Guide for Speedrunning on Pillar and Raliniten – Hero’s Hour
After watching some older Speedruns I’ve seen many runs going for Pillar because of the Pillars of Essence which will just add extra units to the party. I’ve been trying this strategy myself, but found out going for Lionin (Mastery in Fighters) not the best. Instead we are going for Raliniten who has Planning and a better tree.
Why Raliniten instead of Lionin?

The extra units are fine, but Raliniten allows us to build more and cheaper. The saved up costs allows us a better econonmy for getting units than the extra Fighters will help. With Planning we save up 20% of the building costs. And later we will get Archery, Warding, Logistics and Scouting. Logistics is really really good. More Movement means less turns to win. Scouting gives us Movement too, but also allows us to find the hiding AI heroes easier.
Talent-Tree for Raliniten
- Starts with Union 1 and Planning 1
- Archery 1
- Warding 1
- Union 2
- Logistics 1
- Archery 2
- Scouting 1
- Logistics 2
- After this stay on these and max out Logistics/Scouting before Archery/Union/Warding. Since Movement is king.
Build Order for Pillar

- Pagoda of Heavens
- Hall of Crafts -> Pick Archer
- Shrine of Beasts -> Pick Tricrow
- Fort -> Pick Archer
- Tea House
- Pillars of Essence
- Upgrade the Hall of Crafts
- The Rest depends on how many AI players are there. You might want to unlock Marketplace -> Pillar of Palance or the Stronghold for more Archers on 3-4 AI players.
Pillars of Essence good combinations
There is a full list of combinations here: https://gameplay.tips/guides/heros-hour-complete-summoning-list-for-pillars-of-essence.html
My Takes
- Gold – Gold – Gold (on lucky gold finds or chests)
- Crystal – Crystal – Mercury
- Sulfur – Sulfur – Crystal
- Sulfur – Sulfur – Mercury
Good world map building
- Stables -> one of the best buildings to find on the map
- Fireplace -> Movement and Gold
- Chests -> Might be EXP or Ressources
- Rally Flag -> Extra Movement and Morale
- Fountain -> More Movement and Luck or Morale
- Lost Hero -> Artefacts
- Ruins -> Extra Units
- Mercury/Sulfur/Crystals -> More Units on the Pillars of Essence
- Wood -> If you need it for a boat, but you can also fight for your Sawmill
Weekly events
There are some weekly events that can make or break a run. I’m gonna start a list here:
(+) Positive
- More Movement
- +5 Attack for Attackers
(-) Negative
- Less Movement
- Random units join neutral battles
- +5 Defence for Defender
- No gold income
Generell tips

- End your turn with ctrl+e, that works even out of the building or hero menu.
- Zoom in on fights. I think the game runs faster then
- Cast spells on Hero Fights with Numbers+Click for faster casting
- Skip fights if the game presents them.
- Don’t get angry on bad weekly events of misclicking 😀 just breath and try again.
Gameplay
On small maps it is more important to build and recruit fast, than to explore the map. So build and then end the turn. On bigger maps of maps with more AI then you can take your hero out after week two recruiting. Get the free ressources, maybe the Sawmill (if you need a boat) and the Quarry. Then maybe have a look at the artefacts and chests. The treasure hunt is secondary but good if there is enough time.
After that go straight into the enemy line. If an enemy hero runs by, get him first, then the city. Remember to recruit troops from the new city after capturing. Then you win by just pushing more 😉 Your Movement will just grow over time.
Feedback
If you have ideas to add to this, just come hangout on my live streams, comment or chat me up on twitter. I’m happy to chat about going faster or just having fun on this great game.