Level up. Promote.
Know what changes.
A practical guide to champion growth, from your first Common to seven stars.
Training spends a champion’s XP and your Crowns to gain one level. Promotion spends duplicate copies and Crowns to gain one star, once that champion reaches their current level cap. Captain level is separate from champion level.
What levels actually increase
Compared with the same champion at level 1, health rises by 1 at levels 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 71. Attack rises by 1 at 21, 41 and 61. Levels between these milestones still move you toward the next increase and the promotion requirement.
Training does not directly raise range, movement, deployment energy cost or ability strength. Battle buffs and ability effects can change combat values separately.
| Level | Health gained from levels | Attack gained from levels |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | 2 | 1 |
| 41 | 4 | 2 |
| 61 | 6 | 3 |
| 80 | 7 | 3 |
Training costs
For each level, XP required = 60 + 25 × current level; Crowns required = 80 + 35 × current level. XP belongs to the individual champion. A duplicate recruitment adds one spare copy and 60 XP to that champion.
| Training step | Champion XP | Crowns |
|---|---|---|
| 1 → 2 | 85 | 115 |
| 10 → 11 | 310 | 430 |
| 20 → 21 | 560 | 780 |
| 40 → 41 | 1060 | 1480 |
| 79 → 80 | 2035 | 2845 |
Open Barracks → a champion → Upgrade to check XP, costs and the current cap before spending.
Stars, caps and promotion costs
Common champions start at 1★, Rare at 2★, Epic at 3★ and Legendary at 4★. Every recruitment rarity can reach 7★ and level 80.
| Current stars | Current level cap | Next promotion | Spare copies | Crowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1★ | 20 | 1★ → 2★ | 1 | 500 |
| 2★ | 30 | 2★ → 3★ | 2 | 1,000 |
| 3★ | 40 | 3★ → 4★ | 3 | 2,000 |
| 4★ | 50 | 4★ → 5★ | 4 | 4,000 |
| 5★ | 60 | 5★ → 6★ | 6 | 8,000 |
| 6★ | 70 | 6★ → 7★ | 8 | 16,000 |
| 7★ | 80 | Maximum | — | — |
Reach the listed cap before promoting. The champion stays at their current level; the new star opens another 10 levels. Spare copies are consumed, while your owned champion remains. Promotion does not change recruitment rarity.
Immediate stat gains
Each promotion adds 1 health. Every second promotion adds 1 attack: the second, fourth and sixth promotions. Count promotions from that champion’s starting rarity, rather than from their displayed stars.
A Common receives its first promotion attack bonus at 3★; a Legendary receives its first at 6★. Range, movement and deployment cost stay the same.
How abilities grow
Eligible numerical effects use a promotion bonus. The bonus depends on the champion’s recruitment rarity and how many times they have been promoted. Levels alone do not add this bonus.
| Recruitment rarity | After 1 promotion | After 2 | After 3 | After 4 | After 5 | After 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 |
| Rare | +1 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +7 | — |
| Epic | +2 | +4 | +6 | +8 | — | — |
| Legendary | +2 | +5 | +7 | — | — | — |
For example, Vessa’s Battle Cry starts at +1 allied attack. After one Common promotion it grants +2; after two it grants +3. This does not mean every number in every skill increases: fixed effects, percentages, durations and capped effects follow their own rules.
Faction effects have their own limits
Verdant overheal shields cap at 4, rising to 5 after two promotions and 6 after three. Dusk Soul Rend’s extra damage is +1, rising to +2 after three promotions. These are not uncapped applications of the general ability bonus.
Read the champion’s current in-game details for the specific effect. Promotion does not make every faction trait stronger.
A Common’s first two promotions
Tarin begins as a 1★ Common with 2 health and 1 attack. These are his permanent stats before battle effects:
| Tarin’s progress | Health | Attack |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 · 1★ | 2 | 1 |
| Level 20 · 1★ | 3 | 1 |
| Promote at level 20 · 2★ | 4 | 1 |
| Train to level 30 · 2★ | 5 | 2 |
| Promote at level 30 · 3★ | 6 | 3 |
Training from level 1 to 20 costs a total of 5,890 champion XP and 8,170 Crowns. The first promotion then costs 1 spare Tarin copy and 500 Crowns. His Quickstep movement and Twin Dash’s two attacks do not gain extra steps or attacks from promotion.
Should I replace a trained Common?
Compare current health, attack, ability effects, energy cost and the job your crew needs. A trained, promoted Common can offer more immediate value than a newly recruited Legendary. A Legendary may still offer a different skill or role; rarity alone does not settle the choice.
Build around a few useful champions, reach meaningful stat milestones, and save Crowns for the promotions you can complete. Our beginner team-building guide shows Common–Epic cores and optional Legendary substitutions.
Verified against game v0.10.14. Values describe permanent champion progression; temporary combat effects and future balance updates can change what you see in battle.