Gems of War (Free to Play)

Gems of War
by Infinity Plus Two - November, 2014

Available at:
Official Site (phone app available)
Steam



Welcome to Gems of Wars, the newest Puzzle-RPG hybrid from the creators of Puzzle Quest, the original Match 3 RPG!

KEY FEATURES

• COLLECT and STRATEGIZE – Equip your hero with weapons and armor and lead a team of fantastical monsters into battle. Think strategically, upgrading your units and utilizing their unique abilities to defeat powerful bosses.
  
• TEAM UP – Join a guild, chat with friends, and work together to unlock powerful buffs.
  
• COMPETE – Participate in weekly events and PvP tournaments to win exclusive prizes.
  
• JOURNEY – Fight your way through a vast array of quests, each with a distinctive story and game-changing rewards.
  
• PLAY ANYWHERE – Link your account and play across devices and platforms.
  

THE FANS HAVE SPOKEN

•    “This game is Awesome! Challenging and entertaining. Not just some gem or gummy game. Terrific find!”
  
•    “I think this is the best "match 3" game out there. It's got a ton of RPG elements to it that makes it very deep. It reminds me a lot of Hearthstone.”
  
•    “Got to love a good mix of bejeweled and magic the gathering in an app. Love it!”
  
•    “Basically this game takes my favorite elements of Ascension and Hearthstone and gives them a different, and I think improved, foundation.”
  
•    “My wife teases me that Gems of War is Candy Crush for boys. It's an intriguing combination of a gem game and a collectable card game. I like the campaign and the guild play.”
  
•    “This is like the version of Puzzle Quest I never knew I wanted. Oodles of quests, challenges, guild activities, cool monsters, arena fights, ranked fights, and man I could just play that treasure mini game all day.”
  

For anyone wondering where I've disappeared to, this is it.  I'm completely obsessed, so every chance I get to sit at the computer, this is what I'm doing.  Puzzle Quest was fantastic, so if you're a fan of that game, I totally recommend checking this out.  There's SO MUCH to do to keep you interested!

I do NOT recommend buying the DLC at Steam.  If you want to support the devs and/or have something you really want in-game, get it directly through the game.  If you have Steam, it's absolutely painless.

I promise that I'll write a review at some point, just super-busy with real life... and playing this game!

Gems of War (F2P Battle Match-3/RPG/Card Collector)

If Puzzle Quest and Runespell Overture -- both highly-addictive -- had a love child, I imagine that this game would be the outcome.  TL;DR at the end under Verdict.

There are separate tabs for Options, and include separate sliders for Music and SFX, Speed (default 1.5x -- I keep mine at 4x), Hints and more.  Under the Graphics tab you'll find a place where you can turn off the holiday themes (such as clown skulls for international clown day or pumpkin skulls for Halloween).

NOTE: If your game looks wonky and is flickering, etc., make sure that there's nothing sitting on your controller. ;)

Story: Let's face it, Gems of War is not about the story.  Each kingdom that you explore has a storyline, and these range from amusing to exasperating (looking at you Princess Elspeth!) -- some are even interesting -- but the stories never were meant to be the driving focus of the experience.  It's all about the...

Gameplay!

The basics of the are simple:  Match gems to gather mana in order to cast spells, and match skulls to do a direct attack on your enemies.  Gameplay is entirely turn-based.  You take a turn, your opponent takes a turn.  Nowhere in the game will you be required to have quick reflexes. 



The game starts off with a very good tutorial that will teach you what you need to know in the beginning.  At this point it's very linear, but after you finish the story in the first kingdom, you'll have a bit more freedom.  At this point you can choose which kingdom to unlock next, or you can do one of the following in your completed kingdom(s):

• Challenges: Collect needed resources such as souls, gold, glory etc.
  
• Explores: 5 battles to help you earn experience, traitstones, souls, gold and mythstones.  When you collect 100 mythstones, you can do a mythic boss battle at the end of your explore, which will earn you tokens.  3 tokens = a badge, 3 badges = a medal.  There are multiple kinds of badges/medals that you can equip from the main kingdom screen (at the top) that will give you various buffs, from extra armor to cleansing negative status effects to bonus magic strength
  

Unlocking Kingdoms:

There are multiple benefits to unlocking kingdoms:

1. Banners: Banners are buffs to your gem-matching.  A +Red +Brown banner will give you the an extra red and an extra brown mana each time you match those gems, whereas a ++Blue, +Green, -Yellow banner will give you two extra mana for blue matches, +1 green and -1 yellow (so if you match 3 yellow gems, you'll only get the +2 to your mana)
   
2. New Cards: Each kingdom has a story guide, and at the end of their storyline, they will join your group, making them available to add to your team
   
3. Kingdom Troops: Each kingdom you visit has its own denizens with their own powers.  Playing against these troops will help you get to know the enemies, which at some point you will own!  Every opponent you meet is a card that you can pull from a chest, with only a few exceptions
   
4. Class Quest: Each Kingdom has its own Class (ie. Assassin, Frostmage, Sentinel, Warpriest), which you unlock by doing the Class Quest (another short story segment).  Classes can give crazy benefits via leveling, traits, unlocking talents and a special Class Weapon that you can earn from getting 250 wins with that class
   

Online Gameplay Only:

You MUST be connected to the internet to play this game.  There are multiple reasons for this, the primary of which is the fact that there are constant updates and new events almost every day.

