Sea of Conquest is a really fun game and merging two aspects together – Naval Warfare and Close Combat which are two really different game modes where heroes perform differently with individual skills and abilities. For that reason it is important o know where heroes work well in Sea of Conquest.
For that reason I have here a tier list that ranks heroes by their performance in Naval Warfare and in Close Combat and some are great in one mode or the other and some great in both (or none). Building a hero is also a really long-term effort in Sea of Conquest so you want to invest in heroes that will help you progress, right?
Well, for that reason my tier list below will help you perfectly fine and please also check out my ship/hero formation guide that will help you build the perfect formations altogether.
What Heroes Work Well in Sea of Conquest
So, in general Close Combat is a 5v5 round-based RPG mode where the heroes take turns and use their Close Combat Skills. In Naval Warfare you have up to 3 heroes per ship that use their Naval Warfare skills against monsters, forts and ships for loot.
Below you find a general ranking in Sea of Conquest but behind the ‘Show More’ button you can find their individual ranking in each mode and also a brief description why a hero is ranked at their position in the tier list.
Big Rework! Since the seasonality and the way heroes are released made the old format here hard to read/understand and especially newer players didn’t know what heroes they should use and build, we changed the format and rank every hero by the season they can be used in (the earlier a hero is released the more diminishing his viability is, but you can see how many season this hero will actually work well). Also the heroes are now SORTED BY NEWEST TO OLDEST RELEASE DATE. This means newest released heroes on top, initial release/Season 1 heroes at the bottom. Please let us know in the comments what you think about the new format.
Search:
Laila
Yes, new hero already teased. She will be a Support Gunner hero.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:14
Iskander
The other new hero teased early 2025 already, a Blazing Gunner hero.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:14
Tigrand
Decent support hero that reduces the enemy damage dealt so it affects the whole fleet so there are some things you can do with him on a support ship for sure.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:13
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Park Hae Hyun
Nice support ship hero that not only applies shield to the fleet but also increases your main damage ship crit, attack and buffs the whole fleet which makes him a really useful support ship hero.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:13
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Kelvin Hobbes
We're putting Drowning back in the map with the new heroes since there was literally nothing significant happening to that archetype since S2. This the new meta when they get released .
Rarity:Legendary
Release:12
Season 5/X:
Nebet Duman
Along Kelvin the new meta with drowning as archetype damage.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:12
Season 5/X:
Skorn
Really tough to rank. First of all, she is an assassin and finishes the weakest enemy ship off quicky and hasthe universal position tag. Amazing on paper and in reality but also there are so many other great Cuthroat heroes in Sea of Conquest that it will be a hard call for most players to invest that many resources to build her to get that small upgrade. On the other hand, her tag makes it easy to replace your weakest cutthroat hero. Great hero overall, if she is useful to you, well, that is up for you to decide looking at your hero roaster..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:11
Season 5/X:
Crow
Really questionable. On paper he can put blaze back on the map but you have to build all the heroes so if that makes him that great is a complete different question.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:11
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Eric
Finally puts strategic damage back on the map, espcially with his chain effect- It was quite a while since Griffin was strong so he puts strategic damage back on the map.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:10
Season 5/X:
Ember Volcano
A really good and strong hero and actually don't neccesarrily needs a full blaze hero rainbow to work well enough. She comes in where needed and closes a huge gap we had here on this position so far and almost solo makes blaze working again. Even without blaze, she deals good damage and reduces agro as an attacker which is extremly valuable.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:10
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Umar
Would actually rank him higher if he wouldn't have the captain tag as this would make him so much more versatile in many setups to use (would be clear tier S+++ with jack of all Trades tag haha). Still, great captain for a full support ship if you build it with healing and rage but the amount of players that really consider having the option is rather the top ones so I feel this tier here reflects his general usability overall.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:10
Season 5/X:
Dolores Cross
I am a bit confused with her. I mean overall she is cool and the extra rage make your Blaze ship spin like a rollercoaster, but her being a Jack position hero, the Blaze archetype having gotten quite some love with heroes like Ember and Crow + the fact that her trinket is basically designed only for her individually make me think if she is worth it for most players since you very likely have your blaze ship already assembled in all positions until Season X2 when she becomes available. She is great, but I don't really see her need for most players unless this is a pure powercreep type of hero..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:10
Season 5/X:
Rinfuu
He is a great hero and having him universally available makes him even better... but, do you have the space for him? You most likely have your artillery setup done with solid heroes so unless you have an open spot I really wouldn't recommend too much on him.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:10
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Letitia Miller
Actually not too impressed and she is quite average in all parts. Early on you might think about building her but if you have your Strategic ship together already since she was released like 1 year into the game, she is not much worth of your effort in my opinion.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:10
