Greetings, summoners!
Before you jump into the world of RAID: Shadow Legends, we have some handy early game tips for newcomers to the realm. Our RAID: Shadow Legends new player guide will help you get off to a strong start while steering you clear of the things you should avoid.
DO:
Get ready for a deep and nearly endless adventure
RAID: Shadow Legends takes players on an epic journey as they amass an army of Champions to rid the land of an unknown scourge and save the realm of Teleria. As we kick off this RAID: Shadow Legends starter guide, we must stress that all who heed the call should be ready for a tremendous adventure.
Familiarize yourself with the Affinity system
There are four types of Affinities in RAID: Shadow Legends, and you’ll need to understand them all in order to succeed. Three Affinities exist in balance with one another, while the fourth offers no particular advantages or disadvantages against the others.
Magic (Blue): Beats Spirit (Green), weak to Force (Red);
Spirit (Green): Beats Force (Red), weak to Magic (Blue);
Force (Red): Beats Magic (Blue), weak to Spirit (Green);
Void (Purple): No counter, no weakness.
Thorough recall and understanding of these Affinities and the way they interact with each other will often be the critical deciding factor in combat.
Turn off Auto-battle as you try out newly acquired Champions
As things become more technical, complicated, and difficult in RAID: Shadow Legends, it’s crucial that players understand the synergy that drives a team of Champions. In order to fully appreciate how each new Champion you acquire can impact your squad and its abilities in a fight, take the time to get a handle on their skills by leading them into battle in Manual mode. Also, be sure to review their capabilities under the Skill tab in the Champion’s profile. You can also look in the Index to study the skills of Champions that you haven’t yet acquired.
Explore the Campaign before diving into Dungeons
There’s a lot to be found in the RAID: Shadow Legends Campaign, and even more for players to unlock through gameplay.
Whether you continually revisit the same Campaign section to grind up your squad’s strength or advance along the critical path to resolving the world’s mysteries and dangers, learning the game and your Champions’ potential at the campaign’s natural pace can pay off handsomely.
Also, equipping your Champions with gear from the Campaign will make it easier to advance farther in the Dungeons to earn even better gear. As such, it’s actually best to simply ignore the Dungeons until you’ve nearly completed the Campaign.
Work your way through the Progress Missions
For those who feel the tutorial is too short, Progress Missions can be a huge help. These carefully curated missions are designed with the intention of acclimating players to RAID: Shadow Legends’ numerous systems. They also offer rewards for completion as well – you can even gain the Arbiter as a Champion for completing half of the Progress Missions! Think of them as an optional extended tutorial.
Join a Clan you like
Many players will be so keen to join a Clan in RAID: Shadow Legends that they’ll jump in immediately and join any random Clan. While the perks of joining a Clan can be enticing, we suggest holding off until you get a sense of the community. Try to find a Clan with people who may be more inclined to play with you or lend a hand to a new player. Taking the time to sniff out that perfect community is one of the most crucial RAID: Shadow Legends tips we can offer.
When you’re starting out, you’ll also want to check if the Clan you’re looking to join can consistently defeat the Demon Lord Clan Boss. Demon Lord Chests can drop super useful items like Shards and Skill Tomes, and defeating this titanic threat will give you two Chests, instead of one! Don’t waste your time with Clans who can’t beat this boss every time – do your research to find those who are slaying the Demon Lord without fail.
Earn those three-star ratings
A big part of the grind involves mastering the three-star completion system associated with all of RAID: Shadow Legends’ Campaign Missions. Players earn more impressive rewards for scoring a higher star rating on each mission. Doubling back into a mission and attempting to score a three-star Campaign rating will net you more and better rewards. The game also rewards you based on your overall Campaign star count, so the more stars you can snag throughout your journey, the better.
Develop the Gem Mine
See the giant floating gem in your Bastion? That’s the Gem Mine, and it acts as a steady source of those precious red gems that you can use to buy Shards and other goodies. While the initial cost of unlocking the Gem Mine is a lot, it passively generates Gems – even if you aren’t playing RAID: Shadow Legends!
