Part of the Heroes Series:
- Heroes Guide Hub: How the hero system works end to end (You Are Here).
- Best F2P Heroes for Early Game: Ranked picks, formation ratios, and fragment priorities.
- Collab Events Guide: Whether licensed heroes are worth chasing.
- Beginner Guide: Dominate Your First 7 Days: Where heroes sit in your first week.
- Hero Fragments and Upgrade Priority: Separate levels, ranks, skills and shared materials.
- Hero Generations Explained: Who unlocks when, and the three hero classes.
- Resonance Guide: How resonating heroes copy stats from same-class heroes.
- Hero Tier List: Ranked picks by role, with reasoning shown.
- Pets and Breeding Guide: Adoption, the Breeding Chamber, and nurturing juveniles.
- Hero Appointment Guide: Appointment posts and their development materials.
- Hero Gear and Tempest Arms: Auto-equipped gear, molds, and targeted crafting.
- Genetic Recombination: Gene Catalysts, rare abilities, and when to lock.
Quick Answer
Choose a hero for a job, then budget the upgrades needed to perform it. A rally leader, rally joiner, Explorer squad and gathering march can need different skills. Rarity, power and generation alone do not establish which hero should replace your current one.
Keep a working Infantry/Rider/Hunter core for ordinary marches and useful specialists for the activities you play. Concentrate scarce shared materials deliberately; collecting free named fragments for another hero does not itself consume your main hero's fragments.
Find the Guide for Your Current Problem
| Your question | Start here |
|---|---|
| Which early heroes can I build without spending? | Early F2P heroes |
| Why can I not raise a hero's level or rank? | Fragments, badges, EXP and skills |
| Why are trainees stuck at the same level? | Training Area instructors and resets |
| Where do Completion Chips come from? | Completion and Limitless |
| Should I use Ray's Place, search maps or vouchers? | Hero recruitment |
| Which hero generation is available in my state? | Generation reference |
| Which hero belongs in my rally-joining preset? | Rally leader and joiner roles |
Individual Hero Decisions
| Hero | Dedicated walkthrough |
|---|---|
| Travis | Stamina reduction, hunting logs and farming upgrades |
| Lucky | VIP fragments, classic skills and Completion investment |
| Maddie & Frank | Fragment routes, Explorer skills and the Gen 13 return |
| Becca | Construction benefits, fragment restrictions and upgrade value |
Troop Affinity and Skills
Heroes are associated with Infantry, Riders or Hunters, and their relevant military bonuses interact with the march's troops. Build a usable three-class core rather than trying to place three same-class heroes in a normal march.
Read the skill text as well as the troop icon. A skill can have conditions associated with an activity or role. A hero whose main value is gathering may still have other uses, while an impressive Explorer ability does not automatically describe its rally contribution.
Troop subtypes also have different defenses and targeting effects. The formation guide explains why a simple three-type counter triangle is insufficient for choosing a complete march.
Levels, Ranks and Skills Use Different Inputs
| System | What to inspect |
|---|---|
| Ordinary hero level | Earned EXP or Combat Manuals, plus level-cap requirements |
| Classic rank | Named fragments and matching-rarity Hero Badges |
| Classic skills | Hero Skill Books and the skill's prerequisites |
| Shared Training Area level | The lowest of the three instructors and slot assignment |
| Completion / Limitless | Exact chips, hero-specific capsules, potion variant and prerequisites |
| Hero Gear | That equipment system's own upgrade materials |
A borrowed level does not finish ranks or skills. Likewise, a large fragment balance does not solve a missing-badge requirement. Diagnose the blocked step before spending on a different system.
Generations and Replacements
Generation availability follows state progression rather than just your personal HQ level. Two players at the same HQ can have different recruitment choices because their states have different histories.
Compare a replacement at the development you can afford, not only at its theoretical maximum. Check relevant stats, skills, available fragments and Completion costs. A newer hero is not automatically usable the moment it unlocks, but an older hero does not deserve additional investment solely because you already spent on it.
Keep the old hero where it still serves a purpose. Gathering, secondary marches, Explorer content and eligible appointment roles can make a wider roster useful without giving every hero the same scarce resources.
Pick a Role Before a Budget
For rally leaders, inspect the formation-wide benefits relevant to the mode and coordinate with the alliance's intended role for your account.
For rally joiners, check the joining rules and requested hero order. A joiner's best contribution can differ from the leader's, so an expensive leader build is not the default answer to every account's next upgrade.
For Explorer squads, identify the obstacle: survival, damage, control or positioning. Upgrade the skill that addresses that obstacle rather than always maxing the first visible skill.
For gathering, match the resource benefit and enough load. Do not consume scarce general legendary fragments on a gathering upgrade without comparing its practical return.
Free players should preserve general fragments and selection rewards until a useful upgrade is chosen. Spenders should price the complete development step rather than only the hero unlock. Use the role-based tier list as a comparison aid, with the actual roster available in your state.
FAQ
How many heroes should I develop? Start with a working three-class combat core and the specialists your activities use. There is no universal four-hero limit; prioritize shared materials rather than refusing every useful secondary hero.
What is the difference between Hero Badges and Combat Manuals? Badges are used with fragments in classic rank upgrades. Combat Manuals provide ordinary hero EXP.
Should I max the first skill on every hero? No. Match the skill to the role and its actual effect. Explorer skills and military benefits are separate considerations.
Does the newest hero always replace my old one immediately? No. Compare the replacement's attainable development and relevant performance before changing your formation.
Are Completion Capsules the same as fragments? No. Completion materials have their own purposes and hero or generation restrictions. Read the exact requirement on the upgrade screen.
Key Takeaways
- Choose the activity and role before committing shared materials.
- Separate ordinary levels, classic ranks, skills, equipment and Completion.
- Compare attainable replacements while maintaining useful specialists.