Best starter champion in Raid: Shadow Legends

The four starters are the same rarity and the same role, so the decision is about kits, not raw power. Kael's official stat block lists 13,710 HP, 1,200 ATK, 914 DEF and 103 SPD at level 60 before gear, and Galek's champion screen shows the same base numbers. What separates them is how their skills scale once enemies get tankier. Our older page on best champions for beginners gives the starters one paragraph; this page goes through each of them properly. For factions and affinities in general, start at the Raid: Shadow Legends hub.

The four starters at a glance

Every starter has an AoE skill, an Aura and a Magic affinity, which means all four beat Spirit enemies and take extra pain from Force enemies. The official beginners guide describes them in one line each: Athel weakens, Galek is fast and brings a defensive debuff, Kael poisons, Elhain crits with heavy AoE. The table expands that into what matters for an account.

The ranking in the last column is the community consensus that Plarium's own Kael guide repeats: Kael first, Elhain second, Athel and Galek behind. That does not make the other three bad picks for week one. It means Kael is the only one you are likely to still use after a few months.

Kael: the poison mage that keeps scaling

Kael is a Dark Elves mage with three active skills and an Aura that raises ally HP by 15% in all battles. Dark Bolt (A1) hits one target and can place a weak 2.5% Poison. Acid Rain (A2) hits all enemies with a bonus 15% crit chance and fills his Turn Meter on kills. Disintegrate (A3) hits four times at random, and each hit can place a strong 5% Poison. Poison deals a slice of the target's maximum HP, which is why Kael's damage grows as bosses get bigger instead of falling behind.

Where he shines. Plarium rates him 5 of 5 for the campaign and for Spirit Keep, his best dungeon, and solid in Clan Boss, Doom Tower, Faction Wars and Arena. His weak spots are Hydra and Chimera (2 of 5) and dungeons that want specific counters, such as Sand Devil's Necropolis and Phantom Shogun's Grove.

What he needs. Accuracy is not optional: his whole kit depends on Poison landing. Early on, the Lifesteal set from your login rewards is enough. Put Speed on boots and Crit Rate on gloves, and prefer HP% or DEF% on the chest over ATK%, because much of his early damage comes from Poison ticks. Once he passes 85% Crit Rate, Acid Rain always crits thanks to its built-in bonus. For masteries, the official guide suggests an Offense line ending in Warmaster for bonus boss damage, plus a Support line with Pinpoint Accuracy, Charged Focus, Swarm Smiter, Master Hexer and Sniper.

Athel: steady damage and Weaken

Athel belongs to the Sacred Order. Her A1, Strike Down, hits one enemy three times, and each hit has a chance to place a 25% Weaken, which makes the target take more damage from your whole team. Divine Blades (A2, 3 turn cooldown) is an AoE with a bonus 15% crit chance. Higher Blessing (A3) buffs her own ATK, adds a DEF buff when she is below half HP and grants an extra turn, so she usually follows it with a buffed Divine Blades.

Where she shines. Wave clearing in the early campaign and early dungeon stages. Her multi hit A1 also works well with masteries that trigger on hits. She has no Poison and no Decrease DEF, so in boss fights she is only as good as her raw damage, and that is where she falls behind once you have Epic attackers.

What she needs. Build her like a classic nuker: Crit Rate to 85% (Divine Blades adds the last 15%), then Crit Damage and ATK, with enough Speed to keep up. Some Accuracy helps the Weaken land against tougher enemies. Masteries go mostly into Offense with a few Defense nodes for survival. Skill books are well spent on her A1 first.

Elhain: the fastest wave clearer

Elhain is the High Elves archer, and she is the purest damage dealer of the four. Her A1, Keen Shot, is a single target attack that can strike again. Lightning Arrow (5 turn cooldown) hits one enemy and then all enemies, with an extra crit chance and a Crit Rate buff when it kills. Valley of Death (3 turn cooldown) hits all enemies twice. Two AoE skills mean she clears campaign waves faster than anyone else on the list, which is exactly what you want from a farmer.

