The rule that decides everything
When you join any rally, the game applies exactly one thing from your march: the first expedition skill of your first hero. Stats, gear, and every other skill stay home. A rally holds four joiner skill slots; the first four joiners seat theirs in join order, and from the fifth joiner on, higher-level copies replace lower-level ones. That makes "who do I join with?" a math question, answered below.
Every viable attack-rally joiner, ranked
Scores are the expected % contribution of each first skill at max level (Lv 5): offense counts fully, survivability at half weight (a rally that lives longer deals more damage). Class-specific effects count one-third.
| # | Hero | Class | Rarity | First expedition skill | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amane | archer | epic | Tri-Phalanx | +25.0% | — |
| 2 | Yeonwoo | archer | epic | On Guard | +25.0% | — |
| 3 | Chenko | cavalry | epic | Stand of Arms | +25.0% | — |
| 4 | Amadeus | infantry | Mythic · Gen 1 | Battle Ready | +25.0% | — |
| 5 | Petra | cavalry | Mythic · Gen 3 | Evil Eye | +25.0% | — |
| 6 | Margot | cavalry | Mythic · Gen 4 | Warbringer | +25.0% | — |
| 7 | Vivian | archer | Mythic · Gen 5 | Crouching Tiger | +25.0% | — |
| 8 | Yang | archer | Mythic · Gen 6 | Avalanche | +25.0% | — |
| 9 | Ava | cavalry | Mythic · Gen 7 | Dissolution | +25.0% | — |
| 10 | Wee & Woo | archer | Mythic · Gen 7 | Artillerymen | +25.0% | — |
| 11 | Zoe | infantry | Mythic · Gen 2 | Sundering Wound | +24.0% | — |
| 12 | Jaeger | archer | Mythic · Gen 3 | The Tempest | +24.0% | — |
| 13 | Hilde | cavalry | Mythic · Gen 2 | Noble Path | +15.0% | +10.0% |
| 14 | Marlin | archer | Mythic · Gen 2 | Wild Card | +20.0% | — |
| 15 | Rosa | archer | Mythic · Gen 4 | Chaos Gambit | +20.0% | — |
| 16 | Thrud | cavalry | Mythic · Gen 5 | Battle Hunger | +15.0% | +10.0% |
| 17 | Gordon | cavalry | epic | Super Nutrients | — | +25.0% |
| 18 | Saul | archer | Mythic · Gen 1 | Taskforce Training | — | +25.0% |
| 19 | Long Fei | infantry | Mythic · Gen 5 | Mighty Paragon | — | +25.0% |
| 20 | Triton | infantry | Mythic · Gen 6 | Command of Power | — | +25.0% |
| 21 | Fahd | cavalry | epic | Desert Eclipse | — | +20.0% |
| 22 | Howard | infantry | epic | Defenders' Edge | — | +20.0% |
| 23 | Quinn | archer | epic | Sixth Sense | — | +20.0% |
| 24 | Jabel | cavalry | Mythic · Gen 1 | Rally Flag | — | +20.0% |
| 25 | Helga | infantry | Mythic · Gen 1 | Oath of Guardian | — | +20.0% |
| 26 | Eric | infantry | Mythic · Gen 3 | Holy Warrior | — | +20.0% |
| 27 | Sophia | cavalry | Mythic · Gen 6 | Arcane Pact | — | +20.0% |
| 28 | Charles | infantry | Mythic · Gen 7 | Intimidation | — | +20.0% |
| 29 | Alcar | infantry | Mythic · Gen 4 | Rescuing Hands | — | +18.7% |
Reading the table for Castle Battle and KvK
- The classic quartet holds up. Chenko, Yeonwoo, Amane, and Amadeus are the community-consensus attack joiners, and the math agrees: flat squad-wide attack or lethality on skill one.
- Coordinate families across your alliance. Additive lethality (Chenko/Amadeus/Yeonwoo/Wee & Woo) multiplies against all-squad attack (Amane/Margot), so four rally joiners covering both families beat four copies of the same skill.
- Defensive-first-skill heroes make weak attack joiners. Helga's or Sophia's damage-reduction chance helps the rally survive, which is why they appear here at half weight, but if you own any of the top names, seat those instead, and save the defensive kits for garrison duty.
- Skill level is the real ladder. From the fifth joiner onward the game re-sorts by skill level, so a maxed epic beats a Lv 1 mythic in the seat.
FAQ
Is the joiner rule the same for Bear Trap?
Yes, same rule, but the bear doesn't punish squishiness, so the ranking weights differ slightly. See Best Bear Trap Heroes.
What formation should joiners send?
Match the rally lead's call. In Castle Battle the consensus attack ratio is 50/20/30 infantry/cavalry/archers for everyone in the rally. Details in the Castle Battle guide.
Do troop tiers matter more than the hero?
Both matter, differently: the hero skill multiplies the whole rally, your troops add to its body. Serious Castle Battle rallies expect Truegold-promoted troops (TG1+, ideally TG3).