Clearing a chapter in Heroes vs. Hordes comes down to one critical factor - having the right weapons for the job. As waves of enemies grow stronger, picking the right combination of weapons and tomes that work together, control crowds, and evolve into even forms will be the only way to beat chapters.
But with randomized options and limited slots, knowing which weapons to choose and when to choose them can make or break your run.
Consistently getting the right weapons is what separates the good players from the great players. They can create their own luck.
In this guide, I'll break down the best strategies for selecting weapons, pairing them with tomes, and adapting to what the game gives you in shop rolls. Whether you're pushing for a high-damage build, optimizing for survival, or just trying to understand how the game works, these tips will help you develop a mental framework for consistently dominating the horde.
Here's what to expect:
- How The Shop Works
- Early Run Priority
- Synergies Between Weapons and Tomes
- Establish Clear Priorities & Backups
- The Best Decisions Are Meaningful
- Focus on Process Over Outcome
- Know When You Can Greed
- Adapt The Build For The Content
Understand How The Shop Works
It's important to understand the basics of how weapon selection works so that you can optimize within the rules. Here are the mechanics of how the shop works:
- Weapons get to a max level of 5 before you can evolve them.
- Tomes have a max level of 3.
- If you have maxed out a specific weapon or tome (at its maximum upgrade level), it won't appear in your shop choices anymore.
- Weapons can be evolved IF they are level 5 AND you have the tome to evolve them. All weapon + tome evolution combinations can be found in the in-game menu.
You can only equip five unique weapons and five unique tomes, including your primary weapon. Once all five slots are full, only those already-selected weapons or tomes will appear in future shop refreshes for that category (weapon or tome).
For example: After you lock in all five weapon slots, the shop will only offer those weapons.
- When you can evolve a weapon (i.e., the weapon and the corresponding tome are both at the required level), that evolved version always appears as the top option in a new shop. However, it will not appear in reshuffles.
- If you skip picking the evolved option, it will appear on the next shop refresh (level up).
You also need to understand how chests work that drop from elites:
- Chests can only upgrade items you already own in your inventory.
- If you have a weapon at the required level for evolution and the correct tome, the chest automatically evolves that weapon.
Ok, those are the core mechanics of the shop in Heroes vs Hordes. Now on to a framework for choosing the right weapons within the shop.
Concept 1: Early Run Priority
Early in a run, one of your higher priority goals is to fill your weapon slots as soon as you can. Weapons do more damage and offer more disruption than tomes early in a run. Filling out your weapon set early offers two advantages.
- Once you've locked in all five weapon slots, your shop odds are simplified. No new weapons will appear besides the ones you've already chosen, giving you more consistent upgrades for the rest of the run.
- Tomes amplify your weapons. So you have to have the weapons first for the tomes to really matter.
This brings us to the next concept.
Concept 2: The Synergies Between Weapons and Tomes
Certain weapon-and-tome combinations can be evolved into more powerful evolutions. Evolved weapons often provide a massive damage spike or disruption effect.
For instance:
- Bombs + Area of Effect Tome evolve into a devastating bomb upgrade.
- Fire Orbs + Duplicator Tome evolve into Flame Wheel, offering sustained, high-impact area damage.
- Ice Wand + Life Tome evolves into Frost Nova, which can freeze large groups in place.
Furthermore, it's important to understand how tomes amplify damage across all weapons. I call this "Tome Efficiency."
When you pick up something like "Duplicator Tome," each weapon gets one more projectile. With all five weapon slots filled, that's five more projectiles!
Compare that to Life tome. Life Tome increases your health but doesn't impact any of your five weapons at all. The opportunity cost in damage for choosing Life Tome over Duplicator is HUGE, particularly at level 3. That's 15 missing projectiles per attack!
Concept 3: Establish Clear Priorities, But Come With Backups
Because Heroes vs. Hordes uses a randomized shop system, you never know exactly which items you'll get.
That's why entering each run with a prioritized list of weapons and tomes, plus a few backup options, is crucial.
For example, if Ice Wand doesn't show up, you might switch to Boomerang for a similar crowd-control effect.
If you can't land the Area of Effect Tome to evolve Bombs, consider a fallback tome like Critical Strike or a tome that evolves another weapon, even if it's less efficient.
This flexibility allows you to still get enough damage or disruption to achieve your end goal - clearing the chapter.
Concept 4: The Best Decisions Are Meaningful
I played a lot of high-level TFT. Mortdog always used to say, "The best part of video games is meaningful decisions."
For Heroes vs. Hordes, a "meaningful decision" often comes when two or three strong items appear in your shop at once. You have to weigh the damage potential, state of your inventory, goal of the run, and survivability to make a decision.
You have to use experience, plus these rules of thumb, to make the best decision within the context of your run.
Concept 5: Focus on Process Over Outcome
Even when you follow a rock-solid plan, the randomness of the shop can deny you the exact items you want.
Rather than using gems for additional reshuffles, focus on making decisions that give you the best statistical chance at success:
- Fill weapon slots early so you always have a relevant item in the shop.
- Max out tomes to increase chances of other tomes.
- If you can't get the synergy tomes you had in mind, move on to your secondary tomes.
- Use the mechanics of the shop, like fixed evolutions, to get "free shuffles" in the forms of level ups.
Sticking with this process consistently will ensure you succeed more often than not. Even if there's that run where, despite your best efforts, the shop doesn't offer you the ideal item, you can still beat the chapter.
Concept 6: Know When You Can Greed
In many games, greed can come back to haunt you—but in Heroes vs. Hordes, slight greed can sometimes pay off.
If you go into a run planning on farming, taking a Coin Tome early might guarantee you more coins during coin rush, but it comes at the cost of immediate damage or survivability.
If you're confident your other weapons and tomes can handle the pressure, the extra gold from Coin Tome is worth it. However, if you the rest of the run goes sideways, you need to be able to adapt.
Striking this balance defines a skilled player's decision-making and makes the game more fun!
Concept 7: Adapt The Build For The Content
Your weapon build will change depending on the content. For example, weapons are way more important in Hero Clash and evolving Boomerang is 100x more important in Arena.
There's also mid content variability that will influence your decisions. If you got stuck with an early divine aura, maybe make the entire pivot to the defensive Flag Pole build around Vampire Aura.
Some other things to consider mid-run:
- Map Awareness and Movement: Look for power-ups that can freeze or damage horde. Choosing Boomerang or Ice Wand may let you move across the map to find a power-up for an elite spawn.
- Use Pet Ultimates: A high-level pet with an ultimate ability can slow big waves and amp your damage, buying time for you to get another level.
- Elites: Focus elite when possible for the chest rewards. The power spike of a 2-3 item chest can turn the tide of the chapter.
Wrapping Up: Mastering Weapons, Tomes, and Adaptation
Beat content in Heroes vs. Hordes is never just about luck. It's about making the right choices, from the first weapon pick to the last level-up. The best players don't just hope for the perfect build. They create consistency by understanding weapon-tome synergies, managing shop RNG, and knowing when to adapt.
Some runs will give you exactly what you want, while others will force you to pivot.
Either way, the key to clearing chapters is having a plan, executing it flexibly, and making meaningful decisions. By focusing on the process and principles described above, you'll set yourself up for success more often than not.
Now step onto the battlefield prepared to defeat the horde.
And remember, always do your adventures!
