Spend first on the heroes whose cheapest breakpoint already makes them useful, and stop each hero at the tier where its next skill unlocks rather than pushing one hero to the top. In Companions every Elite hero except Kren gains a new skill effect at exactly three ascension stars, Ascended 1-star, 3-star and 5-star, and its Signature Item adds effects at levels 10, 20 and 30. The 2-star and 4-star steps in between add stats and nothing else. The tier list records three breakpoints for every hero (Minimum, Optimal and Complete), and this guide turns them into a build order for three stages of account.
What each tier unlocks
The tier list writes breakpoints as tiers: Elite means one copy, M is Mythic, A is Ascended, A1* to A5* are the Ascended stars, T is Transcendent, and SI 20 means Signature Item level 20. "Mythic < A5*" means anywhere from Mythic up to A5* works, with more being better.
| Tier | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Mythic | Signature Item, if the hero started at Elite or above. Its first effect is active from level 0 |
| Mythic+ | Level cap 240, which opens the skill levels that unlock at hero level 201 |
| SI 10, SI 20, SI 30 | One Signature Item effect upgrade each |
| Ascended 1-star | A skill upgrade or new effect for nearly every Elite hero, and level cap 300, which opens the skill levels at hero level 261 |
| Ascended 2-star and 4-star | A small stat bonus only; for most heroes, 1.6% Attack Rating at 2-star rising to 3.6% at 4-star, plus a secondary stat |
| Ascended 3-star | A second skill upgrade or new effect, and level cap 340, which opens the skill levels at hero level 321 |
| Ascended 5-star | A third skill upgrade or new effect |
| Transcendent 1 to 5 | About 10% more base stats in every mode (the multiplier goes from 3.85 at A5* to 4.25 at T5 for most heroes), plus Health, Attack and Defense that only count in PvP, up to 16.42% Health, 9% Attack Rating and 33.32% Defense Rating at T5 |
Your heroes' levels come from the Resonating Crystal, but each tier caps them (the Companions vs Classic guide lists every cap), so a hero one tier short of a cap misses the skill levels above it as well. That table is why the tier list's breakpoints cluster on A1*, A3* and A5*, and why a hero at A2* is rarely worth much more than the same hero at A1*. On top of those, 64 heroes keep one more skill upgrade behind Eternal Engravings, at engraving level 30 or 60 (Khasos's Throwing Axe goes from 160% to 170% damage at 30, for example), and engravings open at Campaign 21-60.
Awakened heroes work differently. Awakened Brutus, Awakened Talene, Awakened Solise, Awakened Baden, Awakened Thane and Maetria have all their skill upgrades between Mythic and Ascended, and they arrive at Ascended, so their whole kit is live the moment you unlock them. Their stars add stats and nothing else (Awakened Brutus's base stat multiplier goes from 3.06 at Ascended to 3.85 at 5-star), which is why the tier list's Optimal breakpoint for most of them is plain Ascended with a Signature Item level.
What ascension costs
Companions has no fodder heroes. Main-faction heroes ascend with copies of themselves plus Soul Gems of their faction, Celestials and Hypogeans with copies only, and Dimensional heroes with Dimensional Spirits.
| Ascension | Lightbearer, Mauler, Wilder, Graveborn | Celestial, Hypogean | Dimensional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite to Elite+ | 1 Elite copy | 1 Elite copy | 1 Dimensional Spirit |
| Elite+ to Legendary | 36 Soul Gems | 2 Elite copies | 2 Spirits |
| Legendary to Legendary+ | 2 Elite copies | 2 Elite copies | 2 Spirits |
| Legendary+ to Mythic | 72 Soul Gems | 2 Elite copies | 2 Spirits |
| Mythic to Mythic+ | 72 Soul Gems | 2 Elite copies | 2 Spirits |
| Mythic+ to Ascended | 4 Elite copies | 4 Elite copies | 4 Spirits |
| Each Ascended star | 2 Elite copies | 2 Elite copies | 2 Spirits |
| A5* to T1 | 8 Elite copies | 8 Elite copies | 8 Spirits |
| T1 to T2, T2 to T3 | 10 Elite copies each | 10 Elite copies each | 10 Spirits each |
| T3 to T4 | 16 Elite copies | 16 Elite copies | 16 Spirits |
| T4 to T5 | 20 Elite copies | 20 Elite copies | 20 Spirits |
Added up, a main-faction hero needs 8 copies and 180 Soul Gems for Ascended and 18 copies for A5*. A Celestial or Hypogean needs 14 copies for Ascended and 24 for A5*. A Dimensional hero needs 13 Spirits for Ascended and 23 for A5*. Transcendent is expensive on every track: 82 copies for a main-faction hero at T5, 88 for a Celestial or Hypogean.
