Should I focus on four star or five star heroes?

Hi everyone.

Thanks to all who have commented on my posts before, you have helped me to learn and it’s appreciated. I have been spending during my first month or two in the game, and have a good few decent heroes. I’m posting here to open up my levelling strategy for comment. First off, here are my heroes for your information:

I’ll post this and then write my thoughts.

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I enjoy all of the game. Raids, Quests, Map, Titans, Wars. I’m doing fairly well and am generally happy with my performance. I’m securely in Platinum arena, normally in the top seven in my alliance against Titans, do my part in wars (again, often in top seven).

I have mats to take another four star of each colour except green to final tier. As an aside, I guess it’d be:
Wilbur, although I’m tempted by Gormek.
Kiril, although I’m tempted by Magni.
Li Xiu, although I’m tempted by Jackal.
Proteus, although I’m tempted by Tibs.

Basically, I’ve decided to try and get most of my four star heroes levelled before I really start work on the five stars. My reasons are as follows:

  1. I’m so curious about some of these four star heroes and possible combinations with them. What about using Li Xiu together with Little John - possibly with Proteus too? How about making family teams, how would it work? Wilbur with Gobbler and Agwe are all in the same family - Gobbler’s going to be useful against all of these minion heroes, and there’s the family bonus to consider too - tho my Mok-Arr’s in the same family but looks a bit pants. Or how about the atlantis family? I have Gadierus, two tritons and two proteus’s. I’m scratching the surface here, but you get the idea. I like playing with a lot of these four star heroes.
  2. It will give me a good bench for wars, quicker than it would if I was levelling five star heroes.
  3. My SH is currently 15, with mines and farms the same level. Once my base is maxed out, which will be a while, it will be easier to level up the more resource expensive five star heroes.
  4. It gives me something to look forward to and work towards.
  5. I’m concerned that if I start levelling my five star heroes, I may be reluctant to level the four star heroes once I see how good they are.
  6. I actually have six telescopes, but onle 3 max of other five star final tier mats. Once I’ve finished levelling all the four stars, I will be closer to having all the mats for my first chose five star team, which would be: Magni, Zeline, Vivica, Zimkitha, Sartana.
  7. Doing this will give me more heroes of each colour suitable for colour stacking against tanks and titans.

You are very smart☺, Im ascending my 5* and I really dont want back to 4*
For blue max Kiril
For red Wilbur (best 4* IMO)
But you dont have defence debuffer so I will take Tibs to 3^60 first for debuff, then max Proteus and when another 4 trap tools will come finish tibs
For yellow Li Xiu should be better beacuse you dont have many yellows for good Jackal stacking
Nice heroes btw :wink:

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Oh sorry, you have already Grimm for defence debuff :smile:
So you’ve right, go with your chosen heroes and be happy

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I would really appreciate input from two of my favourite forumers, @Kerridoc and @RandaPanduh.

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Glad you tagged me so I could see this, so thank you! I’ll do my best to help with what I can :blush:

First off, I agree with your gut- you should definitely work on your 4* first. Since they’ll be used nearly everywhere, they will benefit you the most. Plus, it takes forever to level a 5*; whereas 4* go a lot quicker, so that way you can move onto someone else faster too. 5* that are solid heroes are worth leveling when you’re close to having the mats, but until then, there are so many amazing 4* that they deserve your attention first.

You have a lot of amazing points regarding doing 4* first and I agree with every single one. Some people get caught up in the 5* and leveling them before ready (so they get stuck at 60), but they’re honestly not as useful as a 4* can be for a long time. For events, war, and color-stacking- 4* play a huge roll in the success of all of that until you get all of the necessary mats. 5* are an end-game goal, but 4* will last you long enough to give you time to develop all of the necessary 5* later, while still being able to complete everything in-game. Plus, once you get TC19 up and running, that will help with developing those time and resource consuming 5* too :wink:

Okay, so I’m going to list (in order) who I would level in each color, and why:

I see you have dupes, so I’m not going to add them to this list. Usually, I wouldn’t start on dupes until after I get enough variety first- and then I’ll start on the amazing dupes only. Useless heroes aren’t even worth dupes (imo). Your call to decide when you wanna work on them :blush:

