Strategy Guide
Castle design
- Fortresses focus on fortification. They have higher might and provide strong defense.
- Bases barely build buildings, but battle better than fortresses. They have lower might and provide strong offense.
- Blends promise strength but deliver weakness. It is best to build one or the other.
The Town Hall is the most significant building in the game.
- It unlocks other buildings in the shop.
- It has the highest HP per level.
- It gives the most completion percentage to an enemy when destroyed in raids.
- It functions well as a target for enemies to attack while your heroes, troops and towers kill the attackers.
- It looks cool when your town hall is located in a place that seems purposeful when designing your base.
Vaults are the most valuable buildings in the game. (Pun intended)
- They store gold and mana acquired from mines, mills, dungeons, raids, Here Be Monsters, and purchases in the shop.
- They limit the amount of mana you can hold and make gold more manageable when you're trying to save up for the big stuff.
- They have decent HP per level and function well as interior targets while your heroes, troops and towers kill the attackers.
- Protecting your vaults is important if you are trying to save mana/gold. You can do this by surrounding them by towers, heroes, or troops.
Towers are the most defensive buildings in the game.
- They damage enemy attackers.
- They have strong HP per level and function well as interior targets while your heroes, troops and towers kill the attackers.
- After level 10 you can specialize them according to your defensive preferences.
- Arrow Towers provide strong defense dealing high damage, especially to heroes when garrisoned. They are weak against swarms of small troops.
- Magic Towers provide simple defense dealing moderate damage to multiple targets.
- Cannon Towers provide specialized* defense, dealing area damage to ground targets. They are ineffective against flying enemies.
- Cannon Towers provide specialized defense because while they are able to kill swarms of ground units they also create damages to ground heroes, so use all cannons for the benefits of your castle.
The Heroes Altar and the Guild Hall are the most special buildings in the game.
- Both unlock additional game content, making them very useful and fun to have.
- Both have High HP per level and functioned well as interior targets while your heroes, troops and towers kill the attackers.
The Arena, Warehouse and Training Center are the most specific buildings in the game.
- All have a specific function: unlocks game content and features.
- All have Low HP per level, because they can't be leveled up for additional HP, and do not function well as interior targets while your heroes, troops and towers kill the attackers.
- Because of their low HP all function well as exterior targets placed in locations that redirect attacking enemies from attacking other buildings.
- These buildings are considered low HP because of their inability to increase their HP. They may however have higher HP than some of your buildings if many of your buildings have low levels.
Walls are the most basic buildings in the game.
- They do not count toward completion percentage so an enemy does not need to target them unless required to do so by the AI when attacking other buildings.
- Upgrading walls does not increase might
- They function well as exterior targets, blocking (or slowing down) enemies from attacking other buildings.
- They function well as walls , redirecting enemies away from the interior of your base or redirecting enemies into traps
Traps are the most expendable buildings in the game.
- They do not count toward completion percentage so an enemy does not need to target them unless required to do so by the AI when attacking other buildings.
- They function well as traps, dealing damage to enemies when approached.
- There are two types of traps, Bomb Traps and Hero Traps.
- Bomb Traps deals area damage to any enemy that activates it. It does not effect flying units.
- Hero Traps deals area damage* to any enemy hero that activates it. It does not effect flying units.
- They are effective for filling the empty spaces in a base, but cost resources for replacement.
- Hero Traps deals 10% Max HP to any heroes in range, and can be very effective when grouped together.
Below is a section for Additional Tips and Information:
- An alternative strategy is to NOT build walls or towers. Arrange your buildings so that attackers have to destroy everything to get all of the available resources. Attackers are more likely to defeat you 100%, which will give you a 10-hour shield period during which nobody else will be able to attack (too bad if you have already built towers and walls - you cannot sell, remove, hide, or "level-down" buildings).
- A related strategy is to buy as few buildings and upgrades as possible, which results in very low might. This allows quick and frequent raids with heroes only, assuring quick level advancement. The base is developed after the desired hero levels are acquired.
- NO troops because they waste space in your castle, only heroes. They are better at destroying and protecting you from your enemies.
Heroes
See the "Shards, Honor Badges, Gems" section for tips on how to acquire heroes.
After buying your third builder, roll as much as possible until you get 5 different legendary heroes. They are far more powerful than ordinary or elite heroes and provide the most beneficial mechanics.
Get a Druid! He is a one man army.
- He is the most versatile Hero in the game. He works well in any team and performs well in dungeons, raids, Here Be Monsters and the arena.
