Hero Wars tier list: best heroes in November 2026

Hero Wars has close to a hundred heroes, two versions with different release calendars, and upgrade systems (relics in Alliance, Ascension Skills in Dominion Era) that keep moving heroes up and down. A single site's tier list is one opinion. Below we put five current lists side by side and only call a hero top tier when at least two of them agree. For the full roster with portraits and roles, see the Hero Wars heroes page. Other guides in the series are on the Hero Wars hub.

The sources and how we combined them

All five lists were read on 10 November 2026. None of them is official: Nexters does not publish tier lists. What Nexters does publish (hero cards, relic posts, rework notes) we used to check roles, release dates and kits.

Two of these lists are only partly independent: Game.guide is itself a median of other lists, and several sites read each other. That is why a hero needs agreement from lists with different methods (an overall list plus a mode list, for example) before we call it consensus. The mixed lists also include heroes that, in the official news we checked, show up in only one version: Adam, Fluffy and Lara Croft in Dominion Era posts, Kendle, Crow and Leonel in Alliance Hero Hub posts. Treat their rank as valid for the version that has them.

Who Makes SS Tier? Hero Wars Alliance Tier List October 2026

The consensus top tier, hero by hero

"n/r" means the list does not rank that hero. Levvvel's column is its Arena and Grand Arena tier for Alliance.

The short version: if you own Kayla, Yasmine, Byrna, Julius or Drayne, nobody thinks you wasted resources on them. Kayla is the only hero that sits at the top of all four ranked columns.

Byrna was announced for Dominion Era in March 2026 and is now S on three lists; Fluffy, announced in January 2026, lands in A on AllClash and Game.guide. Both banners are Dominion Era art. Byrna also exists in Alliance: the Hero Hub lists a Crimson Grove skin for her in November 2026.

Where the sources disagree

These heroes swing by two or more tiers between lists. That usually means they are strong in specific teams or modes and weak outside them, so judge them by the team you can actually build.

Best heroes by role

Role labels differ between sites for a few heroes (Levvvel lists Astaroth as support, other sites as tank; Iris is control on Levvvel and mage on Pocket Gamer). Where Nexters gives a role on an official card we used that. The picks below are the heroes ranked highest across the lists within each role.

The official Dominion Era card for Adam names his role (Marksman) and five synergy heroes: Lyria, Polaris, Electra, Fafnir and Sebastian. Cards like this are the best tie breaker when guide sites disagree on what a hero is for.

Best heroes by game mode

Arena and Grand Arena

Levvvel's Alliance Arena S tier is Drayne, Kayla, Kendle, Iris and Astaroth. Four of those five are also S or S+ on AllClash, and Alexandre Games, which ranks Alliance heroes on Arena and Guild War value, puts Iris first and the Kayla and Aidan pair seventh. That makes Kayla, Iris, Drayne and Kendle the Alliance Arena consensus. For how to read defenses and counter them, use the Arena meta guide; ready made lineups are on our best teams page.

Guild War

Levvvel has no S tier for Guild War; its A tier includes Wodryn, Nebula, Drayne, Kayla, Kendle, Cleaver, Iris, Astaroth, K'arkh and Sebastian. Overlap with Alexandre Games' Arena and Guild War ranking: Iris, Drayne, Kendle, Kayla. Defense in Guild War rewards durability more than burst, which is why tanks and healers rank higher here than in Arena. Our Guild War guide covers the mode itself.

Campaign and PvE

Levvvel's Campaign S tier is only Nebula and Sebastian, both supports. No second current source ranks Campaign separately, so take this as one site's view. It matches how the campaign plays: fights against scripted enemies reward energy and buffs more than counter picks.

Tower, Outland and Asgard bosses

We did not find two current sources that tier heroes for the Tower, Outland or Asgard bosses, so we do not rank them here. Pocket Gamer publishes element based Hydra teams, and Levvvel's Asgard tier ranks titans rather than heroes. See the Outland and Tower guide and the titans guide for those modes.

Alliance or Dominion Era: why the same hero ranks differently

The two versions share most heroes, but they get them at different times and upgrade them through different systems. Alliance uses relics; Dominion Era added Ascension Skills for veteran heroes (Astrid and Lucas, then Martha). Our Alliance vs Dominion Era comparison covers the full list of differences.

Wodryn is the clearest example. Both versions call him a tank, but the skill text on the official cards is not the same, so a Wodryn ranking from an Alliance list does not transfer one to one to Dominion Era. AllClash marks him as new and untested, Levvvel puts him in A for Arena, Campaign and Guild War in Alliance, and Pocket Gamer and Game.guide do not rank him yet. Full season details are on the Wodryn's Season page.

How to read a tier list without wasting resources

1. Investment first. Tier lists assume a hero is built: stars, gear, skins, glyphs, artifacts. A maxed A tier hero beats a half built S tier one. Kendle is the textbook case.
2. Synergy second. Iris, Guus and K'arkh move several tiers between lists because they need partners. Check the official "try with" cards before you invest.
3. Relics and Ascension change value. Alliance relics this autumn went to Tempus, Luther, Oya, Mushy and Shroom and Wodryn; Dominion Era gave Martha Ascension Skills. Expect the hero to rise in lists a few weeks later.
4. Match the version. Check whether a list is for Alliance or Dominion Era. Lists that mix both should say so; if a list ranks a hero you cannot find in your game, it was built for the other version.
5. Check the date. Anything older than one season (about a month) predates at least one new hero and one balance patch.

If you are new, start with the best heroes for beginners and the beginner team guide, then come back here once your first team is built. Upgrade priorities are in the skins, glyphs and artifacts guide, and free resources from codes and gift links are on the promo codes page.

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