Heroes Tier List
In the early phase of any Hero Collector game, the most wanted information is about the real power and usefulness of available characters. The phrase Tier List was developed for promoting purposes in order to emphasize the desired product by putting them on the Top Tier.
That was never really successful but the phrase eventually become the trademark of every Hero Collector game. The first question you can hear from every new player is “Is there a good Tier List for Lord of the Rings – Heroes of Middle-earth?”
The answer to that question is – no!
There is no good Tier List because you cannot list characters by usefulness. Their full strength can only be seen once they are in the team combined with other characters who have synergy (custom or pre-made).
In my long experience with Hero Collector games, the first thing that I learned is this: even if a character is placed in the worst tier by everyone, it will be worth of the Top Tier at one point as the game develops.
So, at that moment, all those who improved the “F-tier” character (no one else improved) will be at a great advantage for some period until some new character becomes the new star.
There are already some Tier Lists available to you. I will not comment on them because every effort to help the community is a good effort. But, I was immediately surprised by the lack of imagination and anticipation of those who created it.
In my opinion, it is ultimately wrong suggesting the community invest in the current Meta because, by the time they improve it, there will definitely be a new Meta.
So, when creating Lists like this (even though I am against it) you must think up front and try to understand what the Developers plan. Because, trust me, no game designer ever made a character with the idea that they just stand there never to be used – it is simply not logical.
Having all that in mind, I will try to list available characters in the current LOTRH roster. I will be combining their separate strength (as individuals), their synergy potential, and their improvement cost (measured in the time needed to make them usable without spending).
And, most importantly, their future role according to available information about future characters and NPCs you can meet while progressing (those NPCs will be part of your roster sooner rather than later).
Our initial Tier List will be simple. It will have only 4 Tiers. Initial Tier is for legendary characters only:
- Legendary – Legendary characters will be your first unlocking priority. To unlock them you will have a great number of tasks depending on requirements, but once you have the their versatility will allow potent custom combinations. Eventually, the position of each legendary will be a Tier List for itself.
- S tier – the first unlocking priority, and the first farming and improving priority when you unlock them.
- A tier – characters that you must unlock and improve to some point to be competitive
- B tier – characters that can improve your main Arena or Campaign team but who are optional
- C tier – characters you only want to unlock for now and forget until the next update
Legendary
Lord Elrond – Elrond is the first legendary character!
Lord of Rivendell, father or Arwen, Elrohir, and Elladan, Lord Elrond is the force to be feared. His legendary healing abilities grant revive to Elves and he is the second Character in HoME with Mass Slow.
He is really hard to be killed especially if he is surrounded by his loyal friends and kin from Rivendell.
S Tier
Ghazh Ironhide – In the Current Meta, Ghazh is a must-have character who will be your main progression booster in both Arena, Guild, and Shadow Campaign. He fits everywhere and most importantly he is the core member of the best offensive team at the moment (Mordor team).
Elladan – Without doubt, at the current Meta, Elladan is the best tank. He is not fastest character who can place Provoke on self (Sam Gamgee and Robel are faster) but he is capable of generating Provokes with both special and ultimate (special II as they call it) while lowering Offense of enemies with his Basic.
However, his defending stats are really low compared to all other Tanks. Only IH has lower Armor than him and only Sam has less HP than him. Unfortunately, the damage compensation we expected for the lack of Armor and HP (usual for Elves) is not granted as well.
So why Elladan is S Tier then? That is because if his Nimble mechanics – 70% to gain Nimble on turn (Level 6) actually grants that all of his defending stats are literally doubled every 2 turns ouy of three possible turns. That is insane for Challenges and Campaigns but it is not as useful for Arena as some other Tanks.
Elladan is the must have at the moment, nonetheless!
Eomer – Your main Light Campaign damage dealer and the nightmare for your opponents in the Rohan Arena Defense (if they don’t prioritize him). His assist and boost turn meter mechanics grant the biggest damage advantage compared to other characters from the current roster.
Wubete – The only character who has Mass Slow (Level 3 ultimate) in the first turn of combat. All who played Hero Collectors games don’t need to be explained the importance of playing first and playing more.
His team is not yet full but even now he can be part of some synergies that will allow insane punch-ups against Arena Defenses and Shadow Campaign Nodes.
Most importantly you literally don’t need to invest anything in his passive to have a character whose usefulness will be unmatched.
