Lord of Heroes: Best Hero Tier List – PvE & PvP (2026)

Why This Lord of Heroes Tier List Matters (v1.6.021104)

After sinking well over 300 hours into Lord of Heroes across a couple of accounts, I’ve learned the hard way that building the wrong hero can stall your progress for weeks. The 1.6.021104 update and the latest PocketGamer tier list (March 18, 2026) reshuffled a few rankings and added Fire Theodorick to the mix, so this is a good moment to rethink where you spend your resources.

This guide isn’t just “who is S-tier.” It’s about how these rankings play out in real runs: clearing story mode, pushing hard content, and winning competitive PvP. I’ll walk through how the SS-C ranks translate into actual gameplay, call out some key heroes, and explain how to use the list without falling into the usual gacha traps.

How This Tier List Works (and What It’s For)

The PocketGamer list uses SS, S, A, B, C tiers and now rates heroes for both PvE (story / PvE content) and PvP (arena, competitive modes). From playing around with it since the earlier February version and now this March update, here’s how I’ve found the tiers actually feel in practice:

• SS Tier – “Meta-defining” when they exist. These are heroes that feel like they delete mechanics or trivialize content. Not every patch has many true SS heroes, so don’t panic if you don’t own one.
• S Tier – Safest long-term investments. If you pull an S-tier hero and they fit your element needs, you almost never regret building them to 6★ and beyond.
• A Tier – Strong and flexible, but a bit more team or gear dependent. Great for filling gaps and progressing PvE.
• B Tier – Usable, especially in story, but start to fall off in late-game or high-rank PvP.
• C Tier – Niche picks. They can work with heavy investment or specific comps, but they’re rarely the best first choice for your resources.

I’ll talk about specific heroes where it matters (like Baretta, Mei Ling, Yul, Helga, Johan, etc.), but the goal is to help you decide when to trust the list and when to bend it around the heroes you already own.

SS & S Tier – Your Safest Resource Investments

The breakthrough for me came when I stopped half-building every new toy and instead committed to a small core of S-tier units. Lord of Heroes rewards fully built heroes way more than a wide bench of 4★-gear side projects.

Top PvE (Story) Performers

For PvE, the tier list leans heavily toward heroes who bring reliable damage, AoE, and sustain. In my runs through the main story and Hard/Nightmare stages, the heroes that consistently felt S-tier or close for PvE all had at least one of these:

• Strong AoE or multi-hit skills to clear waves quickly.
• Turn manipulation or speed buffs to keep your team ahead.
• Healing or damage mitigation that doesn’t require perfect timing.

Heroes like Baretta (for massive damage and debuffs) and Helga or Fram (as sturdy frontliners) show up near the top in multiple lists for a reason: they carry you through campaign stages with mediocre gear. When I rerolled on my second account, getting a strong damage dealer plus one reliable tank from the top tiers made the early chapters feel like easy mode compared to my first blind playthrough.

On the support side, heroes like Johan and similar high-ranked healers are worth every resource. If your healer lives and cycles turns, you can brute-force through a surprising amount of story content even with undergeared DPS.

Top PvP Arena Picks

PvP S-tier heroes are the ones you keep seeing when you climb: Yul, Baretta, Mei Ling, Ahilam, Krom, Astrid, Fram, Helga, Johan, Joshua and friends. They tend to land near the S tier in PocketGamer’s PvP rankings because they bring one (or more) of the following:

• Reliable crowd control (stuns, freezes, sleeps) on reasonable cooldowns.
• Turn meter, barrier, or invincibility that lets your team survive turn one.
• High burst damage that punishes squishy lineups immediately.

When I pushed into higher arena ranks, the shift from “who hits the hardest” to “who controls the fight” was huge. Heroes like Mei Ling, especially in her stronger variants, can feel oppressive with multi-hit, status, and speed interaction. Meanwhile, Yul and Ahilam punish you for not respecting speed and turn order.

If you enjoy PvP at all, I strongly recommend your first fully built 6★ carries include at least:

• One S-tier damage dealer (Baretta, Mei Ling, or a similar top striker).
• One S-tier or A-tier frontline / guardian (Fram, Helga, etc.).
• One top-tier healer or buffer (Johan or equivalent).

That trio alone can do a ton of work in both PvE and PvP, which is exactly what you want early and mid-game.

A Tier – Flexible Workhorses You Shouldn’t Sleep On

A-tier heroes are where many players (including me, for a while) get confused. On paper they’re “worse” than S, but in practice a well-geared A-tier can outperform a poorly built S-tier hero easily. The PocketGamer list drops a lot of sustained damage dealers and utility picks here: Ian, Ondal, Rozelic, Charles, Zaira, Charlotte, Cesaire, Lumie, Schneider, Vanessa and so on.

Based on my runs, A-tier heroes are especially good for:

• Filling elemental gaps in your roster (e.g., needing a specific element for boss weaknesses).
• Complementing an S-tier core with extra debuffs, cleanses, or backup damage.
• Story mode progression when you can’t pull the exact S-tier hero everyone recommends.

A good example from my account is Schneider. Depending on which tier list you look at, he bounces between A and B or even higher, but in story content he shredded waves for me thanks to his multi-hit skills and decent scaling. Was he “the best” on paper? Maybe not, but he carried my underdeveloped roster until my limited S-tier units caught up.

If an A-tier hero:

• Fits your element needs, and
• Synergizes with heroes you already invested in,

then they’re absolutely worth taking to 6★ and good gear. The tier list is a guide, not a prison.

