General Alliance is a feature that allows the player to link a general to other generals, boosting the master general's stats, as well as their abilities in some cases. This feature is very significant to boost the abilities of generals to meet needs in all aspects of the game.
At one time this feature only allowed Like generals to be linked together, however this was changed a few years back to allow any general to be linked together. The strategy since that time is significantly different in linking generals.
Generals are linked as a "Master" general, which is first in the alliance, followed by a Primary link and then by a Secondary link. At this time up to 3 generals may be linked to form a General Alliance.
General Alliance Stance[]
To calculate your general alliance stance you sum the total number of levels of your General Alliance as long as they are the same Stance (Aggressive, Balanced, or Defensive) as your Master General. So if all 3 of the Generals in your alliance are Aggressive, you would add up all of their levels to get your Stance. If Your Master General is Aggressive and the other 2 Generals are Defensive and/or Balanced, your Stance would equal the level of you Master General only.
Linking Mechanics[]
To start using a General alliance, you must first own at least two generals.
To start the link, choose a master general that you want to boost. For generals which have alliance boosts for their abilities, you will usually want this to be the general with the most powerful ability, as all ability links are currently percentage-based in their benefit to the main general.
Next, choose a primary linked general. Once you've chosen the general, click the 'create alliance' button to finalize the link. Once created, it will be in effect right away, once the master is equipped again. If you still have more generals who you want to use to boost the master, you can do the same thing for a secondary linked general to boost the master general even further.
Generals who have been leveled up past level 4 will contribute the bonus from their highest level to the master general, so hero crystals used on non-master generals will not go to waste.
Alliances between generals can be deleted at any time with no penalties. If a primary general is de-linked, any lower generals will move up in order, so a secondary general would become the primary general.
Generals can be linked into any number of master generals, even if they are themselves a primary general.
Linked Stats[]
A general's base stats (at their current level) will be propagated through the link. The Master general will add full attack and defense stats into the general set. The primary link hero passes 50% of his offense/defense to the Master General and you secondary link hero passes 25% of his offense/defense to the Master General. Equipment bonuses only count for the Master General. Even if you have three pieces of equipment for linked generals, that bonus is not counted in the final link.
Linked Abilities[]
Most generals now have the ability to pass their abilities to other generals through alliances, with the exception of Stat Transfer generals (Evalice, Xira, Halcyon, Hyacinth, and Solara), Stamina Multiplier generals (Orc King, Barbarus, and Maalvus), Generals with cooldown abilities (such as Banthus Archfiend), and Layla. If a general has multiple abilities along with one of these types, the other ability will still be passed. For these general to get all of their special abilities they must be the Master general.
If a portion of the linked generals' ability matches part of the Master general's ability, a part of the ability will be passed according to which slot the linked general is in, with earlier slots contributing a larger percentage. This typically follows three patterns - 50% for the Primary Link (Link 1) and 33% for the Secondary link (Link 2) for most alliances, 25%/10% for alliances that have a +MonsterAttack Hero as Master General (i.e Sahar, Zaverok) and 25%/17% (read below to see generals and their skill bonus when linking) . To be certain about this, always click on the "Alliance Bonus" button that is placed above the "Create Alliance" button.
If a portion of a linked general's ability is not matched by the Master general, that portion will be passed in full to the master. In the event that multiple linked generals have the same ability that the Master does not have, only the highest value of the two will be passed. For example, if Maalvus (3x Power attack, 3% critical hit) is the master and linked with Sahar (+260 Attack against monsters) and Zarevok (+20 Attack against monsters), the final result with be Maalvus with 3x Power Attack, 3% Critical Hit, and +260 attack against monsters, as Zarevok's ability will be ignored.
Keep in mind that two abilities that boost the same stat might not be identical, and thus might not be subject to scaling when combined. For example, Dante's defense boost (+20 Defense) is different from Aurelius' Defense boost (+1.1 Defense/3 current health), which is different still from Ambrosia's Defense boost (+.85 Defense/1 owned general).
Generals in the same linking family[]
Generals below are in the same family of abilities, and are shown together only to show options available. This is not intended to show an intentional strategy around which generals to link together, such strategy is covered in another part of this page.
All generals below can also be seen on the General Alliance page, along with where to obtain them.
Critical Hit %[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Critical Hit percentage. Primary link generals will contribute 25% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 17%.
