No content warning is needed.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
The safest general route is one economy perk, two military or King perks, and two defensive or utility perks. Start by expanding income, build one dependable melee group, then add ranged or hero coverage for the enemies shown in the upcoming waves. For a King build, combine Heavy Armor or another survivability option with a weapon that clears groups and use the remaining perks to support your main damage source. For an army build, Commander Mode, faster training and unit-strength perks are the clearest foundation. For a tower build, Arcane Towers, Elite Towers and a defensive economy route work best when the map provides compact firing lanes.
Verified basics
Classes, skills and stats explained
Thronefall does not use permanent RPG classes. Your effective class is created before each level from three choices: the King’s weapon, up to five perks, and the units, towers and upgrades you buy during the day. That makes a “hero build” or “King build” a playstyle label rather than a formal class.
The King’s weapon supplies a passive attack pattern and an active skill. Fast ranged weapons are useful for deleting priority targets, melee weapons are safer against pressure near the castle, and area-damage weapons are valuable when waves bunch up. The best skill is therefore map- and wave-dependent; do not choose only by the largest displayed damage.
The most important stats are damage, health, attack speed, range, movement speed, cooldown, resistance and training speed. Economy is also a combat stat because more gold means more units, research and repairs. The official game now exposes basic health and damage values for units and enemies on the pause screen, so use that information to compare upgrades in the current version rather than trusting an old tier list.
- Regular units arrive in groups and gain strength through upgrades.
- Hero units are single powerful units that become stronger and more resilient through upgrades.
- Melee units hold lanes and buy time; ranged units punish priority targets and flying enemies.
- Towers are strongest when their range overlaps a predictable approach, while units can be repositioned between lanes.
| Archetype | Core strengths | Main weakness | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| King carry | High personal damage, flexible lane response, low dependence on training | Requires active movement and good health management | Early campaign, bosses and maps with separated lanes |
| Army commander | Scales with several Barracks, Ranges or Hero’s Quarters | Needs gold and time before reaching full power | Large maps and long quests |
| Tower specialist | Reliable damage from safe positions and strong upgrade synergy | Can struggle when enemies change lanes or attack buildings | Compact maps with clear firing corridors |
| Economy tempo | Earlier castle, research and multiple income buildings | Weak if the first waves demand immediate military spending | Maps with safe early waves and strong expansion space |
Use displayed values as comparisons, not as a universal tier list. Perks, building upgrades, enemy types and difficulty modifiers can change the practical result of a unit.
Recommended route
A dependable all-purpose build order
This is the best starting point when you do not yet know a quest’s wave pattern. Pick one economy perk, one survivability or damage perk, one unit or tower perk, and two flexible slots. Royal Mint, Loan, Treasure Hunter or Sustainable Mining can establish income, while Heavy Armor, Castle Blueprints, Commander Mode, Ranged Damage or Arcane Towers provide a clear combat identity.
During the first day, buy the safest income buildings that do not expose themselves to the first wave. Upgrade the Castle Center when it unlocks a meaningful income or research breakpoint, but do not spend every coin on economy if the first night contains fast attackers. Recruit one frontline group before investing in luxury buildings.
After the first night, inspect the next waves. Add ranged coverage for flying or lightly armoured targets, a stronger melee group for bruisers, and a hero only when its role solves a specific problem. Continue research whenever the upgrade improves your main damage source or fixes a known weakness. Avoid spreading upgrades evenly across every building.
- First day: secure income, identify the dangerous lane, and recruit one reliable frontline group.
- First night: personally cover the weakest lane and keep the King near units that need help.
- Second day: add ranged or anti-air coverage, then upgrade the unit or tower that handled the most threats.
- Middle game: spend gold on focused upgrades instead of building every option once.
- Late game: reserve enough gold for emergency units, repairs and the final wave’s counter.
| Route | Suggested perk direction | Typical order |
|---|---|---|
| Balanced army | One economy perk, Commander Mode or unit damage, one ranged option, one defensive perk, one flex slot | Income, Barracks, frontline upgrade, Archery Range, ranged upgrade, heroes or extra defense |
| King carry | Heavy Armor or another survivability perk, King damage, cooldown or movement support, one economy perk, one flex slot | Income, minimal military, weapon-focused research, emergency units, late defensive upgrades |
| Tower control | Arcane Towers or Elite Towers, Castle Blueprints or another defense perk, one economy perk, one anti-wave flex slot | Income, key tower, range or targeting upgrade, overlapping towers, units for leaks and bosses |
The order changes when a map exposes a building to early attacks, starts with unusual enemy types, or uses a mutator. Restarting after scouting the first two waves is often more efficient than forcing a generic route.
