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All 46 heroes with their skills and gear, and the lineups you can field from the ones you own.
Heroes lead your troops and give the buffs that make your army strong. These four rules explain how all heroes work — read them before the full Codex.
A hero buffs its own troop type, and its EE text names its best job.
Every hero has two separate sets of skills, and each set only works in its own place:
Each hero is a Shieldbearer, Bomber, or Shooter, and gives a big ATK/DEF boost to its matching troop type. A Shooter hero powers up your Shooters, and so on.
Their EE also names their best PvP job: "while defending", "during rally", or "during solo attacks" — you'll see this on every card in the Codex.
A hero's rarity decides how many skills they have — and whether they help in fights at all.
You attack one player's base by yourself and fight all the troops defending it. You bring one hero of each type.
A leader starts a group attack, and other players send troops to join it for one big combined attack.
The troops in your base automatically fight anyone who attacks or rallies your base.
Most picks in this guide assume you own every hero — you probably don’t. Select the heroes you actually have, and the guide will find your strongest lineup for each mode, show what you’re missing, and suggest the next hero to build.
Click a hero to select or unselect it. Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.
Every hero in the game, grouped by generation. Generation 1 (the heroes from launch) has SSR, SR and R heroes; Generations 2–7 are all SSR. R heroes only help your economy, not fights. Newer generations have a bigger troop bonus (an ATK/DEF boost shared by every hero in that generation) and higher base stats. War skills are what matter in PvP; the faint PvE line lists Arrest skills just for reference. The three King of Fighters guest heroes are not in this list — .
All 46 heroes. Filter by type and role, or tick what you own in My Roster.
No heroes match those filters.
Three King of Fighters guest heroes are separate from the 46 regular heroes. Just owning one gives your whole army a permanent bonus — no setup needed. You can also sync one to a hero you already own to make that hero much stronger. KOF heroes never fight on their own.
Owning a KOF hero gives your army a bonus the moment you have it — you never have to sync it. Syncing is a separate, optional boost for one same-type hero.
Owning one boosts your whole army — no syncing needed. The moment a KOF hero is in your collection, its bonus is active for your entire army, whether or not you ever sync it. It grows with the hero’s stars, up to +15%. A 4-star Terry, for example, gives +12% army Attack just for owning him.
Syncing is separate, and optional. If you want more, pick one of your own heroes of the same troop type as the “host” and sync the KOF hero to it. You still use the host hero — its own war skills still work. Sync Terry to one of your Bombers and you are still using that Bomber’s skills, just much stronger.
Syncing boosts that host’s stats. Fully upgraded, syncing raises the host’s battle stats by up to +115% — about double the power, on top of what the host already had.
Own him and your whole army gets up to +15% HP — active whether or not you ever sync him.
Own him and your whole army gets up to +15% Attack — active whether or not you ever sync him.
Own her and your whole army gets up to +15% Lethality — active whether or not you ever sync her.
A formation is three heroes — one Shieldbearer, one Bomber, one Shooter — each boosting its own troop type. Heroes take turns from left to right, so put the hero whose buffs you want first on the left. Here's what to use for each job.
One Shieldbearer, one Bomber, one Shooter — all three built for the same mode.
Edwin's Tactical DMG gets most of the kills, and Koschevoi helps Edwin attack more often in longer fights. Against a target you don’t know, use Alph instead: his ATK boost always works and never depends on luck. Worrell’s big boost only works when the game’s pre-fight simulation says you’re stronger, so it fails exactly when you attack someone stronger than you.
Otto protects one troop type every round and was the game’s toughest Shieldbearer until Fran & Pike arrived in Season 7. Kate is the safe, tough Shooter; use Drake instead for more damage, but he goes down faster.
Lead with heroes whose EE says "during rally attacks." Tyronn's rally ATK EE makes him the best Shieldbearer here; use Phoenix until you have Tyronn.
