Part of the Sea of Conquest Heroes Series:

Heroes Hub: Slots, stars and roles (Start Here).

Hero Tier List: Where every hero ranks.

Best Heroes for Ships: Pairing him correctly.

Trinkets Guide: Gearing him up.

Quick Answer

Cursed Ed is the best Epic hero in Sea of Conquest, and for a free-to-play account he is more valuable than most Legendaries. He is a universal damage amplifier — a "jack of all trades" whose contribution applies regardless of what damage type your ship deals.

That universality is the whole point. Most heroes are locked to one damage type, so they get benched when your fleet composition changes. Ed does not. He stays in the formation through Season changes, hero acquisitions and meta shifts, which means every shard you put into him keeps paying.

Four independent sources rank him at or near the top of the Epic tier. If you are wondering where to spend your first serious shard investment, this is it.

Why an Epic Beats Legendaries Here

The rule that governs the whole roster: a 6-star Epic outperforms a 2-star Legendary.

Epic shards are farmable. They appear in shops, event tracks and alliance rewards routinely. Legendary shards for the newest meta heroes do not — you either pull them or you sit at low stars indefinitely.

So the practical comparison is not "Cursed Ed versus a Legendary." It is "a maxed Cursed Ed versus a 2-star Legendary you cannot progress." Ed wins that comfortably, and he wins it months earlier.

What He Actually Does

Ed amplifies damage rather than dealing it. In practice that means:

He scales with your best damage dealer, not against them. An amplifier's value rises as the hero they support gets stronger, so Ed gets better as your account develops — the opposite of most early heroes.

He works with any damage type. Artillery, Cutthroat, Strategic, Blazing, Drowning — the amplification does not care. This is why he survives composition changes that bench type-locked heroes.

He fits multiple slots. Flexible enough to slot where your fleet needs a body, rather than demanding a specific seat.

For how amplification interacts with the underlying maths, see attack vs damage — the short version is that a multiplier on a large number is worth more than a small flat addition, which is exactly what an amplifier provides.

Where to Put Him

On your primary damage ship. Amplification is worth most where the damage is highest. Pairing Ed with a weak ship wastes the multiplier.

Not on your gathering fleet. Obvious, and yet people do it because he is "good". Gathering fleets want capacity and speed — see the crew combinations guide.

Not competing with a Captain slot he cannot fill well. Check which seat his kit is built for and put him there rather than forcing him into the Captain's chair on a ship that needs a damage identity.

In Trials too. Close Combat is 5v5 and turn-based, and an amplifier that makes your burst hero lethal enough to one-shot a threat is worth more than a fourth attacker. Ed is close to mandatory in a Trials five.

Investment Priority

For a free account, the order is:

Cursed Ed. Farmable, universal, permanent.
Madame Lulu (free from the 7-day Pirate King's Trail) and Will (free from Azure Promise day 2).
Old Ahab — the Legendary you can realistically star up, because his shards come from the standard Conch pool.
Trinkets and gems on that core.

Star Ed before you star anything else. The compounding argument is simple: he is in every fight you take, so every star applies every time.

Gearing Him

Because his contribution is amplification rather than raw output, gear him for uptime and the effect itself rather than for personal damage:

Green gems / Critical Resistance to keep him alive through the fight — a dead amplifier amplifies nothing
Type-matched yellow gems on the ship, feeding the damage he is boosting
Trinkets that support his kit rather than turning him into a damage dealer

Full mechanics in the captain equipment guide.

FAQ

Is Cursed Ed really better than a Legendary?

At the star levels most players reach, yes. A 6-star Epic beats a 2-star Legendary, and Epic shards are farmable while newest-Legendary shards are not.

Where do I get Cursed Ed shards?

Standard Epic shard sources — shops, event tracks and alliance rewards. This reliability is precisely what makes him the best free investment.

What damage type is he for?

All of them. His amplification is universal, which is why he survives composition changes that bench type-locked heroes.

Should I use him in Trials?

Yes. In a 5v5 turn-based mode, making your burst hero lethal enough to remove a threat in one turn is worth more than adding another attacker.

Will he stay good?

He has stayed relevant across multiple patches and seasons precisely because universal effects do not fall out of the meta the way type-specific ones do.

Who should I build after him?

Madame Lulu and Will (both free from beginner events), then Old Ahab as your accessible Legendary.

Key Takeaways

Best Epic in the game, and better than most Legendaries in practice.
Universal amplification — never benched by composition changes.
Farmable shards mean you can actually max him.
Put him on your highest-damage ship, and bring him to Trials.
Star him before anything else if you are free-to-play.

Sea of Conquest Cursed Ed: The Best Epic Hero in the Game