---
title: Legend of Defenders Guide: Unlocks, Currencies, First Hour & Getting Unstuck | LoD Wiki
description: A Legend of Defenders beginner guide: when every feature unlocks (Rift Gate, Demon Lord Tower, Talents, Black Market), where each currency comes from, what to do first and how to get past a wall.
url: https://legendofdefenders.com/guide/
---

Guide · **Wave 1 → 2,000**

# Legend of Defenders beginner guide
**Short version:** fill every slot as soon as Castle Upgrade opens it, turn on skill auto-cast, and push to wave 80, where the Rift Gate and battle speed-up open. When a wave stops you, farm Rift bosses and improve gear at the Blacksmith instead of grinding the same wave. Below: what unlocks when, where each currency comes from, how far players really get, and what each system is for.

## Your first hour

- **Turn on skill auto-cast.** Heroes, turrets and cannons always attack on their own; the Auto button also casts hero skills when their MP is ready. Press Exit Auto when you want to aim skills (and the Siege Bow) yourself. Battle speed-up comes later, at wave 80.

- **Recruit at the Tavern.** Ten recruits cost 100 diamonds. The game says the odds of rare characters improve the more you recruit, and duplicates turn into shards for star-ups. Early defense missions pay diamonds, so check them often. Ten recruits also earn Tavern Apprentice (96.1% of players have it).

- **Spend gold on Castle Upgrade.** Castle level opens deploy slots (level 50 gives the 4th hero slot) and facilities. At wave 98 in the store screenshot, five hero slots are open and five are still locked. Every new slot you fill is a bigger jump than a few hero levels.

- **Level the heroes you actually deploy.** Levels have no cap. Star-ups (StarUp button on the hero sheet) cost shards and multiply stats; players reach 1 star almost at once (95.9%) but only 15.2% reach 10.

- **Unlock the Training Grounds around wave 20** and put EXP into damage, crit and gold or EXP gain. At Castle level 60 the Talent Bureau opens; talent points arrive at set waves, and you can refund a node for free with a right-click.

- **Set up for idling.** In settings, keep "auto next wave" on and consider "auto battle fail rewind", which steps back after a loss instead of stalling. Resources and the Mine keep producing while the game is closed. Need to hide it fast? The Boss Key removes the window and its taskbar icon.

## When every feature unlocks
The game gates most systems behind waves, Castle levels or a gold fee. We read these requirements off the unlock screens shown in full-release gameplay videos (2 November 2026); the "seen at" link jumps to that moment.

| Feature | Requirement | What it is for | Seen at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Cannon slot** | During the tutorial, after a few Castle upgrades | The first cannon, the Siege Bow, is aimed by you when you play manually. | [10Min Reviews 0:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5jdcCTK0Y&t=49s) |
| **Warehouse** | Castle level 5 | Stores shards and upgrade materials. | [Dabble 4:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTOnFjJYwB0&t=280s) |
| **Training Grounds** | Around wave 20, for gold | Spend EXP on permanent stats. | [Nerfed Reflexes 7:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=435s) |
| **4th hero slot** | Castle level 50 | More slots keep opening as the Castle levels up. | [Nerfed Reflexes 21:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=1309s) |
| **Demon Lord Tower** | Wave 55, 10,000 gold | Boss floors with element modifiers. | [Nerfed Reflexes 9:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=580s) |
| **Talents (Talent Bureau)** | Castle level 60 | Points arrive at set waves; right-click a node to refund it for free. | [Nerfed Reflexes 25:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=1557s) |
| **Rift Gate** | Wave 80, 10,000 gold | Boss raids that drop equipment. | [Nerfed Reflexes 9:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=580s) |
| **Battle speed-up** | Wave 80 | Before that, battles run at normal speed. | [Nerfed Reflexes 7:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=435s) |
| **Black Market** | Wave 85 and 100 diamonds | Exchanges, blueprints and blind boxes. | [Nerfed Reflexes 9:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=580s) |
| **Blacksmith** | Own 5 pieces of equipment | Enhance, enchant and reroll gear. | [Nerfed Reflexes 9:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=580s) |
| **Treasure Altar** | A hero at level 155, then 10,000 gold | Equip Treasures for passive effects. | [AboboKnows 16:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=1002s) |

Plan around two walls. Wave 80 is the big one: it opens the Rift Gate and speed-up at once, so pushing there quickly pays off. Then a hero at level 155 opens the Treasure Altar, which matters for the Treasure achievements (only 15.4% of players own 10 Treasures).

