This raid shadow legends guide gives brand-new players a clear, step-by-step path from the first install through their first campaign victories. By the end, you will have a working team, understand the core systems, and know exactly what to do next without feeling overwhelmed.
Raid Shadow Legends guide: what to do in your first hour
This section is for players who just installed RAID: Shadow Legends and want actionable early steps. You will create your account, complete the tutorial, pick your first champion, and learn the basics of team building and progression, all within your first session.
Your first login and the tutorial
After installing, link your Facebook account, Google account, or create a Plarium ID to log in. The game opens with a cutscene showing four champions, Galek, Elhain, Kael, and Athel, moving through a dungeon. You then play through three tutorial combat stages that teach turn-based mechanics. At the final enemy, a red dragon, your party is wiped out one by one. The Arbiter appears and offers to revive only one hero from a shard. This is your first champion choice. After picking, the Arbiter guides you through the first campaign levels, teaching you to summon champions, equip and upgrade artifacts, and select heroes for battle.
Picking your first champion: Kael, Galek, Elhain, or Athel
Each starter is a three-star Rare champion with the Magic affinity. Their differences are in playstyle, not long-term potential, all four can become powerful late-game. Choose the one that fits how you like to fight:
- Kael is an AoE poison mage who deals damage over time to multiple enemies.
- Galek is a debuffing berserker with high single-target damage and attack-lowering effects.
- Elhain is a crit archer who excels at landing critical hits and clearing waves.
- Athel is a self-buffing paladin with balanced stats and abilities that strengthen herself.
If you later want a different starter, you can summon them from shards, nothing is locked permanently.
Understanding champion affinities and rarities
Champions are classified by Affinity and Rarity. The four affinities form a rock-paper-scissors system: Magic (blue) beats Spirit (green), Spirit beats Force (red), Force beats Magic. Void (purple) is neutral, it has no weakness and no advantage against the other three. Rarity determines base stat potential. The five tiers are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. Higher rarity champions have higher base stats and better skills.
How summoning and shards work
Use the Portal building in your Bastion to summon champions from shards. There are four shard types, each with documented rarity pools:
- Mystery Shards: Common 74.2%, Uncommon 24.4%, Rare 1.4%.
- Ancient Shards: Rare 91.5%, Epic 8.0%, Legendary 0.5%.
- Void Shards: Rare 91.5%, Epic 8.0%, Legendary 0.5%, and they can only summon Void Affinity champions.
Early shards come from campaign drops, daily rewards, quests, and missions. Use the Shard Summon tab in the Portal and spend Silver to open them. The Altar of Souls uses Soulstones to summon one-star to six-star heroes, and Soulstones are purchased from the Altar's Mystic Market using coins from the Iron Twin's Fortress stage.
Building your first campaign team
Your team has four slots. A balanced composition includes a damage dealer, a debuffer, a buffer or healer, and a support champion. Equip each champion with artifacts in all six slots, weapon, helmet, shield, gauntlets, armor, and boots. Try to complete artifact sets for set bonuses rather than mixing random pieces. Upgrade artifacts with Silver to improve their stats. Use the Tavern (unlocked at player level 6) to level and rank up champions by sacrificing duplicate or unwanted champions. Ranking up increases the champion's maximum level and adds a portion of the sacrificed champion's experience.
Your early-game priority checklist
- Finish the Normal campaign.
- Replay campaign stages to level food champions (champions you will sacrifice for ranking up).
- Rank up your starter champion to 5-star.
- Unlock and explore dungeons at player level 6.
- Collect daily login rewards and playtime rewards (hourglass icon above the Battle tab, refreshes at 00:00 UTC).
- Save Gems for energy refills and the Mine (which produces Gems over time).
Currencies and buildings you actually need early
Energy is your battle fuel, every stage costs Energy, and it refills daily. Silver is the main currency for summoning champions and upgrading artifacts. Gems are the premium currency for boosts, refills, and unlocking the Mine. The Mine costs 500 Gems to unlock. The three buildings that matter in the first week are the Portal (summoning, available from the start), the Tavern (leveling and ranking up, unlocks at player level 6), and the Great Hall (Arena stat upgrades, unlocks at player level 6). The Market unlocks at player level 18. The Forge unlocks at player level 30. The Guardian Ring (Sparring Pit) unlocks at player level 30. Ignore the other buildings until you have a solid campaign team.
Daily rewards, quests, and missions explained
Collect daily login rewards by logging in each day. Playtime rewards appear under the hourglass icon above the Battle tab and refresh at 00:00 UTC. Check your inbox (treasure box icon on the upper right) for special rewards. Challenges are divided into four categories, Champions, Artifacts, Dungeons, and Arena, and you can track progress via the star icon on the lower left. Quests come in daily, weekly, monthly, and advanced varieties (advanced unlock at player level 35). Missions are a separate progression track that rewards Silver, XP, shards, and Energy for completing specific objectives.
What to do after the campaign
Once you finish Normal campaign, you unlock mid-game content: Dungeons (at player level 6), Arena (at player level 6), Faction Wars, and Clan Bosses. Each mode offers unique rewards and challenges. Doom Tower mode requires player level 40 and special gold and silver keys to access. For players who want genre alternatives, check out the site's hub for the best mobile games by genre (Best Mobile Games by Genre).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my starter champion later?
Yes. You can summon the other starters from Mystery or Ancient Shards, or earn them through campaign progression. Nothing is permanently locked after your first choice.
What should I spend my first Gems on?
Save Gems for energy refills to farm campaign stages and for unlocking the Mine, which produces free Gems over time. Avoid spending Gems on shards or shop items early.
How do I get more champions without spending money?
Complete campaign stages for Mystery Shards, collect daily login rewards, finish quests and missions, and participate in events. Ancient Shards drop from higher-level content like dungeons and Clan Boss.
What is the fastest way to level up my starter champion?
Replay the highest campaign stage you can clear quickly. Use the Tavern to rank up your starter by sacrificing duplicate champions (food champions) at level 20, 30, and 40.
Why are my champions weak against certain enemies?
Check the enemy's Affinity. If your Magic champion attacks a Force enemy, you will deal reduced damage and have a higher chance to be weak-hit. Build a team with multiple affinities to cover weaknesses.
