How to Get Shards in RAID: Shadow Legends and Use Them Correctly (Ultimate Guide)

Shards in RAID: Shadow Legends are the primary way of obtaining heroes. You can get shards for free in several ways. I’ve been playing RAID for over 3 years, and in this guide, I will tell you everything I know about shards. You will learn not only how to get them in the game, but also how to significantly increase your chances of getting a legendary hero. I will also explain to you the principle of the mercy system in RAID and show you a way to conveniently count the opened shards.

Types of shards in RAID and chances of obtaining heroes

There are 4 types of shards.

• Mystery Shard (green). 74.2% chance of getting a Common hero, and 24.4% Uncommon. It is impossible to get void affinity heroes from Mystery Shards.
  
• Ancient Shard (blue). 91.5% chance of getting a Rare hero, 8% Epic, and 0.5% Legendary. It is impossible to get void affinity heroes from Ancient Shards.
  
• Void Shard (purple). 91.5% chance of getting a Rare hero, 8% Epic, and 0.5% Legendary. You can get heroes with void affinity only from Void Shards.
  
• Sacred (orange). 94% chance of getting an Epic hero, and 6% Legendary. It is impossible to get void affinity heroes from Sacred Shards. Some heroes cannot be obtained from shards at all.
  

You can check the current restrictions on summoning heroes from shards if you open the Portal and click on the “Info” icon.

How the Mercy System works

RAID has a special Mercy System, which guarantees the receipt of a high-rarity hero after a long streak of unsuccessful shard openings. By visiting the Portal, you can read about it in the “Info” → “Mercy System” tab.

The system works in such a way that after a certain number of shard openings of a certain type (the chances for each type are calculated separately), the chances of getting an epic or legendary hero start to increase by a certain percentage with each subsequent opened shard. This continues until a hero of the corresponding rarity is summoned, after which the mercy system for that specific type of shard and that specific rarity of the hero resets. The increase in chances according to the mercy system is calculated as follows:

• Ancient / Void shards (epic). If an epic hero is not summoned from 20 shards, starting from the 20th shard to the original chance (8%), 2% will be added if the obtained hero is not epic (i.e., 10%, 12%, 14% and so on).
• Ancient / Void shards (legendary). If an epic hero is not summoned from 200 shards, starting from the 200th shard to the original chance (0.5%), 5% will be added if the obtained hero is not legendary (i.e., 5.5%, 10.5%, 15.5% and so on).
• Sacred (legendary). If a legendary hero is not summoned from 12 shards, starting from the 12th shard to the original chance (6%), 2% will be added if the obtained hero is not legendary (i.e., 8%, 10%, 12% and so on).

Note that the mercy system works for each rarity of the hero separately: for example, if you get a legendary champion from ancient shards, this will reset the mercy system counter for the legendary rarity, but will not affect the counter for the epic rarity.

How to Calculate the Real Probability of Getting a Hero

Newcomers often incorrectly estimate their chances of getting high-rarity heroes. They very often multiply the number of shards in their account by the percentage chance of getting a hero (for example, 10 shards * 12% = 120%) and think that this is how they calculate the probability. However, this is not how it works.

There is a special formula for calculating the probability of independent events: PROBABILITY = 1 – (1 – chance) * (1 – chance) * … (1 – chance). For example, if you have 5 Sacred shards, then the probability of getting a legendary hero will not be 5 * 6 = 30%, but 1 – (1 – 0.06) ^ 5 = 0.266 = 26.6%. Here we subtract 6% (0.06 in decimal form) from one, and then raise the result to the power of 5 (i.e., the value will be multiplied by itself 5 times). As you can see, there is a difference, and it is significant.

How to Get Mystery Shards for Free

• Free Gift. Every day you can get 1 Mystery Shard for free in the Shop.
  
• Market. Purchased for silver. The Market is updated every hour.
  
• Campaign Battles. Sometimes Mystery Shards drop, and sometimes – Common, Uncommon, and Rare champions.
  
• Potion Keeps. You can get Mystery Shards as a reward in all Potion Keeps at any stage.
  
• Dungeons. You can only get Mystery Shards at low stages (up to stage 13) of artifact dungeons: Ice Golem, Spider, Dragon, Fire Knight.
  
• Other possible minor newbie activities.

The best way to get Mystery Shards is to actively buy them on the Market and farm in the Campaign.

How to Obtain Ancient Shards for Free (All Methods)

• Free Gift. Every week, you can receive 1 Ancient Shard for free in the Shop.
  
• Market. They can be purchased for silver (200k). You can only buy 5 Ancient Shards a month. They usually become available for sale at the beginning of each month. The Market refreshes every hour.
• Daily Login Rewards. Ancient Shards are always included in the daily login rewards list, especially in the early months of the game.
  
• Gem Shop. Packs of 3 or 11 Ancient Shards can be purchased in the Gem Shop for Gems. Gems are fairly easy to obtain in-game, so this method can also be considered free.
  