- His skill which is Energetic, heals himself and his allies and he increases their ATK.
- Once you get Druid, you should put him at the top of the list when leveling heroes.
Having too many heroes increases your might without increasing your attacking ability.
- Don't keep extra elite or ordinary heroes unless they have a purpose (E.g. strong skills or abilities or if you need them for tower garrisons), even then Quality > Quantity.
- Keep duplicate legendary heroes. These are useful if you want to specialize their talents (E.g. berserk for raids, sprint for arena, revive for boss battles), and make powerful tower garrisons.
- Duplicate heroes is also useful in Heroes Expeditions.
Some skills and talents work well together.
- Slash which is Ninja's skill uses the DMG stat when it procs (this is the term used for when a skill activates). War God is a talent that increases the DMG stat. Therfeore, War God works well with Slash.
- Celebrate which is Pumpkin Duke's skill increases ATK, ATK rate, and Mov SPD of allies for a limited time. Therefore, proc speed talents (E.g. Revitalize, Berserk, Sprint) work well with Celebrate.
- Druid and Thunder God works well together because Druid can heal Thunder God and increase his ATK while Thunder God attacks.
- Druid and Paladin works well together because Druid can heal Paladin while he blocks enemy DMG.
- Pumpkin Duke and Succubus works well together because Pumpkin Duke increases Succubus's ATK rate making her proc faster.
Don't waste gems rolling for talents on ordinary or elite heroes. Likewise don't waste gems rolling for talents when you do not have at least 3 legendary heroes.
- Although Quality > Quantity
- 1 talent roll (300) = 2 hero rolls (150 + 150)
- If you roll for a talent and miss then you have wasted your gems.
- If you roll for a hero and miss then you still have a chance of getting an elite with a good ability plus you still have the guarantee of getting a hero that you can consume for skill points.
- Use the ordinary and elite hero cards from Mesa chests instead of rolling for talents on them and have legendary heroes consume those born without the high level talents.
- Ordinary Heros < Elite Heroes < Legendary Heroes
- A level 60 hero with skill level 3 (150 GP) > garrison level 2 (140 GP)
- Two level 60 heros with skill level 3 (2 x 150 GP) = garrison level 3 (300 GP)
- Three level 72 heroes each with skill level 9 can give full garrison level 7 in all three categories at the same time, and the ordinary hero's skill will have cost half of the elite's.
- ONLY place heroes you NEED in tower garrisons so that you are able to beat the level you are attempting.
- Just like raids, the heroes in the tower garrisons will get an equal share of the earned experience.
- Champion for example is great to get stun trains off in boss fights with his awesome ability
- Succubus and Ninja are both better at arena, serious DPS? You definitely want these on your arena team.
- Thunder God is good in both the arena and raiding, but is the King of Here Be Monsters. His skill Thunderstorm, each time it procs, stuns and does DMG to multiple enemies. anywhere on the map, provided they are within the skill radius. As his skill level increases, both the number of enemies affected and the skill radius also increase. He's essential if you have druid. Make sure to shard farm for TG, its well worth it.
Arena
Even at the lowest ranks the arena gives 50 HB/hour.
Each player gets 1 Battle Chance every 30 minutes, that's 2 Battle Chances/hour given that players can store up to 5 chances.
Victories in the Arena give 40 HB.
Failures give 6 HB.
It is advisable to do arenas after or in between dungeons, raids or here be monsters since all heroes (even those in the process of reviving) are usable in arena fights.
For active players it is better to have a low rank and win easily than it is to have a moderate rank and lose every other battle.
- Look at the math.
- 50 + 40 + 40 = 130
- 50 HB per hour at the lowest rank
- 40 HB per victory per hour (one per battle chance)
- 130 HB per hour for an active player with a weak defense and a strong offense
- 80 + 40 + 6 = 126
- 80 HB per hour at ranks 3,001 - 10,000
- 40 HB per victory per hour
- 6 HB per failure per hour
- 126 HB per hour for an active player in the top 10,000 who only wins every other battle because he doesn't use this strategy.
For less active players this strategy is still recommended until you are able to not only enter a higher HB bracket but also able to survive in a higher HB bracket while you're not battling.
There is no magical defense that is entirely unbeatable.
- Even with a strong defense, you will still lose battles.
- No single defense is strong enough to handle every possible offense.
- Other players will inevitably find the flaws in your defense.
- This is part of what makes the game so fun for so many players.
Some heroes are better than others in the arena.