Rokma – 2 AOEs with debuffs, increased damage and focus, and the passive chance to place Deadly on Mordor ally each turn (Ironhide is Mordor). For attacking purposes, there is really nothing more you can ask in the current Meta. As soon as he is ready, he will be your Scottie Pippen to your Michael Jordan (Ghazh) in both Arena and Shadow Campaign.
It doesn’t matter since he is slow because you are the one who can control the turn rotation once you assemble the synergy you want. However, he is not good for any defensive purposes, because everyone learns immediately that “Orc Engineer” needs to be Blinded or killed first.
Bolg – Bolg is the character with the best base stats combined and at the same time, his Leader Ability grants Critical hits to all Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins.
This makes him insanely important in the long run because he can easily adapt to new characters in the future. Being able to place both Disable and Disrupt makes him an ultimate Controller even better than Ugluk.
Due to all this, he is a character who is hardest to farm (for f2p) alongside Halbarad but in many aspects, he is far more useful and versatile than him currently.
Ugluk – He is available from the start and his Leader Ability affects only Isengard which makes him less desired considering that Isengard synergy is easily countered by early Rohan Synergy. However, he is one of the fastest characters who can place Blind on start and Disable in the next turn, therefore, there is no one better for controlling enemies than him.
He can be your answer for all kinds of Arena Defenses for a long time, so he is a safe investment without a doubt. The only problem is that he is farmed on Guild Campaign 1-1 which reduces your XP progression and Ability Material farming speed.
Shagrak – The leader of the Mordor crew who increases the Turn Meter to any squad member (bonus for Mordor members) whenever they hit an enemy with a bane. That makes him an essential character literally permanently because whoever is with him will have a speed advantage always.
Besides that, he is a great damage dealer, one of the best, but he is kinda squishy. He is really bad for defensive purposes though, because AI doesn’t use his advantages at all.
Elrohir – Upon the release Elrohir was the character who would become farmable latest but nonetheless, his kit made him essential as soon as you realize what he is capable of. Now, when he can be farmed in Guild 3-1, and when we know that Elves are needed for unlocking Elrong, he is even more important than before!
His damage is not OP but he will open every fight (Speed 175 – 4th currently) with Expose, enter Stealth immediately after, and passively punish everyone who attacks his Tank with increased damage (Stealth + Might).
His additional passive damage output exceeds even Yomer’s. It’s insane both offensively and defensively! Most importantly he can fit everywhere and it is not he who depends on Rangers but it is Rangers who depend on him!
Halbarad – He is a Leader of Rangers and a character with the highest HP stat in the current roster (his Armor is non-existing though). Even though he should be your priority when you unlock him he is the most overrated character in the roster currently. He is entirely dependable on the Rangers team and he doesn’t meet expected standards in any other combination until his special is fully improved (Level 6).
However, when that happens he becomes the best healer in the game whose stats and kit are designed for tanking and it doesn’t really matter in which team he is.
Fortunately, with the early availability of Elrohir and the release of Arwen, things drastically change considering Halbarad and at this point, he might have a priority over Bolg (farming-wise).
Keep in mind that things can change fast so don’t think that you’ve made a mistake if you didn’t prioritize Halbarad so far.
A Tier
Arwen – Arwen is the first new Character in the LOTRh roster and she totally changes the perspective for many less useful synergies before her release.
She is a Support character, the first one after Eowyn who actually has a great impact on all existing game mods. With her basic, she has a good chance (100% on Lvl 6) to place Block on the most injured ally prolonging their life for another strike at least.
Her special is probably in the Top 5 currently available Special abilities. She uses it to cause decent damage and remove Boons from the target you will focus on with the rest of the team.
And, most importantly, she basically grants herself to play again almost instantly (with 4 Boons on herself she will have another turn immediately).
Arwen’s ultimate is similar to Eowyn’s except it doesn’t cause any damage nor affect enemies in any way. It may look like degrade compared to Eowyn but it is actually the opposite.
Arwen’s ultimate is not a skill that is used in normal ability rotation. It is a skill that will grant you cleansing and up to 2 Regeneration on your entire team + it will prevent 1 Rivendal ally from being debuffed in the next turn (that is the only effect that requires a certain origin trait to be effective – all other abilities affect everyone, including Shadow Characters).
So, in short, while you spam her basic constantly and use her special to remove Boons from the most dangerous enemies you are waiting for the right moment to get a free turn (after using special) and remove all Banes enemies placed on you. This mechanic (if manually controlled) fully counters Mordor and Goblin Synergy.
Even with this kit, Arwen would be most welcomed in both Light Campaign and Arena teams. However, her strongest weapon is her passive – it passively increases her damage and automatically grants Nimble when an ally (any) drops below 50% HP.