When you own several heroes for the same slot, the newer generation usually wins because of higher stats and troop bonus. Current best picks:
Joining an attack rally? Your lead hero's top War skill should boost your own troops or weaken the enemy. Skip any hero the rally leader is already using.
| Hero | Top skill effect |
|---|---|
| Ada | −10% enemy DEF & −15% enemy HP only 2 per rally count |
| Caesar | Revives lost soldiers attackers get no hospital protection, so every revive counts |
| Koschevoi | +25% all troops' damage |
| Phoenix | +25% allied damage |
| Lunarl | +25% allied damage |
| Kate | +25% allied ATK |
| Lofili / Vivian | +25% allied ATK |
| Boogie | +25% basic-attack damage Season 7 · based on skill text, not tested yet |
| Tyronn | Enemy troops take +25% damage |
| Whisper | −20% enemy Defense one is enough — 20% is the limit |
| Sawyer | −20% enemy HP one is enough — 20% is the limit |
| Rin | Enemies take +25% more from Shooters Season 7 · based on skill text, not tested yet |
| Rex | +25% Shooter damage Season 7 · based on skill text, not tested yet |
| Xuanming | +25% allied Lethality |
| Devilian / Ekko | +25% allied Lethality |
| Worrell | +25% basic-attack damage |
| Ryuichi | +25% team critical-hit chance (basic attacks only) |
| Samir | +14% ATK / +12% Lethality |
| Veronica | 50% chance: enemy takes +50% damage |
| Lee | Enemy takes +50% Tactical damage for a round |
| Drake | Every 3rd round: extra Shooter attack, +110% Tactical |
| Wukong | Every 3 rounds: Bombers deal 150% ATK as Tactical |
| Flameborne | +30% vs Wild Monsters — only works on monsters (PvE), not players |
Sending troops to help defend against a rally? Your lead hero's top skill should reduce incoming damage or keep troops alive. Skip any hero the defender is already using.
| Hero | Top skill effect |
|---|---|
| Zoltan | Every 4th round: 80% less damage taken |
| Marcus | Every 2nd round: 50% less basic-attack damage taken |
| Otto | Shieldbearers take 60% less Tactical or 40% less basic damage, switching each round |
| Edwin | Shieldbearers take 20% less damage, Shooters 30% less |
| Fran & Pike | +30% Shieldbearer HP Season 7 · based on skill text, not tested yet |
| Platos | −20% allied damage taken |
| Vesaryon | −20% enemy damage one is enough — 20% is the limit |
| Alph | −20% enemy Lethality one is enough — 20% is the limit |
| Mireya | −20% enemy ATK one is enough — 20% is the limit |
| Caesar | Revives lost soldiers (good anywhere) |
| Tormund / Gerd | +25% allied Defense |
| Inata / Gimes | +25% allied HP |
| Sumo Tyrant | +14% Defense / +12% HP |
| Lanchester | If the enemy is stronger: +25% HP. If not: +30% Lethality |
Useless as joiners: Flora, Mia and all R heroes (Durga, Pasino, Aiksen, Harton) — their top skill does nothing in battle, so they add troops and nothing else. In the Cage, also skip Tyronn and any hero that weakens “enemy troops” (Ada, Whisper, Mireya) — the boss is a single creature, so there are no enemy troops to weaken.
If you owned and maxed every hero, these are the best teams of three to work toward — one Shieldbearer, one Bomber and one Shooter, using each mode’s ratio. Each hero’s EE only works in its own mode, so all three heroes in a team share the same mode. Generation 1 heroes are left out: their ~210% troop bonus can’t compete with Gen 5–7’s 466–683%.
Joiners: up to two Ada joiners — her Sweet Smile (lowers enemy DEF and HP) maxes out at two, so a third does nothing — plus Caesar to bring back lost troops (attackers get no hospital protection), then Drake or any +25% attack or damage joiner. Skip Tyronn, Wukong and Rin: the leader is already using them.
All three EEs work, and the buffs add up: Tyronn and Rin both make enemies take more damage, and Wukong makes everyone hit harder. Rin’s Flaw Detection boosts your Shooters — 40% of your army — and Lethal Flywheel adds Tactical DMG on top.
