New Player Guide - From NEWBIE to GG (Git Gud)

QUICK NOTES: [D] = Daily, [W] = Weekly, [M] = Monthly

1. SETTINGS - QUICK MENU FAVORITES

• The 4 blue square icon in the top right will be your friend to travel everywhere in-game, click it
• Next click the Gear icon near the bottom and then click the Game Pad icon in the left menu
• In the Game Settings Menu set the top 4 buttons starting from the far right
• Hero > Steel Workshop > Guild > Orbis Guide then it will be in the reverse order after setting it which is perfect
• I recommend these since they are the 4 most commonly used and important shortcuts that will save time
• The newly set buttons will appear on the Main Lobby screen around the bottom right area
• You can change some other Device, Audio, etc. Settings or view your account info here as well

1A. FREE SKYSTONES?! YES

• (ARENA [W]) - The main source is weekly Arena rewards (800ss+ each week for reaching Champion V)
• (BATTLE) - Automaton Tower, Abyss, Labyrinth - Logistics Officer (Queen Azumashik's Gift)
• (GUILD [W]) - Captain Shop - Guild Supply Chest
• (EPISODE) - Clearing every stage with the challenges for 3 Stars
• (SIDE STORY) - Clearing every stage with the challenges for 3 Stars
• (EVENTS) - Login Rewards, Special Events reaching certain achievements or Chests that can give SS
• (EVENTS) - Rare forum events (like this one)
• (MAILBOX) - Extremely rare compensation gifts from Smile Gate
• (ORBIS GUIDE [D]) - Daily Reputation
• (PET [D]) - Don't forget to click the 4 blue square and tap on the Pet Gift everyday
• (SHOP) - Free SS in the shop?! Not in a million years...

2. SANCTUARY

• A) Forest of Souls [D/W] - Daily Penguins for Hero XP, Blooms for Hero Promo, and Weekly MolaGoras with Cultivation
• (Growth Altar) - Buy and sell Penguins for Gold. After Summoning and Transmitting heroes extra Blooms are not needed
• B) Heart of Orbis [M] - Progress through the Episodes to unlock higher levels. Tainted Relics given weekly, expire monthly
• - Rewards Best to Worst at Highest Available Rank Unlocked:
• (SSS): 23 Spd +15 Weapon > 5* ML Hero >  +15 Neck > +15 Ring > Other +15 Equipment
• (SS): 15 Spd +9 Ring/Neck > Weapon/Armor/Helmet > Unknown Slate > Bottle > Boots > 4-5* ML Ticket
• (S): +0 Ring/Neck > Boots > Armor > Sword > Gold Transmit Stones > 5* Hero > 5* Arti > Mana Stone Chests
• (A): MolaGora > Equip Conversion Chests > Gold Transmit Stones > Leifs > Equip Charms >  Acc Charms > 4-5* Hero/Arti
• C) Alchemists Steeple [W] - (Charms) - Always convert all Greater Equipment Charms and Accessory Charms
• (Mod Gem Conversion [M]) - (Mod Gems) - Start by converting 'Random Stat' for Speed > Crit > Destruction > Penetration > Immunity for 25 Cores. Then focus on getting specific stats needed for those sets with 84 Cores. 2 Mod Gems per Set can be crafted each month

3. SECRET SHOP

• The best place to spend Skystones. Upgrade to level 13 ASAP. Refresh for 3 Skystones
• Aim for Mystical Medals > Bookmarks > Lv85 Epic Equipment with Good Substats Only (Especially any with 4 Spd)

