Spiritual Guidance

Cat

Ability: +2% Evasion

Cat had its moment in the spotlight after Dancers released. However, once the T9 spirits landed, it took a swift backseat to Lion. Sure, Cat is double the evasion boost over Lion, but the lack of a secondary stat still puts a damper on its potential. That said, pre-Lion this is an excellent stepping stone! It also has some potential if you’re using Cat Burglar gear due to the affinity bonus.

Mechanics: Every Cat spirit adds a direct 2% increase to the hero’s Evasion stat.
Example –

• EVA boost: 30% EVA + 2% for every Cat = 42% EVA

Use cases: Every Dancer and Ninja (with innate) who is not already above 50% Evasion would benefit heavily from a set of Cat spirits. However Lion is the better option if funds or progression allow.

When to avoid: If a hero’s evasion is already above 50%, there is more benefit in using other spirits, such as Lion, Shark, or Bear.

Wolf

Ability: +5% Attack

The Wolf spirit has been the anchoring basis for +% ATK spirits since the game launched. On the surface it seems ideal enough, as giving a 5% boost to a crucial stat is always welcome. However, with recent spirit additions carrying this exact bonus and more, it has fallen to the wayside as unnecessary in the mid to late game. There simply isn’t enough of a reason to use Wolf over higher tier alternatives unless you’re on a really tight budget or have no choice.

Mechanics: Every wolf spirit adds to the overall final ATK modifier to a hero’s ATK stat.
Example –

• Attack boost: 1000 ATK * (1 + .05 for every Wolf) = 1300 ATK

Use cases: You are not progressed enough to be able to afford or craft the higher +%ATK spirits.

When to avoid: Wolf does not perform as well as other options on your Green type heroes, avoid using it there. Also, because wolf adds to the final ATK multiplier, it does not perform well unless your base stats and gear stats are initially high. What this means is that adding a set of Wolf spirits to your heroes will not do as much to help low ATK values as it would to higher ATK values.

Ram

Ability: +5% Defense

Ram is sadly outdone by literally every other spirit out there. Comparable spirits give a bigger boost to defence, and even then the boosts do not do much to alter the damage taken from enemies due to the shallow damage slopes.

Mechanics: Every Ram spirit adds to the final DEF bonus modifier to a hero’s DEF stat.
Example –

• Defense boost: 1000 DEF * (1 + .05 for every Ram) = 1300 DEF

Use cases: None

When to avoid: Always

Eagle

Ability: +2% Critical Hit Chance

Eagle is a great mid game spirit choice for critical based heroes – and its value exponentially increases as heroes become stronger. The introduction of higher tier options such as Carbuncle and especially Leviathan have dethroned it as the go-to option for crit builds but it still offers a cheap boost for Monks, Musketeers and the like.

Mechanics: Eagle will directly add to your crit rate chance, a full set will grant +12% crit rate
Example –

• CR boost: 5% CR + 2% for every Eagle = 17% CR

Use cases: Your hero is geared extremely well and a spirit choice adding more attack would not increase attack enough to lower the amount of hits to win (and Carbuncle / Leviathan are not available to you.)

When to avoid: Eagle is not as effective if you are not already completely over-gearing the content. In short, if you have to ask “should I use Eagle?” you probably shouldn’t.

Ox

Ability: +3% Health

Ox sadly suffers the same fate as Ram. Its bonus is duplicated and improved on a higher tier spirit. To add insult to injury, its bonus is pretty small, and most heroes will not see even 20+ more health from its addition before its bigger brothers Walrus / Christmas / Phoenix / Bahamut / Titan come into the picture.

Mechanics: Every Ox spirit will add to the final HP modifier to a hero’s HP stat.
Example –

• Health boost: 300 HP * (1 + .03 for every Ox) = 354 HP

Use cases: None

When to avoid: Always

Viper

Ability: +15% Critical Hit Damage

Viper fell from grace with its nerf from 20% to 15% CD bonus, which was a 30% hit from its total when all 6 pieces of gear were enchanted. What happens now is the CD boost Viper gives, no longer lowers the hits to kill as effectively as its other spirit counterparts. Viper simply does not quite get the chance to shine as our quests end far too soon and easily with the other options.

The introduction of Chimera was very much was the final nail in the coffin for Viper – it is now completely outclassed.

