Best Season 1, 5-Star Heroes: Empires and Puzzles (Updated)
Are any Season 1 Heroes able to hang in today’s Empires and Puzzles? What if you could only pick 5 Classic Heroes for a Raid, or for Defense, or to complete a difficult Map Stage…
Who would you pick and why?
In this post, I’m gonna share my top 5 Old Timer Legendary Heroes from Season 1, who are still useful today. Feel free to share yours in the comments below.
For the record, Costumes are completely off the table.
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This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and adult comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
Best Season 1 Legendary Heroes – Empires and Puzzles
For this list, I’m thinking about how these guys would deal with modern Heroes like Ludwig, Quenell, Director Zuri, Elizabeth, Xnolphod, etc, etc.
So, I’m not asking: Who was the best, back in the day?
I’m asking, who’s best suited to today’s Empires and Puzzles?
As for Grading, I’m going to try and reflect their current value. So… no disrespect intended.
Anyway, let’s go!
#5 Lianna (5 Star Season 1 Empires and Puzzles)
Special Skills (Perfect Shot): 1. Deals 512% damage to the target and 2. …
Lianna, the Hero with the heavy hand.
For the record, I don’t like snipers -Just don’t think there’s enough space for them.
But I had to give Lianna her dues. She’s a Fast sniper with a payload of 512%, more than enough to be relevant in today’s game.
Yesterday, while preparing this post, I totted up all the Season 1 Heroes currently employed in the Top 100 Defense Teams. Lianna was the most common (out of Costume).
When you think, Lianna hits for 512%, while Captain Nemo only hits for a guaranteed 300%, it’s easy to appreciate her value.
All that said, Lianna finally decided to grace my own personal roster, and that’s gonna get you some brownie points… you know, help your case in the Old Cynic’s Hall Of Fame.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Meek
#4 Elkanen (Empires and Puzzles Season 1 Review)
Special Skills (Crescent Spear): 1. Deals 330% damage to the target and minor damage to nearby enemies. 2. Heals the caster for 38% of damage dealt.
Elkanen hits for a decent amount and does it quickly.
On top of that, he heals himself for nearly 40% of the damage he caused. A nice skill which affords him longevity on the battlefield.
So, what’s 330% damage to the target, and 165% to the nearby enemies (660% total) worth today? — Well, it’s not Quenell, but it’s close to:
All Fast
Lianna 512%
Francine 675%
Akkorog 840%
Elkanen’s damage-to-speed ratio isn’t quite top-notch, but it’s not bad either.
In today’s game, Slow Heroes like Elena take an eternity to fire off and sadly don’t have the impact required to make a real difference in a Raid/Defense, when they do.
I like Elkanen because he makes more sense. He’ll fire off, deal some reasonable damage, heal and preserve himself, and then go back into charge mode. Doesn’t claim to change the world, just does his bit and waits his turn.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Meek
#3 Elena (5-Star, Season 1)
Special Skills (Wall of Swords): 1. Deals 202% damage to all enemies. 2. The caster and nearby allies counterattack with 125% of the damage received for 5 turns.
Elena is the poster child for Empires and Puzzles.
And, while we can see her damage is only 202%, it always feels like a lot more.
Part of the reason is Elena’s insanely high Attack -which is 871 on a Defensive Talent Path!
Not only that, but she casts 125% Counterattack for herself and nearby allies.
Add to that, her solid HP, and she’s more than capable of soaking up the hits and reflecting back the punishment.
And it goes on… Elena’s a fighter-class hero who really benefits from Reviving.
Elena’s a super-Hero, perfectly capable of dealing with the most difficult Map stages E&P can throw at you. She can also handle herself on Defense and makes minced meat out of the opposition in Wars.
Her modern Weakness? Speed.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Meek
#2 Joon (Empires and Puzzles Season 1)
Special Skills (Solar Beam): 1. Deals 468% damage to the target. 2. Target gets -40% accuracy for 6 turns.
Joon is a super sniper and one of the few Snipers I can stand.
It wasn’t that long ago when it seemed like every Raid involved facing Joon.
And while he hits for a fair whack, the sting in his tail is his -40% accuracy.
Joon’s -40% accuracy is no joke. In fact, before Bai Yeong, he was the standard-bearer.
His Fast speed, solid damage, and useful ailment, all contribute to a solid resume for today’s job market.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Warrior
#1 Kadilen (5 Star Season 1 Empires and Puzzles)
Special Skills (Eclipse Shield): 1. Deals 190% damage to all enemies. 2. All allies get +74% defense against Special Skills for 3 turns.
First, there’s no point in ignoring it, Kadilen with her Costume is a real fan favourite. -appearing 33 times in the top 100!
But Kadilen had some cool skills before the Costume, too. For example, she inflicts 190% damage to all enemies on a Fast mana charge.
That’s a lot of damage for Fast, -more than:
Costumed Kadilen – 170%
Zeline – 143%
Morel – 180%
Frigg – 100% (base level)
Neith – 150% (on Average mana)
Now, Hero Stats do play a part, and I’m not saying she’ll clear the battlefield, but even by modern standards, Kadilen looks good.