4. SHOP

• (Recommended) - Purin's Complimentary Gifts [D] - Free Energy & Gold
• (Recommended) - 40 Energy [D] - 100 Friendship Points, or with Conquest Points occasionally
• (Packs) - P2W, whale feature
• (Skins) - P2W, however Skin Tickets can be obtained from Epic Pass (900ss per 10), Limited Time Packs in the Shop (Costs about 600-2000ss for varying amounts), Events such as Side Story Rewards or Shop Exchange items (Very rarely)
• (Normal) - Bad place to spend Skystones unless money is raining from the sky, but even then it's still questionable
• (Transmit Stones) [W/M] - Best place to spend Gold Transmits, goodluck! (*5 Galaxy BMs only, hero ticket is not worth it)
• - (Gold Transmit Stones) - Try to keep 50 on hand for buying 5x Memory Imprints for summoning specific 5* ML heroes.
• - (Silver Transmit Stones) - Never buy Greater Spirit Bloom, or Penguin XP. Ego Fragments in the beginning always, but later occasionally. Always buy weekly: Equip Conversion Chests > Artifact Charms > Accessory Charm Sets
• (Powder of Knowledge) [M] - Always buy the Bottle for 240 Powder every 30 days as well as trying to buy copies of any Limited Artifacts that you aren't able to obtain a copy of. 
• - For PvP fanatics if it appears in the shop it can be worth investing 60-300 powder for Tagahel's Ancient Book 4* Artifact for however many copies you need to at least MAX Limit Break 1+ copy for the 20 Souls soul burn (must be +30 to be usable).
• - Artifact Charms are not worth it. Just use extra Brave Crests in Guild Shop to purchase and stockpile them
• - Note: For Limited Time  Pick-3 Hero Banners, 1 Artifact copy for each hero chosen will appear for 240 Powder
• (Friendship) - The source of the 40 Energy. Only 5 Flags are worth buying (and using) for more Arena Rewards & Points
• (Conquest Points) - Buy Season Equipment first then Energy/Charms occasionally
• - (Set Priority) - Speed > Crit > Penetration > Destruction > Immunity > Resist > Hit > Counter > Injury > Health
• - (Equipment Priority) - Neck > Ring > Boots > Helm > Weapon > Armor
• - Note: Hold Lv88 Equipment that roll bad since you can reset them in the Steel Workshop - Equip Reset with Mana Stones
• (Galaxy Coin) [M] - Hidden Shop that unlocks after getting a Duplicate copy of any Moonlight (ML)  
• - Only spend Galaxy Coins on ML heroes you don't have that you want. It's a good idea to research before choosing.
• - Every month always refresh up to 30 times for a Lv85 Epic Accessory that has 4 perfect substats only. Worth 2 Coins
• (Covenant Coin) [M] - Hidden Shop that unlocks after getting 7+ copies of any Covenant hero (for Max Imprint)
•  - A whale or long time player shop for imprints. You can refresh up to 30x for 3+ good high rolled substats Equipment. Worth 3 Coins. Prioritize Boots > Helm > Weapon > Armor

5. GUILD

• A) Guild Hall [D] > (Daily Reward) - 10 Brave Crests
• B) Battlefield [W] > (Guild War) - Fight to earn lots of Armbands
• (World Boss) - Choose guild members teams that have 4x of the Enhanced Element and highest power
• (World Boss) - Supporters Management - Occasionally go through each Element and hit Auto Assign.
• (World Boss) - Earn Armbands from other members using your team and earn better rewards for higher points!
  
• C) Aid [D] > Always request Lesser Spirit Blooms to earn more Brave Crests for everyone.
  
• - If you are very new at the start you can request some Catalysts, but everything else isn't worth it
• D) Donate [D] > Always donate 50k gold for Brave Crests, and all Proof of Courage to earn Commander's Armbands
• E) Member Shop [W] > Try to always keep around 1500 Brave Crests to purchase all the good items after weekly reset
• (Crests) - Including MolaGora, Catalyst Chests x3, Equipment Conversion Gem Chest
• (Crests) - The best thing to spend extra crests on are Lesser Artifact Charms. The bloom isn't worth it
• (Armbands) - Always buy Mystic Medals, Gold Transmit Stones x2, then work on Artifacts
• (Armbands) - Artifacts Proof of Valor x6 first is a must then x6 later. Then get Warhorn x6 and Symbol of Unity x6. The others are pretty situational for specific PvE content or niche arena PvP builds
• F) Weekly Missions [W] > Earn rewards for yourself including Proof of Courages, and Guild Points for great rewards

