Names, unlock conditions, costs, and balance values can change. Recommendations below distinguish stable strategy from details that should be checked in the current game client.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
Your best opening plan is simple: push the main story until a stage stops you, spend coins on one main damage dealer and only the support units needed for that map, then farm the highest stage you can clear consistently. Save gems for meaningful summons or guaranteed progress, unlock challenge maps as soon as possible, and use their elemental rewards to evolve a focused roster. Do not chase perfect charms, max every monster, or copy an old tier list blindly. For Ice Queen’s Storm and Kami Pantheon, build around the required damage type, crowd control, and a reliable carry rather than a supposedly universal team.
Start here
Your first-hour plan
Complete the opening maps and let the game teach you its basic loop: place monsters, earn coins, upgrade the roster, and replay the highest reliable stage. The goal is not to own every monster. It is to create one team that clears consistently while your resources compound.
Put most early coins into one damage dealer. Add one slowing or stunning unit and one secondary damage dealer only when the first carry cannot cover the map. A weak unit at a high level is often more useful than six underfunded units because upgrade costs punish broad spending.
Use free summons and early rewards, but do not treat the first lucky pull as a permanent commitment. Test attack range, ability timing, elemental interaction, and boss performance. If a monster cannot carry the next few maps, keep it as a future option rather than draining your entire bank.
- Push until a stage becomes inconsistent, then farm the previous stage.
- Upgrade the carry first, then crowd control, then backup damage.
- Keep a coin reserve for the next meaningful upgrade instead of spending down to zero.
- Watch advertisements or claim free rewards only if they fit your play schedule; they are helpful, not mandatory.
| Priority | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Level one carry | Concentrates damage and shortens farming runs. |
| 2 | Add control | Slows or stuns buy time against fast enemies and bosses. |
| 3 | Improve support | Buffs, cooldown help, or secondary damage matter after the core works. |
| 4 | Expand the roster | Do this when a map or elemental challenge requires a new answer. |
Store notes confirm that the game has changed summon access, monster costs, mythical rates or strength, and map difficulty over time. The spending order above is a strategy recommendation, not an official rule.
Progression
A sensible path through the maps
Move through the main maps before trying to perfect side systems. Each new wall tells you what is missing: raw damage, crowd control, elemental coverage, survivability, or better farming income. When a normal map becomes easy, replay it long enough to fund the next upgrade rather than immediately forcing the next difficulty.
Challenge maps are important because they provide evolution resources and other progression materials. Elemental challenges should shape your roster: build the damage type needed for the next challenge, evolve a useful monster, and then use that improvement to open the next farming route. This is more efficient than randomly leveling every elemental unit.
Once your core can clear later content, make separate farming teams. A coin-focused setup, a power-stone setup, and a damage setup may use different monsters or charms. Do not judge a farming unit only by its combat damage; a faster, repeatable clear can be more valuable than a stronger but slower one.
- Normal maps first; challenge maps when their rewards solve your next bottleneck.
- Farm the highest stage you can clear without frequent failures.
- Use evolution materials on units that improve a real team, not merely because they are available.
- Revisit old maps after balance patches because reward and difficulty tuning may change.
| Wall you hit | Likely solution | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Enemies leak early | Add slow, stun, or better placement | Adding random damage without control |
| Boss survives | Concentrate upgrades on one carry | Equal-leveling every monster |
| Elemental challenge fails | Build the required elemental answer | Assuming one universal team works everywhere |
| Upgrades feel too expensive | Farm a stable earlier map | Repeatedly attempting a map you cannot clear |
Recent store notes describe lowered normal-map difficulty, altered challenge ordering, stronger mythical units, and changed upgrade costs. Older progression charts may therefore be directionally useful but numerically wrong.
Special systems
Ice Queen, Kami, charms, and PvP
For Ice Queen’s Storm, prioritize the damage type and control needed by the current enemy waves. A reliable slow or stun can be more valuable than a small damage increase because it keeps enemies inside the carry’s attack range. If your team fails near the end, compare boss damage and crowd-control uptime before replacing everything.