## Currencies and where they come from

| Currency | Where it comes from | What it buys |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Gold** | Every wave, Mine (human miners), missions, boss clears | Castle Upgrade, hero levels, facility unlocks, Treasures |
| **Diamonds** | Defense missions (e.g. 25 for clearing wave 5), Mine (orc miners), achievements in-game | Recruiting: 100 diamonds for 10 recruits; Black Market |
| **EXP** | Battles | Training Grounds and Peak Training |
| **Shards** | Duplicate recruits | Star-ups for heroes, turrets, cannons and captains |
| **Talent points** | Reaching set wave numbers | Talent tree (5 pages) |
| **Blueprints** | Beating your best wave | Hiring and upgrading miners |
| **Orc tokens** | Defense missions, Demon Lord Tower, every 1,000 waves cleared | Orc miners (they dig diamonds) |
| **Equipment** | Rift bosses (Red Dragon: rare chest; Fairy Dragon: fabled gear) | Two gear slots per hero; each class takes its own type (bow, sword, wand…) |

Diamonds are the bottleneck most players hit, because recruiting is the only way to get new units and shards. That is why orc miners matter: human miners dig gold, orc miners dig diamonds. In one mid-game save we watched (three human and two orc miners), the Mine made about 22,000 gold and 120 diamonds an hour ([AboboKnows 1:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=99s)).

## How far players get (real numbers)
Steam's achievement stats show what share of owners have reached each milestone. Use them to see whether you are ahead or behind the pack. Data from 2026-11-03, one day after launch.

| Milestone | Achievement | Players |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wave 20 | First Defense | 99.0% |
| Castle Lv 50 | Trainee Commander | 89.9% |
| Wave 100 | Veteran Defender | 75.0% |
| First Red Dragon kill | First Raid | 51.8% |
| Castle Lv 200 | Castle Lord: Lv. 200 | 55.6% |
| Wave 350 | Ace Defender | 43.9% |
| Demon Lord Tower floor 5 | Halfway Up | 33.7% |
| Wave 1,000 | 1K Waves Defended | 23.4% |
| Fairy Dragon kill | Rift Skirmish | 22.2% |
| Castle Lv 1,000 | Castle Lord: Lv. 1000 | 19.2% |
| Wave 2,000 | 2K Waves Defended | 15.6% |
| Goblin King kill | Rift Rivalry | 11.6% |
| Bone Dragon kill | Rift Clash | 3.7% |

Two things stand out. First, only 51.8% have beaten the Red Dragon even though 75.0% have reached wave 100. The Rift Gate needs wave 80 plus 10,000 gold, so many players simply have not opened it, and they are missing the main source of gear. Second, the Demon Lord Tower is opened by about two thirds of players (64.7%) but only 18.9% clear floor 10.

## Stuck on a wave? The loop that works
Main waves throw a boss (Goblin Shaman, Goblin Chief) roughly every ten waves, and monsters get much stronger at main-stage 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and so on (the developers call these Monster Boosts). When a wave stops you, power comes from side systems, not from repeating it:

- **Rift Gate.** Fight Rift Raid bosses for equipment. The Rift screen recommends power 130 for the Red Dragon, which drops a rare equipment chest, and 800 for the Fairy Dragon, which drops fabled gear and gets stronger each time you beat it ([AboboKnows 24:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=1491s)). Later bosses include the Goblin King, Pagan Monarch and Bone Dragon. Rift Raid supports Auto Battle, and you can auto-dismantle unwanted drops.

