There are 13 Astrakeep heroes across three rarities: three rare heroes (your starters), six epic heroes and four legendaries. Nyx and Tharok come from summoning; Kiran, Mio, Bolt and Solène, the four newest, are given to you as you progress through the campaign and can also be summoned. The four legendaries are Aurelion and Sylvara, who and Sylvara are unlocked with 40 fragments or bought in the shop, and Jinhou the Monkey King and Varek the Ember Prince, who only come with their own pack, in the shop. Every hero levels up to 16 (a cap set by the Crystal Tower), earns up to 5 stars with shards and, once level and stars are maxed, awakens. Here's each hero's role, special attack and awakened power, and the best way to power them up.
This page is part of the Astrakeep guide. To see how heroes fight in a siege, as cards played in one of three lanes, check the Astrakeep campaign page.
All 13 heroes at a glance
| Hero | Rarity | Role | Special attack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyra the Archer | Rare | Rapid fire | Arrow Rain |
| Orin the Mage | Rare | Area damage | Arcane Meteor |
| Kael the Knight | Rare | Heavy hitter | Guardian's Shock |
| Nyx the Sorceress | Epic | Frost | Blizzard |
| Tharok the Bombardier | Epic | Bombs | Bomb Barrage |
| Aurelion the Paladin | Legendary | Spears of light | Celestial Judgment |
| Sylvara the Empress | Legendary | Dragonfire | Imperial Breath |
| Jinhou the Monkey King | Legendary | Star staff | Celestial Staff |
| Varek the Ember Prince | Legendary | Fists of fire | Star Burst |
| Kiran the Star Whelp | Epic | Growing breath | Hatching Breath |
| Mio the Shadow Child | Epic | Shadow beasts | Cry of the Fallen Isles |
| Bolt the Link Golem | Epic | Chain golem | Chain Lash |
| Solène the Lantern Keeper | Epic | Daylight | Heartbeat of the Star |
Rare heroes, your starting trio
- Lyra the Archer looses crystal arrows very fast, at long range. Her Arrow Rain hits the biggest group of enemies.
- Orin the Mage, who is also your advisor, throws mana orbs that hit every nearby enemy. His Arcane Meteor stuns a whole group.
- Kael the Knight fights up close: he charges ground enemies and strikes them. His Guardian's Shock stuns nearby ground enemies and restores half his HP.
Epic heroes
- Nyx the Sorceress hurts enemies and slows them down hard with her ice shards. Her Blizzard freezes every enemy in an area in place.
- Tharok the Bombardier, a dwarf, lobs bombs from far away that blast whole groups. His Bomb Barrage drops a bomb on each of the five most advanced enemies.
Kiran, Mio, Bolt and Solène: the epics that change form
These four epic heroes change form during battle: after 10 s, and again once awakened.
- Kiran the Star Whelp starts as an egg of light found at the foot of the Tower. For 10 s he does not attack, takes half damage and gives +5% damage to nearby heroes, then he hatches. Awakened, he grows: young dragon at 30 s, adult at 55 s, elder dragon at 85 s, up to +50% damage. His Hatching Breath grows with him.
- Mio the Shadow Child, back from the fallen islands, slings crystal shards for 10 s, then becomes a shadow beast. Awakened, she changes beast every 8 s: wolf (fast, +14% damage), owl (ranged) or bear (takes half damage). Her Cry of the Fallen Isles stuns nearby enemies.
- Bolt the Link Golem, the automaton Tharok built from the broken links of Astra’s chains, rolls toward the front as a ball of chains for 10 s, then unfolds into a golem. Awakened, he adds a module every 10 s: shield, cannon, chain wings, star core, up to +75% damage.
- Solène the Lantern Keeper is dawn for 10 s (she heals nearby allies), then noon. Awakened, she moves through a phase every 10 s: noon (damage), dusk (her hits slow), night (nearby allies take 30% less damage) and dawn (healing).
Legendary heroes
- Aurelion the Paladin, a celestial paladin in winged gold armor, pierces groups with his spears of light. His Celestial Judgment drops a colossal sword of light: huge damage and stunned enemies.
- Sylvara the Empress rides with a golden dragon whose fire burns and slows. Her Imperial Breath sets a huge stretch of the battlefield ablaze.
- Jinhou the Monkey King, standing on his cloud in midnight-blue armor, wields a star staff that stretches out to strike groups. His Celestial Staff grows up to the sky and crashes down on the battlefield: huge damage and stunned enemies.
- Varek the Ember Prince, a young prince in a crimson tunic, fights bare-handed and throws fireballs. His Star Burst fires a huge sphere of energy that explodes on a group: massive damage and stunned enemies.
