Fish Kingdoms Beginner's Guide: Chests, Summons and Lineups

Your first summon in Fish Kingdoms asks a question the game does not answer clearly: spread across factions or stack one? Stack one. The reason only becomes obvious after you waste a week on a rainbow roster.

Fish Kingdoms is an idle card RPG where Three Kingdoms generals appear as fish, called Finlords. It has been stagnant since October 2023, and that changes the usual beginner advice: there is no future banner to save for and no live event calendar to plan around.

What the global build actually contains

The global build launched on iOS in December 2022 and on Android in October 2022. Its last update was version 1.0.7 on October 18, 2023. It remains downloadable.

The Chinese version documents more systems than the global build: a tower, clubs, and salt-field PvP. Nobody has confirmed whether your client has them. Decision rule: if a guide describes a menu you cannot find after the tutorial, assume it is Chinese-version-only and stop looking. Do not spend currency trying to unlock a system that was never shipped.

Chests and summons: the first week

The loop is simple: stages auto-battle, chests and free summons add Finlords, and offline rewards pile up while you are away. Your early decisions come down to where you spend limited summon currency.

• Take every free summon first. A free pull costs nothing and competes with nothing.
• Do not spend premium currency on the standard pool in week one. You do not know your faction core yet, and a random pull may duplicate a role you already cover.
• If you are choosing between unlocking a new Finlord and upgrading an existing one early, take the new Finlord. A new unit can change your lineup; a small upgrade usually cannot.
• Spend summon tokens when you can use the unit now. In a game with no live ops, saving for a future banner is a bet that may never pay.

Decision rule: if you already own three units of one faction, spend on that faction's pool. If you own none, spend nothing until the tutorial hands you a core.

Build one faction core, then fill roles

Finlords carry faction tags and combat roles. The published role lists use six types: Mage, Support, Tank, Warrior, Archer and Thief. Faction synergies reward stacking, so a focused team usually outperforms a team of higher-rarity strangers.

Decision rule: before you add a second unit of a role you already own, check whether your team has a tank and a support. A lineup of only damage dealers loses to one with a tank and a healer.

The published "tier list" for this game is actually a rarity grouping: it splits Finlords into SSR, SR and R, not into performance tiers. That is a useful ownership guide and a poor ranking. A high-rarity unit in the wrong role still loses to a low-rarity unit that completes your team.

Offline income is the engine

The game is an idle RPG, so the stages keep running and the rewards keep accumulating whether or not you are watching. Log in to collect and re-push, not to grind by hand.

Decision rule: if a stage is stuck, wait for offline resources rather than tapping longer. Manual tapping does not change the math in a game built around idle income.

Do not buy idle-time boosts. In a build that has not been updated since 2023, a temporary multiplier buys progress in a game that will not receive new content to use it on.

What to ignore

• Letter-grade tier lists. As above, the common list ranks rarity. Treat it as an ownership checklist.
• Salt-field PvP, clubs and towers if they are not in your client. See the rule in the first section.
• Code lists. The codes page on this site explains why almost every listed code is a 2023 leftover.
• Cosmetics and limited packs. There is no event calendar left to make them matter.

A first-week checklist

• [ ] Every free summon claimed.
• [ ] One faction chosen, with at least two owned units.
• [ ] Tank and support covered before adding more damage.
• [ ] Offline rewards collected at least twice a day.
• [ ] No premium currency spent on the standard pool.
• [ ] Any guide system you cannot find treated as Chinese-only.
• [ ] One carry unit invested in, not five units at equal level.

FAQ

Is Fish Kingdoms still updated?

No. The global build's last update was October 18, 2023, version 1.0.7. It is still downloadable and playable, but no new content has shipped since then.

Does the global version have the tower and salt-field PvP?

Unconfirmed. Those systems are documented for the Chinese version, and the global build may not include them. Check your own menus after the tutorial rather than assuming they exist.

Which Finlord should I pick first?

The one that completes a faction core you already own, or the role you are missing. Rarity alone is a weak signal because the published tier list is a rarity grouping, not a performance ranking.

Is Fish Kingdoms pay to win?

It sells currency and summons, but the idle loop supplies units and materials without payment. In a game with no new content, spending has little long-term value, so a free route is the sensible one.