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Heroes and Queues

The core idea: a same-faction team of decent heroes beats a mixed team of stronger ones. This is the most consistently repeated piece of advice on the official server, and most players still ignore it.

The short version

  1. Build two strong queues — one Warrior, one Rider. You will never gear four.
  2. Make each queue single-faction — five heroes of one faction for the maximum buff.
  3. Add a main beast and an aiding beast of the same faction to each queue.
  4. Build for the faction buff even before you have three S-tier heroes.
  5. Keep the heroes in a queue at roughly equal power. Do not build one carry.
  6. Remember the counters: Warrior beats Rider, Rider beats Shooter, Shooter beats Warrior.

Factions and the faction buff

Three factions: Warrior, Rider, Shooter. In game and in chat these are spelled "fraction" — same thing.

Stacking bonus for same-faction heroes in a queue:

  • 3 heroes — +15% attack and defense, +15% extra queue damage when countering
  • 4 heroes — +25% / +25%
  • 5 heroes — +35% / +35%

The counter triangle: Warrior beats Rider, Rider beats Shooter, Shooter beats Warrior.

Troops follow the same triangle. This is the part people miss. Fill a squad with heroes of one faction and the game automatically sends troops of that faction with it, provided you have enough; otherwise it splits and mixes in other factions. A hero queue with no troops at all still counters according to its heroes' faction.

A five-hero single-faction queue with a counter advantage carries +35% attack, +35% defense and +35% bonus counter damage before any individual hero stat is considered. That is why faction discipline beats raw power so consistently.

Beasts carry factions too and feed the same buff. See Beasts.

Hero rarities and how you actually get them

  • S — Legendary / Orange. Hero Pass (appears when a new hero releases) and the Lucky Wheel. Guru-001 is VIP-exclusive. Bach is the only S-tier hero in the standard recruitment pool and the only hero handed out free.
  • A — Epic / Purple. Free: world map missions and recruitment.
  • B — Rare / Blue. Free.

As of September 2026, Advanced Recruit Tickets can only produce Bach as a legendary. More acquisition routes are reportedly under discussion, with players hoping for Pete, Melinda, Oracle and Hermione — no date exists.

Every hero has four skills — basic, exclusive, passive, ultimate — unlocked by level. Upgrade the ultimate first.

Hero "strength area" types do not stack. They only indicate where a hero's skills apply. Known types: PvP, Food, Research, Troop Training, Alliance Duel, Adventure, Detection, Constructions, Healing, Obtaining Resources.

Hero progression numbers

  • Maximum hero level: 125 (raised July 9, 2026; more levels promised). An older community guide claiming 149 is wrong.
  • Maximum skill level: 30, via skill books.
  • Maximum stars: 5, via hero shards and universal shards.
  • Levelling material: tomatoes / food.
  • Hero level is capped by your Basecamp level. You cannot outrun your base.

Shards from unlock to 5 stars — 965 total:

Step Shards Running total
Unlock 10 10
1st star 10 20
2nd star 35 55
3rd star 110 165
4th star 300 465
5th star 500 965

This is the best-supported figure, though estimates in the community range from 800 to 1000+. Treat it as a planning number, not a guarantee.

The Hall of Fame — easy to miss, and it matters

When a hero reaches maximum stars they are automatically placed in the Hall of Fame. Surplus shards for that hero then go into Hall of Fame upgrades, and those upgrades buff that hero's entire faction, not just the hero.

The design intent was confirmed by the community manager: the Hall of Fame exists to consume excess hero fragments.

There is no way to recycle shards from one hero into another. Overflow on a maxed hero is only useful through the Hall of Fame, which is a strong argument for concentrating your shard spending inside one faction rather than spreading it.

Maximum Hall of Fame level has been stated once as 400, unverified.

The roster

Twenty-four heroes as of the last published roster (June 2026). Three more were teased in August 2026 and are not listed.

