Shadowsun’s Legendary Release Event (LRE) is back again in Tacticus. This is the final Tau character that hasn’t been fully released yet, so if you’re looking to finish off your Tau lineup, don’t miss it. The event will last for two weeks, from October 15th to October 29th. If you are unfortunate enough not to unlock Shadowsun, don’t worry; she will come around again at some point in the future for her third and final event.
LREs aren’t meant for the faint of heart or casual players. They require high-level characters, and most people will not unlock the new character on their first try. That said, you can increase your odds of getting Shadowsun by following this guide and some other tips we’ve learned from past LREs. Here’s how to unlock Shadowsun in the Philosophies of War event in Tacticus
Understanding Legendary Events in Tacticus
LREs are a little different than Hero/Character Events, which are also used to introduce new characters, as we’ve seen recently with the Tyranid characters—Neurothrope and Tyrant Guard. While those quests have missions and award points for playing the game, LREs have specific tracks you must progress through to unlock shards for the character. If you’ve played any of the quest events that are released a few weeks after a character’s Hero Event, then you will be familiar with some mechanics of LREs.
The good news is that your LRE progress is saved for future events with the same character. This means that when we eventually see Shadowsun in her final LRE, you’ll still have your shards, currency, and track progress. This gives new players a second shot at unlocking the character, so don’t disregard this even if you’re new to Tacticus. You can save yourself a lot of hassle down the line by putting in whatever work you can during this event.
Legendary Event Tracks
There are 3 tracks for every LRE: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Each section has different restrictions and battle bonuses, as well as limits on which factions can be used. Within each track, there are certain battle requirements you can follow to increase the number of points you get from completing a battle. Things like no melee characters, characters with only 2 ranged hits, characters that don’t summon, etc., are all examples of different requirements you can complete for additional points on top of completing the level.
Each track has 12 battles, and each battle has bonus requirements that are mutually exclusive. This means that you will have to replay each battle multiple times to get the full amount of points from it. Once you’ve completed all the requirements on a mission, it will no longer be playable. The battles are similar to Onslaught, where you fight incoming waves of enemy units, so keep any tactics you learned battling those in mind.
The points you get for completing restrictions and battles are used to unlock currency, which is then used to open chests filled with Blackstone, coins, XP books, gear, and, most importantly, shards for the event character. You’ll need 150 shards to unlock the character and then another 60, 70, and 80 to increase their star rank. The milestone cost to get currency increases as you unlock more of it.
Legendary Event Tokens
Just like Tournament Arena and Quests, LREs have Event Tokens that you must use to play any mission in the event. For LREs, you’ll start with 6 tokens and gain a new one every 3 hours, up to a maximum of 12. You can also use ad watches to get tokens, which is highly recommended since tokens are more valuable than refreshing your shop or even getting an extra 50 energy.
There will also be packages you can buy that come with additional tokens and other goodies to help out with the event. If you have the cash to spare, this is a great way to use it. If you need Blackstone or other upgrades, you might want to check and see if there are any Tacticus promo codes you haven’t redeemed yet.
Legendary Event Missions
There will also be missions for this event that revolve around dealing damage, beating campaign levels, using specific faction units, and more. These missions award XP and fragments for the LE, so don’t neglect them. You should always be looking at which missions you are currently assigned and the best way to beat them. Completing your missions is the easiest way outside of the tracks to get LE currency and unlock shards.
There will be 10 regular missions available for players to complete, along with 10 premium missions. The premium missions will only be available to players who have paid for the respective LRE package. New players are advised against spending money on the event, as it is unlikely that they will complete it. Save your money for future events when you have a higher-level team and a better chance at unlocking the character.
Characters to Use in Shadowsun’s Legendary Event
Now that we’ve covered the basics of Shadowsun’s event, let’s go over the characters you are going to want to level and use during it.
