Also, the best army is worth nothing if you run it with the wrong hero! So, I have just updated my best heroes in Island War ranking & guide here, make sure to check it out!
Best Troops in Island War (Tier List)
Hot takeIs Frost Titan really S?Drag our heroes where you think they belong and share your list. 30 seconds, no account.Fight us on itTier SFrost Titan not only has a ton of HP, he also decreases enemy attacks and movement speed so you can basically throw them in in so many situations including using their freeze effect. Great to tank, interrupt and always nice to have in the front line protecting friendly troops in Island War.
Tier STemplar can become immune to damage and deals extra damage every 4 normal attacks. Works great on offense and defense and viable in all game modes in Island War. Can't go wrong with it.
Tier SAncient Dragon are amazing at taking out groups of enemy troops and also a must-have for the Iron Fortress Level of Infinite Trial where it can deal damage while avoiding cannon fire.
Tier SInfernal Warlock is insane in Clan Hunting even at lower levels and really useful on offense and defense as well. Also deals percentage-based damage so it scales really well (e.g. at Level. 9 deals 40% max HP damage to an enemy!). Along with Frost Archers the go-to troops to defend your Island.
Tier A+Frost Archer reduce the enemies' movement speed and can freeze them. That's really useful. I had them in S-Tier before the Phase Apostles came to Island War as they can counter them better.
Tier A+Air Bender can prevent range troops from attacking an although that doesn't sound much, it can have dramatic consequences when you either defend your island or attack an island! I mean, you can basically shut down an entire type of troop.
Tier AWind Swordsmen have a skill that increases their attack, movement speed and dodge by a percentage which makes them scale quite well. Useful in Infinite Trial but can be a little RNG.
Tier AColossus is a tank that reduces the enemy attack by a percentage and can taunt them. Useful in Infinite Trial and defense as well.
Tier ALapidating Giants deal area damage and are air units and even continuous damage with their skill. Also great in a lot of Infinite Trial levels and also on defense when you lack Frost Archers, Ancient Dragons or Cannons.
Tier ANuns are great troops are great in all game modes and don't cause damage but they are really effective in healing allied troops and keep them alive for a long time.
Tier B+Griffin Knight has the chain lightning and can be nasty to deal with in some cases. It's not bad but also not really good and the fact that it's a legendary troop makes it harder to level so I think top of B Tier is absolutely suitable.
Tier B+Are a reasonable replacement for Wind Swordsmen for tanking and dodging while dealing decent damage.
Tier BMace Warriors can be effective on defense and in game modes like Clan Hunting and certain levels of Infinite Trial but overall they don't have enough bang for their buck when it comes to offensive capabilities.
Tier BPhase Apostle deal good damage in Clan Hunting and can teleport that can be devastating combined with good damage but overall lack some real usability to be higher in this tier list.
Tier BCrossbowmen can quickly deal a lot of damage and are primarily useful on defense. I mean they are really good for defense and can give the attacker a really tough time, for attacking you just have better options dealing the same damage with more versatility and synergy. Still, a troop I enjoy running a lot.
Tier BShadow Assassin can teleport towards enemies in the distance and are great to use in offense in Island War but have huge problems against area damage and get wiped out easily.
Tier BVoid Assassin targets the most dangerous enemy and teleports there and deals area damage on impact. Sounds really powerful and they can also teleport a Shadow Assassin with them but lack in overall burst to rank them in a higher tier.
Tier BGiants can deal high damage and are a great pick in these situations if you need that. But they are reaaaaaaaaally slow.
Tier BBerserkers is really shining when below 50% HP when entering his rage mode and becoming immune to control effects. The problem is at a time when he gets enough damage, it's often too late to make a huge difference, that's why I ranked him in B-Tier.
Tier BNot better than Nuns but if you don't have many of them or leveld them up enough, it can be a decent replacement for the time being.
Tier BNothing special to mind, if you run them or for Super Troops but nothing else than that.
Tier C+Engulfing Dragon can be versatile, they deal area damage and can swallow an enemy to heal themselves. But their pitfall is that only works against airborne units so it can be good but scenarios for them to shine are more limited.
