šŸ¤“ Hero Academy! FAQ, Links, Guides and Discussion

:church: Hero Academy Master Thread (of sorts)

Intent of this thread is to provide some general information and answers to common questions about the Hero Academy, in addition to providing some links to other handy & useful threads.

Note: all information is currently based of Beta Content. Staff have indicated that there are NO changes to HA from the final beta build however, as with all beta content, there could be some changes that got overlooked

:speaking_head: Official Release/ Announcements

Hero Academy was first teased in December 2018; however it would be another 500+ days before HA made its way into beta testing.
Celebrating 500 days since Hero Academy first teased
Eventually HA was released to the live game in Version 30 (June 2020).

Click for 2019 & 2020 Teasers
Click for Hero Academy Discussion in Mar 2019 AMA with Tim & Kira
Official V30 Update Announcment

After intense Beta Testing and much feedback, SGG staff announced that the, despite much player anticipation, the Hero Academy would NOT solve the problem of hero duplicates. Instead they hoped to have new, as yet undescribed, feature which would achieve this goal.

Click for notice from Staff regarding the outcome of HA vs. Duplicates

:exclamation: Notable Features

Some notable features of the Hero Academy include:

  • Training Troops
  • Retraining 4* troops
  • Creating Trainer Heroes
  • Retraining 5* heroes for a CHANCE at Event, Atlantis or old HotM heroes.

Remaining levels are essentially alternatives to existing mechanisms in the game (mainly the training camp).


:framed_picture: Graphics!!!

All-in-One Graphic by @Grimtutor

Click to View

Credit @Grimtutor

Building Graphic & Training Graphic by @Zartanis

Click to View

Credit @Zartanis, Link Here: {Master - Zartanis' Guides} Building, Crafting, Event, Talent Grid Guides, etc


:hammer_and_pick: Building Costs & Requirements

Hero Academy unlocks with Stronghold Level 25 but is a CONVERSION building rather than a new stand-alone one. You can convert a Forge, Farm, Mine or Training Camp to the Hero Academy.

NOTE: Only initial conversion costs iron. You can then convert the HA back & forth for free & it retains the level. Same as converting your barracks, Alchemy Lab or any other advanced building

Stronghold 25

Unlocks after completing the building of Stronghold Level 24

Level Iron Cost Time to Finish Gems to Insta-Build
25 2,591k 12d 19h 6490

Hero Academy Build Costs

Note: Gem costs are approximate, working off ~20 gems / hr

Click for HA Building Costs & Times
Level Title Iron Cost Time Gems to Insta-Build
1 Train Common Heroes 2610k 10s 1
2 Train Common Troops 2626k 1d 8h 640
3 Train Uncommon Heroes 2644k 2d 0h 960
4 Train Uncommon Troops 2659k 2d 22h 1400
5 Train Rare Heroes 2671k 4d 2h 1960
6 Train Rare Troops 2686k 5d 13h 2660
7 Train Trainer Heroes 2700k 7d 9h 3540
8 Train Epic Heroes 2715k 9d 6h 4440
9 Retrain Epic Troops 2729k 11d 0h 5280
10 Retrain Legendary Heroes 2748k 12d 13h 6020

Hero Academy Research Costs

Note: Gem costs are approximate, working off ~20 gems / hr

Click for HA Research Costs & Times
Level Title Food Cost Time Gems to Insta-Research
1 Train Common Heroes 514k 1h 0m 20
2 Train Common Troops 716k 1d 0h 480
3 Train Uncommon Heroes 978k 1h 0m 20
4 Train Uncommon Troops 1277k 1d 0h 480
5 Train Rare Heroes 1459k 1d 0h 480
6 Train Rare Troops 1923k 1d 0h 480
7 Train Trainer Heroes 2225k 1d 0h 480
8 Train Epic Heroes 2927k 1d 0h 480
9 Retrain Epic Troops 3287k 7d 0h 3360
10 Retrain Legendary Heroes 3311k 14d 0h 6720

:arrows_counterclockwise: Parallel Re/Trainings

A late addition to the Hero Academy was the ability to use up to two (2) levels of the HA simultaneously.

The Hero Academy MUST be level 2+ to unlock ā€œsimultaneousā€ re/trainings (unlike the Alchemy lab which is level 5 & 10).

NOTE: parallel re/trainings MUST be of two different recipes. You cannot do 2x HA10 in parallel.

