Bennu Review – Empires and Puzzles (Season 5)

Bennu Empires and Puzzles Hero Card

Bennu just popped out of the Empires and Puzzles Season 5 portal and left some of us scratching our heads.

Before we start, please consider sharing a link to this post with your alliance or on social media. It really does help.

This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, adult comedy, and human error. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.

Subscribe

Bennu’s Stats and Special Skills

Key Facts: Ice (Blue), Average, Druid, 🌞

Family Bonus (for 1/2 heroes) – Sun 1. 50%/75% chance to cast -35% accuracy for 2 turns and 196 Burn damage over 2 turns on an enemy who deals Special damage to this hero. 2. If enemy’s Special defeats this hero, chance increases to 75%/100%.

Special Skills (Divine Reflection): 1. The caster and nearby allies counterattack with 100% of the damage received for 5 turns. The damage of the counterattack increases by +5% with each counterattack (max 130%). 2. The caster and nearby allies reduce all received damage by -50% for 5 turns.

Passive: 60% chance to 1. Boost all allies’ health by 10% (can exceed max HP) and 2. cleanse the latest cleansable status ailment from all allies.

Talent: COMPANION ~ +15% chance to summon a Thorn Minion after receiving any damage. The effect is applied at the end of the turn.

A screenshot of Bennu in summoning portal Screenshot
Bennu looks fantastic in the Empires and Puzzles portal

How Good is Bennu? (Empires and Puzzles)

My first thought on seeing Bennu was that this is a 5-Star version of Azmia but without the healing.

They probably held back on the healing because he’d be too dominant.

So, where does that leave him?

As a decent Counterattacker. -Nothing special, but not a total waste either.

In the right team, he could easily contribute.

What’s also interesting here is:

Not only does he not heal, but he also doesn’t buff mana. -Which must have been a real consideration when building him.

Bennu Vs. Azmia Vs. Sif Vs. Ferant

HeroMana SpeedCounterattackSecondaryDynamic PassivesClass
Bennu
Average (10 tiles)Caster and NB get 100% Counterattack for 5 turns. Increases by +5% with each Counterattack, maxing at 130%.Caster and NB enjoy -50% reduced damage for 5 turns.60% chance to 1. Boost allies’ health by 10% and 2. cleanse the latest cleansable ailmentDruid (Thorn)
AzmiaAverage (10 tiles)Caster and NB get 100% Counterattack for 4 turns. Increases by +5% with each Counterattack, maxing at 130%.All allies get 15% health.60% chance to 1. Boost allies’ health by 10% and 2. cleanse the latest cleansable ailmentMonk (Resist)
SifAverage (10 tiles)Caster and NB get 100% Counterattack for 4 turns.Caster and NB enjoy -50% reduced damage and +24% mana gen for 4 turns.N/aRogue (Dodge)
FerantAverage (10 tiles)Caster and NB get 115% Counterattack for 5 turns. Counterattack reduces attackers’ mana by -10% per hit.N/aN/aDruid (Thorn)
OldCynic.com – Bennu Versus…

This table really illustrates how similar Bennu and Azmia are.

If I had to pick one, it would be Azmia, all day long.

For me, her 15% health for all allies is the key difference-maker. That one simple addition makes her a superstar.

The main argument one could make for Bennu over Azmia is the obvious fact that he’s a Legendary hero, while she’s an Epic!

-We’re frankly talking about Stats. And, here’s the difference (based on un-emblemed heroes):

Bennu: Att/768 Def/834 HP/1497
Azmia: Att/584 Def/745 HP/1326

In the world of Counterattackers, the lower the defense, the harder the reflected hit. And while I personally don’t subscribe to the view, Azmia may be considered even more of a hit.

Moving on and going down the list, I’d take Bennu over both Sif and Ferant. The difference there is his Passive, which can’t be understated.

In battle, these Passives are really felt, and Bennu’s Passive has the potential of genuinely helping out a losing team.

A screenshot of Bennu's Special Skill Listed

Empires and Puzzles: Bennu’s Major Weaknesses

I was close to calling Bennu an Archangel, but in the current climate with monsters left, right, and centre, I wanted to be more aggressive with my grading.

It’s true that in an elite squad, with true Deities surrounding him, Bennu might look stellar. But in a regular team, with try-hards left and right, he might end up looking a whole lot more average.

I really like the reduced damage, but it doesn’t seem to be enough when compared to what other giants are now bringing to the table.

At his core, Bennu’s a glorified Counterattacker who’s lacking that special something which would bring his life meaning.

In fact, we’d have to argue that his Passive is what makes him better than Sif (with her Mana gen in mind). And for me, a 60% chance of greatness just isn’t enough to build a legacy on.

A chance encounter…

I was lucky enough to find Bennu out in the wild (thank you for levelling him if you’re reading). And of course, when stood in front of this Super Buffer, all I got in my ear was…

“Boss, want me to slap him?”

