Empires & Puzzles: The Great Reset (Beginners Tips 2025)
You will own nothing and be happy, they said. And on this occasion, they were right.
I decided to restart my Empires and Puzzles journey to see if a new beginning would make the game fun again.
I’ll be frank: getting wiped out by a single Hero frothing at the mouth left my internal voices raging.
Up-and-comers hitting off their Specials and spinning around on you, like they’re Curry on a no-look open 3, is nothing but a piss-take.
I didn’t want to be the ex-champion. I wanted to be the next champion.
Alas, unless someone has a cheat code handy, that isn’t gonna happen, but maybe I can help new players by traversing Empires & Puzzles from the ground up.
This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
Empires & Puzzles: Starter Pass & Starter Quest (Tips For Beginners)
Empires and Puzzles now begins with an extended tutorial that explains the basics, followed by a unique Starter Quest.
Your Stronghold is at level 1, and you’re encouraged to make progress on the World Map and Starter Quest.
You’ll also gain access to a special Starter Pass (a newbie Path of Valor) offering low-level rewards you’d expect to need as a beginner.
Let’s answer some fundamental questions new players will have:
What should I do first?
Once you’re given control, complete the Starter Quest ASAP. That’s because the Quest provides you with pre-levelled Heroes (Guest Heroes), making its completion easy. However, the World Map will be pretty challenging with your low-level Heroes.
Is it worth paying for the premium Starter Pass?
No, not really. The key items of value you might need this early in the game are Loot Tickets, World Energy Flasks, Revive Scrolls, and the guaranteed Classic Epic Hero Token. But none of that is worth much along the road. At £0.99p, it’s not horrible value, but if I wanted to purchase something, I’d wait until I had access to the proper Monthly Pass (Path of Valor) or the VIP Pass (for its extra Base Builder).
Is the “Epic Offer | Super Starter Pack” worth it?
The Super Starter Pack contains 600 Gems, an Epic Hero Token, 3x Super Healing Potions, 3x Super Mana Potions, and 3x Tornados. -All for £0.99p. On paper, 600 Gems for 99p is great compared to some other offers; however, I wouldn’t purchase it. The pull odds in E&P are so low that I wouldn’t want to use them to summon Heroes. And away from the Summoning Gate, Gems will only help you speed up wait times and at this stage in the game, it’s just better to wait.
If you do want to spend, this is an excellent early-game deal. In my case, it was shortly followed by another similar offer, this time offering 700 Gems for £0.99p.
What else should I do?
Start working on the World Map once you’ve completed the Starter Quest. Keep playing and levelling your Stronghold and base. Use free Gems and Tokens to pull at the Summoning Gate and hope to start landing 3-Star Heroes and above. ~Because those are the ones you want to start levelling.
Should I Raid?
Yes, but REROLL until you find a suitably weak team. Keep an eye on your Food because it costs 400 Food for each REROLL. Raiding can return 4k in Food and Iron and will open up the HEROES CHEST (at the top left of your screen), so it’s well worth the effort, especially at this early stage in your journey.
Should I join an Alliance?
Yes! Join a busy Alliance where players are active and chat. It can be a great place to get advice. It also allows you to attack Titans, which, when defeated, pay out decent rewards.
Are there any essential Buildings to level?
You want to level everything, especially Farms, Mines, and their Storage. That said, the Training Camp is key. You want to get it to Level 4 to open up LOW-COST Training. It’s a low-resource way of getting 1 and 2-Star Feeders for your main Heroes:
Be sure to read my Empires & Puzzles Tips for more.
My New Empires & Puzzles Team (Beginners Guide)
Before I share my new roster, let me explain that I did not delete my old account or make cannibals of them.
I simply bought a mouthguard for Malosi and made him Tank.
Then, I surrounded him with some of my favourite Heroes and wished them good luck on my departure.
Here’s the new class:
Pants.
So far.
Obviously, I’m focusing on Rigard. A great first Healer and something to build around.
Let’s hope some better Heroes arrive soon.
Bane is everywhere down here… that first automatic pull.
I can’t stand him, so I hope to fill his spot ASAP.
Is Empires & Puzzles Worth Playing In 2025?
My final thoughts:
If I were to highlight two things that annoy me about E&P, they would be pop-ups (still a problem, though, not as bad) and the Power Creep.
Restarting the game has removed me from the pecking order, which has helped to separate me from the relevance of the Power Creep.
~Making the entire experience much more enjoyable as I can focus on levelling and growing.
I wonder if I’ll get any decent Heroes this time around… I’m excited to find out.
Thank you for reading and stopping by!
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Copyright (words & graphic design): oldcynic.com
Images used by way of review/tutorial
Empires & Puzzles is owned by Small Giant Games/Zynga Games
Great to have you back in the game. You were missed.
