RAID: Shadow Legends – New Player Guide

This is meant to be a guide for new players. Not a review of the game. I will try to explain the game in the most neutral way possible. I will also not go into absolute details, as I am trying to keep this fairly short within reason.

Basic Overview

Raid is a gacha game. That means that the games champions used to play the game are almost all locked behind an RNG system. If you are not OK with this, it might not be a game for you.

It is also autobattle game and while it can be played manualy, it is not the preffered way to play for most players.

The main focus of the game is in creating and preparing your team before the fight and then trying to optimize your team to be as fast as possible in a given fight.

Starter Champion

First thing, the game will ask you to do is to select one out of four rare champions, to start the game with. These champions are Elhain, Galek, Athel and Kael.

All of them are similar and fulfil the same role. That being a damage dealer. (also refered to as Nuker).

While all of the starter champions are perfectly viable, there is objectively a best choice to make. If you wanna have fun, pick whatever champs you find fancy and you will be just fine. If you wanna minmax the game, pick Kael.

Champions Overview

The heroes, that you will use in raid are refered to as champions. They come in 6 different rarities. Champions of better rarity are generaly (but not exclusively) better, than champions of lower rarity.

The rarities of the champions are:

Common (White) < Uncommon (Green) < Rare (Blue) < Epic (Purple) < Legendary (Gold) < Mythic (Red)

Each campion will have a type assigned to it. These roles can be:

  • Attack – These champions scale their damage with the Attack stat and generaly have much better damage scaling for high damage numbers, than other type of champions while not being able to take much damage themselves.
  • Defense – These champions scale their damage with a Defense stat. They do not deal as much damage as attack champions (with few exceptions), but they can be very tanky.
  • HP – These champions scale their damage with their Maximum HP and usually have other mechanisms in their abilities, that benefit from their high HP pool.
  • Support – These champions usually dont scale their attack very well, and focus on buffing / debuffing / reviving.
  • Hybrid (combination of any of the above)

How to Get Champions

You can get champions via multiple avenues. The most common is through Shards, that you will get as a reward for clearing content or buy with real money.

There are multiple qualities of shards. Each gives different odds to different champions.

You can also get champions as a reward for achieving milestones in the game or from daily login reward.

How to Level Up and Ascend Champions

All powering up of champions (except for leveling) is done in a Tavern building in your city screen.

Every champions portrait will have a certain number of stars in it. Common champions will start with 1, Uncommon with 2, Rare with 3 etc. Multiplying the numbers of stars by 10 will give you the maximum level the champion can currently have. So a champion with 3 stars can have a maximum level of 30. However the number of stars a champion can have can be increased, up to a maximum of 6 stars. Therefore every champion can have a maximum level of 60.

In order to increase the number of stars on a champion, you first have to level that champion to its current maximum level. Then you have to sacrifice a number of champion based on the star level of the champion. These sacrified champions also have to have the same number of stars.

Example: I want to power up my starting champion from 3-star to 4-star. I first need to level my starting champion to level 30. Then I have to sacrifice three 3-star champions (of any level or rarity). After the sacrifice is done, my starting champion will become a 4-star with level 1.

Then I want to power up this champion from a 4-star to a 5-star. I will need to have my champion a level 40 and then Sacrifice four 4-star champions of any level or rarity. etc.

Note: Do not sacrifice epic champions or better. Use your common or uncommon. Level them up and then sacrifice them.

You can also improve champions skills by using skill books for champions in the tavern. Books come in 4 qualities. Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythic. Only use those books to the same rarity of a champion as they are. i.e. Rare books for Rare champions, Epic books for epic champions etc. Never use a book for a lower rarity champion.

Stat Overview

There are 8 different stats, that each champion has. These stats are gained in two ways. First way is to increase the champions level and rank. Generaly also refered to as Base stats.

The second way to inscrease stats in via equiping the champion with a gear. Equiping a gear on a champion has no visual representation and only serves as a stat stick.

