AFK Arena is currently one of the best squad-based mobile RPGs today. With over 10,000,000+ downloads and a massive community of dedicated players, AFK Arena has been around for quite some time, and it’s only getting better.
Developed by Lilith Games, the mobile game supergiant that brought us the ever-popular mobile MMORTS Rise of Kingdoms and the high-end action RPG Art of Conquest, AFK Arena is a game that revolves around managing a team of heroes, empowering them and equipping them to take on increasingly difficult challenges. Each of these heroes has their own unique set of abilities, which often define their role in a given team. Just like in traditional RPGs, AFK Arena’s heroes can be more or less categorized into the three main archetypes of DPS, Tank, and Support.
DPS Heroes (damage per second) revolve around dealing as much damage as possible to the enemy team. Tanks specialize in defense and soaking up damage to keep your heroes alive. Supports are utility-oriented and can serve as a squad’s healers, buffers, or crowd controllers. In AFK Arena, there are literally dozens of heroes to choose from, and each of them brings something unique to the table.
With all the options available to players in AFK Arena, it can get a little overwhelming at times, especially if you’re trying to build your own personal dream team that suits your preferred theme and playstyle. Especially since equipping and upgrading heroes in the game requires players to consume precious resources, quite a few players – veterans and newbies included – might have trouble deciding whether or not they’re getting the best bang for their buck by dedicating their limited resources towards one hero or another. If you’ve found yourself in a similar dilemma, and want to find which heroes to spend you’re hard earned currencies on, then this guide was written just for you.
In this AFK Arena tier list, we go through the best and most popular heroes in the game and rank them according to how well they perform across the different aspects of the game. In particular, we’ll be focusing on the effectiveness of these heroes in PvE, but we’ll make sure to let you know how well each performs in AFK Arena’s competitive PvP game mode.
AFK Arena Best Heroes Tier List 2020
This hero tier list for AFK Arena is divided into God-Tier Heroes, S-Tier Heroes, A-Tier Heroes, B-Tier Heroes, and C-Tier Heroes. Each of these heroes falls into one or more categories depending on their abilities and roles. These categories are DPS, Tank, Support, Healer, Buffs, Debuffs, and Crowd Control. If you want more information on how we came up with this list and the criteria we used for the rankings, then keep scrolling to the end where we explain our ranking criteria. Now, without further ado, please enjoy our AFK Arena best heroes tier list.
God-Tier Heroes
The best of the best – these heroes are commonly referred to as God-Tier or S+ Tier heroes. Their abilities and scaling modifiers are set up in such a way that these heroes are borderline broken – often bringing to the table some of the most useful effects or some of the highest damage numbers possible in the game.
If you’re lucky enough to have these heroes join your party, then go ahead and dump all your resources into them whenever they’re available. These heroes can carry you through until the most challenging end-game content and can help you climb the Arena of Heroes, too, provided you invest enough into upgrading them.
Athalia – DPS
Hands down one of the best damage dealers in the game, Athalia, the Harbinger of Justice, is a god-tier pick that fits in just about any team composition. If you have a lot of dodge modifiers, you can feel confident putting here in the frontline if you don’t have a dedicated tank, but she’s best used in the backline where she can output unholy amounts of damage against your enemies without risking too much damage.
Her ultimate ability, Divine Fury, can cut down entire enemy parties at once, and in the later stages of AFK Arena, you won’t find any other hero who can dish out as much damage as Athalia.
Shemira – DPS
Shemira is notorious in AFK Arena, especially in the player-versus-player Arena of Heroes game mode, for her ridiculous amounts of damage and self-sustain. Although outshined in early levels by other more potent mages, Shemira quickly becomes one of the best DPS heroes in the game once you get to tougher, more challenging content. Apart from her DPS and innate healing abilities, Shemira also offers high-end utility in the form of her second ability, Silence, which lets her render enemy magic heroes harmless.
Her ultimate ability, Tortured Souls, allows Shemira to deal consistent damage while simultaneously healing herself based on the damage dealt. Once you get to toughest levels in AFK Arena’s end-game, Shemira practically outclasses every other hero in the game in terms of both raw damage and sustain.
