Four Bonuses, Caps and Generations of Relic Gear
Relic gear is the blue-tier gear with the strongest bonuses in the game. You'll find the basics on the Relicus page and the Gear Sets and Attachments page. This one covers the details that didn't fit there — which stats never appear on relics at all, how many random bonus slots each piece has, the quality-tier table for pieces with 4 bonuses, the difference between 1st and 2nd generation relics, and the caps on hero, gem and economy bonuses.
Stats You Won't Find on Relics
Relics aren't a superset of regular gear. Some effects exist exclusively on regular (non-relic) sets, so you lose them once you switch to a full relic loadout.
| Where | Commander (attack) | Castellan (defense) |
|---|---|---|
| Gear | Army travel costs; later army detection; fire damage dealt while attacking; chance to destroy enemy buildings; chance to find better gear; honor points in battle; fame points gained while attacking | Army speed while conquering; earlier warning before an attack; fire damage suffered while defending; fame points gained while defending; occupation time needed to conquer |
| Gems | Fire damage dealt while attacking; chance to find better gear; army return speed; army loot capacity; front line troop limit | Fire damage suffered while defending; safe storage capacity |
A few of these do come back on 2nd generation relics, but only tied to Castle Lords — later army detection, fire damage, and fame points against Castle Lords. There are no universal versions (against any target) on relics.
How Many Bonuses Each Slot Gets
Every relic piece has a fixed primary bonus determined by its slot, plus a variable number of random bonuses. On a newly obtained piece, the effects are always random except for the last 2-3 stats.
| Slot | Base name | Primary bonus | Random bonuses (Commander / Castellan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Courage | Melee and ranged troop strength 82-87 % | 1 or 2 / 1 or 2 |
| Helmet | Pride | Wall 112-117 %; Commander also gets march speed 73-77 % | 1 or 2 / 1 or 3 |
| Armor | Trust | Gate 112-117 % and moat 72-77 % | 1 or 2 / 1 or 2 |
| Artifact | Desire | Resources looted, or resources saved, 12-17 % | 1 or 3 / 1 or 3 |
| Gem | - | None — all 3 or 4 stats are random | 3 or 4 / 3 or 4 |
| Hero | Immortal | 3 or 4 main effects | 2 bonus effects |
The Artifact is the weakest piece — its random bonuses tend to be stronger than its primary one. Relic splinters (called relic shards until June 2023) are used to remove a gem from a piece and as crafting material for enchanting at Relicus.
Quality Tiers on Pieces With 4 Bonuses
Stars run from 1 to 7: 1-3 are blue (standard), 4-6 are silver (premium, overlaying the blue), and 7 is the gold tier, shown as three gold stars. On pieces with 4 main bonuses (introduced June 2022), a separate quality-tier table applies:
| Tier | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tainted | all 4 stats 1 star | - | - |
| Timeworn | 3 stats 1 star + 1 stat 2 stars | 2 stats 1 star + 2 stats 2 stars | - |
| Battle-scarred | 3 stats 1 star + 1 stat 3+ stars | 2 stats 1 star + 1 stat 2 stars + 1 stat 3+ stars | - |
| Regular | 1 stat 1 star + 3 stats 2 stars | all 4 stats 2 stars | - |
| Pure | 1 stat 1 star + 2 stats 2 stars + 1 stat 3+ stars | 3 stats 2 stars + 1 stat 3+ stars | - |
| Superior | 2 stats 1 star + 2 stats 3+ stars | 1 stat 1 star + 1 stat 2 stars + 2 stats 3+ stars | 2 stats 2 stars + 2 stats 3+ stars |
| Divine | 1 stat 1 star + 3 stats 3+ stars | 1 stat 2 stars + 3 stats 3+ stars | all 4 stats 3+ stars |
The tier is calculated only from the gear effects panel — gems don't factor into it. Heroes also have a second 3-star set, "Troop and Tool Effects", which doesn't affect the tier.
