Choose heroes who can perform the jobs your march needs, then check their positions and faction bonuses together. Total Power is only one comparison; a lineup also needs enough survival, damage, and useful support for the encounter.
Start from the formation screen
Place durable heroes where they receive pressure, and protect damage dealers and support long enough for them to contribute. Start from the positions available in the current mode.
| Position | Starting purpose |
|---|---|
| Front | A main tank and, where the formation allows, a durable bruiser or second frontline. |
| Rear | Damage dealers and the healer or support needed to keep the team working. |
Tank, damage, and support describe jobs. They do not establish the number of physical rows or the troop class assigned to a slot. Check the mode’s formation controls and each hero’s skill targeting.
Move a support hero into an exposed position only when its current build and battle results support that choice. A lineup that works for a heavily developed hero may fail when the same hero has fewer stars or weaker gear.
Check faction synergy and counter bonuses separately
The official v2.6.0 update changed faction bonuses. Recheck the Formation screen when comparing mixed and concentrated teams.
| Lineup | Confirmed change |
|---|---|
| 3+2 faction split | Counter Damage bonuses added; Final Health bonus increased. |
| Four heroes from one faction | Counter Damage bonuses added; Final Health bonus increased. |
| Five heroes from one faction | Counter Damage bonuses added. |
Mariners can count toward any faction’s synergy requirement. They do not count toward faction counter relationships or Counter Damage bonuses. Therefore, a synergy bonus completed by a Mariner does not mean that hero also contributes to the counter calculation.
Use the displayed values for your actual lineup. The announcement does not provide a full percentage table. A stronger synergy tier still needs heroes developed enough to perform their roles.
Match effects to the troops and heroes they affect
Read the scope of each skill and gear stat. The official reforging guide distinguishes hero faction bonuses from bonuses to a specified troop type. A stat’s target must match the hero or troops it is meant to benefit.
This is a reason to inspect the march, not a rule to use a fixed percentage of Guards, Gunners, or Marksmen in every mode. Check the mode’s formation controls and troop information before deployment.
Keep three purpose-based plans
| Plan | What to compare |
|---|---|
| PvP | Frontline survival, useful support, faction counter relationships, and damage against the opponent. |
| PvE or boss | Enough survival to keep attacking, then damage and relevant debuffs for that target. Do not assume every boss rewards the same damage source. |
| Gathering | Displayed gathering-related skills and march requirements. Keep scarce combat equipment available for combat heroes. |
Where presets are available, save these plans and recheck heroes, equipment, troops, and the target before sending them. Do not assume a saved formation captures every setting you changed.
Change one thing and compare
- Keep a working main team while you build a candidate replacement.
- Compare similar opponents or the same repeatable encounter. Change one hero or position at a time.
- Look for what actually failed: early frontline losses, insufficient damage, or support that could not contribute.
- Check the report’s faction counter information alongside the result. The v2.6.100 update added lineup counter relationships to reports.
- Keep the change only when it improves the task you built the march to perform.
Use Hero Investment Priorities for development choices and Pets when pet support is available in your State.