Age of Empires Mobile: How to Target and Recruit Specific Heroes

To recruit specific Legendary heroes in Age of Empires Mobile, save your Tavern Tokens and Gems for active Rate-Up banners that feature your desired unit, rather than pulling from general recruitment pools. Check the Probability tab within the Tavern to view the pull threshold required to guarantee a drop, and hold your resources until you have enough to reach that pity threshold during a relevant hero rotation.

How Tavern Banners and Pity Mechanics Work

The Tavern is the central hub for acquiring heroes in Age of Empires Mobile. Recruitment options are split between standard general pools and rotating limited-time banners.

To maximize your chances of getting a specific Legendary hero:

Focus on Rate-Up Banners: Rate-Up banners significantly increase the drop odds for designated heroes compared to general permanent pools. Avoid spending resources on general banners when hunting for a specific commander.
Track the Pity System: The game tracks total pulls on specific banners and guarantees a Legendary drop once you reach a set pull count.
Check Banner Rules: Open the Rules or Probability tab inside the Tavern recruitment menu to review exact drop rates and calculate how many pulls remain until your next guaranteed drop.

If you cannot reach the pity threshold before a banner expires, hold your currency for a future rotation rather than making partial pulls.

Building a focused squad requires accumulating Tavern Tokens and Gems during off-banner periods. Because heroes rotate on predictable banner cycles, skipping unneeded hero rotations allows free-to-play and light-spending players to stockpile resources for key commanders.

Resource Source	Strategy	Recommendation
Tavern Tokens	Save for target unit rotations	Skip non-essential banners to hoard tokens until a core squad commander appears.
Gems	Reserve for pity gaps	Spend Gems only to bridge the remaining pull gap required to trigger a pity drop.
Limited-Time Events	Complete event milestones	Earn bonus tokens from event objectives, which offer better value than buying tokens directly.

Evaluating Hero Value Before Pulling

Before spending resources on an active banner, inspect the hero's skills and talent tree in the Tavern preview to confirm they strengthen your primary formation.

Filter potential pulls through three main checks:

Squad Synergy: Confirm the hero boosts your primary troop type (Cavalry, Infantry, or Archer). For example, save for cavalry-focused commanders only if you are actively building a cavalry squad.
Awakening Potential: Evaluate whether you can reasonably obtain enough extra copies or hero shards to unlock higher star levels later.
Squad Longevity: Prioritize units that remain functional in mid-to-late game compositions rather than temporary substitutes.