Note 2: you cannot conduct 2 ā€œresearchā€ actions in parallel

Note 3: if you are building/upgrading the HA, that is the ONLY action that can be undertaken


:1234: HA Levels

Note: Gem costs are approximate, working off 25 gems/ hr (same as Training Camp)
Note 2: Any specific hero/troop appeared to have even odds with all other options.
Note 3: HA 9 & HA10 CANNOT be cued. Only a single Retraining can be input at a time
Note 4: HA9 & HA10 you cannot get out what you put in; will be something different

Level Title Resources Recruits Other Items Time Gem Skip Possible Outcomes
1 Train Common Heroes 5,000
food
1
Recruit
2x Practice Sword, 2x Training Manual 1m 0s 1 Any 1* Hero
2 Train Common Troops 50,800
Iron
50
Recruits
3x Dagger 9h 0m 225 Any 1* Troop
3 Train Uncommon Heroes 11,000
Food
8
Recruits
3x Strong Rope 1m 0s 1 Any 2* Hero
4 Train Uncommon Troops 103k
Iron
100
Recruits
5x Arcane Scripts 21h 0m 525 Any 2* Troop
5 Train Rare Heroes 100k
Food
30
Recruits
1x Battle Manual, 1x Chainmail 9h 0m 225 Any S1 3* Hero
6 Train Rare Troops 151k
Iron
150
Recruits
5x Tall boots, 5x Scabbard 2d 12h 1500 Any 3* Troop
7 Train Trainer Heroes 45k
Food
30
Recruits
5x Wooden Shield, 5x Leather Armour, 5x Sharpening Stone 9h 0m 225 1,2,3 or 4* Trainer Hero. Odds unknown & undisclosed
8 Train Epic Heroes 200k
Food
100
Recruits
3x Battle Manual, 3x Tall Boots, 3x Chainmail, 3x Scabbard 2d 12h 1500 Any S1 4* Hero
9 Retrain Epic Troops 1203k
Iron
200
Recruits
1x 4* Troop 7d 0h 4200 Any OTHER 4* Troop (Mana or Crit)
10 Retrain Legendary Heroes 1288k
Food
300
Recruits
1x 5* Hero 7d 0h 4200 S1 5* Hero OR a 5% chance for a Non-S1 5* Hero (see list below)

HA 10 Details

As the (possibly) most anticipated stage of the hero academy Iā€™ll expand a little bit on this level.

The developers have (for the first time) stated the % odds of ā€œtrainingā€ a given hero. All Non-S1 heroes included in HA10 possible outcomes have a 5% chance of appearing.

This is a STATIC percentage with no Pity Counter (resulting in possible merciless RNG) nor does it change based on what you put INTO the hero academy.

Click for List of Non-S1 Heroes that COULD be an outcome of HA10

Possible Non-S1 heroes you COULD get as a result of using HA10:

  • Atlantis Season 2 Heroes
    • Atomos
    • Ariel
    • Inari
    • Kageburado
    • Misandra
    • Mitsuko
    • Mok-Arr
    • Poseidon
    • Tarlak
    • Ursena
  • Event Heroes (Old edition only; not latest 2 from each family)
    • Alice
    • Boss Wolf
    • Captain Kestral
    • Guardian Kong
    • Guardian Owl
    • Guardian Panther
    • Guinevere
    • King Arthur
    • Lady Locke
    • Morgan Le Fay
    • Queen of Hearts
    • Red Hood
    • Rumpelstiltskin
    • Sargasso
    • The Hatter
  • Old Heroes of the Month

:question: Common Questions

Parallel Recipe use (can use up to 2 recipes simultaneously)

When you build HA level 2, you unlock the ability to run 2x Re/Trainings simultaneously. Note that the two recipes MUST be DIFFERENT.

Odds of getting {xyz hero} or Troop?

Based on beta testing, all outcomes have an even percentage chance unless otherwise stated.

For example, every 1* troop has even odds of appearing when you use HA2.

A special case is HA10 which stipulates that there is a separate 5% chance for a Non-S1 5* hero (so 95% chance for a S1 5* hero)
This translates to (as of release) a specific odds at 0.1% for a specific non-s1 5* hero (which will further dilute as additional Old HotM are added to the pool each month.

No Ability to Que additional re-trainings on HA10 or HA9?

This is by design unfortunatelyā€¦ It was raised many times in Beta but was not changed.
You MUST wait for the previous retraining to conclude before you can initiate another oneā€¦

Which means that you need a little bit of pre-planning to have a continuous use of HA9 or HA10

I suggest you start the re-training at a time when you can almost definitly be only so you can ā€œre-queā€ as soon as possible. Also suggest that you have the resources ready to go when you log-out the time before you will start the next retraining.
E.g: I would start mine in the morning, every morning. So to ensure minimal delay I would ensure I have the food & recruits ready to go the night before.

I cannot CANCEL HA9 or HA10?

No, again this seems by design. When you initiate the retraining that hero/ troop is gone foreverā€¦ or until you re-train them back againā€¦?

There is an additional prompt which notifies you that you are using a levelled hero/ troop & to double check if that is the case.


:link: Quick Links

Archived Threads

54 Likes

Some More Maths

Time to get a Non-S1 5* Hero

Odds are 5% for any non-S1 5* Hero.

