Welcome to Shards of Aethon
Shards of Aethon is a gacha role-playing game with automatic combat. Your role: assemble a team of heroes carrying Éclats and send them into battle to push back the Abyssal Shadow that is invading the world of Aethon.
This guide covers the basics to get you started.
Your first summons
The summoning currency is earned by playing — daily missions, dungeons, progression in Adventure Mode. An active player (~30 min/day) accumulates an average of ~50 summons per month.
Rarity rates:
- T1 / T2 — basic heroes, easy to obtain, ideal for beginners
- T3 — intermediate heroes, a good balance of power and availability
- T4 — powerful heroes, rare
- T5 — the strongest of the roster, very rare
Don't dismiss T1/T2! They form the backbone of many early-game compositions, and their synergies can surprise even veterans.
Understanding the elements
Each hero belongs to one of seven elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, Shadow.
Basic rules of elemental interactions:
- Some elements are advantageous against others (e.g. Water > Fire).
- Facing the same element gives a neutral (×1.0) result — no penalty.
- Building a mono-element team can be risky against an opponent who counters your element.
Your first classes
Heroes are split into classes that define their role in combat:
- Tank / Defender — soaks damage to protect the team
- Warrior / Physical DPS — deals heavy physical damage
- Mage / Magical DPS — deals magical damage, often area-of-effect
- Healer — keeps the team alive
- Support — boosts allies and/or weakens enemies
For your first team, aim for a simple balance: 1 Tank + 2 DPS + 1 Healer.
Adventure Mode
Adventure Mode is your entry point. It progresses by chapters, each tied to one of Aethon's continents. This is where you unlock resources, learn the mechanics, and develop your heroes.
A peculiarity of Adventure Mode: you can take manual control of your heroes' skills during combat (optional manual mode). It is the time to learn how each hero plays before sending them into automatic PvP.
Progressing efficiently
- Do your daily missions — they grant the bulk of your progression resources.
- Level your team in a balanced way — a single very strong hero is not enough as a team.
- Explore the themed dungeons — each element has a dedicated dungeon, source of upgrade materials.
- Join the Arena as soon as possible — even without a perfect team, the rewards are worth the trip.