Raids

Raids are Starvel's PvP progression system. You attack another player's Dungeon Master golem in a dedicated boss arena. Win and you steal a heart from the defender. Lose and nothing changes. Raids are free to start — no key or currency required.

Hearts are the core of Starvel's power system. More hearts means a stronger golem, more shard generation, and better expedition results. Raiding is the only way to gain hearts beyond your starting 3.

HOW RAIDS WORK

1. Open the raid menu with /raid or through your Echo (right-click Echo, then Raids)
2. Browse the target list — it shows each player's dungeon level, golem HP, and heart count
3. Select a target and confirm
4. A 2-minute prep timer starts. Both you and the defender are notified
5. Both players are teleported to a dedicated boss arena (a void world separate from everything else)
6. You fight the defender's Dungeon Master golem. The defender is also in the arena and can fight you directly
7. Kill the golem to win. If the defender kills you, they win

After the raid ends, both players are returned to wherever they were before.

WHAT YOU'RE FIGHTING

The boss arena spawns an Iron Golem with stats based on the defender's heart count. The golem's HP and damage scale directly with hearts:

3 hearts — 155 HP, 11 damage
5 hearts — 215 HP, 15 damage
10 hearts — 365 HP, 25 damage
15 hearts — 515 HP, 35 damage
 

20 hearts — 665 HP, 45 damage

The defender's prestige also adds a small bonus (+0.25% per prestige point on top of heart-based stats).

The golem grows physically larger as its HP increases — a 3-heart golem is small, while a 20-heart golem is massive.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU WIN

If you kill the golem, you win the raid. Exactly 1 heart is transferred from the defender to you. The defender loses 1 heart and you gain 1 heart. Hearts are capped at 20.

That's the only reward. There are no loot chests, no gold, no shards, no items. Hearts are the prize.

Stealing hearts makes your golem stronger, increases your shard generation, and improves your expedition results. It also weakens the defender's golem, making them more vulnerable to future raids.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LOSE

If the defender kills you before you kill the golem, the defender wins. No hearts change hands. You both return to your previous locations. There's no penalty for losing beyond the cooldown timer.

THE DEFENDER'S ROLE

Defenders are teleported to the arena alongside the raider. They can fight the raider directly — using weapons, armor, potions, and any gear they have. A well-equipped defender can kill the raider before the golem goes down.

If the defender is offline when raided, the raid still happens. The raider fights the golem alone with no defender interference. Offline defenders yield the same heart transfer on a loss.

Defenders see a boss bar warning them that they're under attack, showing who the raider is and a countdown timer.

HEARTS AND WHY THEY MATTER

Hearts are the foundation of your power on Starvel:

Your Dungeon Master's HP and damage scale with hearts
Your passive shard generation rate scales with hearts
Your expedition golem's HP (and therefore how long it survives) scales with hearts
Your seasonal leaderboard ranking is based on hearts stolen

Starting hearts: Every player begins with 3 hearts.
Maximum hearts: 20 (hard cap).

Offline heart decay: You lose 1 heart every 3 hours you're offline. Decay never drops you below 3 hearts. Only raids can take you below 3.

At 0 hearts: Your shard generation is disabled for 24 hours. After the lockout, your golem auto-revives to 1 heart. Players at 0 hearts cannot be raided until they recover back to 3 hearts.

APEX offline protection: APEX players get 6 hours of daily offline protection. During those hours, heart decay is paused and the golem stays at full power during raids. The timer resets at midnight UTC.

CHOOSING YOUR TARGET

The raid target menu (/raid) shows available players with key info:

Dungeon level — Higher level doesn't directly affect the golem, but indicates an experienced player
Heart count — Directly determines golem difficulty. Low hearts = easy fight. High hearts = dangerous
Online/offline status — Offline targets can't fight back, but may have APEX offline protection

Tips for choosing targets:

Low-heart players have weaker golems and are easier to beat, but they're also being targeted by everyone else.

High-heart players have powerful golems. Don't underestimate a 15+ heart golem — they hit extremely hard.

Check if the defender is online. An offline defender means you only fight the golem. An online defender with good gear can kill you before you finish the golem.

You cannot raid players with fewer than 3 hearts or players at 0 hearts.

Players sometimes lie about or hide their heart count in chat to discourage raiders. Don't take anyone's word for it — check the raid menu.

COOLDOWNS AND RESTRICTIONS

Global cooldown: 5 minutes between any two raids you start. APEX players get a 2-minute cooldown.

Per-target cooldown: 5 minutes before you can raid the same specific player again.

Minimum dungeon level: Both you and the target must have dungeon level 5 or higher.

Clan protection: You cannot raid your own clanmates.

During a raid, you cannot use teleport commands or leave the arena by normal means. Use /raid leave to forfeit and exit (counts as a loss — no heart transfer).

BOSS BAR DURING RAIDS

While in the arena, you see a boss bar showing live golem stats:

The golem's owner name, level, current HP out of max HP, and a countdown timer

The bar changes color based on the golem's remaining HP:
Red when the golem is above 50% HP
Yellow between 25% and 50%
Green below 25% (you're winning)

All other UI elements (scoreboard, other boss bars) are hidden while you're in the boss arena so you can focus on the fight.

RAID LOGS

Type /raid logs to view your raid history. It shows both attacks you've launched and defenses against raids on your dungeon, along with the outcome of each.

STRATEGY TIPS

Gear up before raiding. Bring your best weapons, armor, and food. Enchantments and gems make a huge difference against tough golems.

Start by raiding players with 3 to 5 hearts while you learn the system. Their golems have low HP and damage.

If you're being raided and you're online, fight back. You have the advantage — the raider has to kill your golem while also dealing with you.

Watch the golem's size. A physically large golem means high hearts and you should be prepared for a hard fight.

Don't hoard hearts you can't defend. If you have 15 hearts but weak gear, you'll be a prime target for raiders who want easy hearts from a strong golem.

Raid frequently. The seasonal leaderboard ranks players by total hearts stolen, not current heart count. Even if you lose hearts to decay or other raiders, every win counts toward your rank.

APEX players can raid more aggressively with the 2-minute cooldown. That's nearly triple the raid rate of normal players.

USEFUL COMMANDS

/raid — Open the raid target selection menu
/raid leave — Forfeit and leave an active raid
/raid info — Show info about your current raid
/raid logs — View your raid attack and defense history