Which pets to level first
F2P and Spender priority order across the pet roster.
Pet access is identical for F2P and Spender accounts — what differs is how aggressively you push each pet’s level and refinement. This page ranks the pets in order of investment priority for each track, then adds a second cut for whether you lead rallies or join them.
Rankings assume a kingdom that has unlocked at least through Generation 3 and active daily play (you log in to fire pet skills, you don’t skip Beast Whisperer).
The first move
Lion is your single highest-value pet. Once it unlocks at kingdom day ~110, every other pet decision is downstream of it. The cooldown reduction from advancing Lion is the best long-term ROI a F2P account has in the Beast Cage.
Lion first, Mighty Bison second, Giant Rhino third. The Lion faucet is irreplaceable even with cash, and the Gen 4 rally buffers turn every major event into a damage compounder.
Tier list
Tiers reflect the impact of pushing a pet’s level and active skill in a kingdom that has unlocked through Gen 5. Pets your kingdom hasn’t reached yet are listed for reference.
| Pet | Gen | F2P | Spender | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lion | 3 | S | S | Generates Charm Guides, Forgehammers, and Truegold daily. Universal #1. |
| Mighty Bison | 4 | S | S | Squad capacity buff applies on every rally — including ones you join. |
| Giant Rhino | 4 | A | S | Squad Attack buff stacks across every rally; F2P value capped by how often you lead. |
| Cheetah | 2 | A | A | Pet Food faucet that funds everything else. Compounds long-term. |
| Bison | 1 | A | B | Instant-complete gather is huge for event quests; less critical once gathering is mature. |
| Great Moose | 5 | A | S | Massive rally capacity for the host. Rally-lead defining. |
| Alpha Black Panther | 5 | B | S | Troop Lethality buff layered on top of governor and refinement multipliers. |
| Gray Wolf | 1 | B | B | Construction acceleration before long builds. Stable, never wasted. |
| Grizzly Bear | 3 | B | A | March-speed boost and enemy debuff; matters more when you’re the rally lead. |
| Moose | 2 | C | A | HP debuff is wasted in PvE bear events; valuable in PvP where defenders matter. |
| Lynx | 1 | C | C | Cap early. Past a few skill ranks, stamina returns don’t scale to the cost. |
| Regal White Lion | 6 | C | A | Squad Defense matters for rally-lead defensive setups. Gen 6 only. |
| Ironclad War Elephant | 6 | C | A | Squad Health pairs with refinement Infantry Health. Gen 6 only. |
S tiers are always worth pushing the moment they unlock. A tiers are worth pushing once your S tiers are level-capped at their next gate. B and C tiers are filler — bring them along on Pet Food but don’t burn Growth Manuals on them ahead of higher tiers.
What to skip
A few common mistakes worth naming.
- Don’t level Lynx past its first few skill ranks. A handful of ranks covers a full day’s worth of stamina activations. Further ranks return stamina you can’t spend.
- Don’t level Cavalry-related stats on refinement. Late-game formations are infantry-and-archer-heavy. Cavalry refinement stats are deprioritized everywhere.
- Don’t level Gen 1–2 pets to their caps before Gen 3+ unlocks. Pet Food spent on Gray Wolf level 50 doesn’t help when Lion arrives and demands the same food.
Pack guidance (Spender note)
Direct “pet” packs do nothing extra — pet access is server-day gated for everyone. Material bundles are the real product. Prioritize:
- Promotion Medallion bundles — the only material that genuinely bottlenecks endgame pets.
- Advanced Taming Marks bundles — accelerates Purple-to-Gold refinement, where most spender pet ROI lives.
- Growth Manual / Nutrient Potion bundles — only valuable when discounted heavily; both materials surface across alliance stores and event shops.
Skip Pet Food bundles — Cheetah covers your floor, and most events surface Pet Food as a side reward.