It’s been a while since the global servers for Returners were released; if you’ve been reading the brief background stories in the game, you’ve likely learned a bit about the various famous historical or mythical figures. You might have already known about some of the heroes like Cleopatra and King Arthur since they are from the more widely-known parts of history.

But what about the others? Taejo, Jumong, Hong Gil-dong, etc… Returners is likely the first place you’ve heard these names. Jumong is one of the most popular heroes in the game, but exactly how much do you know about his origins? Probably not much. So, here is a brief story about Jumong in both myth and Returners to help you learn more about him.

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Jumong was a king and conqueror who built Goguryeo, one of the ancient Three Kingdoms of Korea alongside Baekje and Silla in 37 BCE. He stands out as a heroic figure since his story is a mixture of myth and historical fact.

According to the tales, Jumong was born between the son of the heavens and the daughter of the River God. It is said that his mother gave birth to an egg, from which hatched Jumong. Jumong grew up in Buyeo, one of the ancient kingdoms in Manchuria, and as a child, Jumong was exceptionally talented in the art of archery; there is one story where he shot a horde of flies dead with the bow and arrows that his mother made out of reeds. His talent in archery was eventually recognized by the populace, which earned him the name, ‘Jumong’, a name given to those in Buyeo with great skill in archery. The princes of Buyeo that grew up with him became jealous of his talent, and so Jumong left Buyeo before their envy brought harm upon him. After venturing out, Jumong decided to build his own kingdom in the south; this was how Goguryeo was established on the Korean Peninsula.

As the first king of Goguryeo, Jumong’s heroic and divine traits stand out the most within his story. With the help of the heavens, he successfully crossed a river on a bridge made of the fish and turtles of the river while the persecutors coming to kill him were drowned in the rapids. He also conquered other nearby kingdoms using the divine power from the heavens. This is likely where Jumong from Returners got the name of his skill, ‘Divine Intervention’ since the heaven helps Jumong in both the myth and the game.

Just as Jumong is an unconquerable hero in the myth, he is also a top-tier hero in Returners. He is a duelist ranger that relies on his basic attacks rather than his skills to inflict constant physical damage on his targets. In fact, most of his skills are used to enhance his basic attacks; Divine Intervention and Thousand Arrows help by increasing his physical attack, attack speed, and attack range. Given Jumong’s skills, he works best when equipped with gear that boosts his physical damage, which is why the most popular gear set for Jumong is the Apocalypse and the Mortal sets. The Apocalypse set is great for Jumong as it increases his physical attack, critical damage, and physical pierce; the Mortal set also increases his physical attack and physical pierce, as well as evade rate. The most recommended gear comp consists of Apocalypse Arrow, Apocalypse Ring, Mortal Helmet, Mortal Armor, and Mortal Boots.

Jumong’s efficiency can be maximized by pairing him with heroes that can help him safely deal damage. Since he doesn’t have any CC or CC resistance and is solely dependent on his basic attacks, you should have tanks that have great CC and taunt skills, like Alexander or King Arthur, to keep enemies away from Jumong. Jumong does well with supports like Panacea that increase his attack speed, or Zhuge Liang, who can keep enemies away from Jumong.

Jumong can be summoned if you have enough Bluestones or have made it to the Platinum League, so you will be able to get him around the mid phase. PvE content like the Raid is where Jumong shines. He isn’t as good in PvP due to the popularity of wombo combo teams, but his high damage output in other areas of the game makes up for that.

I hope this helped you learn more about Jumong and his place in both history and mythology. Knowing more about heroes aside from their stats can add a bit more entertainment to the game, so stay tuned for more stories about the heroes in Returners!