General |
Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 15 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Kang |
Corruption Chest | +6% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +8.4% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Dolomar |
Oracle Special | +5% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +7.4% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Lotus Ravenmoore |
Vanguard Chest | +4% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +6.2% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Charlotte |
Conquest Chest | +4% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +6.3% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Kaiser |
Oracle Special | +3% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +5.3% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Slayer |
Oracle Special | +3% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +5.3% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Maalvus |
Oracle Special | +3% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +4.67% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Lothar the Ranger |
Vanguard Chest | +2% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +4.4% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Vorenus |
Vanguard Chest | +2% Crit Chance vs Monsters | +3.1% Crit Chance vs Monsters |
Bonus Monster Attack[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Bonus Monster Attack. Primary link generals will contribute 25% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 10%.
Generals with this ability generally get much larger boosts from Hero Crystals past level 4, which may make them more effective as linked generals.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 19 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Vancy |
Corruption Chest | +290 Monster Attack | +740 Monster Attack |
Sahar |
Oracle Special | +260 Monster Attack | +710 Monster Attack |
Sorkan |
Oracle Special | +242 Monster Attack | +692 Monster Attack |
Feral |
Conquest Chest | +28 Monster Attack | +478 Monster Attack |
Therian |
Oracle Special | +25 Monster Attack | +475 Monster Attack |
Elin |
Limited Time Alchemy (July 2010) | +20 Monster Attack | +470 Monster Attack |
Zarevok |
Purchase via Heroes tab | +20 Monster Attack | +470 Monster Attack |
Bonus Mage Passive damage[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Bonus Mage Passive damage. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability |
---|---|---|
Zurran |
Annihilator Chest | +16% Mage Passive Damage |
Muse |
Oracle Special | +16% Mage Passive Damage |
Alexandria |
Oracle Special | +8% Mage Passive Damage |
- Note: Alexandria is also an item bonus for Zurran, in addition to any bonuses from general alliance.
Bonus Guild Battle Damage[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Bonus Guild Battle Damage. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 20 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Jera |
Corruption Chest | +30 Damage and 15% Damage Rune bonus in Battles | +33 Damage and 16% Damage Rune bonus in Battles |
Deimos |
Battlelust Chest | +25 Damage and 12.5% Damage Rune bonus in Battles | +28 Damage and 13.5% Damage Rune bonus in Battles |
Gabrielle |
Arena V (Vanguard Rank) | +20 Damage and 10% Damage Rune bonus in Battles | +23 Damage and 11% Damage Rune bonus in Battles |
Deianira |
Guild Shop (2500 Guild Coins) | +20 Damage and +10% Damage Rune bonus in Guild Battles | +23 Damage and +11% Damage Rune bonus in Guild Battles |
This is another confusing alliance, as Deianira is also an item bonus to Gabrielle. Gabrielle contributes 20 damage as a non-master, as item bonuses are not passed through the link.
Deflect Guild Battle Damage[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with deflecting Guild Battle Damage will contribute Primary Ability Link: +50% | Primary Stats Link: +50% || Secondary Ability Link: +33% | Secondary Stats Link: +25%
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 15 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Tora |
Corruption Chest | Deflect 25 damage and 12.5% of Damage Rune back to attacker | Deflect 37 damage and 12.5% of Damage Rune back to attacker |
Daphne |
Oracle Special | Deflect 20 damage and 10% of Damage Rune back to attacker | Deflect 32 damage and 10% of Damage Rune back to attacker |
Persephone |
Heart of Darkness Festival Games (March 2011) - discontinued |
Deflect 10 damage and 5% of Damage Rune back to attacker | Deflect 22 damage and 5% of Damage Rune back to attacker |
Physical Piercing[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Physical Pierce. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
- Note: At this time, generals that have other types of piercing along with Physical Piercing cannot be linked in this manner.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability |
---|---|---|
Odin |
Arena VII (Eternal Vanguard rank) |
+50 Physical Pierce |
Annika |
Oracle Special | +50 Physical Pierce |
Aesir |
Oracle Special | +40 Physical Pierce |
Malekus |
Vanguard Chest | + 10 Physical Pierce (level 5) |
Kanbe |
Oracle Special | +20 Physical Pierce +10 Earth Pierce |
Guinevere |
Oracle Special | +60 Physical Pierce |
Alloken |
Nightfall Chest | +13 Fire Pierce |
Astrid Hrothbeort |
Nightfall Chest | +10 Water Pierce |
Bogo |
Oracle Special | +13 Water Pierce |
Hermóðr |
Oracle Special | +22 Water Pierce |
King Hrothbeort |
Nightfall Chest | +30 Water Pierce |
Rose Hrothbeort |
Nightfall Chest | +20? Water Pierce |
Straticus |
Nightfall Chest | +35 Fire Pierce |
Brakus |
Oracle Special | +35 Physical Pierce +10 Fire Pierce |
Feredir |
Oracle Special | +20 Physical Pierce +10 Wind Offense |
Frost |
Oracle Special | +20 Physical Pierce +10 Water Pierce |
Note this list may not be complete as many other generals exhibiting both physical and elemental pierce have been added since this list was first created. Each element acts independently of the other in this regard, but like elements work as any other like element.
