different card for speed.
   
  Magnetic Shards is a solid option for handling crowds, but our attack modifier deck is not that strong. The attack may result in creating additional traps, which could disrupt our tactics or enemy movement that we have  already planned. The bottom action is fine for defensive situations, but you can avoid getting hit and taking damage by placing enemies on immobilize traps while Deathwalker does its job and kills enemies.

• Level 9 – I am not entirely sure if I reached level 9, perhaps just for one game or if I leveled up to 9 at the same time when I retired. Regardless, the choice seems obvious: Mother of All Traps. At this stage, we are capable of creating numerous traps in a single turn, which can easily be replaced with that monster (with Proficient Hunter and Pyrotechnics, it is 14 damage). The next turn, you can throw it with a power of 13 against 2 nearby targets with a level 7 Foxhole. Even if you wanted to focus solely on support, at this level, you can also nuke enemies while healing and crowd controlling.

With that in hand I felt comfortable facing any type of enemy!

PERKS

When it comes to perks, you should definitely start with these:

1. Do not spring traps while moving through them: This prevents accidentally setting off traps while moving and allows for strategic trap placement at the start of a scenario. This can create an unpassable fortification from turn 1, securing the team from early melee hits.

2. Trap at the start of a scenario: This complements the previous perk, allowing for the immediate creation of traps at the beginning of a scenario, further fortifying your position.

Since I focused on support and crowd control, I prioritized modifiers that create traps. You can decide which ones you prefer, but I recommend removing your “-1” first. I also avoided perks related to unexpected pushes/pulls, as they can disrupt your strategy.

If you are allowed long rests, you are likely safe enough that having weak trap creation modifiers will not be very helpful. Similarly, you are not an offensive character, so penalties like “-1” or curses affect you less. Wounds/poisons can also be mitigated by healing traps. If you reach a point where you have enough perks after prioritizing the above, consider removing “-2” modifiers and then focus on immobilize attacks.

MASTERIES

Forget about masteries. If you want to be efficient and have fun, preparing 20 healing traps is not practical. It takes way too long, and allies likely did not need that much healing earlier. After so many turns, they probably will not need it either. Even with Pyrotechnics and Proficient Hunter, while easier, it is still very time-consuming. Frosthaven does not give you time for such side quests.

Pushing an enemy through 7 traps is extremely situational and difficult. Most rooms are not long enough to accommodate such a scenario. Be prepared to extend such a deadly path through at least 2 rooms, preferably in boss adventures, because normal enemies will usually die quickly before reaching the 7th trap.

SUMMARY / TIPS

You are presented with options to focus on either attack or support, but even if you lean towards support, you will still start dealing high damage as well. I personally prefer support because it allows for more versatility. If necessary, I can switch to nuking, but generally, it is safer to maintain a defensive stance. No one enjoys repeating scenarios due to unlikely occurrences, such as combinations of bad modifiers and enemy actions. I have already mentioned some card combinations that enable the creation of high-damage traps or the quick establishment of a defensive line:

• I typically began by swiftly creating a narrow path through which all enemies would have to pass, allowing our Deathwalker to use their shadows to attack multiple targets. The sooner fortifications are established, the quicker we can assist allies with healing/buff traps or create stronger traps to eliminate enemies, either by ourselves or with the help of allies who use push/pull abilities.
• In the early levels, you are vulnerable and wary of ranged enemies who can dispatch you with a single hit. However, after a few levels, you can easily withstand 1-2 hits, becoming significantly more powerful.
• Once the defensive line is constructed, you have the flexibility to leap across the map and attack, using push/pull abilities if necessary. Thanks to varying initiative, you may have some very fast and very slow cards, allowing for a 2-turn combination – one very slow turn to attack+pull an enemy onto a nearby trap, then an early attack+push away and replace the trap to fortify the line again.
• After reaching level 5-6, you can specialize as the boss killer, while your friends focus on dealing with mobs. You create super traps against bosses, but the challenge lies in delivering the trap to the boss or bringing the boss to the trap. Handling unused traps is not easy, although there are bottom actions for that purpose. In my experience, it was sometimes simpler to create new traps (with 10-20 damage), which were not as powerful as I would have liked, but it allowed my friends to attack and potentially kill those bosses.
• Remember, as long as there is a path for enemies to attack your party and avoid traps/hazardous terrain, they will take that route, even if it takes them many more turns. In some scenarios, this strategy can be lifesaving when you feel overwhelmed and surrounded. Enemies with no ranged attacks or flying capabilities are forced to slowly navigate the longer route, during which you can pick them off one by one by concentrating fire on the closest ones.

We will miss you, Trap!