Soul Gems come from retiring spare Elite heroes of the same faction at the Rickety Cart: 9 gems for an Elite, 18 for an Elite+, 54 for a Legendary and 72 for a Legendary+. One Ascended hero's 180 gems is 20 Elite retirements, and gems never cross factions, so building one faction at a time keeps them from being spread too thin. Mythic+ is the last tier that asks for gems, so a hero sitting at Mythic+ waiting for copies costs you nothing more in gems.
Transcendent tiers don't open per hero. You need 25 different Elite heroes at Ascended 5-star before any of them can go to T1, and 25 at T1 before T2, and so on.
Awakened heroes
Each faction's Awakened hero unlocks after Campaign 22-60, once you own five different Elite heroes of that faction at Ascended or higher, and it arrives at Ascended. Its stars then depend on the rest of the faction, not on copies:
| Awakened hero tier | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Unlock (Ascended) | 5 different Elite heroes of the faction at Ascended or higher |
| 1-star | 5 at Ascended 1-star or higher |
| 2-star | 5 at 2-star or higher |
| 3-star | 8 at 3-star or higher |
| 4-star | 8 at 4-star or higher |
| 5-star | 8 at 5-star or higher |
The Wilder Awakened hero is Awakened Solise, the Mauler one Awakened Brutus, the Graveborn one Awakened Baden, the Lightbearer one Awakened Thane, the Celestial one Awakened Talene and the Hypogean one Maetria. For the Maulers that's the best deal on the account: five Ascended Maulers unlock Awakened Brutus at Ascended, and he's rated SS in Campaign, Forked Fate, towers, Arena and Temporal Rift. Celestials and Hypogeans need 14 copies each for Ascended, so Awakened Talene and Maetria come much later.
Signature Items
Signature Items open at Mythic. The cost is the same for nearly every hero:
| Signature Item level | Total cost |
|---|---|
| Unlock (SI 0) | 20 Primordial Emblems |
| SI 10 | 220 Primordial Emblems |
| SI 20 | 220 Primordial Emblems and 240 Amplifying Emblems |
| SI 30 | 220 Primordial, 240 Amplifying and 300 emblems of the hero's faction |
Levels 21 to 30 take the faction's own emblem (Light, Might, Nature, Death, Divinity, Chaos or Space Emblems), and a Fortuitous Emblem Choice Chest can be used in its place. Because those faction emblems are the scarce part, SI 30 is where you choose carefully: Athena, Medusa and Dracula all take Space Emblems, so one SI 30 Dimensional hero delays the next. Celestials, Hypogeans, Dimensionals and the Awakened heroes can go on to SI 40, but levels 31 to 40 add stats only, no new effect, for another 1,050 faction emblems.
