# Scope, eras & game versions
This page covers only what named players wrote about leveling a tank, doctrines for tanks and the Paladin in Guild Master - Idle Dungeons (community name: Idle Guild Master). It uses a topic-selected re-collection of r/IdleGuildMaster (3908 threads: 3901 from r/IdleGuildMaster and 7 from r/incremental_games; 25233 comments), collected via the Arctic Shift archive on 2026-10-04; threads without the selection keywords may be missing. Every quote is matched against that collection by an automated test, line breaks included; author, date and score come from the collection. Nothing here was checked in the game. Class names are the commenters’ own words.
The game changes, so every date carries an era:
- Era A: up to 2025-05-15. The collection holds no comment dated before 2025-05-16 that contains a doctrine word (doctrin- or доктрин-; checked by the page test), so doctrine statements start in era B.
- Era B: 2025-05-16 to 2025-09-25. Developer version notes exist in the collection for this period.
- Era C: from 2025-09-26. The newest version note in the collection is version 2.134 (2025-09-25), so era C comments carry no game version.
Version-sensitive u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2025-01-05, era A, post 1hu1uo2) wrote: Experience balance: Several enemies experience have been adjusted: i will list changes per area, and not individual enemy, for simplicity.
[2] Because experience per area was adjusted on 2025-01-05, this page does not compare XP-per-hour figures dated before that day with later ones.
Labels: Community Knowledge what a named player wrote; Version-sensitive a version-note line tied to a date. Non-English quotes are given in the original with a literal English translation labelled “(translation by MiniMeta, not verified by the author)”. Where the collection has no statement, this page writes “limited sample”.
# Counts
Community Knowledge Script-computed mention counts; a name is “mentioned” when it appears in a comment of the scope, including dismissive or negative mentions. Scope 1: the 2363 comments (in 1302 threads, by 397 authors) that contain “tank”, “танк” or “Titan”. Scope 2: the 122 of those comments dated 2025-05-16 or later whose own text or thread title contains “doctrin” (in 91 threads, by 48 authors). Scope 3: the 508 comments (in 337 threads, by 140 authors) that contain “Paladin” or “паладин”.
| Name | Comments | Authors | Era A | Era B | Era C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titan | 694 | 163 | 438 | 80 | 176 |
| Kings Hand | 103 | 38 | 77 | 6 | 20 |
| Paladin | 216 | 73 | 94 | 29 | 93 |
| Dark Knight | 86 | 38 | 44 | 10 | 32 |
| Fortress | 52 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 43 |
| Aegis | 308 | 96 | 145 | 15 | 148 |
| Doctrine | Comments | Authors | Era B | Era C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortitude | 20 | 15 | 7 | 13 |
| Control | 27 | 15 | 10 | 17 |
| Grace | 28 | 13 | 6 | 22 |
| Ruin | 17 | 16 | 5 | 12 |
| War | 23 | 13 | 4 | 19 |
| Affliction | 13 | 8 | 4 | 9 |
| Illusion | 26 | 16 | 7 | 19 |
| Knowledge | 18 | 12 | 6 | 12 |
| Word | Comments | Authors | Era A | Era B | Era C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tank (any form) | 147 | 54 | 49 | 18 | 80 |
| Titan | 110 | 43 | 66 | 22 | 22 |
| darkness | 187 | 73 | 89 | 19 | 79 |
| Larox | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Fortitude | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Reproduce with python3 research/pipeline/jobs/idle-guild-master/page_build/tank_leveling_doctrines.py --counts (from the repository root). The counts are neither exact nor a ceiling: ordinary words (control, war, grace, ruin, titan, dark) and spelling variants change the result, and comments quoted on this page may fall outside a scope. They say how often a name was mentioned, not what works.
# Where players disagree
Each table puts comments side by side with author, date, era and comment link (the link goes to the permalink table under Sources).
Where to level a tank, and the XP per hour written
| Era A (2024-08) | Era B (2025-06 to 2025-08) | Era C (2026-08 to 2026-09) |
|---|---|---|
u/Fluffy-Internet-6250, 2024-08-08, era A, comment lh35t52: | u/ForsakenHeight4798, 2025-06-24, era B, comment mzgz8ks: u/jrohrer13, 2025-06-25, era B, comment mzoxzww: u/AshtonShiken, 2025-06-25, era B, comment mzs29hz: u/benk1102, 2025-07-31, era B, comment n63m08s: u/ForsakenHeight4798, 2025-08-15, era B, comment n8su0fm: u/Born-Armadillo-4139, 2025-08-31, era B, comment nbn2tyu: | u/Fomor666, 2026-08-14, era C, comment p3lhreg: u/Rinkanokirin, 2026-08-14, era C, comment p3luv22: u/BigT10116878, 2026-09-14, era C, comment p9quzcd: |
Titan right away, or another class first?
| Another class first, Titan after ascension | Titan |
|---|---|
u/DeadPhish, 2025-08-07, era B, comment n7dno4j: u/NullIsNotEmpty, 2026-03-03, era C, comment o8fru3z: | u/Educational-Fun3513, 2026-03-03, era C, comment o8do2wg: |
Which doctrine for a tank?