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Hamar Tornquist
Once fully built he can do damage and also debuff the eemy fleet well but the investment is another topic for that. Also, you need to have your drowning ship ready which is another investment so I don't want to rank him high and give the wrom impression but also with his full potential unlocked he actually is good. Keep that in mind and as yourself if you want to commit yourself to a drowning ship investment that deep. If you do, he is your captain..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:9
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Titus Slade
Along Hamar a wild setup if you invest, but toutside of that there are not too many synergies that can be made well enough to rank him higher. Mind, this ranking only applies to being used along Hamar on a drowning ship with full investment.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:9
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Gideon
A have a couple of throughts here... once, it's nice that a limited time hero like him is not overly overpowered to force you building it while the event is up. But that also makes a downside, since he is not that powerful overall and more or less a legendary Delilah version, there is not too much use to actually pull and build him unless you find him personally extremely cool and I would always prefer Boa in his spot..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:9
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Elizabeth Sheen
Incredible helpful and strong support hero and no matter how your roaster and ship setups look like, she will make it better so don't be shy building her.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:8
Season 5/X:
Rikiishi Yuji
The new defensive captain after using Old Ahab for a long time with just overall stronger shield mechanics.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:8
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Mihai Popescu
You have already a great captain here with Ophelia so I don't really get it and unless you powercreep and are a high spender, there is literally little use for replacing them..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:8
Season 5/X:
Ricky
Actually a good supportive hero that scales up damage but doesn't do much himself. In a carefully selected crew he can do grea tthings, though.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:8
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Kartal
The more advanced Luna position hero... hard take and in theory worth it for sure and a strong hero, although if you have that setup going do you really want to make that investment for the improvement? I think msot players with a reasonably built Luna might just keep her in her position but if you don't have her and you want to make your Cutthroat ship, he is your man.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:7
Season 5/X:
Sahra
Finally a dedicate strategic gunner hero and she deals great damage, buffs startegic damage, controls enemy rage and even can rage engine your own ship, making her a great hero on that position and one that we all really missed so far..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:7
Season 5/X:
Onimusha
Hard-hitting First Mate hero for your Cutthroat ship that places Cutthroat archetype back in the meta in S4 and makes it viable. Still, you need quite a lot to make this happen so this is more a hero for the top-range players but a good one..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:6
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Chizuru
A little better for Artillery than Sharky but really only a end-range hero to have and if you have built Sharky pretty well and you're not crazy competitive you might also get away with skipping this one. Great hero though and if you don't have Sharky at a high state, Chizuru is better and you can focus on her instead..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:6
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Molly
Super versatile Strategic Damage hero in Sea of Conquest that can be used with any Strategic ship setup well.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:5
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Qi Lanting
Qi Lanting is perfect whenever you tackle single target with your fleet or also in Close Combat. Overall her damage falls off compared to the AoE heroes in Sea of Conquest BUT if you have one strong target you need to break through, she is working wonders; just not for all situations although she does her fair share of damage also against multiple setups..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:4
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Wanda
Very universal fleet damage booster and rage engine that can fit everywhere, can also be placed on any of your ships where you have a Gunner position open as she buffs alls ships in your fleet..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:3
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Obi
Good for a defensive flagship but with him you need healing for sure and I see him more to pull aggro and protect your fleet overall.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:3
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Tanaka
Tanaka, like Adeline for Drowning damage, fill sin the S2 spot of epic heroes on your Blazing ship which makes that archetype a lot better in Season 2 but also here there is little flexibility which makes him great in that very role on that very ship but universally not providing much..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:2
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Adeline
Adeline, available in S2, finally fills in the Gunner position on your Drowning ship which makes Drowning a lot more versatile overall but that is pretty much her only use-case. She is really strong if you do build a strong ship with Drowning damage and damge over time but that's about it with her..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:2
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Margaret
Well she has two big things that you will like - one is her agro manipulation which really comes in handy on your cutthroat ship to go through that target line. I wouldn't sill rank her that high but the fact that she is a Jack of All position hero makes her quite nice to have since you can swap her in whenever..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:2
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Delilah
Overall not a bad hero for your strategic damage ship and scales but the position that is the same as Boa makes it a little hard to really give her a good spot.
