AFK Journey has quite some interesting new approaches and will offer a ton of heroes as well so this list here should help you decide which heroes to focus on as they work in every team and which ones work only for particular setups (and the ones that never really work well).
I know that many please think that AFK Journey is simply a re-skin of the brutal hit AFK Arena, but there are a lot of different elements to it that make the game very promising for me and also to be honest, I think there has only been a handful of mobile games overall in the last 12 months that I enjoyed as much off the bat and open so frequently during the day just to try to cheese another AFK Stage than this.
What Are The Best Heroes in AFK Journey (Tier List)
Alright let’s dive into it. Please mind that there are huge changes between the different closed beta iterations so this list changes as well a lot! Please check back here when a new beta starts to be sure that you go the right direction. Also, please mind to check out the best teams for the different modes in AFK Journey here, this is sometimes more important than using the top heroes here and helps you a lot.
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Talene
NEW
She is a crazy beast with her damage when she stays in range of enemies and has enough healing around, she will not stop dealing damage. Much of her kit is locked behind the EX investment but still, she will take over the Dream Realm leaderboard soon but I think it's too early to say if she will take Reiniers or Scarlita's spot in the hypolestial investment order.
Ludovic
NEW
The Graveborn support hero that everybody was asking for but is he the one we wanted? He is a healing battery but that's pretty much it. His damage is basically non-existent and he has no support for your team. So, if you start out and he is the first real healer you pull you can go ahead and build him but for players with heroes like Smokey and Hewynn already built there is little to no use to build him unless you need a full healer for the Graveborn Faction Tower. Please take this with the grain of salt you should take every new hero evaluation, but if you stockpiled letters for the banner pull you might think twice if you really want to get him and build him. I rather see him on the wishlist a nice addition rather than investing into the banner here..
Phraesto
S+
First things first, do NOT stargaze him and since he is available in the Guid Shop you can wait some more time to see more test results. His kit is designed to be a support and energy battery with debuffs and damage. The 1-copy tests don't look very great for me and most of his kit is locked behind is EX Weapon and Hero Focus so for most players I think working on Scarlita and Reinier is a much better option. He is the amazing tank for people who fully build him, so if you are willing to make that invest, he is great but if you're not ready for that and have your Reinier and Scarlita build, don't think about him.
Story:
Dream Realm:
PvP:
Odie
S+
Can snowball heavily with his energy recovery when he kills and his ability to insta-kill enemies with low health make him a great damage dealer. Small word of advice here, he needs to be Mythic+ or even higher to really start doing a great job but you need him a lot against Dream Realm bosses so one of the best choices fro your Dream Realm shop purchases.
Story:
Dream Realm:
PvP:
Reinier
S+
Great to disrupt the enemy backline and already works without ascended much, even with 1 copy. Also important for Dream Realm in almost all comps so get him first from the Guild Store.
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Dream Realm:
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Thoran
S+
Great tank that can cheat death but also deal quite some damage. Is a great tank to carry early and useful later as well.
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Dream Realm:
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Smokey And Meerky
S
Healing and buffing. Got more balancing in the past months before global release but is still very useful practically everywhere although his range is not the full map anymore. Can well take in when Rowan is not healing enough anymore and good in so many different modes in AFK Journey, including Dream Realm, that you really can build him and max him without regrets.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Cecia
S
Summon is really useful and she can cc and damage AoE which makes her a great fit. She will carry you in story and AFK Stages a long time, easily into the 700+ so building and ascending her is no mistake and goes a long way and even investing in her exclusive and focus skill is a great option.
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Dream Realm:
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Koko
S
Her reflection, healing, buffing make her so great to use. Build her and you won't regret it.
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Dream Realm:
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Rowan
S
Not just a classic hero in AFK Arena, also in AFK Journey. Has pretty much the same role as in AFK Arena being a energy battery and his healing mechanics are also nice. Can sometimes be a little weak healer, espcially when not Mythic+ or higher but for his energy battery role he doesn't need much ascension.
