You pull a shiny five-star monster, dump all your mana into it, and wipe on a basic boss. Summoners War has hundreds of flashy units, but early traps drain your resources fast. This Summoners War Beginners guide shows you how to build real teams and clear dungeons without wasting time.
You do not need rare light and dark units to beat the story or Cairos Dungeon. Free monsters carry you through most stages if you gear them properly. Follow this Summoners War new player guide to skip common mistakes and power up your account quickly.
How to Progress in Summoners War?
Summoners War runs on a simple loop. You clear story stages, build dungeon teams, farm runes, and upgrade stats. Runes decide your power, not raw monster rarity. A fully runed two-star monster easily outperforms an unruned five-star unit.
The game guides your journey through the Summoner’s Way quest system. Think of Summoner’s Way as your primary roadmap. It hands out high-tier runes, skill books, devilmons, and guaranteed summon scrolls.
Never skip ahead of your current Summoner’s Way quests. If a quest asks you to clear a specific dungeon, do it then. Completing tasks early forces you to repeat them later, which wastes energy.
Our Summoners War Beginners guide breaks down each progression milestone in order. Follow this path to keep your team moving forward without hitting walls.
Step-by-Step Summoners War Progression Roadmap
Your early account needs a clear plan. Wandering between different dungeons slows your progress to a crawl. Focus on one major milestone at a time.
Scenario Normal Clear ──► Veromos Fusion & Secret Dungeons ──► Giant’s Keep (GB10 / Abyss)
│
Endgame Raids (R5) ◄── Dragon’s Lair (DB10) ◄── 2A Farming ◄── ToA Normal 100
1. Clear Scenario on Normal Mode
Your first goal is clearing all Scenario maps through Chiruka Remains. Play through on Normal difficulty. Use friend representative monsters whenever a boss stage blocks your path.
Clearing Scenario unlocks the Dimensional Hole, Cairos Dungeon depths, and Rift Raids. It also gives you top-tier starter rune sets. Equip the free Vampire and Revenge set directly onto Lapis (Water Magic Knight). She becomes your primary farmer for leveling other monsters.
2. Farm Key Secret Dungeons
Once Scenario is complete, join channel 1050 in chat. Players share Secret Dungeons there every Sunday and Monday.
Collect the core support roster right away:
- Loren (Light Cow Girl): Strips buffs, lowers defense, and reduces enemy attack bars.
- Belladeon (Light Inugami): Heals your squad, breaks defense, and removes enemy buffs.
- Kro (Dark Inugami): Deals massive burst damage against debuffed targets.
Do not burn energy farming skill pieces if you cannot clear stage ten. Grab your first copy of each unit, then move on.
3. Fuse Veromos (Dark Ifrit)
The Fusion Hexagram building lets you combine farmable monsters into powerful nat-fives. Your absolute top priority is Veromos (Dark Ifrit).
Veromos cleanses one harmful effect from your entire team every single turn. He also stuns enemy waves and deals damage based on his maximum health. He is the backbone of your starter dungeon teams.
4. Conquer Giant’s Keep
Take your new team straight into Giant’s Keep. Giant’s Keep drops Swift, Fatal, Blade, Energy, and Despair runes.
These runes provide raw percentage stats. They give you the speed, health, and attack power needed for harder content. Stay here until your core units have solid six-star runes upgraded to at least level twelve.
5. Climb Trial of Ascension (ToA Normal)
Trial of Ascension resets monthly and offers massive rewards. You earn a Devilmon at Floor 70, a Light & Dark scroll at Floor 90, and a Legendary scroll at Floor 100.
Your Giant’s Keep team can clear most ToA stages with ease. Swap in a turn-denial unit like Spectra (Fire Griffon) or Baretta (Fire Sylph) on boss stages to lock enemies down.
6. Farm Dimension Hole for Second Awakenings (2A)
The Dimensional Hole lets you power up specific two-star and three-star monsters into elite units. Second Awakening (2A) gives them stats and abilities that rival natural five-star summons.
Awaken Kro first for damage, followed by Belladeon and Spectra. These three monsters stay relevant into the endgame.
7. Push Dragon’s Lair and Rift Raids
After farming Giants and building your 2A units, tackle Dragon’s Lair for Violent and Revenge runes. Next, enter Rift Raids (R4 and R5) to farm Grindstones and Enchanted Gems. These items boost the sub-stats on your existing runes.
Best Free Monsters to Build in Summoners War
Never rely on lucky gacha pulls to progress. Summoners War gives you access to top-tier units through the story, shops, and secret dungeons. Build these monsters first.
Lapis (Water Magic Knight)
The game hands you Lapis during the tutorial. She has area-of-effect damage on every skill and steals attack bar from enemies. Slap the free Vampire and Revenge rune set on her. She will solo Faimon Volcano stages to level up your other monsters.
