AFK Journey is a wonderful, story-rich gacha RPG that allows you to immerse yourself in an open world filled with various treasures, quests, and powerful enemies. Most importantly, it also features a vibrant cast of heroes that you can collect to help you along your adventure.
Read more to know how each hero in AFK Journey ranks compared to others in terms of overall performance and how they fare in the current meta!
AFK Journey Tier List (May 2024)
Listed in the image above are all the heroes in AFK Journey—ranked according to their effectiveness in multiple game modes and how optimized their skills are for their primary roles.
Do note that AFK Journey promotes strategic diversity, where lower-tier heroes can outperform even top-tier heroes depending on factors like team compositions or Ascension Tiers, so feel free to experiment and don't get too fixated on a hero's placement in our tier list!
TIP: AFK Journey's Wish List feature allows its players to limit the heroes they get from recruits in the Noble Tavern. We recommend setting heroes listed in the higher tiers as your Wish List heroes ASAP!
S-Tier Heroes
Heroes on the S-Tier can be considered top-of-the-line meta units that excel in most (if not all) game modes in AFK Journey and should take priority when it comes to resource investments.
| S-Tier Heroes | Faction & Description |
|---|---|
 Vala |  Lightbearer |
| Vala is a Rogue that excels in clearing out enemy backline units one by one. She's one of the best single-target damage dealers in the game, and is especially deadly to most teams not built to specifically counter her in PVP. | |
 Thoran |  Graveborn |
| Thoran is the best pure tank in the game, given his superb toughness, Life Drain, and ability to resurrect once per battle. He can also deal a good amount of AoE burst damage with his Ultimate, which allows him to reflect the damage he receives from enemy attacks. | |
 Rowan | Lightbearer |
| Rowan is a versatile support that can function as both an Energy battery and a healer. His healing may not be as good as other top-tier healers, but this is highly offset by his Ultimate which helps allied heroes execute their Ultimate Skills faster. | |
 Reinier |  Hypogean |
| Odie is the best single-target damage dealer in the game and is the go-to DPS for most PVE Battle Modes like Dream Realm and Battle Drills. His Ultimate allows him to deal lots of DoT poison damage, but his passives alone ensure that he can become the #1 damage dealer in almost any team you can put him in. | |
 Hewynn |  Wilder |
| Hewynn specializes in healing, dispelling debuffs, and damage reductions. Her kit makes her one of the best supports you can put in your team, especially if you want a significant boost to your units' overall survivability. | |
 Cecia | Graveborn |
| Cecia’s Ultimate allows her to summon a unit that deals tons of AoE damage, controls enemies with Entangle, and has decent tankiness. This summoned unit can obliterate the entire enemy team so long as you keep Cecia alive. All beginners get Cecia in their first ten-pull, which also makes her the most accessible top-tier damage dealer at least in the early game. | |
 Granny Dahnie | Wilder |
| Granny Dahnie may not be as tanky as Thoran, but her ability to sustain herself with self-heals, inflict mass entangle, and taunt makes her ideal for extended battles where you fight multiple enemies at once. She's an excellent tank for the Defense lineup in the Arena. | |
 Eironn | Wilder |
| Eironn can gather enemies in one place with her Ultimate, which makes him a fantastic setter for AoE-focused teams. He has immense DPS potential, not to mention he's also one of the tankier Rogues in the game and has good survivability. | |
 Florabelle | Wilder |
| Florabelle is one of the best DPS units in the game that excels both in PVE and PVP Battle Modes, but more so on PVE. She's the Wilder version of Cecia and can dish out massive AoE damage with her summoned units. She also has the added bonus of being able to give shields to her allies at Mythic+, giving your team extra survivability. | |
 Odie |  Mauler |
| Odie is the best single-target damage dealer in the game and is the go-to DPS for most PVE Battle Modes like Dream Realm and Battle Drills. His Ultimate allows him to deal lots of DoT poison damage, but his passives alone ensure that he can become the #1 damage dealer in almost any team you can put him in. | |
 Marilee | Lightborn |
| Marilee is much like Odie in that, with enough Soul Sigil investment, she becomes a very powerful single-target damage dealer who primarily excels in Dream Realm runs. She can deal True Damage at Mythic+ and also stun enemies with her normal attacks. | |
 Koko | Mauler |
| Koko's kit allows her to give her allies damage reductions, Life Drain, shields, and ATK bonuses. She's a very versatile support unit, even compared to other top-tier supports in the game. She's a fantastic addition to teams needing a boost both in DPS and survivability. |
A-Tier Heroes
Heroes on the A-Tier are excellent units that are viable in most team comps and are staple picks in certain PVE and PVP game modes.