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Dream Realm:
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Scarlita
S
Shields at start and deals damage later. A lot of her damage is not there before you invest in her Exclusive but if you do, she is actually pretty great.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Shakir
S
Great universal hero with damage and support and core of any Mauler team. Doesn't get a ton of credit early but will get important later against some Dream Realm bosses.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Carolina
A+
You will probably ignore her early and mid-game in AFK Journey but later with her Exclusive and Eironn with his Exclusive she becomes so strong in Aironn teams that there is only little ways around her.
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Dream Realm:
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Damian
A+
Needs his Exclusive to buff and heal well, early on not that great!.
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Dream Realm:
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Eironn
A+
Don't be fooled by his early performance where he is bad - once you build his Exclusive he becomes incredibly strong by gathering enemies and debuffing them. Still, there are other S-Rank heroes to carry earlier so keep that in mind when you get chests where you can choose S-Rank heroes to build a hero like Thoran or Cecia first!.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Florabelle
A+
She summons and also has some cross-synergies with Cecia and latest at the point where you need multiple teams she will be valuable. If you are building Cecia right now you might not need to go all-in on her banners but she is a good hero with raising value towards later and I invested the money to get her earily and I love her honestly. Except Dream Realm useful in all modes actually..
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Hewynn
A+
Great healing with full range of the whole battlefield. I'd still prefer Smokey but sometimes you just need a healer with a ton of range so early in AFK Journey not the strongest one. She picks up a lot tough when ascended higher when you get ehr universal damage reduction for the whole team which is huge.
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Dream Realm:
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Lyca
A+
Deals AoE damage and buffs/debuffs and along other AoE damage dealers in AFK Journey a really strong hero. One of the best non-S-Rank heroes and easy to ascend with the multiple sources you can get her copies. Also, along Cecia a great combo in many stages.
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Dream Realm:
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Temesia
A+
Deals alright damage but her overall ability to go through walls helps a lot messing with any kind of formation tactics of your enemy.
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Dream Realm:
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Vala
A+
The way Vala can deal with backline heroes in AFK Journey is unreached and valuable in almost all cases, often enough crucially important to deal with certain setups. She is the first banner hero with the global release so you can easily pull and build her and once at the highest ascension stages where she can turn invisible, she takes out backline hero after backline hero and is also a good damage dealer against Dream Realm bosses so getting her copies is nothing bad, espcially with the amount of pulls you get early on..
Story:
Dream Realm:
PvP:
Alsa
A+
Really good single damage and control effects that I really like so far. She, however, needs either a full magic team or other control heroes along with quite some invest to run that well..
Disclaimer:I am still testing so there is a chance I might revoke some parts. I believe as F2P your don't necessarily NEED her but she is for sure a better F2P pull than Flora
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Dionel
A+
He is an incredible damage dealer, if you build him which is a long process but he also needs a lot of buffs to really get his damage on the road and with Scarlita and Reinier and even Talene you have so much easier out-of-the box well-working universal hypolestial heroes, he is not that well-ranked as they are. If he would be a S-Rank hero it would be something different, but since hypocelstial heroes take months to build I just can't put him higher here.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Korin
A+
His shield and protection along cc make him really strong in keeping a team alive before the first chain piece breaks. Needs his Exclusive for Dream Realm but also before that he is a strong support hero in AFK Journey.
Story:
Dream Realm:
PvP:
Bryon
A+
Can revive and deal damage but needs quite some investment in his Exclusive.
Story:
Dream Realm:
PvP:
Seth
A+
Great assassin if built, but early just a suicidal glass cannon.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Granny Dahnie
A
Great tank with cc, self-healing and debuffing make her last very long. She is a great early tank and later your best choice in Faction Tower.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Marilee
A
Must-have damage dealer in Dream Realm and deals true damage through her Exclusive..
