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RAID: Shadow Legends is a free-to-play collection RPG developed and published by Plarium Global Ltd. You recruit champions from a roster of more than 800, build teams of up to five and fight turn-based battles across the dark fantasy world of Teleria. It runs on iOS, Android, Plarium Play and Steam, where it launched in January 2024.
Battles can run on auto, but RAID isn't simple. The game is a long resource race, and the players who struggle are usually the ones who spread energy, silver and books too thin in week one. This guide covers the starter choice, how champions grow, why speed matters more than any other stat, and how to spend your daily resources.
Your first-week priorities
- Pick Kael or Elhain as your starter and make them your main farmer.
- Push through the campaign, leveling your starter towards level 60.
- Join an active clan as soon as the option opens.
- Build your first Rank 6 champion.
- Equip Speed boots and full artifact sets on your core team.
- Hit the Clan Boss and spend your energy every day, so nothing sits at its cap.
Choosing your starter champion
You pick one of four starters at the beginning: Kael, Elhain, Athel and Galek. The others can be earned later, so the choice is less permanent than it feels. Still, your starter will likely be your first Rank 6 champion, so it should keep pulling its weight.
| Starter | Strength | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Kael | Area damage plus Poison | Best all-round pick; Poison stays useful against the Clan Boss and the Dragon |
| Elhain | Strong area attacks | Excellent campaign farmer, solid in early Arena |
| Athel | Single-target damage and self-buffs | Workable, but less impact than the top two |
| Galek | Early burst damage | Falls off fastest; usually the one to skip |
Most guide sites, including HellHades and BlueStacks, recommend Kael first and Elhain second. Also check for new-player promo codes before you invest: they can add a strong champion to your roster for free.
Ranking up: champions, food and your first Rank 6
Every champion has a rank from 1 to 6 stars. Rank sets the level cap and the base stats. To rank a champion up, you level it to its cap, then sacrifice other champions of the same rank. Players call these sacrificed units "food". Special fodder units called chickens skip the leveling step, but they come mostly from events, tournaments and shops, so don't count on them early.
Taking one champion from Rank 1 to Rank 6 needs a huge amount of food and experience. That's why your first Rank 6 champion is the main goal of your early game. Once your starter can clear campaign stages alone, put it in the lead slot with three or four low-rank champions and replay a stage to level them as food. Brutal difficulty stages in the late campaign are the usual farming spots.
Feed Common and Uncommon champions. Never feed Epic or Legendary champions, even ones that look weak. Faction Wars, the Doom Tower and specialist bosses give odd champions a job later, and you can't get them back.
Speed, gear sets and affinities
Combat is turn-based, and the Speed stat (SPD) decides how often each champion takes a turn. A faster team acts first, lands its debuffs first and controls the fight. Against a strong boss, speed often decides the result more than raw attack does.
Gear works like this. Each champion wears six artifacts: weapon, helmet, shield, gloves, chest and boots. Completing a set, such as a full Speed set, unlocks a bonus. In practice:
- Boots with SPD as the main stat go on every core champion.
- Full sets beat mixed pieces early, because the set bonus adds a lot.
- Upgrade to +8 or +12 first. Save +16 for your best pieces, ideally during artifact upgrade events.
- Accuracy matters for debuffers. Without enough of it, debuffs miss on harder content.
Affinities add another layer. Magic beats Spirit, Spirit beats Force and Force beats Magic. Void has no strengths or weaknesses. Attacking into a bad matchup causes weak hits, which can't crit and are worse at landing debuffs. The battle screen shows the matchup before you start, so check it when a stage suddenly feels hard. Void champions are prized because they never fight at a disadvantage.
The dungeon map, where most of your gear and upgrade materials come from. Screenshot: Plarium Global Ltd via Steam store
Dungeons, Clan Boss and the other modes
RAID's eight modes open up as you progress. Each one has a clear job:
| Mode | What it gives you | When to start |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Experience, silver, early gear | Day one |
| Potion keeps | Potions to ascend champions | Early, when your farmer needs it |
| Gear dungeons (Dragon, Ice Golem, Fire Knight, Spider) | Artifact sets and accessories | Once your team clears the campaign |
| Minotaur's Labyrinth | Scrolls for masteries | When your first Rank 6 is ready |
| Clan Boss | Shards, books and gear from daily hits | As soon as you join a clan |
| Arena | Medals and tokens for permanent stat bonuses | Early tiers anytime |
| Faction Wars, Doom Tower | Rewards for deeper rosters | Mid-game |
Masteries are permanent skill trees for each champion. They cost silver and Minotaur scrolls, and they matter most on your Rank 6 core. Don't jump into high gear-dungeon stages too early. Low-quality gear is normal for the first few weeks, so don't spend much silver upgrading it.
The Clan Boss is the mode to never skip. You get free daily hits, and rewards scale with the damage you deal and your clan's progress. A clan that kills higher difficulties gives much better chests, so move on if yours is inactive.
Spending energy, gems and shards
Energy refills over time and caps out, so letting it sit full wastes it. Spend it on the campaign until your farmer is set, then shift towards dungeons. Arena tokens and Clan Boss keys work the same way.
Gems are your premium currency, and they go fast. Community guides agree on the best uses: the Gem Mine in your Fortress, which pays gems back over time, mastery unlocks on a key champion, and energy refills during events. Buying silver or shards with gems is poor value.
Shards are how you summon champions. Mystery shards are fine to open anytime, since they mostly give food. Ancient, Void and Sacred shards are better saved for 2x summon events, which come back in a regular rotation.
As of October 2026, version 11.80.0 is live and the Echoes of Oz events are running, including a returning Reward Calendar that pays out for 25 consecutive days of logging in.
Mistakes to avoid
- Feeding Epic champions. Rare and Epic champions with niche skills often become key picks for specific bosses later.
- Leveling too many champions at once. Focus on one farmer, then a core team of five that covers damage, healing, buffs and debuffs.
- Ignoring speed. A slow team loses even with strong champions.
- Letting energy and keys cap. Every minute at the cap is lost progress.
- Spending gems on silver or shards. Save them for the Gem Mine, masteries and event refills.
- Using rare skill books on the wrong champions. Match the book's rarity to the champion and keep the best ones for champions you'll use everywhere.
What to do next
Once your first Rank 6 champion farms the campaign and your team clears the early gear dungeons, turn your attention to the Clan Boss and Faction Wars. Check our RAID news coverage for the latest update and events, and our setup guide to run RAID smoothly on PC.
More on RAID: Shadow Legends
Sources
- store.steampowered.com · store.steampowered.com/app/2333480/
- raidshadowlegends.com · raidshadowlegends.com/beginners-tips/
- hellhades.com · hellhades.com/ultimate-guide-to-raid-shadow-legends-early-game-strateg