Warrior (8)

  • Bach — S — Adventure battles
  • Guru-001 — S — Detection missions (VIP exclusive)
  • Vela — S — PvP
  • Star — A — Troop training
  • Fros — A — PvP
  • Reysa — A — Troop healing
  • Penny — B — Obtaining resources
  • Rick — B — Obtaining resources

Shooter (10)

  • Elias — S — PvP
  • Pete — S — Constructions
  • Melinda — S — Growing food
  • Luna — A — PvP
  • Nyra — A — PvP
  • Ezrick — A — Research
  • Blaze, Akali, Alina, Corvus — B — Obtaining resources

Rider (6)

  • Scarlet — S — PvP
  • Oracle — S — Ultimate Alliance Duel
  • Hermione — S — Research
  • Quanti — A — World map fights
  • Lia — A — PvP
  • Noel — A — PvP

Corrections from our earlier pass

Older video material placed Corvus and Akali among the Riders and claimed all three factions had eight heroes each. The published roster puts both in Shooter and gives 8 / 10 / 6. See the conflicts register items 9 and 10.

Who is actually worth building

The top of the game: Vela and Scarlet are the two best S-tier heroes. Vela is the strongest Warrior; Scarlet is the best PvP Rider — still strong after her July 2, 2026 cooldown nerf.

The must-have list: Oracle, Hermione, Pete, Vela, Scarlet.

Exclusive Gear priority: 1. Vela, 2. Scarlet, 3. Elias.

Gear priority within each queue, best gear first:

  • Warrior queue: Vela → Bach → Guru → Fros → Star
  • Rider queue: Scarlet → Oracle → Hermione → Lia → Noel

Specific notes worth knowing:

  • Hermione is a research hero, not a PvP hero, despite third-party videos suggesting otherwise. Her research-time reduction is the reason to build her, and it is genuinely strong early.
  • Oracle is the only hero who boosts Ultimate Alliance Duel point generation. For a competitive alliance she is close to mandatory.
  • Quanti is listed as A-rarity but plays like an S. He is fully free-to-play, reduces stamina cost on world missions, and boosts damage against non-player enemies — something no other hero does. Get him through the Quanti Action event; see Quanti Action.
  • Pete cuts construction time substantially, which is enormous early.
  • Star cuts troop training time.
  • Guru-001 is "ok" but not worth early investment. VIP-only, and his detection ability is the only standout.
  • Penny and Rick are story heroes — useful through the early goblin path, then dead weight. Level them exactly as far as the path demands.
  • The B-tier heroes' passives are all resource-gathering buffs. That is the one thing they are good for.

Typical unlock order on a new server: Bach from the start, then Hermione and Oracle after a few weeks, then Melinda, then Vela via Hero Pass and later the Lucky Wheel.

Which faction should you commit to?

Rider is the strongest faction — three strong S-tier heroes, the only duel-scoring hero, and Quanti.

Warrior is the most free-to-play friendly and easier to level, so it is more widely played. Bach being the only free legendary is most of the reason.

Shooter is the weakest and the most pay-to-win dependent — no free legendary — though it has the best passive lineup and counters Warrior.

The recommended build: one Warrior queue and one Rider queue, each with a main beast and an aiding beast of the same faction. This is the consensus target on the official server. The two factions do not counter each other, so you are never fielding both against the same target.

Building your queues

Two strong queues, not four. You will never have enough gear for four, and you do not need it. Two strong queues handle rallies, PvP and event bosses; two functional ones handle detection missions and occupation duty.

Build for the faction buff even before you have three S-tier heroes. This is asked constantly and the answer is always yes. A three-A-tier same-faction core outperforms a mixed bag of your best.

Keep heroes within a queue at roughly equal power. The common advice against gearing purple heroes is wrong — five evenly-powered heroes beat one carry surrounded by weaklings.

Drop blue heroes in the late game unless you are free-to-play and short on options.

Note: heroes on an active march queue cannot have their gear removed (since July 30, 2026). Recall before you reshuffle.

When to break the faction rule

Dragon's Treasure. No faction buffs on the dragons, no PvP element — send your single strongest lineup regardless of faction. See Dragon's Treasure.

Specific PvE targets. Pushing a hard Crystal Giant or the next Tortoise tier, reshuffle for raw power.

Gathering. A different setup optimized for load and speed.

Everywhere else — PvP, Fire Fiend, altar fights, rallies — faction discipline wins.

Common mistakes

Building four squads. Guarantees four mediocre squads.

Throwing your strongest heroes into one mixed queue. The single most common error in the game.

Waiting for S-tier heroes before building for the faction buff. Build it now.

Levelling every hero you are handed. Pick a core team and feed it.

Spreading shards across factions. Overflow on a maxed hero only helps through the Hall of Fame, which buffs that hero's faction. Concentration compounds.

Ignoring beast factions. Your beasts feed the same buff. Match them.