Rarity:Epic
Release:2
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Boa
Evaluating Boa's effects in Sea of Conquest is hard for several reason. I personally don't like damage over time in Close Combat that much but her Poison works if the battles are longer as they depend on turns. In Naval battle however, she is super random. There is so many chances in her kit that have an impact to the damage she deals and if things go well, she deals a ton of damage. But again, if the proc chance is not on your side she is rather mediocre so not too reliable..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:1
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Ophelia
Ophelia is crazy strong in Naval Battles with a ton of AoE damage and the ability to make all ships in your fleet trigger an additional basic attack and stacking up damage like crazy plus dealing counterattack damage as well that punish every attack heavily. In Close Combat she also deals good AoE damage but also makes all targets panic which means they will attack each other and she also buffs ally damage against panic targets. Incredibly strong hero in Sea of Conquest.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Cordelia
Cordelia is a great support for your fleet, not just for the healing but also for the dispelling but more relevant in bigger fleet battles when she is further upgraded. She helps every fleet right out of the box without many synergies needed. In CLose Combat the same, she heals and has a very reliable kit to do so..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Cursed Ed
Although an epic hero he can run so well with all heroes. His cursed effect will make the target take more damage of any kind and when they take damage, they will get a longer skill cooldown and rage reduction! He doesn't have to lead the ship for that so even if you run all legendaries, he should have a space on board. For me an incredible Naval Warfare hero in Sea of Conquest. In Close Combat he delays enemy moves, suppress healing and make them take more damage. Also really strong. For me the best epic hero in Sea of Conquest right now and I am willing to die on that hill simply as he can fit and replace any hero in any setup where you are running short of a certain damage hero. Literally every single one..
Rarity:Epic
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Old Ahab
Old Ahab is the king of shields in Sea of Conquest and will protect your fleet quite well, not just the ship he commands. In Close Combat he works pretty much the same which makes him a swiss army knife whenever you need more protection and your fleet/squad more durable. Please mind, you need to upgrade him quite a bit to benefit from that but he is at the end of the day the legendary captain for your Flagship that you want to be as sturdy as possible..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Magnus
With VIP13 hard for average players to obtain and build and a hero that is absolutely for players that spend quite some money, but with the aggro pulling and shielding a great hero for your defensive flagship.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Sharky
Wild damage dealer that strikes randomly basically everything there is around with good damage and self-scaling himself in Close Combat as well as in Naval Battles..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Bones
Bones kit is really interesting in Sea of Conquest but let's start with his Naval Warfare abilities that will basically focus down a target, make him stay low profile without catching aggro and rolling his skill over and over. Similar in Close Combat alhtough there is no aggro in the way it works in naval battles. Overall he is like a sniper, dealing a lot of damage but needs a setup where he is protected and supported or he will be quite a glass cannon.