Mechanics: Every Viper spirit adds a direct 15% increase to the critical damage modifier.
Example –

• CD boost: 200% CD + 15% for every Viper = 290% CD

Use cases: None.

When to avoid: Always.

Bunny

Ability: +2% Health and +1% Evasion

Bunny is interesting, offering good defensive value via a combination of both Health and Evasion. Downside is that the role of “defensive Evasion spirit” is filled by a few higher tier spirits much better.

Mechanics: Every Bunny spirit will add to the final HP modifier to a hero’s HP stat. Additionally every Bunny spirit adds a direct 1% increase to the hero’s Evasion stat.
Example –

• EVA boost: 30% EVA + 1% for every Bunny = 36% EVA

Use cases: None.

When to avoid: Always.

Goose

Ability: +2% Attack and +10 Threat Rating

Threat is a very useful stat and we don’t have a lot of means to increase it. This makes every Threat boost potentially interesting.

That being said… Threat is a Fighter stat and Attack is for damage dealers. This spirit doesn’t really have a defined role due to its stats not synergizing very well with each other.

Mechanics: Every Goose Spirit adds a flat 10 threat to the hero’s existing Threat. Additionally every Goose spirit adds to the hero’s final Attack stat.
Example –

• Threat boost: 90 Threat + 10 for every Goose = 150 Threat

Use cases: HONK.

When to avoid: Always.

Owl

Ability: +5% XP

Owl is a very specific boost. It shines on low level gear to assist in leveling a hero up to the next tier of gear. A full set is a substantial boost to XP at +30%, and in the lower hero levels where XP needed is minimal, it adds up fairly quick. Sadly, in later levels it just does not hold up to comparison when laid out against the boosts other spirits provide.

The T12 Hydra spirit is the deathnail for Owl. Hydra’s flat stats let you get into harder quests which will usually outweigh the XP% bonus that you’d get from Owl. Hydra’s stat boosts (plus it granting higher equipment bonuses due to being higher tier) also means that you’re getting more total stat value to actually survive the quest.

Mechanics: Every Owl Spirit adds to the overall XP multiplier applied to the base XP value reward from a quest, for the specific hero Owl is enchanted to.

Use cases: You don’t have access to Hydra to put on your levelling heroes.

When to avoid: Once heroes reach level 26+ Owl’s value add drops significantly and you should instead focus on spirits which add to functional stats.

Rhino

Ability: +5 Threat Rating

Influencing threat enough to tip the probability of 1 hero taking more hits is a sharp uphill battle. Couple that with the fact that Mammoth has a bigger threat boost in tandem with a defense boost, and you get a spirit that has no possible redemption.

Mechanics: Every Rhino Spirit adds to a hero’s overall threat value.
Example –

• Threat boost: 90 Threat + 5 for every Rhino = 120 Threat

Use cases: None

When to avoid: Always

Armadillo

Ability: +15% Chance to survive one fatal blow

Armadillo fills such a small niche requirement that it’s hard to make work. To consider its use, you will need to assume your hero will be stuck with a fatal blow, as any other scenario puts Armadillo’s bonus into the useless category. Having the fallback of a possibility (not even 100% with a full set!) to survive simply does not out weigh the benefit of using a spirit that gives actual stat and potency boosts.

Mechanics: Every Armadillo Spirit adds directly to a chance that the first fatal blow delivered to the hero will leave them instead with 1 HP.
Example –

• +15% for every Armadillo = 90% chance to survive 1 fatal blow

Use cases: You’ve decided that your hero doesn’t need any of this spiritual nonsense and will spit in the face of Death.

When to avoid: You want to actually succeed and complete quests.

Horse

Ability: -20% Break Chance

If the strategy you want to employ involves lowering break chance, invest in Walrus or Tarrasque. The idea of lowering break chance via spirits is edge case enough that if you want to head down that road, use the right tool for the job (Walrus/Tarrasque).

Mechanics: Horse only affects the item it is enchanted to, it will lower the existing break chance value by 20%
Example –

• 2.2% break chance – (2.2 * .2) = 1.76% break chance

Use cases: As stated in the blurb, Walrus and Tarrasque are simply better if this is the approach you are looking to take. Don’t use Horse.

