Kingshot F2P Guide

A Complete Practical Handbook for Light-Spending Players

This guide is based on my own experience after several weeks of gameplay in Kingshot.
It focuses on practical growth strategies for F2P (Free-to-Play) or light-spending players who want to progress efficiently without overspending.
Let’s begin.

1. Unlocking Construction and March Queues Is Essential

Construction is obvious — it’s the foundation of your growth.
But unlocking march queues is equally important, especially when you start resource gathering or manage multiple actions simultaneously.

The more queues you unlock, the faster your development speed.

2. You Must Join the #1 Alliance

Honestly, being in the top alliance already gives you half the advantage in this game.
You should aim to join the Top 2–3 alliances, and if you can’t get in early, increase your power as fast as possible and apply again later.

Why? Because alliance benefits are massive:

Inside the top alliance, cash gifts and event rewards are distributed frequently.
In my current alliance, we open around 4–5 treasure chests daily, filled with speed-ups, gems, and items.
Help speed and rally frequency are much higher in active alliances.
Shrine and Relic buffs are also huge — even construction alone can get a 13% boost.
In monster hunts, even with weaker gear, joining high-level rally leaders still yields great rewards.

During large-scale events like All Out, you’re also much safer.
While smaller alliances often get raided, members of top alliances can farm resources freely without shields.

If you can’t join the top alliance, at least aim for upper-tier groups.
Avoid being stuck in mid-rank alliances (like rank 8–9) — they often get attacked or collapse politically.

3. Focus on Arena Ranking

★★★★★

Your top priority should be to climb the Arena ranking.
It’s the only way for light spenders to steadily collect Legendary Gear and Universal Shards.

Why It Matters

Arena rewards provide the most consistent source of Legendary equipment.
For F2P players, Arena is the only path to obtain top-tier gear.
Focus your resources on improving your Arena performance — this directly determines your long-term strength.

Recommended Strategy

Prioritize obtaining Archer and Cavalry Power gear first.
Save and use hammers and enhancement items wisely — burn them during events for maximum point gain.
As the game progresses, Arena expands from your local server to cross-server competition.

Once that happens, your number of Legendary items and mastery levels will decide your fate — and the power gap between players will grow exponentially.

Long-Term Gear Goals

Aim to secure 1 Legendary gear piece every 2 weeks through Arena rewards.
Upgrade each piece to Mastery Level 1–2.
Focus on gear that matches your most-used heroes.

Example:
If you mainly use Jabel and Chenko (both Cavalry), prioritize Cavalry Power gear first.

Most top Arena players prioritize Power over HP, since Power contributes more to direct battle performance.

4. Focus on Raising Hero Star Levels

Hero progression is directly tied to Arena success.
Both hero gear and star upgrades determine your overall power.

In the early phase (up to Castle Level 20), hero star levels don’t make a big difference for events.
But in Arena, higher-star heroes always have the advantage.
Spend your shards wisely, but don’t hoard them endlessly — invest to strengthen your key heroes.

Originally, “Hero Growth” was a standalone 2-day event, but now it’s often tied with Mightiest Lord or other major events.
Therefore, aim for basic rewards or mid-rank placement, and focus more on improving hero stars to climb the Arena ranking.

5. Hero Development and Universal Fragments Come Before Diamonds

Light spenders should prioritize Legendary Universal Fragments over diamonds.

Diamonds are mainly for:

Drawing heroes from Roulette events
Upgrading Hero Hall heroes to 3★–4★

Why It Matters

Higher-generation heroes are much stronger and more efficient.
Upgrading stars not only boosts your overall combat power but also drastically improves your Arena lineup.

For example, in Generation 2, recruiting even one additional SSR hero gives you a big advantage over Gen1 teams.

Even though diamonds can be used to spin roulettes, Legendary Universal Fragments are the true bottleneck for free players.
They are required for upgrading Hero Hall SSRs (like Marin in Gen2).

So if you ever get the chance to purchase or earn Universal Fragments — even with diamonds — it’s worth it.

