Heroes, days 8-31: best lineups

The second part of the series on heroes by the day they appear on the server: who arrives from day 8 to day 31, who should get them, and how the squad changes. The starting lineup and the rules for leveling heroes, skills and gear are in the first part, the continuation is days 32-99.

The server announces new heroes in the Milestone window: it shows what unlocks on which server day.

All six are UR. Below, the lineups are broken down for three types of players: F2P, mid spenders and big spenders.

Corrections to the first part

• Bella stays. After the update, according to the author's tests, Bella is slightly stronger than Lucius, so there is no point in replacing her. F2P keep leveling her as the second tank. Bella and Claire stay in the squad for a long time, at least at the current stage of the game: level them to the maximum together with Arthur and Marlena, by the rules from the first part. Bella's shards can now safely be bought in the Alliance Shop. Only Celia will be replaced over time.
• Why Claire and not Celia, even though Claire deals less damage in reports. In the author's tests at 10 stars in PvP, Claire works for the team and raises the damage of all heroes, although the skill description talks about damage to monsters. In total that is better than Celia's personal damage. Reports from research or the tower cannot be compared with PvP - the mechanics are different.

Day 8: Cynthia and Shadow

On day 8 two UR heroes arrive, along with the first wheel - the Wishing Wheel. At the time of recording there are two such wheels with heroes.

Cynthia is the first main DPS of the Rangers.

• F2P: take the free spins every day, and on the last day of the event spin with diamonds up to the guaranteed reward. After that, put her aside for a long time: gold shards will not be enough for both her and Marlena at once. The skills are similar, but Marlena has a much higher priority - more damage, especially in a Warrior squad. For Cynthia to replace Celia, she must be raised to 7-8 stars, and getting that many shards from the wheel takes great luck. The worst thing is to level Marlena and Cynthia in parallel: two eternally underleveled DPS ruin the whole game.
• Mid spender: get her only if you are sure you can quickly raise her to at least 7-8 stars. Then she immediately replaces Celia and deals more damage, even with the loss of the bonus for five heroes of one faction. Cynthia becomes the second DPS and takes Claire's items, while Claire moves to the support position.
• Big spender: definitely get her, max her out and put her in the core instead of Celia.

Shadow is the first main tank of the Rangers. At the start he is only in the Hero Pass for 20 USD, so F2P skip him.

• Mid and big spenders play him until day 29, until Daskal arrives.
• Like all UR heroes, Shadow is noticeably stronger from 7 stars. The pass, according to the author, gives only 5 stars, and at average upgrades he is no stronger than Bella, so with a mid spend he can be skipped.
• With a good spend, get him: he pairs great with Cynthia. At max, his active skill Shadow Strike reduces enemy DEF, and his ultimate Shadow Hunt reduces their Energy DMG. That is why Shadow is especially good against squads with Marlena: she deals the main Energy DMG.

Lineups after day 8:

For F2P, gold shards go only to Marlena and purple ones only to Claire. A mid spender puts new heroes in the squad only if he has taken them to at least 7 stars, and these are not mandatory purchases.

Important for F2P and small spenders: once Arthur has reached 7.5 stars, stop spending Recruit Tickets in the Tavern on any events. Save them until day 31, when Harper, the main Warrior support, joins Arthur in the Tavern.

Day 15: Joker and Annie

Two main DPS of the Warlocks.

Joker comes in the Wishing Wheel and literally wipes out the enemy's back row. His auto attack hits the target with the lowest HP, and his ultimate Joker Ace deals Physical DMG to the two enemies with the lowest HP. And the HP of DPS and supports is always much lower than that of front-row tanks. But he deals good damage only at 9-10 stars and with good items.

• F2P and mid spender: same as with Cynthia - spin for free for a week, spin more on the last day and forget about it.
• Big spender: if you are ready to invest right away and max him out - into the core instead of Claire. His personal damage, like Cynthia's, makes up for the loss of the faction bonus. But you will only play with him for two weeks, until the next replacement.

Annie is available at this stage only for money, in the Hero Pass. Her trick is also a strike on the back row: her ultimate Candy Jar throws 2 exploding jars (3 from 2 stars) at the heroes with the highest ATK and applies Burn. The highest ATK is always in the back row, and that is where it lands. The problem is the same: at average upgrades the damage is very low, she only opens up at 9-10 stars. Besides, Joker has two skills working on the back row, Annie has one, and the Burn from Candy Jar is only 100% of her not-so-high ATK per second. She will not deal as much damage as Cynthia.

The author is firmly for Joker: at max he finishes off fragile heroes better, and from 9 stars his active skill Hearthunt Red Card also applies Burn - already 400% ATK per second.

Day 15 summary: F2P and mid spenders had better skip these heroes - even at average upgrades they will give nothing beyond the heroes you have already leveled.

Day 22: Harper

On day 22 Harper appears in the Hero Pass - the main and simply irreplaceable support of the Warriors. His skills are tailored to exactly this faction:

• Vitality Bubble (active) reduces incoming damage of the ally with the lowest HP, from 9 stars - of two allies. It extends the team's life a lot.
• War Flute Sound (ultimate) temporarily raises ATK of all allies.
• Warrior's Anthem (passive) permanently raises ATK of all Warrior heroes.

Under these buffs Marlena's already huge damage turns into total destruction of the opponent.

• F2P: do not be upset and pass by for now. Harper will appear in the Tavern together with Arthur on day 31, and his shards can drop in a UR chest on the Treasure Digger tab in the Black Ops. Save your Recruit Tickets.
• Mid spender: a must-buy, 130 shards for 20 USD is an excellent price.
• Big spender: level him as high as possible right away and put him in place of Joker. This brings back the +10% Faction Bonus (3 Warriors + 2 Rangers), and the total damage of Marlena and Cynthia grows several times over - Joker cannot give that.

Day 29: Daskal

Daskal is the second main UR tank of the Warriors. For now he can only be obtained for money in the Hero Pass, and according to the author also in daily offers two weeks later. F2P unfortunately skip him, while players with any spend must take him, and whales should also level him right away.

Daskal replaces Shadow:

1. Four Warriors in the squad give a +15% Faction Bonus.
2. He is the first hero who heals himself: the active skill Deadly Pierce restores HP.
3. The ultimate Bloodshed Defense puts a shield on all allies, and the passive Resolute Fight puts a shield on a DPS when his HP is below 50%. Together with Harper's buffs the team lives much longer, and the DPS have time to deal their maximum damage.

The healing of Deadly Pierce is based on ATK. So, as an exception, craft the Sword and Gauntlets for Daskal first and level them on par with the rest of the gear: he needs to be fully equipped right away.

Day 31: Harper in the Tavern and final lineups

On day 31 Harper appears in the Tavern together with Arthur, and the F2P lineup is finally complete.

Order for raising stars as F2P:

1. Marlena to 10 stars.
2. Harper to 8 stars.
3. Arthur to 10 stars.
4. Harper to the maximum.

What comes after day 31 and which lineups to build until day 99 is in the third part.