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Viperian
A
Deals a lot of AoE damage and can wipe out enemy lines and has energy control over them. Yes, he seems a litte lackluster early but he picks up later and in PvP.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Arden
A
Great in Eironn teams and cc teams when you built him. Not an early-stage hero in AFK Journey but keep that in mind.
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Dream Realm:
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Berial
A
Assassin that is amazing against single enemies but when enemy lines stay together he is not useful anymore.
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Dream Realm:
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Brutus
A
Primarily great for his invincibility period that can make him survive crazy bursts or help your team to survive a little longer. Technially he can be a hero you don*t ascend much to fulfil that role. I have to disgree with many tier lists for AFK Journey that place him in the lower tiers, with his invicibility and along heroes like Rowan and Smokey he can easily tank you into the AFK Journey Stages 700+ and also do a lot in certain mode fights where you need to overcome high burst damage.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Cassadee
A
Solid damage dealer but primarily shines in magic teams in Dream Realm later on.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Igor
A
Can be annoying with cheating death and coming after target team HP, but with the recent nerfs he became more of a PvP hero.
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Dream Realm:
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Silvina
A
Great assassin if you need one, but without ascended enough she can easily go on one-way trips and be a glass cannon. Still, in some stages or in PvP setups she can be your swiss army knife..
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Dream Realm:
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Antandra
A
Good off tank with shielding but as primary tank not good enough.
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Dream Realm:
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Rhys
B+
Decent damage dealer overall but his mix of single and area damage doesn*t make him great in any of those which is is current flaw.
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Dream Realm:
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Soren
B+
Actually interesting mechanics but honestly not a hero that you really want to invest in the banner and needs a good invest overall to work well. Wait it out and pull him through regular invite. The main parts here that I don't like is that he is designed to run with Alsa who already needs a heavy invest to run well with his crowd control and on top of that even when heavily inevsted to, he is still a A-Rank hero and squishy in many situatios where he dies so quickly that he can't provide much..
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Walker
B+
Good to cc casters and not as useless as he is in AFK Arena. Hopefully he can outlast that stigma as he is not that bad in AFK Journey..
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Niru
B+
Only good with his invulnerable skill for allies and needs his Exlcusive to be built. Needed for endgame story but otherwise you find better heroes in AFK Journey.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Parisa
B+
Similar to Satrana a damage and buffer but often enough she is not doing well in fulfilling either role.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Kruger
B
Physical Damage debuffer that is needed for Dream Realm, but not really useful anywhere else. He can also work that role with a few copies.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Lucius
B
Exactly the same as in AFK Arena, shields and tanks which is nice very early but later just not strong enough to really tank by himself. You actually won't use him anymore once you have a tank like Brutus Thoran or Granny ready and a little bit ascended and you will pull copies anyway but don't buy any in the shop!.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Salazar
C+
His kit seems to be a tank-killer but he doesn*t have enough damage output to really do much so you have him hammering with other heroes on the tank without doing much more.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Satrana
C+
Designed as buffer and damage hero but she is hard to keep alive.
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Kafra
C
No real damage, can't stay alive... stay away from him for now..
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Dream Realm:
PvP:
Lumont
C
I was so excited for him but then I realized that he is not useful as a tank as he will die too quickly, even when you invest heavily into him!.
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Dream Realm:
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Valen
C
He is good in the very early parts of the story but he falls off quickly after that and has no real place in the meta of AFK Journey so don*t invest too much in him.
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Conclusion
I am so excited for the global release of AFK 2 Journey as the beta was so much fun already with having the original AFK Arena feeling back but with new elements that gives you the feeling it’s also a new game at the same point as well. I participate in the beta stages so please understand that changes here are quite drastic between the beta stages but I hope this gives you a good idea what’s happening so you can enjoy the beta stages to the fullest or just keep an eye on what’s happening until AFK Journey is released globally.