- **Blacksmith.** Opens once you own 5 pieces of equipment. Enhance, enchant and reroll the affixes until the stats suit your team. Gear can carry an equipment skill; the store screenshot shows an Epic Maul with Frozen Spikes: a 1% chance to Freeze the target when an Ice wearer attacks, and a guaranteed Crit on the first hit against a Frozen target.

- **Black Market.** Opens at wave 85 for 100 diamonds. Trade gold and diamonds, buy blueprints and blind boxes. Only 68.4% of players have bought even one.

- **Mine.** Hire and upgrade miners with blueprints (they drop when you beat your best wave) and gold; orc miners also need orc tokens. The store screenshot shows a late mine making 3.2M gold an hour at miner levels 14 and 15.

- **Training Grounds and Peak Training.** Spend spare EXP on damage, crit, MP recovery and gold or EXP gain. Peak Training opens once every basic upgrade is maxed.

- **Talents.** Re-check your tree whenever your lineup changes; refunds are free. Nodes reward focus, for example a poison node that makes each stack deal 1% of the target's HP per second (capped at 50% of its HP), and some reward mixed teams of one Physical and one elemental hero.

## Element combos the developers point to
Placement barely matters; what you combine does. Combos from the official patch notes:

- **Ice + Fire:** Cryomancer lowers enemy Ice and Fire Resistance, and the Fire Tree turret turns your whole team's damage into Fire damage. The developers showcase this pair, and it is the team AboboKnows runs past wave 160.

- **All-in Fire:** Pyromaniac raises the team's Crit Damage, Flame Aide summons Fire Elementals, Sun God is a Fire Captain, and Toxmaster lowers Fire Resistance.

- **Poison over time:** Bog Demon applies [Poisoned] through three summoned copies, Toxmaster lowers Poison Resistance, and Toxic Blood is a Poison Captain.

- **Speed supports:** Time Bard cuts the team's cooldowns and Drum Cats raise Attack Speed. Both fit any element.

See every unit and its source on [Heroes & bosses](https://legendofdefenders.com/heroes/).

## The Solar Turret gamble
The Solar Turret makes incoming enemies stronger (Attack and HP) and pays more coins and EXP for them. Use it when your defense clears waves with power to spare and you want faster growth, for example while idling overnight on a wave you beat easily. Take it out the moment the castle starts taking damage.

## Demon Lord Tower
Opens at wave 55 for 10,000 gold. Each floor is a timed boss stage with a field effect: enemies are weak to one element and resist others, so swap in a team of the weak element before you try ([AboboKnows 29:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=1790s)). In a Thai full-release playthrough, floor 1 showed enemy power 50, a 100,000 gold reward and a fire weakness worth +75% fire damage ([Tietie TH. 18:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCi5RRbcbA&t=1110s)). The Day 1 Hotfix made floor 1 easier. Clears also pay orc tokens. Achievements are given for floors 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and 10.

## Saves, Demo and Steam Cloud
Demo progress carries over to the full game, and the game supports Steam Cloud. The Day 1 Hotfix fixed saving on Steam Deck. Keep the game updated: the developers ship fixes quickly.

## Watch it: the unlocks on video
Three full-release runs from launch day. The chapter links start the video at the moment we cite above. The fourth is the critical take, for balance.

Full release 2026-11-02 · 3,148 views

### [This incremental idle TD is insanely good](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo)
Nerfed Reflexes
A fresh start on the full release. Good for seeing exactly when each feature unlocks.

- [7:15 Training Grounds unlock (wave 20)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=435s)

- [9:40 Unlock requirements for Tower, Rift, Blacksmith, Black Market, Treasure Altar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=580s)

- [10:28 Settings: auto next wave, fail rewind, damage numbers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=628s)

- [21:49 Castle level 50 opens a 4th hero slot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=1309s)

- [25:57 Talent Bureau at Castle level 60](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etJMFiRxGYo&t=1557s)

Full release 2026-11-02 · 9,664 views

### [This Incremental Castle Defense Game Is PURE DOPAMINE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTOnFjJYwB0)
Dabble
Another fresh full-release start, with the Mine and the unlock list explained along the way.

