Unlock the secrets to defeating King Croaker by assembling the best team in AFK Journey’s Dream Realm.
AFK Journey, developed by Farlight, invites players into the enchanting world of Esperia, where magic thrives, and the stories of various factions unfold. As the legendary mage Merlin, players engage in strategic battles, explore diverse landscapes, and forge bonds with heroes across six factions.
This guide aims to provide an in-depth look at King Croaker’s mechanics and offer strategies for assembling the best teams and heroes to conquer this daunting opponent.
Also, don’t forget to check out our AFK Journey tier list to see which characters are on top, our AFK Hero Wish List guide to learn the most optimal heroes to add to the Wish List; you can also learn about hero stats, best teams for AFK Stages, artifacts, factions, and our AFK Journey codes to claim resources for you to use!
AFK Journey King Croaker guide
King Croaker in AFK Journey
King Croaker is a formidable boss in AFK Journey’s Dream Realm, known for his lethal Instant kill Bubble and a versatile arsenal of melee and ranged attacks.
King Croaker Mechanics
King Croaker, a notable adversary in AFK Journey’s Dream Realm, engages players with attacks targeting frontline and backline heroes. He designates the nearest hero as the tank, focusing his melee or ranged assaults accordingly. His most feared ability is the Instant Kill Bubble, which can instantly kill your heroes if unprepared.
King Croaker’s Attacks
- Ultimate: Once King Croaker’s energy bar is full, he conjures a magical barrier that absorbs incoming damage, using energy to maintain its strength.
- Skills
- King Croaker releases a deadly bubble targeting the closest hero, which can instantly eliminate them from the battle. This attack triggers at specific intervals (15, 35, and 55 seconds into the fight). Heroes with revive or can prevent death like Thoran and Brutus is crucial to have to lessen casualties.
- Launches a water bomb that deals significant damage in an area with the most heroes within a two-tile radius.
- Knocks back and stuns enemies within one tile of the impact, disrupting formation and potentially leaving heroes vulnerable to subsequent attacks.
Best teams against King Croaker
It’s been a real challenge for me to go against this boss because of the Instant Kill bubble. Once your tank dies, you will likely not survive longer, so if you have Thoran or Brutus, I suggest putting them in front of your team. They can survive the Instant Kill bubble for the first time, which can buy time for your DPS to deal damage and potentially enough to defeat the King Croaker.
Standard Tank, Debuffer, DPS team
Based on my testing, this team dealt the most damage and survived the longest against the King Croaker. Having Thoran here is crucial as he can easily survive the Instant Kill bubble attack and tank the damage for the team.
Thoran (Tank, Debuffer) 
Smokey & Meerky (Healer, Buffer) 
Kruger (Debuffer) 
Marilee (DPS) 
Odie (DPS)
Brutus Tank with Double DPS
In case you don’t have Thoran, Brutus is another great alternative to tanking the Instant Kill bubble due to his ability to block the first lethal damage he receives. This means you can survive longer and deal more damage before you get wiped out. This also takes advantage of the faction bonus, but you can still replace heroes here.
Brutus (Tank) Smokey & Meerky (Healer, Buffer) Kruger (Debuffer) Marilee (DPS) Odie (DPS)
Triple DPS ft. Smokey Tank
This team focuses more on dealing damage than surviving attacks, but even with three DPS, the standard team still out-damages them since the team can survive longer. But this team is still good if you aim to deal significant damage and can fare far enough before being wiped out.
Smokey & Meerky (Tank, Healer, Buffer) Kruger (Debuffer) 
Korin (DPS) Marilee (DPS) 
Cecia (DPS)
Best heroes for each role
Best Tank
Best Tank for King Croaker: Thoran
Thoran is the best choice for the tank role against King Croaker, primarily due to his unique ability to survive the Instant kill Bubble. This capability makes him indispensable for absorbing the deadliest attacks without faltering, providing a solid frontline defense. He can also double as a debuffer, making him a must-have in the team against King Croaker.
Alternative Tanks
Brutus
His ability provides a crucial invulnerability window to the first bubble attack, allowing teams to recover or push for extra damage during pivotal moments.
Smokey & Meerky
Although not a traditional tank, Smokey & Meerky’s utility in healing and providing strategic buffs can serve as an unconventional tanking method, particularly against ranged attacks, keeping the whole team alive.
Hewynn
Hewynn brings self-healing to the forefront, providing a sturdy presence despite not directly countering the bubble. It’s the same case with Smokey & Meerky, who can only survive one hit with the bubble.
Best Debuffer
Best Debuffer for King Croaker: Kruger
Specializes in lowering King Croaker’s physical defenses and increasing the physical damage he takes, making the boss more vulnerable to physical attacks thus making your physical DPS deal more damage.
Alternative Debuffers
Reinier
Only effective when at Mythic tier. Reinier’s debuffs crucially increase the damage King Croaker takes, amplifying the team’s overall damage output for a more efficient takedown. This ability to weaken the enemy makes him an excellent debuffer choice, significantly shortening the battle.
Koko
Koko’s debuffing skills increase the damage King Croaker takes, enhancing the effectiveness of the team’s collective assault. She can also help with surviving more attacks with her damage reduction and healing.
Lyca
Lyca straightforwardly boosts the team’s damage output by reducing enemy defenses, making her a key asset in any team composition. She can also increase heroes’ attack speed, making her really good with Odie, Marilee, and other DPS options.
Best Healer
Best Healer for King Croaker: Smokey & Meerky
Their consistent and effective healing ensures the team’s longevity against King Croaker, which is especially vital for maintaining the backline’s health throughout the encounter. This makes Smokey & Meerky indispensable for any team composition focused on outlasting King Croaker’s barrage of attacks.
Alternative Healers
Hewynn
Hewynn can keep the team alive with her healing abilities. It gets even better when she gets her Mythic Skill, which can reduce the damage taken to the whole team.
Damian
Providing steady healing, Damian is crucial for sustaining the team in prolonged battles, helping to mitigate the continuous damage inflicted by King Croaker.
Rowan
His combination of healing and energy boosting is pivotal for keeping the team combat-ready, ensuring they can sustain their efforts and employ their ultimate abilities more frequently.
Best DPS
Best DPS for King Croaker: Odie
Odie excels in dealing sustained single-target damage, which is essential for gradually depleting King Croaker’s substantial health pool. His consistent output makes him the best DPS choice for a prolonged engagement against King Croaker.
Best DPS for King Croaker: Marilee
Marilee stands out for her ability to significantly increase her attack power and attack speed, making her an exceptional DPS carry against King Croaker. This boost in her offensive capabilities allows her to escalate her damage output as the battle progresses rapidly.
Alternative DPS
Korin
With his two-tile attack range, Korin provides a safe yet potent damage source, allowing him to strike effectively while minimizing exposure to direct attacks.
Cecia
Cecia shines as a DPS carry, not only because of her high single-target damage but also because of her unique summoning ability, which can absorb damage and effectively assist in tanking.
Vala
Her ability to increase damage output over time makes Vala a critical asset in longer engagements, where her escalating damage can lead to significant contributions to the team’s efforts. She also has high single-target damage.
The Starshard Spell artifact is invaluable for teams facing King Croaker, providing a team-wide benefit that triggers a flame wave dealing true damage to the boss after every four ultimate casts.
Defeating King Croaker is a testament to your strategic planning and understanding of your heroes’ strengths and synergies. Assemble your best team, adapt your strategy to counter his moves, and lead your heroes to victory in the Dream Realm.
We hope this guide helped you learn about the best teams against King Croaker in AFK Journey! Look out for more AFK Journey guides in Level Push.