The power of Nimble is undeniable, but in Arena it doesn’t have the effect you want. For Campaign and Challenges where you need every additional turn to avoid the death of some member of the team in order to earn 3 stars, it is perfect. However, for Arena purposes, particularly defensive ones, it is not that effective. I mean, each Nimble = 1 enemy attack, but that doesn’t change much when you have single battle where each of 5 members of the team needs at least 5 attacks to be killed. If you could kill opponent in the Arena in 3 attacks for example, Nimble would be crucial – this way is not as much.
Most importantly Arwen is just too squishy… As NPC she has passive Dodge but as active characters she has not., therefore killing her will be really easy to the point that it is not mandatory at all that she is targeted on the start of the combat.
Strider – An iconic figure, Strider is someone who will be passively improved every day. He has a Leader Bonus for Hobits and can be effective at the start and later if he joins the full Ranger team. His kit is ok. Versatile as he is and permanently being improved it will seem logical to invest in him continuously. However, at some point, you will have greater priorities, so you must be smart about it.
Lady Eowyn – She is the Leader of Rohirims and a logical choice for a Leader of the Light Campaign and Arena team. She can cleanse 1 Bane from all allies and grant Might to all allies while receiving Assist from the best damage dealer in the team.
Also, she retaliates against everyone who attacks her but her damage is meh … She can be really tough if prioritized, but at some point, she will be easily countered (due to mediocre base stats and ability damage potential), so you must recognize when to stop investing in her and slowly start replacing her.
Eothain – The Ruler of the Arena in the early/mid-game and possibly even later! His Turn Meter boost, mass counter-attack Boon, effective synergy with Eomer and Expose on the basic ability, make him perfect for both Offensive and Defensive options.
However, as soon as you improve his basic and special on Level 4, you should start thinking about alternatives – there are not many on the light side though at the moment, but when Elladan is introduced, you will be in a dilemma.
Frodo Baggins – The protagonist and the Ring Bearer. He is the fastest character on the Light side at the moment who opens every fight by reducing the Armor of the desired enemy before he escapes to Stealth in his second turn.
He is usually underestimated due to the general vulnerability of all characters who rely on Stealth against Ironhide (who will be part of every roster and 99% of Arena setups)
But, actually, he can be really useful once you give him a chance. However, at this point, he doesn’t need more than 4* so you can start the second part of the gardener’s Journey.
Pippin Took – The most useful initial Healer on the Light Side and the one whose support will carry you through the Light Campaign for a long time. Opposed to the early opinion his usefulness in the Arena is lesser compared to all other 3 Hobbits.
This is including Frodo because his damage is basically nonexistent and everything he has to offer is easily countered even with considerable punch-ups. But you need him on 4* and that is it, until further notice.
Marry Brandibuck – Mary is the last Hobbit you will unlock to farm the 4 stars needed for T2 of Gardener’s Journey. He grants Mass Haste, which would make him irreplaceable if he could use it earlier.
This way he will grant it in the 3rd turn when everything will be already over (except in Campaigns) and when you don’t really need it. GT4 is everything he really needs but you can’t ignore him.
Dunhar – He is the third member of the initial Isengard trio, who is also the most important one for the successful Shadow Campaign. His usefulness is not immediately visible if you are not observant.
But, you will acknowledge his absence the exact moment you start the battle without him. His healing is not great. He needs a lot of focus to be effective and his damage is mediocre.
But, when we put everything into the equation he is always the one who makes a difference between winning or losing. As soon as you reach level 4 for his most important abilities, you should halt the investment.
Gruhur The Brute – The slowest character in the game who has the highest base damage in the game. His real power is the fact that he can permanently maintain Expose on the entire enemy team (2 turns AOE cd). Even though he will run you through Shadow Campaign and can be essential in Arena Offense he is easily controlled and most importantly he is behind a paywall.
Lomion – Ok, here comes the first of 2 Elves everyone was laughing about, until recently. They don’t laugh anymore though, since he has to be farmed for unlocking Elrond.
Lomion is an attacker with a really low base damage stat (similar to Eowyn – meh).
Also, his ability’s damage modifiers seem really low, especially if we look that his ultimate fully improved grants damage equal to the special abilities of most attackers.
Anyway, all 3 abilities including ultimate are not at all what they seem at first glance. Lomion’s Ultimate grants him Nimble which will fully negate any kind of attack against Lomion every 4th turn which is essential for later Light Campaign missions and Challenges where you attempt earning 3*.
