Section 02
Every hero worth knowing, what they're for, and the moment you should stop investing in them.
Every hero carries a subclass icon. Growth heroes (wrench) develop your city — construction, research, gathering. Combat heroes (crossed swords) fight. Sending a Growth hero like Zinman as a rally captain is wasted, because his skills are built for city development, not the battlefield. Sending Molly to boost gathering wastes her the same way.
Every hero has two separate skill trees. Expedition covers anything with troops — rallies, garrisons, gathering, beasts, truck escorts, the Labyrinth. Exploration covers hero-only combat — the campaign and Arena. A hero can be great at one and useless at the other, and levelling the wrong tree is the most common wasted investment in the game.
These carry you through the early game. Most are meant to be replaced — knowing which ones tells you where not to spend.
Early frontline. Defense buffs and damage reduction — genuinely good in early PvP and Crazy Joe.
Exploration and Arena tank. Her Defense Upgrade skill outperforms blue tanks once starred. Strong in Bear Hunt with maxed Expedition skills.
Budget backline filler. Carries his weight for free-to-play accounts early.
Beasts and Polar Terrors, permanently. Maxed, she cuts beasts 10→8 stamina and Terror rallies 25→20.
Bench passive that works while he sits. Also strong in Bear Hunt with maxed Expedition skills.
Garrison specialist — nothing else. Super Nutrients gives +5–25% health to all troops he leads, plus passive healing: the best pure-defense kit of the early Epics. Worthless on attack, and his skill must be levelled before he earns the wall seat.
Placeholder healer while the roster is thin.
Fifth-slot filler. Rotate whichever has more power.
Generations unlock on your state's age, not your Furnace — you can't rush ahead of your server. From Gen 2 onward each generation adds exactly one Infantry, one Lancer, one Marksman.
MOMolly Lancer — the top Gen 1 priority for most players. Area damage plus freeze control makes her useful across nearly every mode, and she's free. A maxed Molly still melts lines years later, though her damage is RNG-heavy.
NANatalia Infantry — the free-to-play frontline. Area damage with a stun, dependable tank that absorbs hits while your backline works. If you invest in exactly one Gen 1 Mythic, make it Natalia.
JRJeronimo Infantry — rally staple with stun and damage boosts. Still used long after Gen 1 because his buff is rally-wide.
ZIZinman Growth — construction speed and cost reduction from the bench. Never send him to fight.
FLFlint Infantry — the must-have for free-to-play. Counterattack mechanics make him a staple for both Arena defense and rallying. He is the direct upgrade over Sergey; the moment your state hits Gen 2, that swap is the plan.
ALAlonso Marksman — bypasses the enemy frontline to hit the backline directly. Excellent when the enemy is Infantry-heavy.
PHPhilly Lancer — the support exception: a healer whose job is keeping troops alive, not dealing damage. Strong in exploration and arena, useful in garrisons. Gear her with the defense pair (Gauntlets + Belt) despite her class — pairs follow role, not class. Farmable from Intel around day 195.
GRGreg Marksman — sits back and rains area damage on the backline. A solid damage anchor.
LOLogan and Mia round out the generation. Mia appears in Labyrinth compositions.
REReina Lancer — rated S-tier for rotation and a reliable lancer rally lead.
AHAhmose Infantry and Lynn Marksman complete the set.
HEHector Infantry — becomes an infantry core with a 25% troop attack buff. A long-time staple rally lead.
GWGwen Marksman — versatile marksman rally lead.
NONorah Lancer rounds it out.
Widely called the skippable generation for free-to-play. Wu Ming is very effective for expeditions and strong for spenders, but the standard advice is to hold your shards and save for Gen 7 instead.
Sitting out a generation on purpose is a real strategy, not falling behind.
BRBradley Marksman — the one to save for. An outstanding marksman rally lead whose global 25% attack buff enhances the entire rally, not just his own class. This is what "stays strong for years" looks like.
GOGordon Lancer — poison-based, and the specialist Bear Hunt rally lead. Effectively locked behind heavy spending or top Hall of Heroes finishes. Recognize that early and don't half-chase him.
EDEdith Infantry completes the generation.
GAGatot Infantry — strong and durable to the point of being nearly unkillable. Replaces Hector when he arrives.
FRFred Lancer — high-end lancer rally lead.
Far future for most accounts. Worth knowing only so you don't over-invest in Gen 5–6 heroes you'll replace.
| Doing this | Send | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Leading a rally | Your best percentage-based, all-troops Combat hero | Only the leader's Expedition skills apply to the whole rally. |
| Joining a rally | Anyone — troops matter, heroes don't | Joiner hero skills don't apply. |
| Garrison / defense | Infantry lead with damage reduction | You can't scout when defending. |
| Gathering | Heroes with gathering Expedition skills in the first slot | Gives 5/10/15/20/25% efficiency by skill level. Leave other slots empty. |
| Beasts / Polar Terror | Gina, always | Stamina is the real cost. A 20% discount beats any damage increase. |
| Truck escort | Combat Expedition heroes — not Gina | Her skills only affect beasts. Useless on cargo. |
| Bear Hunt | Marksman heroes with maxed Expedition; Jessie and Jasser both perform | Bear Hunt weights Marksman damage heavily. |
| Arena | Top 3–5 with Exploration skills levelled | Different tree entirely. This is why high-power players lose Arena. |
| Exploration campaign | Same Exploration-levelled group | Shares the Arena investment — no extra cost. |
| City development | Zinman and Jasser on the bench | Passive applies whether deployed or not. |