When to avoid: Always

Lizard

Ability: +3 HP Regen per turn

Lizard is awesome. The HP regen stacks additively per spirit, making a full set give you 18 HP a turn! Its application can apply to literally any hero, even the evasion reliant ones. It gives cushion to stat requirements that might be slightly out of reach, as you can lower HP thresholds and replace them with more ATK. Its biggest downfall is a familiar one – the role is done better by higher tier options. Lategame quests generally last long enough that you’ll get good returns with HP regen spirits, so Lizard can be a good bugest option there.

Lizard also struggles a little in comparison to Phoenix and Ouroboros, which both have a great secondary stat in addition to HP regen.

Mechanics: Every Lizard Spirit enchanted to a hero gives that hero +3 HP regen per turn, up to a total of +18.

Use cases: Lizard will shine best when enchanted to any hero who has a high evasion stat – whilst this will largely be Rogues, it can have use on Fighters (such as Rangers) and Spellcasters (when using an evasion build.) Lizard is also an excellent default fallback for when you are not ready to take the huge price tag plunge that higher tier spirits bring.

Lizard also plays a major role for heroes that wish to solo content – although slightly diminished with the introduction of Phoenix and Ouroboros, Lizard is a cheap viable alternative.

When to avoid: You’re not using an evasion-based hero (putting this on a Knight for example would achieve nothing compared to their other options.)

Hippo

Ability: -1% Resting Time

Absolute garbage. Rest time already has diminishing returns, and you functionally cap it just by mastering the quest zone and Emerald Inn. At best a full set of Hippo gives you -6% more, which results in only a couple minutes being shaved off your time, at best.

Mechanics: Every Hippo Spirit enchanted to a hero gives a direct 1% decrease to the rest time of the hero.

Use cases: Maybe if you have a very specific team for Boss cooldowns they could benefit from Hippo since the rest time is extremely large. Even then, Phoenix Feathers are a thing.

When to avoid: Literally always. Every other spirit (including the T4s) gives a far more actual improvement to hero potential or functionality.

Squirrel

Ability: +3% Attack and +2% Evasion

Squirrel is kind of a hybrid of Cat and Wolf, which makes it a sidegrade / slight downgrade to Lion. It has all of the same strengths as Lion and really shines in the same situations.

Mechanics: Every Squirrel Spirit adds a flat 2% to the total Evasion of the hero. It also adds 3% to the final attack modifier applied to the hero’s ATK stat.
Examples –

• Evasion boost: 30% EVA + 2% for every Squirrel = 42% EVA
• Attack boost: 1000 ATK * (1 + .03 for every Lion) = 1180 ATK

Use cases: Dancer is the definite primary benefactor here. If you’re still using T7 & T9 spirits, then go with Squirrel if you want more Evasion and Lion if you want more Attack.

When to avoid: If your hero does not rely on evasion to be effective, or if you have access to Lion.

Bear

Ability: +5% Attack and +15 Health

Objectivity aside for a second, we love this spirit! It combines our two favorite things ever, doing more damage and staying alive. The benefits this spirit provides to dang near every hero is astonishing and it can turn any set of gear into a great set of gear!

(Objectivity back on) Bear is a fantastic spirit that encapsulates firepower and staying power. The quest system is designed as pass/fail, with hero metrics really defined around how quickly they can kill the enemy before it kills them. Bear allows heroes to stay in the fight longer with the health boost, as well as dish out more damage. Its a 2 for 1 special that just keeps on giving! If you’re not sure what T9 spirit to use, Bear is always a safe choice.

Bear’s only downside is that it’s unfortunately been powercrept pretty hard.

Mechanics: Every Bear Spirit adds a flat 15 health to the base health of the hero. This means the bonus applies before skill modifiers. It also adds 5% attack boost to the final attack modifier to a hero’s ATK stat.
Example –

• Health boost: 300HP + 15 for every Bear = 390 HP
• ATK boost: 1000 ATK * (1 + .05 for every Bear) = 1300 ATK

Use cases: Every single hero class benefits heavily from this spirit. It is easily the best default recommendation if you’re still using T9s. If you are unsure which spirit is best for your hero, then go with Bear.

When to avoid: “Green” type heroes play heavily on evasion, and simply gain more from Lion’s boost. Bear is also not ideal if your hero would not make use of the added HP, for example if your berserker is already sporting 800+ HP, an additional 90 is most likely not going to change his performance much. Bear probably also isn’t going to be the best option if you have the ability to use T12 or higher spirits as most of those will generally perform better than it.