No Rin? Use Ada, then Sawyer, then Mireya — if Ada leads, bring no Ada joiners. No Tyronn? No other Shieldbearer has a rally EE — use Phoenix or Otto instead. No Wukong? Use Whisper, then Ryuichi.
Phoenix is the only Shieldbearer with a solo EE. Alph’s three war skills help your whole army and work every round with no luck involved — that matters more than Worrell’s Bomber-only skills when Bombers are just 5% of your army. Also, Worrell’s biggest skill only works when the game’s pre-fight simulation says you’d win, so against an equal or stronger target it does nothing at all. Use Worrell to beat weaker players, and use Alph when the target is stronger than you or you don’t know how strong they are.
Rex has the biggest troop bonus in the game, and he powers your Shooters — 45% of your army. He also has a solo Lethality EE (the same stat as Veronica’s Scarlet Pursuit, but with more than double her troop bonus) and deals Tactical DMG every 4th round. Edwin’s +15% Lethality passive still works even when he isn’t deployed, so you get it on top of Rex, not instead of him.
No Rex? Use Edwin (proven in real battles), then Veronica. No Alph? Use Worrell, then Koschevoi.
Strong Season 7 stats that don’t depend on combos. Fran & Pike cuts damage taken by your whole army by 20% — always on, since with 60% Shieldbearers at least one is always alive — and also adds +30% Shieldbearer HP, brings back lost Shieldbearers, and has an HP EE. Boogie hits back with +25% basic-attack damage for the whole army.
No Fran & Pike? Use Build B. No Boogie? Use Lee, then Lanchester. No Kate? Use Rin (his EE is made for rallies, not defense), then Drake.
Otto’s +75% to all allied Tactical DMG is the biggest Tactical boost in the game; Lee deals the Tactical DMG that Otto boosts. Hits harder than Build A, but it only works if you have both of them.
Joiners (either build): Zoltan (−80% DMG every 4th round) + Marcus (−50% basic DMG every 2nd round) + Edwin (less damage taken) + Caesar (revives troops).
On defense, most of your losses are only wounded, so winning means beating the attacker. Build A survives and wears them down; Build B kills faster.
These are starting points, not proven results. The Season 7 picks are based on stats and skill text. Rin as rally leader and the Fran & Pike build have not been tested in real battles against the proven Ada lead and the Otto + Lee combo. Test one change at a time before switching over. The Season 7 EE effects come from the equipment description and haven’t been seen at level 10 yet.
Best to worst for each slot, based on the EE made for that mode. Season 7 heroes are highlighted. Any hero can fill any slot using just their base skills — you only lose the EE bonus.
| Mode | Shieldbearer | Bomber | Shooter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rally | Tyronn | Wukong › Whisper › Ryuichi | Rin › Ada › Sawyer › Mireya |
| Defense | Fran & Pike › Otto › Marcus › Zoltan › Xuanming › Caesar | Boogie › Lee › Lanchester | Kate › Drake |
| Solo | Phoenix | Alph › Koschevoi › Worrell | Rex › Edwin › Veronica |
For running several rallies at once, defending more than one base, or doing many solo attacks. Within one mode, Formations 1–3 (F1–F3) can’t share heroes — a hero used in F1 can’t be used in F2. In different modes you can reuse heroes, since you never defend and solo attack at the same moment.
Solo — 50% Shield · 5% Bomber · 45% Shooter
| # | Shield | Bomber | Shooter | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Phoenix | Alph | Rex | Strongest team — send this one first. |
| F2 | Otto | Koschevoi | Edwin | The Tactical DMG combo. Otto boosts Tactical DMG, Koschevoi and Edwin both deal it, and Edwin’s Command Shooting can trigger on every Tactical hit. |
| F3 | Tyronn | Worrell | Veronica | Backup attack team. Tyronn’s enemy-weakening skill works in solo attacks, Worrell’s ATK EE works on its own, and nothing is wasted. |
Rally — 50% Shield · 10% Bomber · 40% Shooter
| # | Shield | Bomber | Shooter | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Tyronn | Wukong | Rin | Best leader team — all three rally EEs work, and two heroes deal Tactical DMG. |
| F2 | Phoenix | Whisper | Ada | The proven Ada-led team; Phoenix’s buffs work in every mode. |
| F3 | Otto | Ryuichi | Sawyer | Third leader team. Otto’s Tactical boost only helps if another hero deals Tactical damage. |
Joiners are separate from the leader’s three heroes. Skip any hero that rally’s leader already uses — for F2, that means no Phoenix, Whisper or Ada joiners. Keep Ada to two per rally, and fill the rest with Caesar, Drake and +25% attack or damage joiners.