• Progress Missions. Ancient Shards are rewards for many missions on the path to obtaining Arbiter, and even after.
  
• Weekly Quests. You can earn 1 Ancient Shard every 5 days for completing weekly tasks.
  
• Clan Activity Reward. Sometimes (quite rarely) you can get an Ancient Shard from the chest for daily activity in the clan.
  
• Events and Tournaments. An Ancient Shard is almost always among the guaranteed rewards for participating in events and tournaments.
  
• Clan vs Clan. Ancient Shards are present in almost all reward chains of the clan tournament, both in general and in personal ones.
  
• Campaign Challenges. Ancient Shards are a one-time reward for completing certain milestones of campaign challenges. To get them, you have to earn stars in the campaign.
  
• Potion Keeps. You can get Ancient Shards as a reward in all Potion Keeps at any stage.
  
• Dungeons. You can get Mystery Shards at all stages of dungeons: Ice Golem, Spider, Dragon, Fire Knight, Sand Devil.
  
• Faction War Challenges. Ancient Shards are a one-time reward for completing certain milestones of faction war challenges. To get them, you have to earn stars in the faction war.
  
• Classic Arena Chests. Ancient Shards are among the rewards in weekly chests of the Classic Arena in all leagues, from bronze to gold.
  
• Bazaar. An Ancient Shard can be purchased at the Bazaar for gold bars earned in the Tag Team Arena.
  
• Live Arena. Ancient Shards are a one-time reward for completing certain milestones of the Live Arena. To get them, you have to increase the Live Arena rating.
  
• Demon Lord Clan Boss. Ancient Shards can be obtained daily from chests of any quality. The better the chest, the higher the chances.
  

The best ways to get Ancient Shards in the current realities of RAID: Shadow Legends include active farming of the Demon Lord Clan Boss, buying for Gems, and participating in tournaments and events.

How to Obtain Void Shards for Free (All Methods)

• Daily Login Rewards. Void Shards are included in the daily login rewards lists, especially during the first months of the game.
  
• Progression Rewards. Void Shards are a one-time reward for reaching a certain account level.
  
• Progress Missions. Void Shards are rewards for many missions on the path to obtaining Arbiter and Ramantu.
  
• Monthly Quests. You can earn 1 Void Shard every 30 days by completing monthly tasks.
  
• Clan Shop. 1 Void Shard can be purchased in the Clan Shop when it becomes available for sale in the 10th slot.
  
• Events and Tournaments. Void Shards often appear among the guaranteed rewards for participating in events and tournaments.
• Clan vs Clan. Void Shards are found in some reward chains of clan tournaments, both in general and personal ones.
  
• Campaign Challenges. Void Shards are a one-time reward for completing certain milestones of campaign challenges. To receive them, you need to earn stars in the campaign.
  
• Faction War Challenges. Void Shards are a one-time reward for completing certain milestones of faction war challenges. To receive them, you need to earn stars in the faction war.
  
• Classic Arena Chests. Void Shards are among the rewards in weekly chests of the Classic Arena in the gold and platinum leagues.
  
• Bazaar. A Void Shard can be purchased at the Bazaar for gold bars earned in the Tag Team Arena.
  
• Live Arena. Void Shards are a one-time reward for reaching certain milestones of the Live Arena. To receive them, you need to increase your Live Arena rating.
  
• Demon Lord Clan Boss. Void Shards can be obtained daily from chests of “Knight Chest” quality or better. The better the chest, the higher the chances.
  
• Doom Tower. Void Shards are a reward for completing certain stages in the Doom Tower.

In my opinion, the best ways to obtain Void Shards are active farming of the Demon Lord Clan Boss, participation in tournaments and events, and progressing through the Doom Tower.

How to Obtain Sacred Shards for Free (All Methods)

• Daily Login Rewards. Sacred Shards are included in the daily login rewards lists in certain months at the beginning of the game.
  
• Progression Rewards. Sacred Shards are a one-time reward for reaching a certain account level.
  
• Progress Missions. Sacred Shards are rewards for some missions on the path to obtaining Arbiter and Ramantu.
  
• Monthly Quests. You can earn 1 Sacred Shard every 30 days by completing monthly tasks.
  
• Clan vs Clan. Sacred Shards may be found in some reward chains of clan tournaments, both in general and personal ones. At the time of writing this guide, they are only among personal rewards, but the situation may change.
  
• Campaign Challenges. Sacred Shards are a one-time reward for completing certain milestones of campaign challenges. To receive them, you need to earn stars in the campaign.
  
• Faction War Challenges. Sacred Shards are a one-time reward for completing certain milestones of faction war challenges. To receive them, you need to earn stars in the faction war.
  
• Classic Arena Chests. Sacred Shards are among the rewards in weekly chests of the Classic Arena in the platinum league.
  
• Bazaar. A Sacred Shard can be purchased at the Bazaar for gold bars earned in the Tag Team Arena.
  
