What's inside
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Short answer: the fastest Update 3 start is to push story to stage 3-6 with the free login units, unlock the Awakening Core node, then spend the next four days farming 3-9 while clearing the event raid five times a day. Do not spend gems on the banner until you have finished the free ticket chain — according to the Update 3 patch notes those tickets count toward the same pity counter as paid pulls, so pulling early with gems wastes pity progress you could have banked for free. Everything below breaks down the new units, stages, resources, and events, and gives you a concrete seven-day route with the stamina math worked out.
What we cover
What Update 3 actually changes
Update 3 is not a content drip — it adds a full story chapter, a new progression currency, and a raid event that runs alongside the chapter rather than after it. The practical consequences for a new or returning account are:
- A new gated resource. Awakening Cores only drop from chapter 3 and the raid, so accounts still sitting in chapter 2 are hard-locked out of the update’s main power spike.
- Three new unit slots — a featured banner damage dealer, a free login tank, and an event-shop support. Only one of them costs premium currency.
- Elemental trials, a weekly mode that pays out sigils used for the new awakening passives.
- Raid event with its own shop, which is where most of your early gold and skill books come from in Update 3.
Update 3 content map
| Content | Unlocks at | Reset | Headline reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 3 story (3-1 → 3-12) | Clear 2-12 | — | ~1,500 gems, 60 Awakening Cores |
| Awakening Core node (3-6+) | Clear 3-6 | Daily | 1–5 cores per run |
| Update 3 raid event | Clear 3-2 | Daily, 5 runs | Event coins, free support unit at 8,000 coins |
| Elemental trial | Clear 3-8 | Weekly | Sigils for awakening passives |
| Chapter 3 hard mode (3-H) | Clear 3-12 | Weekly | Gear prints, 4 cores per run |
Hotfixes have adjusted drop rates within the first week of previous updates, so check the in-game Rate Info panel before dumping a full stamina bar into one stage.
The three new unit slots — and who should skip which
| Slot | Role | Best for | Cost to be usable | Skip if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Featured banner DPS (Fire) | Single-target burst | Boss stages 3-10 to 3-12, raid | A3 = 140 cores + 6 skill books | You already run a Fire DPS at A2 or higher |
| Free login tank (Earth) | Front-line blocker | Holding lane 1 in 3-9 and 3-10 | A1 = 20 cores, no books | Never skip — it costs nothing but logins |
| Event shop support (Water) | Heal + attack buff | Sustaining 3-10 through 3-H | A2 = 60 cores + 3 books | You cannot realistically reach 8,000 coins this cycle |
The banner DPS is genuinely strong, but it is a trap for brand-new accounts: at A0 it is roughly comparable to the free story DPS you already have, and the 140 cores it needs to come online is more than three days of farming. The Earth tank is the opposite — the patch notes hand it out free at A1 during the login chain, which means you get a usable front line on day one without spending a core.
Awakening Cores: the real cost table
Awakening is the Update 3 power system. Cores are the only input, they are not refundable, and you cannot transfer them between units, which is why the spread-vs-focus decision matters more than any single pull.
| Awakening level | Cores needed | Cumulative | What you unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| A0 → A1 | 20 | 20 | Stat bump |
| A1 → A2 | 40 | 60 | Skill level cap +1 |
| A2 → A3 | 80 | 140 | Second passive |
| A3 → A4 | 160 | 300 | Stat bump, ultimate cooldown −1s |
| A4 → A5 | 320 | 620 | Ultimate upgrade |
Note where the value sits: A3 costs 140 cores and delivers the second passive, while the last two levels cost 480 cores combined for what is mostly stats. For a first-week account, two units at A3 beats one unit at A5 in almost every stage layout in chapter 3, because chapter 3 stages punish single-lane compositions.
Which Update 3 stages are worth your stamina
| Stage | Stamina | Avg cores/run | Gold/run | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4 | 6 | 0.4 | 1,200 | Story clear only, don’t farm |
| 3-6 | 8 | 1.5 | 1,800 | First core node; best early farm (0.19 cores/stamina) |
| 3-9 | 10 | 2.0 | 2,400 | Best repeatable farm (0.20 cores/stamina) |
| 3-12 | 10 | 3.0 (boss) | 4,000 | 0.30 cores/stamina but 3 runs/day cap |
| 3-H | 12 | 4.0 | 6,000 | Best rate (0.33) but needs an A3 team |
The 3-12 boss cap is the detail most guides miss: the bonus core drop only applies to your first three clears each day, after which the stage pays out at normal rates. Run it three times, then move to 3-9.