Elijah & Lailah – Support, DPS
Two support heroes in one, Elijah & Lailah, the Celestial Twins, are arguably the best support heroes in AFK Arena. While other heroes are optimal in some stages of the game and suboptimal in others, Elijah & Lailah offer consistent performance in all game modes and at all levels. Early on, they’re highly capable damage dealers with access to healing and energy buffs,
Later on, this two-in-one hero becomes one of the best team-wide buffers in the game, with access to shielding, teleportation, and attack & defense buffs. Another great thing about Elijah & Lailah is that the operate independently of each other on the battlefield – each with their own health bars and so on – so having them on your team feels like a numbers advantage, as well.
Lucius – Tank, Healer
Lucius is the without a doubt the best tank in AFK Arena. He has it all – the knockback effect on Divine Strike gives him a handy crowd control ability, Divine Shield gives him crazy damage reduction on top of his already-tanky attributes, Divine Blessing gives him access to a major heal that also buffs ally defenses, and finally, his ultimate ability, Heaven’s Protection, grants your entire team a massive shield that heals them while they’re under its effects.
If you have Lucius, don’t be afraid to spend every single gemstone and hero dust you have on him – he’ll likely carry you straight the end-game if you invest enough into him.
Rosaline – Support, Healer, Buffs
Rosaline is a great support hero, but her effectiveness on the battlefield depends entirely on your party. At the start of combat, Rosaline follows and links herself to the ally with the highest combat rating. Her abilities then revolve around supporting and healing the specific teammate she’s following.
However, one of the most powerful abilities at Rosaline’s disposal is her ability to supercharge her chosen ally with a boost of energy, often allowing your heroes to use their abilities twice in quick succession. Pair her up with a DPS nuker hero to quickly decimate your foes, or with a support healer/shielder to double down on protection and recovery for your allies.
Nemora – Support, Healer
Nemora is another god-tier pick for the support role in AFK Arena, thanks to the fact that her entire kit revolves around healing and improving the effects of healing. She also has an ability that charms an enemy hero, which is definitely useful, but that’s not the reason she’s god-tier. Nemora is support overkill – she’s healing on steroids. Her abilities revolve around making sure her allies’ health bars are perpetually topped off, and when combined with any other hero with healing capabilities, Nemora’s only increases even more.
Her ultimate ability, Wild Wonder, is a team-wide heal that also buffs allies’ defenses, but the best part about her kit is her passive Mother Nature ability, which converts any excess heals into shields for her team.
Brutus – Tank, DPS
While he doesn’t have Lucius’s defensive utility and can’t compare to the damage output of someone like Athalia, Brutus is an excellent bruiser-fighter type DPS hero that excels at dealing damage just as much as taking it. Brutus excels in skirmishes that bring his health low.
His abilities revolve around increasing his combat effectiveness the lower his health goes, while keeping him potent and alive through a combination of Last Gasp, which makes him immune for a short period upon taking fatal damage, and his ultimate ability, Whirlwind, which deals massive amounts of damage and heals Brutus for a percentage, even while under the effects of immunity.
Tasi – Support, Crowd Control
Tasi is an incredible support hero that brings so many unique effects to the table. Her summon ability, Dream Spirit provides the team with moderate but constant healing and damage, but where Tasi really shines as support is her access to some of the best crowd control abilities in the game.
Her basic skill, Banishment, periodically removes from play the most powerful enemy on the field for a few seconds at a time, and her ultimate ability, Slumber, puts all enemies to sleep for a period of time, taking a percentage of the damage they received while under the effect when it ends.
S-Tier Heroes
Although they’re not “broken” per se, these Heroes still have superior abilities that make them a welcome addition to any party or team composition. S-Tier heroes, especially in early to mid-game, are going to be the core of any effective team. Combine their unique effects and abilities to come up with powerful strategies that can bring you to end-game and back.
S-Tier Heroes scale extremely well into the later, more challenging parts of AFK Arena, so don’t hesitate to upgrade them every chance you get.
Gwyneth – DPS, Crowd Control
Gwyneth is a top-tier damage dealer that’s also capable of providing the team with great crowd control thanks to her abilities Flaming Arrow and Lightning Arrow. Each of her attacks has a chance to either stun the enemy or reduce their healing, making her a great choice for just about any kind of team composition. Enemy healers are rendered far less effective and her stun is an extremely valuable asset that can turn the tide of a battle your way.