6. EQUIPMENT TIPS

• Lv90 Gear > 88 Gear Overall because of the stat gain from Reforging
• Start with Wyvern for (Spd, Crit), then Banshee for (Destruction, Counter, Lifesteal), and Caides occasionally for (Torrent, Penetration). By the time you get decent sets above you will probably have a few of the other sets from rewards, achievements, etc.
• Start with Hunts then Rifts (to max season rewards) then back to Hunts or Rifts
• I think Rifts are generally better late game since you can specifically choose sets you want, the additional season rewards, and the occasional Otherworld Event (for high gear score high roll base gear drops), although Hunts are still worth doing (especially since you can Quick Battle)
• (Extract): Left side gear to get cores to make Charms in Alchemist steeple. Epic left side pieces are fine to sell. Also sell all right side pieces unless you are trying to get a specific piece from Gear Conversion and need a specific sets cores
• (Craft): Left side gear only (Weapon, Helmet, Armor) because there is 4 random options versus the right with an additional main stat attributes making most of the pieces useless.
• (Equipment Conversion): Right side gear only (Necklace, Ring, Boots), but mainly Necklaces and Rings since boots generally use spd as the main stat
• (Equipment Upgrades): Sell all new gear that doesn't start with at least 3-4 spd. Always "speed check" 3+ speed gear since you never know when you might get super lucky 20+ speed
• (Heroic Equipment): If the gear has 3+ spd then upgrade it to +3. If it rolls any less than 4 speed on the first roll just extract it unless you are early game where 3-4 speed is okay, otherwise you will waste a lot of charms or powder going to +6 or higher. At +6 it has to roll 3-4 spd again or if it goes into any other stat just immediately extract/sell it. Same for +9
• (Epic Equipment): If the gear has 3+ spd then upgrade it to +3.
• A) The first roll can either be 3-4 spd, or a high roll into a good substat you need. Always go to +6 for epic gear with 3+ spd because after the first roll it's possible for the rest of the rolls to go into spd. 
• B) The second +6 roll aim for 3-4+ spd or a high roll into the same or another substat you need. Depending on how strict you are with your spd/gear requirements you can extract/sell it if it doesn't roll 3-4 spd on the +6 roll, so you end up with higher spd pieces and save charms/powder.
• C) The third +9 roll must be 3-4+ spd or else it's fodder or PvE gear if it is still high rolling into good stats you need. 
• - A good rule of thumb is that if it's not 9+ spd or higher by +9 it's no good, and if it's not at least around 60+ in gear score it's also not very good. Ideally in the end you want a 15+ spd piece that can become 17-25+ spd reforged with 95-110 gear score