His basic grants decent damage but more importantly Lomion will get Might on every second turn. And, we come to his special which is actually insane – 5 strikes in a row with a critical chance calculated for each strike separately (with a combined ability modifier of 375% (Level 6), 3 turns CD, and an increased Critical Chance per Boon.)
When we add that he has a passive chance of up to 70% to counter any attack against him and that he is an Elf who will gain Stealth from Leliel, we come to the conclusion that compared to Strider (for example) Lomion has greater survivability and at least the same damage potential, except he is a lot faster.
Obviously, none of this is really useful in the Arena against Ironhide, but, neither are Pippin or Mirie, and yet no one calls them useless.
“For one thing, I am sure – investing in Lomion alongside Leliel will give you better chances of earning 3* in Light Campaign Chapters 4 and 5. Not the same as with Halbarad and Mirie, but you don’t need to pay for them”
The last paragraph was written before Arwen’s Hotfix. Now everyone tells yu the same thing but only because you need them for Elrond. In short he must be on 5*
Leliel – This an Elf Tank. Those who know LOTR lore also know that Elfs are squishy and physically not a match neither for Humans or Dwarfs, nor Orcs especially.
But, Elven’s strategy and superiority in combat is yet unparalleled due to the fact that they cannot be hit or seen. Well, guess what – Leliel is an Elf – when you hit her she will suffer greatly but for that to happen you need to actually hit her.
Leliel’s base speed is low for an Elf (compared to others). But, with every Basic Attack, she increases her Turn Metter, so she can buff herself with free block faster while using her special.
Instead of making enemies hit her but placing Taunt, she heals herself for a symbolic amount and places all other Elves into stealth while granting 1 stack of Nimble to herself.
In theory, that means that she will negate the next attack (regardless of type) and have a guaranteed Block to protect her from the second attack in addition to her passive Block chance which is the same as Ugluk’s.
“All in all, give her a chance and she may surprise you, not to mention that her importance will increase with every new Elf. Honestly, you should expect a lot of Elves in the days to come 😉 “
This was written before Arwen’s Hotfix, so you can understand that only Bombadil’s Tips recognized her true importance while she was presented as one of the worst characters on all other available Tier Lists. Now that you know what you need to unlock Elrond, there is nothing more needed to be explained – you must have her on 5* and that is it.
Ironically, Leliel is practically the only tank that will not benefit from Elrohir’s presence – that happens when your sons leave the Rivendale to live with Humans, but Elrohir’s brother, Elladan who will also be a tank, so you may consider waiting for his release before deciding to combine Elrohir and Leliel.
Btw, that is the only reason why Leliel is not in S Tier at the moment.
Nurraz – This trainer of Trolls can be obtained and farmed pretty early which is perfect for those who can allow themselves to farm Grumhur early in the game.
Not only that Nurraz will grant an early advantage in the Arena (both offensively and defensively), but he can be really effective in the Shadow Campaign as well even without Grumhur.
However, at some point, you will realize that he is limited and that his usefulness cannot exceed the lack of 1 member on the team damage-wise.
Mirie – She is a pure damage dealer and a mandatory character if you invested in Halbarad expecting to bring you a permanent advantage; (as someone who was announced as Meta even before the game started or properly tested).
Along with Strider, you have the option to choose to cripple a single enemy at the start of combat. Or, you can boost Strider’s AOE opening and enter Stealth immediately, expecting to get a damage boost for the second turn (which will not happen because of Ironhide).
The problem is that AI in defense will not synergize those similar abilities for maximum effect. It will use it according to ability tier which will bring you nothing really.
Nonetheless, if you want to use Rangers early in the game you must improve Mirie to be capable to deliver.
“As soon as you realize there are better options, your investing should halt until further notice. Honestly, there are much better offensive options available for free.
And, if we talk about Defense, the only thing I will say is that Halbarad (leader), Strider, and Mirie together are less effective in Arena Defense than Halbarad, Strider (leader), and Frodo Baggins – enough said I think.”
This is what I wrote before Arwen’s hotfix. The situation now is totally different and with Elrohir and Arwen, Mirie becomes extremely important. However, in my opinion, farming Wubette in a Guild Shop should have a priority still, because Wubette is a Plug’n’Play character while Mirie is fully dependable on Rangers and that is why Mirie is in A Tier for the moment.
Tordok – If you are fortunate enough to allow yourself to start with Bolg you will get Tordok beside him. You will not be able to farm him for a long time (except with further investment).
