Hi guys, so this is kind of a new player guide I guess based on two spreadsheets I've started (Commanders By Type and Big Commander List). The goal is going to be to highlight some commanders I think should be focused on, listed in the order you unlock them, so lets get to it.

First Note: This isn't to say commanders not on this list aren't useful or shouldn't be leveled, but these are the best to focus on and prioritize your silver / gold on. You'll probably still want to level up other units that are required in the stories, and unlock units to use as prefects.

Second Note: if you're f2p almost all the gold units are skippable, except Tian Feng to start. Once you have a couple good units with their passives unlocked you can go back and pick up some of the higher tier gold costed units.

Cao Cao Banner:

• Cao Cao: The title character himself, not necessarily very top tier but close enough that you'll want to take him to at least lvl 80
• Dian Wei: Top tier soldier, only rivaled by Wei Yan who isn't available til the Demon banner is unlocked (and costs gold)
• Yue Jin: Again only a B class but gets access to double attack and best growth of any footman
• Xun You: Best geomancer til you get to the Zhou Yu banner, highly recommended healer
• Liu Gong: Often overlooked due to being a C class, he's actually got amazing stats/cost and great skills

Chosen Officer Banner

Skippable, unless you have a Crit Immunity artifact for Liu He or Pang Sun

Sima Yi Banner:

• Sima Yi: All the sages are good, Sima Yi's specialty is that he's tanky and specializes in Wind which is one of the best AoEs
• Zhang Liao: A solid light cavalry unit that gets Double Attack and Enhanced Double
• Xu Huang: A beast vs cavalry, great attack range and guiding attack means he can take out multiple units a turn.
• Diaochan: Probably the best overall dancer, Double Attack and MP Attack makes her hit like a beast later on
• Zhang He: One of the best non-gold mounted archers, destroys cavalry later on with unlocked passives and Phalanx Strike
• Cao Pi: This warlord gives one of the best bangs for your buck out there, hampered by Crit Immune enemies in end game
• Yu Jin: Solid growth and has Double Attack plus two damage passives, can wreck face when they're all unlocked
• Liu Ye: Best catapult in terms of stats, also most expensive but not by much and sometimes doesn't matter
• Xu Chu: Best outlaw, though there's not a lot of competition.
• Guo Jia: Has Double Tactics, which only works with damage skills, but a solid taoist

Zhang Jue Banner:

• Zhang Jue: The cheapest sage but still a great caster, his 10% elemental damage passive gives him flexibility
• Zhang Bao: At only 4-cost but with good stats this guy is a great debuffer and with Imitate Tactics can fill other roles too

Guan Yu Banner:

• Guan Yu: Fully kitted out he's a beast, an expensive one, but a beast none the less

Taishi Ci Banner:

• Taishi Ci: Best growth of any light cavalry and Penetrating attack
• Zhou Tai: Second best navy behind only Gan Ning (who costs gold)

Xu Shu Banner:

Skippable, though Xu Shu's Warlord skill is worth getting if you don't plan on getting Tian Feng or aren't close to unlocking Zhuge Liang.

Lu Xun Banner:

• Lu Xun: Best marine that doesn't cost gold, though I think Lu Meng and Lu Kang are better
• Lu Kang: Hardest hitting marine with Attack Stat Switch and MP Attack, costs gold though and only ideal in water

Sun Quan Banner

• Sun Quan: Cheap warlord with great support skills, not super offensive
• Lu Meng: Has Penetrating Attack, Double Attack and MP Attack, wrecks face in water, costs gold
• Wu Jing: First crossbowman on the list, he only costs 5 and hits like he costs 8

Yuan Shao Banner:

• Tian Feng: Best Warlord skill and he's solid as a unit too, but costs gold, Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang (Sage) are free alternatives for the Warlord skill
• Xin Ping: Best overall catapult imo, lower cost than Liu Ye and has Guaranteed Hit

