Drafting and gold: how to build a winning team

A run is often decided well before the fight that ends it. An under-levelled team, gold spent on the wrong things, or picks spread too thin will catch up with you later. This guide covers how to avoid that.

How leveling works

Drag a copy of a hero onto the same hero to merge them. Each level 1 copy adds 1 experience, and every 3 experience makes a level.

Not all copies are equal, though:

The copy you merge	Worth roughly
Level 1	1 experience
Level 2	3 experience, plus any it had already earned
Level 3	6 experience, plus any it had already earned

So a level 3 hero takes about six level 1 copies, not nine, and a level 2 offer is worth three level 1 copies. Shops can charge the same price for a level 2 copy as for a level 1, so always look at the level of what’s on offer.

A pre-levelled copy can carry its own blessings and curses, so read them before you buy it.

Two level 1 copies give no level by themselves. Until you can reach level 2, you may do better fielding the two as separate heroes, since an extra body can be worth more than a little progress.

Focus your picks

Pick two or three core heroes early and put your copies into them. The usual shape is a sturdy front-liner, one or two damage dealers, and something that helps the whole team.

The big trap is spreading picks across six or more heroes. You end up with lots of level 1s and no level 3s, which can work early but tends to fall apart by the middle floors. Going from level 2 to level 3 is usually the largest jump, because most heroes gain their Signature ability there.

Battle rewards

Each win offers a set of heroes, and you can take two. Some tips:

Take copies first once you have your core. Late in a run, a random new level 1 rarely makes the lineup.
Reroll when you have spare gold. The price starts low and rises with each reroll on the same screen, so one or two rerolls per battle is usually good value.
Keep bench space. The bench holds four heroes for most champions. When it’s full you can’t take new rewards, so merge or sell first.

How to spend gold

Battles usually pay 10 gold. Here’s a rough order for spending it:

Fill the team. If you have fewer than five heroes, buy bodies.
Buy copies of your core heroes, especially pre-levelled ones.
Reroll rewards and restock Shops when your core heroes are still short of level 3.
Buy trinkets that suit your team. Common trinkets are good value early.

Prices at the base difficulty look like this:

Item	Cost
Hero in a Shop	3 gold
Shop restock	2 gold
Common, rare, legendary trinket	20, 35, 60 gold
Reward reroll	1, then 2, then 3… gold

Higher difficulty raises these. From Peril 7, Shop prices rise by 25% and rerolls start 1 gold higher.

When not to spend

Gold isn’t always better spent. A few things reward holding some:

Gold heroes. Bounty Hunter, Guildmaster and Moneylender all get stronger with a full purse. See the gold synergy page.
Orrin. This champion’s armor and interest depend on your gold.
The next Shop. If a Shop is two rooms away, it can be better to wait than to pay for rerolls now.

Don’t overdo it, though. Finishing a run with lots of unspent gold usually means you could have had a stronger team.

Selling

Selling frees up bench space. It may return a little gold, but don’t count on it, and Ilse gets nothing at all. Don’t be shy about selling a level 1 hero who’s off plan, since it’s only blocking a better pick.

Trinkets

Each hero can wear one trinket, and you can move trinkets between heroes in the party screen. Some simple rules of thumb:

Give survival trinkets like Aegis Amulet or Vampire Fang to the hero who needs to stay standing.
Give damage trinkets to heroes who attack often.
Look closely at Cursed Idol. It damages every unit on both teams, including yours, every round, so it only suits certain teams.