[Hero Wars Guide]AoC 2.0｜Insights with HeroWars Login

Contents

Major Game Content Changes
Impact of the Area of Conquest Update
Player Feedback and Dev Responses After the Event
Related Articles
- Area of Conquest
Recommended Video (Youtube)
- Hero Wars AoC Rework – Less Intense or More Chaotic? (Olympus)

Major Game Content Changes

The Area of Conquest mode in Hero Wars has received a major 2.0 update, introducing several balance adjustments and new quality-of-life improvements. Below is a summary of all the key specification changes and additions.

Event Battle Specification Changes

Action Point (AP) Limit: Increased from 12 → 20
AP Recovery Time: Adjusted from 1 point per 6 minutes → 1 point per 12 minutes
Full AP Recovery Time: Extended from 72 minutes → 240 minutes (4 hours)
Field Chests Spawn Cycle: Reduced from 26 times per day → 6 times per day
Field Chests Contents: Improved from 50 coins → 100 coins
Speed Booster: Changed from “recovery speed doubled (up to 10 AP)” → Instant 10 AP gain
Bundle Changes: Speed Booster bundles have been discontinued
Ranking Reward Chest of Patterns: Changed from Type A → Type B (not Type C)

New Features

Guild Member Activity Visibility:
Battle logs and point contribution tracking have been added, allowing guilds to easily monitor participation.
Additional Victory Reward:
Winning while occupying a stronghold now grants an extra 100 Superior Coins.

Guild Member Activity Visibility

Additional Victory Reward

Quest Adjustments

Event Battle Victory Requirement: Reduced from 60 → 15
Emerald Usage Requirement: Increased from 100,000 → 180,000
Outland Chest Opens: Reduced from 120 → 100
Adventure Quest: Removed (“Start or join Adventure”)
Castle Provision Quest: Added (“Spend Superior Coins”)

After

1. Log in (MAX 4)
2. Get VIP points (MAX 9,000)
3. Spend Emerald (MAX 180,000)
4. Spend Energy (MAX 15,000)
5. Open Outland Chest (MAX 100)
6. Spend Superior Coin (MAX 20,000)
7. Win after an attack in the Area of Conquest (MAX 15)
8. Hold the settlement for (MAX 350 minutes)

Before

1. Log in (MAX 4)
2. Get VIP points (MAX 9,000)
3. Spend Emerald (MAX 100,000)
4. Spend Energy (MAX 15,000)
5. Open Outland Chest (MAX 120)
6. Start or join Adventure (MAX 7)
7. Win after an attack in the Area of Conquest (MAX 60)
8. Hold the settlement for (MAX 350 minutes)

Tasks & Rewards

Road to the Top

Level	Free	Golden Ticket
1	2 Health Potion	8 Health Potion
2	3 Hero Upgrade Chest	10 Hero Upgrade Chest
3	5 Bottled Energy	15 Bottled Energy
4	100 Skin Stone Chest	400 Skin Stone Chest
5	10 Absolute Artifact Chest	40 Absolute Artifact Chest
6	1 Speed Booster	3 Speed Booster
7	500 Emerald	10 Emerald Doll I
8	10 Rare enchantment rune	40 Rare enchantment rune
9	3 Hero Upgrade Chest	10 Hero Upgrade Chest
10	5,000 Artifact Coin	20,000 Artifact Coin
11	2 Health Potion	8 Health Potion
12	5 Bottled Energy	15 Bottled Energy
13	100 Skin Stone Chest	400 Skin Stone Chest
14	3 Hero Upgrade Chest	10 Hero Upgrade Chest
15	10 Rare enchantment rune	40 Rare enchantment rune
16	1 Speed Booster	3 Speed Booster
17	5 Pet Summoning Egg	25 Pet Summoning Egg
18	3 Hero Upgrade Chest	10 Hero Upgrade Chest
19	1 Explorer’s Move	4 Explorer’s Move
20	10 Absolute Artifact Chest	40 Absolute Artifact Chest
21	2 Health Potion	8 Health Potion
22	500 Emerald	10 Emerald Doll I
23	3 Hero Upgrade Chest	10 Hero Upgrade Chest
24	5,000 Artifact Coin	20,000 Artifact Coin
25	5 Bottled Energy	15 Bottled Energy
26	2 Speed Booster	6 Speed Booster
27	1,000 Emerald	10 Emerald Doll I
28	10 Rare enchantment rune	40 Rare enchantment rune
29	3 Hero Upgrade Chest	10 Hero Upgrade Chest
30	1 Explorer’s Move	4 Explorer’s Move
31	2 Speed Booster	6 Speed Booster
32	1,000 Emerald	15 Emerald Doll I
33	350 Golden Thread	1,000 Golden Thread
34	4 Health Potion	1 Legendary Gift of the Dominion
35 –	5 Hero Upgrade Chest	10 Hero Upgrade Chest

