Here are the Loop Hero tips you need to help create the best strategy for this card based roguelike. It might look simple with that pixel art style but the tactics you need to win are not. You need to strategically place cards, choose the right equipment and generally think ahead to help your character to survive. Card combinations, stats, timing and placement are vital to surviving the loop and progressing.
It doesn't help that Loop Hero will send you on your first loop without any real instructions. While it is fun to dive right in, this can make it difficult to understand what's going on and how you're affecting things. To help you survive your first loop run, and everything that comes after we’ll take a look at the most important Loop Hero tips to help with everything you should know at the start of your Loop Hero run.
1. Take your time in Loop Hero
The basics of Loop Hero are simple; you’re dealt random cards during the game, and you need to place them on the map. The cards will turn into tiles which can either can spawn enemies, or make your character stronger. A common mistake, however, is to be overly enthusiastic in placing them.
Got several Cemetery or Vampire Mansion cards? Do not place all of them yet. Once you have some basic equipment, start by placing just one of these cards and see how your character does. Did you lose a lot of health? Then it’s a good thing you weren’t too hasty!
2. Focus on gathering materials in Loop Hero first
As you fill the map with tiles, the progression meter in the top left of the screen will show you how close you are to the first boss fight. As tempting as it may be to try, you’re not going to beat the boss just yet.
Instead, focus on gathering resources. Click on the bag icon in the upper right corner of your screen to see the materials you already have. If you return home from the campfire tile (the starting tile of the loop), you can use them to upgrade your base and become stronger. This will prepare you for the boss battle in another Loop Hero run.
3. Know when to quit your loop
To be fair, this is one of the most difficult things to do in Loop Hero; calling it a day and returning to the base. If you return from any tile other than the campfire one, you will lose 40% of the resources. If you die in combat, you will lose 70% of the gathered materials.
In other words, knowing when to quit is incredibly important. Make this your rule of thumb: if you doubt whether you should try another loop, just go home. That one extra round of resources doesn’t weigh up against the risk of losing most of your loot.
4. Create the best starter buildings in Loop Hero
After returning home, use the materials you gathered during your loop run to upgrade your Loop Hero base. Adding new buildings can unlock new cards and abilities. Let’s take a look at three of the most useful early-game Loop Hero buildings:
- The first one is the Field Kitchen. This will add an additional 10% to the campfire’s healing power, which you can also upgrade later on.
- Next, the Herbalist Hut will allow you to take healing potions on your run. If your health gets dangerously low, the potions can save you.
- Finally, the Smithy lets you start your Loop Hero run with basic Warrior armor, which gives a great head start.
5. Combine your tiles strategically
Loop Hero doesn’t tell you this clearly, but you can greatly increase the strength of a tile by placing it in a certain combination. The first combo you should know about, is the Mountain Peak. If you place nine rock tiles or nine Mountain tiles next to each other (three by three), it automatically transforms into a Mountain Peak. This will give you extra HP and it will spawn a harpy every two days.
Another tile combination Loop Hero doesn’t tell you about; place Meadow tiles next to other tiles to create Blooming Meadows. Just one adjacent tile that isn’t a Meadow tile will do. Instead of 2 HP, the Blooming Meadow will heal your character by 3 HP per day.
6. Use Chrono Crystals on your Meadows
This is one of the best early-game strategies to use: place your Chrono Crystals in such a way that you can surround them by as many Blooming Meadows as possible. If you place a Chrono Crystal outside the loop on a corner tile, you can place 4 Meadow tiles in its range.
As the Chromo card doubles the daily effect of the cards around it, you can double the amount of daily healing you get. A Blooming Meadow tile placed next to a Chrono Crystal will give you 6 HP a day!
7. Group your enemies in Loop Hero
It’s easier to control your enemies if you place them by type. For example, you might want to spawn as many Ratwolves as you can. If you place them around a Chrono Crystal, you will quickly create a large supply of Ratwolves in that part of the map.
However, you might want to keep your Skeleton population low. If your Ratwolves are kept away from the Skeletons, you can easily limit the amount of Skeletons with Road Lanterns without damaging the Ratwolf farm.
8. Manage your equipment in Loop Hero
Don’t get nervous when your inventory is full; you can’t drop your items by hand, but the game will automatically drop the oldest items for you when it reaches the lower-right corner. If you want, you can change the drop order by simply clicking on a piece of equipment and dragging it to another slot.
In some cases, you might want to hold on to equipment for a while. Imagine this; you have two new swords, one that is really good for combat, and one with health regeneration. There are a lot of empty tiles in front of you, so it makes sense to equip the one for regeneration first, and change it for the other one just before combat.
9. Reserve the middle tiles for the Beacon
The Beacon is one of the most useful cards you can get in the beginning of Loop Hero. This card increases your movement speed by 40% and your attack power by 20% if you walk in its range. Naturally, you want this effect on as many tiles on your path as possible. To maximize the Beacon’s range, place it on the open spaces in the middle of the loop. There are only a few open tiles here, so do not waste them on cards that don’t need them.
10. Save your Oblivion Cards
The Oblivion card can remove a tile or the enemies walking on an empty tile. This card can be a true lifesaver, so do not use them lightly.
For example, your map may get overrun by Goblins. If you are likely to be killed by them, the Oblivion card can remove the threat and save your loop. Just remember; an Oblivion card can either remove the Goblin Camp or the Goblins themselves. If you use it on the camp, the spawned Goblins are still there!
You’re ready to enter the pixel-world of Loop Hero. Let’s go for a run!
