RAID Speed and Turn Meter Explained: Why Going First Wins

If you ask experienced RAID players for one piece of advice, most will say the same thing: get more Speed. Here is why Speed matters so much and how the turn meter system actually works.

How the turn meter works

Every champion and enemy has a turn meter that fills continuously during battle. The rate it fills is based on Speed. When a turn meter reaches 100%, that unit takes a turn and the meter resets.

That means:

• A champion with twice the Speed of an enemy takes roughly twice as many turns.
• The fastest champion usually acts first, which often decides the fight before it starts.
• In long fights like Clan Boss, small Speed differences change the exact order of every turn.

Why first turns matter

The first few turns of a fight are where you place your most important effects:

• Decrease Defense and Weaken before your damage dealers attack.
• Increase Speed or turn meter boosts so your team acts again quickly.
• Stuns or Freeze that stop dangerous enemies from acting at all.

In Arena, whichever team gets its key skills off first typically wins.

Where Speed comes from

Source	Notes
Base Speed	Set by the champion; it never changes
Boots main stat	Speed is the only stat worth having on most boots
Speed set	2 pieces give +12% Speed
Substats	Speed substats on any piece are always valuable
Leader auras	Some champions boost the whole team’s Speed in certain modes
Great Hall & Arena bonuses	Permanent bonuses in specific modes
Glyphs	Can boost an existing Speed substat

Speed buffs and turn meter effects

• Increase Speed buffs raise Speed by 15% or 30% while active.
• Decrease Speed debuffs slow enemies by 15% or 30%.
• Turn meter boost skills instantly fill part of an ally’s meter – sometimes enough to give them an extra turn.
• Turn meter reduction skills push enemies back, delaying their attacks.

Champions who combine these effects – such as team speed buffers and turn-meter boosters – are some of the most valuable supports in the game.

Speed tuning in one paragraph

Speed tuning means setting each champion’s Speed to a specific value so the team acts in a precise order every time. It’s the secret behind Clan Boss “unkillable” teams and many fast dungeon teams. You don’t need to tune early on – but it helps to know the concept exists. Our unkillable teams explainer shows how it’s used.

Practical tips

1. Always choose Speed boots when you have them.
2. Keep every piece with a Speed substat, even if the rest is mediocre.
3. Give your fastest debuffer the most Speed so effects land before your damage dealers act.
4. Don’t make your damage dealer the fastest – they should act after the debuffs are placed.

Speed is never wasted. When in doubt, add more.