Next, she offers a significant amount of protection against Special Skills; +74% for 3 turns.
Kadilen looks well suited to the modern game and is a solid option for F2P/CP2 players who happen to pull her.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Meek
Honorary mention – Vivica (Season 1, 5-Star Heroes Empires & Puzzles)
Special Skills (Omniheal): 1. Recovers 44% health for all allies. 2. All allies get +63% defense for 4 turns. 3. Cleanses status ailments from all allies.
Vivica is still relevant, there’s no doubt about it. But she’s Slow in a Fast World.
I overheard her saying recently, on returning from the corner store, “The world went and got itself into a big old hurry”.
She paused for a moment before asking, “Old Cynic, when did we get so old?”.
I did the only thing you can do in that situation; I put the kettle on.
Vivica is/was a fantastic healer, and as much as it saddens me to say, her time has gone.
She is now a meat barrier for tiles *(as the young ones put it). And like a prize fighter past their prime, she should be left to retirement -because I won’t pay to watch any more unnecessary punishment.
Jokes aside, Vivica should be buffed. — Just for fun.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Warrior
Honorary mention 2 – Richard & Thorne
Special Skills (Cloud Hammer): 1. Deals 415% damage to the target and 2. Minor damage to nearby enemies. 3. Target and nearby enemies get -34% attack for 6 turns.
This spot was between Thorne and Richard because they’re quite similar. They’re both Average speed Heroes, who deal significant damage to one target, and minor damage to nearby enemies.
Thorne hits for 490% damage, whereas Richard hits for 415% damage.
None make my Top 5, but I can’t ignore them either. They’re both solid options for delivering pain.
If forced to choose, I’d take Richard because in addition, he inflicts -34% attack-down for 6 long turns, which should take the edge off the modern monsters.
And since we’re totting up damage; he’s 980% on an Average speed.
Old Cynic’s Hero Grade: Meek
Best Season 1, 5-Star Heroes in Empires and Puzzles
At 1518 hours, on Sun 7th Nov 21, I went through the Top 100 teams to see if any of them were still rocking a retro look (Costume allowed, but not ON). Here’s what I found:
Thorne, Richard, Azlar, Elena, Quintus, & Horghall, all appeared once.
Marjana appeared twice.
Lianna appeared thrice.
And Kadilen, appeared 33 times. However, as expected, she’s always in her Costume.
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Thanks for the analysis! I think it’s needed for many players. I am curious if you also have personal experience using these ones. Was also interesting to learn of the statistics of who gets used on top defenses and was surprised to see regular Azlar, Quintus and Horghall 🙂
For me Elena is going to always sit on the bench because of her really low defense. Whenever I meet her on defense she dies so quickly, basically like blowing a dandelion. Sometimes she hangs on with her reviving skill, but in the end it’s bye-bye and I get a lane for ghosting. On offense, I have used heroes with similar def stats (like Grimm), and they are still complicated to use because of being one-shotted by special skills or dying from a 2-3 converging slash attacks. The new 4* Knight Ferant, with (slightly) better stats on defense and health, average speed, higher counterattack and mana cut really gives her a run for her money.
Otherwise, (probably except Azlar, Quintus and Horghall), the others still have some interesting uses (albeit more niche) and even Horghall could shine in rush. Khagan has a huuuuge hit three, Domitia’s dispell is really useful, Isarnia is very good for titans and Sartana and Marjana can still be useful as fast snipers for lack of better alternatives.
Season 1 really shines with its 4* heroes though – Boril (and probably Cyprian as well, but haven’t used him myself) make the PvE much more manageable, Rigard is an amazing healer, Boldtusk great for his attack up, Kiril provides really good support and Sonya and Caedmon are really great.
While I have managed to slowly build up a nice roster (Cobalt and Frigg are some of the stars), I still use Rigard (actually I have two maxed and emblemed that I use every war), Sonya and Caedmon on a daily basis. I mainly use 3-1-1 and Caedmon fights along side Frigg and Fogg and Sonya with Cobalt and Master Lepus. I’ve taken out teams of 4600 or even 4700 with them.
Hey Seeker, I’ve been playing for about 2 years now and have used or played against all these heroes. Still, in today’s game Speed is clearly important (or a god-like Special!).
This was just a bit of fun. Season 1, 5 Star heroes, are a pretty strong lot. No matter how you shake it, someone’s fav is gonna be left off.
Elena’s a funny one. I have her with 20E (1495HP/685D) and she’s great for difficult stages. She’s probably my most used S1 hero (because she’s in the Auto team). On the old/new formation (recently nerfed), she was a reasonable tank due to the nearby counterattack.
I agree re Season 1, 4-Stars. But again, Costumes play a big part on how they’re used today, too.
Anyway, thanks for reading and sharing your view!
Thanks for the extra details! I am always happy to hear how people successfully use (under-appreciated by some, including myself in this case :)) less popular heroes
Marjana costume!!
She is a badass!
Hi Guys,
regarding my experience (3 years but with some breaks), i really like Fast Heroes. They are (imho) able to anticipate and annihilate slower heroes.
