Start with the official rules
Evony introduced Flexible Specialties on 2023-08-04. An Epic Historic General unlocks the slot only after the first three Original Specialties reach Genius quality. The Flexible Specialty can then be equipped or removed at any time. Officially, levels consume Runestones, quality promotion consumes matching specialty fragments, and disassembling a Flexible Specialty supplies fragments.
On 2026-02-27, Evony added red quality and raised the maximum from level 100 to level 220. The same notice sets one hard gate: the specialty must reach level 100 before it can be promoted to red quality. It does not publish a universal best specialty, a complete cost table or a refund promise. Flexible placement is confirmed. Flexible accounting is, as usual, left to the adult in the room.
Use the quality gates as review points
A specialist guide updated in 2026 reports the old quality caps as 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100. It reports red stages at 115, 130, 160, 190 and 220. Its fragment ledger counts 10 fragments to compose the initial specialty, then 190 more through the promotion steps to the final red stage, for 200 from fragments. If you begin with an intact specialty from a box, do not charge that initial 10 to the promotion budget.
Those numbers are specialist documentation, not an official price guarantee. Before every promotion, record the next cap, matching fragments held, Runestones held, visible new line and the other generals that could use the same item. The next colour may unlock a useful effect. It may also unlock a very elegant reason to stop.
Match wording to the job before level 101
- Attack march or rally setter: count troop-type effects and any “when attacking” line that the actual march satisfies. Count a Dragon condition only when that general really carries the required Dragon.
- Wall or reinforcing march: reject attack-only lines. Prefer effects whose wording covers the relevant defending or reinforcing condition; a marching label does not become defensive because the report was expensive.
- Assistant General: Evony’s FAQ says Specialties can take effect from the assistant role, while equipment, cultivation, enhancement and ascension do not. The Flexible Specialty’s own troop and battle conditions still have to match.
- Retired or temporary general: move the removable specialty to the active job before adding levels. Do not promote an item merely because its current portrait is familiar.
Separate level value from quality value
Specialist documentation separates basic attributes gained through levels from quality attributes gained through promotion. That means one comparison is not enough. Write two lines: the next visible level gain per Runestone, and the next visible promotion gain per matching fragment. Then compare both with the account’s next fixed Specialty, Covenant, equipment or research gain for the same role.
Player-posted in-game screens for Battle-Tested compare level 100 with level 220 and show that later red stages can add enemy debuff lines as well as raise existing troop attributes. That is useful evidence that the endpoint can change the shape of the item. It is not proof that every Flexible Specialty has the same curve, that every intermediate step is efficient, or that Battle-Tested is best for every account.
Use this level-100 checkpoint
- Remove the specialty and inspect the candidate generals that have the slot unlocked.
- Name one current job: attack, wall, reinforcement, assistant or another defined use.
- Cross out every visible line whose troop type, attack, defence or Dragon condition fails that job.
- Record the level-100 effects, the next red promotion effects and every quoted fragment and Runestone cost.
- Promote only when the next applicable gain beats the next realistic permanent gain for that same job.
If the role is unsettled, keep the specialty removable and the fragments unspent. Storage has never lost a battle report. It has also never asked for 190 promotion fragments.
Evidence limits
Official material confirms the unlock condition, removability, Runestone upgrades, fragment promotions, disassembly source, red quality, level-100 red gate and level-220 maximum. The stage caps and fragment ledger are specialist documentation. The Battle-Tested endpoint is a player-posted in-game observation, not testing performed by Kat’s Quiet Keep. Current client wording, prices, quality screens and battle conditions take priority.
Sources: official Flexible Specialty introduction, published 2023-08-04; official red-quality and level-220 change, published 2026-02-27; official Assistant General FAQ; specialist quality, level and fragment tables, updated 2026-06-12; specialist Specialty guide, updated 2026-07-21; player-posted Battle-Tested level-100 and level-220 screen comparison.
Evidence reviewed 2026-10-22. Official rules, specialist tables, player observation and editorial decision steps are separated. No current package price, universal best specialty, refund value or guaranteed battle result is claimed.
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Kat