| Fortitude | Control | Others (Grace, War, Affliction), and one unclear |
|---|---|---|
u/Key-Speed-2688, 2025-05-17, era B, comment mssf122: u/-Traffej-, 2025-08-31, era B, comment nbn7ql7: u/Educational-Fun3513, 2026-08-26, era C, comment p62pgd8: u/nevercontribute1, 2026-03-09, era C, post 1rp7u7i: | u/-Traffej-, 2025-08-31, era B, comment nbn7ql7: u/ForsakenHeight4798, 2025-08-31, era B, comment nbndc7k: | u/ForsakenHeight4798, 2025-08-31, era B, comment nbmott3: u/Fomor666, 2026-08-17, era C, comment p4ad868: u/HenryW01F, 2026-08-27, era C, comment p64uz86: |
Which doctrine while leveling?
| Ruin in D1 | Fortitude in D3, or next to a Night Lament in D7 | War until max level, then switch |
|---|---|---|
u/DeadPhish, 2025-08-31, era B, comment nbmq88a: | u/Key-Speed-2688, 2025-08-31, era B, comment nbmrs1u: | u/Alauzhen, 2025-12-09, era C, comment nt1akji: |
# The Paladin: a dispute
Community Knowledge Whether a Paladin is a tank is disputed in the collection. This page does not say that a Paladin is a tank and does not say that it is not one; it shows who wrote what and when. No consensus is claimed, and the developer items below do not settle it.
One exchange, September 2026
| u/Mean_Set_8300 | u/ElephantIcy460 |
|---|---|
u/Mean_Set_8300, 2026-09-19, era C, comment pat3xhf: u/Mean_Set_8300, 2026-09-21, era C, comment pb4zvka: | u/ElephantIcy460, 2026-09-21, era C, comment pb4x74b: u/ElephantIcy460, 2026-09-21, era C, comment pb567fk: |
Other comments, by era
| Says a Paladin is useless, or a poor or niche tank | Says a Paladin can tank, at least in some content |
|---|---|
u/topshelf821, 2024-09-09, era A, comment lmcpdob: u/topshelf821, 2024-09-11, era A, comment lmor0zv: u/-Traffej-, 2025-05-26, era B, comment mue007n: u/Educational-Fun3513, 2026-04-27, era C, comment oijcwuz: u/Rinkanokirin, 2026-08-25, era C, comment p5tdds8: | u/Sneralted, 2024-08-07, era A, comment lgwo20i: u/Fluffy-Internet-6250, 2024-09-16, era A, comment lng7phm: u/unofficialSperm, 2025-06-27, era B, comment n00h1ih: u/insignificant-kid, 2026-03-09, era C, comment o9ex2u3: u/Fomor666, 2026-05-04, era C, comment ojsjy8m: u/More_Independence_43, 2026-05-12, era C, comment olgk7zz: |
Developer items that name the Paladin
Script check: the collection holds 44 posts and 121 comments by u/Paranoid-Squirrels; 4 of the posts and 1 of the comments contain “Paladin”. They are quoted here in date order.
- Community Knowledge u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2024-06-17, era A, comment l8zs6bq) asked:
Did you send a previous team before, and sent the paladin without collecting the drops?
[29] - Version-sensitive u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2024-08-15, era A, post 1est32l) wrote:
Paladin passive: darkness reduction treated as flat, and not percentage (no changes to actual mechanic)
[30] - Version-sensitive u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2025-01-23, era A, post 1i811m3) wrote:
Instill Terror (active ability of Bleak Disciple): now, stun roll is made before the execution, applying the status even if the ability is dodged (similarly to the Paladin's line SILENCE).
[31] - Version-sensitive u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2025-02-01, era A, post 1if2qvu) wrote:
while the paladins are very effective for the new raid, it shouldn't be the only option
[32] - Version-sensitive u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2025-03-01, era A, post 1j11l7o) wrote:
Paladin branch: magic defense growth progression reduced across all ranks, in such a way that T9: 50 -> 40
[33] u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2025-03-01, era A, post 1j11l7o) wrote in the same post:Titan branch: defense and magic defense growth progression reduced across all ranks, in such a way that T9: 35 -> 30
[33] u/Paranoid-Squirrels (2025-03-01, era A, post 1j11l7o) wrote under NOTES in the same post:About the reduction in def/mDef in the tank classes: in order to deal enough damage to the tanks to out-heal the healers, the damage of enemies had to be high enough to always oneshot everyone else (Angel of War could reach a mDef of 90!).
[33]
Of these items, only the post 1j11l7o contains the word “tank”; it names the Paladin branch and the Titan branch in its balance list and writes “the tank classes” in its notes, but it does not say which classes it means by that, and this page draws no conclusion from it. No developer item in the collection says in so many words that the Paladin is, or is not, a tank.
# Single statements
Statements shown without a side-by-side partner (limited sample):
- Community Knowledge A way to level a Titan build (era C): u/Fomor666 (2026-09-14, era C, comment p9s3u4o) writes:
Alternatively, you can level this Titan build (swapping the amulet for a Crown) while teamed up with a Rogue in D7—that’s another way to gain a lot of XP.
[8]
# What this page cannot tell you
- The XP-per-hour figures are what the named players wrote, in different units and set-ups; this page did not check them.
- The 20 quoted era C comments come from 11 authors; u/Fomor666 wrote 5 of them. They are not independent votes.
- Era C carries no game version; if the game changed after 2025-09-25, some newer statements may no longer apply.
- The collection has no developer statement that settles which doctrine suits a tank or whether the Paladin is a tank.
- This page has no recommendation of its own. It lists who said what and when.