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Griffin
Griffin is pretty much the AoE version of Bones which makes him really strong as AoE is so often dealing a ton more damage than single target damage in Sea of Conquest. In both, naval combat and close combat as well..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Lester
Lester has two really strong sides in Sea of Conquest that make me rank him here in this tier list - in Naval Combat he is amazing for longer battles where he burns over and over and then uses that burn to deal extra damage which is really good. In Close Combat his damage is alright but mostly his chance to stun is great. But this can be tricky by proc chance..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Luna
Luna is a great hero in Sea of Conquest! In Naval Battles she targets the ship with the lowest HP and does also apply effects that increase damage to focus down a target which works really great. In Close Combat she strikes merciless and deals quite some damage but relies a lot on her 3rd skill to make her move progress bar full again which can sometimes make her do crazy damage and sometimes rather okay-ish damage. Still a great hero that you will not regret having in Sea of Conquest..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Barnacle
In Naval Battles his damage over time works. Solid actually although I am not the biggest fan of damage over time and rather have burst damage. In Close Combat he relies a lot on bleeding which I am not the biggest fan of..
Rarity:Legendary
Release:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Mad Dog
At first I though he is crazy with his Active Skill cooldown removal of all heroes on his ship and I thought run him with strong legendaries be havoc - but the reality is that he needs to be the leader hero on the ship. Still. if you#re running mostly epic heroes he can make them go wild when they can use their active skills more often. In Close Combat he can prolonge the cooldown of enemies which is also pretty sweet. I am not sure if having him above legendaries in the tier list is perfectly correct, but I really like him with epics and I think most players will benefit a lot from him in Sea of Conquest..
Rarity:Epic
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Oscar
In Naval Combat Oscar is more like a scaler that increases damage for Artillery and we know how important an artillery ship is but needs a good hero to go with him to deal damage. In Close Combat he can be a burst hero that will strike fast and cuts in line of the order if you want to burst down a specific target..
Rarity:Epic
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Madame Lulu
Mostly useful in Close Combat in Sea of Conquest for the healing. In Naval Combat her healing can barely keep up with the damage that's coming in but she can still be either a good replacement for Cordelia on your Flagship or help yout in one of your damage ships that struggles with chip damage..
Rarity:Epic
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Lord Kojo
Interesting kit here with Lord Kojo as he is intended to be a executioner but his 3rd skill also add healing over time so he works best in setups with burst damage. Pretty much similar in Close Combat where his damage is nice and ignores armor but again he applies a healing over time which can sometimes be super annoying when he applies it and then the ttarget stays alive. Still okay to use.
Rarity:Epic
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Will
Not bad but works a lot with burn effects and damage over time in Naval Warfare and is more a hero you would combine with other heroes that have burn effects. In Close Combat he has quite some hidden benefits with his increased Speed and most of all he can increase the enemy Rage costs and delay their Active Skills..
Rarity:Epic
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Jango
Yes he is rare but his ability to generate extra rage for any ship and crew makes him a universal swap in for many setups and players that are not able to fill every ship with well-upgraded epics and legendaries in Sea of Conquest..
Rarity:Rare
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Eileen
Has quite some damage over time without much special. Is alright but nothing too wild. Good in a team that uses the Taken by Water damage-over-time effect..
Rarity:Epic
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Ned
Can deal damage, yes, but that also requires that his burn effects are applied well and there is enough time to actually have them apply. And direct damage is just better. Target gone is gone instead of slowly draining it..
Rarity:Epic
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Armstrong
Can be useful earlier for your Flagship to help keep aggro and reduce damage until you have the stronger defensive heroes there.
Rarity:Rare
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Henry Hell
Is nice in the beginning but you will very early see that his stats as rare hero in Sea of Conquest and his scaling will simply fall off quickly..
Rarity:Rare
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Betty
Same as Henry Hell, simply as rare hero not enough base stats and scalers to keep up with the epic and espcially the legendary heroes in Sea of Conquest.
Rarity:Rare
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Zola
Not really too interesting unless you have a blaze ship building and the strong legendaries but also she is a captain position hero so I only see her in the backup spot here..
Rarity:Rare
Release Order:0
Start:
Season 2/3:
Season 3/4:
Season 5/X:
Conclusion
I hope this tier list helps you plan out what heroes you will work on and use in Sea of Conquest and I am sure there will be more heroes coming up in the future so make sure to check back here for the hero rankings and also the ideal way to build them.
and then
There are more Heroes like Molly. Molly is a really good Strategist, so I think your info is outdated now.
thanks for that, a lot better than all the other lists out there! Only reliable one so far without over-complicating things