B & C Tier – When They’re Still Worth Building

The PocketGamer list pushes a bunch of heroes into B and C for PvP: things like certain Dhurahan, Lucilicca, Nine, alternate Mei Ling and Charlotte variants, Zaira, Schneider versions, etc. The key point is that being B or C in PvP does not automatically make them bad for story mode.

B & C Tier – When They’re Still Worth Building

The PocketGamer list pushes a bunch of heroes into B and C for PvP: things like certain Dhurahan, Lucilicca, Nine, alternate Mei Ling and Charlotte variants, Zaira, Schneider versions, etc. The key point is that being B or C in PvP does not automatically make them bad for story mode.

Here’s how I treat B/C tiers after lots of trial and error:

• Story-only investments – If a B-tier hero has great AoE or utility that helps you clear a roadblock stage, it can be worth taking them to 5★ and decent gear, even if you’ll bench them later.
• Niche counters – Some C-tier arena heroes are rated low because they’re bad in general, but very good into specific comps (e.g., anti-buff, niche element counters). I’ve dusted off “weak” units more than once to hard-counter a meta team.
• Do not 6★ them first – This is the big mistake. Don’t make your first full build a B/C-tier hero unless they’re your only real option.

I wasted weeks early on maxing a C-tier PvP hero just because I liked their design. They were fine in early story and then fell off hard once I started facing tuned enemy teams. Learn from my mistake: use B/C heroes as temporary tools, not centerpieces, unless you really know what you’re doing or you just love them and accept the hit to efficiency.

What About Fire Theodorick? (v1.6.021104 Addition)

Patch 1.6.021104 brought in Theodorick (Fire), and as of this update he’s still relatively new in real matches. PocketGamer flags him but early data is naturally thin; every new hero starts in that “wait and see” phase.

From testing him on my alt account and seeing a few arena defenses, here’s how I’d treat him for now:

• Don’t rush to 6★ day one unless you whale or specifically love his kit/animation.
• Try him in story first – see how smoothly he fits into your element coverage and rotation.
• Watch PvP replays – check the battle log in Arena → Defense Log to see how he performs on other players’ teams before hard-committing.

New heroes sometimes get quietly adjusted in follow-up balance patches, and community opinion shifts fast. I’d treat Theodorick as a promising project, not a guaranteed meta king, until his ranking stabilizes across multiple sources and some weeks of arena data.

How to Use This Tier List for Your Account

Here’s the process I wish I’d followed from day one, using the SS–C PvE/PvP rankings as a backbone.

Step 1 – Identify Your Core 4–5 Heroes

Open your roster in Heroes → Manage Heroes and mark:

• All heroes that are S or SS in either PvE or PvP.
• Any A-tier heroes you already have partially built.

From that pool, pick a core squad:

• 1 main DPS (ideally S-tier).
• 1 tank/guardian.
• 1 healer/buffer.
• 1 flex slot (extra DPS or support based on content).

This core squad is where 80–90% of your resources should go for a while.

Step 2 – Push Them to Key Breakpoints

For each hero in your core, focus on hitting these milestones before spreading out:

• 6★ level cap via promotions.
• Reasonable skill levels (use skill books on your MVPs first).
• Decent gear sets farmed from story stages that match their role (e.g., ATK/Crit for DPS, HP/DEF for tanks).
• Basic runes or equivalent enhancements unlocked through Heroes → Enhance.

Every time I tried to keep ten heroes at “average” strength, I stalled. When I focused on overbuilding 4–5, both story and arena suddenly felt manageable again.

Step 3 – Fill Gaps with A/B Tier Picks

Once your core is online, use the tier list to patch weaknesses:

• Need a certain element for a boss? Check which A-tier hero you own first.
• Keep dying to a specific PvP comp? Look for A/B-tier counters that disrupt that style.
• Struggling on a multi-wave story stage? Add another AoE-heavy A-tier unit for faster clears.

This approach lets you take advantage of the tier list’s guidance without wasting resources on heroes you’ll never actually field.

Common Tier List Mistakes to Avoid

After bouncing between multiple community lists and my own experiments, these are the traps I see (and made) most often:

• Chasing every “S-tier” reroll – You don’t need a perfect SS/S roster to clear story and enjoy PvP. A couple of strong picks plus good play will carry far.
• Ignoring variants and elements – The same hero can be amazing in one element and mediocre in another. Always double-check which version the list is talking about.
• Overvaluing PvP-only rankings – Some heroes are S-tier in arena but clunky in auto-farming or story. If you mostly play PvE, prioritize those ratings.
• Overinvesting in C-tier favorites – Love whoever you want, but understand the opportunity cost before you dump all your books and stones into them.
• Not checking patch dates – Tier lists drift out of date after rebalances. Stick to lists (like this March 18, 2026 update) that clearly state their version.

Wrapping Up – Use the List, But Play Your Account

Tier lists in Lord of Heroes are tools, not laws. The latest PocketGamer rankings for v1.6.021104 do a solid job of highlighting which heroes are generally strong in PvE story and competitive PvP, but your pulls, your playstyle, and your patience with grinding matter just as much.

If you focus your early and mid-game resources on a small core of S/SS heroes, round them out with smart A-tier choices, and treat B/C tiers as situational rather than “trash,” you’ll avoid the biggest time sinks I fell into on my first account. And as new heroes like Fire Theodorick enter the game, use the same process: test in PvE, watch PvP, and wait for the meta to settle before going all-in.

Stick to that mindset and, version to version, you’ll always have a strong, future-proof roster-no matter how the tier lists shuffle next patch.