Loop Hero: Complete Guide

A beginner-to-advanced guide to Loop Hero: how expeditions, cards and the boss meter work, class basics, camp priorities, retreating safely, and the card synergies that carry runs.

Researched September 2026 — current as of PC version 1.155 (June 2022, the last PC patch). Loop Hero is finished and no longer receiving regular updates; the mobile version (May 2024) is a separate port with no cross-save.

Quick Start

• You don't control the hero. The hero walks the loop and fights automatically. Your job is to place cards, equip gear and decide when to retreat.
• Retreat on the camp tile. Leaving an expedition while standing on the camp tile keeps all resources. Retreating mid-loop keeps only part of them, and dying keeps even less (you lose about 70%).
• Place cards to build the boss meter. Every card you place fills the boss meter. When it's full, the chapter boss appears at camp. Don't place so fast that the boss arrives before your hero is ready.
• Landscape cards give stats; road cards give enemies. Rocks and mountains raise max HP; meadows heal; enemy-spawning road cards give you loot and resources.
• Early runs are for resources. Your first expeditions should aim to bring materials home for the camp, not to beat the boss.
• Build camp structures to unlock things. Camp buildings unlock new cards, classes (the Rogue and Necromancer) and permanent bonuses.
• Use the speed controls and pause. Since v1.1 you can speed expeditions up to 4x and battles to 2.5x. Pause whenever you need to think.
• Lock good items. Right-click an item in your inventory to lock it so you don't accidentally discard it (added in v1.1).
• You can save mid-expedition. Since v1.1 you can save and quit during a run and pick it back up.

How an Expedition Works

• Choose a class and your deck (which cards can appear this run). You can swap between saved decks from the cards, supplies and perks menus.
• The hero walks a randomly generated loop. Days pass as they walk; each new day can spawn enemies on the road.
• Enemies drop cards and equipment. You place cards on the map and equip gear on the hero.
• Each lap through camp heals the hero, and loop count raises enemy strength.
• Place enough cards to fill the boss meter and the chapter boss appears on the camp tile.
• Kill the boss to advance the story, or retreat and bank resources.

How you leave | What you keep

Retreat while on the camp tile | All resources

Retreat elsewhere | Part of your resources

Die | About 30% (you lose roughly 70%, per Wikipedia)

Chapters and Bosses

Chapter | Boss | What changes

1 | The Lich | Learn the basics; build camp foundations

2 | The Priestess | Tougher enemies; more card variety

3 | The Hunter | Enemy scaling ramps up

4 | Omega | Final chapter and hardest boss

General boss advice: the boss appears at camp. Before your meter fills, top up potions, lock in your best gear, and make sure your HP pool is large (rocks and mountains). If a boss fight looks unwinnable, retreat before it spawns rather than dying and losing most of your resources.

Classes

Class | How it plays | Unlock

Warrior | Straightforward melee fighter with a shield and armor. Best class to learn on | Available from the start

Rogue | Fights with two weapons and doesn't pick up gear directly from kills. Instead collects trophies that are exchanged for items at camp | Build its camp structure

Necromancer | Summons skeletons that fight for them. Relies on magic stats and a large skeleton count | Build its camp structure

Achievements confirm the Rogue ("Trickster"), the Necromancer ("Grandma says hello") and the Rogue trophy system ("Fence": get 10 orange items for trophies at camp). The Necromancer can field a big skeleton army ("Crunchy company": 10 living skeletons in one battle).

Cards

There are three broad card types:

• Road cards go on the loop path itself (for example Cemetery, which spawns skeletons, Grove, which spawns ratwolves, and Village, which heals the hero as they pass).
• Roadside cards go next to the road and affect the hero or spawn enemies (for example Vampire Mansion and Spider Cocoon).
• Landscape cards go away from the road and mostly give stats (Rock, Mountain, Meadow, Thicket, River, Desert).

Key cards to know

Card | Effect (qualitative) | Tip

Rock / Mountain | Raise the hero's max HP | Your main survivability source. Filling a 3x3 area with rocks or mountains forms a Mountain Peak, a big HP bonus that also spawns flying enemies

Meadow | Heals the hero a little each day | Becomes a stronger meadow next to other placed tiles

Grove | Spawns ratwolves on the road | Steady early fights and loot

Thicket | Boosts attack speed | Stack for Rogue/Warrior damage

River | Boosts effects of adjacent tiles | The "Always been here?" achievement is for building it

Cemetery | Spawns skeletons | Good steady loot

Village | Heals the hero when passed, can give quests | Pairs with farm-type tiles

Vampire Mansion | Spawns vampires; next to a Village it turns it into a ransacked village | Dangerous early, strong loot later

Spider Cocoon | Spawns spiders around it | Easy early loot and resources

Swamp | Turns healing into damage in fights on it | Punishes vampirism-heavy enemies

Road Lantern | Reduces enemy spawning nearby | Use to make a safer stretch of road

Blood Grove | Finishes off low-health enemies | Good with multi-enemy fights

Witch Hut | Each one reduces the hero's max potions by 1 (since v1.102) | Place carefully

Storm Temple, Count's Land, Battlefield, Wheat Fields, Treasury, Beacon | Special tiles with their own effects | Read the card tooltip; many interact with neighbours

Oblivion | Removes a placed card | Clean up a mistake or a dangerous tile

Card synergy is the game. Many tiles change when placed next to other tiles. Hover cards and read their tooltips; the encyclopedia unlocks more detail as you discover combos (Scholar and Book worm achievements).

