A drifter is defined as someone who wanders from place to place without an established location, appearing aimless or detached from anyone or anything in particular. They might include your cousin who parks their camper in your driveway for several weeks; or it might refer to miners excavating horizontal tunnels known as drifts while working on mining projects. Although its meaning has evolved over the years, drifter still connotes vagrancy and aimlessness.
Drifter is an ideal class for newcomers to Gloomhaven, as its simple mechanics offer plenty of choice while still remaining accessible and engaging. Many core ability cards for Drifter can be found at Level 1/X making this class suitable for engaging opponents while dealing damage and finishers as well as tanking or healing abilities.
In addition to its card strength, what distinguishes the Drifter from its enemies is how well they utilize token movement system in the game. Many of their buff cards allow them to ‘push back’ character markers along a track and extend its stay in play for longer – giving the Drifter an invaluable opportunity to keep powerful cards off the board for longer and make it extremely challenging to face their adversaries.
To maximize your Drifter, it’s key to find an equilibrium between its strengths and weaknesses within your deck. Precision Aim and Sustained Momentum are two strong Persistent Bonus options on Drifters that add +2 attack against ranged and melee attacks respectively – these cards can give your Drifter an incredible advantage, making its success all that much more likely.
The Drifter will eventually come back around and ask if the Guardian opted for Vanguard or Shadows of Yor. He’ll reveal that he has seats reserved for anyone seeking refuge from an impending apocalypse with him, hoping that Guardian may join shortly thereafter; rewarding them with Gambit loot in exchange.