Breakpoints for the heroes worth building
| Hero | Minimum | Optimal | Complete | What the breakpoints unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dracula | Mythic to A5*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 | T, SI 30 | SI 20 makes every enemy carrying her Crimson Specter lose 40% of her Attack Rating as health each second; A5* lets her survive a fatal hit as a bat and revive at 80% health |
| Lucilla | Mythic to A1*, SI 20 | A3* to A5*, SI 20 to 30 | A5*, SI 30 | A1* makes enemies in her domain take 20% more damage (up to 40%); A5* adds a second resurrection, or a third with Liberta |
| Athena | A1*, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 | T, SI 30 | A1* lets her open each fight with a free ultimate; SI 30 turns her death into a spirit that adds damage to your highest-Attack hero |
| Sung Jinwoo | A3*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 20 to 30 | T, SI 30 | A3* makes Exposed enemies take 60% more damage from him; A5* adds 15% of his starting Crit Rating, Crit Damage Amplification, Accuracy and Dodge at every level-up |
| Liberta | Mythic, SI 20 to 30 | A3* to A5*, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 | A3* turns every orb he removes into one of the opposite kind; A5* splits linked health 60/40, or 75/25 with Lucilla |
| Terrible Tornado | A1*, SI 20 to 30 | A5*, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 | A1* turns Psychic Power above 50 into up to 75% more magic damage; SI 30 gives her and allies in her field 50% Attack Rating |
| Medusa | A1*, SI 20 | A3* to A5*, SI 30 | A3* to A5*, SI 30 | A1* adds Serpentine Mires that spread venom; A3* lets Athena's hits extend Stonecurse and crack petrified enemies |
| Awakened Brutus | Ascended, SI 20 | Ascended, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 | Full kit at Ascended, the tier he arrives at |
| Trishea | A1*, SI 20 | A3* to A5*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 or T | A3* makes a full-Energy ultimate fire twice; SI 20 adds 3% Attack Rating per Feather of Fate, permanently |
| Saitama | Mythic to A3*, SI 20 | A3* to A5*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 | A3* lets him take every hit for a front-line ally who's about to die, once per battle |
| Awakened Talene | Ascended, SI 20 | Ascended, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 | SI 30 makes enemies on her burning ground deal 40% less damage |
| Albedo | Mythic, SI 20 to 30 | A3*, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 or T | SI 30 gives every Dimensional ally 15% Attack Rating per Dimensional hero deployed (up to 3 stacks) |
| Maetria | Ascended, SI 30 | Ascended, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 | SI 30 passes her flames on to fresh targets |
| Judy & Punch | A3* to A5*, SI 20 to 30 | A5*, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 | A5* makes your two highest-Attack heroes Loyal Fans worth up to 40% more damage |
| Lyca | Mythic, SI 0 | A3* to A5*, SI 20 to 30 | A5*, SI 30 or T | Her Signature Item raises every ally's Attack Rating by 10% the moment it unlocks, 20% at SI 20 |
| Mira | A1*, SI 0 to 20 | A3* to A5*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 | A1* makes her first two ultimates apply 10 Wandering stacks, which terrifies at once |
| Marcille | A3*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 | A5* adds a circle that rescues the first ally to take fatal damage |
| Talene | Elite | Mythic, SI 20 or 30 | A5*, SI 30 | Works at one copy; SI 20 and SI 30 refill 200 and 500 Energy on every rebirth |
| Haelus | Elite | A3*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 | A3* places a divine cube on your highest-Attack ally at the start of battle |
| Merlin | A5*, SI 0 | A5*, SI 30 | A5*, SI 30 | A5* casts his team-wide damage reduction the moment the battle starts |
| Shalltear | A1*, SI 10 | A3*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 30 or T | A3* raises Time Reverse to three uses per battle and restores her to at least 50% health |
| Palmer | Mythic, SI 20 | A3* to A5*, SI 20 | A3* to A5*, SI 20 | A3* makes his prayer heal nearby allies every second; A5* has the Divine Light cast Sacred Scripture for him |
| Kafka | A3*, SI 20 | A3*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 20 to 30 | A3* gives any ally hitting a silenced enemy 30% more Attack Rating |
| Salaki | Elite to A1*, SI 0 | A3* to A5*, SI 0 | A5*, SI 30 | A1* makes Withering Winds cut enemy Defense over time |
| Laios | Elite to Mythic, SI 20 | A1* to A3*, SI 20 | A5*, SI 20 | A3* adds 5% damage per Analysis stack against enemies he intimidates |
Where the tier list gives no Complete breakpoint, Optimal is the end of the line; the table repeats it in that column. Merlin is the one hero here with no cheap stage: his Minimum and Optimal are both A5*, because the start-of-battle cast is the reason to field him.
New account
A new account has few copies and fewer emblems, so the right heroes are the ones that work at their Minimum and keep paying off as you add copies.
1. Your Dimensional hero. Dimensional Spirits only go into Dimensional heroes, so the only question is which one: Dracula if your server's opening events gave her to you, otherwise Medusa, who the tier list notes does better than Dracula in Campaign and PvP until Dracula reaches A5*. Take Dracula to Mythic and SI 20, or Medusa to A1* and SI 20.
2. Lyca to Mythic. She's free from Campaign 2-12, and her Signature Item's 10% Attack Rating for the whole team arrives the moment she reaches Mythic. Her Minimum is Mythic with no Signature Item levels at all.
3. Trishea to A1* with SI 20. She's rated SS in towers and Dream Realm, and A1* is where her Feather of Fate engine starts: from there, every 50 Energy she receives adds a feather.