(Sorry in advance, I’m typing a lot in these summaries so it’s a lot to read, I’ll try to break it up for you)

Red 4: So BT is maxed (amazing first choice), so second I would want to do Wilbur- but Gormek is closer so I’d finish him at 60 first, then onto Wilbur for a better defense down in red (for events and Titans). He’s the most deserving of your next set of blades. After Wilbur, I would personally do Falcon next to help with green Titans. Then, you could either ascend Gormek (if he still gets enough use when you play; with Wilbur leveled he becomes fairly redundant, but could find use in war) or
Scarlett for a fast hitter with a high attack stat, so she’ll be amazing for Titans too. I would do Gormek only if you’ve found plenty of use for him, or else I would do Scarlett for that attack stat. After that, Sumi, Colen or Kelile could get leveled to 60- but I don’t think they’re worth the mats past that (until you get plenty of blades). Colen is good for defensive purposes, Kelile is an alright sniper but doesn’t have as great of a purpose, and Sumi does some cool stuff but again- not as useful. Maybe if you love playing with either of them, I’d ascend that one- or else I’d start with 5*.

Red 5: Zimkitha is definitely the most deserving of mats out of your red 5*- her fast cleanse and buff are amazing, and you’ll get a lot of use out of her in raids. She’s not as crucial for Titans though, I’d rather use BT and dotes instead (til she’s at 4T, then she could replace BT on your titan team). After Zim, I’d do Azlar- his DOT is amazing and that attack is crazy. If you don’t like slows, you might not like him as much, but I love that lion. Elena is nice for that super high attack stat, but her defense is sad so not a super great option- but good. I don’t think I would max her though. Same with Kong and Khagan, they’re okay but not amazing to justify spending 4* mats on.

Blue 4: I would definitely finish out Grimm to 70 since he’s the best blue 4*, then I’d work on finishing Boril out to 70 too (since he’s almost there). After those two, I would definitely take Kiril to 70 for that buff and heal; he has a place on Titan teams and war. Next, is Triton for the best blue 4* sniper and that healing buff. Then, I would do Sonya for a fast dispel and hit. I like variety, so usually I would suggest doing someone new after Sonya, but I’m not a fan of Valeria or Agwe. If you want something different, then I spose you could work on one of them, but I wouldn’t fully ascend them. I’d rather work on dupes and 5* before them, and save them til last, but that’s your call. Valeria’s attack stat is pretty bad, and Agwe doesn’t do enough to make him interesting (imo) but I’d probably do Valeria first for the very fast mana DOT stack.

Blue 5: Magni is definitely the best choice out of those blues, so he deserves to be ascended first. The others I wouldn’t spend the mats on, at least until after you’ve played with them enough to know if they work for you. Aegir is too controversial, so it’s hard to make an accurate analysis on him. He might be worth taking to 70 before Richard though, for the heal (but not for tank, apparently he sucks at that, so idk). Richard is alright, but I’d be more inclined to do Aegir first [personally].

Green 4: Definitely finish out Caedmon for that fast dispel, then I’d work on Melendor some more. Always need healers for war, and he dispels. After that, I’d maybe do Kash if you need a solid tank, but to me BT is good enough to save your from spending mats on someone that’s really only good at being a tank. I mean, if you’re lacking enough healers for war, then I’d maybe do Kash. If not, push him to the back and do 5* or start on Gadeirus for the buff and heal instead (he’ll help with blue Titans). Also, Little John is awesome for his high attack stat, and I like using him in war. Gobbler is too niche to really say for sure; if you struggle with minions I’d maybe consider him, but honestly his defense is too low to make him useable enough. Skittles will be last, she should always be last.

Green 5: Lianna for sure, she’s an amazing sniper and will be awesome for raids. After her, Zeline definitely. I would have actually had you start on Zeline first, but Lianna is further. Z will be used everywhere for that dispel. After Zeline, I’d maybe do 2nd Lianna before Elkanen or Horghall. Neither of them are too great, and they’re not deserving of 4* mats in my opinion. They can be leveled before Skittles, but should basically be last. I would maybe do Horghall first if you want someone more for defense, or Elkanen if you need another fast hitter. Both to me are meh.