New Content: 

A new troop-of-the-week is released every Monday.  This troop can be obtained via chests or from the shop in the Weekly Event tab (purchase with glory).

The first Friday of every month a new Mythic releases.  Let me explain:

Troop rarity is indicated by the color of the border on each card in the following order:  White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, Turquoise, with white being common and Turquoise being a mythic quality (and the hardest to get from chests).  Don't worry, there are stars at the top of the cards that show you how rare they are.  The more stars that are colored in, the rarer the card.

Every 5 weeks we get a new faction to play in, which you'll find in...

The Underworld:

As you get close to completing all of the kingdoms in Krystara (our main map), you'll be able to unlock the underworld.  There you will find factions, each having its own mini-story.  Once you complete the storyline, you'll be able to do a delve at the site.


Delves:

Delving is a different kind of gameplay than what you've experienced thus far.  You'll still be fighting battles, but this time in a series of 9 rooms -- each with its own rewards -- culminating in a chest of rewards when you either lose your whole team or complete the delve by finishing the boss room.

Your team persists from room-to-room!  It cannot be changed, and if you lose a troop, it's gone for the rest of the delve.  This is a love-it or hate-it type of gameplay, and while it make me really anxious at first, once I obtained some reliably-good troops, I really started to enjoy them!

Upgrading your kingdoms and factions:

Oh my... This is one of the confusing parts of the game. 

When you upgrade your kingdoms, there are two levels: Power level and Star level, each of which costs different resources, and each giving you their own bonuses.

Upgrading factions also has two levels: Hoard level and hoard quality.  The basic level increases your stats whilst you're in the delve (bonuses to Magic, Armor, Life, etc), whilst the quality will increase how much good stuff you get from the chest at the end of the delve.  Each faction has to be upgraded separately.

The Social Aspect:

Do you HAVE to be social in this game?  Do you HAVE to join a guild?  No, absolutely not, but you'll get SO much more out of it if you do.  I like to play solo.  It's just how I roll, so I didn't look at chat or join a guild until I'd completed over half of the kingdoms.

You're going to have questions at some point, and the best and fastest way to get answers is to ask your fellow players, so at least head into global chat.  There are multiple channels in there, so if you don't like one you're in, join a different one!  Chat is on the left side of the screen, and is easily-accessible via most of the screens in the game, including battles.

JOIN A GUILD!  If you don't want to talk to anyone and don't want to have requirements, there are guilds out there for you, and you can still get some of the basic rewards, just join one that is the highest level possible so that you can have better stat boosts.

If you really like this game and want to play it daily, join an active guild. 

The benefits of joining a guild:

• World Events:  Every week there is a new "World Event", which you can only participate with if you're in a guild.  The whole team works together to beat stages and earn reward tiers.  These rewards get progressively better, so being in an active guild guarantees you better rewards
  
• Stat Bonuses: There are Tasks that your guild can complete with gold every week, and finishing those tasks gives you not only a bonus to your stats (Magic, Armor, etc.), but also immediate rewards such as gems, glory, keys, etc.
  
• Guild Seals:
  

Earning seals is easy -- Just play the game!  An active guild will require you to collect your seals every day or two 'til you hit your minimum-required for the guild or the game limit of 2000.  The reason for this is the number under Guild Weekly Seals.  When you hit 40,000/40,000, your guild chests will raise to level 6, which will get you the highest possible quality out of those seals.  You'll get some of the best troops in the game from those chests, which is why an active guild is recommended!

NOTE: Use guild seals in the Chests area

Glory and shards and keys, oh my!

So many resources to keep track of!

• Gold: Used to upgrade kingdoms and buy resources
  
• Gems: Used to buy resources and extra sigils/fun stuff in the event shop area 
  
• Glory:
  
• Souls: Used to upgrade classes and troops' levels, the highest of which is level 20.  Increasing the level will buff your stats for that troop.
  
• Traitstones:  Used to unlock traits.  Each troop and class has three traits that can be unlocked.  These can be things like immunity to status effects, starting battles with full mana, poisoning troops with skull damage and many many more.
  
• Ingots: These are used to upgrade weapons, and they have the same rarity as troops, ranging from white (common) to mythic (the rarest).  These can be found by winning PvP battles or by doing delves (delves are the best source of legendary and mythic ingots)
  
• Guild Seals (see the Guild section above) and Chaos Shards: Chaos Shards are used to open "portals" in the Underworld.  These portals (basically chests) will get you the troops for that faction, along with treasures that you use to increase the quality of your hoard for that faction.
  
• Keys: The quality of what you'll get from each kind of key varies, with Gold Keys being the most common troops (I don't recommend using your gold to buy these -- save your money!), then Glory keys, then Gem Keys.  Event Keys are gained mostly from being in a guild, and will get you troops from the kingdom that we're currently focused on for the World Event.
  

