Hero Academy or Alchemy lab first? Which building to convert?

Gameplay Help & Tactics
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I just reached almost that point where I must decide which of them to be my priority and which building I need to convert. I want to hear your opinion. Thanks.

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2

Your account

Well

( say it with me audience)

Depends on you account.

Click for Lab / Academy rant

Generically

Alchemy lab v2.0 is generically more useful ( shards → emblems ).

But Hero Academy v1.0 might get overhauled just like Alchemy lab v2.0.

I will be building both, but not researching any levels, so SGG sees I voted, but for a write in candidate

Farm and Forge

Edit:

Since I have not collected food in months,

I will be replacing

1x Farm level 20 - ninth farm - and

1x Forge level 20 - third forge .

Barracks

Also applies to Lodge, Lab and Academy

FIN

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If you need heroes and troops just do HA
If you need materials and some of materials are overloaded in your material roster, just do AL.

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I’m 62lvl, almost everything maxed and ready for the HA if i decide to build it 1st. I’m f2p with few exceptions for VIP pass. Don’t have heroes to lvl, but prefer to lvl some dupes and will need maths and emblems.

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Only the troops are tempting me for the HA. The chances for non S1 hero are not big… I already used my dupes for feeders. Saved only few.

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If you’re f2p, there’s no point in the hero academy. EDIT: It takes months to get it to level 10 without a second builder, and without a decent enough chance to get a proper hero. Not to mention all the resources needed. If you have dupes, I would think AL would be more worth it. You can create some things you need in the lower levels by just using the stuff you don’t need, and save the alkashards for a free grab of some stuff you do need. Not worth it in my opinion. I went for AL 3 just to get backpacks and alkashards for a little better chance at AM.

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I guess your decision is easy. Go with the AL to start, and eventually go for the HA. Originally, I wasn’t going to bother with the AL, but with the lowered alkashard threshold, I figure it can be a decent source of emblems and possibly AM. I will probably run the “free” levels to get alkashards most of the time (1A and 6B), with the odd time of running 10A.

Personally I only have one forge, so that’s where I sit. Since I only have 1 builder, I figure I would try to maximize concurrent activity. I already had AL, but now I’m working on upgrading to level 6, at which point I’ll upgrade my SH to 25 and then do the research on 6B. Then I can start running the AL and generating alkashards while I wait for SH to complete upgrading.

I’ll convert one of my TC to HA, and upgrade as much as I can based on iron storage. Once I’ve upgraded as much as I can, I’ll max out iron storage and start the HA research for certain levels. After the iron storage is maxed and I can max the HA, I’ll max out the food storage to complete the food requirements for research.

Basically, it’ll be a number of months down the road before I get to running HA level 10.

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Did I miss something? I thought AL cost gems at the higher levels, not HA.

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Account

Alchemy Lab.

You can save emblems ( from shards ) and spend them later.

Very small chance of 4* ascension items from shards but if you fail to get 4* ascension items, you get emblems.

Hero Academy

For your account Hero Academy is like me running for President of USA, mostly a waste of time and resources.

Currently the best way to get heroes is 2x Legendary training until you have 2x unique 5* heroes of each color.

see also

(🎲 [v2] Alchemy Lab FAQ & Discussion - #8 by Gryphonknight)

(🤺 Using Hero Academy as a Troop Training Camp)

([Hoarde, Iron] Less than optimal iron storage or Zero, er, Hero Academy level 6 Rare troop training ( HA6 ))

([Repost, Training Camps] Recruit training - common training ( RT01 ) to Legendary training ( RT20 ) - Advice, Stats, and Math)

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You’re totally right about the gems. 100 for 10A and 200 for 10B. That’s my bad. But as far as being f2p, I don’t even buy the vip so the amount of time it would take is astronomical. I stand corrected and thanks for calling me out.

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I’m giving my priority to building HA as I already have ascension’s materials but I lack good heroes to ascend.