Walrus

Ability: +5% Health and -30% Break Chance

The super Horse. The health boost is admirable, but unfortunately coupled with a niche bonus making its use cases slim to none. Leveraging break chance reduction to its fullest is a strategy used by some, however the bonuses are still applied to already very low percentages normally, bringing focus to the law of diminishing returns.

Mechanics: Every Walrus Spirit adds 5% to the final health modifier of a hero’s HP stat, and also adds a 30% reduction to break chance on the specific piece of gear that Walrus is enchanted.
Examples –

• Health boost: 300HP * (1 + .05 for every Walrus) = 390 HP
• Break chance: 2.2% break chance – (2.2 * .3) = 1.54% break chance

Use cases: Specific focus on super high HP values or aiming for low break chance gear. Both cases require a conscious decision to pursue, and if you have access to Tarrasque you have a better option for break chance reduction.

When to avoid: Unless you are going for the use cases above, avoid this spirit in favor of Bear.

Mammoth

Ability: +10% Defense and +10 Threat Rating

The Rhino poacher. Mammoth takes what Rhino does and doubles it, and then also adds in a defence boost! Granted, these two stats are last on the list of stats players normally look to buff, but if you are mid game and your tanks are not quite as beefy as you would like, Mammoth could fill that void. Mammoth also excels on tanks in endgame content if you’re confident of their survivability.

Mechanics: Every Mammoth Spirit adds a flat 10 threat to the hero’s existing threat. It also adds 10% to the final defense modifier applied to the hero’s DEF stat.
Examples –

• Threat boost: 90 threat + 10 for every Mammoth = 150 Threat
• Defense boost: 1000 DEF * (1 + .1 for every Mammoth) = 1600 DEF

Use cases: Whilst the best defence is a good offense you might find yourself with “red” type heroes who if they have the DEF and threat boost provided could assist in breaking into endgame quests. The extra threat also pairs well with Chieftains who get a damage boost from having more threat.

When to avoid: Due to the nature of its use cases revolving around hitting specific breakpoints at specific progression levels, its best to avoid this spirit if you are not prepared to number crunch its effectiveness for your roster. It’s also not the best option if you can use T12 or higher spirits and you’re unsure about what you’re doing – sticking to those higher tier options will usually be safer.

Shark

Ability: Bonus Attack VS injured enemies

Shark is the gamblers’ spirit. On the surface it appears quirky and hard to decipher. What the heck is “Bonus Attack” and “Injured Enemies”? To start, the bonus is 20% per spirit, and an ‘injured’ enemy is one whose HP value is currently at <50%. When directly compared to the other offensive offerings it is essentially the same in effectiveness, but as your crit rate improves, so does the potential of Shark. If your hero scores a crit during Sharks active period, the returns become exponentially higher than Bear or Lion. This RNG element leads to exciting opportunities, and a very high potential ceiling on damage values.

Mechanics: Every Shark Spirit adds 20% to the final attack modifier applied to a hero’s ATK value, but only while in combat, and only when the enemies HP value is < 50%. This triggers at the start of the turn, so you do not gain this bonus on the hit that puts the enemy into the threshold.
Example –

• 1000 ATK * (1 + .2 for every Shark) = 2200 ATK

NOTE: Shark’s bonus will never appear on a hero’s stat sheet, it is an in combat bonus exclusively.

Use cases: If your crit rate is exceptionally high 75%+, or the hero’s effectiveness is directly related to relying on crits (Ninja), then Shark can pull ahead in potential over the alternatives. Other than Ninja, its rare that Shark will average better than the other damage boosting spirits.

When to avoid: Shark is another spirit that’s mostly been powercrept out of relevance. The situations where it shines are not going to be super common and it’s generally not going to be the best choice due to its lack of versatility.

Lion

Ability: +5% Attack and +1% Evasion

Lion is a Dancer’s best friend! This spirit was very clearly created with Dancer in mind, and plays to boost its biggest strength and improve on its greatest weakness. Every point in evasion on a Dancer is effectively 1% crit rate as well, because of how their innate ability functions. Lion’s boost to attack also bumps Dancers usual biggest hurdle which is acquiring enough boosts to attack! This is not exclusive to Dancers either, as every “green” type class benefits just as fruitfully in their potential as well.

Like a lot of other T9 spirits however, Lion has primarily been powercrept out due to higher tier alternatives.

