Generation 12 is here in Whiteout Survival, and if you are wondering which heroes are actually worth investing in, this is an important generation to plan carefully. After going through the previous generations, I think Gen 12 gives players some interesting choices, especially when it comes to free-to-play and low-spender accounts.
In this guide, I will go over the three Gen 12 heroes, explain how they are obtained, look at their skills, and share which ones I think you should focus on or skip. I will also explain what I would recommend for different types of players, including free-to-play players, low spenders, rally players, and people who mainly focus on the Arena.
I made one mistake with this generation myself by skipping Lia, and I only realized how useful she could be later. So, hopefully, this guide helps you avoid making the same mistake and gives you a better idea of where your resources should go.
Whiteout Survival Gen 12 Hero Guide – Best Gen 12 Meta
There are three main heroes in Generation 12:
- Harbor – Infantry
- Kroll – Lancer
- Lia – Marksman
These heroes are obtained through different methods, so your ability to upgrade them will depend heavily on how you play the game.
Kroll – Free-to-Play Lucky Wheel Hero
Kroll is the Lancer hero for Gen 12 and is the Lucky Wheel hero.
This makes Kroll the most accessible Gen 12 hero for free-to-play players because you do not have to directly spend money to obtain his shards through the Lucky Wheel.
My recommendation is to aim for at least 4 stars on the Lucky Wheel hero.
If you can push Kroll to 5 stars, even better. A 5-star Lucky Wheel hero is definitely worth aiming for if you have enough resources and consistently participate in the Lucky Wheel events.
Lia – Easy Pay-to-Win Hero
Lia is the Marksman hero of Gen 12.
She falls into what I would call the easier pay-to-win category because her shards can be obtained through ranking events such as SvS or King of Icefield.
If you perform well enough in these events and achieve a good ranking, you can obtain Lia shards.
Lia can also be upgraded to 4 stars by players who participate properly in these events.
I personally made the mistake of skipping Lia, and I would not recommend doing the same.
Harbor – Difficult Pay-to-Win Hero
Harbor is the Infantry hero for Gen 12.
He falls into the more difficult pay-to-win category because his shards primarily come from the Hall of Heroes.
Free-to-play players can obtain some Harbor shards from available sources, but the Hall of Heroes is the main source for upgrading him.
Because of that, you need to carefully consider whether Harbor is worth spending your saved resources on.
For most free-to-play and low-spender players, I think the answer is no.
Harbor Skills Explained
Let’s start with Harbor because he is probably the hero I would skip if I were playing a free-to-play or low-spender account.
Harbor Expedition Skills
Harbor’s first Expedition skill provides 25% Lethality.
This is a very strong skill.
The 25% Lethality can make Harbor useful as a rally joiner in the future, and it can also help during one-versus-one battles and when calling rallies.
His second skill is similar to Oming’s skill from Gen 6.
It provides:
- 25% reduction in normal attack damage taken
- 30% reduction in skill damage taken
This is a strong defensive skill, especially for Infantry.
His third skill provides:
- 15% reduction in damage taken
- 10% damage increase
However, this skill is specifically for Infantry.
That is one of my biggest problems with Harbor.
Only his first skill benefits all troop types, while his second and third skills are focused on Infantry.
For a free-to-play player, I generally prefer heroes whose skills have more universal applications.
Is Harbor Good for Free-to-Play Players?
Personally, I would skip Harbor if you are free-to-play or a low spender.
The main reason is that most of his useful skills are focused on Infantry.
His 25% Lethality skill is excellent, but by Gen 12, most long-term players already have plenty of good rally joiners.
You may already have heroes such as:
- JC
- Jas
- Sion
- Magnus
- Bradley
- Hrik
- Blanchet
Depending on your account and previous generations, you may already have enough heroes to fill your rally-joining requirements.
So, spending a large amount of resources on Harbor just for his Lethality skill does not make much sense for most players.
When Harbor Is Worth Getting
There are still situations where Harbor makes sense.
If you are a big spender, Harbor can be useful as a rally caller.
He can also be valuable for players who participate heavily in garrisoning and need strong defensive Infantry bonuses.
His Arena skills are also quite good.
His first Arena skill can deal significant damage and behaves somewhat like an area-damage attack, even though it is not exactly a traditional AoE ability.
So if Arena is your main focus, Harbor becomes more interesting.
Harbor’s Widget
Harbor’s widget provides 15% Defender Troop Defense.
This is a good defensive bonus, but there is an important limitation.
It does not help when you are calling a rally.
That makes the widget much more useful for players who focus on garrison defense rather than offensive rally play.
This is another reason I would mainly recommend Harbor to heavy spenders or dedicated garrison players.
Why Gen 11 Makes Harbor Less Important
Another important reason I would skip Harbor is the previous generation.
If you invested properly in Ilonora, the Gen 11 Lucky Wheel hero, you may already have a strong Infantry hero.
A lot of free-to-play players can potentially take Ilonora to 5 stars.
If you already have a 5-star Ilonora, there is even less reason to immediately invest heavily into another Infantry hero in Gen 12.
Gen 13 also introduces Gizella, another Infantry hero with strong defensive abilities.
Because of this, I would rather save my resources than spend everything on Harbor simply because he is the newest Infantry hero.
Kroll Skills Explained
Kroll is the Lancer hero for Gen 12 and is the hero I would prioritize as a free-to-play player.
