All guides

Why 50/20/30 (Infantry/Lancer/Marksman) is the standard opening build: Lancer heroes only pop from Gen 4 Renia. Hero roadmap Gen 1-11, Lucky Wheel gem budgeting, and the 'Infantry one level ahead' ladder.

The game's percentage labels use a baseline that shifts with a pack's release date, so old packs read low and new ones read high. Check the real value for your own FC tier, and keep value and usefulness apart when deciding.

Everyone unlocks the two gem slots. The $5 pack is the best value in the event, and full max means buying everything except the $20 pack - 289% pack value on Gen6+, the best-value event in the game.

Leaders, ratios and joiners for every generation, for rallies and garrisons - never the Bear Trap. Four different joiners beat the same hero four times, because mixing skill families multiplies instead of adding.

Building a formation means reading their ratio and picking yours. The counter table, the banned pairings that lose the fight outright, the six formation categories, and the heroes that break a 60/40.

The ratio that works on one account will not work on another, so test several. Widgets do nothing here because the Labyrinth is not a rally, and 60/40 only functions if you have the Lancer-specific skill heroes.

Infantry tanks while Lancers snipe enemy Marksmen, so one 60/40 covers attack and defence. It demands the fewest stats of any build, which makes it the cheapest route to strength for dolphins - and it beats whales that look far stronger.

The same 10% is worth 2,010% or 2,200% depending on which bucket it lands in. Which sources multiply, why "by 6%" wording lies, and why the damage formula being a product means balance beats min-maxing Lethality.

The December update overturned several pieces of received wisdom: health reduction is simply inert, Gwen is a nerf as a joiner, and Hector beats both Gregory and Flint. Plus Marksman rankings by generation and the joiner tiers.

Bear damage is maximized by capping the troops you commit, staggering your rallies and joining from the top down - not by sending more. Plus ratios by generation, the December patch hero order, and the joiners that quietly wreck a rally.

Total damage is normal attack plus skill damage, and you cannot value a joiner without knowing which one a hero pushes. Reina raises only the former, which is why she underperforms at the Bear Trap, and Wu Ming only beats Patrick against skill-heavy opponents.

Even as a spender, do not do everything. Defer some heroes, let others lead the rallies, and put the money into widget Lv.10 on the heroes you keep for years - Jeronimo, Alonso and Mia first, then Bradley and Rufus.

Invest only in Lucky Wheel heroes and heroes you will keep for two generations or more - chasing the current generation forever is why F2P accounts end up with 3-star heroes everywhere and no shards. Picks, skips and investment ceilings for every generation.

A monthly event with a daily pack every 2 days. Tokens open board tiles for rewards, and F2P players get roughly 46 free per event. The board holds 6 prize pools, the later ones carrying x4 and x5 multipliers.

Registered ratios no longer cluster at 50/20/30, so opposing power has to be normalized before you compare it. How to read an opponent's lane pattern from four data points, and why SS/mid/mid beats strong/strong/weak.

Max Baldur, then push Valeria to 50-60. The utility skills on those two Experts are worth 30-40 extra Elite Sigils a month, which is the part most players miss because they only read the combat skills.

Three parts feed each other: the Field Depot produces footballs, the Penalty Shootout spends them, and Football King competes on overlaps. Bank Doom Keepers for a high Treasure Point pool, and train troops on the day that scores best for your tier.

Charms rebalance the Health and Lethality the game is stingy with, but they are expensive and Lv.12-16 only unlocks at Gen 7. Defer them until then, take Designs from packs, and keep your two main classes close together.

Chief Gear gives Attack and Defence - the side the game already hands you too much of - which is why it ranks low. Level all six to blue, push one piece to Gold T2 3-star to open the exchange, and spend on Charms and research instead.

September rerun: F2P claims on floor 2-3, whales use the 2x sigil rule. Expert books and sigils ~200%, charm guides ~160%; skip chief gear except the daily chest. Up to $50 a day.