Physical Resistance[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Physical Resistance. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
- Note: At this time, generals that have other types of resistance along with Physical Resistance cannot be linked in this manner.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 70 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Katherine |
Oracle Special | +55 Physical Resistance | +88 Physical Resistance |
Vanathan |
Oracle Special | +50 Physical Resistance | +83 Physical resistance |
Vanir |
Oracle Special | +40 Physical Resistance | +73 Physical Resistance |
The Time Keeper |
Caverns of Time or Colosseum |
+60 Physical Resistance | +90 Physical Resistance |
Hera |
FLIPPED Event or Legendary Chest |
+35 Earth Resistance +35 Water Resistance +35 Wind Resistance +35 Fire Resistance |
Estimated +68 Earth Resistance +68 Water Resistance +68 Wind Resistance +68 Fire Resistance |
Ravendor |
Oracle Special | +35 Physical resistance +10 Fire Resistance |
+68 Physical resistance +44 Fire Resistance |
Kendra |
Oracle Special | +35 Physical Resistance +10 Water Resistance |
+68 Physical resistance +44 Water Resistance |
Zolthar |
Oracle Special | +35 Physical Resistance +10 Earth Resistance |
+68 Physical resistance +44 Earth Resistance |
Erynion |
Oracle Special | +35 Physical resistance +10 Wind resistance |
+68 Physical resistance +44 Wind Resistance |
Note there may be additional generals with Resistance abilities since this article was first written.
Evade Chance[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with additional Evade chance. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability |
---|---|---|
Raziel the Silent |
Annihilator Chest | +6% Evade Chance |
Jezale |
Oracle Special | +5% Evade Chance |
Elyvita |
Oracle Special | +5% Evade Chance |
Bonus Cleric Passive Heal[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Bonus Cleric Passive Heal. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
General | Obtain From | Level 4 ability |
---|---|---|
Dawn |
Oracle Special | +16% Cleric Passive Heal |
Aki |
Tribal Power Promo Pack | +12% Cleric Passive Heal |
Sanna |
Oracle Special | +8% Cleric Passive Heal |
Bonus Cleric Heal + % Health Rune[]
Generals that have abilities dealing with Bonus Cleric Heal. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 20 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Mischa |
Corruption Chest | +25 and +15% of Health Rune for Heal | +57 and +15% of Health Rune for Heal |
Elaida |
Annihilator Chest | +25 and +12.5% of Health Rune for Heal | +52 and +12.5% of Health Rune for Heal |
Bonus Warrior Whirlwind abilities[]
Generals that have abilities deal an additional X to each surrounding enemy with Whirlwind. Primary link generals will contribute 25% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 17%.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 20 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Ameron |
Annihilator Chest | Whirlwind Surrounding
enemies: +15% Damage |
Whirlwind Surrounding
enemies: +18% Damage |
Attilius |
Oracle Special | Whirlwind Surrounding
enemies: +10% Damage |
Whirlwind Surrounding
enemies: +13% Damage |
Max Health[]
Generals that increase Max Health. Primary link generals will contribute 50% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 33%.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 20 ability |
---|---|---|---|
The Time Keeper |
Caverns of Time Event,
Colosseum shop |
+60 Health, +60 Defense, +60 Physical Resistance | +68 Health, +68 Defense, +68 Physical Resistance |
Excelsior |
War Shop | +22 Max Health | +30 Max Health |
Vincent |
Alchemy | +15 Max Health | +23 Max Health
+3% of Damage to Heal Yourself on Victory |
Bonus +X Attack based on XX% of Players Divine Power[]
Generals that have abilities +X Attack based on XX% of Players Divine Power. Primary link generals will contribute 25% of their ability, while secondary link generals will contribute 17%.
