Reaching the top of the Arena leaderboard in Kingshot isn’t about raw power alone—it’s about smart decisions. With a solid lineup and a few key strategies, even free-to-play players can consistently rank high, and pay-to-win players can dominate weekly rewards with minimal gem waste.
This Kingshot Arena Guide breaks down how to approach Arena in the early game: from hero selection and counter mechanics to gear setup and battle timing.
Kingshot Arena Guide – Best LineUp, Point System
Understanding Class Counters
At its core, Kingshot’s Arena system runs on a simple class triangle:
- Infantry counters Cavalry (does 10% extra damage)
- Cavalry counters Archer
- Archer counters Infantry
This system might seem minor, but it makes a big difference when fights are close. Always look at your opponent’s formation before you attack. If you notice they’re stacking Cavalry, that’s a perfect time to lead with Infantry-heavy setups. Positioning your heroes to exploit these counters can decide the match before it even starts.
Best Heroes to Focus on (Generation 1)
Here’s a quick breakdown of strong Gen 1 heroes worth building for Arena:
Infantry:
- Howard (great frontline)
- Helga (stays useful long-term)
- Amadeus (solid stats, good utility)
- Forrest, Seth (reliable early-game tanks)
Cavalry:
- Chenko (explosive damage, very popular)
- Jabel (control and burst)
- Gordon (team buffs)
- Edwin (situational but decent)
Archers:
- Quinn (high early impact)
- Diana (consistent and easy to build)
- Olive (underrated but stable)
- Saul (early-game beast but falls off later)
Note: Prioritize Mythic heroes (gold) when possible. Epic (purple) heroes are fine placeholders, but you’ll eventually need to swap them out. Rare (blue) heroes should be phased out as soon as you can.
Skill Management & Hero Investment
Each hero has two skill categories:
- Battle Skills – Used in Arena and Conquest. These are your priority.
- Expedition Skills – Only apply to world map content. Ignore them for Arena.
Only level Battle Skills for the heroes you use in your Arena team. Don’t spread manuals around just because a hero looks interesting. Focus your investment.
Ascension (adding stars) also matters—a 3-star Mythic with leveled Battle Skills will outperform an unascended one. Focus your ascension on one hero from each class to keep your core strong.
Sample Arena Lineups for Early Game
For Free-to-Play Players:
- Howard (Infantry)
- Chenko (Cavalry)
- Quinn or Diana (Archer)
- Jabel (Cavalry)
- Optional: Saul or Olive (Archer backup)
For Light to Mid Spenders:
- Amadeus (Infantry)
- Helga (Infantry)
- Diana (Archer)
- Saul (Archer)
- Jabel (Cavalry)
Personal preference: A balanced trio like Helga, Jabel, and Diana tends to work well. Saul does well early but has diminishing value in later weeks.
Gearing Up for Arena Success
Arena is stat-driven. Hero levels and skills matter, but gear is often what separates a top 50 player from top 10.
What to do:
- Focus on getting Mythic Hero Gear for your main three heroes.
- Prioritize helmets, boots, and gloves first—chest pieces can come later.
- Once your gear hits +20, unlock Mastery Forging to further enhance it.
- Use Forgehammers only on gear you plan to keep long-term.
In the Arena Store, don’t spread your tokens around. Save them all for the Custom Mythic Hero Gear Chest (12,000 tokens). Everything else is a distraction.
Challenge Count and Why Extra Battles Matter
Arena gives 5 free challenges per day. You can buy 5 more using gems—for a total of 10 daily matches.
If you’re aiming for top leaderboard rewards, buying the extra challenges is almost mandatory. Each win gives points, Arena tokens, XP, and gear parts. Without the bonus fights, you’ll likely fall behind.
Total gem cost per day: 2,100 gems
Total cost per week: 14,700 gems
If you can afford it, it’s worth every gem.
Arena Point System Explained
Here’s how point gain and loss works:
- Everyone starts the week with 1,000 points
- Each win gives you +10 to +12 points
- Losing a match (offensively) doesn’t subtract points
- But if someone defeats your lineup (defensively), you lose points
That means how often you’re attacked and when you fight both matter a lot.
Timing Your Fights
The best time to do your Arena matches is in the last 30 minutes before weekly reset.
Why?
- If you fight right after reset, others will see you on their list and try to knock you down all week.
- If you fight late, you lock in your score and reduce the number of people who have time to attack you back.
It’s a small shift in timing that makes a big difference by the end of the week.
Picking the Right Opponents
You don’t need to fight everyone—just the ones that give you the best point efficiency.
Before attacking, check:
- Their current points (go for higher-ranked targets)
- Their total power vs. yours
- Their hero placement (look for class mismatches or weaknesses)
Avoid attacking your own alliance members—you’ll end up hurting your team’s position overall. And if someone beat you earlier in the week, check their power and take the chance to revenge them if you’ve grown stronger.
If you’re really gunning for a top spot, consider speed-matching right before the reset:
- Start a match
- Immediately pause and click retreat
- Win or lose, the system processes it quickly, and you can jump into the next one
This lets you finish 5–10 matches in just a few minutes, letting you rapidly farm points in the final stretch without sitting through every animation.