Ultimately, long-term power for F2P players comes from:

Upgrading SSR heroes’ stars
Enhancing Legendary Mastery
Strengthening shared weapons and skills

6. Resource Management — Gathering Is Enough

Unless you’re rushing buildings with massive speed-ups, daily resource gathering is sufficient.

Tips:

Keep your resources in your backpack — they can’t be plundered.
Only use what you need when upgrading or training.
If you plan to speed up construction heavily, gather consistently and consider creating farm accounts to supplement income.
For mid-tier spenders, farming alts becomes almost essential.

Even occasional raids can’t hurt you much if you plan resource storage properly.

7. Focus on Upgrading Your Town Center

Ultimately, your troop tier determines your combat power —
and higher tiers come only from upgrading your Town Center quickly.

If one player is still training Tier 3 troops while another already produces Tier 5 at the same time,
the gap will only widen.

Especially during monster rallies or server wars, higher-tier troops bring significantly better rewards.

Recommended Speed-Up Priority

Construction > Technology > Troops = Healing

Construction always comes first because it unlocks everything else.
Tech follows closely, as it ties into both building and event requirements.
Troop speed-ups are common from monster rallies, so save them for specific events.

✅ Next Section Preview (Part 2 – Chapters 8–14):

Event Strategy and Reward Timing
Best Value Cash Items for Light Spenders
Arena Meta and Hero Formation
Town Management, VIP Levels, and Diamond Usage
Core Hero Development for Gen1–Gen2
Resource & Alliance Optimization

Kingshot F2P Guide (Part 2)

Chapters 8–14

8. Focus on Short-Term Events, Not the Mightiest Lord

If you’re not a whale, you can’t win the Mightiest Lord event.
No matter how many speed-ups you save, top spenders with Level 26–30 Town Centers and Tier 9–10 troops will outscore you.

Instead, focus on short, 2-day events where you can strategically burst your progress.
Learn to observe point thresholds and aim for 1st place when you know how much is needed.
Winning these short events often gives you up to 50,000 diamonds —
that’s how you fund your future roulette hero draws.

Key Tips

Save your speed-ups and resources, then use them all at once for 1–2-day events.
Aim for events like Overtime Work (Construction) or Tech Development for top rewards.
You’ll get a feel for when to push for rank 1 — wait until near the end of the event and use everything at once to surpass the top score.

Example: Overtime Work Event (Construction Focus)

Collect as many construction and tech speed-ups as possible.
Start construction early in the event, use help bonuses, then finish with speed-ups at the end.
Use building decrees during final hours for maximum efficiency.
Stop right after securing 1st place — don’t waste extra boosts.

This combination of construction + tech upgrades will also help during Alliance Mobilization events,
where you can stack high-value tasks together for extra rewards.

9. Cash Spending Tips for Light Spenders

After long testing, I found the most cost-effective spending tier is around ₩90,000 KRW (~$70 USD).
That amount usually reaches the 3,000 point milestone in recharge events,
unlocking 4 pieces of Legendary Archer gear — a massive early advantage in Arena.

With time, the value of that set snowballs.
Having 4 Archer pieces and 1 Cavalry piece early on sets you ahead of nearly everyone else.
If you hit this level, you’ll almost certainly get accepted into a top alliance.

For True Light Spenders (Minimal Cash Users)

If you’re only spending a small amount, prioritize purchases like:

Construction Queue Unlock
March Queue Unlock
Monthly Card (first-time 50% discount) — provides meat (stamina) and steady diamonds.
Limited Monthly Info Pack — cheap speed-ups for timing-based event pushes.
Packs that provide Universal Legendary Fragments regularly.

Avoid random packs; focus on value and growth-based items.

Later in the game, when diamond income becomes stable (especially if you’re in a top alliance),
you’ll realize you no longer need to buy time speed-ups —
it’s more efficient to invest in fragment packs or Hero Hall packs for long-term growth.