If you’re unaware, Nandi is a community content creator and provides excellent infographics on who is best to use for these events. He creates spreadsheets for each event that provide an accessible format, making it easy to prepare. Definitely subscribe to stay up-to-date on any future events, as well as check back here for more Tacticus content. For now, let’s move on to the event tracks.
Alpha (No Necrons)
The Alpha track can be split into 3 different groups. The groups are as follows: Big Target | No Psyker and Minimum of 4 Hits | Power Damage and Melee.
To fulfill the first requirement, you’ll need a team composing of Kut Skoden, Volk, Boss Gulgortz, Re’vas and either Morvenn Vahl or Snappawrecka.
The second team should be comprised of Kut Skoden, Volk, Angrax, Nauseous Rotbone and either Re’vas or Bellator. If you’re missing any of those characters, you can swap in Brother Buchard, Haarken, Gibbascrapz, Tjark, Vindcita, or Maugan Ra. Rotbone is definitely good to have, as he can heal your team and keep you in the fight longer.
For the final team, look to use Angrax, Rotbone, Maladus, Celestine, and either Calgar, Aun’shi, or Brother Jaeger. This team is a little harder to build, as there are a few characters here that are hard to get or don’t see much play outside of LREs and are therefore probably underleveled on your roster.
Note that you can complete early levels using Volk, Kut, and Re’vas to satisfy the Big Target, No Psyker, and Minimum 4 Hits. It will get hard eventually, so you might only be able to do the first few levels this way but you will save tokens.
Beta (No Faction Restrictions)
Moving onto Beta we have no faction restrictions, meaning that everyone is fair game. It’s broken up into three tracks that are as follows: Astra Militarium | Mechanical | No Bolter, No Piercing, and No Summons.
The first team is easy enough to build, as you can only use characters from the Astra Militarium faction. This includes Kut, Yarrick, Thaddeus, Creed, and Sibyll.
The second team is also easy enough to build. You should try and use Re’vas here alongside Aleph-Null, Makhotep, Boss Gulgortz, and any of the other Necrons or Snappa. Morvenn Vahl isn’t a bad choice either.
The third and final team can be handled with a multitude of characters. Build a team from any of the following characters:
- Vindicta
- Maugan Ra
- Kut Skoden
- Thaddeus Noble
- Siybll Devine
- Volk
- Angrax
- Ancient Thoread
- Brother Jaeger
- Sword Brother Godswly
- Nauseous Rotbone
- Maladus
- Typhus
- Corrodius
- PEstillian
- Anuphet
- Imospekh
- Makhotep
- Thutmose
- Aleph-Null
- Boss Gulgortz
- Snappwrecka
- Gibbascrapz
- Snotflogga
- Tanksmasha
- Re’vas
- Aun’shi
- Darkstrider
- Tjark
- Varro Tigurius
As you can see, the list is very long. Personally, I will be using Re’vas, Makhotep, Aleph-Null, Angrax, and Nauseous Rotbone or Maladus, but you can craft whatever team you please.
If you have a high enough level Makhotep, Aleph-Null, Boss Gulgortz, Re’vas, and Anuphet or Snappwrecka, you can combine the second and third requirements into one, saving tickets.
Gamma (No Imperials)
The final track forces us to use non-Imperial units, which isn’t a problem. It’s split into three teams and goes as follows: Ranged and Minimum of 3 hits | Power Damage and No Piercing | Black Legion
The final team is easy; it’s just Volk, Angrax, Abaddon the Despoiler, Haarken Worldclaimer, and Archimatos. There are no other characters you can use for that requirement.
Going back to the first team, we find ourselves better off using Volk, Boss Gulgortz, Re’vas, and either Anuphet, Snappwrecka, Maugan Ra, or Abaddon.
For the second team, you’re better off using Volk, Angrax, Rotbone, Maladus, and either Typhus, Aun’shi, or Maugan Ra.
For Gamma, there is no way to combine these teams and reduce the number of tokens you’ll have to use.