| A-Tier Heroes | Faction & Description |
|---|---|
 Brutus | Mauler |
| Brutus is a bruiser who excels both in dealing and taking damage. With his Life Drain and ability to become invulnerable for 5 seconds after taking his first lethal blow, he can even be used as a sub-tank in certain battles. | |
 Scarlita |  Celestial |
| Scarlita is the second-best Celestial/Hypogean unit you can invest in. She can deal True Damage, CC enemies, and support allies with shields, making her a very dangerous opponent at higher Ascension Tiers—especially in the Arena. | |
 Shakir | Mauler |
| Shakir is a fantastic AoE damage dealer who can sustain himself with Life Drain in his Wolf Form and give his allies damage reduction bonuses. He becomes even more unstoppable at Mythic+, where he can access his Wolf Form more easily. | |
 Temesia | Lightborn |
| Temesia is a very solid tank that can also deal decent damage. Her Ultimate's targeting prevents her from being as reliable as other tanks who mainly specialize in soaking up damage in the frontline, but she's a very good backline disruptor given her knock-downs and skill interruptions. | |
 Bryon | Wilder |
| Bryon's normal attacks and skills can drain his target's Energy which, in addition to his superb DPS potential, makes him a great damage dealer for most PVE and PVE battles. | |
 Cassadee | Lightbearer |
| Cassadee is an AoE Mage who can amplify her team’s damage with buffs and by lowering the enemy’s M.Def. She also has two CC skills, making her a pretty versatile damage dealer who can disrupt enemy formations. | |
 Smokey & Meerky | Mauler |
| Smokey and Meerky specialize in mass healing and buffing their allies' ATK with their aroma. As long as they don't get inflicted with control effects, their aroma lasts from the beginning to the end of the battle. | |
 Carolina | Graveborn |
| Aside from being one of the best AoE damage dealers in the game, Carolina can also freeze enemies and prevent them from moving for up to 8 seconds. This makes her very effective against tight hero formations, especially when paired up with Eironn. | |
 Igor | Graveborn |
| Igor is an absolute menace in hero vs hero battles, especially in Arena Defense battles where he can be a headache to deal with. His kit grants him occasional invulnerability to some attacks, as well as fantastic mobility that sees him jumping around the battlefield and making opponents waste time chasing him. | |
 Korin | Lightbearer |
| Korin can be considered a DPS-support hybrid, with him being able to deal massive amounts of True Damage and give his allies shields. Feed him enough Soul Sigils and he'll shine in most teams you put him in, especially when you deploy him in one-tank teams. | |
 Damian | Wilder |
| Like Cecia, Damian can also summon a unit to fight on his behalf, albeit his kit is more optimized for supporting allies rather than dealing damage. He can heal allies and grant them Haste, as well as disrupt enemy units with blinds and stuns. | |
 Viperian | Graveborn |
| Despite being an A-Level hero, Viperian can be considered one of the best AoE damage dealers not just because of his incredibly high DPS ceiling, but also because he can remove a decent amount of all his enemies' Energy every time he casts his Ultimate. |
B-Tier Heroes
Heroes on the B-Tier are great alternatives if you don't have units from higher tiers who fulfill the same role.
| B-Tier Heroes | Faction & Description |
|---|---|
 Rhys | Mauler |
| Rhys is the only ranged Hero in the game who can move while attacking. His mobility combined with his knock-back attacks and high Crit DMG makes him a good sub-DPS or even a main DPS in some Battle Modes. | |
 Alsa | Wilder |
| Alsa can deal great damage and also disrupt enemy formations with her kit. She synergizes exceedingly well with other CC-heavy heroes like Cecia, Cassadee, or Brutus, though her survivability leaves much to be desired. Nevertheless, she's a viable pick if you can pair her up with teammates who can divert enemy attacks while she does her thing. | |
 Dionel | Celestial |
| Dionel requires quite a lot of investment to be comparable to other DPS units in the upper tiers. This can be hard to accomplish especially if you're planning to focus on Reinier or Scarlita first, but he's a pretty good AoE damage dealer who can also buff his allies' ATK and ATK SPD. | |
 Niru | Graveborn |
| Niru's Ultimate allows him to protect his most vulnerable allies, granting them invulnerability and healing at the cost of decreased damage until the skill ends. Overall, his kit is fantastic for single-target sustains and decreasing enemy healing. | |
 Antandra | Mauler |
| Antandra is a great alternative if you don't have any of the top-tier tanks or have them at higher Ascension Tiers, given her AoE taunts and the ability to bestow shields. She's best utilized in double tank team comps. | |
 Lucius | Lightbearer |
| Just like Antandra, Lucius is a very strong tank alternative, especially since all players will be able to get free copies of him in the early game. Contrary to his class, Lucius should instead be considered a tank-support hybrid with his ability to grant massive shields and enemy ATK reductions. | |
 Valen | Lightbearer |