Defense — 60% Shield · 10% Bomber · 30% Shooter
| # | Shield | Bomber | Shooter | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Fran & Pike | Boogie | Kate | Build A — the tough fortress. |
| F2 | Otto | Lee | Drake | Build B — the Tactical DMG combo. |
| F3 | Marcus | Lanchester | Veronica | A wall that cuts the damage you take. |
You usually defend just one base, so F1 is the main answer. F2 and F3 matter for extra cities and prison slots, or for testing the two builds side by side.
Ratio note: 60% Shieldbearers, 10% Bombers and 30% Shooters is the safe default. If you keep getting hit by Shooter-heavy rallies, try fewer Shieldbearers and more Bombers (about 38–40% Shieldbearers, 15–18% Bombers and 42–45% Shooters), and scout the attacker’s troops when you can.
A timed event with its own rules. The Cage is a pure damage race against a boss that never fights back — so almost everything you know about defense doesn’t matter here.
A pure damage race. Only attack stats matter, and your score is your own damage, not the rally total.
The single biggest beginner mistake: thinking the big total rally damage number is your score. It isn't.
Your score is only the damage your own formation dealt. When you lead, your heroes boost the whole rally. When you join, you only send troops and use the leader's buffs — so send as many of the right troop type as you can.
Do both every event: run your own 5 rallies and join 6 more.
A joiner only adds its lead hero's top War skill — so bring a simple ATK or damage boost that works every round:
| Hero | Top skill |
|---|---|
| Flameborne | +30% damage (the skill names the Cage) & −20% enemy DEF |
| Koschevoi | +25% damage, all your troops |
| Phoenix | +25% damage, all your troops |
| Lunarl | +25% damage, all your troops |
| Kate | +25% allied ATK |
| Lofili | +25% allied ATK |
| Vivian | +25% allied ATK |
| Ryuichi | +25% team critical-hit chance (basic attacks only) |
| Worrell | +25% — basic attacks only, so it helps less |
| Samir | +14% ATK (the Lethality half does nothing here) |
| Boogie | +25% basic-attack damage, all your troops Season 7 · based on skill text, not tested yet |
| Rex | +25% Shooter damage, and the Cage is 90% Shooters Season 7 · based on skill text, not tested yet |
| Veronica | 50% chance of +50% damage taken only sometimes |
| Lee | +50% Tactical damage taken — needs another hero that deals Tactical DMG only sometimes |
| Drake | +110% Tactical, every 3rd round not confirmed |
| Wukong | 150% ATK Tactical, every 3 rounds, Bombers only not confirmed |
When you lead, your 3-hero formation uses all its skills and EEs — unlike a joiner, which only gives one war skill. Ranked by slot, so you can use the best heroes you own:
| Slot | Hero & why |
|---|---|
| Shield | 1. Tyronn — his skills do nothing here, but his +16% troop ATK EE still works and boosts all your Shooters 2. Phoenix — +25% allied damage, a skill that works here, so he’s better if your Tyronn EE isn’t maxed 3. Otto — +75% allied Tactical DMG, but only if another hero on the team deals Tactical DMG |
| Bomber | 1. Wukong — +25% Bomber damage and +25% allied damage, both work here 2. Ryuichi — +25% critical-hit chance, and the only Bomber whose EE works here (+16% troops ATK on rallies). Better than Koschevoi once that EE is almost maxed 3. Koschevoi — +25% damage to all your troops. A safer pick if your Ryuichi EE is still low, since his boost always works 4. Boogie — +25% basic-attack damage for all troops Season 7 · based on skill text, not tested yet 5. Whisper — 50% chance of +50% damage for all your troops |
| Shooter | 1. Rin — Generation 7, so the biggest boost to your Shooters’ ATK. Her Shooter attacks can also deal Tactical DMG, and her rally EE works here Season 7 · same stats as Rex, not tested yet 2. Rex — the same Generation 7 boost as Rin, plus +25% Shooter damage. His EE is for solo attacks, so it does nothing here Season 7 · tested: scored higher than Ada 3. Ada — extra Shooter attacks plus a rally ATK EE that works here. The best choice if you have no Generation 7 Shooter keep 1,000 Shieldbearers 4. Kate — +25% allied ATK 5. Mireya — +25% ATK and +20% damage 6. Edwin — extra attacks, but only when Tactical DMG hits |
Why Generation 7 Shooters come first: every hero also boosts the ATK of their own troop type, and newer generations give a bigger boost: +466% for Generation 5 (Ada) and +683% for Generation 7 (Rin and Rex), at 30 stars. The Cage is 90% Shooters, so at the same stars a Generation 7 Shooter makes your Shooters hit about 38% harder than Ada does. That is more than all of Ada’s skills add. In a test with both EEs at Lv.8 and the Dauntless robot, Rex scored higher than Ada.