Tier C+Lightning Mage deals decent damage and can stun the enemy. The most common use-case for me is in Clan Hunting, especially if you don't have enough Warlocks.
Tier CGale Rider is a troop that can use the skill to actually counter certain troops in Island War, like Shadow Assassins with their flash forward and stun.
Tier CHeal Wizards basically heal nearby allied troops, that's it. I'm not saying this is specifically bad, but there's not much more about them.
Tier CRogue is useful for farming in Campaign and Head Hunts. Every farming formation there should have some Rogues, but that's basically their only real use-case in Island War.
Tier CForce Mage knocks the enemy back after 4 normal attacks and if that falls in place, it can be powerful and efficient on defense.
Tier D+Drakes are useful in some situations and can be useful, but I personally like Shadow Assassins a lot better and switch them out normally. They are normally really vulnerable against air arrow troops and be countered easily.
Tier D+Brawlers have their withstand shield skill that reduces damage but I personally didn't see much use in Island War for them and also not many players actually using them.
Tier D+Draugr has the poison gas when they die but that is overall not the utility you can use effectively a lot so I have ranked these troops here.
Tier D+Fire Mage is a a better version of common Archers but still lacks some versatility and stats overall to be ranked higher in the tier list.
Tier DHunting Gunner has some cases where he can be useful (e.g. when getting his critical shot in at the right time or if you lack other ranged troops types), but overall hasn't much HP and is quite vulnerable overall. Maybe a good one for Clan Hunting mode.
Tier DSnowman has area damage and the slow-down effect and especially in the earlier stages of Island War you will use them a lot - later, however, they are more fuse material.
Tier DSpear Throwers increase their damage with every attack, but if you expect them to snowball through enemy lines you'll be disappointed as their HP is quite slow so the effect never really comes to the full potential.
Tier DArctic Wolves are fast and have the ability to close the distance between you and an enemy effectively. Especially in earlier stages of the game you can use them to distract the enemy or snipe ranged units, but that use-case wears off later in the game when they become irrelevant.
Tier DAxe Thrower is a unit that only gets his full potential when the axe can penetrate the enemy both times, but that adds more RNG to it than it makes it strong.
Tier DHalberdiers lass HP than Axe Throwers but more damage. Overall still not relevant that much. Even with the most recent update that makes them lumberjack.
Tier DBomber will either self-destruct when they reach an enemy building (attack) or when an enemy is in range (defense). Just lacks in versatility and is not that commonly used.
Tier DMusketeer are common troops used and their stats aren't that great, tbh.
Tier DRoyal Guards have only one thing that makes them stand out and that's having more defense compared to other common troops. Simply not enough to be that valuable and any higher in this tier list.
Tier DSpearman suffer the same fate in Island War as any other common troops, their stats are simply not good enough to make any impact, especially as you progress in the game.
Tier DSwordsmen are nothing outstanding or special, although their stats are slightly better than the other common troops in this tier, it's simply not enough.
Tier DArchers are, compared to all other ranged troops above, simply not strong enough to be ranked any higher.
Tier DDwarf Warriors are the only rare troops in Island War that I have in this tier on my list, but they have no special skills, don't deal much damage so I had no choice other than ranking them here.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you made it through the whole list (I know it was a little much). I hope it helped you gains some insights to the different troops in Island War and you might have taken something away from it. If you have further questions or think I ranked a troop wrong, please write a comment below and I’ll be happy to answer.
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Great insights on the troop tiers! I appreciate the updates and detailed analysis. It’s always helpful to have a clearer picture of which troops to prioritize. Looking forward to testing out some of the top recommendations in my next battle!
Some things are a bit wrong such as the gale riders sine they can counter almost everything. Drakes are also way better, if the other team has no archers it just can immediately win the match, they also counter the ancient dragon.
What about target guards (legendary)??
This information has been very helpful. Do you know anything about PRIESTS? I just received one and am trying to find information about them but it is limited. Thank you again for all the helpful info
Thank you for taking the time to make this useful post. The game’s community is quite small right now so it’s difficult to learn about the game if not by experience. Your experiences is saving me a lot of time and possible errors.
Have a wonderful day !
Edward
Thank your for that amazing feedback! I really appreciate it 🙂