In AFK Arena, “Fodder” heroes are the ones you’ll mainly consume to ascend other heroes to a higher tier.
The general rule of thumb is not to use “Ascended” tier heroes as fodder. The main reason being is that they have a much higher level cap, and at endgame, each hero you have at the maximum ascension level will increase your overall level cap by 5.
Ascended heroes are also much harder to obtain in general, as their base ascension tier is Elite, which has a 4.61% drop rate chance from summoning.
The best heroes to use as fodder are “Legendary” tier ones. These heroes have a maximum level cap of 160, and so they’re generally worthless (except Arden) at endgame.
They’re also just much easier to obtain as their base ascension level is Rare, which has a 43.70% drop rate chance from summoning. You’ll acquire A LOT of rare tier heroes while playing, probably a bit too many of them in fact!
If you go to the “Heroes” tab in-game and click on “Portraits” you can see a list of Ascended, Legendary and Common heroes.
The problem is some legendary heroes are actually pretty good at their respective level, so which ones do you choose?
Below is an ordered list of fodder priority, 1 = Fodder first, 2 = Fodder 2nd etc.
Table of Contents
Important Note
Keep in mind, ALL heroes can be useful at some point. Yes, even Angelo. The whole point of this page is to compare them to their faction counterparts because you HAVE to use at least one of them for fodder at some point if you want to progress through the game.
Lightbearer Fodder Heroes
1.) Angelo
This hero is terrible, you should always use him as fodder.
2.) Morvus
Pretty subpar DPS hero, not worth using over his ascended counterparts. Use as fodder when necessary.
3.) Hogan
He’s a good solid tank, if you don’t have anything else to go in the frontline you might want to hold onto him until you do. Easily replaced with other heroes such as Lucius.
4.) Mirael
She can be a good DPS, not amazing, not terrible. Capable of fitting into most teams fairly easily, but can easily be replaced with ascended heroes such as Belinda.
Lightbearers Unions
All of these heroes are in a union, however, it’s only really Mirael’s union that should be relevant, as the other 3 are in the same one and you probably don’t want to be using any of them really, aside from maybe Hogan.
Mirael can be quite rare to get at legendary+ for the union, so if you’re planning on using Raine/Fawkes you might want to hold on to her for this.
Mauler Fodder Heroes
1.) Ankhira
She’s a pretty bad hero, an easy fodder pick.
2.) Golus
The maulers version of Hogan. A solid tank that can be useful if you don’t have anything else to use in the frontline. There’s better options though.
3.) Saveas
The infamous Saveas can be an absolute beast of a hero. Probably one of the best for the 1-160 grind. I would be wary of using him as fodder unless you’re sure that you won’t use him at all.
Maulers Unions
Ankhira is in a union with the new hero Safiya. From my experience both of these heroes are rare to get from friends/guild members. Ankhira is so bad though that I don’t really recommend keeping her just for the union unless you really love Safiya.
Saveas has a very strong union with Vurk and Numisu. However, As he’s a popular hero you can usually find an abundance of players that have him as a mercenary.
Graveborn Fodder Heroes
1.) Niru
A very niche hero, he needs a good team setup that has burst heroes to reach his full potential. Overall, not worth using really. Easy fodder choice.
2.) Silvina
She’s a good hero early on, but there are better choices from the ascended pool of heroes nowadays.
3.) Vedan
Vedan can be a very strong hero that can carry you through the early parts of the game. However, he has to be overleveled, well geared and preferably have the union buff maxed out. If you’re not planning on using him as a solo carry hero then there are better DPS choices.
Graveborn Unions
Vedan & Silvina are in the same union together, along with Isabella. As they’re both popular heroes, you shouldn’t really have any problem getting them from friends/guild members. Isabella is much rarer though.
Wilders Fodder Heroes
1.) Ogi
A subpar tank that can be “okay” on some stages, but overall he is not worth using. Easy fodder choice.
2.) Ira
Can be a very good DPS if you’ve got her union maxed and have other certain criteria checked, but that’s probably not doable for most newer players and isn’t worth the hassle overall.
3.) Arden
Arden can be extremely useful, even after level 160. I recommend that you don’t use him as fodder unless you’re desperate or you can make another legendary copy of him relatively soon.
Wilders Unions
Ogi and Arden are in the same union with Nemora.
Ira is in a union with Kaz and Lyca.