Hero Upgrade Chest

Event Item Exchange Rates After Completion

The latest update has reduced the exchange rates for event items.
Many players who purchased Golden Tickets have expressed frustration because the change was made without prior notice.

New Rates

1,800 Superior Coins = 3 Hero Upgrade Chests
3 Health Potions = 3 Hero Upgrade Chests
4 New Speed Boosters = 4 Hero Upgrade Chests
3 Old Speed Boosters = 6 Hero Upgrade Chests

Official Message

Q. it is not bug, its just their SNEAKY action like usual.

please explain CMs WHY the conversion rate at the end of this month’s AOC DID NOT FOLLOW your official page?
AND players are upset about this and you do not give compensation.

I purchased golden ticket thinking that I would get roughly same amount of boxes like last month (I bought last month too)
BUT YOU just one-sidedly changed the conversion rate without telling us prior and I ended up with much lesser boxes. What do you think players as? Are we joke to you?

You have to understand that players are not your pawns that you can treat anyhow as you want without prior notification and without any compensation afterwards.
Even the Lara Croft mess ending is still not compensated now.
All the bugs you did, you just closed eyes and did not listen to complaints and hope time will just pass.
you did it AGAIN and AGAIN.
Please treat us FAIRLY.
A. Hello, I absolutely understand the frustration.

The info in the articles and Help Center was preliminary and has now been updated. The situation is really unfortunate and please accept our apologies for the miscommunication.

We’ve discussed it internally and will make sure to update such information more promptly in the future.

Impact of the Area of Conquest Update

Changes in Guild Dynamics and Player Behavior After the AoC Update

With a single recovery, you can now reach the central contested zone. Since a full recovery takes around four hours, the mode appears designed for players to check in several times throughout the day.
Additionally, Speed Boosters now provide an instant 10 AP recovery, allowing players to charge in multiple times. Early on, some players may spend quite aggressively to take advantage of this feature.
Combat logs and investment visibility have also been added, making it easy to identify players who aren’t pulling their weight. This new level of transparency is expected to create a divide within guilds—between those who actively participate in Area of Conquest and those who don’t. Many long-standing guilds have both types of members, so leaders may soon face difficult decisions about their guild’s future direction.
In the previous version of Area of Conquest, even guilds that took the mode somewhat seriously often adopted a “just occupy bases and that’s enough” mindset. After this update, that kind of playstyle is unlikely to be tolerated in top-tier guilds. Players who prefer a more laid-back approach will likely need to form their own casual guilds or join ones that are open to minimal participation.
Judging from the changes to the quest chain, the developers seem to be aiming for a system where players spend money but aren’t tied to the game all day. However, whether that intention plays out as planned depends on how the mode feels in practice. With the current setup, it seems likely that at least part of the player base will continue to play intensively—at least for the time being.

Cooperation Between Guilds Becomes More Important

Compared to before, it’s now easier to predict the movements of opposing guilds. Since battles now involve four guilds, those that form non-aggression pacts will have a significant strategic advantage.
Over time, the meta will likely shift toward two-guild alliances working together against the others.
However, this kind of inter-guild cooperation places a heavy management burden on guild leaders and officers. Maintaining coordination across multiple guilds can be exhausting and may ultimately cause more core players to retire.
For reference, our guild DASHIMAKI-TAMAGO operates with complete independence and does not engage in any inter-guild alliances. This policy stems from our long-standing opposition to collusion and ranking manipulation in Guild Battles and Clash of Worlds.