10. Diamonds — Focus on VIP4 and Hero Roulette

Diamonds are extremely versatile but should mainly be spent on:

Reaching VIP4 — gives +10% construction speed, one of the best early perks.
Roulette Events — to obtain SSR heroes and skill books.

VIP Levels and Benefits

VIP4: +10% construction speed
VIP6: Unlocks one additional march queue
VIP8: Adds two rally preset slots
VIP9: +20% construction speed

Among these, VIP4 is the best return on investment.
The higher levels require too many diamonds for F2P players.

Diamond Sources (F2P-Friendly)

Daily Quests — Always complete.
Event Rewards — Collect both base and ranking rewards.
Diamond Bank: Invest once per day for 5% interest.
Alliance Donations: Consistent daily income.
Monster Rallies: Small diamond drops per rally.
Alliance Gift Boxes: Random gems and items.
Arena Rewards: Up to 400 diamonds daily for top 100 ranking.

Save diamonds mainly for Roulette Heroes, especially when new generations arrive.
Full 120-spin sessions during the Mightiest Lord event can bring you to 4★ SSR heroes efficiently.

11. In-Game Shops

Here’s how to use each shop effectively as a light spender:

Shop	What to Buy	Notes
Wandering Merchant	Speed-ups, Advanced Teleports	Always buy with resources, not diamonds.
Mysterious Shop	Hero accessories (look for 50% discounts)	Refresh daily; some are free.
Arena Shop	Legendary Gear Chests	Priority purchase every week.
VIP Shop	Skip unless absolutely necessary	Diamond cost is too high.
Alliance Shop	VIP Points, Shields, Teleports, Construction Speed-ups	The best long-term store.

12. Arena (Colosseum)

Arena is the most critical mode for sustainable growth.

You get Legendary Gear Chests from the Arena Shop.
Aim for the Top 100–500 range for stable daily and seasonal rewards.
Each win grants around 9–10 points, losses give none.
You can battle 5 times per day.

When selecting targets, pick weaker opponents — consistency matters more than risk.

Defense

You lose 4–5 points if defeated but don’t gain points for defending successfully.
Focus on upgrading your gear, hero stars, and skills to maintain defense.

Spending diamonds to refresh or increase attempts isn’t efficient unless you’re pushing for event rewards.

13. Troops

Troops are divided into three classes: Infantry (Defense), Cavalry (Mobility), and Archer (Offense).
In battle, they attack in order — Infantry → Cavalry → Archer.

For light spenders:

You can’t rely on heavy gear, so focus on unlocking and upgrading to Tier 8+ troops quickly.
Don’t dismiss lower-tier troops; promote them instead to save resources and maintain efficiency.

High-tier troops reduce hospital losses and improve rally performance.
When your Town Center reaches Level 22+, begin mass-promoting troops to Tier 8 and above.

14. Heroes

Heroes are classified as Infantry, Cavalry, or Archer types — only one per formation slot.

Rarity tiers: R → SR → SSR, and higher tiers are vastly stronger.
SSR heroes have access to exclusive equipment and superior skills.

SSR Hero Types

Roulette Heroes: Obtained through diamond roulettes.
Hero Hall Heroes: Upgraded with cash or Universal Fragments.
Mightiest Lord Heroes: VIP or high-spender exclusives.

In general, Roulette Heroes < Hero Hall Heroes < Mightiest Lord Heroes in power scaling.

Skill Categories

Left-side skills: Used in Arena and PvE battles.
Right-side skills: Used in open-field attacks, defenses, and monster hunts.

Rally System Notes

The Rally Leader’s hero gear, buffs, and skills apply to all participating members.
Rally members’ first hero skills (top four with the highest skill levels) contribute additional effects.
Rally members’ gear and buffs mainly affect their individual power, not the entire rally.

Thus, whales with top-tier hero/gear setups make ideal rally leaders,
while light spenders should focus on contributing through high-tier troops and maxed Level 5 primary skills.