Mehira – DPS, Crowd Control
Mehira, the Mind Cager, is another DPS hero with great crowd control abilities. Once she gains access to her ultimate ability, Mesmerize, the battle is as good as won. Mesmerize charms the entire enemy team, causing them to attack each other for a short period of time. Her abilities Infatuation and Hellspawn also allows her to tank massive amounts of damage safely, so she’s just as effective on the frontline as she is in the backline.
Mehira can also inflict damage on her allies to give them energy and buffs, so if you have a decent healer on your party she can increase your team’s effectiveness and damage output greatly.
Kaz – DPS
Kaz is currently one of the most popular DPS heroes in the game. Admittedly, it takes a while for Kaz to get going. Her abilities scale incredibly well with her stats, so she’s one of the best late-game picks for damage. However, once Kaz gains access to her unique items, she turns into an unkillable killing machine that can dodge enemy fire while relentlessly assassinating them up close.
In late game, Kaz is arguably the most reliable damage dealer, assuring players that she can stay alive long enough to outperform most other DPS heroes in the game.
Lyca – DPS, Buffs
Lyca, the Keeper of Glades, is usually outclassed by other heroes in terms of raw damage output. However, what makes Lyca one of the best heroes to have in your party is her ability Awe, which increases the energy regeneration rate of your entire party. With Lyca on your team, you can expect all your heroes to have much faster and much more frequent access to their ultimate abilities. On top of that, Lyca’s attacks also rend through enemy defenses, making them vulnerable to your allies’ attacks.
Safiya – DPS, Buffs & Debuffs
Outfitted with massive damaging abilities, crowd control in the form of a multi-target stun, and some of the best damage buffs in the game, Safiya is a top-tier pick that excels as a backline support hero. At the start of every battle, Safiya casts a magical circle with her ability Spectral Disruption which lasts for 25 seconds and provides a huge damage boost to all allies within the area of effect.
Enemies who enter the circle, on the other hand, have a 50% reduced attack rating, making that particular ability one of the best combo buff/debuff skills in AFK Arena.
Nara – Tank, DPS
Nara, the Heartcarver, is another great pick for players who need a tanky frontline hero that can dish out competitive damage at higher levels. Since she’s primarily a tank, Nara’s abilities excel at keeping her alive, particularly with her passive ability, Terrify. With Terrify, any enemies that are engaged in combat with Nara, or any enemies that deal damage to Nara, lose energy with every hit. Her capacity to nullify enemy ultimate abilities makes her one of the best choices for PvP.
Orthros – Tank, Debuffs
Orthros is a great tank, and boasts what is probably the highest health pool in the game at max level. His abilities revolve around time, and Orthros himself gains effectiveness the longer he remains in combat. Of course, in AFK Arena, it’s better to win battles fast since every encounter is a race against the clock.
However, if you’re having trouble pushing past higher-level content and find that your team dies too quickly against their enemies, then having Orthros on your team for a few encounters could very well make the difference.
Talene – Support, Healer
Talene, the Rising Phoenix, is a powerful support hero that provides the team with a great source of healing. Although her playstyle revolves heavily around sacrificing her own health (her ultimate ability, Fire Born, converts 90% of her health into a shield), Talene has proven herself to be a very effective support healer with a ton of built-in tanking capabilities that are more or less required for higher-level play.
Rowan – Support, Healer
Rowan, the Roamer, is another highly effective support/healer hero. Although he truly shines in mid-game once he gains access to his ability, Damage Control, which gives him great damage mitigation in exchange for energy. Rowan does fall out a little bit in later stages, but his combination of abilities and strong crowd control with his ultimate, Dazzle, makes him a great pick for the support role.
Eironn – Area DPS, Crowd Control
Eironn, the Stormsword, is a top-tier damage dealer that can decimate entire teams at once thanks to his area abilities. His kit revolves around beginning every battle by casting Vortex, drawing in enemies in an arc in front of him. Once he has the enemy right where he wants them, he is able to quickly finish them off with his other abilities, particularly Elemental Surge, his ultimate.
Eironn is an extremely popular pick in both PvE and PvP thanks to his ability to displace enemies and render their formations useless.
Ferael – Area DPS
In early levels, Ferael is a decently-powered damage dealer with access to a great Area DPS kit that provides excellent supplementary damage to any team composition. However, even though it takes some investment to get him online, Ferael in late-game is hands down the best Area DPS hero in AFK Arena. His ability, Terrorize, is a three-target stun that also summons damage-dealing spirits to deal with continuous damage to its targets.