Where to Get 3-Bonus and 4-Bonus Pieces
Sources break down by how many main bonuses a piece gets. 4-bonus pieces are stronger across the board and don't drop from the regular sources.
| Source | Bonuses | Requirements and cost |
|---|---|---|
| Alliance Forge | 3 | 60 000 coins (1-3 star quality) or 10 000 rubies (1 silver up to 3 gold stars); price rises by 50 % after each purchase; requires level 70 |
| Events (coin gifts, Khan's Medals, Samurai Tokens, fame and valor points) | 3 | Unlocks at level 70, takes roughly two weeks to accumulate |
| Master Blacksmith | 3 | Exchange for gold coins |
| Gear Trader | 3 | For rubies |
| Special offers | 3 and 4 | For rubies, time-limited |
| Wheel of Unimaginable Prosperity | 4 | Landing on the gear icon, or the jackpot |
| Mystery boxes | 4 | Random chance at a 4-stat piece |
| Outer Realms | 4 | Top 7 000; a better rank adds a gem and a hero with 4 bonuses (3 blue stars) |
Generation 1 and Generation 2
Older relics (gen 1) and newer ones (gen 2) differ in which effects they can roll. You can tell them apart by the stats that simply can't appear on gen 1 at all.
Gen 1 only has universal, non-target-specific gem variants: courtyard strength while attacking and defending, troop limit on the flanks, and troop limit on the wall. Gen 2 replaced these with versions tied to NPC targets and Castle Lords.
Gen 2 only gives you:
| Category | New effects (gen 2) |
|---|---|
| Gear and gems | Moat protection against NPCs and Castle Lords; front line troop limit; later detection and earlier warning against Castle Lords; fire damage and fame against Castle Lords; coins from NPC targets |
| Currency effects | Khan's Tablets, Samurai Tokens, Valor Points, Khan's Medals and Samurai Medals |
| Heroes (Commander) | Troop strength against Castle Lords; +1 extra wave; shorter cooldown after a win; faster army return; Mead troop strength |
| Heroes (Castellan) | Honey and mead production and storage; fire damage and fame against Castle Lords |
| Base effects | Total, front line and flank combat strength; Shieldmaiden and Guardian of the North courtyard support |
Caps on Hero and Gem Bonuses
Alongside the base set caps (troop strength +140 %, wall and gate 160 %, moat 120 %), there are separate caps for target-specific bonuses. These apply the same way against Nomads, Samurai, Fame Invasions, Berimond and Castle Lords, for both heroes and gems.
| Effect against a given target | Commander | Castellan |
|---|---|---|
| Wall protection | -60 % | +60 % |
| Gate protection | -60 % | +60 % |
| Moat protection (gen 2) | -30 % | +30 % |
| Melee troop strength | +50 % | +50 % |
| Ranged troop strength | +50 % | +50 % |
| Troop limit on flanks / on the wall | +40 % | +40 % |
| Front line troop limit (gen 2) | +40 % | - |
| Courtyard strength | +60 % | +60 % |
On top of that, there are one-off caps tied to a specific target type or currency:
| Effect | Cap |
|---|---|
| Fame points from Fame Invasions | +120 % (hero), +50 % (gem) |
| Fame points against Castle Lords | attacking: +50 % (hero), +30 % (gem); defending as Castellan: +30 % (hero and gem) |
| Later army detection / earlier warning against Castle Lords | +90 % |
| Fire damage against Castle Lords | +50 % dealt, -50 % suffered |
| Coins looted from NPC targets (gem) | +50 % |
| Khan's Tablets, Samurai Tokens, Valor Points, medals | +20 % |
| Defense strength for the main castle, towns, outposts and landmarks | +25 % |
| Courtyard support (Shieldmaiden / Guardian of the North, gen 2) | +1 000 |
Caps on Troop and Economy Effects
Hero bonus effects have their own limits. For the Commander these fall under "troop and tool effects"; for the Castellan, under economy.
| Commander: troop and tool effect | Cap |
|---|---|
| Royal and elite troop strength while attacking | +60 |
| Imperial troop strength | +60 |
| Berserker and Pikeman strength | +60 |
| Terror troop strength | +40 |
| Relic troop strength | +40 |
| Mead troop strength (gen 2) | +20 |
| Loot capacity (per troop type) | +36 % |
| Mantlet march speed while attacking | +120 % |
| Extra waves (gen 2) | +1 |
| Cooldown after a winning attack (gen 2) | -15 % |
| Army return speed (gen 2) | +25 % |
| Castellan: economy effect | Cap |
|---|---|
| Recruitment speed | +300 % |
| Construction speed | +75 % |
| Research speed | +75 % |
| Public order | +10 000 |
| Base resource production | +2 400 |
| Base kingdom resource production | +1 200 |
| Hospital beds | +200 |
| Resource transport capacity | +300 |
| Honey and mead production (gen 2) | +25 % |
| Honey and mead storage capacity (gen 2) | +200 000 |
Since August 19, 2024, the Castellan's economy bonuses are tied to production that's actually running in your castle and outposts. The bonus to kingdom resource production simply won't activate without active mining — of iron ore or coal, for example.