Soroca: The Gargoyle Who Forgot to Hit the Gym

Overview

Soroca is a 3-star Ice (Blue) hero from the Gargoyle family, originally released in May 2022. In a family known for powerhouse heroes that dominated the meta for months (looking at you, Arco and Kalo), Soroca is... well, he's also there. He is a Rare hero designed to be a sniper with a defensive twist, but in the fast-paced world of modern Empires & Puzzles, he often feels like a statue that hasn't quite come to life. This review focuses on the base version of Soroca.

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lb2

Hero Art & Visuals

Visually, Soroca fits the "gargoyle" theme perfectly—he looks like a mischievous little gremlin carved out of granite, complete with horns and a pose that suggests he's about to cause some minor inconvenience rather than actual destruction. He doesn't have the imposing presence of his bigger legendary cousins; instead, he looks like the gargoyle you'd put on the garden shed rather than the cathedral. The cool blue tones emphasize his Ice element, but his expression screams "I'm trying my best!" more than "Fear me!"

General Info

Hero Stats

Base Stats (No Emblems)

Level	Attack	Defense	Health	💪Power
3/50	512	500	703	482
3/55lb1	581	567	797	538
3/60lb2	718	700	985	650

▶Calculate with Emblems

Simulation: 0 Emblems

Level				💪
3/50	512	500	703	482
3/55lb1	581	567	797	538
3/60lb2	718	700	985	650

When we look at Soroca's stats in the context of 2026, the cracks in the stone start to show. With a base power of 482, he is significantly behind modern 3-star heroes. For comparison, recent Covenant and Event 3-stars like Ironvein sit comfortably at 538 power before Limit Breaking.

His stats are fairly balanced, leaning slightly towards health (703), which supports his role as a survivor. However, his Attack stat of 512 is tragically low for a hero whose primary job is supposed to be dealing damage. In today's meta, where 3-star hitters are pushing 550+ Attack easily, Soroca punches with the force of a gentle breeze.

Special Skill: Faithful Force

Special Skill

Faithful Force

Mana Speed

Average

• Deals 235% damage to the target.
• Deals additional 10% damage per each Ice shield on the board, up to 335% damage in total.

⚡ Tile Breakpoints Guide

10Base Tiles

12% Bonus

9Tiles

Let's address the elephant in the room: Faithful Force is underwhelming. At Average speed, dealing 235% damage to a single target is barely a scratch. Even classic heroes like Valen (Fast speed, 300% damage + Defense Down) outperform him effortlessly.

The skill attempts to compensate with a "board scaling" mechanic, adding 10% damage per Ice shield, capping at 335%.

• Best Case Scenario: You have a board flooded with Blue tiles. You hit for 335%. That is still just okay for an Average speed hero.
• Real World Scenario: You just used your Blue tiles to charge him. The board is now empty of Blue tiles. He hits for the base 235%.

This anti-synergy is painful. To maximize his damage, you need to not use the tiles that charge him, which is a catch-22 that leaves him feeling clunky and ineffective.

By the Numbers

• Mana Speed Analysis: Average speed requires 10 tiles. In 3-star tournaments, where mana troops are limited, you can't easily break the 9-tile barrier without very specific setups, making him feel sluggish compared to the Fast snipers running the show.
• Damage Calculation: With ~512 Attack, a 235% hit deals roughly 1200 damage before defense reduction. Against a modern LB2 3-star with 700+ Defense, this will likely result in a hit of around 200-250 damage. It is not enough to kill, and often not even enough to threaten.
• Key Passives Impact: The Stoneskin is the real "stat" here. Reducing damage to 1 for the next 4 hits adds an infinite amount of "effective health" against those specific hits. This is his only true quantitative advantage.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

The Gargoyle family is famous for its durability, and this is where Soroca finds his only foothold.

Family Bonus

Family Bonus

Challenge - Gargoyle

• Bonus for 1/2/3/ Unique Heroes:
• Immune to Poison damage / Immune to Poison and Burn damage / Immune to Poison, Burn and Water damage
• The members of this family have additional perks in the Return to Sanctuary event.

Immunity to Poison (1 hero), Burn (2 heroes), and Water damage (3 heroes) is situational but excellent when it works. In 3-star tournaments, burn damage from heroes like Jwala (if she had a 3-star cousin) or classic Colen/Azlar (in Rush) can be devastating. Being immune to these DoTs adds a layer of survivability.

Passives

Inherent Abilities

Passive Skills

• Gargoyle's Stoneskin

  Every time this Gargoyle casts a Special Skill, their Stoneskin hardens. The next 4 times they receive damage, it is dropped to 1. This effect can't be dispelled.

Gargoyle’s Stoneskin is the crown jewel. Reducing any damage to 1 for the next 4 hits after firing is incredible. In a 3-star Bloody Battle where healing is disabled, this mitigation is king. It allows Soroca to tank through sniper hits, slash attacks, and tile dumps that would vaporize other heroes. Note that while older data might say 3 hits, the current standard for the family is robust.

Aether Power

Aether Power

Ailment Immunity

At the start of each battle, this Hero is immune to new status ailments for 6 turns.

