When you’re attacking solo, rallying, or defending in Kingshot, there are a few important things to keep in mind for building the best hero lineups.
Why Mythic (Gold) Heroes Matter
Always go for Mythic Heroes whenever possible. For F2P players this is tough in Gen 1, but from Gen 2 onwards, Mythic Heroes should be your main choice for rallies and big attacks.
This is why:
- Mythic Heroes get 3 expedition skills, while Epic Heroes only get 2. That one extra skill makes a big difference.
- Mythic Heroes also have Widgets, which are super important. Widgets give you a base stat boost plus an extra conquest and expedition skill. The key thing is that Widget boosts are multiplicative, meaning they scale with your stats. Normal expedition skills are just additive. This makes Widgets much stronger.
So overall, Mythic Heroes with their extra skills and Widgets are way better than Epics. For important events like Swordland Showdown or Castle Battle, always use Mythics in your lineup.
Widgets and Lineups (Rally vs Defense)
When setting up a rally or garrison lineup, pay attention to the type of Widget each Mythic Hero has:
- Attack/Rally lineup → Widget should boost Rally stats.
- Defense lineup → Widget should boost Defender stats.
Each Mythic Hero is either mainly an attack hero or a defense hero. For example:
- Gen 1: Amadeus + Helga are attack heroes (rally boosts). Jabel + Saul are defense heroes (defender boosts). Since there are only 4 Mythic Heroes in Gen 1, you’ll end up using Amadeus/Helga + Jabel + Saul for both attack and defense.
- Gen 2: Zoe becomes your go-to defender, while Amadeus and Marlin handle attacks (Marlin has attack widget, Saul has defense widget).
So always check which type of Widget your hero has before launching a rally or march. You can look these up in the Kingshot Database.
Solo Attacks (Widgets Don’t Apply)
One big difference: Widgets don’t work in solo attacks. That means when you’re hitting someone alone (like burning their town or in Alliance Championship), the Widget advantage disappears.
Example:
- In Gen 3, the best Rally lineup is Amadeus + Marlin + Petra. We use Marlin over Jaeger here because Marlin has an attack widget.
- But in Solo attacks, Widgets don’t apply. So instead, the best lineup becomes Amadeus + Jaeger + Petra, because Jaeger has slightly higher stats than Marlin.
So keep in mind:
- Rally/Garrison = consider Widgets.
- Solo attacks = ignore Widgets, focus on raw stats.
Best Hero Lineups by Generation
Gen 1:
- (Only 4 Mythic Heroes available) → Best lineup in all cases: Amadeus, Jabel, Saul
Gen 2:
- Rally Attack → Amadeus, Hilde, Marlin
- Garrison → Zoe, Hilde, Saul
Gen 3:
- Solo Attack (PvP, Alliance Championship) → Amadeus, Petra, Jaeger
- Rally Attack → Amadeus, Petra, Marlin
- Garrison → Eric, Hilde, Jaeger
Gen 4:
- Solo Attack (PvP, Alliance Championship) → Alcar, Margot, Rosa
- Rally Attack → Amadeus, Petra, Rosa
- Garrison → Alcar, Margot, Jaeger
Gen 5:
- Solo Attack (PvP, Alliance Championship) → Long Fei, Thrud, Vivian
- Rally Attack → Long Fei, Thrud, Rosa
- Garrison → Alcar, Margot, Vivian
Gen 5 note: Long Fei can finally replace Amadeus for solo attacks and rallies, since the stat gap becomes big enough to ignore Amadeus’s rally widget. However, for Bear Hunt you should still use Amadeus. He has three damage-dealing skills, while Long Fei only has one, and since Bear Hunt is all about damage, Amadeus is still the best choice to lead Bear rallies.
Alcar seems to perform better than Long Fei in Gen 5 garrison because of his skills, especially when using the 6:4:0 formation that became popular in Gen 4.
Gen 6:
- Solo Attack (PvP, Alliance Championship) → Triton, Sophia, Yang
- Rally Attack → Triton, Thrud, Yang
- Garrison → Triton, Sophia, Vivian
If attacking someone using 5.2.3, is the optimal formation still 5.2.3? Or would it be better to shift to counter with more archers? something like 4.2.4 or 3.2.5?
Yeah, those formations can work well as counters—especially the 4:2:4 one you mentioned. It’s a good way to deal with Infantry since adding a few more Archers helps balance it out.
“One big difference: Widgets don’t work in solo attacks.” is that related to the skill only or also to the stat boosts?
Widget skills don’t work in solo attacks since they only apply to rallies. However, the stat boosts from widgets still count.
If no Amadeus in Gen 1 mythic line up: use Helga instead?
Yes, Helga can be used as alternative to Amadeus.
F2P do I still put helga at 1st spot if I only have her at one star? Or do I go with Jabel
Helga’s not a great pick at 1-star. Howard’s a much better option early on.
Always love reading your articles. But I’m wondering how you know each Mythic Hero is either mainly an attack hero or a defence hero? Could you explain it more in detail? As if from the widgets skills, why I see all the heroes just opposite of you said?
You can tell if a hero is a defender or an attacker by checking their widget skill. If the widget is for garrisons, the hero is a defender. If it’s for attack rallies, the hero is an attacker.
In a solo attack, does it make any difference which hero leads the attack (in the first slot)
When you’re launching your solo attack or rally, the order of heroes in the slots doesn’t matter. But if you’re joining a rally, the hero in the first slot is important—make sure to put a good joiner hero there.
For rally joiners for attacks, we’ve been focusing on specific heroes: Chenko, Yeonwoo, or Amadeus for their top right skill for lethality. And for garrison, Gordon because of his health buff. Are you saying that the gold heroes have higher value for rally joining and we should change strategies?
This article focuses on rally leaders, not joiners. The best joiners are still the same ones: Chenko, Amane, Yeonwoo, Amadeus, Howard, and Gordon.
I always find your information useful, thank you. Are Helga and Amadeus’s innate skills (attack and defense up to 10%, HP and lethality up to 15%) additive or multiplicative?
Those are additive.
Are there 5 generation heroes available in this game?
Not yet. Gen 4 was recently released.
If Im still at 3.5 Ama but now have Alcar to 4.5 should I priorities a infantry attack with him over Ama? 6.2.2?
Yes, Amadeus at 3.5 stars isn’t very good, and Alcar is a better choice.