Mechanics: Every Lion Spirit adds a flat 1% to the total evasion of the hero. It also adds 5% to the final attack modifier applied to the hero’s ATK stat.
Examples –

• Evasion boost: 50% EVA + 1 for every Lion = 56% EVA
• Attack boost: 1000 ATK * (1 + .05 for every Lion) = 1300 ATK

Use cases: Dancer is the definite primary benefactor here. You should consider Lion on all your Dancers, and all of your other “green” type heroes you may have.

When to avoid: If your hero does not rely on evasion to be effective, pass on Lion in favor of Bear. Additionally, if your evasion heavy hero is already above 50% EVA, you can consider Shark as an alternative to potentially end fights a round or two sooner if your hero crits. You may also want to consider using a more survival-based spirit such as Lizard if you find your green-types dying.

Dinosaur

Ability: +25% Attack on the first round

Samurai’s redemption! Dinosaur gives a massive bonus to the first hit from the hero it is enchanted on. In most cases, this does not improve a hero’s performance over the smaller, but longer lasting, attack boosts from other choices. However, if you can obtain a critical hit under its conditions, the results can be outstanding! Samurai’s innate ability allows it to crit 100% of the time on the first hit, which can directly utilize the boost from Dinosaur.

That being said, with the introduction of new content with powercreeping Health values, this potency has started to drop in usefulness.

Mechanics: Every Dinosaur Spirit adds 25% to the final attack modifier applied to a hero’s ATK stat. This is only active for the first round of battle.
Example –

• 1st Attack: 1000 ATK * (1 + .25 for every Dinosaur) = 2500 ATK
• Every attack after: 1000 ATK

NOTE: Dinosaur’s bonus will never appear on a hero’s stat sheet, it is an in combat bonus exclusively.

Use cases: The obvious (and pretty much the only) use is on turn 1 Samurai, as it is fully taken advantage of and spectacularly improves their damage output.

When to avoid: If your hero is not a turn 1 Samurai.

Tiger

Ability: +5% Defense and +1% Evasion

Tiger is the defensive counterpart to Lion. Its combination of Defense and Evasion makes it a great choice for tanks that have some Evasion like Rangers and Berserkers. Tiger is also a strong choice on green heroes who need a little extra bulk (if you’re not using Lizard).

Like a lot of other T9 spirits however, Tiger has primarily been powercrept out due to higher tier alternatives.

Mechanics: Every Tiger Spirit adds a flat 1% to the total evasion of the hero. It also adds 5% to the final Defense modifier applied to the hero’s Def stat.
Examples –

• Evasion boost: 50% EVA + 1 for every Tiger = 56% EVA
• Defense boost: 1000 Def * (1 + .05 for every Tiger) = 1300 Def

Use cases: Rangers, any tank with an Evasion skill, green heroes who need some Defense.

When to avoid: Your hero is not in the “use cases” category. Tiger is strong but a little niche, and not very good outside of said niche.

Chimera

Ability: +10% Attack and +10% Critical Hit Damage

With its combination of both Attack and Critical Hit Damage, the Chimera spirit is absolutely amazing for crit based attackers! This is one of the better Spirits in the game for raw damage output. We don’t have very many options to add CD outside of a handful of skills, so this is a very handy way to get a little extra.

Mechanics: Relatively straightforward, every Chimera spirit adds 10% bonus Attack and 10% Critical Hit Damage to the equipped hero.

Use Cases: Chimera is ideal for heroes who want to crit hard and crit often. It works beautifully on any hero with a high Critical Hit Chance, preferably above 50%. Rudo is phenomenal for bumping up Crit Chance stats on heroes who want to hit hard and Chimera comboes very nicely with heroes you pair with him.

When to Avoid: The main draw of this Spirit is the rare Critical Hit Damage, so you’ll typically want to shy away from it on heroes with low Crit Chance. Fighters will generally also want to avoid it since dealing damage is (usually) not their primary job. You’ll probably also want to use Leviathan if you have access to T14s.

Carbuncle

Ability: +2% Evasion and +2% Critical Hit Chance

Take a Cat and an Eagle spirit and smash them together! The Carbuncle spirit is fantastic for heroes who want either Critical Hit Chance, Evasion, or both.

Mechanics: Every Carbuncle spirit adds 2% to both the equipped hero’s Evasion and Critical Hit Chance stats.

Use Cases: Green classes in particular gain a lot of mileage out of this spirit since they make great use out of both stats and can be a little stat-hungry.

