Hero planning
Compare the upgrade you can actually afford
The useful question is not which hero looks strongest at maximum development. It is which attainable upgrade improves your account's next activity.
Planning guide revised · Sources & corrections
Choose a job before choosing a hero
Start with an activity and a problem: your Rider squad takes too many losses, research is consuming your basic resources, or an event task requires a better training plan. These are different jobs. A construction benefit should not be compared with a damage skill as though both belonged in the same combat ranking.
| Goal | References to compare | Question to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Rider combat | Lucas, Katrina, Marcia | Is the limiting factor counterattack losses, normal-attack output or another squad requirement? |
| Fighter combat | Noah, Lan Yan, Tristan | Which exact next skill step fits the troops you actually deploy? |
| Shooter combat | Rosa, Darian, Margaret | Do the current reports suggest a survival or damage problem? |
| Account progression | Megan, Corleone, Quinn | Does construction, research or training currently constrain your plan? |
Read the scope of the effect
Identify what the skill affects: the hero, troops led by that hero, one faction, a specific activity or a wider account benefit. Then check deployment and activation requirements. A bonus that works without deployment at a later star level must not be assumed to do so before that step.
Read the base skill and star preview separately. For example, a description may name a faction damage bonus while the next star preview changes damage taken. Those are separate effects, not numbers to add together. If two parts of the reference conflict, check the live skill panel before spending. The Francis reference explicitly marks a faction-label conflict.
Price one complete upgrade
- Record the next star requirement and your eligible hero-specific fragments.
- Check whether versatile fragments can cover the remaining gap and at what exchange ratio.
- Read the skill unlocked or improved at that star step.
- Check the Skill Books and any other requirements needed to use it.
- Compare the same total investment with a useful upgrade to your existing squad.
Compare reports under similar conditions
If you can test a lineup change, keep troop tiers, counts, equipment, opponent and rally conditions as consistent as practical. Record damage, losses and the result relevant to your goal. A higher combat-power total or a single win under different conditions does not establish that one hero is better.
Reference attack and defense numbers may reflect particular levels, equipment or captures. Avoid using those snapshots as a definitive ranking. Likewise, do not infer the best skill-upgrade order without checking each current upgrade preview.
Keep acquisition separate from development
Check the current recruitment pool or event shop before planning an unlock. In Lucky Chest, budget guaranteed milestone fragments separately from random rewards. In Goodie Bazaar, check the hero-specific price, purchase limit and token expiry. A paid unlock is only the first part of a development plan.