Hendrik – Tank
If you’re looking for a dedicated tank to soak damage for your party, look no further than Hendrik, the Defender. This hero’s entire kit revolves around defense – Standfast gives him plenty of damage reduction and energy regeneration, Sacrificial Shield allows him to save a backline ally from the brink of death and take damage in their stead, and he even gets a handy stun ability for some decent crowd control. Hell, Hendrik’s so defense-focused that you’ll notice he doesn’t even carry a weapon into battle – just two oversized shields.
Ezizh – Tank, DPS, Crowd Control, Buffs
Ezizh, the Hellborn, may be one of the rarer heroes in the game, but if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to maxing him out, he could very well be one of the most effective and versatile heroes in AFK Arena. Very few heroes perform well outside of their designated roles, but Ezizh is one of those heroes that outperforms other heroes in a variety of roles. Ezizh has some powerful crowd control thanks to Horrify, which renders enemies unable to use their ultimate abilities for a short period.
With Mental Fury, he buffs allies and causes them to gain energy at an increased rate. Feeble Mind is a great damage ability that also renders its target useless as they do nothing but walk towards Ezizh for the duration. Finally, his ultimate Fissure deals massive AoE damage and burns the ground, debuffing enemy attack ratings.
A-Tier Heroes
For our AFK Arena best heroes tier list, we’ve put in the A-Tier the heroes who do amazingly well in some aspects of the game but fall out in the later stages. These heroes are a great investment especially for newer players and are still quite capable of tackling much of the game’s content. However, when compared to the available S-Tier and God-Tier heroes in their respective roles, A-Tier heroes are outclassed. They’ll wreck most of the early stages of the game (i.e. up until around level 160), but after that, they’re going to start being sub-optimal for the content they’re up against.
We recommend investing in your best and favorite A-Tier Heroes as much as you can until the point where they stop being effective and then use the Rickey Cart in-game to retire these heroes and invest those resources in superior options.
Fawkes – Area DPS, Crowd Control
While an excellent damage dealer at all stages of the game, Fawkes takes a while to get going and in most cases, resources are better spent trying to get better DPS heroes online. However, if you’re team composition is in need of area damage and crowd control, Fawkes does an excellent job.
His ability, Purification, is the main draw that players have when adding Fawkes to their teams, as it is capable of stripping buffs from the entire enemy team. He’s a situational pick, for sure, but if you’re up against a team comp that relies heavily on buffs and debuffs, you might as well consider Fawkes to be god-tier for those encounters.
Saveas – DPS
Reliable and easy to upgrade, Saveas is one of the best DPS heroes for early- to mid-game. Simple and straightforward, Saveas uses his own health to empower his attacks, dealing with unprecedented amounts of damage in the early stages of the game. He also comes with a self-healing ability, making him a great self-sufficient pick for players in need of more damage.
Kelthur – DPS
Massive damage potential? Check. Really cool ninja theme and animations? Check. High mobility and single-target displacement at the start of the battle? Check. The list goes on when it comes to Kelthur. Thematically, Kelthur’s already won AFK Arena, but in terms of damage output, he performs just a little bit poorly compared to other DPS heroes higher up on this tier list.
One of the best things about Kelthur is his ability, Spectral Resurgence, which allows him to attack and casts abilities for a period of time after he dies in battle.
Satrana – DPS
Another situational pick, Satrana is an excellent DPS hero that does a great job at assassinating high-value targets. Her ultimate ability, Fireseeds, targets the enemy hero with the highest combat rating, so it’s a great way to quickly focus down the most potent threats on the enemy team.
Antandra – Tank, DPS
Great tanking capabilities and lots of damage make Antandra, the Desert Fury, a very popular pick in several AFK Arena game modes. Although not as innately tough as other dedicated tanks, Antandra makes up for it through lots of self-healing and some very reliable crowd control with her ability, Knockdown.
Arthur – Tank
Arthur is a unique hero in AFK Arena, belonging to a category called Dimensional. Unlike the other factions in the game – Lighbearer, Mauler, Wilder, etc. which interact with each other by gaining bonuses depending on their faction – the Dimensional class of hero in AFK Arena is unaffected by these faction advantages and disadvantages.