- [4:40 Mine, blueprints and the Warehouse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTOnFjJYwB0&t=280s)

- [11:05 Demon Lord Tower and Rift Gate wave gates](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTOnFjJYwB0&t=665s)

- [23:08 Unlock checklist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTOnFjJYwB0&t=1388s)

Full release 2026-11-02 · 4,233 views

### [The Tower Defense With NO LEVEL CAP Finally Released IN FULL!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI)
AboboKnows
A mid-game save (wave 100 → 166) with a fire-and-ice team. Best single tour of the menus, recruiting and the first Rift boss.

- [1:39 Menu tour: Training Grounds, Monster Lab, Black Market, Warehouse, Mine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=99s)

- [3:15 10-pulls, shards and gems](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=195s)

- [16:42 Unlocking the Treasure Altar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=1002s)

- [25:44 Red Dragon fight (Rift Gate)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=1544s)

- [29:50 Demon Lord Tower field effects](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=1790s)

- [42:33 Talent tree nodes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpOuExSDiI&t=2553s)

Demo 2026-10-06 · 771 views

### [I Tried Playing Legend of Defenders So You Don't Have To](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5jdcCTK0Y)
10Min Reviews
The critical view: plays the tutorial, finds the early unlocks slow and scores it 6/10.

- [0:49 Tutorial: cannon slot and the hand-aimed Siege Bow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5jdcCTK0Y&t=49s)

- [10:41 Mine: human miners for gold, orc miners for diamonds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5jdcCTK0Y&t=641s)

- [12:36 Verdict](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5jdcCTK0Y&t=756s)

More in every language on our [video page](https://legendofdefenders.com/videos/).

Sources: official posts on the [Steam page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4740930/Legend_of_Defenders/) ([Blacksmith](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4740930/view/1843481262701382), [Demo launch](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4740930/view/1845383656379493), [Demo update](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4740930/view/1846651706683605), [Solar Turret](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4740930/view/1847920302237730), [Day 1 Hotfix](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4740930/view/1847920302248853)), store screenshots, Steam's global achievement stats, and the gameplay videos linked above (requirements read from on-screen unlock text; creators' own opinions are not used as facts). Advice on order and when to use what is our own reading of those sources.

## Guide FAQ

### What should I upgrade first in Legend of Defenders?
Castle Upgrade first: it opens more hero, turret and cannon slots (Castle level 50 gives the 4th hero slot), and filling slots is the biggest early power jump. Spend EXP in the Training Grounds once they open around wave 20.

### When can I speed up battles?
Battle speed-up unlocks at wave 80. Skill auto-cast is available much earlier through the Auto button.

### How do I unlock the Rift Gate and the Demon Lord Tower?
The Demon Lord Tower opens at wave 55 and the Rift Gate at wave 80; each costs 10,000 gold to unlock.

### How do I get more diamonds?
Early on from defense missions; later mainly from orc miners in the Mine. Orc miners need orc tokens, which come from missions, the Demon Lord Tower and every 1,000 waves cleared. The Black Market also trades gold for diamonds.

### I am stuck on a wave. What do I do?
Stop pushing waves for a while. Farm Rift bosses for gear, improve it at the Blacksmith (enhance, enchant, reroll affixes), check the Training Grounds and talents, then come back. The developers recommend exactly this loop.

### Does hero placement matter?
Barely. The developers designed the game so you do not lose range by being a tile off; lineup and element combos matter far more than position.

### Is the Solar Turret worth it?
Only when your defense has spare power. It makes incoming enemies stronger (Attack and HP) and pays more coins and EXP in return. Take it off if waves start leaking.

Last checked 2026-11-03. Spotted something wrong? Tell us on the [contact page](https://legendofdefenders.com/contact/).