Jinhou and Varek are playable, but they can't be summoned or earned with fragments: each one only comes with their own pack in the shop (the Monkey King Pack and the Varek Pack).
Heroes gifted by the campaign
Four epic heroes join you without a summon, as soon as you reach a campaign milestone:
| Hero | When they join |
|---|---|
| Kiran | "Welcome gift", at the end of the tutorial |
| Solène | After level 15, the end of the "The Goblin Camp" chapter |
| Mio | After level 40, the end of the "The Cursed Marshes" chapter |
| Bolt | After level 75, the end of the "The City of Gears" chapter |
The game announces Kiran with "Welcome gift" and the other three with "A new hero joins you". After that, every campaign level you win gives you 2 shards of each of them, up to 150. They also come out of the Summoning Altar, like the other epics.
Summoning at the Summoning Altar
Epic heroes (Nyx, Tharok, Kiran, Mio, Bolt and Solène) come from the Summoning Altar (Arcane Isle), using tokens: one token per summon, with "Summon x1" or "Summon x10". Each summon gives either an epic hero card or shards. The rates are shown in the game: epic hero card 6%, epic shards 34%, rare shards 60%, plus the Summoning Altar's bonus as you upgrade it.
The guarantee: "Epic card guaranteed within 10 summons". If nine summons in a row brought no card, the next one will. The counter is shown on screen.
A card for a hero you already own turns into 25 shards. And 20 shards of an epic hero are enough to unlock them: even without a card, shards get you there eventually.
Where to get tokens
The game sums it up: "Tokens: daily chest, 7th login day, Sky Ruins expedition, Ascension elites and guardians." On top of that, you can get one free token a day by watching a video, if you want to. A new game starts with 10 tokens.
Worth remembering: "Gems never buy summons." Summoning only ever uses tokens.
Shards and stars
"Shards give your heroes stars (+12% per star)." A hero goes up to 5 stars. Stars 2 to 5 cost 10, 20, 40 and then 80 shards. Stars are the strongest long-term lever: put your shards into the heroes you actually field.
Levels: the Crystal Tower sets the cap
Heroes level up with your resources, but their cap depends on the Crystal Tower: a hero can go up to the Tower's level + 1, and the screen shows "Max level … (Tower lv. …)". Since the Tower tops out at level 15, a hero's real max level is 16. If a hero is stuck, it's the Tower you need to upgrade. See the islands and buildings page.
Hero awakening
A hero who reaches both max level and 5 stars becomes "Awakened". There's nothing to buy and no special item to find: awakening happens on its own as soon as both are maxed. The game puts it like this: "Max level and stars: awakened power and a stronger bond with troops in assaults."
What changes for the hero:
- An awakened power replaces their special attack.
- Their troop combo gets stronger: every hero boosts one troop type standing near them, and awakening raises that bonus.
- They take on a golden form (golden trims and glowing golden eyes), with an "✦ Awakened ✦" badge on their card.
These effects work in sieges, the battles with troops, lanes and ramparts. Since the October 16, 2026 update, every battle in Astrakeep is a siege: campaign, raids, the Ascension and battles against other players.
| Hero | Awakened power | Effect | Troop combo: normal → awakened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyra | Star Storm | One volley on its target, then one in each of the other two lanes, on the tightest group of enemies | Griffins near her: +25% → +40% damage |
| Orin | Meteor Shower | 3 meteors on the target, then on nearby groups; a rampart hit takes 100% of the damage | Crystal colossi: +20% → +32% damage |
| Kael | Steel Bastion | A wider shockwave that stuns; allies within 3 tiles take 40% less damage for 5 s | Footmen: +25% → +40% damage |
| Nyx | Eternal Winter | Freezes every enemy in its lane for 2.5 s, then slows them for 3 s; when attacking, that lane's rampart freezes too | Shield guards: slow their target 1.5 s → 2.4 s |
| Tharok | Grand Charge | A bomb that blows after 1 s: 80% of its damage to ramparts, and a tower under 25% health collapses | Crystal colossi: explode when they fall, 140 → 224 damage |
| Aurelion | Sacred Aegis | Allies within 3.5 tiles of the impact become invulnerable for 2.5 s, then recover 15% of their health | Shield guards: −30% → −45% damage taken |
| Sylvara | Imperial Decree | Heals all allied troops by 35% and their hits deal +100% for 4 s | All troops: +2% → +3.5% health per second |
| Jinhou | A Thousand Staffs | The staff crashes down on the target, then 4 staffs fall around it, on the tightest group: each deals 35% of the damage | Griffins: +30% → +48% damage |
| Varek | Last Burst | A star beam hits the target, then 3 bursts follow around it, each dealing 50% of the damage | Footmen: +35% → +56% damage |
| Kiran | Sky of Old | The breath hits, then the dragon flies over the field: 5 showers of star scales, each dealing 40% of the damage; available from the young dragon on | Griffins: −20% → −30% damage taken |
| Mio | All the Shadows | The beast strikes, then the 2 other shadow beasts burst out around it, each dealing 55% of the damage | Footmen: +20% → +32% damage |
| Bolt | Living Forge | The lash hits; Bolt repairs 35% of his health and takes 50% less damage for 4 s | Crystal colossi: −25% → −38% damage taken |
| Solène | Whole Day | All four phases at once: troops healed by 25%, allies +40% damage for 3 s | All troops: +1.2% → +2.1% health per second |
Varek has one more trick: after 45 seconds of combat, an awakened Varek takes his astral form, with +20% damage and power until the end of the battle.