Yellow 4: Finish out Wu Kong since he’s one of the most useful heroes in this game [for events and Titans] and then I’d work on Jackal for purple Titans and tanks. That very fast mana is awesome. After that, I would maybe consider upping Li if you find a lot of use for her mana cut, or I’d do Chao for a faster mana cut but on one. He can be helpful for events too, especially if you don’t have many mana controllers. I’d do dupes (especially Jackal). Then, Danza could be decent, so I’d do him next possibly. Leave Hu Tao til last.

Yellow 5: Vivica is your only yellow 5* so obviously she’s your only choice, but she’s an amazing only choice to have. Honestly, I would work on her before Danza and Hu- that heal and cleanse are amazing. Definitely worth mats; you’ll use her as your safety net 9 times out of 10.

Purple 4: Rigard is done, so you have cleanse and deep heal at your disposal, so I’d do Proteus next. His mana stop is very valuable basically everywhere, so he should be leveled asap. Then, I’d do Tibs to have for events and Titans. Sabina after, because you always need more healers. Ameonna maybe next, since she does have her place in Titan fights and raids sometimes. & Since you already have a riposte hero, and since I don’t value riposte all that much, I’d probably do dupes or 5* before Cyprian.

Purple 5: Sartana is an amazing sniper, so since you’ve already started with her, I would finish her off first. Then, I would do Victor for that very fast mana and defense buff, super nice for raids. After them, I’d maybe do Domitia for the dispel. Mok-Arr only if you love using mono teams and have enough purples for him to play with (he’s very niche). Quintus I would do last; he hits hard, but I like him paired with Isarnia rather than by himself, but that’s just me.

Okay wow, that was a lot of words. Of course, this is all subjective, and based on how I would do it. It might not completely match with what you’re looking for, but I hope it can help! Feel free to ask any questions you may have :blush:

Overall: I would keep doing what you’ve been doing, and focus on getting at least 3-5 4* leveled in each color before starting on the 5*. They can be fun to play with, but your 4* will help you much, much more.

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Thank you Miranda.

I’m Andrew (Andy) and my nickname at school was Panda.

There’s a lot you’ve said here, and I’ll perhaps comment more thoroughly later.
It’s great to read your response - very well thought out and clear, so thanks.
I’m going to get a bench hopefully of 15 or so heroes to 3/60 before finishing levelling my main heroes - Grimm, Wu, Caed, Boril. This is because of matching for wars. It’d make wars too hard if our alliance members have strong first heroes without a good bench to back it up.

Secondly, have you tried the family members together?
Check out Wilbur and Mok-Arr together. The other lagoon family members I have are all aoe as well, which is really optimal if used after Wilbur’s special goes off.

Thanks again, take care.

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Andy, you’ve got some great advice from @RandaPanduh all of which I agree with. The only issue left on the table is when to shift from 4* to 5*.

First, I’m going to assume you are doing matched-color training. In your position, you should be—such a great bench, you should be working to move the whole team forward.

Purple do Proteus then Sartana then Tibs. Tibs is great but Wilbur/Grimm can cover that gap. Sartana is very good, but Proteus really takes priority. Great herowho happens to be 4*.

Yellow Jackal then Vivica. Li Xiu may seem like a marvel, but she’s really not a priority. Jackal is amazing, particularly if paired with a level 11+ 4* mana troop.

Blue Grimm, then Kiril, then Magni. Here’s the one place I disagree with Randa—those last 30 levels on Boril will burn a lot of mats. I’m not a big fan of riposte, and Grimm and Kiril are both excellent.

Green finish Caedmon, then Melendor, then move to a 5*. Both Zeline and Lianna are top-tier. Tough call in my mind which to level first.

Red Wilbur then Zimkitha then Falcon. My Gormek is retired now that I have Wilbur. Low priority to finish him.

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Thanks Kerridoc.
One question; by matched colour training, do you mean,
A. Feed same colour troops to same colour heroes.
B. Raise only heroes of one colour at each time, I.E. all purples together.
C. Raise a rainbow team together.

A.

Purple feeders go to purple heroes. Etc. ascend heroes when they’re ready to go and you have the mats. So you’ll have one hero of each color underway at all times.

