R3ED Hero Analysis

Core Hero Verified Ingame

Shadow Killer

Ethan

Core Ranged hero focused on garrison damage, firearm stacks and powerful AoE skill pressure.

🏹Troop TypeRanged

🌳Talent TreesRanged / Garrison / Skill

🏰Main RoleGarrison AoE Damage

⚔Secondary RoleOpen Field Ranged

⭐AcquisitionAll-Star Night

📈InvestmentHigh

Ethan Overview

Ethan is a Core Ranged hero built around garrison combat, AoE skill damage and his Firearms stack mechanic. His rage skill hits up to 3 enemies in a fan-shaped area and generates Firearms stacks for each target hit.

While stationed in garrison, Ethan gains stacks faster and receives stronger defensive value from his passive skills. His awakening converts Firearms stacks into an additional AoE damage burst, making him especially dangerous in prolonged ranged garrison fights.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

Core Hero with strong ranged garrison value.
AoE rage skill hits up to 3 enemies.
Firearms stacks increase ranged attack and fuel his awakening burst.
Strong ranged attack, HP and defense scaling.
Exclusive weapon improves stack generation through basic attacks.

Weaknesses

Highest value is tied to garrison situations.
Requires investment before his full stack cycle becomes reliable.
Rally value is limited compared with dedicated rally heroes.
Best results require ranged-focused stats and proper pairing.

Skills

Rage Skill

Last Ace Up the Sleeve

Deals damage to up to 3 enemies in a fan-shaped area. Damage taken by each enemy is reduced by 15% for each additional target. Ethan gains Firearms stacks for each enemy hit, gaining 2 stacks per target while stationed in garrison. For every 10 Firearms stacks, Ranged Troop Attack is increased by 10%.

Rage: 1000 Damage Factor: 13500 Targets: Up to 3 Firearms: 1 stack / 2 in garrison

R3ED Note: This is Ethan's core mechanic. More targets mean faster stack generation, and garrison doubles the stack gain per enemy hit.

Passive Skill

Gunfight Tactics

Increases Ranged Troop Attack. Counterattacks have a chance to grant 1 Firearms stack.

Ranged ATK: +42% Counterattack Chance: 20% Firearms Stack: +1

R3ED Note: This skill makes Ethan's stack engine more consistent and gives him one of his strongest raw ranged attack bonuses.

Passive Skill

Tactical Deployment

Increases Ranged Troop HP. While stationed, reduces Skill Damage taken by the troop.

Ranged HP: +36% Stationed Skill Damage Taken: -13%

R3ED Note: This is a defensive garrison layer. It helps Ethan survive longer while his Firearms stacks build up.

Passive Skill

Hunter Spirit

Increases Ranged Troop Defense. While stationed in garrison, reduces all damage taken for 1 minute after entering battle.

Ranged DEF: +38% Garrison Damage Taken: -10% Duration: 1 min

R3ED Note: The early garrison mitigation makes Ethan much harder to burst down at the start of defensive fights.

🔴 Core Hero Exclusive Weapon

Coffin

Ethan's exclusive weapon gives basic attacks a chance to deal extra damage and generate Firearms stacks. While stationed in garrison, stack gain is doubled.

Exclusive Weapon

25%Basic attack trigger

2750Damage factor

+1Firearms stack

+2Stacks in garrison

🟧 R3ED Analysis: Coffin is important because it adds stack generation outside Ethan's rage skill. In garrison, the doubled stack gain makes his awakening cycle noticeably stronger during long fights.

Awakening

Killer Instinct adds a new skill. It increases AoE Skill Damage by 18%. At 30 Firearms stacks, all Firearms stacks are removed to deal damage to up to 3 enemies in a circular area.

AoE Skill Damage: +18% Firearms Required: 30 stacks Awakening Damage Factor: 13500 Targets: Up to 3

R3ED Note: Awakening turns Ethan's Firearms system into a real burst threat. The longer he stays active in garrison, the more dangerous this extra AoE cycle becomes.

Recommended Pairings

🟦 Official Sophie

Sophie

Official In-Game Pairing

Shown directly in Ethan's in-game formation recommendation.

🟧 R3ED

Nova

R3ED Ranged Choice

Nova adds heavy AoE pressure and strong ranged scaling. Useful when Ethan is played in a high-investment ranged setup.

Use Cases

GarrisonExcellent

Ranged DPSExcellent

Open FieldGood

RallySituational

F2P ValueLow

InvestmentHigh Priority

R3ED RecommendationHighly Recommended for ranged garrison players

Investment Priority★★★★★

Hero Story

Show Lore

Even before the outbreak, Ethan lived a dangerous and violent life. He worked for a notorious underground organization as an assassin, carrying out contracts that left many targets dead.

When the zombie catastrophe arrived, Ethan was waiting in the shadows for the right moment to complete another mission. As a horde of zombies moved through his scope, his original target disappeared. In the middle of the chaos, Ethan stayed calm and eliminated the infected with methodical precision.

Since that day, Ethan lost contact with his employers and remained in the dark, waiting for the moment he would be needed again. Until then, he lives as a contract killer on call, ready to serve anyone willing to pay enough.