OC: “Malosi, chill man, we’re just here to test him out”.

“I won’t do too much damage. Just lemme introduce my right set of knuckles to his beak”

OC: “Stand down, Malosi, I need photos. You know the score”.

“But look at him over there, acting like he’s a somebody just coz he’s new. Got all those shiny pixels and good code. F#*k this guy, I’m going in!”

OC: “Malosi!”.

“Hahaha – Take a photo now boss! Hahahaha… Look, look! The dizzy bird is pecking the Gorilla!”

A screenshot of Bennu's Special Skill Blocked

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっWhy not visit Malosi?

Screenshot of the Summoning Portal in Empires and Puzzles Dynasty of Dunes (season 5)
Click for Dynasty of Dunes, Season 5 – Empires and Puzzles

Bennu Review (Empires and Puzzles)

My final thoughts:

I figure with all the trouble Ferant and Azmia caused, alarm bells must have been ringing at SG HQ when Bennu neared the exit.

Fact is, it’s one thing to let big hitters escape with crippling OP stats, but it’s quite another to let a skilled technician out the door that same way.

-The world isn’t controlled by the physically strong, it’s controlled by those who outwitted the rest.

And so I imagine, that’s why Bennu didn’t get that cherry on top.

Sadly for him, what’s left isn’t awe-inspiring at all.

New/F2P/C2P: As Counterattacks go, Bennu actually brings a lot to the party. He’s just not elite. He does so much more than Boril, Cyprian, and Mack. And he’s a 5-Star hero. He’s clearly not a superstar, but I suspect loads of players would welcome him aboard!

Hero Grade for Bennu (Empires and Puzzles)

So for my grading, the question is:

Is this hero’s Special capable of/likely to change the outcome of a battle? No.

If not, do they still bring enough to the party to help defeat the deities? No.

Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Warrior

Should Bennu be an Archangel? Let me know in the comments below!

[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]



Enjoyed the post? Then please help me, -share it with your alliance!

Want more Empires and Puzzles? Click here.

Don’t forget to check out my Hero Ranking Page!

Looking for a new mobile game (iOS or Android)? Check out my new review section.

Follow me on Facebook: Visit Old Cynic’s page

Copyright: oldcynic.com
Images used by way of review/tutorial – Copyright owned by Empires & Puzzles: Small Giant/Zynga Games

Similar Posts

10 Comments

  1. Hmm, I think I’d prefer Ferant over Bennu. Mana is everything in this game, hence why C Alasie and Xnolphod are so dominant. If you can charge faster, or stop your opponent from charging, you usually win. Ferant is a giant pain in the butt and I rate his mana reduction higher than anything this Bennu offers.

    1. Hey byzanthia, fair point. I do have a bias against Ferant as when I see him in raids, of course, I have Malosi with me. But who should hand me my only loss in this morning’s 4-Star tournament? Ferant!

      Thanks for sharing!

  2. I’ve never been too fond of counter strikers that reduce the damage coming in, thus reducing the damage dealt. Azmia’s healing and hitting works much better in my opinion.

    1. It was my understanding that they don’t reduce the damage coming in, they reduce damage received.

      I checked and found it to be the case.

    1. Haha… No new reviews! I’ll just update the stats and maybe add a note. I can’t write a new review every time these guys buff, I’d never post anything fresh.

  3. I drew the bird cattle and was happy (but hadn’t really looked at what he could do). Then I read your review and thought I should have gotten Sobek instead. Well, at least I got Bastet too.
    I’d rather continue leveling blue 3 and 4 stars.
    Thanks for the great site, keep it up, I’ve already announced loudly where you can visit.

  4. I have him at 3.56 and he is tempting me to use him over plus 19 Margaret in raids…

    vs stone killer gargyles or mighty kufu he is just a beast

    they smash with all their might and they dldie one after another while the team survives

    I think I will give him the mats

  5. You’re most definitely giving him a bum rep. The beauty to Bennu is that he counters for FIVE TURNS. Which seems to be the magic number for him to fire AGAIN. It’s why ther nerfed Krampus (a 5-turn taunt was simply too much). In a modern era where mono attack teams are more common than sliced bread, the Sif’s/Bennu’s have never been more relevant.
    On offense, fire him once and sit back and enjoy the victory. Because he’s the ultimate security blanket to cover you while the rest of your team works their magic. AND the double secondaries make him even better. (And he has the stats to SURVIVE long enough to fire, which Asmia LACKS)

    1. Bennu has his place. I think that’s what Cynic means. Offensively, you can control when and if to deploy Bennu. Defensively, he can be extremely hit and miss because he can be countered simply by dispelling him, blocking it (see ‘Malosi’ reference), attempting to overpower him by running a defense down (costume Francine with her -54 defense against Nature, followed by a big single hitter like Garjammal can be a death keel for him). When I see him in the tank position, it doesn’t bother me at all. When I see him in the flank position you can almost entirely discount him…it’s like fighting 5 against 4.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.