Sun Jian Banner:

Skippable, Sun Shangxiang would be worth taking if she didn't cost gold, Zhu Zhi is a decent crossbowman

Pang Tong Banner:

Skippable, Pang Tong himself is solid but not a priority

Deng Ai Banner:

• Hao Zhao: Special Attack Immunity and his high stats make him one of the tankiest units in the end game, costs gold
• Weng Yan: Optional, but he's got a cool skill set and his AoE Guiding Attack can really wreck groups
• Hu Lie: Budget costed mounted archer, still has good stats and Phalanx Strike

Zhao Yun Banner:

Skippable, Zhao Yun can be a beast with the right artifacts though, and Gongsun Zan has decent skills if you have extra gold

Sun Ce Banner:

Skippable, Daqaio is cool in that her seduce can basically 1v1 anyone who can't one shot her

Zhou Yu Banner:

• Gan Ning: Strongest navy but costs gold, so can skip if preferred
• Xaioqaio: Very good geomancer but again costs gold, so may want to skip
• Xu Jing: Best minimum-cost healer

Huang Zhong Banner:

• Zhang Ren: Best overall crossbowman but costs gold, skip unless you have a great artifact
• Huang Zhong: Top tier mounted archer but so expensive, makes him hard to fit into parties late-game

Ma Chao Banner:

• Wang Yi: Very good light calvary, her Charge Surprise attack combo with Penetrating Attack can be huge, costs gold though
• Ma Chao: Again penetrating attack, and very high Physical Block from skills, base cost is high though
• Ma Yunlu: Another female costing gold, she has a cheap base cost though and has Double Attack and Phalanx

Meng Huo Banner:

• Meng Huo: Strong ursari with Charge Attack x4% and high poison chance
• Hua Man: Another strong ursari with Double Attack, costs gold but very cheap (only 1808)
• Shamoke: Strong pantheran with Penetrating Attack

Zhang Fei Banner:

• Li Yan: Solid spearbro with Expanded AoE and plus Cavalry Damage, pokes groups of ponies for big damage
• Zhang Xingcai: Costs gold but has Infinite Guiding Attack, not sure how often you'd get multiple procs but maybe worth it for when you do.
• Wu Ban: Top statted pantheran, has Double Attack as well

Demon Banner:

• Wei Yan: Costs gold but widely regarded as the top soldier, Enhanced Counters and Countering Counters, really counters a lot of things
• Ding Yuan: Best low cost mountain cavalry, has Double Attack, Knockback and Good From Evil

Liu Bei Banner:

• Liu Bei: Great offensive warlord with Double Attack
• Cai Yan: Costs gold but probably the best tactician in the game
• Guan Suo: Double Attack and Phalanx Strike and unlike Ma Yunlu, doesn't cost any gold

Lady Zhen Banner:

• Zhenji: Second best dancer, has Charge Attack x4% and MP Attack, base cost is one lower than Diaochan
• Chen Qun: Costs gold but has Defense Stat Switch and Crit Immunity which makes for a tanky healer

Zhuge Liang Banner:

• Zhuge Liang: No demons here, just straight sage, great because of Ignore Terrain lets him cast what he wants, usually large rocks
• Dong Jue: Best 4-cost catapult, in case you want some cheap ranged AoE in your squad.

Empress Wenming Banner:

Skippable, unless you want to pay gold for the interesting meleeing taoist that is Zhang Chunhua

Lu Bu Banner:

• Lu Bu: The man, the myth, the legend, he's pretty OP, except for when he he gets melted by tactics, still worth getting
• Gao Shun: Our first chariot, he's got Double Attack... that about wraps that up
• Hua Xiong: I wanted to include another chariot, but also has low luck, so just needs a Critical Immunity artifact (like the story one), to be very tanky.

Yay, we did it. Hopefully this gives you new players some help with who to aim for early on and saves you some gold which I regret spending.