• Live Arena. 1 Sacred Shard is a one-time final reward for reaching a rating of 4800 on the Live Arena.
  
• Demon Lord Clan Boss. Sacred Shards can be obtained daily from “Ultimate” and “Transcendent” chests.
  
• Doom Tower. Sacred Shards are a reward for completing certain stages in the Doom Tower.
  

The best ways to obtain Sacred Shards for free in RAID are daily farming Nightmare + Ultra-Nightmare Demon Lord Clan Bosses, completing Doom Tower in hard mode, and completing monthly tasks. In total, a free-to-play player with a developed account can get on average 8-12 Sacred Shards per month, and sometimes even more.

When to Open Shards in RAID

The developers of RAID: Shadow Legends periodically (several times a month) run useful events.

• x2: double chance of summoning epic and legendary champions from a certain type of shards.
• x10: chances of summoning epic and legendary champions remain standard, but the chance that the summoned epic and legendary champion will be one from the list stated by the developers increases 10 times.
• Double Summon: chances of summoning epic and legendary champions remain standard, but if you manage to summon a legendary hero, the summon triggers twice, and you get 2 legendary heroes at once.
• Guaranteed Summon: sometimes developers include a guaranteed summon of a certain hero. You need to open a certain amount (for example, 200) of a certain type of shards (for example, Ancient). From the last shard, you will be guaranteed to get the specified hero.

When to open your shards depends on your level of play.

• For beginners (up to receiving the Arbiter), it’s best to open shards during the “x2” event, as it is critically important to get as many good heroes as possible in the early stages of the game in order to start farming the Ultra-Nightmare clan boss and high-level dungeons as soon as possible. Also, you should count your shards to know when the Mercy System is going to guarantee you an epic or legendary hero. Knowing this, you can save your guaranteed summon for the “x10” event for some good heroes like Lilitu or Krisk.
• Midgame and lategame players (1-2 years in the game) should act based on the situation in their account. For instance, if you are still lacking heroes to pass the main content, it makes sense to continue opening shards exclusively during the “x2” event and count them for using the guaranteed summon on x10. If your collection is already large and you need some specific heroes, then shards should be saved for x10.

Furthermore, almost every month in the game there is an event to fuse some new hero, which is impossible to complete without doing a hero summoning event or a collection refilling tournament. For this reason, I strongly recommend saving shards from fusion to fusion. If the hero on fusion is worth it (like, for example, Gnishak), use your shards to get him. But if the hero is average and nothing special (for example, Jetni the Giant), you can skip him and feel free to use accumulated shards in some interesting events. Always accumulate Mystery shards, as they can help you complete the fusion if you lack other, more valuable shards to get the required number of points.

Also, remember that you can get a lot of valuable items (Legendary Skill Tomes, 5* Food, etc.) for fully completing a hero summoning event from shards. If you already have good legendary heroes, but lack Skill Tomes for developing their skills and Food for leveling up, I strongly recommend saving shards for 7500 points, which will allow you to complete the event in full and take all the rewards. Opening each type of shards brings a certain amount of points:

• Mystery – 1,
• Ancient – 10,
• Void – 120,
• Sacred – 500.

Thus, you can always calculate in advance whether you have enough shards to fully complete the event. Usually, during such an event, the developers additionally include the “x10” event.

How to Count Shards Correctly

You can simply keep a text file and record the number of shards you open in it. This way you can time the moment when a guaranteed summon is approaching and use it during the “x10” or double summoning event, which will give you a bonus legendary champion.

You can also count shards using the RSL Helper program. This is a free auto-clicker with a shard counting function. All you need to do is start the program before opening the shards. In addition, you don’t have to worry about being banned, as the program does not interfere with the gameplay and the developers do not penalize for its use. If you doubt my words, you can always visit the official RAID: Shadow Legends forum and ask the moderators personally.

What is the best way to get shards?

The best way to get any shards (ancient / void / sacred) is to farm the Nightmare + Ultra-Nightmare Demon Lord clan boss every day.

You should join a clan and achieve the best chests: Ultimate and Transcendent. Check out my guide to the universal speed team for defeating the Demon Lord clan boss. This knowledge will help you achieve good results much faster, especially if you are a complete newbie in RAID.

Frequently asked questions about shards in RAID

• What if I’m offered to buy shards on an unclear site? This is a scam. You can only buy RAID: Shadow Legends shards in the official in-game store. If you are offered to buy them outside of the game, they are trying to deceive and rob you.
• How to get unlimited shards? It’s not harmful to dream, of course, but getting unlimited shards is impossible. RAID is a serious online game with strong protection against cheating. However, you can find shard opening simulators on the internet.
• Where should a newbie start? Perform all activities that can bring you shards. Aim to farm the Nightmare + Ultra-Nightmare Demon Lord clan boss every day.

If you still have questions about shards in RAID: Shadow Legends, you can ask them in the comments. I’m always available. Good luck!