PvP:
Do you have to do PvP?  Nope, but it's a great way to see some interesting troop combinations, and trust me, it's not as painful as you think ;)

When you go into PvP, you will be attacking others' defense teams, and the AI handles their side of the battle.  To set up your own team for others to attack, simply click on the Defenders tab and put one of your teams in there.  You'll be alerted of wins and losses, and can play revenge battles that will earn you some nice bonuses.

If you aren't interested in (or are intimidated by) the leaderboard, just switch to the Casual tab and no one will ever know you were there ;D

FREE?

Wait... All of this is free-to-play?  Why yes it is!  You can play this game every day of your life and never pay a penny.  There are of course things that you can buy that will help you along the way and/or make your progression faster, but I don't feel like these things give an unfair advantage.  Everything available for purchase is something that you can earn yourself eventually.

Verdict:

This is a highly-addictive battle match-3 game with card collecting (troops) and some RPG aspects (upgrading your classes, kingdoms, troops, etc).  Beware, oh ye of OCD, for your playing of other games ends here!  Gems of War has a surprising depth to it that keeps me coming back day after day, a great community, and above all else, FUN!

Here I go over every single class currently in the game, including what kingdom they make you from, the class weapon, class traits and what race you become when you use that class.

1:56 Archer -- Forest of Thorns -- Elf -- Dragon Oak

2:32 Archmagus -- Silverglade -- Mystic -- Reflection of Good

3:10 Assassin -- Mist of Scales -- Naga -- Serpentine Dagger

3:34 Barbarian -- Grosh-Nak -- Orc -- Orc King's Club

4:02 Bard -- Pan's Vale -- Wildfolk -- Orpheus' Lute

4:26 Corsair -- Blackhawk -- Rogue -- Plunder and Peril

4:55 Deathknight -- Ghulvania -- Undead -- Crypt Keeper

5:24 Dervish -- Drifting Sands -- Monster -- Dancing Daggers

5:56 Diabolist -- Blighted Lands -- Daemon -- Fiend Fire

6:46 Doomsayer -- Sin of Maraj -- Daemon -- Sin's Harvest

7:16 Dragonguard -- Dragon's Claw -- Dragon -- Dragon's Eye

8:02 Frostmage -- Glacial Peaks -- Fey -- Orb of Winter

8:43 Hierophant -- Bright Forest -- Fey -- Summer's Wonder

9:06 Knight -- Sword's Edge -- Knight -- Serve and Protect

9:24 Mechanist -- Adana -- Mech -- Dragonator 8000

10:10 Monk -- Shentang -- Elf -- Spiked Manriki

10:35 Necromancer -- Khetar -- Undead -- Creeping Death

10:59 Oracle -- Divinion Fields -- Centaur -- Staff of Visions

11:36 Orbweaver -- Zhul'Kari -- Elf -- Spider Totem

12:08 Plaguelord -- Darkstone -- Human -- Essence of Evil

12:54 Priest -- Whitehelm -- Divine -- Staff of St. Astra

13:15 Runepriest -- Khaziel -- Dwarf -- Runeforger

13:36 Sentinel -- Urkaya -- Urska -- Shield of Urskaya

14:21 Shaman -- Wild Plains -- Tauros -- Fire Ruby Staff

14:54 Slayer -- Dhrak-Zum -- Dwarf -- Deathdealer

15:26 Sorcerer -- Karakoth -- Daemon -- Daemonomicon

15:59 Stormcaller -- Suncrest -- Stryx -- Thunderbird

16:42 Sunspear -- Pridelands -- Raksha -- Flamesoul

17:22 Thief -- Zaejin -- Goblin -- Skeleton Key

17:51 Tidecaller -- Merlantis -- Merfolk -- Three Sisters

18:31 Titan -- Stormheim -- Giant -- Thorodin

19:07 Warden -- Maugrim Woods -- Beast -- Warden's Gauntlets

19:23 Warlord -- Broken Spire -- Giant -- Warlord's Battlecry

19:52 Warpriest -- Leonis Empire -- Human -- Symbol of Anu

____________________________________________________

50% Mana Start (Thank you, SmasherT!)

via class TRAIT:
Archer
Mechanist
Shaman
Thief
Titan

via TALENT Level 20:
Archmagus
Bard
Frostmage
Necromancer
Plaguelord
Tidecaller

____________________________________________________

SmasherT wrote:on my list post I meant tokens have a 2% chance not medals.  Go ahead and share it if you like.  I don't have info on Class Storms unfortunately. https://www.taransworld.com/Spoilers/?d=classes&showAll=1 would be probably be the best place to compile the list because if you hover over the talent tree talents and it shows what they do.  I could put that together if you like.  There are some more info from my guild discord that maybe helpful.  Grabbing it now.