To find out how to get there faster and how to play awakened heroes in sieges, read our Astrakeep hero awakening guide.
Every hero also has memories you can read on their hero sheet: they unlock when you recruit the hero, when they reach level 10, and when they awaken. They round out the Chronicles of Astra, the journal the campaign fills in boss after boss.
Equipment: announced for an upcoming update
Equipment isn't available yet: the game announces it for an upcoming update, with a weapon, an armor and a talisman for every hero. No date has been given. For now, levels, stars and awakening are how you power up your heroes.
Unlocking a legendary hero
Legendary heroes never come out of a summon. How you get them depends on the hero:
- Aurelion and Sylvara, with legendary fragments: "+1 fragment each day you open the daily chest". At 40 fragments, the "Choose a legendary" button lets you pick the one you want. They're also sold in the shop, Heroes tab, at a fixed price.
- Jinhou and Varek, only with their own pack in the shop: the Monkey King Pack for Jinhou, the Varek Pack for Varek. Fragments don't unlock them.
The free route to Aurelion and Sylvara takes consistency: finish the five daily quests every day so you can open the chest.
Worth knowing: a bought legendary fights other players too, but, like every hero, it's capped by your Crystal Tower there. A legendary earned with fragments joins fights against players once the server has counted enough daily chests opened online (40 for your first one); until then it shows "Pending sync" and defends against rivals, not against other players. Once you own every legendary, each fragment from the daily chest turns into 2 star shards.
Building a good team
In a siege, a hero is a card you play in a lane, and they're at their best next to the troop they boost:
- Footmen: Kael (+25% damage), Varek (+35%) or Mio (+20%).
- Griffins: Lyra (+25%) or Jinhou (+30%); Kiran protects them instead (−20% damage taken).
- Crystal colossi: Orin (+20% damage) or Tharok (they explode when they fall); Bolt covers them (−25% damage taken).
- Shield guards: Aurelion (−30% damage taken) or Nyx (they slow their target).
- A mixed army: Sylvara or Solène, whose nearby troops slowly heal.
Keep a crowd-control hero too: Nyx's Blizzard freezes a whole area, Orin's Arcane Meteor stuns a group.
When defending against other players, you choose up to 3 heroes to defend your village, so they're the ones to power up first. The troops and raids page explains your defense.
Astrakeep left tower defense behind on October 16, 2026; if you came for the heroes, our feature on hero strategy games covers the genre in depth. To try your heroes, play Astrakeep in your browser; Astrakeep is also out on Android, on Google Play, free to play with optional in-app purchases, and the iPhone version is coming soon (see the Astrakeep page).
Frequently asked questions
How do I get Nyx and Tharok?
At the Summoning Altar, with tokens. An epic card is guaranteed within 10 summons at most, and 20 shards of an epic hero are also enough to unlock them.
How do I get Kiran, Mio, Bolt and Solène?
By moving through the campaign: Kiran is given to you at the end of the tutorial, Solène after level 15, Mio after level 40 and Bolt after level 75. They also come out of the Summoning Altar, and every campaign level you win after that brings 2 of their shards, up to 150.
Can you summon a legendary hero?
No. Aurelion and Sylvara come from 40 legendary fragments (one per daily chest you open) or from the shop. Jinhou the Monkey King and Varek the Ember Prince are playable too, but only with their own pack, in the shop.
Why won't my hero level up anymore?
Their max level depends on the Crystal Tower: the Tower's level + 1. Upgrade the Tower to raise the cap, up to level 16 with a level 15 Tower.
How do you awaken a hero?
Raise them to max level and give them all 5 stars with shards: they awaken automatically. In sieges, their awakened power then replaces their special attack and the bonus they give nearby troops goes up.
Can gems be used to summon?
No, the game says so plainly: gems never buy summons. They're for speed-ups and peace shields. Got more questions? Ask them on the Astrakeep forum.