Your ratio depends on the Shooter you lead with
| Leading with | Shield | Bomber | Shooter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada | exactly 1,000 troops | 10% | the rest (~90%) |
| Anyone else | 0% | 10% | 90% |
Only Ada needs the 1,000 Shieldbearers — her Continuous Destruction triggers off a Shieldbearer or Bomber attack, so with 0% Shieldbearers it never triggers. With any other Shooter, go back to exactly 0% Shieldbearers, 10% Bombers and 90% Shooters.
Avoid as joiners: Tyronn (his top skill does nothing against a single boss — only use him as leader), and any “weaken enemy troops” skill (Ada's Sweet Smile, Whisper's Curse, Mireya's Stealth Cloak) — there's no army of troops to weaken.
Another boss damage race — but here the game gives you the troops. An Ape Chieftain appears in the last 30 minutes of every hour; you just set the ratio and bring your strongest attack heroes. Results depend on how your own account is built, so treat these picks as starting points.
The game gives you free troops. Use 0% Shieldbearers and bring only attack skills.
Each day has its own Chieftain, appearing at the 30-minute mark of every hour. From Monday to Saturday, only Hero Skills, Exclusive Equipment and that day’s bonus work against it — and that bonus gets an extra +1000%. On Sunday, the Gorilla Warlord (High Chieftain) lets every bonus work, but none of them get the extra +1000%.
| Cage | Gorilla | |
|---|---|---|
| Boss HP | none | has an HP bar |
| Troops | yours (0% Shieldbearers, 10% Bombers and 90% Shooters) | given by the game |
| Hero skills | joiner = 1 top skill | all 3 War skills |
| Setup | 1 leader + joiners | 3 formations |
Always 0% Shieldbearers — Shooters deal most of your damage. Only the Bomber % changes, based on the Chieftain. Use a few more Bombers if your account is built around Bombers.
| Chieftain | Shield | Bomber | Shooter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyber GorillaWednesday | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Primal GorillaThursday | 0% | 6% | 94% |
| Armed GorillaFriday | 0% | 8% | 92% |
| Wise GorillaTuesday | 0% | 11% | 89% |
| Space GorillaMonday | 0% | 18% | 82% |
| Treasure GorillaSaturday | 0% | 21% | 79% |
| Gorilla WarlordSunday | 0% | 23% | 77% |
Ada exception: if you use Ada, keep about 1,000 Shieldbearers (not 0) — her Continuous Destruction (2nd War skill) only triggers when a Shieldbearer or Bomber attacks, so with 0% Shieldbearers it does nothing. The same 1,000-Shieldbearer minimum applies in the Cage and in any rally that includes Ada.
Built from the heroes you selected in My Roster — your best Shooter, Bomber and Shieldbearer for each formation. A starting point; adjust the Bomber % for each Chieftain.
Select the heroes you own in to see your personalized formations. Until then, use the ideal set below.