Since Arthur is a Dimensional, he has the innate ability to be an incredibly consistent tank that will perform similarly regardless of the enemy’s faction. His abilities are all pretty good, but the main reason to get him is if you want a consistent tank.
Khazard – Area DPS, Crowd Control
Another rare hero, newer players won’t often see Khazard in-game, but when they do, he leaves a lasting impression. Named the Frozen Terror, Khazard uses the power of ice to decimate his foes, dealing massive amounts of damage while inflicting debuffs on the enemy. Khazard also has access to area-of-effect healing reduction, making him another ideal pick against enemy compositions with lots of healing capabilities.
Baden – Tank, DPS
Baden is such a self-sufficient hero that it often feels like he can 1v5 enemies all on his own. Of course, that’s rarely the case with any hero, but Baden is great at dealing damage while soaking up damage for his team. Baden’s gameplay revolves around his phantoms – clones of himself that deal almost as much damage and receive way more damage when hit. These clones can also use all of Baden’s basic abilities and can be summoned two at a time with his ultimate.
Isabella – DPS
Isabella excels at dealing a lot of damage in a very short period of time. Her abilities revolve around increasing casting speed, executing weak enemies, and repeatedly dealing massive single-target damage over the course of a battle. She’s a squishy but consistent damage dealer that should be kept in the backline.
Khasos – DPS, Buffs
Khasos, the Unruly, is a great choice for team compositions that are lacking in damage and sustain. Not only does Khasos offer some of the best continuous damage numbers in the game, but he also provides the entire team with some high-end sustain with his passive ability, Rabid Thirst.
Thane – DPS
Although squishy with few in the way of utility and defense, Thane excels at dealing damage and taking out the enemy’s backline. His abilities revolve around mobility and critical strikes, while his ultimate is a multi-hit multi-target ability that simultaneously renders him invulnerable briefly for the duration.
Zolrath – DPS
Zolrath, the Voidbinder, is a dedicated DPS hero that excels in his role. Zolrath combines high burst damage with abilities that give him strength over time to make him a great pick for both early stages and end-game content. He’s probably not the best pick if you want to settle battles fast, but he’s definitely a powerhouse DPS hero that can fight well beyond his weight class.
Lorsan – DPS, Debuffs
A perennial favorite for all kinds of game modes in AFK Arena, Lorsan the Wind Whisperer is a great choice for DPS. Although his own damage is nothing to applaud, his real power lies in empowering the ultimate abilities of his allies. With Inner Sight, Lorsan can mark multiple targets on the enemy team and cause them to take critical damage from his allies’ ultimate skills.
Warek – Tank, DPS
A great choice for the earlier stages of the game, Warek is a hard-hitting tank that has access to a self-cleanse ability that purges him of all debuffs and mitigates damage as well. Warek is a great tank for early game but struggles with higher-level content.
Grezhul – Tank, Buffs
Grezhul the Corrupted is a solid tank option that provides the party with some incredibly useful buffs. With his ultimate ability, Reanimate, Grezhul can someone skeletal warriors to attack and soak damage for the party. In some situations, particularly when against team compositions with a lot of magical damage, Grezhul can be considered a god-tier hero thanks to his team-wide resistance buff against magical attacks.
Belinda – Area DPS, Buffs
If you’re going for a Lightbearer comp, you can’t go wrong with Belinda. Not only can she improve allies’ critical ratings, attack ratings, and defense ratings with her abilities, but she also has access to a very powerful AoE burst attack. Overall, Belinda makes your entire party far more effective.
Rigby – Tank, DPS
Although technically a designated Tank, Rigby’s abilities revolve more around dealing damage than tanking it. He does have pretty good health regeneration and damage mitigation, but he’s had to sacrifice a bit of toughness to be dealing some moderate damage, so expect him to be squishier than most.
Seirus – Tank, Crowd Control
Seirus, the Savior of the Sea, is a great combination of tank and crowd control. Seirus’ kit gives him access to knockdowns and stuns, but Seirus really excels against continuous damage dealers. Thanks to his Free Flow ability, any damage he receives that’s less than 10% of his health is cut in half. However, don’t expect him to be as effective against heroes with a lot of burst damage.