The different stats are:

  • HP – Increases champions max HP and increases damage for HP type champions
  • Attack – This stat is useful ONLY for Attack type champions and increases their damage. Defense or HP type champions DO NOT benefit from this stat AT ALL.
  • Defense – Decreases champions damage taken and increases damage for Defense type champion
  • Speed – Determines how fast the champion acts in combat. Champions with high speed take turns before champions with low speed and more often.
  • Critical chance – determines a chance, that the champions scores a critical hit
  • Critical damage – multiplies the damage of a critical hit
  • Resistance – Increases champions chance to resist debuffs*
  • Accuracy – Increases champions chance to place debuffs*

* Placing debuffs is a multistep process. Here is a siplified example on how it works:

Champion A has a 50% chance to place Decrease Attack debuff with his attack on Champion B. When the champion attacks, the game will check, if the debuff will be placed. There are 2 possible outcomes:

  • 1) Champion A has failed the 50% debuff check -> Debuff is not placed
  • 2) Champion A has succeeded the 50% debuff check -> Compare accuracy of Champion A with Resistance of Champion B
  • 2a) Champion As accuracy is higher enough, than Champion Bs resistance -> Debuff is placed on Champion B
  • 2b) Champion Bs resistance is higher enough, than Champion As accuracy -> Debuff is resisted by Champion B

Gear Overview

Each champion except common champions can be upgraded with 9 different pieces of gear. 6 pieces of main gear and 3 pieces of accessories.

Each piece of gear has 1 main stat, and can have up to 4 substats depending on how much the gear is upgraded. Each gear can be upgraded up to +16 and every 4 levels gain 1 new substat or 1 bonus to an existing substat.

Gear can have many different stats, with some exceptions. Gloves, Chest and Boots can have a main stat with % increase, while other types of gear can only have flat stat bonuses.

For example a Weapon can have +200 attack as main stat, while a Chest piece can have +50% Attack bonus as main stat.

Main Gear:

  • Weapon – Allways has Attack as main stat and cannot have Defense as substat
  • Helmet – Allways has HP as main stat and can have any substats
  • Shield – Allways has Defense as main stat and cannot have Attack as a substat
  • Gloves – Only piece of main gear, that can have Crit chance or Crit damage as main stat.
  • Chest – Only piece of main gear, that can have Accuracy or Resistance as main stat.
  • Boots – Only piece of main gear, that can have Speed as main stat. And in most cases champions should be equipped with Speed boots.

Accessories:

Require a champion to reach a certain level of ascention to be equipped.

  • Ring – allways has flat stat bonus for main stat
  • Necklace – allways has flat stat or Crit damage%
  • Banner – can have Accuracy or Resistance as main stat

For a new player, I would recommend to focus your stat priority on Accuracy = Speed > Defense > Damage.

Game Mode Overview

There are multiple different game modes in the game, that will unlock as you keep leveling up your account. The game will throw these types at you fairly quickly without explaining the benfits and players will generaly start participating in a content, that is not really usefull to them at this stage of the game.

  • Campaign – The games version of story mode. Campaign has 4 difficulties. It is the best place to level up your champions and make them stronger. Campaign gives the highest amount of XP out of any game mode in the game. As a new player you should spend 99% of your time in the campaign, until you get your first champion to level 60.
  • Dungeons – Dungeons are separated into 3 different types.
  • Potion dungeons – used to farm potions for champion ascention
  • Gear dungeons – Ice Golem, Dragon, Fire Knight, Spider. Used to farm gear for champions
  • Miscelaneous – these are really end-game dungeons. As a new player you should not even care about them.

Early game, dungeons dont have much value for you, except for potion keeps to ascend your starting champion to level 3 of ascention. Keep your focus on progressing through campaign.

  • Faction wars – game mode, where you can only use a champions of the same faction to clear stages for rewards to improve stats on your gear. I.e. only Undead champions or only Demon champions etc.
  • Arena – PvP mode, where you fight other players teams controlled by AI. Except for live arena, where you actually play against other players. Normal arena is very important, as it gives your currency, that is used to upgrade your great hall, which gives permanent bonuses to all your champions.
  • Clan boss – special bosses, than you can fight with your clan for daily / weekly bonuses depending on how well you do. You should do this every day / week for rewards.
  • Doom Tower and Cursed City – This is a late / end game content, that really doesnt need explaining here.

Goals for a New Player

  1. Get your Starting champion to level 60
  2. Get 1 full team of 5 champions to level 60
  3. For a long term goal, you should aim for making a team, that is able to farm Ultra-nightmare clan boss daily. This will really open up the game for you, because you will have a steady income of Shards to summon new champions.

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