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Valhalla coins

I would still recommend you build Alchemy Lab for emblems ( shards → emblems )

The loot box unit pricing on Hero Academy is pretty bad ( see notes )

This is most likely by design, since Tavern of Legends coins can only be used on that summons, Atlantis coins on that summons, Costume chamber keys on that summons, etc. ( SGG how many gorram frakking summons tokens are you going to give us to avoid giving us more gems? )

In my option, you are better off collecting Valhalla coins / Epic Hero tokens to get new heroes/ HotM ( see notes )

Notes

Click for notes

Hero academy

Valhalla coins

Valhalla loot box unit pricing

Old post.
The loot box unit pricing has increased significantly.
Next time I update I will include coin values.

FIN

4 Likes
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New heroes aren’t good for much if you can’t ascend them. Unless you’re swimming in rings and tabards, Alchemy Lab first.

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-None-

20 characters of disappointment.

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@Monarch If I were you, I will build Alchemy Lab first and level it to certain levels so you can farm for alkashards. With this so much hullabaloo about Alchemy Lab, I don’t understand why players are complaining about it without providing much valid points. I mean, every level in the Alchemy Lab provides you with shards at the cost of useless ascension and crafting materials and some food, and every thousand shards give you the opportunity to get emblems, 5 star battle items or unfarmable ascension materials. The Alchemy Lab provides you with shards (and other preferable mats or items). The shards provide you an additional source of emblems, battle items and ascension materials. An additional source is better than getting them from normal grinding. They may say that it costs a lot of food and iron just to build, level and research it. But of course it does. It is what we called an investment. Some players are well ahead on this area and those naysayers are just pulling you back from improving your chances to better your playing experience. Some players are complaining that AL10B is gem-costly. I rather have it as an opportunity for me to balance my resources. We all heard a lot of complaint that they have a lot more D.Blade compared to their Tome of Tactics, or vice versa. It is an opportunity to swap those surplus of epic ascensio materials to another ascension material, than the lack of opportunity to do so. I for one had 13 D.Blade vs my 8 Tomes. Good thing the difference between them is closer now: 2.

Alkashards. You get them free without using gems from AL1A to AL9B (?). From them, you get ascension materials or emblems or legendary battle items of your choice. That is a good investment creating Alchemy Lab from one of your four forges.

And once you are satisfied with your Alchemy Lab, if builder and iron permits, then build the Hero Academy from the Forge where your Hunter’s Lodge was erected, switching them back and forth whenever there is a need for you to craft Harpoons. Leave your Training Camps to continuously produce 1*/2* feeders with one serving as food and recruits bank at TC20. Get your Hero Academy to at least level 3 so that you can work on parallel training of feeder heroes but with HA3, you only get 2 star feeders. Depending on the number of 5 star useless heroes and dupes, you may feel the need to build to HA10 for you to be able to swap them to other heroes with a minimal chance of getting non-S1 legendary heroes. Yeah the odds are low, but I’d rather take it than nothing at all and leave them useless and dupes getting cozy in my hero roster. The favorable odds is indeed :poop: :poop: but we will have to play the card we’ve been dealt with. Either you suck it or quit.

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Thank you, guys for the help with links, opinions and everything. You confirmed what I thought too. I’ll build the new AL. I have my 3rd forge and will build it there. Will see when it comes time for the HA where it will be build. Still not sure where is the best option.

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Done. Have the AL already. Now must start lvling it and to follow the tips you gave me for the shards and the other stuff. :slight_smile: Will postpone the final advanced building I must lvl - the food storage of SH24 for now. I’ll need it for the HA later, now it’s better to focus on the AL. Thanks everyone again.

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I have not collected food from farms since 2019 November

Sorry for a bit off-topic, but HOW? Just curious on what your troop situation is looking like. Do you already have multiple maxed mana and crit troops for every color (or at least multiple lvl23+ mana troop of every color)? I can see an end-game player who doesn’t summon anymore having no more heroes to level but troops just take so much food to have multiple max sets…

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([Play style] Investment, Diminishing returns, Matchmaking, summons, and limited paths or Playing Empires when you have 5285 finished heroes in Extra low cost training - #5 by Gryphonknight)

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And once you are satisfied with your Alchemy Lab, if builder and iron permits, then build the Hero Academy from the Forge where your Hunter’s Lodge was erected, switching them back and forth

So I convert the HL back to a forge, then the forge to a HA. Then I can go back to the HL and it will stay at the level I have it at?

1 Like