Orbs of chaos chances


CHAOS STORM (lvl 1): Summon a random storm on 4 or 5 Gem matches.ArchmagusBarbarianDeathknightDervishFrostmageStormcallerTitanDARKSTORM (lvl 20)AssassinNecromancerOrbweaverSorcererThiefDOOMSTORM (lvl 40)ArchmagusDiabolistDoomslayerPlaguelordSorcererDUSTSTORM (lvl 20)ArchmagusBarbarianDeathknightDervishFrostmageRunepriest (trait)StormcallerTitanFIRESTORM (lvl 20): DiabolistDragonguardHierophantSlayerSunspear (trait)WarlordICESTORM (lvl 20)AssassinDeathknightDiabolistDoomslayerNecromancerSlayerLEAFSTORM (lvl 20)ArcherBarbarianOrbweaverShamanSunspearWardenLIGHTSTORM (lvl 20):HierophantKnightOraclePriestShamanStormcaller (trait)Warpriest

 

Throttle Fiend wrote: Also, here's the team I use for quick-wins on explore (shout out to my Guild Leader Frat for showing me this) - it's something that doesn't require Mythics and is fast as buttered toast on an icy slope:
1st slot - Princess Elspeth - fully traited so she starts with full mana
2nd slot - Bomb Bot
3rd slot - Bomb Bot
4th slot - Hero with class that you are looking to boost, but make sure you have a brown weapon equipped. Use a banner that emphasizes brown mana. When the battle starts, if there's a match that will fill up your first Bomb Bot, do it and blow the bomb. If not, use Elspeth to sacrifice your hero, which will create a bunch of brown gems. Fill bomb, rinse and repeat. You don't get as much as on higher difficulties, but it's so fast, it doesn't matter. I used this combo to jump from around level 150 to 1,000. I was able to gain 200 levels in a day. Of course, once you hit 1,000, it slooooooows down. I'm like 1,131 now.

Quick explores have many benefits, including:

1. Gnomes! An increased number of battles means increased chances of finding gnomes, especially during gnome weekends.
2. Earning traitstones that you need to trait your troops
3. Fast leveling! You get the same amount of experience whether the battle takes you 10 seconds or 10 minutes.
4. Farming souls and/or gold



Difficulty 1
Ironhawk, Ironhawk, Crude Club, Dust Devil
[6991,6600,1064,6156,3001,1,2,3,1,2,0,0,14029]

Ironhawk x2, Greed, Dust Devil
[6991,6991,6600,6156,3062,1,2,3,1,2,0,0,14029]

Difficulty 3
Mountain Crusher (or any weapon that doesn't contain blue or green), Rowanne (equip 3 Medals of Gaard), Leprechaun, Maraji Queen (or a 2nd Leprechaun)
[1056,6087,6638,6751,3039,1,2,1,1,1,0,0,14020]
*Any class that has Nature's Aura* (starts with a Leaf Storm) for best results. ie. Archer, Orbweaver, Shaman, Warden

Difficulty 2
Mountain Crusher (or any weapon that doesn't contain blue or green), Queen Beetrix, King Silenus, Leprechaun
[1056,6863,6384,6638,3036,1,2,1,1,1,0,0,14020]
Use with any class that has Nature's Aura (starts with a Leaf Storm) for best results. ie. Archer, Orbweaver, Shaman

Mountain Crusher (or any weapon that doesn't contain blue or green), Luna, King Silenus, Leprechaun
[1056,6659,6384,6638,3052,1,2,1,1,1,0,0,14020]
Use with any class that has Nature's Aura (starts with a Leaf Storm) for best results. ie. Archer, Orbweaver, Shaman

Difficulty 5
Mountain Crusher, Phoenicia, Maraji Queen, Leprechaun
[1056,6649,6751,6638,3059,2,3,1,3,3,3,0,14016]

Difficulty 3
Orb of Winter, Queen Mab, Daughter of Ice, Drowned Sailor (from Sunken Fleet)
[1218,6191,6723,6749,3063,1,1,2,2,1,3,3,14018]

*SOUL-FARMING QUICK-EXPLORE TEAMS*
-- Equip Celestial Armor if you have it, and use any class with Soul Caller, such as Assassin, Necromancer, Slayer, Doomsayer, Diabolist, etc.

Difficulty 1
Phylactery, Sacrificial Priest x2 (Use 3 medals of seasons or Aranaea to increase attack/do more damage), Leprechaun
[1090,6201,6201,6638,3055,3,1,1,2,2,1,0,14008]

Difficulty 3
Phylactery, Rowanne, Warlock (or any troop traited with Necromancy), Leprechaun
[1090,6087,6010,6638,3011,2,1,1,2,1,1,0,14006]

Difficulty 2
Phylactery, Sunbird, Warlock (or any troop traited with Necromancy), Leprechaun 
[1090,6387,6010,6638,3063,2,1,1,2,1,1,0,14006]

Difficulty 1
Phylactery, Sacrificial Priest (equip 3 Medals of Seasons or Medals of Aranaea), Warlock (or any troop traited with Necromancy), Leprechaun
[1090,6201,6010,6638,3011,2,1,1,2,1,1,0,14006]

Judge of the Dead (from Hell Gate), Phylactery, Leprechaun, Pharos-Ra
[7025,1090,6638,6297,3063,1,1,3,1,1,2,0,14028] from Ahmaden

*Soul-farming teams with Pharos-Ra*:

Level 1 Quick-explores:
Phylactery, Sacrificial Priest (Use 3 medals of seasons or Aranaea to increase attack/do more damage), Pharos-Ra, Leprechaun
[1090,6201,6297,6638,3071,1,1,1,2,2,1,0,14017]

Highest-level explore you can one-shot with Judge of the Dead:
Judge of the Dead, Phylactery, Leprechaun, Pharos-Ra
[1090,6201,6297,6638,3071,1,1,1,2,2,1,0,14017]