Skreg – Tank, Crowd Control
Skreg is a great tank that benefits from close-range combat thanks to his Ironskin ability, which reduces damage received from nearby sources. He makes a great tank vs. melee enemies but is quite vulnerable vs. highly mobile heroes who strike from long range.
Gorvo – Tank, Crowd Control
When it comes to tanking damage, Gorvo does exceptionally well thanks to the unique combination of abilities provided in his kit. His basic abilities give him a wide set of toys to play with – area-of-effect damage, shielding, and plenty of stuns – while his ultimate ability taunts enemies and deflects some damage back to his attackers. Overall a great choice, and the fact that he’s a turtle-person is a big plus in our book.
Skriath – Support, Crowd Control, Debuffs
Skriath is a very versatile backline support hero that has access to some fun abilities. He passively increases his allies’ critical ratings while actively summoning a sandstorm to devour the battlefield and reduce enemy haste and accuracy. His ultimate ability, Desert Vortex, pulls in and traps enemies, dealing damage per second to all who are caught in the area of effect.
B-Tier Heroes
The heroes included in the B-Tier are solid performers and are often used to patch up holes in given team composition. Since players don’t have access to the entire pool of heroes in AFK Arena right away, they’ll often run with some higher-tier heroes making up the core of their compositions.
However, when there are no better heroes to serve a given role, these B-Tier Heroes rise to the occasion. They’re easy to find and easy to upgrade, and although they’re not quite as effective as their A-Tier and S-Tier counterparts, they get the job done well enough. Don’t count on these heroes to carry you through all of AFK Arena, but don’t hesitate to get them up-and-running especially if you’re in need of a specific role to fit your party.
Solise – Support, Crowd Control
Solise, the Floral Wonder, is a decent support hero that excels at controlling the battlefield. She has a minor healing ability that provides the team with single-target healing and damage mitigation, while the rest of her kit revolves around stunning enemies and deflecting damage.
Wu Kong – Tank
One of the most annoying enemies to deal with, both in PvE and PvP, Wu Kong is a tank hero that effectively soaks damage for the party by summoning clones of himself. Wu Kong can save himself from control abilities like stuns and charms, and while his damage is nothing to scoff at, he’s outclassed by other tanks that provide far more utility.
Tidus – DPS
Tidus’ entire kit revolves around dealing lots of damage. He’s got self-buffs that increase the potency of his attack, life leech bonuses, and even some crowd control, too. However, while he is definitely a solid DPS pick, his kit doesn’t allow for much in terms of team utility.
Thoran – Tank
With the ability to resurrect himself once per battle, Thoran makes for an excellent damage-soaker while still inflicting decent damage himself. His ultimate ability also gives him some great – although not always reliable – self-sustain. There are some builds that use Thoran to maximum effect, but for the most part he’s considered a B-Tier hero that does an okay job but is outclassed by others in his role.
Estrilda – Tank, Buffs
Estrilda is a top-tier pick for the early stages of the game but falls off quite rapidly once players get to AFK Arena’s mid-game content (around levels 61 and 160). That said, if you’re struggling early on to find a decent tank, Estrilda is definitely capable, and her buffs also improve energy regeneration for her allies so you can you get your ultimate abilities out more often.
Izold – Tank
Dependable and straightforward, Izold is a tank hero that can dish out some fairly decent damage as well. With self-healing granted to him through his ultimate ability Toxic Transfusion, Izold has decent staying power on the battlefield but lacks the defensive buffs to make him a viable tank in later stages.
Silvina – DPS
Silvina’s a great hero for early game – she has shielding, stuns, and some worthwhile damage tanks to her ultimate ability – and, you’ll definitely be catching her often enough to upgrade her relatively quickly. Max her out for the early stages of the game, and then move on to better heroes once she starts falling off.
Cecilia – DPS
Cecilia is a great DPS hero that sees far more use in PvE game modes like the Labyrinth than anything else. What’s unique about Cecilia is that she begins behind enemy lines – on the opposite side of the battlefield from her position in the formation. This makes her great at taking specific targets, however, without any reliable form of defense or sustain, she usually ends up dying as soon as her mission is complete. Use her to take out healers in PvE to get the most out of her abilities.
Ulmus – Support, DPS, Debuffs
With access to stuns, shields, and passive healing that he can share with one other ally, Ulmus is a very versatile and well-rounded support hero. He does a few things well, but he also isn’t exceptional at anything. He’s a great 5th slot for any party composition that could use a little bit of everything.