Where she shines. Campaign farming, early Arena and dungeon waves. Plarium's Kael guide names her as the legitimate alternative if your priority is the fastest early Arena climb.

What she needs. She places no debuffs, so she has no use for Accuracy. Stack Crit Rate, Crit Damage and Speed, and take Offense masteries with Warmaster and a Defense branch for survival. The trade off shows in boss content: once Clan Boss and late dungeons demand debuffs and max HP damage, a pure damage kit plateaus.

Galek: speed and Decrease DEF

Galek is the Orc of the group. Cross Slash (A1) hits one enemy twice. Hellraiser (A2, 3 turn cooldown) hits all enemies with a bonus 15% crit chance and gives him a 30% Increase SPD buff. Cursed Blade (A3, 5 turn cooldown) hits four times at random, and each hit can place a 30% Decrease DEF; if the target already has more than two debuffs, it becomes the stronger 60% version.

Where he shines. Early Arena, where the Speed buff lets him act twice before slow teams react, and as a Decrease DEF source for a team without one. The catch is that his random hits may never touch the target you care about, and the strong debuff needs other debuffs already in place. Community guides suggest pairing him with a debuffer such as Warmaiden to switch the stronger version on.

What he needs. Speed first, then Accuracy so Decrease DEF lands, then Crit Rate for his AoE. Offense masteries with some Support for Accuracy suit him. He is the most fun to watch in Arena and the first to be replaced as your account grows.

In Treatment

Gear and masteries for any starter

Whatever you pick, the first month looks the same. Run the starter on gear from the campaign and the starter Lifesteal set. Upgrade gear to around +12 and no further early on, as Plarium's beginners tips advise, because new drops will replace it. Check primary stats on gloves, chest, boots, ring, amulet and banner, not just the set name. Use books only of the matching rarity: Rare books on a Rare starter. A spare copy of your starter can also be fed in the Tavern to level skills without books.

Masteries cost Mastery Scrolls, which come mainly from dungeons, so early on you will only fill a few nodes. You do not need to plan every node now: take the Offense tree first for any of the four, then add Support if the champion relies on debuffs (Kael, Galek) or Defense if it only needs to survive (Athel, Elhain). Our artifact sets guide covers which sets replace Lifesteal later, and the best Rare and Epic champions page lists who to build next to your starter.

Is the choice permanent? Getting the others later

You get one revive and it cannot be changed. That sounds heavier than it is. Plarium's own beginners guide says all four starters can be earned during the game, and the official Kael page lists Mystery, Ancient and Primal Shards as his other sources. There are also upgraded versions that are separate champions in their own right:

• Dark Athel is the day 90 reward of the Daily Login Rewards calendar.
• Supreme Elhain has appeared as a Fragment Summon in the Portal, collected through event and tournament fragments.
• Dark Kael is unlocked with fragments from Doom Tower Normal Secret Rooms; Plarium's guide estimates about three months of steady climbing.
• Ultimate Galek is an Epic with HP Burn that Plarium offers through a new player promo code; see the Raid promo codes page.

So the starter you skip is not lost, and some of the upgraded versions are stronger than the original. Pick for the next three months, not forever. Free sources like the login calendar and fragment events are covered in our free to play guide.

Verdict: which starter to pick

• Pick Kael if you want the safe answer. He farms the campaign, contributes to Clan Boss with max HP Poison and stays useful the longest. Accept that you must build Accuracy.
• Pick Elhain if you want the fastest farmer and an early Arena edge, and you would rather not think about Accuracy at all.
• Pick Athel if you like her design or the Sacred Order. She is consistent and simple to gear, but expect to replace her once Epics show up.
• Pick Galek if you want an aggressive Arena opener with Decrease DEF and you plan to support him with other debuffers.

If you are still unsure: take Kael, unless you plan to redeem the Kael promo code anyway, in which case take Elhain and get both. Then move on to the tier list to see who to build next.

How to Start Your Account: Beginner Progression and Early-Game Setup Guide

Beginner Roadmap: Getting Started with RAID 101 Guide

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