RAID: Shadow Legends Cursed City Comprehensive Guide: Best Teams and Strategies

RAID: Shadow Legends is full of challenges, and the best challenge and excitement are always brought through the Cursed City. Since this is something you get to enjoy once per month, all the RAID: Shadow Legends beginners and veterans are always eager to play it. So, what brings you to this Cursed City, and what strategies and teams will you need to conquer there? We'll find out.

What is RAID: Shadow Legends Cursed City? 

The Cursed City is a nonlinear, monthly challenge mode in RAID: Shadow Legends, which was originally introduced to the game in 2023. It is basically designed to play your versatility in teams as well as for strategic gameplay.  Since this is a new region, you have to unlock it at account level 52, and there are 100 stages across four districts named Cobblemarket, Deadrise, Plagueholme, and Soulcross here.

Every stage that you get to deal with here features unique, rotating conditions, such as faction or role restrictions, and they all ask players to adapt their team compositions monthly. The mode only has a 330-day cycle to operate, operates on a 30-day cycle, and it is going to be reset with new stage conditions and layouts. There are two difficulty modes as Normal and Hard, and the hard mode here offers superior rewards like advanced potions, epic skill books, and mythical gear.

These modes are not like your usual gameplay modes because if you fail a stage, it doesn't consume resources. The Cursed City also rewards strategic planning with exclusive Supersonic and Merciless gear sets, Ascension Oil, and the chance to earn the mythical champion Karnage by collecting 500 candles.

Key Features in the Cursed City

There are multiple key features that make this region a very unique experience for the players, as follows.

• Non-Linear Progression: You can choose the path through interconnected stages, so it offers flexibility to prioritize easier routes or tackle high-reward boss stages. Each district has 25 stages, and they include six boss or double boss fights.

• Keys: You can have eight Cursed City Keys daily with a limit of 240 per 30-day rotation. These can be used to attempt regular, boss, double boss, or Awakened stages. Eclipse Keys will be used to face Amius and are earned from specific double boss stages, and your keys are only consumed on successful stage completion.

• Stage Conditions: Every stage has restrictions like requiring specific factions, roles, or rarities. Awakened stages will ask you to have champions with red stars, indicating Awakening levels, which must meet or exceed the stage's requirement. These all conditions reset monthly, demanding fresh strategies.

• Difficulties: Normal difficulty mode is suited for early-to-mid-game players, while Hard is designed for late-to-end-game players with deep rosters. Since hard mode enemies are stronger, make sure to do it once you are a bit familiar with the gameplay, but remember, the rewards they carry are significantly better.

• Rewards: Clearing stages for the first time grants rewards, including Supersonic and Merciless artifacts, Ascension Oil, and candles for Karnage. Boss stages offer exclusive gear, while Cursed City Quests provide additional rewards, resetting each rotation.

• Rankings: Players appear in rankings after clearing at least eight stages, with the "Best Teams" feature showing top players' compositions for each stage and difficulty.

Building the Most Effective Teams 

The Cursed City in RAID: Shadow Legends has a rotating condition, as we already mentioned, so it means that every time it comes, you will need a deep and diverse champion roster. So if you want to build up the most effective team, you'd better consider these tricks first.

• Roster Depth: Restrictions often limit viable champions, so maintain a broad pool of leveled, geared, and ascended champions across factions, roles, and rarities. Even Rare and Epic champions in the RAID: Shadow Legends tier list can shine in specific stages.

• Role Balance: Teams should include a mix of roles like Attack for damage, Support for buffs and debuffs, and HP/Defense for survivability. Pure damage teams are risky due to stage conditions and enemy durability.

• Affinity Awareness: Account for affinities (Magic, Spirit, Force, Void) to avoid damage penalties. Void champions are versatile, taking and dealing neutral damage.

• Awakened Champions: For Awakened stages, prioritize champions with high Awakening levels (red stars). These are critical for accessing unique rewards.

• Gear Optimization: Equip champions with gear tailored to their role—speed and accuracy for supports, crit rate/damage for attackers, and HP/defense for tanks. Supersonic and Merciless sets from Cursed City enhance versatility with variable bonuses.

• Turn Meter Control: Champions with turn meter boosts (e.g., High Khatun) or reductions (e.g., Armiger) are invaluable for controlling battle pace, especially against bosses.

Recommended Teams for the Cursed City Stages

So, what teams can help you in different stages of the RAID: Shadow Legends, Cursed City? It depends on the stages you are currently dealing with, so here is what we recommend as teams.

For Normal Stages 

These stages often have faction or role restrictions but are manageable with mid-tier champions. So the recommended team composition here is:

• Kael for Attack or Poison

• Warmaiden and Apothecary for support roles to increase the boost and to decrease the defense of the enemies

• Coldheart for attack

• Reliquary Tender for support role with cleanse skills

Kael and Coldheart here deal sustained damage via Poison and HP Burn while Warmaiden weakens enemies. Apothecary, on the other hand, ensures speed advantage, and Reliquary Tender removes debuffs. This team is accessible for mid-game players and versatile across factions like Banner Lords or Dark Elves. Make sure to prioritize speed on Apothecary (200+), accuracy on Warmaiden (150+), and crit rate/damage on Kael and Coldheart (80%+/200%+).