When to Avoid: Carbuncle is a little less attractive of an option if the hero only needs one of its two stats. Blues for example don’t get much out of the Evasion. If you only need Crit Chance or Evasion (not both), then there’s usually better options.

Hydra

Ability: +100 Defense and +25 Health

Savior of levelling heroes! Since it’s adding FLAT Defense and HP, Hydra is a fantastic choice on heroes with low base stats. This makes it easily the best choice for newer heroes and it falls off as base stats and gear stats improve.

Mechanics: The Hydra spirit adds a large amount of flat HP and Defense to the equipped hero.

Use Cases: Use on heroes when you’re initially levelling them – it will keep them alive and allows them to enter high XP quests very early (such as Sun God’s Tomb.) The introduction of the talent tree (particularly the Argon’s Finest talent) knocked the 1 – 10 SGT levelling route down a peg, but it’s still very viable and Hydra is a key part of that strategy.

When to avoid: The moment you’ve stopped levelling them / they can start wearing higher tier items. This is roughly around Hero level 30.

Kraken

Ability: +10% Attack and +100 Attack

Mechanics: Every Kraken Spirit adds a flat 100 to the hero’s Attack total and 10% bonus Attack.

For a simplified version of how the game calculates stats, it essentially adds up all flat stats from your equipment (including equipment-specific bonuses like weapon skills, innate abilities, and equipment boosting skills), adds all other sources of flat stats (mainly base stats, but also flat bonuses like Kraken here), and then multiplies that total by the hero’s total bonus to that stat.

This makes Kraken an excellent choice for adding raw Attack, since it’s adding to both sides of the equation!

Use Cases: Use Kraken for heroes who need to get their hands on more Attack or for attacking heroes who don’t have much Critical Hit Chance.

When to Avoid: Crit-based attackers will typically gain more out of Chimera than Kraken.

Phoenix

Ability: +4% Health and +3 HP Regen per turn

Ah, the Lizard-killer. Like a lot of other Spirits, this one directly outclasses one in a previous tier. If you have a hero using Lizard, then Phoenix is a direct upgrade. Phoenix is phenomenal for longer fights, especially if the hero isn’t going to be targeted directly. Rogues in particular make great use out of it since they can use their high Evasion to continue avoiding hits and generating health.

Mechanics: Every Phoenix Spirit enchanted to a hero gives that hero +3 HP regen per turn, up to a total of +18. This stacks additively with other HP regen effects, such as Lilu’s leaderskill.

The hero will also gain 4% bonus HP for each Phoenix spirit equipped.

Use Cases: Phoenix is ideal on red classes for granting them a huge amount of survivability. Unlike previous tiers where you generally want to avoid running a split Spirit set, using three Phoenix and three Tarrasque spirits is a phenomenal choice for all red classes. It’s also very strong on green classes for the same reason Lizard is good on them.

When to Avoid: If you don’t need survivability.

Tarrasque

Ability: +20% Defense and -50% Break Chance

For a seemingly random stat combination, this Spirit is deceptively powerful and versatile!

The break chance is the obvious part. This is really nice if you’re not running Royal Merchant and should help a lot to cut down on repair bills. You’ll still see this benefit even if you have RM of course, but gear breaks are less of an issue in general there since you can fix your gear with gold.

The bigger draw here is the Defense stat. 20% from one source is surprisingly hefty and does a lot towards adding bulk to your heroes. A very important mechanic as you approach endgame content is the concept of the 0% damage mitigation breakpoint – essentially the point where you take the listed amount of damage per hit. Any hero or Champion who is below this number takes increased damage, so it’s important to keep in mind. Thankfully, one or two Tarrasque spirits will solve that issue for most heroes, even with no additional sources of Defense.

Mechanics: Each Tarrasque spirit adds 20% total Defense to the hero, up to a maximum of 120% with a full set of six.

The break chance reduction only affects the item that the Tarrasque spirit is equipped to, just like Horse and Walrus.

Use Cases: Tarrasque is an obvious choice for red heroes. It comboes extremely well with Phoenix / Christmas spirits to add a lot of survivability. It’s also a very good choice for any hero who needs a little extra Defense or if you’re not subscribed to Royal Merchant.