His skills give him some useful offensive and defensive options.
Kroll Expedition Skills
Kroll’s first skill provides a 20% reduction in damage taken.
Whenever you see a skill that reduces damage taken, you are looking at a defensive ability, and this one is quite useful.
His second skill is particularly interesting because it can counter the 60/40 formation.
Kroll targets enemy Infantry and Lancer troops, giving him a useful role when dealing with certain formations.
There are several heroes that can counter 60/40 formations, including:
- Bradley
- Kroll
- Valkanas
This makes Kroll a useful option when you know your opponent is relying on a 60/40 setup.
His third skill provides a hybrid bonus with 15% Attack and 10% Defense.
This is similar to the skill previously seen on Philly.
Overall, Kroll has a very balanced set of skills.
Kroll in the Arena
Kroll can also perform well in the Arena.
His first Arena skill charges directly through the enemy and deals good damage.
His second skill is similar to Lingshu’s quick spear attack, allowing Kroll to perform a fast attack against the enemy.
His third skill becomes even more interesting when enemies start dying.
Whenever an enemy is defeated, Kroll can receive additional bonuses to things such as Attack and Health, allowing him to stay effective for longer during the battle.
Because of this, I think Kroll is a strong Arena hero for Gen 12.
Should Free-to-Play Players Get Kroll?
Yes.
If you are free-to-play, I would recommend trying to get Kroll to at least 4 stars.
If you have enough Lucky Wheel resources to reach 5 stars, that is even better.
The fact that he is the Lucky Wheel hero makes him much more accessible than Harbor, and his skills are useful across multiple areas of the game.
The only area where I would not specifically prioritize Kroll is the Bear Hunt.
For Bear Hunt, we can still use Mia, and she remains useful well into later generations.
Lia Skills Explained
Lia is the hero I regret skipping.
She is the Gen 12 Marksman hero, and after watching other players use her in the Arena, I realized that she can actually be very strong.
Lia Expedition Skills
Lia’s first skill reduces enemy Defense by 25%.
This is a strong offensive ability and can make her useful as a future rally joiner.
Hrik has a similar type of ability, and having another hero who can reduce enemy Defense is valuable.
Her second skill deals significant damage, especially when Lia is used in rallies or one-versus-one attacks.
Her third skill also provides strong damage.
A major advantage of Lia is that her skills are heavily Marksman-dependent.
Marksman-dependent skills generally have very good damage potential, similar to what we have seen with heroes such as Blanchet and Rufus.
Lia’s Widget
The main weakness of Lia is her widget.
Her widget provides 15% Defender Troop Lethality.
That means the bonus works while defending, rather than when you are calling an offensive rally.
If the widget were offensive and worked for rally calling, I would rate Lia even higher.
Still, I think she is worth getting because of how strong her other skills are.
Lia in the Arena
This is where Lia really stands out.
Her first Arena skill provides proper AoE damage and can hit multiple enemies.
Her second skill is particularly interesting because it can immobilize an opponent.
Instead of simply stunning the enemy, the ability effectively prevents them from moving.
Lia uses a spider-like attack that throws webbing around the opponent and keeps them stuck.
Her third skill also contributes additional damage.
Overall, Lia can deal a lot of damage in the Arena.
I have even seen Lia continue to be used effectively in later generations, so her usefulness is not limited to Gen 12.
Should Free-to-Play Players Get Lia?
Yes, especially if you are an Arena-focused player.
If you regularly play Arena to earn Arena Coins, having a strong Arena hero can make a big difference.
I personally skipped Lia and later regretted it after seeing how much damage she could do against me in the Arena.
So, if you have the opportunity to obtain her through ranking events, I would recommend taking advantage of it.
Try to get her to 4 stars if possible.
Best Skills From Gen 12
If I had to choose my favorite skills from each Gen 12 hero, this would be my list.
Harbor
For Expedition, I like the 25% Lethality skill the most.
For Exploration, I like the hammer strike because it can deal strong damage.
Kroll
My favorite Expedition skill is the one that can counter the 60/40 formation.
For Exploration, I like the first skill because Kroll charges directly through the enemy and deals damage.
Lia
For Expedition, I like the 25% enemy Defense reduction skill because it can be useful for rally joining and offensive damage.
For Exploration, her first skill is my favorite because of the strong AoE damage.
Final Gen 12 Recommendation
For me, the decision is fairly simple.
Free-to-play players should prioritize Kroll, try to get him to 4 stars or preferably 5 stars, and then consider Lia. Harbor can be skipped.
Low spenders can follow almost the same strategy.
If you are a big spender, you can obviously invest in all three heroes depending on your role. Harbor becomes much more valuable if you are a dedicated garrison player or need another strong Infantry option.
For Arena players, I would definitely keep Lia in mind. Her damage and immobilization ability make her much more interesting than I initially thought.
And if you are wondering whether Harbor’s 25% Lethality is enough to justify the investment, I would say no for most players. By Gen 12, you should already have plenty of rally joiners from previous generations.
The biggest lesson from this generation for me is not to judge a hero too quickly. I skipped Lia and later realized that she was actually one of the heroes I should have invested in.
So, if you are planning your Gen 12 resources now, Kroll is my first choice for free-to-play players, Lia is the hero I would not skip if you care about Arena, and Harbor is the one I would leave for heavy spenders and dedicated garrison players.