| Unlike most top-tier AoE damage dealers, Valen is a melee unit, which holds him back from getting a higher tier placement. He is, however, still an excellent AoE DPS unit who can wreck entire teams as long as you can keep him alive. | |
 Kruger | Mauler |
| Kruger may not have as much raw DPS potential as other damage dealers, but his defense shredding is top-notch which—combined with his Life Drain and self-shielding—makes him a very good choice, especially when you're going against high-HP bosses. | |
 Seth | Mauler |
| Seth specializes in dealing greater damage against heroes with low HP. He's one of the best heroes when it comes to cleaning up vulnerable backline units, making him a good option for Battle Modes like the Arena where killing off backline damage dealers or supports should be prioritized. | |
 Silvina | Graveborn |
| Silvina can effectively whittle down enemy backline units with her burst damage. She's a glass cannon whose biggest issue is her lack of survivability, but this gets somewhat remedied once she gets to Mythic+, at which point she becomes way more viable, especially in PVP Battle Modes. | |
 Arden | Wilder |
| Arden is a good AoE Damage dealer whose Ultimate allows him to attack all enemies at once, with the added bonus of being able to regenerate Energy faster whenever control effects are inflicted on enemies. | |
 Lyca | Wilder |
| Other than allowing her to deal massive AoE damage, Lyca's kit amplifies the amount of damage she and her allies deal against enemies. She excels most when put in a team where other DPS units don't rely on their active skills to deal damage. | |
 Parisa | Wilder |
| Parisa is an AoE damage dealer who has high ATK SPD, ATK DMG, and Energy regeneration due to her kit. She has immense potential as a main DPS once you get her to higher Ascension Tiers, but will do just fine as a sub-DPS until then. |
C-Tier Heroes
C-Tier heroes can be considered somewhat decent in their roles and can be used as stopgaps until you get better units.
| C-Tier Heroes | Faction & Description |
|---|---|
 Berial | Hypogean |
| Belial can be a great assassin-type unit that can wipe out isolated enemies quickly at higher Ascension Tiers, but other Celestial/Hypogean are just more attractive investments than him, especially when accounting for how hard their Soul Sigils are to get. | |
 Lumont | Mauler |
| Lumont is a good formation disruptor and setter, as he can push away enemies several tiles back with his Ultimate. When it comes to pure tanking, however, there are just better options. | |
 Satrana | Mauler |
| Satrana is a pretty good AoE damage dealer, but what holds her back is her being a melee unit in combination with her being a Mage with limited survivability. She does have Life Drain on her kit, however, so she'll be able to do a pretty good job so long as you pair her up with good frontline units. | |
 Mirael | Lightbearer |
| Mirael's kit is solely focused on AoE Damage and DoT via burns. She lacks flexibility compared to other Mages but is nevertheless a solid alternative for when you don't have better AoE damage dealers on your roster. | |
 Fay | Lightbearer |
| With the over-abundance of top-tier support units, Fay's usage is somewhat limited. She can still be used as a less-reliable alternative if frontline healing and ATK boosts are what you need, however. | |
 Walker | Lightbearer |
| Walker prioritizes enemies with the highest damage accumulated 10 seconds after the battle starts, which often leads him to attack frontline units. This, combined with his 2-tile attack range and low survivability limits his potential as a damage dealer. | |
 Salazer | Graveborn |
| Salazer deals great damage and can even imprison all enemies once per battle for up to 5 seconds provided they go below an HP threshold. Still, he's somewhat less effective in his role compared to the other Graveborn heroes, making him the black sheep of his faction. |
D-Tier Heroes
We don't recommend investing in D-Tier heroes, as compared to units in higher tiers, they are simply mediocre and most often require heaps of investment or specialized niche teams to be considered viable.
| D-Tier Heroes | Faction & Description |
|---|---|
 Atalanta | Lightbearer |
| Atalanta is a decent AoE DPS unit on her own, but she doesn't hold a candle to other damage dealers in the upper tiers. Her ability to stun and knock back enemies, however, does deserve some merit and may earn her a spot in a few niche teams that need enemy disruptions. | |
 Kafra | Wilder |
| Kafra can reduce enemy Phys DEF, heal his allies' HP, and deal pretty good damage—but not to an impressive extent. Like Atalanta, some heroes in the upper tiers with the same roles just do Kafra's job better, but he can still be a viable counter for heal-heavy teams, given his EX Skill. |
Conclusion
Now that you've learned which heroes are the best and which ones you should probably avoid, how about reading our AFK Journey reroll guide so you can get the top-tier heroes early on and our AFK Journey codes list which should give you some extra resources to pull for them?
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All AFK Journey (AFK2) Guides and Walkthroughs
Head over to our AFK Journey (AFK2) guides and walkthrough page by clicking on the link below to see a list of tips and tricks, strategies, and tier lists to make your journey through Esperia much easier!
List of All Tips and Tricks