For Boss Stages

Boss stages feature familiar dungeon bosses, and they have some restrictions, too. So the team we recommend here is:

• Armiger and Metalshaper for support roles with shields and the ability to turn meter reduction

• Coldheart for attack and HP burning

• Badel-Kazar for support and for poison effects

• Renegade with a support role and cooldown resets

Metalshaper in this team maintains shields to block Borgoth's counterattacks, Armiger reduces his turn meter, Coldheart and Bad-el-Kazar chip away with HP Burn and Poison, and Renegade resets cooldowns for sustained control. Try to use the Destroy sets on Coldheart to reduce Borgoth's max HP, speed on Armiger (180+), and accuracy on Bad-el-Kazar (200+).

Double Boss Stages

These put players against two bosses at the same time, requiring better crowd control and sustain. The team here is:

• Duchess Lilitu, Sear, Prince Kymar, and Lydia for the support roles with revive, buff strip, nuker, cooldown reset and debuff skills

• Rotos the Lost Groom for the attack role with an image

Duchess is assuring survivability with revives, Seer clears enemy buffs and nukes waves, Kymar resets cooldowns, Lydia applies debuffs, and Rotos deals high single-target damage. This team excels in hard-mode double boss stages. Speed on Kymar (220+), accuracy on Lydia (250+), crit damage on Rotos (250%+), and HP/defense on Duchess (50k+/3k+).

For Awakened Stages

Awakened stages require champions with Awakening levels, often limiting team options. So the team here is:

• Siphi, Nekhret the Great, and Venus for support roles with buffs, strengthening skills, and debuffs

• Cupidus for attacking with better damage and Mortu-Macaab is also for the attack with an HP burn

Siphi and Nekhret in this team provide buffs and sustain. Venus applies Poison and Decrease Defense, while Cupidus and Mortu-Macaab deal damage. All champions should be awakened to meet stage requirements. The gears here will put accuracy on Venus (250+), speed on Siphi (200+), crit rate/damage on Cupidus (90%+/200%+).

Amius the Lunar Archon (Eclipse Tower)

Amius is a complex boss with dynamic mechanics, requiring precise buff/debuff management and synergy. The team recommended here is:

• Fu-Shan for attack role with damage

• Alsgor Crimsonhorn, Venomage, Seer, and Arbiter for support roles with healing, poison effects, nuke, and ability to turn the meter boost respectively

Fu-Shan in this team deals high damage, Alsgor provides healing, Venomage applies Poison, Seer nukes with buff-stripping, and Arbiter ensures speed advantage. This team can clear Amius in 4–6 turns on Hard mode. You can speed on Arbiter (250+), accuracy on Venomage (250+), and crit damage on Fu-Shan (300%+). Avoid auto-battles to manage Alsgor's regen.

Remember that some of these characters might take some time to pull and make sure to do the RAID: Shadow Legends reroll process repeatedly to get a better success. And if you want to quicken the process, there is nothing like an Android emulator that helps you to do the process quickly. LDPlayer and its LDMultiplayer can be highly recommended here, along with the Sync tool. So, while you are playing RAID: Shadow Legends on PC, you will be able to create different instances of the same game and then operate them all at once to reroll.

Useful Strategies for Success 

For anyone who is looking for success in these challenges, the most useful tips and tricks we can recommend for any RAID: Shadow Legends player are as follows.

• Plan Your Path: Study the stage map to identify accessible routes and prioritize boss stages for Eclipse Keys. Use the "Best Teams" feature to analyze top players' compositions for tough stages.

• Invest in Awakening: Awaken champions for Awakened stages and to boost overall power. Ascension Oil from Cursed City aids this process.

• Hard Mode Focus: For end-game players, prioritize Hard mode for better rewards. Soulcross stages (e.g., S19) are particularly challenging, requiring specialized teams.

• Roster Gaps: Early- to mid-game players may struggle with faction or rarity restrictions. Focus on Normal mode and gradually build champions for Faction Wars, which mirrors Cursed City's roster demands.

• Key Management: The daily key cap (eight) prevents rushing the mode in one session, frustrating some players. Log in daily to maximize keys, even if you play sporadically.

• Difficulty Spikes: Soulcross and double boss stages can feel insurmountable. Experiment with alternative paths or revisit stages after acquiring new champions.

• Time Investment: Clearing all 100 stages is time-intensive, especially on Hard. Prioritize high-value stages if time is limited.

• Gear Sets: Supersonic and Merciless sets offer variable bonuses, enhancing champion flexibility. These are exclusive to Cursed City boss stages, and using them is better and gives more success.

• Karnage: Collecting 500 candles unlocks Karnage, a mythical champion with high damage and the unique Seal debuff, disabling mastery and artifact effects. He's a top-tier reward for dedicated players.

• Quests: Monthly Cursed City Quests offer additional rewards, such as resources or gear, and reset with each rotation.

• No Energy Cost: Unlike dungeons, Cursed City stages don't require energy, making it an efficient farming mode.

Conclusion

So, the RAID: Shadow Legends Cursed City is something that makes the gameplay very enjoyable in the end-game content. It has a lot more things to be excited for, so if you are looking for the best ways to handle and be involved with this, these are your RAID: Shadow Legends tips. Follow up and lead the challenge with the right teams today.