Recommended Early Hero Setup (Gen1 Example)

Attack (Siege): Chenko
Defense: Gordon or Howard
Support: Salo (construction and resource reduction skills)

Focus on upgrading their first skill to Level 5 (requires 4★).
Gather fragments daily from the Observatory — consistency is key.

Basic Hero Types for Resource Gathering

R Heroes:
- Olive (Food), Foster (Wood), Edwin (Stone), Smith (Iron).
  Upgrade production to Level 2 and gathering skills to Level 5.
Diana:
Obtained from Wolf events. Reduces stamina usage and increases march speed for monster hunts.
Helga:
The first recharge hero. Good early value but replaced by later generations.
Usually raised to 4–5★ for early Arena or siege efficiency.
Salo:
Obtained through roulette or recharge milestones.
Provides construction speed and resource reduction — great for early Castle upgrades.
Amadeus:
A premium whale-only hero, obtained via VIP packs or Mightiest Lord rewards.
Extremely strong in siege and PvP, but not accessible for light spenders.

✅ Next Section Preview (Part 3 – Chapters 15–21):

Academy Research Priorities
Hospital and Conscription Systems
Decrees and City Buffs
Alliance Management and Benefits
Ranking, Donations, and Community Tips

Kingshot F2P Guide (Part 3 – Final)

Chapters 15–21

15. Academy

In earlier stages, most players said to research in this order: Development → Economy → Combat,
but that changes in the mid-to-late game — because combat eventually becomes the most important factor.

Once your Town Center levels up and you unlock higher-tier troops,
solo and PvP battles start to depend heavily on your combat tech.

Early Stage

When you’re short on gold, start with Development to ease your progress.
As time passes, you’ll naturally have more than enough gold and resources.

Recommended early sequence:

Development:
- Focus on Training Gear, Equipment Improvement, Tool Modification, Ward Expansion, and Bandage Techniques.
- Training Gear is especially crucial — it increases troop training speed, allowing faster army growth.
- Also upgrade Leadership Skills.
- If troop losses are becoming an issue, upgrade Hospital Expansion.
⚠️ Note: Equipment Improvement becomes inefficient when it takes over two days — stop at level 1 and switch to other lines.
Economy:
- Research is quick and boosts gathering speed.
- Especially useful if you rely on daily gathering instead of spending on speed-ups.
Combat:
- Start once the above two trees reach comfortable levels.
- Later, Combat becomes your main investment since all power scales from it.

In short:

Early Game: Development & Economy
Mid to Late Game: Full Combat investment

16. Field Hospital

When you attack or get attacked, troops get injured or lost.
The heavier the power gap between sides, the greater the losses.

Injured troops go to your Field Hospital,
but if the hospital capacity is exceeded, they die permanently.

To prevent this:

Continuously upgrade hospital buildings.
Promote troops to higher tiers — they’re more durable.
Keep your hospital capacity aligned with your army size.

During city defenses or castle sieges:

Attackers always take partial losses.
Defenders only take losses when capacity is full.
Most seasonal or special events (except All Out) are designed to only cause “wounds,” not deaths.

Whales who hate losing tens of thousands of troops often invest more in tech, gear, and buffs to offset losses,
while F2P players rely on troop quality and healing speed.

17. Conscription Camp

When your hospital overflows, excess wounded troops go to the Conscription Camp.
They can be revived over time as their Loyalty regenerates.

Loyalty fills naturally over time.
Completing daily quests or resource gathering also speeds up recovery.
You can use paid items to restore Loyalty instantly,
but it’s not cost-effective for light spenders.
With daily activity alone, you can fully restore troops without spending.

18. Decrees

Decrees are temporary buffs that boost certain activities.
The most important one is Construction Speed Up.

When activated, it reduces upgrade time by 20% for 5 minutes —
use it for long upgrades like the Town Center.

Especially during short-term construction events,
activating this buff before using your speed-ups can give you a big score advantage.

Most 1–2 day burst events require ignoring “help” cooldowns and focusing purely on speed efficiency.

