Guildrun Starter Carries — Grace, Ming & Kai After 0.5.2

How to Use This Guide

Pick one primary carry identity for your first five runs. Fill other slots with whatever supports that identity — do not draft three “main characters.” Rank your carry toward B before the Act 1 challenge fight; supports can sometimes lag if their heals scale off Magic and specs.

Pair this page with best starter heroes, combat tempo, and patch 0.5.2 so numbers stay current.

Grace — Sustain Anchor and Backup Queen

Grace is the classic support starter. Salvation healing scales with Magic; after Stall triggers she can target and even resurrect. Selfless-style specs extend team-wide value. Community guides long recommended Grace as the glue beside Ming or Kai.

In 0.5.2 Aleco buffed her base Mana (Max 120→110, Start 35→50) because she crushed from reserve but underperformed on board versus other Mystics. Radiant — a top Backup spec — lost some Attack/Magic on shields scaling. Translation: play Grace on the field more often early; do not assume bench Radiant is free forever.

• Role: heal / revive / team glue
• Tempo: Stall-friendly payoffs
• 0.5.2: better on-board casts, Radiant Backup trimmed

Ming — Burn Rush Carry

Ming stacks Burn on adjacent enemies every second, doubling under Rush, with damage that cares about his Max HP. Enlightened is a premier Rush-oriented rank-up when you commit to tempo. HP stacking and Rush-extending upgrades are the usual item/relic grammar.

0.5.2 buffed Inner Flame (+2s Rush) and Enlightened (+1s Rush) after Ming lagged in SSS/Red Rift and cooled off in Endless versus alpha peaks. If you abandoned Ming after launch week, give him another look — especially with adjacency-friendly positioning.

Kai — Shield Nuke Warrior

Kai builds a shield, waits, then detonates AoE damage plus bonus based on remaining shields. Unstoppable-style specs that gain Attack whenever shielded turn shield supports into damage amplifiers. Gustav and Grace Radiant were common launch pairings; verify Radiant numbers post-nerf.

Bold remained his best spec even after a 0.5.1 nerf, so 0.5.2 cut Defense on acquire (45→30) and shields-on-cast scaling (500%→400% of Defense). Bold is still playable — Aleco's stated goal — but stop treating it as the only Kai button. Sample other specs when relics lean different keywords.

Sample First-Clear Recipe

Cleanest path many community guides still teach: Grace as sustain anchor, Ming or Kai as primary damage, fill remaining slots with class complements, push the carry to Rank B before Act 1's challenge gate, watch Mana on casters, and avoid greed-picking four relics before the board can absorb downside variance.

After 0.5.2, respect Boss Token generosity for practice retries, expect weaker Emergency Rewind recharge, and re-check Aria if she shows up later — she was the statistical monster of week two and received scaling trims. Starters still teach the game; Aria teaches the meta.

When to Pivot Off Your Starter

Pivot when a run-defining relic clearly belongs to another keyword, when your carry never reaches Rank B before the challenge fight, or when Endless/Red Rift modifiers punish your tempo identity. Use the pivot guide and sample builds rather than forcing a dead Ming line for pride.