But, that doesn’t really matter because you need him on 2 eventually 3 stars and that is it. His role is to double the damage of Bolg’s ultimate and to taunt every third turn to rely on his insane Armor.
Now, his Armor is so strong that it exceeds the armor of 4* and 5* strong characters but it is totally inefficient against Tordok’s hard counters. All in all, you must have him, but once his usefulness is no longer necessary he will take the back seats without asking much (just 50$).
B Tier
Sam Gamgee – Sam is the most underrated character in the current roster (along with Lomion and Lariel). Everyone has him. Yet, I met him only once in the Arena.
I must say for no particular reason. If he got the love same as some other characters he would show his usefulness. But, today majority prefer listening to others rather than trying (and possibly failing…) to find out something new.
The main reason is that he grants Nimble only to himself. What can I say, it is such a shame since a little fat Hobbit cant place the strongest defensive Boon on more than 1 ally because he could do that in his Adventure.
He doesn’t need 4 stars to start T2 of Gardners Journey so there is no need to do a heavy investment unless there is something that needs to be proven 😉
Mauhur – An early Shadow main damage dealer, he is there to improve Ugluk, but the continuous investment is not either necessary or advisable. He will carry you through the first 4 Chapters of Shadow Campaign but he doesn’t need full investment for that.
If by any chance you decide to fully invest in him you will be in a position to assemble some interesting Synergies – Ugluk is that good even without his Leader ability
But, you will always lack something so you can counter anyone – if the team contains 6 members then Mauhur would be much more important. This way there is always someone who can contribute more regardless of Mauhur’s damage advantage.
Azhak – Another Isengard powerful damage dealer who can be amazing. But, who you actually don’t need at all. His damage is insane!
He has the ability to ignore Taunt, and he is one of the few characters who can place Expose with his Basic. Also, his damage is further boosted if he is with Dunhar (which he will be).
That is not all since he has a few more aces on his sleeve but all that doesn’t change the fact that there is no place for him either in Arena or in the Shadow Campaign team due to existing of Ironhide and Wobete. So whatever you do you will have to ignore a better option overall that grants lesser spending for better results.
Grimlurz – This is my favorite Orc and I am building him on both accounts. He is a pure single-target damage dealer with insane Ability damage modifiers.
He transforms Shagrat’s ultimate into a decent AOE attack that places Poison on everyone (in addition to Rokma and Ironhide). Griomlurz has a 55% chance (Level 4 passive) that his every attack or joint attack (this refers to Shagrath’s newly gained AOE) becomes an instant critical hit.
Now, there are 2 main reasons why I decided to put him in the B Tier – his base Damage is mediocre. So, even though his ability modifiers are amongst the 5 most powerful attackers and he is in synergy with the most effective Offensive team, there are options that mathematically grant higher damage output in the best Offensive synergy.
The second reason is that he can’t start the fight with his ultimate that places Bleed and literally obliterates the target which really annoys me personally (since I am fond of OP characters and he could be one).
Nonetheless, he is a little speedy (second fastest character in the roster) harasser who will end his life by being sacrificed by Sagrath to bring glory to the Orcs – what can you want more from life if you are an Orc? That is why I will maximize him knowing that there are better options.
Herendil – He is another of my favorite characters and in every other scenario, I would place him in the S Tier. I heard that he is nerfed, but it is not his AoE that makes him special.
It is his ability to damage enemies with Nimble and to punish them because they have Nimble. Now, I am pretty sure that very soon Nimble will be more respected than Blind or Disable.
But, until that happens (and it will) I cannot suggest investing in a character that is specialized in dealing with guaranteed Dodge. At least until the majority of Players don’t realize the power of it.
When that happens, the iconic defender of Minas Tirith of Numennor origin will have to wait for better placement. If you believe in my judgment you can start investing immediately – his AoE is decent in Arena against Eomer, and he is a hard counter to Mauhur – it will not be a waste for sure.
Aeldred – Ok, Aeldred is the second-best Healer in the game after Halbarad. In the long run, Aeldred is better, but Halbarad’s healing is stronger and he is definitely more versatile.
However, to be fully effective, he needs to be with Rohirims which honestly makes more problems than it offers advantages. To be precise he needs at least 3 of them (Eowyn, Eomer, and Eothain)
This automatically means having only 1 spot left (for Ironhide obviously, even though Elrohir could be amazing in that synergy as well).
Aeldred is underrated because “he can’t cleanse” which is honestly ridiculous. He will be together with Eowyn and Eomer whose sole presence could be named “bane-counters” due to a number of passive and active abilities that grant them cleansing.