Additionally, Tarrasque is by far the best choice for Familiars and Aurasongs on your Champions. Their main problem as you progress further into the game tends to be their low survivability. This is primarily due to their lower Defense causing them to take more damage from quest monsters. Tarrasque goes a pretty long way towards shoring that up. The break reduction is a little less valuable on them since Familiars, but it works on their Aurasong and that stat is mostly a secondary draw for Tarrasque anyway.

When to Avoid: If you don’t need survivability.

Christmas Spirit

Ability: +4% Health and +20 Health

Mechanics: Every Christmas Spirit adds a flat 20 to the hero’s Health total and 4% bonus HP total.

For a simplified version of how the game calculates stats, it essentially adds up all flat stats from your equipment (including equipment-specific bonuses like weapon skills, innate abilities, and equipment boosting skills), adds all other sources of flat stats (mainly base stats, but also flat bonuses like Christmas here), and then multiplies that total by the hero’s total bonus to that stat.

This makes Kraken Christmas an excellent choice for adding raw Attack HP, since it’s adding to both sides of the equation!

Use Cases: The Christmas spirit is fantastic for adding raw HP, and will outperform Phoenix in shorter fights. The Affinity boosted version of this spirit is really strong as well.

Outside of those two cases, Christmas is great for adding raw HP to any hero who needs a pop of survivability.

When to Avoid: If you don’t need survivability.

Krampus Spirit

Ability: +2% Critical Hit Chance and +15 Threat

Krampus is… weird. Crit Chance and Threat is a very odd combination so Krampus tends to run into a lot of similar problems to Goose. Very few setups are going to be able to use both stats effectively, but it’s a decent option if you have a highly specific circumstance. The only other positive thing I can say about it is that it grants 15 Threat compared to the 10 of Goose and Mammoth.

Mechanics: Every Krampus Spirit adds a flat 15 threat to the hero’s existing Threat. It also adds 2% to the hero’s Critical Hit Chance stat.

Use Cases: You have a highly specific situation where your hero can make effective use of both Critical Hit Chance and Threat, and you checked the Simulator to make sure it’s a good option. Or if you need to get the most Threat possible and are willing to ignore all other stats.

When to Avoid: Literally everywhere else.

Leviathan

Ability: +8% Attack and +3% Critical Hit Chance

With its combination of both Attack and Critical Hit Chance, Leviathan easily dethrones basically every other offensive spirit in the game for damage output alone. A full set of Leviathan grants a whopping 18% Crit Chance which boosts Rogues to 38% and all other classes to 23%. It’s a big enough bonus to let you kinda get away with running a Crit Damage skill without a Crit Chance one (normally a bad idea).

(Objectivity off again): We really don’t like this spirit and think its addition to the game was a mistake. It’s so good at its job that it completely invalidates every other option for raw damage outside of some edge cases. This in turn means that you’re incentivized to go crit builds on all your attackers. It’s boring and removes a lot of nuance & decision-making from hero building. Additionally, any future spirit that could possibly push Leviathan out of relevance would kinda have to be even more meta-defining.

Mechanics: Every Leviathan spirit adds 8% bonus Attack and 3% Critical Hit Chance to the equipped hero.

Use Cases: Is your hero a damage dealer who doesn’t need defensive stats in their Spirits? Use Leviathan – it smokes every other offensive option.

When to Avoid: “Deal damage” is not a primary part of what you want the hero to do, or you would like to add some bulk to their setup.

Behemoth

Ability: +13% Attack and +5% Defense

Behemoth grants both Attack AND Defense, making it a great all-around choice! Behemoth isn’t necessarily the best spirit for every job, but it’s a very good “easy” button. It’s effectively the T14 equivalent of Bear where it’s never a bad choice.

Mechanics: Every Behemoth spirit adds 13% bonus Attack and 5% Defense to the equipped hero.

Use Cases: Behemoth is a really good choice for attackers who need to get a little extra Defense into their build without losing a ton of attacking power. It’s also a solid choice for offensive or hybrid attacker / tank red heroes.

When to Avoid: Generally, if you have a more specific goal about how you want to enchant your hero, then there’s usually a better option for the job. Leviathan is king for offense, Griffin / Ouroboros for defensive integrity, etc.

Titan

Ability: +15% Health

Titan is debatably the best spirit in the game, full stop. It’s such a strong option that it has two major limitations on it that are not present on any other spirit – the hero must be promoted (aka you used a Titan Soul on them) and you can only have one at a time.