Random Teams:

Rope Dart, Mother of Darkness, Night Spider, Captain Macaw
[1228,6843,6963,6821,3036,2,2,1,1,2,1,0,14026]

For Vault: Anu's Scepter, Thrall, The Scourge of Honor, Lamashtu
[1052,6146,6984,6771,3021,1,3,3,1,0,0,0,14028]

For Vault: Pyggra, Phoenicia, Dawnbringer, Tink Steamwhistle
[6572,6649,1113,6930,3030,3,2,1,1,3,0,0,14007]

Doomed Glaive, Queen Beetrix (or Gobtruffle), Marilith, Leprechaun (class with Leaf Storm)
[1248,6863,6202,6638,3048,3,1,1,1,1,3,1,14004]

Kingdom Power Levels:
info obtained from this page: https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/revised-kingdom-stars-power-level-critera/47687

Power Level 1
1. Collect 2 kingdom troops
2. Upgrade a kingdom troop to level 5
3. Complete all the quests

Power level 2
1. Collect 4 kingdom troops
2. Upgrade 3 kingdom troops to level 10
3. Level kingdom to level 5

Power level 3
1. Collect a weapon from kingdom
2. Unlock 3 traits on 4 kingdom troops
3. Collect 2 Epic troops from kingdom

Power level 4
1. Collect 8 kingdom troops
2. Upgrade 5 kingdom troops to level 15
3. Upgrade kingdom to level 10

Power level 5
1. Fully upgrade a weapon from kingdom
2. Unlock 3 traits on 7 kingdom troops
3. Collect a Legendary troop from kingdom

Power level 6
1. Collect 12 kingdom troops
2. Upgrade 9 kingdom troops to level 18
3. Complete 7 challenges at 5 stars

Power level 7
1. Collect 3 weapons from kingdom
2. Unlock 3 traits on 11 kingdom troops
3. Collect 2 Legendary troops from kingdom

Power level 8
1. Collect 16 kingdom troops
2. Upgrade 14 kingdom troops to level 19
3. Fully upgrade 2 kingdom weapons

Power level 9
1. Unlock the kingdom hero class
2. Unlock 3 traits on 16 kingdom troops
3. Collect a pet from kingdom

Power level 10
1. Collect 20 kingdom troops
2. Upgrade 18 kingdom troops to level 20
3. Collect a Mythic troop from kingdom

Power level 11
1. Upgrade 20 kingdom troops to level 20
2. Upgrade the kingdom hero class to level 20
3. Upgrade a kingdom pet to level 10

Power level 12
1. Unlock 3 traits on 21 kingdom troops
2. Reach Champion level 20 on the kingdom hero class
3. Collect 4 kingdom weapons

Power level 13
1. Upgrade 22 kingdom troops to level 20
2. Unlock 3 traits on the kingdom hero class
3. Upgrade a kingdom pet to level 20

Power level 14
1. Unlock 3 traits on 23 kingdom troops
2. Reach Champion level 30 on the kingdom hero class
3. Fully upgrade 3 kingdom weapons

Power level 15
1. Level 24 kingdom troops to level 20
2. Reach Champion level 40 on the kingdom hero class
3. Collect 2 kingdom pets

Power level 16
1. Unlock 3 traits on 25 kingdom troops
2. Reach Champion level 50 on the kingdom hero class
3. Fully upgrade 4 kingdom weapons

Power level 17
1. Upgrade 26 kingdom troops to level 20
2. Reach Champion level 60 on the kingdom hero class
3. Upgrade 2 kingdom pets to level 20

Power level 18
1. Unlock 3 traits on 27 kingdom troops
2. Reach Champion level 70 on the kingdom hero class
3. Fully upgrade 6 kingdom weapons

Power level 19
1. Upgrade 28 kingdom troops to level 20
2. Reach Champion level 80 on the kingdom hero class
3. Collect 3 kingdom pets

Power level 20
1. Unlock 3 traits on 29 kingdom troops
2. Reach Champion level 100 on the kingdom hero class
3. Fully upgrade 8 kingdom weapons

Above level 20 here: https://www.taransworld.com/Spoilers/maxPower.pl
21 Upgrade 30 {Kingdom} troops to level 20 Complete 7 Tier 6 challenge battles Upgrade {Kingdom} to level 13
22 Unlock 3 Traits on 31 {Kingdom} troops Collect 2 Mythic troops from {Kingdom} Upgrade 5 {Kingdom} troops to Elite Level Bronze
23 Upgrade 32 {Kingdom} troops to level 20 Upgrade 3 {Kingdom} pets to level 20 Earn 500 Faction Renown in the Faction {Kingdom}
24 Unlock 3 Traits on 33 {Kingdom} troops Upgrade {Kingdom} to level 16 Fully upgrade 10 {Kingdom} weapons
25 Upgrade 34 {Kingdom} troops to level 20 Collect 4 {Kingdom} pets Upgrade 10 {Kingdom} troops to Elite Level Silver
26 Unlock 3 Traits on 35 {Kingdom} troops Earn 1500 Faction Renown in the Faction {Kingdom} Fully upgrade 12 {Kingdom} weapons
27 Upgrade 36 {Kingdom} troops to level 20 Upgrade 4 {Kingdom} pets to level 20 Upgrade {Kingdom} to level 18
28 Unlock 3 Traits on 37 {Kingdom} troops Upgrade 15 {Kingdom} troops to Elite Level Gold Fully upgrade 14 {Kingdom} weapons
29 Upgrade 38 {Kingdom} troops to level 20 Earn 2500 Faction Renown in the Faction {Kingdom} Collect 5 {Kingdom} pets
30 Unlock 3 Traits on 39 {Kingdom} troops Upgrade 20 {Kingdom} troops to Elite Level Gold Upgrade {Kingdom} to level 20