This team could be effective defensively but there is a question of true damage potential. In the end, the amount of healed HP should be compared with the potential damage.
Unfortunately, in LOTRH, there cant be critical healing scores so that alone answers the question (if it is better having a healer or damage dealer for offensive purposes). For Light Campaign he is literally perfect, much better than Pippin, but you can’t farm him for free 😉
Alreda the Chieftain – she would be in the S Tier if she doesn’t become available almost last (LightHard 5-5). She is the true Leader of Dunlands whose Blood Frenzy mechanic immediately and undoubtedly suggests their unbelievable combat potential.
For all those not lazy to read and understand Dunland synergy from their ability descriptions, one thing is obvious. This team is designed to cause more damage than others at the cost of their defense and survivability.
That description suggests that they are balanced but in reality, Alreda grants them Life Steal, and she is the only character in the roster with that ability.
You all know what Life Steal or Drain means and you would think that their Life Steal ability is similar to other games where it helps, but not crucially. Dunland members in LOTRh are everything but ordinary life steal characters,
They will actually have at least 30% Life Steal at Level 4 of Alreda’s Leader ability (up to 60% on Level 6). In other games, Life Steal is usually granted to those with reduced damage output because of the power it provides while controlled by players.
In LORTH it is the opposite – the team with decent base damage stats that are increased continuously in combat by their design is granted healing with each attack.
If you don’t realize how insane that is, it doesn’t matter what I say, because the only way for you to understand it is to see it.
Aside from being Blood Frenzy battery for Dunlands, Alreada is the only character who can place Blind on 2 enemies while reducing their Turn Metter.
Not to mention that her special ability that opens the fight is in the top 5 special abilities per damage and places Expose for 2 turns.
The only reason why I can’t put her in S Tier is that you need to invest from the start in 2 characters that don’t have mutual synergy without Alreda, and, who can’t fit in successful early-mid game Shadow synergy that will allow you to unlock Hard Chapter 5 fast as possible
Alreda needs Eddric and Wexxe to be OP. And, that is too much investment and stalling progress so you can eventually benefit from it. However, those who pick this hard way will certainly benefit in the end.
Fili – The problem for Fili is the same as for Kili – they can’t go without each other. And, by the time you advance far enough to start farming them, you are already forced to invest in other Light members.
Fili is a superb healer – heals most injured allies (any) by the percentage of his HP (which is not too great considering that he is Dwarf FFS, but ok).
He heals with every basic attack and has a strong mass healing with his ultimate. Besides that, he can place both Expose and Weaken with his special.
As expected, Dwarfs are really slow and even though their class may suggest that they could have an average speed, they don’t which is ok.
Despite their unbelievable synergy, everything suggests against Fili (and Kili). Because you cannot create a situation where you can easily invest in them without stalling your progress on the other side (especially if you are forced to invest in Hobits for Gardener’s Adventure T2).
However, (this is not tested, not confirmed yet) those 2 Dwarfs seem to be the only ones capable to resist and oppose Mordor’s AOE team while being in defense which is no longer the case with Arwen’s release.
Kili – We already mentioned Fili so you are aware of the Dwarf problems. And, when you see Kili’s ability damage modifiers you think “why the hell I would ever want to have any of those 2?”
Well, the reason is that Kili’s base damage is the second in the entire roster (match Bolg, Mauhur, and Eomer) behind only Gruhur’s (The Brute).
On top of that, his critical chance and critical damage are significantly increased, allowing Kili to deliver some insane damage numbers. Especially since he plays after Fili who will lower the armor of the unfortunate target.
If there is a possibility to fully ignore Road To Rivendal members (and to progress to Dwarf nodes just with Strider and Rohan which is actually possible with Aeldred), I would instantly suggest ignoring all other light members and fully focus on unlocking Fili and Kili.
Those 2 Dwarfs can be part of any synergy, Light or Shadow – you can do it but it is too risky, especially if you are forced by your Guild to progress continuously and to improve your roster TCP continuously.
Yeftu – He is available right at the start and from what I could see he is totally overlooked by most players. I didn’t see him so far in the Arena.
That is really strange to me. Because, there are only 46(7) characters and the first question everyone has in a game like this is: “Who is the best AOE dps, Single-Target DPS, best Tank, and best Healer?
While for other categories you need to spend more time and do some research, for Single-target damage dealers everything is immediately clear.
