Every transcension, upon defeating the boss at level 100 for the first time, and every 10th level after that, you will receive 1 gilded hero at random. As you get farther into the game, you can start moving the gilds to other heroes in order to increase your DPS. This guide will help you determine when to start moving gilds and which hero(es) to place the gilds on.
The Power 5
Around the point when you can clear the first 200 levels without farming or failing a boss, you should have enough Hero Souls to start moving gilds randomly for 2 HS each. You can do this by holding Control and left clicking on a gilded hero to move the gild to another random hero. You’ll be leveling the first 5 heroes after Cid; the “Power 5”: Treebeast, Ivan, Brittany, the Seer and Samurai. Move as many gilds onto them as you can.
The Masked Samurai
Once your runs are getting to about level 500, you should have enough HS to move your gilds directly (Shift-click) for 80 HS each. Once you can comfortably afford to do so, move your gilds onto Samurai.
Atlas
Once you’re able to level Samurai up to 2425 (that’s his hero level – not your zone level) then it’s time to move your gilds over to Atlas. If you can’t instantly clear all the zones before you can buy Atlas, move 1 gild onto Samurai and level him until you have enough gold for Atlas. This is known as a “transition gild”.
Terra -> Wepwawet
For all of these heroes, you will follow one simple rule: Put all your gilds onto the best hero you can level to 1000 (hero level, not zone level.) Once you can level Atlas to 1500, you’ll be able to level Terra to 1000 so you can move your gilds over. Once Terra is 1500, you regild to Phthalo, and so on all the way down to when Gog is 1500 and you regild to Wepwawet.
Wepwawet, Betty & Midas
At level 1500, Wepwawet unlocks an ability that gives Betty Clicker a huge DPS boost. She becomes the best hero until the boost to King Midas at 2000 Wepwawet. Betty Clicker can often be skipped, as it is a very narrow range where she is the optimal hero. If you can level Wepwawet to 2000 without slowing down, then skip Betty.
Returning to Gog & Wepwawet
Once you can get Wepwawet to 6000, he becomes the best hero once again. If you can get Wepwawet to 6000 without slowing down, then you can skip both Betty and Midas. Beyond that, Wepwawet and Gog alternate being optimal in the following sequence: Wep 6000, Gog 7000, Wep 7000, Gog 8000, Wep 8000. If you can get Wepwawet to 8000 without slowing down, then you’re optimal – mathematically speaking. But for practical purposes, you can keep it simple and leave your gilds on Wepwawet at 6000 as the difference isn’t huge.
Transition Gilds
The simplest way to pick a transition gild is to go 3 heroes above your main gild. For instance, if your main gild is Alabaster, you will use Banana as your transition gild. For Terra and Phthalo you can use Samurai and/or Atlas. For Betty and Midas you will use Wepwawet (and Moloch if needed.)
After Transcending
Once you’ve transcended a couple of times, you can skip the random regilding into the Power 5 and head straight to Samurai. Depending on how far along you are into the game, you may even be able to skip straight to Atlas. The same rules will apply; Samurai to 2425 and then the best hero you can get to 1000 without slowing down.
Don’t Forget – Level First, Move Gilds After
When you’re getting ready to move your gilds to the next hero, always make sure it’s leveled to 1000 (6000 for Wepwawet the second time) before transferring your gilds over. If you don’t, you’ll slow down considerably until you get a treasure chest!
For more information on gilded heroes, check out the Gilded Heroes FAQ from the Clicker Heroes Wiki.