Examples of troops that will help you win battles in Arena listed below.
(Remember that these troops will have NO traits and no buffs from classes)

DAMAGE TO ALL (or Multiple) ENEMIES:
Atlanta
Sunbird
Hex Rat
Illithian Servitor
Midge Swarm
Dimetraxia

BURNERS/POISONERS:
Bone Scorpion
Sister of Nightmares
Scarabi
Serpent

BOOST RATIOS:
Elwyn
Griff Stonefeather
Zephyros
Lapina Explorer
Volthrenax
Harpy Eagle

TROOP BUFFERS:
Caprinicus
Faunessa
Ice Witch
Khatib Tahir
Royal Engineer
Heronath
Enchantress
Clockwork Sphinx

DOUBLE/TRIPLE DAMAGE:
Bullygnoll
Freki the Wild
Sister Ebony
Vodyanoi
Wild Fang
Gnoll
Savage Hunter

CHARMERS:
Wisp (Board re-arranger helps!)
Lamia
Snake Charmer
Bunnicorn

TANKS:
Herald of Woe
Clockwork Knight
Wild Knight

SUMMONERS:
Egg Thief
Kobra
Dokkalfar
Baba Yaga
Princess Elspeth
Dragon Eggs/Fell Dragon Eggs
Cocoon

TRUE DAMAGE:
Corpse Mare
Frostfire Wraith
Mist Stalker
Wight
Storm Knight
Marilith

More random notes and teams:

Arboreal Crystal or Fist of Heaven, Divinia, The Worldbreaker, The Dragon Soul with Sunspear and Maze Banner.

Mountain Crusher, Amarok, Stonehammer, Infernal King
[1056,6920,6340,6183,3046,2,3,1,3,2,3,3,14016]

Norbert's Turnip, Flaming Oni, Emperinazara, Nobend Brothers (from Vishal):
[1285,7105,6960,6204,3049,1,3,2,2,3,2,2,14017]
with Gobtruffle instead of Nobend Brothers
[1285,7105,6960,6759,3067,1,3,2,2,3,2,2,14017]

Twin Claws (Beastly Bow better if you have it), Rover-300, Flame of Anu, Pan (from Boomstick Fancypants)
[1416,6721,6952,6976,3064,3,1,1,1,1,2,0,14002]

The Great Maw, The Lord of Slaughter, Thrall, Mountain Crusher
[6160,6890,6146,1056,3066,2,1,1,3,1,3,3,14023]

Carnex, Bombot, Mechanist Drill, Bombot
[6066,6251,1401,6251,3063,2,2,1,1,1,0,0,14007]

Doomed Axe, Wrath, Fountain of Stars, Thrall with Dervish.
[1257,6604,7068,6146,3055,2,2,1,3,1,3,0,14023]

Gorgotha, Doomed Blade, Skroll Reborn, Tink Steamwhistle (from Boomstick Fancypants)
[6075,1226,7034,6930,3042,2,2,1,3,1,3,0,14023]



Arboreal Crystal, King Gobtruffle, Willow, Maraji Queen
[1354,6759,6528,6751,3026,2,2,3,3,1,3,0,14034]

SmasherT​ I do have Suna but i haven't used her. I have a team from Relle but i don't Celestial Flask
[1418,6858,6554,6638,3059,3,3,2,1,1,1,0,14024]


ThunderCougarFalconBird 1
I have another honorable mention - Thunderbird from the Stormcaller class. I use it on a vault/true damage team with Thrall, TGK, and Tina 9000. Thrall gets everyone mana, TGK silences and weakens Cedric then the others on second cast. Tina takes out three enemies, and Thunderbird finishes off the last one. Plus it works with any class you are leveling.

[1129,6638,6600,6498,3079,1,1,1,2,3,1,2,14017] gold farming from SmasherT


https://www.goodreads.com/series/49220-tairen-soul Series recommended by Kim Barnes

Infernus/Hatir Ascendant [1220,6288,6366,7033,3007,3,3,2,1,3,1,0,14024]

Tannenbaum, Writhing Staff, Divinia (or Marilith), Vernalis
[7146,1225,6540,7015,3001,2,2,1,2,2,2,0,14026]

sycorax-mistralus [1056,6895,7040,6870,3026,2,1,2,3,2,3,2,14012] from Smasher T



[1448,6479,6678,7082,3061,2,2,3,3,1,3,1,14034]

Mistralus-Gimlet [1433,6870,6590,6518,3062,2,2,3,3,1,3,1,14034]