Normally i go in Raids with Kage, Mist, Uraeus, Rigard c, then Magni or Marjana, it depends of opponent team.
Mist is really precius, even if she’s a 4s, cuz can nullify oppo bonuses like Riposte. Then, obviously my roster is not that big, but i dislike playing without her.
Cya from Italy!!!
Hey Gixu, lucky for you, New Fast heroes are just as strong as Old Slow heroes 🙂
Thanks stopping by!
Hey Gixu, you might be interested in my new post… It’s about player experience and should be fun.
all classic, no LB or talents?
Left to right: Vivica, Magni, Azlar, Sartana, Lianna…
I had almost that lineup back in 2018.. the exception was Evelyn as green on the right (got lucky on hotm.)
Azlar was the mighty stuff back then, him going off was a game-ender..
That’s a solid line up. Vivica and Magni for the Defense up is nice too, tho it doesn’t have the same impact today… Maybe it’s because everybody hits like a truck, or kills you off with Fiends/Minions?
Thanks for playing Cougar!
I disagree with Vivica. She’s just too slow. I ignore her and destroy the entire team before she even fires once.
Richard is decent. I’d swap him in instead. Good damage, solid hitter.
I faced a total team of season one slow heroes in a rush war. Left to right was isarnia, quintus, justice, horghall and Azlar. They all fired off at the same time and destroyed me. I had a team at 4987 and they laughed at me. Makes me want to ascend mine..
That’s awesome 😂 – Good on ’em. Thanks for sharing!
Slow heroes like several of the season 1s have an important place.
As Mr Potato Head said…”The Attic!”
I agree that Vivica, despite being one of the poster heroes is nearly unplayable at high levels. Sure in a rush war you can find use for her, or Justice, or Azlar. And on defense the slowness is less of an issue so you may even park them on defense teams and get away with it.
But I suppose the bottom line is, you build a s1 all 5 star lineup, and a good season 3 or 4 lineup of 3 stars will likely blow it away in 10 turns. Even their hitters arent modern day stat level. Joon is a stud fast sniper hitter, but seriously weak defense. Marjana is a real solid fast sniper, but her stats (although balanced) are Meh, and her special isnt that special compared to newer seasons.
Costumes do help. In some cases they are kinda useable, but really even the best costumed versions are only as good as their stats, and most of them the stats are below par. Costume Magni is the one exception as his stats are pretty great, but can you count a costume as season 1?
Hey TLK, I don’t count Costumes as S1 because they represent a leg up and in many cases, a completely different skill set.
If I’m honest, I wasn’t too thrilled about the recent costumes, because they were more of a buff than a re-imagining of the hero.
I figure S1 heroes are useful for F2P/C2P players, but they are now v.old and underpowered.
Thanks for commenting!
A vote for Vivica, when costumed is immense on attack. With enemy defense down, debuff and instant mega heal, she does so much she is always in my attack versus dark tanks (or flanks) – the speed bonus just tips her into being there for you than never firing) She is a still a limit break candidate for me (no Lidenbrock) until get a faster big heal
She is awesome and when you don’t have any better, you’re thankful to have Vivica.
Thanks for commenting!
My C Vivica is an average-speed hero with emblems and troops. She is one of my default healers in my attack team against high defences
Where are costume Marjana, costume Leonidas and costume Magni? Those are top-tier S1 heroes!
Hello! For this list I took Costumes off the table. My thinking was, costumes should be a completely separate list (Best 5-Star Costumes).
I’ve also got a Top Season 2 list, Top Season 3, and will make a Top Season 4 list when it’s done.
Thanks for visiting
Hey, thanks for the post! I was wondering if the costume solves Elena’s problems or not? It makes her average speed and a little bit beefier, is she good on offense? I won’t use her in my def team for sure, was thinking about using her in attack teams. The other option i have is Lady Loki (same color and class), which looks meh…
Hey Worship. I really like Elena, and the Costume is a massive bonus.
For Raids? The matter really is synergy. If Elena fits in the team you use, then yes because her Special Vs. Tiles req, is a great return.
C.Elena/Elena is a powerful hero for the next tier of player (F2P/CP2). Are there better heroes out there? Sure. But so what, if you don’t have them?
She’s an awesome Hero in my view -very useful, although I don’t use her for Raids (I’m Yellow/Purple).
Anyway, hope my ramblings help, and thanks for reading!
Oh, I love Lady’s Special but Elena looks more reliable. You’ve played them both so have a clear comparison.
Hey OC, are you gonna revisit these older heros with the secondary costumes, i managed to get elkanen and his moonlit king is a slight upgrade to skittleskull (my longtime running nature lead) i think he will have a solid presence now with how often healers are in 2s and 3s in wars.
Moonlit king specs: maxxed
Lunar spear.
Mana speed : fast
230% damage to all enemies
-50% enemy healing for three turns
Uncleansable
There are likely better nature 5s but i have had hard luck with nature 5s all i have are philias fog, grace x3, and elkanen. and elkanen is a solid upgrade from where i sit now