4. Nevanthi and Mishka, to fill out the Wilders. Five Ascended Wilders is what unlocks Awakened Solise, so the Wilder faction is the natural first project, and it's where your Faction Scrolls and Soul Gems should go.
5. Mira to A1*. One copy covers Dream Realm and Guild Hunt, but she needs A1* before she does her job in Campaign and Arena.
6. One-copy heroes as they arrive: Talene (free from Campaign 10-10), Brutus, Lorsan, Salaki and Haelus for Campaign and Forked Fate, and Elijah & Lailah, Mortas, Walker and Warek for Dream Realm and Guild Hunt. None of them needs a second copy to be worth fielding.
For your beast, Twinlum Spirit is the one to wish for. It's rated SS or better in every mode and usable from Legendary, and Count Snickerfang is the one to avoid; the tier list flags it as not worth building after its last balance change.
Mid account
A mid account has cleared 22-60 and has most of the one-copy heroes. Now the goal is the first round of Optimal breakpoints and the Awakened heroes.
1. Finish five Ascended Wilders for Awakened Solise, then five Ascended Maulers for Awakened Brutus. Each Awakened hero arrives at Ascended for free, and Brutus is rated SS in five modes.
2. Lucilla to Mythic with SI 20, then A1*, once your main carries are built. She's rated SS in every mode except Dream Realm, where A1* is the upgrade that counts, but most of her value is in amplifying the heroes around her, so the tier list only counts her as a top pick on developed accounts.
3. Liberta to Mythic with SI 20, then A3*. He's the only SSS hero in Guild Hunt, and with Lucilla the two of them form the second campaign team in the best teams guide.
4. Dracula up the stars as Spirits allow. A1* fills her Vampiric Chalice by 300 Blood at the start of battle, A3* turns an enemy into a Bloodbound Servant every time the Chalice overflows, and A5* is the bat-form revive.
5. Palmer to Mythic with SI 20, then A3*. He's rated SS in Dream Realm and Guild Hunt, and his damage spreading is what keeps Forked Fate teams under the death limit.
6. Trishea to A3* for the double ultimate.
7. Twinlum Spirit to Ascended 2-star, the breakpoint the tier list gives for it. From Elite that's 36 copies plus two Ascended beasts of other kinds as material; the beasts guide has the full chain.
8. Your first SI 30: Athena or Dracula. Athena's Minimum breakpoint already asks for SI 30, and Dracula at SI 30 can crit with the healing from her Crimson Specters and her own heals. Medusa holds up at SI 20 for a long time, so her SI 30 can wait.
Two heroes to hold back at this stage. Don't take Mehira to Mythic unless you can also afford her SI 30, which the tier list calls the reason to build her; she works fine at one copy until then. And Orthros is worth building slowly from the Arena store mainly as one of the five Ascended Celestials that unlock Awakened Talene, which take 70 copies between them; on his own the tier list only rates him for Dream Realm and Guild Hunt, and only from A3*.
Competitive account
A competitive account is pushing the top of Arena, Dream Realm and Guild Hunt rankings, where the Complete breakpoints decide placements.
1. Dracula to A5* and SI 30, then toward Transcendent. She's rated SS in all eight modes, the only hero who is.
2. Athena and Medusa together to A5* and SI 30. Their kits are written around each other, and both are rated SS in Arena and Temporal Rift.
3. Lucilla and Liberta to A5* and SI 30. At A5* Lucilla can spend a resurrection to save Liberta from a fatal hit, and Liberta's link splits health 75/25 in your favor.
4. Sung Jinwoo, Terrible Tornado and Judy & Punch to A5*. All three fill the top Guild Hunt rounds, Terrible Tornado as the round 2 carry, and Sung Jinwoo is rated SS in Arena.
5. Merlin to A5*, and Shalltear and Albedo to their Optimal, to complete the Dimensional campaign team.
6. Spread the A5*s. Transcendent needs 25 different Elite heroes at A5* before any hero can enter it, and a Transcendent tier adds mostly PvP stats, so the road there runs through a wide A5* roster anyway, which is also what five-team Arena and four-team Guild Hunt reward.
Re-check the tier list when a new hero arrives. New Dimensional heroes have gone straight into the top ranks on release, Dracula in March and Athena and Medusa in July, and an unbuilt release can move ahead of an A3* upgrade you'd already planned.