- Succubus can be a decent hero in the arena.
- Her Skill (Death's Lash) is able to eliminate 15% to 41% (depending on her skill level) of the shrine's HP every time she procs (her skill activates).
- Ninja and Assassin are also decent in the arena.
- Ninja and Assassin are basically the same hero at different levels.
- Both have very high DMG, ATK Rate, and MOV SPD at the cost of having very low HP.
- Both have skills that deal a high percentage of damage to a single target when activated.
- Both perform well in the arena when given an open lane.
- They can sprint to the enemy shrine and deal lots of quick damage before the enemy's defenses even arrive.
- This strategy works well when your other heroes are used to slow down your enemy's defenses.
- This strategy can be negated by filling every lane with heroes that are able to block or kill this pair.
- Ninja and Assassin are basically the same hero at different levels.
- Thunder God is powerful in the arena.
- He has strong DMG, a solid ATK Rate, fast MOV SPD, and decent HP.
- His skill deals damage to multiple targets (must be within his AOE skill radius) and inflicts coma for 1.5 seconds.
- Coma is powerful in the arena for those who choose to attack their enemy's heroes directly.
- Coma prevents a hero's ability to move, attack, or proc for a limited time.
- Thunder God can effectively give you a 1.5 second advantage over your opponent every time he procs.
- During this time your heroes should be able to kill at least one of your enemy's heroes giving you a distinct advantage in the arena.
- Champion is great in the arena.
- Champion's primary benefit in the arena is his skill, which deals damage to three enemy heroes (must be in front) and puts them in a three second coma from which many never awake.
- His skill deals damage to multiple targets (max 3, must be in front of him) and inflicts coma for 3 seconds.
- Coma is powerful in the arena for those who choose to attack their enemy's heroes directly.
- Coma prevents a hero's ability to move, attack, or proc for a limited time.
- Champion can effectively give you a 3 second advantage over 3 of your enemy's heroes every time he procs.
- During this time your heroes should be able to kill at least one of your enemy's heroes giving you a distinct advantage in the arena.
- Atlanticore is very good in the arena.
- It has very high HP and a very powerful skill at the cost of having very low DMG, ATK Rate, and MOV SPD.
- Its Spectacular Scales skill deflects DMG from all sources except buildings for a limited time.
- This skill can be used to reflect an enemy's attacks back on the attacking enemy.
- Often this skill is able to kill an attacking enemy with its own damage.
- Alanticore is the answer to Ninja and Assassin (especially if it has Revitalize 4 or 5 which allows it to proc before most Ninjas or Assassins reflecting their proc damage back to them).
- Druid
is used in the arena because he has strong stats, deals ranged damage,
and has a skill called Energetic (heals allies and increases their ATK)
- Some arena teams are designed around tanks and healers they are able to endure lots of damage while being healed by Druid (and sometimes Angel).
- Pumpkin Duke
is an arena regular because he has strong stats and a skill that
increases the ATK, ATK Rate, and MOV SPD of all allies including
himself.
- This makes him a feared enemy when combined with Succubus or Ninja.
- Spirit Mage is strong in the arena, as it is in other aspects of the game (partially because of the way it is obtained - Buying gems).
- Spirit Mage's skill deals heavy damage to multiple targets with an unlimited range.
- Spirit Mage can kill an enemy's heroes, even when while they are in a different lane or behind him attacking your shrine.
- The only cost to this ability would be when he attacks an enemy but is unable to kill them, giving them more energy to proc faster and deal more damage to you or your shrine.
- Aries
is the defining hero in arena. If you have an Aries with 5/5
Revitalize, that will take you far in Arena. With Sprint crests, Aries
5/5 Revitalize dominates high end Arena. Aries strikes random enemies,
reduces their energy and disable their skills.
- Aries is useful in every battle, especially against opponents with powerful skills.
The best arena teams are typically specialist teams which emphasize one game mechanic over the others.
- A sprinting team would be a good example of specialization.
- A sprinting team always has Ninja, and heroes with the sprint talent.
- The sprint talent increases a hero's MOV SPD, getting him to the enemy base quicker than the enemy heroes can get to yours.
- It also allows the hero to deal extra damage and proc faster because he begins attacking before the enemy heroes.
- Other teams are centered on Slow Down or Scatter. These talents affect the enemy heroes making them slower and unable to use their skills.
- Some teams abuse the Self Destruct and Revive talents.
- Self Destruct makes the hero explode on death dealing X% DMG to nearby enemies.