Shagrath has the ability that can cause the most damage to a single target. But, only if he sacrifices an ally while Yeftu has the highest damage modifiers on all 3 of his attacking abilities:
Basic -210% damage; Special – 380% damage; and Ultimate – 400% damage. No one else is even close to those numbers (you can check if you like). So what is the catch?
Why no one is using him? his base damage stat must be bad, isn’t it? Actually, his base damage is third in the whole roster and only 5 characters have better base damage (Gruhur, Bolg, Kili, Eomer, and Mauhur).
On top of that, he places Weaken with his basic, Expose with his special, and removes 2 Boons with his ultimate. So he doesn’t crit then? No, his crit chance is higher than Mauhur’s.
So, what is the freakin problem then?
The problem is that he doesn’t fit into any of the existing synergies. Not because he is not good enough – he definitely is!
But, because he is a surplus in literally every existing combination where he could fit.
“How to use Yeftu properly” could be a separate article so I will stop at this and give suggestions on his own page when the time comes.
Robel – Robel is a HARD counter to Eothain. I mean he totally counters everything Rohan Defender (who, btw, is the main reason for their effectiveness) has to offer.
Robel has a greater DPS but less HP and he plays right before Eothain. While Eothain boosts Turn Meter, Robel reduces it right before, causing it to be fully useless.
Most importantly he is doing it in the first turn with AoE identical (in damage) to Eothain’s and he has a passive chance to place Black Serpent’s Poison. This poison prevents any Boons and transforms them into actual Poison.
Now, if you know how Rohan’s f2p Meta operates, you will immediately realize the catastrophic epilogue for all you hope from Eothain.
So, in short, Robel is Rohan’s Doom. In addition, it will trigger Wubete’s passive allowing her to heal (that healing is minor and it just forces you to invest in her Passive which was one of the reasons why she is in the S Tier as someone who can be fully effective with the least investment).
In case you were aware of all this and that you used Yeftu from the beginning, after bringing Robel on T5 at least, you will own the Arena for some time.
Mainly because other players will have a really hard time beating you with Rohan synergy. It is on the belong leash. You need to be patient and it will be weaker in power than other possible synergies at the time.
But, it will work, trust me. Add them, Ironhide and Ugluk, and voila – your defense will be avoided for some time as soon as they realize the problems they will have while attacking you.
Eddric – I already suggested an initial investment in Eddric for maximizing progress in early Shadow Campaigns. Considering that he is easily farmable and decently useful for early Campaign purposes.
Without Alreda, he cannot reach his full potential and there is a long way before you can have Alreda strong enough. So, the permanent investment in Eddric can be justified.
Nonetheless, Eddric is a Tank with the highest damage in the game, and potentially the greatest Block Chance. Also, he has a mass Might ability that can instantly grant up to 40% Turn Meter to Allies (most likely up to 20% during the time when he is without Alrede).
I cannot suggest that you go after him from the start since it is a risky decision, but that decision will pay off for all those who endure it long enough.
Wexxe – Wexxe is in an even more awkward position than Eddric. He becomes available on Light Hard 3-9 when you already invested a lot in your Shadow team and set your course and your alternatives.
Wexe is amazing but he strives for Alrede even more than Eddric. His ultimate is second only to Shagrath’s special and Yeftu’s ultimate when we talk about potential damage to a single target with 1 slight difference.
Wexxe ignores 70% of enemy armor (basically he could one-shot Tordok while taunting if his Blood Fenzy is on maximum).
Admittedly, he does have great synergy with Dunhar (which would grant him an instant spot in the mid-game Shadow Campaign team as 5th along with Eddric, if that 5th isn’t Ironhide)
But, the reality is that you can only improve him slowly on the side while waiting for Alrede. There is simply no other option that wouldn’t put you at a disadvantage and stall your progress.
Uzhan – In case you decided to rely on Mordor’s amazing synergy (which would be a good call); and, you want to minimize your resource spending while being able to clear currently available Shadow Campaign missions, improving Uzhan on at least 3*-4* and T6 is the best course of action.
Otherwise, you will have to do extra spending on characters you will not use in the Arena in order to earn 3* on Shadow Chapter 5 missions (both Normal and hard).
Dunhar is good support but he is ineffective without Ugluk’s Leader Ability meaning that he will be unable to prevent Shagrath’s cruelty and his Merciless mechanics.
That is why you need Uzhan – to improve the chances of keeping pure Shagrath companions alive once they are ready to be sacrificed. He is not needed in the Arena, but neither is Dunhar.