C-Tier Heroes
Although we recommend bottoming out at B-Tier, we understand that, especially for newer players, that the RNG involved in acquiring new heroes won’t always be in your favor. Even if you don’t have a lot of options in the beginning of the game, most team compositions stand to benefit greatly from having a combination of damage dealers, tanks, and supports.
These C-Tier Heroes are common and easily acquirable, so if you need a hero to fill a specific role until you find someone better, the heroes included in this tier should do just fine.
Hogan – Tank
You get Hogan right at the start of the game, but we don’t recommend sticking to him for too long. He’s easy to upgrade and does a fair enough job as a tank, and he’ll get you through the first few dozen stages of the game. However, once you get to mid-game, it’s highly advised that you switch him out for a better tank that has increased defensive utility.
Golus – Tank
Another great basic hero, Golus is a powerful tank that serves as an effective meat shield on the frontlines. If you’re just starting out and are looking for another tank for your party, Golus is an easily-accessible option that can keep your backline heroes safe and out of harm’s way. Don’t rely on him for too long, and make sure you swap him out near the level 40-60 mark for something better.
Raine – Support, DPS, Debuffs
Raine is a great source of indirect damage. Her abilities revolve around increasing damage to weaker foes, marking them and causing allies who kill marked targets to rapidly gain energy. As a support, she’s outclassed by almost every other hero higher up on this list, but for new players she’s a great way to boost your team’s damage output.
Vurk – DPS
Vurk is actually a pretty strong DPS hero that is pretty much unmatched in damage potential in the earlier stages of the game. However, he falls off pretty quickly thanks to his lack of survivability or utility. If you’re a new player in need of dedicated DPS, Vurk is a worthwhile choice.
Numisu – Support, Healer, Buffs
Arguably one of the best support heroes for the earlier stages of the game, Numisu not only buffs and heals his team, but his totems also provide tons of tank and utility, drawing enemy fire away from allies. Numisu is a great hero for starting out and should be able to carry your team past those challenging first stages.
Morvus – DPS
If you’re lacking DPS, Morvus can potentially give you the damage boost you need to push through challenging levels. His ultimate ability, Sharpshooter, allows him to snipe the weakest enemy, dealing bonus damage and gaining a guaranteed crit against low-health enemies at higher levels.
Ogi – Tank
For new players, Ogi is one of the best tanks available. He’s easy to upgrade and does a fairly good job at soaking enemy damage. Ogi’s also popular thanks to his minor displacement ability that puts an enemy out of position, but he falls off later on due to a lack of utility and defensive buffs.
Niru – Support, DPS
Although technically a support hero, Niru’s main job on the battlefield is taking out low-health enemies. He can give some healing through his ability Life Leech, but his ultimate Death Call is geared towards executing low-health targets before they get the chance to heal or recover.
Ranking Criteria
If you’re wondering what criteria we had for coming up with this tier list, here’s the rundown: Since AFK Arena’s gameplay and content are typically divided into three tiers (early game, mid-game, and late game) depending on the features and game modes that the player has unlocked, and how far into the campaign they’ve been able to progress, we made this hero tier list to reflect which heroes are best at each stage of the game.
We also considered that late-game heroes have access to Signature Items that give them unique buffs, and are different for every hero, so their effectiveness and ratings are affected by this as well.
The individual performance of the heroes included in this tier list was measured based on their PvE capabilities – including campaign pushing, labyrinth runs, and the new adventure mode.
Finally, we made sure to include only the two highest tiers of heroes in AFK Arena – Ascended Heroes and Legendary Heroes. We decided not to include the Common Heroes in our tier list since they’re generally used as fodder to empower your other heroes or as convenient options to be used for Bounty runs early on in the game.
However, in terms of both PvE and PvP content, Common Heroes are far, far outclassed by the rest of the available heroes in-game, and aren’t worth taking note of. Some heroes – like Ira, Arden, Vedan, and a handful of others – weren’t included in this list because they simply didn’t perform well enough to even be ranked for whatever game mode.
That’s it for our AFK Arena hero tier list! We hope you enjoyed this article and that it helped you decide which heroes you want to run with in AFK Arena. If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave a reply in the comment area below!
Bo
Tuesday 14th of April 2020
So what would be your ideal team of 5?