Obsessive people will start a second hero of a color when a 5* is in the final throes. Give the near-max hero the 2* and trainers, give the new hero the 1*. ThIs is a food-efficient but maddeningly slow method.

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Those starting a second hero are not necessarily obsessive, @Kerridoc. A 5* hero gains less and less per exp in that final level. Throwing your 1* feeders to a new project is simply efficient.

Completely fair. BTW, it’s not that 5* heroes gain less XP from feeders as they level up, it’s that the food cost per feeder rises sharply. So the Food/Exp ratio for a 1* feeder is high.

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Quite right

He’s a mod

obsessively efficient perhaps :stuck_out_tongue:

==Rainbow 3* team?==

I don’t see a rainbow 3* team.

I am a big fan of a rainbow 3* 3.50 team and one, or more, rainbow 4* 3.60 teams. They only use 1*/2* ascension materials, they use very cost efficient when comparing effectiveness to Hero XP spent, and they allow synergistic effects and color stacking ( see notes ).

==Cascade squad==

Until they change things, I believe Wu Kong is a hero worth building an entire team around ( see notes )

I am a huge fan of 4* 4.70 Melendor, Grimm, Scarlett, Wu Kong, Rigard ( see notes ) as a first rainbow 4* 4.70 team. It can autoplay most things and gets great titan scores. A little weak in war, but that is were 4* 3.60 heroes shine since they give you versatility while two 4* 3.60 cost the same Hero XP as one 4* 4.70.

I actually have a second Melendor, Grimm, Wu Kong and Rigard at 4* 3.60 in addition to my 4* 4.70 ones, but that will depend on you play style and summons. I love your roster of 4* red heroes.

==Hero XP==

It costs a lot to raise a hero to 5* 4.80 ( see notes ).

Especially with the coming Classes update, some players are going to decide to expand their roster of 3* 3.50 heroes and 4* 3.60 heroes.

==Second 4* 3.60 rainbow==

Proteus is a great special skill control hero ( unlike Hansel/ Merlin/ Gretel, Proteus effects multiple targets). Eventually you will want Proteus at 4* 4.70 but works fine at 4* 3.60 until you get more 4* 3.60 heroes leveled.

Jackal is a super glass cannon. His attack stat is the third highest yellow, only two yellow HotM are higher. So even when he is dead, he increases your match/ board/ physical damage. He is the only Elemental yellow defense debuff hero. This stacks with rainbow elemental debuffs like Ramming Pulverizer making Jackal amazing. You will eventually take Jackal to 4* 4.70

I am a big fan of 1-2 healers and color stacking. Kiril is a good healer, that can be tricky to use since his healing is only 28% and his free dragon banner only lasts 3 turns. However in war you only need so many Rigard ( 42% heal and cleanse ). Kiril can remove an enemy attack debuff ( ex: enemy Scarlett or Skittleskull ) and an enemy defense debuff ( ex: Ramming Pulverizer ) by overwriting it since only one rainbow attack modifier and only one rainbow defense modifier can effect your team at once. I swap him in for my Rigard versus Vampire Lords in rare quest to get the Royal Tabard. My Kiril is still 4* 3.60 and works well there.

Caedmon is a fast mana speed, green sniper and 4* green is mostly strong in defense so he is a unique 4* green right now. Eventually you will supplement him with Hansel and Peters if you get them ( I love my Hansel 4* 3.60 and will be leveling him to 4* 4.70 ). No battle item removes enemy buffs, so a fast dispeller is always useful in you roster. Fast snipers are very useful in war. My Caedmon is still 4* 3.60 and works well there. A lot of the original generation 1 heroes are being replaced by better challenge event, seasonal event, and Atlantis heroes ( Peters than Hansel ). Due to families, we expect more 4* Atlantis heroes and their are rumors of many more Atlantis 5* heroes.

Boldtusk is very similar to Kiril. His attack buff can overwrite an enemy attack debuff ( ex: Scarlett or Skittleskull ) in war. Boldtusk used to be an effective 5* Heroes but has been repeatedly nerfed until actually a 4* hero. I use him similar to Kiril. His attack buff is also great for farming 1.12-9 and uncommon/ rare quest.
My Boldtusk is still 4* 3.60 and works well there.