15% extra health doesn’t really sound like a lot on paper, but it’s a large enough boost that even very squishy heroes can gain 100 extra health or more from it. This will often push you over the threshold to survive one extra attack by itself, and that’s huge.

Mechanics: The Titan spirit adds 15% bonus Health to the equipped hero or Champion. It has a few unique restrictions that are not present on any other Spirit.

• The character must be promoted / you used a Titan Soul on them to receive this effect
• They can only gain the bonus Health from the largest Titan spirit bonus (Idol w/ Affinity > Idol > Affinity > normal enchant)
  • Note: The enchanted item will still gain the bonus stats from having a T14 enchantment applied to it, but you can only receive the bonus Health % effect once per character.

Use Cases: Is your character promoted? Put a Titan spirit on them (including Champions). It’s so strong that you want one on everybody you can possibly give one to (otherwise why would Kabam impose these limitations). Use it on the Familiar for your Champions.

When to Avoid: Your character has not been promoted or you already have one Titan spirit on them.

Bahamut

Ability: +3% Health and +50 Health

Everything that makes the Christmas spirit good also applies to Bahamut. It grants a hefty health boost to the equipped hero and is an excellent boost to anybody with a low HP stat. Levelling heroes and squishy Spellcasters in particular will get great benefits out of Bahamut.

Mechanics: Every Bahamut Spirit adds a flat 50 to the hero’s Health total and 3% bonus HP total.

For a simplified version of how the game calculates stats, it essentially adds up all flat stats from your equipment (including equipment-specific bonuses like weapon skills, innate abilities, and equipment boosting skills), adds all other sources of flat stats (mainly base stats, but also flat bonuses like Christmas Bahamut here), and then multiplies that total by the hero’s total bonus to that stat.

This makes Kraken Christmas Bahamut an excellent choice for adding raw Attack HP, since it’s adding to both sides of the equation!

Use Cases: Bahamut is a strong choice for adding a lot of health to anybody who doesn’t have much, due to the hefty flat bonus.

When to Avoid: If you like your heroes dying because their HP stat is very low.

Ouroboros

Ability: +10% Defense and +4 HP Regen per turn

Phoenix may have been the Lizard killer, but Ouroboros is arguably the Phoenix killer. Defense is always a useful defensive stat (especially on attackers since you’re usually below the 0% mitigation threshold) and this spirit provides a decent amount. Not quite as much as Tarrasque (which should probably be your choice if you really need to hit that 0% mark), but it’s solid.

Like most of the other HP Regen spirits, green heroes in particular make great use out of it since they can use their high Evasion to continue avoiding hits and generating health.

Mechanics: Every Ouroboros spirit enchanted to a hero gives that hero +4 HP regen per turn, up to a max of +24. This stacks additively with other HP regen effects, such as Lilu’s leaderskill.

The hero will also gain 10% bonus Defense for each Ouroboros spirit equipped.

Use Cases: Ouroboros is great for red and green classes, but it’s also surprisingly good on blues these days. If you’re looking to bulk up your heroes, Ouroboros is usually a pretty good option.

When to Avoid: If you don’t need survivability.

Griffin

Ability: +8% Defense and +3% Evasion

Everything that makes Tiger good is enhanced with Griffin. It offers decent Defense and a big boost to Evasion, topping out at +18% with a full set.

Being a better Tiger spirit also comes with the same downsides as it. The Evasion isn’t very useful on blue heroes, there’s better options for Defense, and it won’t be a very good choice unless you need both stats it offers.

Mechanics: Every Griffin spirit adds 3% bonus Evasion and 8% Defense to the equipped hero, maxing out at 18% Evasion and 48% bonus Defense.

Use cases: Rangers, any tank with an Evasion skill, green heroes who need some Defense.

When to avoid: Your hero is not in the “use cases” category. Griffin is strong but a little niche, and not very good outside of said niche.

Finally we have the three Lost City of Gold spirits: Xototl, Quetzalcoatl, and Ancestor. These are found within Luxurious, Opulent, and Platinum chests respectively. Unlike all other spirits, their effect only works when selling items in your shop. You will still get the normal stat bonus from enchanting an item, but that’s it. You should never use these on your heroes.

These three spirits add a large amount of Gold value to the enchanted item as well as reducing the energy cost required to Surcharge it. These values are 2%, 8%, and 10% for Xototl, Quetzalcoatl, and Ancestor respectively.