Summer Aegis, Queen Titania, King Oberron, Leprechaun from (Avenged Against)
[1271,6427,7150,6638,3059,3,3,2,1,1,1,1,14024]


Crimson Bat, Tide's Lash, Ghost Queen, Leprechaun
[6078,1430,6978,6638,3069,2,1,2,1,1,3,3,14011] (from Hung Duong for vaults)



Boomstick Fancypants ​Leprechaun, angry mob,Vash, arboreal crystal- whatever class- cast leprechaun- cast angry mob, cast Vash-devour leprechaun- summon repeat- it’s my “Super summon Vash team”


DrockSavage​ mang, 3x baldr is simply broken lol


Boomstick Fancypants ​My favourite TWQ team- HKI, thrall,arboreal crystal,TWQ- barbarian class


DrockSavage ​move RD to last slot and replace lep with Tannenbaum in first in the queen team


DrockSavage​give Divine Vengeance(archproxy) a go [1192,6479,7082,6540,3052,2,2,1,1,3,1,0,14003]

supernova 030​I have a fun team using ocean's tide tome, blue storm, X2 balr and allura that explodes blue gems with titan class with the banner with double blue and 1 yellow
[1433,7080,7080,6405,3025,2,1,2,3,2,3,2,14012]


Drock Obsidius-TGK [1384,6723,6789,6746,3035,2,1,3,3,2,3,2,14012]
Boomstick Fancypants​Replace obsidius and TGK with SYCO and misty- great gwars brown attack team too

DrockSavage​say hello to Slytherin... [6202,6831,1235,6932,3057,3,1,2,1,2,3,0,14008]

oomstick Fancypants​My favourite dervish team- bogstrider,kraken,ocularen, hero with crystal axe- it loops sometimes- sometimes use it for D12

Boomstick Fancypants​Hero w/ L&D, maralith, Tesla,shocktopus- I’m using this with my alt account right now- pretty quick

Soul-farming: Thrall, Phylactery, Pharos-Ra, Lyrasza
[6146,1090,6297,6847,3007,2,1,1,3,2,1,2,14006]

Boomstick Shocktopus [1252,6202,6320,6482,3059,1,2,3,3,1,0,0,14025]

Lester's H&S:
Reflection of Good, Hatir & Skroll, Forest Guardian, Orrery
[1263,7031,6298,6939,3081,3,2,1,2,2,3,3,14002]


sylverscale Piscea
[7155,7080,1433,6146,3071,2,1,2,2,2,3,0,14032]

no hero from jay shar
[7155,7132,6529,6754,3045,2,1,2,2,2,3,0,14032]

Boomstick Fancypants​Team- tannenbaum, writhing staff, thrall and alderfather (or Zuul) - fast d12 -no Zuul required

[7146,1225,6146,6655,3043,2,2,3,2,2,3,1,14034]

Huanglong, Angry Mob, Cobaltine Wand, Tian Yi for pvp
[7017,6631,1364,6651,3037,2,2,3,1,2,1,1,14030]

jay shar ​Silverglade and Khetar have higher chances of Nysha and Anu, that I've noticed on level 12.

Side note: Glaycion and Infernal King have good synergy


Azrazal Xero​my team i use for (hoard) mimics: [1076,6845,6529,6590,3055,1,1,3,3,2,3,2,14012] cant be devoured, strips their magic, tries to strip attack, specifically titan to not do stun. hasnt failed me yet

The Sparkinator, Engineer's Drill, Ethereal Sentry, Keeper of Souls (from BearRazor)
[7167,1401,6620,6074,3059,3,2,1,1,3,1,0,14007]

Notes to self:

I completed all Kingdom Quests
I completed all Class Quests

I completed all Faction Quests

I leveled all 35 Kingdoms to level 10

I leveled all 35 Kingdoms to Power Level 5

I collected 3 Medals of Seasons

I completed all 2,450 Kingdom Challenges

I reached level 1,000 (Currently 1,013)

I'm at 900 / 1,106 total troop cards collected

I collected all 140/140 Delve Faction cards

I have 127 / 447 Weapons Collected

I have 13 / 170 Pets I have 2 / 35 Classes at level 100

I also gathered the 4,000 Diamonds required to craft any mythic of my choice (waiting for High King Irongut so I can grind high level delves more efficiently and get that renown up)

My guess would be Explore Level 12 for 3 Nysha Medals and Delves whenever I have energy so I can get my renown up (I'm only at 4,425 / 87,500) but perhaps there's something else I'm not thinking about I'm also curious what I should do about power levels since they are all at 5 stars, should I prioritize getting them to 9 stars? I won't be able to get them to 10 because I feel like getting the 17 Troops ascended to Mythic + collecting the Mythic card itself is a requirement I won't be able to meet for a long time, I only have 6 mythic cards total (5 I ascended and 1 F tier base Mythic)

IRONHAWK TEAMS:
Quick-explore Teams (must be difficulty 1, Sin of Maraj for best results):

Ironhawk, Crude Club, Sister Superior, Dust Devil (MUST use traited Slayer class)
[6991,1064,6518,6156,3064,1,2,3,1,2,1,3,14029]

Crude Club, Ironhawk, Dust Devil x2 (from nemastyk justukas​)
1064,6991,6156,6156,3010,2,3,1,1,2,2,0,14031]

Ironhawk, Sister Superior x2, Dust Devil
[6991,6518,6518,6156,3064,2,2,1,1,1,3,0,14007]

Ironhawk, Greed x2, Dust Devil (gold-farming team. Medal of Yasmine can help get max of 100 gold)
[6991,6600,6600,6156,3064,2,2,1,1,1,3,0,14007]

Ironhawk x2, Sister Superior, Dust Devil (fastest Gnome-a-Palooza team)
[6991,6991,6518,6156,3067,1,2,3,1,2,1,3,14029]
_______________________________________________________________________

Quick Explores When You Don't Have Ironhawk:

Do the highest level you can easily one-shot.  "Missing" will slow you down.

