Best Rare and Epic champions to build first in Raid: Shadow Legends

Our beginner champions page names the classic Rares in one line each. This page goes deeper: what each champion's kit actually does, which content it unlocks, and how to get it without luck. Champion details come from the official champion guides on raidshadowlegends.com, cross-checked with the current Pocket Gamer (November 2026) and Pocket Tactics (August 2026) tier lists. For every champion ranked by game area, see the tier list; for the bigger picture, the Raid: Shadow Legends hub.

Why Rares and Epics carry free accounts

Three reasons. First, they are cheaper to finish: a Rare needs Rare skill tomes and an Epic needs Epic tomes, both far more common than Legendary tomes. Second, you get them more often: Mystery shards only give Commons, Uncommons and Rares, and Ancient shards mostly give Rares and Epics. Third, most of the game is decided by debuffs, not by rarity. A 60% Decrease DEF from a Rare does the same thing as one from a Legendary.

Champion Rank, Level, and Rarity Explained: Progression Guide

The champions below are grouped by the job they do. Pick one per job before you build a second of the same kind.

The quick table

Damage dealers: Coldheart and the Epic nukers

Coldheart is the best Rare boss killer in the game. Her third skill, Heartseeker, hits one enemy for damage based on the target's MAX HP and drops its Turn Meter by 100%. Her first skill hits four times, which breaks the Fire Knight's shield fast. The official guide gives the numbers that matter: Heartseeker has an extra 30% chance to crit, so 70% Crit Rate on her stats screen makes it crit every time. She also needs enough Accuracy, or the Turn Meter reduction gets resisted. Do not stack Attack on her; HP, Crit Damage and Accuracy do more because her damage scales with the enemy's HP. She is weak in Arena: her cooldowns are long and she dies fast.

Royal Guard is the Epic version of the same idea. His second skill, Takedown, hits all enemies with damage that grows with their MAX HP, so it hits every Hydra head at once, and his first skill has a 50% chance to place 60% Decrease DEF. His aura adds 35% ATK in Dungeon battles. The official guide says he has stayed relevant since launch.

Zargala clears waves: Crack Armor hits all enemies three times with a 50% chance of 60% Decrease DEF, and Devastate triggers Crack Armor again if it kills its target. Pocket Tactics puts her in A. Tallia is a wave nuker who wants allies to set up Decrease DEF and Weaken first; she adds 15% Crit Rate to the team in Dungeons and does her best work in Doom Tower and the Sacred Order crypt. Pocket Tactics rates her only C, so build her if she is what you pulled, not as a target.

Debuffers: Warmaiden, Stag Knight, Madame Serris

Warmaiden is the most important free Rare in the game. The official guide calls her the only Rare able to place a 60% Decrease DEF on the whole enemy team in one skill (Crumbling Blast, 75% chance). She drops from campaign chapter 9, The Deadlands, so every account can farm her and rank her up without a single shard. Build her for Accuracy and Crit Rate. She fades in the late game, but she gets you there; Pocket Gamer still puts her in its Rare S tier.

Stag Knight does Warmaiden's job better and stays useful at every stage. Huntmaster hits all enemies with a 70% chance of 60% Decrease DEF and 50% Decrease ATK, and his passive gives an ally 50% Increase Accuracy each time one of their debuffs is resisted. The official guide calls dungeons his specialty and recommends him for Doom Tower waves. He is S on both Pocket Gamer and Pocket Tactics. His weakness is Arena, where his simple kit is easy to counter.

Madame Serris is the Arena pick of this group. Midnight Ritual removes every buff from every enemy, then places 50% Decrease ATK and 60% Decrease DEF on all of them. In Arena she goes second, after a Turn Meter booster such as Arbiter and before your damage dealer. In PvE the official guide warns against making her too fast: if she acts before enemies have buffed, Midnight Ritual has nothing to remove. Both lists rate her S.

Supports: Uugo, Demytha, Grinner, Flesh-Tearer

Uugo packs four jobs into one Epic. Maelstrom Wrack hits all enemies with a 75% chance of 60% Decrease DEF and a 50% chance of Block Buffs. Uugo's Brew removes all Heal Reduction debuffs from allies plus one more debuff, then heals them by 20% of her MAX HP, and if every ally is dead it becomes a team revive at 50% HP. Hydra is her main use, with commonly quoted Accuracy targets of about 220 for Normal and Hard Hydra and 250 to 300 for Brutal. Book her second and third skills first.

Demytha is the Clan Boss Epic. Channel the Bloodline gives Block Damage, Light of the Deep extends ally buffs and heals, and together they are the base of many Unkillable and Block Damage teams that take Clan Boss in one key. She deals little damage and needs a speed tune, so she pays off over months, not days. Set her skill priorities by hand; the official guide notes that on auto she does not always use Light of the Deep at the right time.

Grinner is a Rare reviver. Unbury brings an ally back with 50% HP and a Shield worth 20% of their MAX HP, Bile can give the team 50% Increase ATK, and Shock can strip a buff from each enemy. The official guide says Faction Wars is where he shines brightest, since the Undead Hordes crypt has few revivers, and he fits Rare-only Doom Tower Secret Rooms. He needs a lot of Rare tomes to reach full value. Flesh-Tearer is more situational: Warleader heals all allies by 30% of their MAX HP and extends their buffs, and Lay Low shortens enemy buffs and lengthens enemy debuffs. The official guide points him at Dragon, Ice Golem and Clan Boss.

Specialists worth keeping: Geomancer and Erinyes

Geomancer is an Attack champion built like a tank: Accuracy, Speed, HP and DEF. His passive reduces damage allies take by 15% and deflects it onto enemies under his HP Burn, his aura gives all allies 25% HP, and Quicksand Grasp empties a target's Turn Meter. The lists split on him (B on Pocket Gamer, A on Pocket Tactics), but in Clan Boss and dungeons he earns his slot. Erinyes poisons with nearly every basic attack (90% chance), extends all debuffs with Almighty Curse and places Block Buffs. She is a solid early Clan Boss poisoner. She has also been fusion material for Rhazin Scarhide; patch 11.90 changed some of the Rare champions that fusion asks for, so check the current recipe in the Portal before you sacrifice anyone.

Building them without wasting resources

1. Build one per job first. One Decrease DEF source (Warmaiden, later Stag Knight or Uugo), one boss damage dealer (Coldheart or Royal Guard), one sustain champion.
2. Farm Warmaiden early. She costs only energy, and a 60% Decrease DEF on the whole enemy team makes every other champion hit harder.
3. Gear for Accuracy before damage on every debuffer. A resisted debuff is a wasted turn.
4. Spend tomes on the skills that matter. Uugo's and Madame Serris's second and third skills come before their first.
5. Keep duplicates of Rares you rank up. Extra copies of good Rares are fine food later, but do not feed your only copy.

Not every Rare is a keeper. Pocket Tactics rates Warpriest C, for example, so most players feed him. The test is simple: does the champion bring a debuff, buff or aura your team is missing? If not, it goes to the Tavern. Starter choices are covered on the best starter champion page, and the long term spending plan in the free to play guide.

What Buffs and Debuffs Do: Beginner Combat Effects Guide

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