King of Shadows, the Ten-Task Adventure Quest, and Its Artifacts Set
King of Shadows is an adventure quest — a chain of tasks in the Quest Book that you complete gradually across different events. It consists of ten tasks, unlocks at player level 30, and rewards you with five tool packages and the exclusive five-piece King of Shadows Artifacts set, whose set bonuses add +85 % combat strength to both ranged and melee units. This article covers the complete task list, the exact stats for all five set pieces, and advice on when to tackle each task.
What King of Shadows Is and How to Unlock It
King of Shadows is one of the adventure quests in Goodgame Empire. Unlike regular quests, it isn't completed in one place — its ten tasks point to different events and targets across the empire. Your goal is to foil the King of Shadows' plans to invade the Great Empire. Unlocking it requires player level 30 or higher.
The story begins when a Black Knight from the King of Shadows' own court approaches yours, no longer willing to serve his increasingly cruel master, and offers information on the enemy. Sir Ulrich advises caution and suggests verifying his reports first. Each of the ten tasks then foils one step of the invasion preparations — from foreign raiders through Nomads and Barbarians to an attempt to win the support of the kings of Berimond.
It was the second adventure quest added to the game, after The Queen's Defense and before The Princesses' Relics and The General and the Wolf. It launched on September 27, 2017. The Queen's Defense, by comparison, has twenty tasks and requires level 70 or Legend level 1 — making King of Shadows far more accessible.
The Ten Tasks and Their Rewards
The tasks are completed in a fixed order. The odd-numbered ones mostly pay out tools, the even-numbered ones individual set pieces — the last, tenth task gives you the King of Shadows hero.
| Task | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Defeat 25 foreign castles or Bloodcrow castles | 50x Shield Wall |
| 2 | Defeat 100 non-player targets in the kingdom, level 1 or higher | Shadow Helmet |
| 3 | Collect 2 500 Khan Tablets | 100x Loot Cart |
| 4 | Collect 2 000 000 loot from any target | Shadow Crown |
| 5 | Spend 3 000 Khan Tablets | 100x Shield Wall |
| 6 | Defeat 50 Barbarian towers, level 20 or higher | Shadow Armor |
| 7 | Earn 30 000 Fame points | 100x Berimond Treasure |
| 8 | Plunder 4 000 000 resources | Shadow Sword |
| 9 | Collect 15 000 Gallantry points | 200x Raider Mask |
| 10 | Defeat 30 foreign castles or Bloodcrow castles | King of Shadows (hero) |
The tool rewards aren't filler. The Shield Wall is a premium attack tool that reduces enemy ranged units' defense by 15 %, and the quest gives you 150 of them. The Loot Cart adds 35 to your loot capacity and costs 15 rubies in the Siege Workshop — 100 of them for free is the equivalent of 1 500 rubies.
Where to Complete Each Task
Three tasks are tied to specific events, and these are what determine how long the whole chain takes:
Foreign castles and Bloodcrow castles (tasks 1 and 10, 55 targets in total) appear during Kingdom vs Kingdom and the Bloodcrow Invasion. These are the toughest requirements in the whole quest, since the targets don't show up outside those events.
Khan Tablets (tasks 3 and 5, 2 500 to collect and 3 000 to spend in total) come from attacking Nomad camps and the Khan's camp during the Nomad Invasion. You can spend them at the Invasion Herald's tent or donate them through Imperial Patronage. The number of tablets per attack scales with the camp's level and with siege tools that boost tablet collection.
Gallantry points (task 9, 15 000 points) come from the Battle for Berimond. Without an active Berimond event, this task won't budge.
The rest can be done anytime — non-player targets in the kingdom (Robber Barons and towers) for task 2, level 20+ Barbarian towers for task 6, and Fame from attacks for task 7. Tasks 4 and 8 complete themselves during regular farming — 2 000 000 loot and 4 000 000 plundered resources is a matter of a few days' play once you're past level 30.
The King of Shadows Artifacts Set and Its Exact Stats
The set is built for your Commander and has five pieces. The values below are base stats, before upgrading the gear to a higher tier.
| Piece | Slot | Effects | Power points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Armor | armor | +10 % Fame points from attacking, -12 % enemy Wall Defense, -11 % Moat Defense | 2 320 |
| Shadow Sword | weapon | -12 % Wall Defense, -12 % Gate Defense, +12 % Fame points from attacking | 2 000 |
| Shadow Helmet | helmet | +11 % army travel speed, -11 % Gate Defense, -9 % Wall Defense | 1 360 |
| Shadow Crown | artifact | +12 % army travel speed, -12 % Moat Defense, -10 % Gate Defense | 1 360 |
| King of Shadows | hero | +15 % melee unit strength against non-player targets, +15 % ranged unit strength against non-player targets, +15 % strength when attacking the courtyard of non-player targets | 2 000 |
That's 9 040 power points in total. The four main pieces are purely siege-focused — they lower Wall, Gate, and Moat Defense and speed up your march. The hero, by contrast, is strictly PvE — all three of his effects only apply against non-player targets and do nothing in a fight against another player.
Set Bonuses and How to Wear the Set
The set's real value lies in the bonuses for the number of pieces equipped. These stack progressively as you add pieces:
| Pieces equipped | Set bonus |
|---|---|
| 2 | +15 % unit limit in your wings |
| 3 | +85 % combat strength for ranged units |
| 4 | +40 % combat strength when attacking the courtyard |
| 5 | +85 % combat strength for melee units |
This is disproportionately stronger than the individual piece effects. The Shadow Helmet alone gives nine to eleven percent, but three equipped pieces give +85 % to ranged units, and the full five pieces add another +85 % to melee units. Unlike the hero, the set bonuses aren't limited to PvE — they apply against players too.
The practical takeaway is that there's no point breaking up the set. Swap out two Shadow pieces for stronger gear from elsewhere and you lose the five-piece bonus along with it — that +85 % to melee units. Until you have a full nine-piece set from a higher tier, wear the King of Shadows Artifacts complete.