Tested order — adjust to your own account:
| Slot | Best → worst |
|---|---|
| Shooter | Ada › Drake › Veronica › Kate › Sawyer › Mireya › Edwin |
| Bomber | Flameborne › Worrell ≈ Alph › Wukong › Whisper › Ryuichi › Koschevoi |
| Shield | Tyronn › Phoenix › Xuanming › Marcus › Otto › Zoltan |
Your 3 best Shooters, one per formation, each with a strong Bomber and an attack-focused Shieldbearer:
| # | Shooter | Bomber | Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ada | Flameborne | Tyronn |
| 2 | Drake | Worrell | Phoenix |
| 3 | Veronica | Alph | Xuanming |
Why Xuanming is 3rd: in testing he deals more damage than Marcus, Otto and Zoltan here. The likely reason: his Mountain Cleaver gives your whole army +25% Lethality every round, and a Gorilla army is almost all Shooters, so it helps almost every troop. Marcus’s boosts only work every 3rd round or only help Bombers, Otto’s only boosts Tactical DMG, and Zoltan’s damage skills need Shieldbearer troops, which you have 0% of here.
Note: Flameborne's +30% vs Wild Monsters works on the Chieftain — use him against the gorillas that need the most Bombers (Warlord / Treasure). All picks are starting points that depend on your own account; check the active event bonuses each round.
The Legendary Polaris satellite gives +20% final damage against the Ape Chieftain.
How hard your army hits. More Attack means more enemy troops get hit hard enough to risk dying.
How much damage your army can absorb. It makes enemy hits wound your troops instead of killing them.
One soldier’s hit points. More HP means fewer of your troops go down at all.
How likely your hits kill for good instead of just wounding. It turns injuries into permanent enemy losses.
The hidden roll behind every hit. Attack decides how many troops get one, Lethality decides how many succeed, and HP + Defense help your troops survive them.
A second kind of damage. It happens when a condition is met — like every 3rd round — and each hit is a set share of the dealing troop type’s ATK. It has its own boosts and defenses.
Of the troops knocked out in a solo attack on a prison, 40% count as dead or Hospital and 60% as lightly wounded (35% and 65% in rallies and tile fights). It isn’t the point where a fight stops.
A troop’s starting levels, 1 to 30, before it has a Tier. It’s the “1-30” starting row in the stat tables.
A named troop class unlocked after Combat Level 30, with a whole new higher baseline. Tier 10 is “Ace,” Tier 11 is “Bastion.” A “Lv.10.0” portrait badge means Tier 10.
An upgrade path inside a Tier, raised in the Barracks. Each level adds stats and unlocks Forticlad skills. It’s the small number badge on a troop.
An ATK/DEF boost that every hero in the same generation shares, whatever their type or role. It goes up about 20–25% each generation.
Which release group a hero came from. Newer generations have a bigger Troop Bonus and higher base stats.
A hero’s PvP skills — the ones that actually matter in fights against other players.
A hero’s PvE skills, listed on the faint “PvE” line of each hero card. They don’t apply in PvP.
A hero’s Exclusive Equipment war skill, marked with the EE badge on their card. It only works in the one mode its text names.
A buff that helps your whole army all the time, even when the hero isn’t deployed.
A team attack. One leader uses a three-hero formation, and other players join in with their troops.
Someone who adds troops to another player’s rally. Only four joiners’ skills count: the four highest-level first War skills of the joiners’ first heroes.
Troops that never took a hit. Fully ready for the next fight.
Took damage but heals back to full as soon as it gets home.
Knocked out and sent to the Hospital. Recovers — as long as there’s room.
Dead for good. The only battle result you can never get back.
Where Heavily Wounded troops recover. Keep space free: once it fills up, the overflow becomes real deaths.
In a solo attack on a prison, the defender’s troops that would have died become Heavily Wounded instead, while 30% of the attacker’s knocked-out troops die. In rallies and tile fights, nobody’s troops die.
The universal yellow shards you can spend on any hero. Maxing one costs 1,065, plus 10 hero-specific recruit shards to first unlock them.