General | Obtained From | Level 4 ability | Level 20 ability |
---|---|---|---|
Eternal Alystra |
Arena VI (Eternal Vanguard) | +X Attack based on 13%
of Players Divine Power |
+X Attack based on 24%
of Players Divine Power |
Neo Alystra |
Combine 25 Eternal Blooms in Alchemy | +X Attack based on 7%
of Players Divine Power |
+X Attack based on 23%
of Players Divine Power |
Linking Strategies[]
Invade[]
It is believe that for Invade actions, unlike all other game actions, that since all generals are considered for invade that you will see stronger abilities if all generals were linked. Generals not in use should be linked iin general with your strongest two generals to increase A/D stats. Other abilities are not relevant towards invade.
PvP Attack[]
The best PvP (attack) load out for you will vary based on which generals you can get. Layla first will significantly improve a pierce load out. Brakus is the strongest non-chest pierce general because of the combination of both fire and physical pierce. Odin is the strongest chest pierce general at 8 stars. Remiel is the best third general because of his ability to transfer divine power to pierce. Pierce needs to be considered with general stats so far as the total A/D stats of the general alliance needs to be compared to Pierce amounts in order to determine which provides the best benefit. The best PVP loadouts are generally one of these combinations.
- Layla - (Best Pierce General) - Remiel
- (Best Physical pierce general) - (Best Elemental pierce) - Remiel
- (Best Physical Pierce) - (Best Elemental Pierce) - (Second best Elemental Pierce)
- Adding Malekus into the mix or any other general that is significantly larger than the others may in fact be stronger.
In general, adding 10 pierce can add between 200 and 700 attack based on your attack values, while adding 10 attack to a general can add between 20 and 50 attack because of pierce levels. Careful consideration should be given to when its right to use a pierce general and when its right to use a high A/D general in order to get the strongest load out for PVP.
- The best Pierce generals include leveled up Odin, Brakus, and Guinevere in that order
- The best Physical Pierce generals include leveled up Odin, Guinevere, and Annika
- The best Elemental pierce general is Winter Dragon, followed by Brakus
PvP Defense[]
The best defense load out for you will vary based on which generals you can get. Layla first will significantly improve a pierce load out. Marcus is the strongest strongest pure resistance general, but given that he is an epic chest general and thus hard to star and you need to get a lot of berserker claymores to make full use of him, themselves a rare chest item, timekeeper (given relative ease of staring) may frequently be better. Katherine is the strongest pure resistance oracle general. Several generals (Ravendor, Kendra, Zolthar, and Erynion) are strong oracle resistance generals because of the combination of both elemental and physical resistance. Azriel is the best third general because of her ability to transfer divine power to resistance. Resistance needs to be considered with general stats so far as the total A/D stats of the general alliance needs to be compared to Resistance amounts in order to determine which provides the best benefit. The best defense loadouts are generally one of these combinations.
- Layla - (Best Resistance General) - Azriel
- (Best Physical resistance) - Hera - Azriel
- (Best Elemental Resistance) - (Second Best Elemental Resistance) - Azriel
- (Best Elemental Resistance) - (Second Best Elemental Resistance) - (Third Best Elemental Resistance)
- Adding Malekus into the mix or any other general that is significantly larger than the others may in fact be stronger.
In general, adding 10 pierce can add between 200 and 700 attack based on your attack values, while adding 10 attack to a general can add between 20 and 50 attack because of pierce levels. Careful consideration should be given to when its right to use a pierce general and when its right to use a high A/D general in order to get the strongest load out for PVP.
- The best Resistance Generals are leveled up Hera, Marcus, Timekeeper, the 4 elemental generals and Katherine
- The best Physical Resistance generals are Timekeeper, Marcus, and Katherine
- All 4 elemental resistance generals are of equal strength
Of note with resistance is that Katherine became useless when elemental resistance became a thing, however, Katherine became useful again when Hera came out.