The most efficient early progression route, step by step
- Days 1–2: clear 2-12 and push straight to 3-6. Reason: unlocking the core node on day one is worth more than any early gear farm, because cores are the bottleneck for everything else in the update.
- Stop at 3-6 and farm it until your two main units hit A1 and A2. Reason: 60 cores takes roughly 40 runs at 8 stamina, about a day and a half of natural regen, and it unlocks the skill cap you need to clear 3-9 comfortably.
- Clear 3-2 and start the raid event immediately. Reason: the raid is stamina-cheap at 12 per run and its shop is the only reliable source of skill books in week one. Five runs a day is 60 stamina.
- Days 3–5: farm 3-9, not 3-12. Reason: 3-9 has no daily cap and the same cores-per-stamina, so you get more total cores across a full day.
- Days 5–7: add the three daily 3-12 boss runs, then push 3-8 for elemental trials. Reason: the boss bonus is pure profit, and the trial sigils gate the second passives you just unlocked at A3.
- Buy the event support unit before anything else in the shop. Reason: gear prints are farmable later; the event unit is not, and chapter 3-H effectively requires a healer.
The stamina math for one week
Assume a 120 stamina cap regenerating at 1 per 5 minutes — 288 per day — plus 60 per day from daily missions and roughly 300 from event potions.
- Total for seven days: (288 × 7) + (60 × 7) + 300 ≈ 2,736 stamina.
- Chapter 3 first clears and retries: ~48 runs at an average of 8 stamina = 384.
- Raid, five runs a day for five days at 12 stamina = 300.
- Remaining for core farming: ~2,050 stamina.
- At 3-9 (10 stamina, 2 cores): ~205 runs = 410 cores, plus 60 from story and ~45 from daily boss runs = ~515 cores.
515 cores is not enough for one A5 unit (620). It is comfortably enough for one unit at A3 (140) plus a second at A3 (140) plus a third at A2 (60), with change. That is the whole argument for spreading early.
Decision matrix: what to do based on your account
| Your situation | Priority |
|---|---|
| New account, just cleared 2-12 | Push to 3-6, farm cores, ignore the banner |
| Returning player with a Fire DPS at A2+ | Skip the banner, farm 3-12 daily then 3-H |
| F2P with under 12,000 gems | Skip the banner, buy the event shop unit, bank pity |
| Pulled the featured DPS | Funnel every core into it to A3, then stop at A3 |
| Stuck on 3-10 | Check element matchup — chapter 3-10 rewards a Water front line |
Common mistakes that cost a week
- Spreading cores across six units at A1. A1 is a stat bump only; it changes no matchups.
- Selling duplicate units for gold. Dupes are the cheapest skill-up fodder in the game and gold is farmable from the raid shop.
- Gem-refreshing stamina before day three. Natural regen covers the story clear; save refills for the 3-9 grind.
- Buying gear prints before the event unit. Prints rotate back into the shop, the unit does not.
- Ignoring the raid’s free daily run. Most events grant one no-cost entry per day, and it still pays coins.
What runs dry first in Update 3 is stamina, then skill books, then gold — in that order. Plan your week around the first two and gold takes care of itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I unlock Awakening in Update 3?
Clear stage 3-6 in the new chapter. That unlocks the Awakening Core node, which is the only repeatable source of cores outside the raid event and hard mode. You can start farming it on day one of a fresh account if you push story instead of grinding gear.
How many Awakening Cores does one unit need?
620 cores to go from A0 to A5. The breakpoints matter more than the total: A3 costs 140 cumulative cores and unlocks the second passive, while the last two levels cost 480 cores combined for mostly stat gains. For a first-week account, two units at A3 is stronger than one at A5.
Should I pull on the Update 3 banner or save?
Save if you already have a Fire damage dealer at A2 or higher, and always finish the free ticket chain first — those tickets count toward the same pity counter as gem pulls, so spending gems early just wastes pity progress. The featured unit is strong but needs 140 cores to function, which is three days of farming.
Is 3-9 or 3-12 better for farming cores?
3-9 for volume, 3-12 for the daily bonus. Both sit around 0.20–0.30 cores per stamina, but 3-12 caps its bonus drop at three runs per day. Run the boss three times, then spend the rest of the day on 3-9.
What should I buy first in the event shop?
The event support unit at 8,000 coins, then skill books, then gold. Gear prints rotate back into the shop in later cycles and are farmable from chapter 3-H, so they are the lowest priority despite looking attractive.
Do Update 3 rewards carry over after the event ends?
Awakening Cores, sigils, and any unit you have already recruited carry over permanently. Event coins and unspent shop currency do not — the shop closes with the event, so spend coins before the final daily reset rather than hoarding them.