Princess Elspeth, Bombot x2, Mountain Crusher (from Throttle Fiend)
[6192,6146,7200,1407,3070,1,2,2,3,2,1,0,14019]

Leprechaun, Bombot, Princess Elspeth, Mountain Crusher

[6638,6251,6326,1056,3026,1,2,2,3,2,1,0,14019]


ROWANNE TEAMS:
NOTE: If you have trouble one-shotting with Rowanne, equip 3 Medals of Gaard

Mountain Crusher, Rowanne, Leprechaun, Maraji Queen
 -- Any class, or if you don't have Maraji Queen, use a class with Nature's Aura and a 2nd Leprechaun
[1056,6087,6638,6751,3039,1,2,1,1,1,0,0,14020]

Current favorite Rowanne team:
Umbral Tome, Rowanne, Maraji Queen, Leprechaun
 -- Any class
[1439,6087,6751,6638,3036,2,2,1,3,3,0,0,14003]

Try Using Troops or Classes that Give a 50% Mana Start to the Team
-- Classes that give 50% Starting Mana: https://youtu.be/sZYxiLaOn58
-- Troops that give 50% Starting Mana: https://youtu.be/3QUVETiWPW8

EXAMPLES:

Mountain Crusher, Queen Beetrix (or Luna), King Silenus, Leprechaun
[1056,6863,6384,6638,3036,1,2,1,1,1,0,0,14020]

Mountain Crusher, King Avelorn, Thrall, Leprechaun
[1056,6685,6146,6638,3047,3,1,1,1,1,3,1,14004]

Mountain Crusher, Queen Titania, King Oberron, Leprechaun
[1056,6427,7150,6638,3068,3,3,2,1,1,1,0,14024]

Mountain Crusher, Venbarak (any dragon that does damage to all enemies), Leprechaun, Essencia
-- Be sure to adjust the banner if you choose a different dragon
[1056,6184,6638,7014,3011,2,1,2,1,1,1,0,14014]

FOR TESLA: If you have trouble one-shotting, equip 3 Medals of Gaard
Mountain Crusher, Tesla, Holy St. Astra, Leprechaun (Sunspear or any class with Firestorm/Icestorm)
[1056,6320,6632,6638,3069,2,3,1,3,3,3,3,14016]

PHOENICIA TEAMS:

Black Manacles, Phoenicia, Maraji Queen, Leprechaun (with Sunspear)
[1129,6649,6751,6638,3059,2,3,1,3,3,3,3,14016]

Anu's Scepter (or Orb of Winter), Phoenicia, Magma Dragon, Leprechaun (ANY class!)
[1052,6649,7154,6638,3059,1,3,2,2,2,1,2,14005]
-- or with Tink Steamwhistle
[1052,6649,6930,6638,3064,1,3,2,2,2,1,2,14005]


*SOUL-FARMING QUICK-EXPLORE TEAMS*
-- Equip Celestial Armor if you have it, and use any class with Soul Caller, such as Assassin, Necromancer, Slayer, Doomsayer or Diabolist

NOTE: Sacrificial Priest teams only work on Difficulty 1 explores
-- Equip 3 Medals of Seasons or Medals of Aranaea to increase the spell damage

Phylactery, Sacrificial Priest x2, Leprechaun
[1090,6201,6201,6638,3055,3,1,1,2,2,1,2,14008]
-- If you don't have two of the priests, substitute any troop traited with Necromancy

Phylactery, Rowanne, Warlock (or any troop traited with Necromancy), Leprechaun
[1090,6087,6010,6638,3011,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,14006]

Phylactery, Sunbird, Warlock (or any troop traited with Necromancy), Leprechaun (or traited Fire Bomb)
[1090,6387,6010,6638,3063,2,1,1,2,1,1,0,14006]

Judge of the Dead (from Hell Gate), Phylactery, Leprechaun, Any Necromancy-traited troop
[7025,1090,6638,6010,3063,3,1,1,2,2,1,2,14008]

*Soul-farming teams with Pharos-Ra*:

Phylactery, Sacrificial Priest, Pharos-Ra, Leprechaun
[1090,6201,6297,6638,3009,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,14006]

Judge of the Dead, Phylactery, Leprechaun, Pharos-Ra
[7025,1090,6297,6638,3063,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,14006]



Ayman Alqassab​my top team is Tower, firstmate, enraged , EOE
Ayman Alqassab​with sunspear class
Ayman Alqassab​defence on blue