High-difficulty route
Totend, hero and King build advice
Totend punishes builds that solve only one lane. A strong Totend route normally combines a durable frontline, reliable ranged damage, anti-air coverage and enough economy to keep researching. Do not wait until the final waves to discover that your main damage source cannot reach flying or siege enemies.
For a King-focused route, choose a weapon that lets you clear groups or remove priority targets, then pair survivability with one direct damage multiplier. Heavy Armor is forgiving, while Glass Cannon can be powerful only when you can avoid contact and maintain healing. Keep at least one perk or upgrade slot for the map’s most dangerous enemy category rather than filling every slot with personal damage.
For a hero build, stronger heroes are most valuable when the map gives you room to protect a single high-impact unit. Golems offer frontline area damage, Firewings cover ground and flying targets, Lizard Riders pressure important targets, and Support Mages improve sustain. These are role descriptions, not a universal ranking; the correct hero depends on the wave composition and available buildings.
Community Totend routes are useful for discovering ideas, but they are not official balance documentation. If a Reddit build lists exact values that differ from your pause screen, trust the current in-game display and test the interaction yourself.
- Build anti-air before the wave that introduces serious flying pressure, not after it reaches the castle.
- Use area damage against clustered enemies, but keep a single-target answer for bosses and high-health units.
- Do not over-upgrade heroes while your economy or frontline is still collapsing.
- Use control groups to move separate squads between lanes during night combat.
- If a build fails, change one variable at a time so you know whether the problem was economy, positioning or damage type.
| Problem | Best adjustment |
|---|---|
| The King dies while covering two lanes | Take more health or resistance, reduce unnecessary personal risks, and add a frontline unit. |
| Units are trained too slowly | Use a training-speed option or invest in fewer, stronger groups rather than filling every building. |
| Flying enemies reach the castle | Add ranged coverage, anti-air support or a weapon that can reliably hit them. |
| Towers feel weak | Concentrate them around one approach, improve range or targeting, and avoid isolated towers. |
| You run out of gold late | Protect income buildings, delay low-impact upgrades and preserve a reserve for the final nights. |
There is no single guaranteed strongest setup across every quest. A build is powerful when its perks, weapon, buildings and wave counters reinforce one another. The same five perks can be excellent on one map and inefficient on another.
Practical verdict
How to rank a build before committing
Rank a route by asking four questions. Does it survive the first two nights without perfect micro? Does it answer the enemies shown in the upcoming waves? Does it scale with the buildings available on this map? Can the King recover after one mistake? A build that wins only when every unit survives is less reliable than one with a slower but resilient economy.
For most players, the balanced army route is the best default. Choose a King carry when you enjoy active combat and the map allows fast movement between lanes. Choose tower control when the terrain creates overlapping firing lines. Choose economy tempo when early waves are forgiving and the map offers several safe income buildings.
Finally, remember that perk slots are limited to five in normal play. Every slot should either solve a known problem, multiply your main plan, or provide enough economy to reach that plan earlier. If it does none of those things, replace it.
- Prefer synergy over isolated high numbers.
- Scout wave composition before selecting the final flex perk.
- Compare units at the same upgrade level and under the same perk effects.
- Treat community recommendations as starting points, not proof of a universal best build.
FAQ
Common questions
What is the best beginner build?
Use one economy perk, one survivability perk, one unit or ranged-damage perk, and two flexible choices. Build income first, recruit one melee group, then add ranged coverage after checking the next waves. This route is easier to recover with than a glass-cannon setup.
Is Commander Mode worth using?
It is a strong choice when you plan to field several units because it increases unit and building damage, but it reduces the King’s damage. It is less attractive for a pure King-carry route and more valuable on maps with multiple military buildings.
Which weapon is best for a King build?
There is no universal winner. Choose a fast ranged weapon for priority targets, a durable melee weapon for close defence, or an area-damage weapon for crowded waves. The active skill and the map’s enemy roster matter as much as the weapon’s headline damage.
Are Reddit builds reliable?
They are useful for discovering tested routes, especially for Totend and difficult quests, but they can depend on a particular patch, quest variant, platform or player skill. Verify exact stats and perk effects in your own game.
Where can I see current unit stats?
Enable or use the pause-screen information added in the official quality-of-life update. It shows basic values such as health and damage for player and enemy units, making it the safest reference when community guides disagree.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.