K
Thank you, Kasheega!
Cynic! Absolutely love that you are back looking forward to your reviews again! Always steered my team and I in the right direction and information well evaluated! Still here myself and look forward to proper hero knowledge 💞
Thank you, Fancylissa, I appreciate it!
WoW, that’s brave of you😅.
I recently reinstalled it, noticed i got a new ‘welcome back’ path, used my last gems for a pull and got a S1 3star. Uninstalled it again afterwards. To be honest, i don’t miss it at all, it became ‘too much you need to do with too little return’
But! I still Remember how much i enjoyed playing it. Have Fun rebuilding OC, and may the pulls be forever in your favor!
Very kind, Duende. I hope so too! I miss Tournaments and hope to enjoy them again living in the lower echelons. Be well!
It’s great to have you back. I will pass this on to my alliance.
Thank you, DoTheBluto. I really appreciate it.
Nice to have you back! I missed reading your insightful and humorous analysis of new heroes.
I play for fun now spend next to nothing and enjoy it alot more. helping my alliance win wars is the the enjoyment I get and every once in awhile off a free event pull I may get a shiny new hero (it’s rare but still exciting when it happens lol)
That’s my intention, to play for fun and share stuff as I go. Thank you for the support!
Missed for sure. Welcome back!
Thanks, PiggySmalls!
I’ve been playing consistently since Feb 2020 and I’m still very much enjoying the game, it’s more fun when you’re part of a fun alliance. I have missed your posts though so this was nice to come across in my email. 🙂
Thank you Jonny, I appreciate it!
Welcome back, OC!
Thank you, Dharion!
Interestingly, after the time ran out on the Super Starter Pack deal, another deal with the same name appeared. This time, it offered 700 Gems for 99p (along with the Epic Hero Token and 3x Items).
And another one! 800 Gems for 99p.
When I came back to the game (after 4 years away) I found your website first thing; your old postings really added depth to this game for me and helped me get back into it.
So glad you are back. You do great work and are appreciated in my alliance
Thank you Jeff, I appreciate the support and am glad to have helped!
I do miss your regular info posts b8t still it’s awesome to see you back in the saddle. I started playing feb.2022(the reason I remember is my first legendary was iris feb 2022 hotm) and your blog on the heros was always where I turned for if a hero was worth going for. I’ll be watching for more posts! I may trun the ftp playthrough see how it goes, it certainly was interesting when I did it on world of warships.
Thank you, Kaizer. I’m not sure what I’ll be writing meta wise, but I will be writing about E&P. I’ll see how it develops. I do feel rested and grateful for your support!
You are welcome to come and hang in our non alliance alliance. Name is “pokemon”. Its so chill it’s ice cold.
Thank you, Dirtntress. I just joined one but will it in mind!
I am happy youre back old cynic. I always read ur blog and laughting my ass out. Glad your back. I googled where you are and found this recent post. Hope youll be back for a long time.
Thanks Geozelle, it’s great to hear that, I appreciate it. I am back and will be writing lots more E&P, although it will be at a better pace. Thanks for reading!
I remember when I joined and your posts were essential guidance…and when I got Zagrog as my first 5* I almost passed out I was so excited. He stood me in good stead for so long although by the time I got the mats to take him to 4-1 I had a better red so he never even was fully ascended. May you re-experience the joys of the early game 🙂
‘…although by the time I got the mats to take him to 4-1 I had a better red so he never even was fully ascended.’ 😁 I feel bad for him.
Thank you, jfinthecity. Sorry for the late reply, this slipped through!
Happy to see you back, OC! (Why) Did you delete your old account and start a new one? Don’t you think it could be more fun continuing with your old account. You probably won’t face many of the new over-powered monsters if you don’t play in the high diamond league, and you could play more events…
Hello, thank you!
‘Did you delete your old account and start a new one?’ ——No, old account is still there.
‘Don’t you think it could be more fun continuing with your old account’ ——No, it was the opposite. I had/have good, relatively new, levelled 5-Star Heroes, and the new-bot would decimate them regardless of the board. Rage quitting is not fun and I was doing it more frequently. If I lose now, it makes sense (I’m new after all).
The HP/ATT/OT-PASSIVES wall near the top of the game is a great pity because it wasn’t always there.
I know, I have been playing the game for a long time too (and was following your post when you became number 1 : ). The game has changed a lot with double limit break and the crazy power creep about a year ago… At least the improved the rewards lately. Let’s see if/how long it will still be fun to play…
Just adding my voice to the “so glad to have you back” chorus! You have been missed!!!
Thank you, Eibhlin! I appreciate it.