Veromos (Dark Ifrit)
Veromos is your first fused five-star monster. His passive cleanses debuffs from your team every turn. He makes early Giant runs safe by removing the boss’s defense break. Give him your first batch of Devilmons.
Loren (Light Cow Girl)
Loren is the queen of single-target control. Her passive breaks defense and reduces the enemy attack bar with every hit. She stops dungeon bosses from ever taking a turn.
Belladeon (Light Inugami)
Belladeon covers three critical roles at once. Her first skill applies defense break. Her second skill strips boss buffs. Her third skill heals your team and boosts their attack bars. Upgrade her to Second Awakening as soon as possible.
Kro (Dark Inugami)
Kro deals extra damage for every debuff on the enemy. Pair him with Loren and Belladeon to see massive damage spikes. He shreds bosses in Giant’s Keep, Rift Beasts, and Dimensional Hole.
Fran (Light Fairy Queen)
Buy Fran from the Ancient Coin shop. She provides team-wide attack buffs, immunity, attack reduction, and steady healing. She fits into almost every early team comp.
How Does Summoners War Runes and Artifacts Work?
In this Summoners War: Sky Arena guide, remember one golden rule: runes make the monster. Monsters have six rune slots. Combining matching runes unlocks powerful set bonuses.
Main Stats by Slot
Slots 1, 3, and 5 always carry fixed flat stats:
- Slot 1: Flat Attack
- Slot 3: Flat Defense
- Slot 5: Flat HP
Slots 2, 4, and 6 can roll percentage stats or flat stats:
- Slot 2: Speed (flat only), HP%, DEF%, ATK%
- Slot 4: Crit Rate%, Crit Damage%, HP%, DEF%, ATK%
- Slot 6: Accuracy%, Resistance%, HP%, DEF%, ATK%
Beginner Warning: Never keep flat HP, flat Defense, or flat Attack on slots 2, 4, or 6. Sell them immediately. Percentage stats scale much higher as your monsters level up. Speed on slot 2 is the only flat stat worth keeping.
Rune Sets and Synergy
Pair rune sets to match your monster’s role. Supports want Speed and HP. Attackers want Attack, Crit Rate, and Crit Damage.
Understanding Artifacts
Artifacts unlock later in Cairos Dungeon. You can equip one Element artifact and one Archetype artifact on each monster.
Artifacts grant flat HP, Attack, and Defense, along with unique sub-stats. Look for stats like extra Critical Damage, bonus healing, or accuracy increases for specific skills.
Best Ways to Manage your Resources in Summoners War
Resource waste kills early momentum. The game showers you with rewards early on, but that fountain dries up quickly. Spend your currencies with discipline.
Spend Crystals on Energy Only
Crystals are your most versatile currency. Do not waste them on Premium Packs to summon random monsters.
Use your crystals for energy refills. More energy means more dungeon runs, better runes, and faster progression. Summons give you monsters you cannot rune yet. Energy gives you the gear to clear content.
Use your Devilmons Wisely
Devilmons skill up natural five-star monsters. They are the rarest resource in the game.
Never feed Devilmons to three-star or four-star monsters. You can skill those up using duplicates or fusion. Save every Devilmon for critical nat-fives like Veromos.
Set a One-Monster Arena Defense
Always burn your Arena wings before they cap at ten. Set a weak, single-monster defense on your profile during the week.
This lowers your rank and lets you trade easy wins with other players. You farm Glory Points quickly without facing impossible defenses. Spend these points on the weekly Devilmon first. Put remaining points into the Sanctum of Energy and Speed Totem buildings.
Join an Active Farming Guild
Join a beginner-friendly farming guild immediately. Guild content rewards Guild Points and gives access to the Guild Magic Shop.
Spend Guild Points on the weekly five-star Rainbowmon and Ifrit pieces. Use your five daily lanterns in the Guild Labyrinth for easy runes and grindstones.
Summoners War Beginners Tips for Fast Account Growth
Use these practical Summoners War Beginners tips to speed up your daily farming:
- Lock Every Single Monster: Tap the cog icon on any monster profile and lock it. This prevents you from accidentally feeding valuable units as leveling fodder.
- Save One Copy of Every 3-Star Monster: Put one copy of each unique monster into your Monster Storage building. Balance patches and new Second Awakenings often turn overlooked units into meta staples.
- Add Fifty Active Friends: High-level friends let you use their representative monsters once per day. Use strong friend reps to push through difficult Scenario stages.
- Prioritize Success Rate Over Run Speed: A two-minute dungeon run with a 100% win rate beats a one-minute run that fails 20% of the time. Failed runs waste valuable energy.
- Focus on Speed Tuning: Make sure your debuffers move before your damage dealers. Loren must apply defense break before Kro takes his turn to strike.
Summoners War Beginners Guide FAQ
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