Hero Stars, Skill Medals & Exclusive Weapons

#Stars and shards

Taking a hero from 0 to 5 stars costs 975 shards, and most of that is at the top:

Each star has 5 steps. Universal shards match rarity (Rare for SR, Epic for SSR, Legendary for UR). Save Universal Legendary shards for heroes you'll use long term.

Where shards come from: Tavern recruitment, Arms Race, Alliance Duel, the Campaign and Honor stores, VIP store, Secret Tasks, trucks, events and choice chests.

#Skill medals

• You can only spend medals once a hero has 2 stars.
• Skill caps: 30 for SSR/SR, 40 for UR (an Exclusive Weapon also raises the cap).
• Costs climb steeply at higher levels, so don't spread medals evenly. Focus your main squad's most-used skills.
• Arms Race is the biggest medal source. Open the big chests each phase.

#Exclusive Weapons (EW)

Each season, three UR heroes get an Exclusive Weapon (in weeks 1, 3 and 6). To unlock one you need a 5★ hero and 50 named EW shards.

• EWs go to level 30. Getting your main squad's weapons to level 20 first is the common goal.
• After each season, EW choice boxes appear in the Black Market, so you can catch up later for free.
• Season 6 adds Awakening on top of EWs (see Season 6 Hero Awakening).

#SSR to UR promotion

Each season lets one SSR hero become UR (from about week 3):

You need the hero at 5★ SSR and that season's UR Hero Badge. The hero drops to 3★ UR, rebuilding to 5★ takes about 1,600 SSR shards, and skills restart at level 1 (medals are refunded). Level and gear are kept.

See also: Hero Tier List.

#Sources

Compiled from community guides (last checked October 2026). Several are run by top-up shops, and numbers change with updates and differ by server, so double-check anything important in game.

• Heaven Guardian: Hero Shards Guide
• Theria Games: Skill Medal Guide
• Cpt Hedgehog: Exclusive Weapons
• Heaven Guardian: SSR to UR Upgrade Guide
• Heaven Guardian: Heroes Guide