Kami Pantheon follows the same principle: do not copy an Ice Queen setup automatically. Build for the map’s elemental requirement, then adjust placement so your main attacker receives the longest possible firing window. If a unit is strong on paper but its attacks miss, overlap badly, or arrive too late, it is not the right choice for that stage.
Charms are a later optimization layer. Community references list charm families associated with maps such as Evil Summoner, Ice Queen’s Tempest, Volcano, Kami, and Cosmic Tower, but access and drop tables have changed over time. Keep useful charms, sell or salvage clearly poor duplicates according to the current interface, and reserve serious smithing-stone investment for charms that improve a role you actually use.
For PvP, avoid spending your early economy around an assumed meta. PvP value depends on the current roster, matchmaking, balance, and mode rules. First establish a strong PvE farming engine; then build a separate PvP lineup if you enjoy the mode. A monster that clears story maps quickly is not automatically the best PvP defender or attacker.
- Use map-specific elemental rewards to prepare for the next challenge.
- Equip damage charms on your main carry and control or cooldown charms on support units when available.
- Do not spend all smithing stones improving temporary charms.
- Treat community charm tables as reference material, not guaranteed current drop data.
| System | Early priority | Later priority |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Queen’s Storm | Correct damage type and control | Optimized placement and charms |
| Kami Pantheon | A focused elemental team | Specialized carry and support builds |
| Charms | Equip useful drops without chasing perfection | Farm sets and upgrade strong rolls |
| PvP | Experiment for fun after PvE progress | Build mode-specific lineups |
The available community sources disagree about when charms unlock and how current drops are distributed. Check the map rewards and unlock text in your version before farming a specific charm.
Avoid these traps
Common mistakes that slow progression
The biggest mistake is spreading resources across too many monsters. Summoner’s Greed rewards concentrated investment because a carry that reaches a new farming stage can repay its cost repeatedly. A wide roster is useful later, but early coins and power stones are too scarce for constant experimentation.
Another mistake is treating every tier list as permanent. Updates have changed summon pools, legendary availability, mythical strength, map order, normal-map difficulty, and costs. Use rankings as a shortlist, then test the unit in your own maps. A lower-ranked monster with the right element, range, or control can outperform a supposedly stronger choice.
Do not spend premium currency just because a summon button is available. Save for a clear objective: a guaranteed unit, a needed elemental answer, or a summon opportunity that materially improves your roster. Likewise, do not farm charms before your team can clear the maps that provide them efficiently.
Finally, do not confuse an occasional lucky clear with progression. A stage is part of your route only when you can repeat it with acceptable speed and reliability.
- Do not max low-priority monsters before your carry and core support are ready.
- Do not sell every charm immediately; inspect its role and quality first.
- Do not assume old videos reflect current costs or unlocks.
- Do not abandon a good farming stage because a harder map gives better rewards per run but fails too often.
If an upgrade does not help you clear a new map, farm faster, unlock an important challenge, or solve a specific team weakness, it can usually wait.
FAQ
Common questions
Which monster should a beginner level first?
Level the strongest dependable damage dealer you currently own, especially one that matches the next map or challenge. There is no permanently correct answer because summon pools and balance change. Range, element, ability uptime, and actual clear speed matter more than an old universal tier list.
When should I start farming charms?
Start after charms are unlocked and your team can clear the relevant map consistently. Early charm drops are helpful, but they should not replace core monster upgrades. Save serious smithing-stone spending for a charm that supports a carry or an important farming setup.
How do I beat Ice Queen’s Storm?
Use the required damage type, concentrate upgrades on one carry, and add reliable slow or stun coverage. Place the carry where it attacks enemies for the longest time. If you fail late, compare boss damage and control uptime rather than replacing every unit at once.
Is Kami Pantheon different from Ice Queen’s Storm?
Yes. Both reward focused teams, but their elemental requirements, enemy behavior, and best placements can differ. Rebuild around the current map’s requirement instead of assuming the Ice Queen team will transfer unchanged.
Should beginners care about PvP?
Only after establishing a stable PvE economy. PvP can be enjoyable, but its best team depends on current balance and mode rules. Early resources are usually more valuable when spent on progression, farming, and challenge access.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.