19. City Buffs

Main Buffs

Shield (Bubble):
Protects against scouting and attacks.
Always activate before sleeping or when your alliance is politically unstable.
Scout Prevention:
Prevents enemies from seeing your defenses — useful during PvP events.
Training Capacity:
Increases the number of troops trained per queue.
Helpful early on when training time is short, but less impactful at higher tiers (since Tier 8–9 training takes 7–9 hours).
Best used overnight for efficiency.
Random Teleport:
Useful for relocating during raids or while searching for rich resource tiles.
Attack nearby weak cities, gather, and teleport again.
Resource Gathering Speed:
Sometimes used for Level 7+ tiles, but generally not worth spending diamonds on.

20. Alliance

Joining an alliance is absolutely essential.
It provides protection, buffs, rewards, and access to events.

Why It Matters

You can view rankings from your profile → Rank tab to see the top alliances in your kingdom.
Joining one of the Top 10 alliances ensures:

Safety under NAP (Non-Aggression Pacts)
Access to rallies, relics, and high-tier events
Better communication and support

However, choose an alliance whose event schedule matches your time zone — that’s even more important.

Major Alliance Features

1. Alliance War

Shows active rallies and battles — including monster hunts and fortress sieges.
If something important happens, take a screenshot — canceled attacks disappear from logs.

2. Alliance Treasure Chests

Opened through rallies and member purchases.
Provide items like gems, speed-ups, and resources.
In top alliances, you can open 4–6 chests daily, yielding 700–800 diamonds worth of value over time.

3. Alliance Territory

Staying inside your alliance’s blue zone gives territory buffs like gathering and construction speed.
Always relocate your city near the alliance base for fast rally response times.
Use Alliance Teleports to move near the HQ or trap area.

4. Stronghold Capture

Top alliances capture relics and shrines for permanent buffs.
They often coordinate captures peacefully via diplomatic agreements.
Bonuses include gathering speed, march speed, construction speed, and training boosts.

5. Alliance Shop

Use Alliance Coins (earned by donating or helping) to buy:

Speed-ups
Teleports
Shields
VIP Points

It’s the most efficient shop for daily use.

6. Alliance Technology

Like the Academy, alliances can research technologies.
Donate regularly to earn coins and help the alliance level up.
Early on, prioritize Cooperation and Member Capacity.

7. Alliance Rankings

Power Ranking: Based on member total power.
Kill Ranking: Measures how much damage members inflict (top whales dominate this).
Donation Ranking: Earned through tech donations —
Daily and weekly top contributors receive diamonds and coins.

Pro tip: Donate 25 times right after reset (9 AM), and keep donating whenever you can to stay at the top.

8. Alliance Help

Helping others reduces their build/research/healing times.
You can receive up to 2,000 help coins daily from this.
Early on, this drastically shortens build times —
you’ll barely need personal speed-ups for construction.

In the late game, Help becomes less impactful for long builds,
but remains great for troop healing.

9. Alliance Roles

Alliances have ranks from R0–R5:

R0: Pending members
R1: New or inactive members
R2: Regular members
R3: Active participants (event and chat activity)
R4: Officers/managers
R5: Alliance leader

Higher ranks (R4+) can manage alliance settings and start events.

10. Alliance Settings and Logs

The Alliance Log shows all recent activities but not detailed battle reports.
For disputes or proof, screenshots of battle reports are often shared publicly in world chat.
You can also browse the Alliance List to find and apply to better ones anytime.

21. Common Game Terms

Bubble: Shield protecting your city.
NAP (Non-Aggression Pact): Treaty between alliances not to attack each other.
Tile: Refers to map resource nodes used for gathering and control.

Final Thoughts

These are the strategies I’ve found most effective for light-spending players in Kingshot.
Over time, you’ll notice that success in this game isn’t about how much you spend,
but how efficiently you plan — your timing, event management, and alliance choices determine your long-term growth.

As new generations, heroes, and events appear, I’ll continue updating this guide.
Thank you for reading, and good luck, Governors.