==Third rainbow 4* 3.60 team==

Sabina is basically a purple clone of Melendor. Melendor + Rigard work well with Wu Kong because they gain mana from different colors. This is especially important when using auto play on normal difficulty of season 2 map. But Melendor is weak against Red Bosses ( Sabina is neutral ) and Sabina is strong against Yellow bosses. I actually have two Sabina at 4* 3.60 because her 42% heal and dispel is very useful in war and color stacking.

Chao? I keep trying to level my Chao but keep getting better heroes like Jackal and Joon. I still plan on raising him to 4* 3.60 for war and the rumored class update. Not sure I will ever level this majestic raptor, and his pet human, to 4* 4.70.

Sonya is a more defense oriented version of Caedmon ( she has higher defense and HP to his higher attack). Useful against Red bosses ( Caedom is weak and Sonya is strong ) and rare red titans with reflect damage special skill. My Sonya is still 4* 3.60 and works well there.

Little John is a group mana control hero which is always helpful. High attack stat for matching/ board/ phyisical damage. Glass cannon so benefits from 1- 2 healers on the team. Green attack all enemies is awesome for farming 1.8-7 for recruits.

Wilbur is like Wu Kong, a hero worth building a team around

==Fourth rainbow 4* 3.60 team==

Hu Tao yellow attack all enemies is useful for farming 1.8-7 and common quests. Hu Tao’s blindness can be useful in war, but Hu Tao is really a niche hero. Especially with Jackal, I would recommend leveling him to 4* 3.60 and leaving him there. Another generation 1 hero out performed by the glass nuke of Wu Kong and the super glass cannon of Jackal.

Valeria? Damage Over Time bypasses the defense stat so useful against high defense enemies in war. Steal healing useful against enemy healers and Field Aid ( WR ). Very fast mana especially helpful in war. I am leveling my Valeria to 4* 3.60 so you will have to ask others how effective she is in war. But I like my Perseus 5* 2.60 ( only 1*/ 2* ascension materials ) when using Perseus in war against war defense team healers.

Falcon take to 4* 3.60, for now. Eventually you will want to take him to 4* 4.70 but Boldtusk and Wilbur are just so useful for everything so I would level, and play with them, first. Falcon makes a unique second red due to his Elemental red defense debuff ( like Jackal, but multiple targets ) and his high defense stat. Only one, or two, red HotM have a higher defense stat. Since defense is not linear this is impressive. The upcoming Classes will weaken him in relation to 5* heroes, but his Elemental red defense debuff is still worth it.

Between reflect green event, and Atlantis summons, probably more 4* heroes. So by the time you get to your fourth rainbow 4* 3.60 team, you might have other purple 4* and green 4* hero to level with this team.

==Yearly Hero XP==

You can raise 2- 3 rainbow 5* teams per year, -OR- 4- 6x rainbow 4* 4.70 teams per year -OR- 8- 12x rainbow 4* 3.60 teams per year from training camps alone.

So leveling two, or three, rainbow 4* 3.60 teams, then raising five heroes to 4* 4.70, then leveling two, or three rainbow 4* 3.60 teams, then raising five heroes to 4* 4.70, then leveling zero to two rainbow 4* 3.60 teams will give you 20x 4* 3.60 heroes ( the most powerful in the game with 1*/ 2* ascension items ) and 10x 4* 4.70 heroes ( the most powerful in the game with 1*/ 2*/ 3* ascension items ) and consume roughly a years worth of training camp results.

Thirty 4* 3.60/ 4* 4.70 heroes are a good base for war, and classes, and by then you will have all the 4* ascension materials needed to start leveling your 5* heroes. You may even have better 5* heroes at that time.

==rainbow 5* 2.60 team==

I am a big fan of trying out 5* heroes at 5* 2.60. Once you have a rainbow 5* 2.60 team you like, you can raise them to 5* 4.80 which will consume twice the 3* ascension items, and 212% of the Hero XP of a rainbow 4* 4.70 team.

By this time, you may have even better 5* heroes then you currently have.

==Notes==

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Hi,
I like your big list with 5* heroes but did you buy them with gems or you made it in training camp, because I have had 20lv camp from more than 2 months and I’m not happy with the results