Long-term stat systems that separate whales from everyone else, but F2P can build them too.
TL;DR Raise Chief Gear evenly: set bonuses need 3 or 6 pieces of the same quality. Spread charms evenly. Pick pets for the skill you’ll use most.
🎽Chief Gear
Unlocks at Furnace 22. Six pieces, and each pair boosts one troop type.
Set bonuses trigger at 3 and 6 pieces of the same quality (the 3-piece bonus boosts defense and the 6-piece boosts attack, per community guides), so raise pieces evenly.
Upgrade materials such as Hardened Alloy and Polishing Solution come mostly from events and shops. Hoard them for big jumps.
Typical F2P path: get all pieces to the same quality before pushing any one higher.
🔮Charms
Unlock at Furnace 25. Each gear piece has 3 charm slots (18 in total), and charms add troop Lethality and Health.
Upgrades use Charm Guides and Charm Designs. Charm Secrets are needed from level 12, and the Material Exchange opens once a charm reaches level 11.
Spread upgrades evenly; early levels are cheap.
Guides disagree on the maximum charm level (reports range from 11 to 18). Check in-game.
🐾Pets
Pets unlock at Furnace 18, once your server has been open for a certain number of days.
Each pet has an active skill. Leveling uses pet food, and refinement raises stats separately.
Pick the pet whose skill fits your goal (march speed, gathering or combat), and level one at a time.