7. ORBIS GUIDE

• A) Three Sisters' Diary
  
• - Daily Reputation, daily rewards for progression and skystones!
• - Weekly Reputation, 3 weeks of completion = 1 chance for 5* ML!
• B) A Journey of Succession > Amazing rewards for new and veteran players
• (Challenge Hunts): Start with Wyvern 1-4, then Banshee, then Golem, then the others if they exist (I forgot since it's gone)
• - This will get you setup with the basic heroes, equipment, and team to use to clear up to Wyvern 13 consistently
• (Challenge Rifts): Statistics > Rank 1 Hero > Team Rankings > Select your Rift Lv. then use that team setup to clear it
• - The best sets are: Speed > Destruction > Penetration > Immunity. Other sets you can swap out for Immunity if needed
• (Challenge Hall of Trials): Ranking > Use top ~10 teams with heroes you have on Nightmare mode
• - If you can't clear it on Nightmare switch to Normal at at least aim for the 4m point cap to clear it
• - Aim for Bi-weekly top 30% Rank Rewards for 20-40+ Fate's Gaze to get an exclusive ML Exclusive Equipment (EE) at least once a month. 2+ if you can get to top 5% or higher
• (Challenge Azmakalis): Run through all of the Labyrinths to full 100% completion and don't forget the chests
• Royal Capital Azmakalis - Just complete it once, and clear each boss once for the rewards/achievements
• Azamakalis of Cycle [M] - It's worth doing some research to create full auto teams for all bosses, especially Queen
• - This is end game content, and can also provide end game gear if you are consistent with completion and some luck
• - It's a good idea to use up to 5 Team slots to dedicate teams for Labyrinth auto teams for each boss
• C) Currency Details
• - (Level Up / Promotion): Shortcuts to Sanctuary > Forest of Souls to Buy or obtain resources
• - (Awaken / Skill Enhancement): Runes - Shortcuts to Battle > Spirit Altar
• - (Awaken / Skill Enhancement): MolaGora - Shortcut to Sanctuary > Forest of Souls to Cultivate or obtain a MolaGora
• - (Awaken / Skill Enhancement): Catalysts - Shortcut to Episode - (Scale Icon) to buy Catalysts with Adventure Points (AP)
• D) Guide
• - Features 5 game modes or areas where you can obtain rewards for progression with the times they reset
• (Orbis Guide): A Journey of Succession
• (Automaton Tower): Level 5 - Try to clear Level 5 if possible. Choose Devices that synchronize with your heroes. Specific Red Epic Hero Devices are best. Followed by other Epic > Rare > Normal > Common devices. Choose ones for specific Class or Element of heroes in your team. Elemental advantage, additional damage, nails, bleeds, burns, explosions, counters, and Combat Readiness (CR) for Soul Weavers, etc. are very strong devices as well. Especially when you can stack Bleeds, Nails, and/or Explosions which make the tower a lot easier.  Some devices only affect heroes in a certain position as well, so that's something to keep in mind.
• (Expedition): Try to add a lot of strong Friends from channels 1-3 in chat to help you to clear Level 3 Expeditions as well as some adventure stages. If you still can't clear them just attack it at least once with your best team, then leave it to Open Recruitment so everyone can help
• (Expedition Settings) - Set it to to all 3 slashes (Level 3) and make sure Guild and Friends are checked to invite them

8. ARENA

• Aim to get to at least the next V rank of the next tier up each week so your rank doesn't get reset back to V of the previous tier. The higher rank you can reach the more free Skystones you can get each week to refresh the Secret Shop for Bookmarks, Mystic Medals, and Equipment
• The best way to learn to climb in Arena is to actually climb in Arena and try to reach Champion+ in Real Time Arena (RTA)
• Don't be afraid to test builds in Draft Arena, or do Mock Battles, Guild War Battles, etc.
• Focus on a team with an Opener, DPS/CC, Tank, and Support
• (Opener) - Fastest hero that can manipulate the battle by pushing up Combat Readiness of 1-4 allies to take their actions sooner, provide buffs/debuffs, and/or nuke hero(es) to gain a quick advantage
• (DPS) - Damage per second hero that can provide slow damage over time, or powerful bursts to wipe out heroes
• (CC) - Crowd control hero that can use stun, sleep, silence, unbuffable, etc. to stop heroes from taking action or using skills
• (Tank) - Hero to provoke and/or take heavy damage from opponents, provide support, or absorb damage for other allies
• (Support) - Hero to support/heal the team and/or provide buffs, revive dead allies, debuff opponents, etc.

TEAM TYPES

• (CLEAVE) - Quickly end the battle in the first few turns with extremely high damage, buffs/debuffs, etc.
• - 1 Opener and up to 3 DPS with some CC. Supports and tanks are generally not used as they provide no extra damage
• (CC) - Uses multiple heroes with control skills to make the entire opponents team unable to move
• - 1 Opener and up to 3 CC with some DPS. 1+ Supports and/or tanks can be  used in the case of debuffs
• (TURN 2) - Reverse cleave to stall out battles into longer rounds where strong survivability, DoT (Damage over Time), healing, revive, barrier, counters, etc. happen to change the course of a battle
• - 1-4 DPS/CC/Tanks/Supports. Can use an opener, but mainly a slower team built to sustain and deal damage overtime
• (TANK) - Very high survivability team rolling with a lot of high health, high defense, great support skills, etc. to the point where DPS heroes can only tickle them.
• - 1-4 Tank/Supports. Can use 1-2 DPS/CC as well in combination for a more well rounded team

9. OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES

• Fribbels E7 Hero Library - fribbels.github.io
• - How to build every hero with every build with every arti
• Guild Ancient Inheritance Map - tinyurl.com/e7aimap
• - A player maintained map of the current Ancient Inheritance Season