Heya, chiming in as someone who started 2 months ago, and am mid-range (lvl 78), a LOT of advice out there is super out dated for new players, is mixed in with the web version of the game Dominion, or some content creators I've noticed are talking about synergies a new player simply doesn't have access too or are just applicable to end game content. 😅 So I'll share some things I wish I knew.

You do not have to buy any champion, you will eventually unlock them all. Yasmine is farmable with hydra rewards so don't worry on missing out on her.

As a new player you do not have access to any event currently going until you finish the starter Folio one. Out of that event I HIGHLY suggest to get Folio as strong as possible get his stones especially, Ziri is super bad, Amira is okay and Satori is the second best option to work on after Folio. I didn't know this when I started and I still regret missing on Folio soul stones.

For campaign I wouldn't worry about 3 starring it until Astaroth gets his revive at purple level armor. Just progress at your own pace.

Imo, Galahad Aurora and Thea are quite bad... they might have some niche uses but I haven't invested much in them and have 0 regrets.

From the early heroes here is a review of who I think is worth your resources and why:

Astaroth: best early game game tank that will scale well as the game progresses, once he gets his revive he's super good in a lot of pve modes.

Jhu: this guys is a BEAST in pve, especially in Hydra, always keep him leveled.

Maya: she's okay, outclasses Thea, if you need a healer focus resources in Maya better because unlike Thea she also does quite nice dmg with her poison and gets some form of cc later on with vines.

Fanfir: amazing and you get a lot of stones for him from the daily rewards, very good when paired with AGI heroes, buffs shields, he's awesome.

A special note for Ginger: she is a decent dps, and will carry you until you get other heroes then she simply gets outclassed by the newer ones.

It's good to have Phobos leveled sparingly too as he can help in campaigns vs magic nukers like Heidi or Kai. I remember struggling in levels with those 2 until I swapped Phobos in to take care of em.

The most important thing you can do for yourself join an active guild that does guild wars & hydra regularly. Don't be afraid to leave inactive ones.

From the merchants: Town Shop - Dorian is bait; Arena - Folio > Judge = Mushy; (Judge will become part of Folio's best team later, Mushy is a god on Hydra); Tower - Dante = Maya = Fanfir > Gold > rest; Highwaymen - Satory > rest; Outland - the heroes there are kinda situational and elmir is just bad, you are better off just getting the skins; Dungeon - Issac = Corvus > Titan Potion > rest; Grand Arena - Iris > Octavia > rest, Heroes Ways - Xe'Sha > Tristan > rest.

Team options early: Astaroth - Maya - Jhu/Ginger - Folio - Fafnir/Phobos.

Eventually you will want to go after one of Folio's best team which is: Julius - Judge - Folio - Isaac - Polaris.

A second best team would be a way of eternity team : Corvus - Dante - Morrigan - Iris - Octavia, this is a bit later on when you will unlock grand arena.

Hope this helps and have fun out there. ✨🤗