Max Health vs. Health Rune Bonus[]
Battle class and battle health lock at 10 minutes before scheduled format battles (10v10, 100v100). Therefore it is strategic to equip a health-boosting alliance a little before the 10-minute mark. You can re-equip a defensive alliance when the lock-in moment passes. If your Health Rune is healthy (level 100+), then Sylphora OR Bacalou's Health Rune bonus can be significant. However, a Health Rune Bonus alliance only gets 25% of the middle-slot general's power. Assuming Sylphora as master because her power is stronger, L80 Bacalou's 8.4% bonus in the middle slot is reduced to 2.1%. That's only 10 bonus health points with a L126 Health rune. So, if your Health Rune is not L300+, the best defense load out will probably be 2 Max Health generals up front and Sylphora or Bacalou last. The best Max Health loadouts are generally one of these combinations:
- Layla - (Best Max Health general) - Sylphora (or Bacalou)
- Layla - Sylphora (but prob. not Bacalou) - (Best Max Health general)
- (Best Max Health) - (Second Best Max Health) - Sylphora (or Bacalou)
Monster Hunting[]
Monster hunting depends largely on general size, monster damage, and critical capabilities. For an average toon of significant size (> 1000) these approximate ratios can be used to help figure out the best alliance:
- 1% critical (e.g. Dolomar) can yield 550 monster damage per stamina
- 1% monster damage (barbarus) can yield 488 damage per stamina
- +30 monster hunter (e.g. Sahar) can yield +10.8 damage per stamina
- + 1 attack go a general or to equipment can yield +10.4 damage per stamina
- +1 defense on a general or to equipment can yield +3 damage per stamina
- +1 base or IA defense yields NO damage per stamina
In addition, consideration must include losses due to second and third positions in a general alliance, which means that it is typically best if abilities DO NOT overlap, which means getting the best of each ability.
Several strategies for monster hunting have come to the front:
- Layla - who enhances everything
- High Critical chance
- High Monster Damage
- High General A (and D) stats
The best of these may be in combining the three to form a strong alliance which might be one of:
- Layla - (Strongest Crit General) - (Strongest Monster Damage general) with the last 2 in A/D order
- Malekus -- (Strongest Crit General) - (Strongest Monster Damage general) with the last 2 in A/D order
- (Highest A/D general) - (Strongest Crit general) - (Strongest Monster Damage general) in A/D order
- (Strongest A/D general which is also crit) - (Strongest Monster Damage general) - Straticus
- (Strongest A/D general which is also Monster Damage) - (Strongest Crit general) - Straticus
- (strongest Crit general) - (second strongest crit general) - (monster Damage general)
Malekus is the strongest A/D general, but hard to star up as he is a chest general.
Straticus, also a chest general, will general act like a monster damage general (barbarus) without the loss due to position, should only be used only if you have at least 1 critical general in the mix. With a critical chance of 20%, you can get about half the stated damage average on every hit. (formula: (0.5*2 + 0.5*3) x (crit chance). which makes it an addition onto Barbarus for additional monster damage. So a leveled up Straticus could be the best third general to add into an alliance where your critical hit general is your largest general.
Several generals are hit multipliers, Orc King and Maalvus for crit generals and Barbarus for Monster Damage. It is often necessary to have multiple monster loadouts, one for single hits, one for 3x and one for 5x hits. Sometimes you need both red and blue 3x hits for a total of 4 monster loadouts. Note that several of the new monsters can be put into "maximum damage* by bringing them to level 1, letting them go to zero, and then hitting with 200x3 stamina maalvus. This generally works all the time, while using Barbarus or Orc King for that large hit works about half the time..
If you do add a second critical general then you have to consider that the master and primary link generals should both be critical generals to maximize benefit, same with monster damage generals.
If you are unable to get the perfect order because you are using your best general for something else, variations on the order may give you optimal values while preserving other load out.
There are also monster attack generals, Sahar, Sorkan, Zarevok, etc.. These generals are good early iin the game because they will help get you over monster threshold values faster than any other general, but in the long term the best any of them can do is serve as your highest A/D general. This discussion is geared around later stages of play where these generals are generally a lot weaker than other generals.
For example, a maximum set of values for Sahar adds +3000 monster attack, which at 0.4 per attack will add approximately 1200 extra damage per stamina. This is about the same as 2.2% critical damage, or 2.5% monster damage which are achievable on a very low level dolomar or barbarus. The value in a five or six star monster attack general is entirely their A/D stats which are relevant even if the added monster attack is not as important.
For new players, Zarevok could be their first monster hunter general, as it is free and levels quickly. If you can buy generals, Dolomar or Barbarus should be your first purchase instead of any other monster attack generals as you will get more lasting value from them in the long term. Even though chest generals are stronger, Oracle generals are generally a better choice because promoting them is way easier (and cheaper).