Solo Play Becomes Easier

Previously, a three-player unit was considered ideal for efficiently dividing attack targets, but now a two-player unit is sufficient.
Going forward, Krista-based teams are expected to take on the main offensive role, while Galahad teams will increasingly serve as defenders—mainly to counter Isaac teams, which Krista struggles against.
Additionally, since real-time tactical maneuvering has been reduced, solo play has become more viable even when you can’t form a two-person team.

The Gap in Login Frequency Narrows

With the new system requiring players to log in roughly once every four hours—and with changes to Speed Booster specifications and limits—the gap between highly active and more casual guilds is expected to narrow.
As a result, the game will place greater emphasis on tactical precision and individual decision-making, rather than on sheer activity level.
Players who previously relied on brute-force approaches will now need to use their limited Speed Boosters more strategically and focus on efficiency and coordination.

The Advantage of Account Sharing Declines

Some guilds gained an unfair advantage by violating the Terms of Service through account sharing, effectively increasing their login coverage.
With the latest update, however, this advantage has been greatly reduced, as the new mechanics make constant activity far less impactful than before.

Information Sharing Becomes Crucial

To build a winning strategy, it’s now essential to gather intelligence on which teams opponents are using for defense.
Guilds that actively share this information among members will have a clear advantage, while those whose players find it “too much trouble” will inevitably fall behind.
This may also disadvantage players who primarily log in via smartphones, as taking and sharing screenshots is generally more cumbersome than on PC.

Golden Tickets Are Important

One of the main ways to obtain Speed Boosters is through the Battle Pass.
You can get 6 for free and 18 via the Golden Ticket lane.
Purchasing the Battle Pass allows you to earn up to 180 AP.

Official Message: Area of Conquest 2.0 Update

Hello, Guardians!

Today we’ve prepared an exciting announcement for you – the Area of Conquest mode, which has already become an essential part of the game, is getting an update later this week! The developers have carefully reviewed your feedback and, based on it, are ready to release a batch of improvements that will enhance gameplay and make participating in this mode even more engaging and convenient! Let’s take a look at the changes:

Less intense (but more strategic)! – We’ve increased the action points cap to 20 and extended the recovery time to 12 minutes for each. So full recovery will take 4 hours. Now the event won’t require quite as much of your time and attention.
Battle Log! – AoC is a team mode, so it’s important to see how each guild member contributes. A new battle log will now display the fights and Superior Coins invested into the castle!
Updated Speed Booster! – Instead of speeding up the Action Points recovery time, the Speed Booster will now instantly restore 10 Action Points!
Settlement Clash! – Winning battles over captured settlements now grants additional Superior Coins
Reworked Quest Chain! – Quests have been redesigned to make progression smoother. Just a few examples: The quest “Win battles 60 times” has been changed to “Win 15 times,” and the reward has been increased. The quest for “opening Outland Chests” has been shortened, and the reward has also been increased!
And last but not least – In the upcoming update, the Magic Penetration Pattern will be added to the ranking reward chest.

Get ready for Conquest!

Official Message: About the Speed Boosters

About the Speed Boosters. They will only appear in quests and Battle Pass, and can’t be directly purchased anymore, unlike before. That change was intentional to avoid turning the feature into pay-to-win, everyone can now earn them equally through gameplay.
We’ll be watching how things go during the next launch and gathering your feedback to see what works best and what might still need fine-tuning.

Player Feedback and Dev Responses After the Event

1. Changes to the “Path of Glory” Content in the Area of Conquest

Q. In case you haven’t noticed it , the AoC ticket is different. It has 10 more levels and the rewards on those 10 new levels are basically rewards that they took away from previous levels. For example level 19 used to give 8 for paid and 2 for free, explorer’s moves and now it is 4 and 1, and we get 4 and 1 explorer’s moves at level 30.

Of course without knowing how many points we need to reach each level, it’s impossible to tell if it’s a nerf or if it’s the same. You might need the same points to reach level 34 but if you don’t it’s a serious nerf. They might have also changed the point requirements to reach each level after level 34. We don’t know that.
A. Hey! Yeah, you’re right that the BP got stretched out a bit, the value is more spread across levels, so it might look like a nerf at first glance. In reality, the rewards are about the same: quests give a bit more points now, so it roughly balances out.