Equipment and Stats

• Rarity colours run from grey up to orange. Higher tiers roll more stats.
• Stats to watch: damage, defense, max HP, regeneration, attack speed, evasion, counter, vampirism, and damage to all.
• Compare with the tooltip. Hover an item to see the difference against what's equipped. Don't just equip the highest level item if it loses a stat you rely on.
• Discarded items give resources. Excess loot isn't wasted.
• Keep potions topped up. Potions heal the hero in emergencies. Witch Huts reduce your potion cap.

Traits (Perks)

When the hero levels up during an expedition you pick one of several traits; the pool depends on your class and which chapter bosses you've beaten (examples named in the official patch notes include Gift of Blood and Old Scars). Read each trait's tooltip against your current build rather than grabbing raw stats. Since v1.1 the Perks Deck lets you lock boss perks so they don't dilute the random pool.

The Camp

Resources you bring home build and upgrade camp structures. Build order priorities for a new save:

Priority | Building | Why

1 | Herbalist's Hut | Starts potion support for the hero

2 | Field Kitchen | More max HP and camp foundations

3 | Gymnasium | Permanent stat gains

4 | Smelter and Forge | Crafting and better item options

5 | Rogue's class building | Unlocks the Rogue

6 | Necromancer's class building | Unlocks the Necromancer

7 | Supply Depot | Supplies to take on expeditions

Other camp buildings unlock more cards and features. The exact unlock order also depends on your chapter. Some buildings can be dismantled to reclaim space (the "Hole in memory" achievement).

Resources: common drops include Preserved Pebbles (from rocks), Orb of Expansion, Food Supply and Shapeless Mass; rarer ones include Orb of Afterlife and Metamorphosis. Each building lists what it needs.

A Solid Beginner Run

• Loops 1-2: place Rocks and Meadows away from the road. Add one or two enemy cards (Spider Cocoon or Cemetery) for loot.
• Loops 3-5: add more enemy cards as your gear improves. Keep a mix of HP and damage stats.
• Watch the boss meter. If your hero is struggling with normal enemies, stop placing cards.
• Plan the exit. When you have enough for your next building, finish the loop and retreat on the camp tile.
• Repeat until your camp is strong enough to face the chapter boss.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Placing every card immediately. It rushes the boss and ramps difficulty.
• Dying with a full bag. You lose most of it. Retreat on the camp tile instead.
• Ignoring max HP. Damage looks exciting, but HP from rocks and mountains keeps you alive.
• Over-building enemy spawners early. Vampire Mansions and heavy spawners can overwhelm a new hero.
• Forgetting Witch Huts cut potions. Each one lowers your cap.
• Not reading tile interactions. Many cards transform next to others; hover everything.
• Leaving the deck unchanged. Remove cards that don't fit your plan so good ones appear more often.

Advanced Tips

• Deck building is your real skill. A tight deck makes the cards you want appear more often.
• Speed up quiet loops. Use 4x speed for safe stretches and slow down around the boss.
• Save and quit if you need a break. Since v1.1 you can resume mid-expedition.
• Road Lanterns shape pacing. Use them to make a safe recovery stretch before camp.
• Swamp counters healing enemies. Put it where vampirism-heavy enemies fight.
• Farm the "Fill the whole map" achievement late. "As anew" needs a completely filled map, which only works once your hero can handle the resulting spawns.
• Try Broken geography. Place 10 cards you didn't have in your deck in one expedition; some effects generate extra cards.

FAQ

How do I retreat without losing resources? Retreat while standing on the camp tile to keep everything.

How do I unlock the Rogue and Necromancer? Each is unlocked by constructing a specific camp building; the camp's build menu shows which structure unlocks which class and what resources it needs.

Why is the boss appearing so early? You're placing cards too fast. Each placed card fills the boss meter.

Is Loop Hero still being updated? The last PC patch was v1.155 in June 2022. The developers said in 2022 that a major update was paused; nothing has shipped since on PC.

Does the mobile version share my Steam save? No, there's no cross-save between PC and mobile.

Does it support controllers? Yes, since v1.153. If buttons don't show, disable Steam Input for the game. Gamepad Mode can be toggled with F8.

Sources

• Steam store page: Loop Hero
• Steam news: v1.1 update, v1.102, v1.153-v1.155, mobile launch
• Steam global achievements list
• Wikipedia: Loop Hero