In battles with multiple waves, the effect is refreshed at the beginning of each wave.

Ailment Immunity for the first 6 turns. This is actually a solid power for him. It ensures he doesn't get hit with Defense Down or Mana Slow at the start of the match, guaranteeing he can fire at least once to get his Stoneskin up.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: Upon release, Soroca was immediately branded as "Rich Man's Balthazar" (or Poor Man's, depending on who you asked). He was never meta-defining. Players leveled him for the family bonus or because they loved the art, not for his kill pressure.
• Power Creep Analysis: Power creep has been unkind. Modern 3-star heroes like Ironvein, Rudolph C1, and Jax do more damage, faster, and with better secondary effects. Soroca's damage cap of 335% is now a standard baseline for Fast heroes, not a "maximum potential" for Average ones.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Soroca is largely a Benchwarmer. He has a tiny niche in Bloody Battle tournaments as a meat shield thanks to Stoneskin, but he contributes almost zero offensive pressure. He survives, but he doesn't help you win.

Emblem Path Analysis

If you insist on giving him emblems (perhaps you have thousands of unused Paladin emblems), you have to lean into his only strength: staying alive to annoy people.

The "Stone Wall" Build (Recommended)

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Maximizes his survivability. With Paladin talents + Stoneskin + high defense, he becomes a very stubborn tank in 3-star tournaments.
• Cons: His attack becomes even more laughable. He will hit like a wet noodle.

The "Optimist" Build

• Path: Attack > Defense > Health
• Pros: Tries to salvage his damage potential to make the 335% cap actually hurt.
• Cons: Even with full attack nodes, his base stats are too low to make him a threat. A glass cannon that is made of actual glass.

Final Recommendation

Go for the Stone Wall build. Use him as a damage sponge. If he's dead, he can't use Stoneskin.

Strengths

• Stoneskin Passive: Mitigation of 4 hits to 1 damage is elite survivability, regardless of stats.
• DoT Immunity: Family bonus can completely negate dangerous burn/poison heroes in tournaments.
• Ailment Immunity (LB1): Guarantees a clean start to the match.

Weaknesses

• Pathetic Damage: 235% at Average speed is obsolete. Even at max potential (335%), it's underwhelming.
• Anti-Synergistic Skill: Requires Blue tiles on the board to deal damage, but consumes Blue tiles to charge.
• Average Speed: Too slow for a sniper in the 3-star meta.
• Outdated Stats: Base stats are far below current event hero standards.

Best Game Modes

• Rush Attack Tournaments (3-Star): The only place where Average speed doesn't hurt as much, and his Stoneskin can tank hits from slow nukers.
• Bloody Battle: Stoneskin effectively acts as "healing" by preventing damage.
• Gargoyle Event: Useful solely for the family bonus if you lack other options.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

Soroca isn't a hero you build a team around; he's a hero you plug in to survive.

Sample Team Ideas

• The "Undying" Defense: Soroca - Faiez - Soroca. In Rush, this frontline is a nightmare to kill. Faiez heals and blocks ailments, Soroca puts up Stoneskin and soaks up damage.
• The Family Bonus Abuse: Soroca - Kalo - Soroca. In 4-star tournaments, you might run him just to give Kalo (the 4-star superstar) immunity to Burn/Water/Poison. Soroca is just a cheerleader here.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Counters: Dispellers (Tyrum, Mnesseus) can't dispel Stoneskin, but they can remove any other buffs. Minion Munchers ignore him. His biggest counter is Ignoring Him—since he does no damage, smart players will just kill his teammates first and leave him for last.
• Anti-Synergies: Tile Movers/Board Shuffles—If you shuffle the board and lose your Blue tiles, his damage potential drops to zero.

Advice for New Players

If you pulled Soroca and he is your only Blue 3-star, go ahead and level him. He will serve you well in the early map stages because Stoneskin is very forgiving. However, as soon as you get Valen, Nordri, or Gato, Soroca should be retired. Do not Limit Break him unless you are drowning in aethers.

Advice for Veterans

He is a collection piece. There is virtually no competitive scenario where Soroca is the best choice over a modern 3-star hero or a costumed classic. The only exception might be a very specific Bloody Battle tournament where you need a Blue tank, but even then, Gunnar (Costume) serves the team better.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

The community was skeptical from day one.

• "Poor man's Balthazar, this hero is really sad." - Forum User
• "His sole purpose is dealing damage and he still does that terribly." - Forum User
• "A quick comparison with Yao will tell you immediately that this guy is worthless." - Forum User
• One user brilliantly noted: "It’s rich man’s Balthazar because real Balthazar is not behind a paywall."

The consensus has always been that his Stoneskin is great, but his active skill is a tragic misunderstanding of how tile mechanics work.

Final Thoughts

Soroca is a hero with a 5-star passive stuck on a 1-star skill set. He survives beautifully, standing tall while chaos erupts around him, primarily because the enemy team realized he's not worth attacking. He is the designated driver of the Gargoyle family—responsible, sturdy, but definitely not the life of the party.

If you max him, do it for the collection or the cute art. For battle? You're better off throwing actual stones.

Final Verdict: Bench (unless you love playing "How long can I survive without doing damage?").