Kingshot Hero Tier List (Rally, Garrison & Joiner)
Published 2026-09-229 min read
Kingshot tier lists split by role — rally leaders, garrison defenders, rally joiners and Bear Hunt damage joiners — with the widget mechanics that decide each placement.
Most Kingshot tier lists put every hero on one ladder. That does not survive contact with the game. A hero is not "good" or "bad" in the abstract — a hero is good at a job. The same Amadeus who leads the best rally in the game is a mid-tier garrison pick, and the same Saul who is a top-tier joiner is not a rally leader.
This page therefore keeps four separate lists: rally leaders (attack), garrison defenders, general rally joiners, and Bear Hunt damage joiners. Read the one that matches the role you actually play.
Why the widget decides most of it
When you start a rally, the rally leader's exclusive expedition widget is the single biggest multiplier in play. It scales with your stats, so the higher the leader's stats, the larger the bonus — and only certain heroes come with an attack widget at all. That is why heroes with attack widgets cluster at the top of the rally list, and why heroes with defense widgets dominate the garrison list.
Joiners are different again: joiners contribute their troops and their first-slot hero's first expedition skill, but not stats. So for joiners, what matters is how well that first skill stacks.
Tier definitions
| Tier | Meaning |
|---|---|
| S | Best in the role. Build them first, and merge duplicates where the skill stacks. |
| A | Strong, but a step behind — either lower base stats or a slightly weaker skill. |
| B | Usable in the role, especially in early generations when you have no choice. |
| C | Not built for the role. Functions as filler until something better arrives. |
| D | No battle-relevant skill for the role. Ignore for this job. |
Rally (attack) leaders
| Tier | Heroes |
|---|---|
| S | Amadeus, Petra, Marlin, Rosa, Thrud |
| A | Helga |
| B | Jabel, Saul, Zoe, Hilde, Eric, Jaeger, Alcar, Margot, Vivian, Long Fei |
| C | Quinn, Howard, Chenko, Gordon |
| D | Yeonwoo, Amane, Fahd |
Amadeus sits at the top because he combines the strongest skill package in the game, an attack widget, and a shelf life that stretches past five hero generations. Petra belongs beside him: she is the first cavalry hero to receive a rally widget, and her skills hold up for a very long time. Marlin is the flexible pick — strong in both arena and expedition, which makes him a safe long-term investment, and Rosa takes over the archer slot from around Generation 4. Thrud rounds out the tier for players who can support her.
Helga is the honest budget version of Amadeus: same job, noticeably lower base stats, which is exactly why she lands in A rather than S.
The B tier is where early-game governors live. Defender-oriented heroes do not lead great rallies, but in the first couple of generations you may have nothing else, so they carry you until a real rally leader arrives. Diana and the rare heroes are excluded entirely — they have no battle skills to rank.
Garrison (defender) leaders
| Tier | Heroes |
|---|---|
| S | Jabel, Zoe, Hilde, Eric, Jaeger, Alcar, Margot, Vivian, Long Fei |
| A | Saul |
| B | Amadeus, Petra, Marlin, Rosa, Helga, Thrud |
| C | Quinn, Howard, Chenko, Gordon |
| D | Yeonwoo, Amane, Fahd |
The garrison list is close to the mirror image of the rally list, and the reason is the same widget logic: for defenders, you check whether the hero's widget expedition skill is a defending skill. Up to Generation 4, the heroes with defender widgets — Jabel, Zoe, Hilde, Eric, Jaeger, Alcar and Margot — are the ones worth putting behind walls.
Saul sits in A for one specific reason: one of his three expedition skills is a growth skill (construction speed) rather than a battle skill, so he gives up a little raw combat value compared with a pure defender.
Attack heroes fall to B for garrison duty. They are not the right tool, but they are not useless either. C and D stay unchanged because those heroes have no widget at all, so they cannot be classified as either attacker or defender.
Jabel deserves a note for new players: she is free from the 7-day sign-in reward and gives you an immediate garrison leader who carries you through Generations 1 and 2 before you transition to a Mythic ceiling.
Rally joiners
| Tier | Heroes |
|---|---|
| S | Saul, Hilde |
| A | Gordon, Chenko, Amane, Yeonwoo, Amadeus, Margot, Vivian, Thrud |
| B | Marlin, Petra, Jaeger, Jabel, Helga, Rosa, Alcar, Quinn, Howard, Eric, Fahd |
Joiner tiers can look strange at first — why is Saul above Gordon when Gordon is the more obvious defensive joiner? The answer is stacking. S-tier joiners are the ones you can send four copies of and still gain: four Sauls or four Hildes push the skill multiplier far beyond four Gordons, because of the way the different skill IDs multiply together.
A-tier joiners are excellent as a single copy, but sending four of them wastes the slot. B-tier is mostly chance-based skills or flat 20% buffs — Howard, Eric, Quinn and Fahd are the classic examples. Use one at a time and they are fine.
The practical takeaway for a free-to-play governor: Chenko, Amane, Gordon and Yeonwoo are the joiners to chase first. Push them to 4 stars and take the first expedition skill to level 5, and you become a genuinely valuable joiner long before you can lead anything yourself.
Bear Hunt joiners
| Tier | Heroes |
|---|---|
| S | Chenko, Amadeus, Yeonwoo, Amane, Margot, Vivian |
| A | Hilde |
| B | Marlin, Petra, Rosa, Thrud |
Bear Hunt breaks the normal rules because the bear deals no damage. Health and defense buffs are dead weight — the only thing that matters is attack and lethality, which is why the list reshuffles so aggressively compared with the general joiner tier.
Hilde is A here rather than S simply because her attack boost is around 15% while the S-tier heroes push 25%. She is still a perfectly good pick when you cannot field the top options. Jabel, Saul, Helga, Eric and Alcar drop off the list entirely, because their first expedition skill boosts defense — and defense does nothing against a bear that cannot hit back.
How to use this list
- Pick your role first. Rally leader, garrison defender, joiner, or Bear Hunt specialist. The lists do not transfer.
- Check the widget before the stats. For leaders, the widget expedition skill outranks raw numbers.
- For joiners, stack the S tier. Four copies of an S-tier joiner beat a mixed board.
- For Bear Hunt, ignore defense entirely. Attack and lethality only.
If you are still deciding what to build, start with the Kingshot beginner guide — it walks through the gem and VIP decisions that determine which of these heroes you can actually afford. And if you just need the free bundle, the gift codes page is kept current.