- Revive brings the hero back from the dead once with X% HP restored.
- Both can be sneaky ways to kill an enemy hero that is strong enough to kill your heroes.
- Both are ineffective in an open lane because they require your hero to die before they become effective.
If you are a high enough rank to merit using a defensive team it is better to adjust it occasionally (heroes and paths)
- This way others can't easily remember your defense and use an effective counter strategy to easily beat you whenever they see you in the arena.
- Also, it is important to note that if you can disable their attacking ability long enough, time outs go to the defender.
Heroes can be placed anywhere in the blue shiny circles.
- Try attacking and defending using different strategies (eg: alternating heroes that revive in front vs heroes that blow up when they die vs range vs tank).
- Only the highest level duplicate hero is available for the arena, so keep your arena focused copy at a higher level than the rest.
- Experiment. Have Fun.
Here Be Monsters
- The right combination of heroes is required for successfully completing Here Be Monsters. The right combination of heroes might change with each increase in HBM level.
- First: Hero with ability to Heal: You need a healer to keep your heroes alive for all five waves. Druid is the right choice, but there is also Angel for those, who don't have Druid yet.
- Second: Heroes with skill that target Area of Effect (AoE): The ability to deal damage to all enemies in an area, usually nearest to the hero. This is the best skill for Here Be Monsters as it takes out multiple enemies and keeps your hero alive. Suggested Heroes: Immortep, Serpent Queen, Cyclops Vlad Dracula and Engineer
- Third: Heroes that are able to hit Multiple Targets: The ability to deal damage to multiple random enemies in an area. This is similar to AoE but it targets enemies randomly on the map. This can be problematic as it could target enemies that are not attacking your hero. This leaves your hero at the mercy of nearby enemies. It also has preferential priority of targeting troops before heroes. Suggest Heroes: Grizzly Reaper, Thunder God, Spirit Mage and Minotaur Chieftain.
- Also a hero skill that deal high damage to a single target is an option but not very viable if you do not have the two above. Suggested Heroes: Ninja, Succubus, Snowzilla and Assassin.
- Two ranged heroes are a must.
Shards, Honor Badges, Gems
can be used to buy high level heroes, or sacrificial slime/ooze for skill experience. Get Shards by attacking dungeon
levels with blue towers. Only attack the other levels to gain access to
more difficult blue tower dungeons. Clearing all the rooms in a
Ordinary Dungeon will open the door to an Expert Dungeon that offers
much more HB and Shards. Farming the Here Be Monsters levels gives more shards.
Only use Honor Badges
to upgrade heroes, they are hard to come by when you need 20,000 of
them to get past level 80. You may think that 500 badges is worth an
ordinary hero (if you even get one instead of a slime), but when you are
in full HBC (Honor Badge Crisis) later on, or people often call it HB
wall where all your heroes stuck at a level because of lacking HB, you
will regret wasting them.
Early on, only use gems
to generate heroes until you have enough high level heroes. This is
still a good strategy even if you don't want to spend any money to buy
gems - just use the gems you receive for daily rewards, completing
achievements and be patient. Free gems via Tapjoy offers do come in
handy, and they do count toward your 30 shard/day bonus and your hero
and badge rewards. Do them early, a little at a time, and you may just
see a Spirit Mage
in your future. Also, if you plan to roll gems for talents, make sure
you have several thousand; it will likely take 10-15 rolls to get
something even slightly good.
Guilds
as currency 
to buy upgrades, and many guilds require members to donate shards to stay in the guild.
For some players, hero shards are the most valuable resource in the game - since they can be used in high quantities to buy specific legendary heroes. Because of this, combined with the difficulty of completing guild events, one of the strategies for using the guild system effectively is to completely ignore it.
Another (and much better) option is to find a "piggyback guild". A guild that has a single member who is able to beat the boss and allows other members to tag along for the 500, 1k, or 1.5k badges you get just for participating. Follow their rules though, you don't want to get kicked out if you're lucky enough to secure a spot in one of them. You'll be amazed at how even an extra 7,000 badges a week doesn't even come close to satisfying your honor badge needs as you progress through the ranks.
If you are part of a successful guild with an active leader, you may also benefit from the guild purchase of flags. These are relatively new, are purchased with guild credits you've donated, and used just like spells.
Guilds are also a good place to share tips and ideas and if you're lucky, you might find a guild with an active leader who is willing to train you giving specific strategy and tips based on where you're at in the game. Typically these guilds require a steady donation rate in exchange for specialized help and advice.