Equip your Champions with full Artifact sets
The gear system in RAID: Shadow Legends makes it crucial for players to equip the proper set of tools for the job. Savvy players will choose specific Champions to load up with certain gear. Equipping tank-type Champions with HP-boosting Artifacts or ensuring the “squishy” Champions have more life-stealing items equipped can make a huge difference in battle.
Pay attention to Artifact Sets as well! Equipping different Artifacts from the same Set will activate powerful bonuses, which will really help boost your stats in the early days of playing RAID: Shadow Legends.
Upgrade your gear often
In order to make all the gear you collect even more powerful, you can upgrade each item to a maximum level of +16. As you level up items, you’ll unlock bonus stats for every four stages you upgrade. This system makes even Common Artifacts worth investing your Silver into. If you keep grinding as we suggest, you should see some pretty awesome item drops in no time.
In the early game, you probably don’t want to upgrade gear beyond +12. The upgrade process becomes quite expensive as equipment gains levels, so you’ll be wasting precious resources by sinking too much Silver into gear that will soon be outclassed by new loot. Also note that Gloves, Chest Armor, Boots, Rings, Amulets, and Banners can have multiple primary stats. You will want to take care to farm for gear that has the correct primary stats, not just the correct set bonus.
Have fun, make friends!
While the in-game story may take a few turns for the serious, RAID: Shadow Legends is a fun and complex experience at heart. It’s important to work with your fellow adventurers to discuss essential strategies, hash out your favorite Factions, and ultimately make friends. You can use the in-game chat, join a stellar Clan, or reach out to other players on our official Discord.
Look at the Champions available in the Campaign
Several Champions can drop as rewards once you complete certain Campaign Stages, and many of them can be very helpful in some of the game’s trickier areas. If you’re struggling with a particular quest or battle, look to see which Champions might be available to you in the Campaign. One of them could be just the addition you need to put your army over the top! You can see which Champions drop in a Chapter by looking at the loot screen to the left side of the screen when you open a Chapter.
Rank up low-rarity Champions
When ranking up a Champion, you’ll need to sacrifice other Champions of the same Rank. However, take care not to rush. If you get rid of Champions you may want or need later, you’ll regret it. Instead, level up lower-ranked Champions to act as “food” for your stronger Champions, and use them as sacrifices instead!
Prioritize your Champion stats
When gearing up your Champions for battle, keep a sharp eye on their stats and make sure to invest in the right ones. If you have a Champion who can apply powerful debuffs, you need to make sure they have a high Accuracy stat, so they can land those debuffs. For Champions that you want as your main attackers, ensuring they have a 100% Critical Rate stat is essential for maximizing their damage. Don’t go equipping your Champions with Artifacts that boost stats that aren’t helpful – focus on what they’re good at!
DON’T:
Our list of RAID: Shadow Legends tips also comes with its share of essential things to avoid. Some merely involve changing your mindset, while others tie directly to your strategic choices.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the choice of your first Champion
When the brief battle tutorial ends, you (the hero of the story) will receive the opportunity to save one of the four starter Champions. Whether or not you decide to go with Athel of the Sacred Order, Elhain of the High Elves, Galek of the Orcs, or Kael of the Dark Elves, don’t fret too much about your choice. All four Champions are available to earn throughout the game. You can start by simply picking the Faction you most identify with, or the Champion whose design you enjoy the most.
Don’t be afraid to grind!
Throughout the course of your adventure within RAID: Shadow Legends, you may find yourself outclassed by enemy hordes or trying to work with new Champions whose capabilities lag behind the rest of your squad’s. Situations like these are the perfect opportunity to grind. You can freely repeat all Campaign missions and Dungeons as you need. Some quests may come with time restrictions, but plenty of adventures can be revisited as many times as you wish — assuming you have the in-game Energy for them. There are many reasons to replay missions, and leveling up is only one of them.
Don’t horde duplicate Champions
During your RAID: Shadow Legends journey, you will earn plenty of Champions as rewards and unlocks. Many of these will be repeats of Champions you’ve already earned. This means you should feel free to use most (if not all) of your duplicates in the Tavern in order to upgrade the ones you’ve chosen as your favorites. It’s important, however, to keep some powerful Champions from a variety of Factions for use in the Faction Wars game mode, where you’re limited to only using Champions from a certain Faction.