At 7 days per attempt we get the following time cost to get:

  • 25% chance of non-S1 hero = 7 attempts = 49 days

  • 50% chance of non-S1 hero = 14 attempts = 98 days

  • 75% chance of non-S1 hero = 27 attempts = 189 days

  • 90% chance of non-S1 hero = 45 attempts = 315 days

  • 99% chance of non-S1 hero = 90 attempts = 630 days (1.72 years)

  • 99.99% chance of non-S1 hero = 180 attempts = 1,260 days (3.45 years)

Time to get a SPECIFIC Non-S1 5* Hero

With HA10 the specific Odds on release are 0.1% for a sepcific hero (50 heroes in the pool which will dilute over time).

  • 25% chance of specific non-S1 hero = 288 attempts = 2,016 days (5.52 years)

  • 50% chance of specific non-S1 hero = 693 attempts = 4,851 days (13.29 years)

  • 75% chance of specific non-S1 hero = 1,386 attempts = 9,702 days (26.58 years)

  • 90% chance of specific non-S1 hero = 2,302 attempts = 16,114 days (44.15 years)

  • 99% chance of specific non-S1 hero = 4,603 attempts = 32,221 days (88.28 years)

  • 99.99% chance of specific non-S1 hero = 9,206 attempts = 64,442 days (176.55 years)

Gem Cost to Insta-Skip & get a SPECIFIC Non-S1 5* Hero

Using 5100 gems for full food refill (based on my current max of 3134k food) ā†’ One refill per 2 attempts
Also 25 gems/ hour to skip HA 10 (Same as Training Camp Cost)

Gem Cost per attempt: 6,750 gems

Compare that to 50% odds of just summoning G. Panther from Event Summon = 347 Summons = 910,00 gems = $899.91 USD

Or a 50% odds of summoning Gravemaker from Legends Portal = 1,333 Summons = 358,000 gems = $3,579.65 USD

41 Likes

Will there be improvement for HA?

My wish list if that happen:

  • Retraining 3* hero with chance to become non-S1 3*.
  • Retraining 4* hero with chance to become non-S1 4*.
  • Retraining non-S1 hero will only result in another non-S1 hero with the same rarity.
35 Likes

Wow VERY nice work @Guvnor. Comprehensive and thorough (as always). Got this bookmarked as my HA guidebook.

Thanks much for putting this out. :sunglasses:

7 Likes

Now? No

In the future? Who knows.

It took almost 1.5 years from AL being released to it getting an update so I wouldnā€™t go holding my breath.

14 Likes

Are you sure it is 1.5 years?

Edit: it is exactly 1 year New Stronghold Level 21, Hunter's Lodge & Advanced Buildings Unlocked!

Great tip, night time it is for me I guess, or first thing in the morningā€¦

4 Likes

Iā€™m 12k short on iron, will one advance iron storage conversion do it?

Shouldnā€™t have wasted my time on Hunters Lodgeā€¦

I am also 177k short on food lolā€¦that will take longerā€¦

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Iā€™m sure it need 3Ɨ Advanced Iron Storage Lv10 and 2Ɨ Iron Storage Lv20

134k short on foodā€¦
58 short on recruitā€¦

1 Like

I currently have
2 x 10 Adv Iron Storage
1 x 9 Adv Iron Storage

2 x Level 20 normal iron storage

After SH 25 is done, I can convert one of the normal iron storage into Adv right? I hopeā€¦

Thankfully I am OK for recruits

I remember that is a Noā€¦

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If only they add 1 queue capacity, we wonā€™t have that trouble ā€¦

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Just a quick question on the HA, if I retrain a levelled up 5* will the retrained 5* I receive be at the same level or will it revert to being 1st chevron, lvl 1?

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You get out a 1-1 hero.

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Another observation:
Too many required materials for training a troops:

I think that tranings should never use more than 1,2 materials total, but:

  • Common troops: 3 dagger
  • Uncommon troops: 5 scripts
  • Rare troops: 5 boots + 5 scabards (total 10 items).

I think they are way too much. I remember that TC 20 (and other TCs) usually requires 1 item only (with the exception of color feeders that requires 1 sword + 1 backpack)

Well I could say the same for training heroes, but who actually care about training s1 heroes in HA? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

PS: Other notes.
XP / Time efficiency: best is 1* (4,4444ā€¦ xp every hour) [40xp / 9h]. Other levels requires more time than the beneficial of giving more xp.
Iron Cost / XP efficiency: best is 3* (755 iron / xp)

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image

18 Likes

Nice. Really highlights how little thought SG put into this building.

3 Likes

Or, if you adopt a sinister view of the world, how much thought they put into this buildingā€¦

14 Likes

I better start planning ā€¦ :slight_smile:

12 Likes