Thanks for the detailed description, really appreciate the feedback!

2. Have Castle Level Requirements Been Adjusted?

Q. Castle level requirements have increased from previous events. Is there a way to get attention to nexters/developers on this issue?
A. Like I said above the Castle looks about the same as before, but we’ve passed your feedback to the team to double-check just in case. Thanks for flagging it!

3. Proposal to Revise the Superior Coin Spending Quest

Q. For one, I can see the rewards for this quest change to 5 Hero Upgrade Chests each at each stage (13 Hero Upgrade Chests for 15k and 20k Superior Coins spent), and 500 Elemental Catalyst at say 50k or 100k Superior Coins spent.
A. Thank you for the suggestion, I will pass along the rewards feedback, let’s see if they can potentially be updated!

4. Requested Improvements for AoC Battle Logs

Q. I think the new battle log is a good idea, as you can also see the battles fought by your guildmates. However, there are a few things that could be improved
– 1. Two battle logs. One log just for your battles and one log for the whole guild
– 2. It should show which settlement the battle is taking place in and whether it is even in a settlement where battles are fought.
A. Thank you, great suggestions. I saw a few more about adding settlement name. Noted!

5. Three Major Issues in the Area of Conquest

Q. AoC currently has 3 issues:

Matchmaking. As i said earlier this can’t be solved. Imo the best solution is the league system but that also has issues.

AoC pace. Some people prefer this AoC some the previous one. As i said before i don’t think our opinion matters. If this AoC sold more tickets it will stay. If not we will go back to the previous one. In both cases they will say: we heard your feedback and 69.6969% of the people prefer X version of AoC so we keep it.

The third issue is coins hoarding. This is the only one that can be solved. And putting the coins directly into the castle is not the solution. The solution is to encourage players to donate their coints by increasing the rewards or spending coins. At the moment they are pathetic. If the rewards for the first 20000 coins has the same EV as the rewards of keeping the coins no one will keep them. And 20k coins are enough. Heavy spenders who spend emeralds , get VIP can donate more but low spenders / F2P won’t be useless.
A. Thanks for the detailed feedback. Like I said above, some of this sentiment we have seen and the team is discussing internally. And your other points regarding coins hoarding I will forward to the devs, thank you!

6. The Previous Area of Conquest System Was Better

Q. AoC for active players will be so boring with 12 min regen time ..for non active doesnt matter because they don play it at all;) In guilds play from 3 to 10 players the rest is just a static figure or standing at the castle. They dont care about 12 min od 6 min move. They cut 50% moves in 4 day time so it will be very static… I think even active players resign from aoc. AoC will be for noone:) I play at nb 1 gold guild and my mates thinks the same. They kill another part of the game… This was the most dynamic part of HW. Who are more active wins… Now noone will be active even paying players:) I hope they earn nothing from it after changes:) I think even 6 min was to long… 12 min kill this mode for good:)
A. We’ve received a lot of feedback on this, and it’s clear how much players care about the mode. Some are really unhappy with the changes, others appreciate the slower pace. We hear and understand both sides. We have noted everything, and our devs will be looking onto it very thoroughly.

7. AoC Fails to Reproduce Optimization Success from Other Services

Q. The main problem is whenever nexters copies an event from another game, like they did with AoC, they also try to reinvent the wheel.

Other games , have modes like AoC for years. And in every single one of them they last for 30mins to an hour. They are real time. Guild leader , before the event starts, puts the guild in the time zone they want to participate. There is also a limit of players who can join. I’m pretty sure they tried different formats for years and this one works the best.

But nexters is like 700 elo chess players who think their own opening moves are better. For more than a year they had AoC to be close to a real time event but with a duration of 24h for 4 days. And now they made it an idle event in which you need the ticket if you want to play. If you want to keep copying events from other games stop changing them. You’re making them worse.
A. We study other games, sure, but AoC isn’t meant to be a direct copy. AoC meant to have it’s own Hero Wars vibe. We’ll keep tuning things and your notes help, appreciate you sharing this!