You can put duplicate Champions within the Faction Guardians section of the Guardian Ring, and they’ll grant stats of all Champions of a specific Rarity within a Faction! You can also use a duplicate Champion in the Tavern to upgrade the skills of a Champion you already have. For example, you can use a Level 1 Kael to upgrade the skills of your Level 60 Kael. It saves you a Skill Tome and frees up space in your Champion Vault — what a deal!
Don’t neglect those Quests
This is especially important for those of you just starting out on your journey: do not ignore the quests! Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and even Achievement Quests are all stellar ways to grow your collection of resources while at the same time providing players with some direction.
Don’t give up on those drops!
What’s the greatest advantage to putting in some grind time on Campaign or Dungeon missions? Loot drops. Many missions often include a top-tier, low-percentage drop for you to hunt down. Don’t give up on them, even if you don’t earn those rares right away. If you have the Energy to spare, grinding for experience and rare drops can be well worth your effort.
Don’t be afraid to fall in love with a team comp
Don’t overcomplicate things when it comes to building and discovering your optimal team compositions. While it’s essential to explore different ideas and try new things, it’s also fine for players to become attached to a specific team build. It’s easy to grow and improve the Champions you’ve unlocked, so any Champion can become a strong one with a little effort.
Don’t forget to login once a day
Other than grinding, the best way to gather materials and unlock items is by ensuring you collect login bonuses. Newer players will also be granted some pretty impressive Champions as rewards for logging in consistently. Rewards like these are handed out daily, so be sure to launch RAID: Shadow Legends each day for an easy boost in materials and more.
Don’t get too far ahead of yourself
Players of all kinds often want to unlock every game type and adventure as soon as possible, but certain aspects of RAID: Shadow Legends are locked behind level caps. This may seem frustrating at first, but it’s by design. The goal in keeping content locked based on the player’s level is to help them become more comfortable with the game’s systems by the time advanced adventures become available. The trials of opening up the game’s many experiences will also help in leveling your Champions, ensuring you have some capable core pieces as you get to more difficult scenarios.
Don’t forget about the Tavern
Upgrading Champions is a key feature as you’re tweaking your favorite party in the later game, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore those upgrades early on. This is especially true if you’ve already found a few Champions you like. Use the materials you’ve collected in Dungeons, Missions, and Clan Quests to make your favorite warriors even more powerful.
Don’t waste Skill Tomes!
Skill Tomes are some of the most valued resources in RAID: Shadow Legends, and you’ll want to use them wisely. However, it’s very easy to make the mistake of using a Legendary Skill Tome on a Rare Champion, thinking it will give you more skill upgrades. It doesn’t! Only use Skill Tomes of the same Rarity as the Champion you’re trying to upgrade. It’ll save you a lot of heartache when you try to upgrade that Legendary you’ve been waiting for, and you realize you accidentally used a Legendary Skill Tome back when you started playing.
Don’t leave home without a healer
This may sound like “Role-Playing 101,” but you’ll definitely want to add a healer to your party as soon as you’re able to unlock one. Handily, there’s a rare Champion with healing skills — Warpriest — who automatically drops once you finish Chapter 1. Having a healer on hand to mend your party’s wounds will often save the day. The Support class Champions in RAID: Shadow Legends range from straight healers, to Champions with the ability to raise deceased allies, to Champions who are focused on buffing your team and debuffing the enemy.
Don’t forget your Aura
Certain Champions possess a passive skill called an “Aura” which will increase a specific stat for every Champion on the team. Only the champion in the “Leader” position of the team will be able to project their Aura in combat. Make sure that your Leader always has an Aura! Each of the starter Champions have Auras, so be sure to put them to good use. High Khatun, who you get via the Daily Login Rewards, has a Speed Aura which is a game-changer in modes like Arena.
Hopefully, these RAID: Shadow Legends tips will help new players as they embark on their journey. Keep these dos and don’ts in mind during the early stages of your quest and you’ll be a master of war in no time.