Every other combination if you want to use the most potent offense requires more resources and the build of 2 Shadow teams for Arena and Campaign purposes.
It’s cheaper to spend additional resources only on a single character than on the entire team, or there is an option to fully ignore Shagrath and the rest of Mordor which would change this List essentially. Obviously, I think otherwise.
The Great Goblin – At first, I wanted to put the Great Goblin in Tier C. But, then I realized that there must be some members of the community who will be curious.
Curious to see what happens when you assemble a team of characters known in Middle Eart by their tactics to overwhelm with numbers while accepting that most of them will die.
As I am informed Goblin’s synergy and the Great Goblin himself were actually nerfed as they were so strong initially. Ok, it’s hard for me to accept that considering that all Goblins lack 1 attacking ability compared to other characters but ok.
They wouldn’t nerf them for no reason. Anyway, if you want to try Goblin’s synergy you must unlock and improve the Great Goblin (you will get him for free on the 7th day of Login).
He is the core of their synergy because he boosts them every time they die (they can die twice, lol – annoying Goblins). And ,since he can summon an additional Goblin, the last Goblin staying alive with The Great Goblin will have 50% increased Damage and Focus.
So, in short, as Goblins die, the ones staying alive will be gradually boosted in their offensive stats. Since none of them has any Armor whatsoever and since they keep last places in the roster for Health and Resistance killing them continuously and fast will not be a problem… at all.
However, nasty rats are fast and they bite. So, fighting against them is fighting against yourself in the challenge to kill enough Goblins before your HP is depleted. Basically, there is no strategy with them whatsoever.
You just need to use that ability or basic attack before it is your turn to die and respawn trying to do the same but with a lot less HP. In turn-based strategy games going at it without a strategy and waiting for an opponent to make a mistake in killing order, makes no sense.
And, I can’t suggest going after it since it is against my whole understanding of the concept. In short, you can’t expect punch-ups and you can’t expect 3 stars in missions above your level.
I must say though that full Goblins could be an effective Arena Defense because you can always count on the lack of players’ awareness and their mistakes.
If they could be farmed and improved early in the game I would consider them as a viable Arena Defense option (Win is a win regardless of the way it was achieved). But, since some of them can be unlocked a lot later, what can I say all of them should be in C Tier in my opinion.
C Tier
Sergent Ara – Neither Tank, neither Support, neither damage dealer (lower damage than Nurraz :/ – Gondor needs their King obviously). I thought to finish Ara’s summary with this except there is 1 important thing to say – Seargeat Ara is the only one on the current Roster who can place Mark.
Mark is a hard counter to Tordok and Eothain in the Arena and regardless of that she is almost useless the sole fact that you will not be affected by Provokes and Taunts of those 2, will exponentially boost your winning chances and possible punch-ups – just saying.
Wilfyn – Hmm… How to explain this? Wilfyn is a good character, her stats are okay, (neither amazing nor bad) she is designed to be the finisher and make sure that enemies will not stay on 2% HP just to deliver a game-changing strike.
Also, you are practically obliged to unlock sooner rather than later because of Light Quest’s requirement at the moment when 90% of players will have Wilfyn’s natural synergy companions fully developed, and yet …
You simply don’t have any motive to use her under any circumstances – you are not far from much better Light options when you unlock her and she doesn’t fit in any other possible Meta synergy for either Light Campaign or the Arena. Just ignore her, and if you start investing hope that she will be needed for Raids.
Naremiri – Now, she is the Elf who actually offers nothing. Her passive is good but only for her, and her role is to help others. Her special that can be used every second turn, cleanses 2 Banes while granting protection.
It would be ok if that protection is only applied to her and no one else (compared with Eowyn’s cleansing, for example, this is laughable, and not worth considering at all). Her ultimate is interesting since it lowers CDs of one Elven ally (it is really helpful for all existing Elves ) and offers a really decent healing but at 4 turns CD.
Only her Basic is really strong, considering others (2×110% damage) but without any utility. But all of this is not the main reason why she is in C Tier. The main reason is knowing that Elrond will be part of the roster soon and that there is no way in any scenario that Naremiri will be used as Healer next to Elrond.
“But how to unlock Elrond if I don’t farm Naremiri”, you ask yourself. We will see, Elladan is already announced and he will definitely be more needed than Naremiri, especially since he is Elrohir’s brother so there may be some synergies (Taunt above all else).
I suggest that you focus only on farming Elrohir at the moment and start farming Naremiri only if there are no other options. You can’t fully farm 2 characters simultaneously in Guild Campaign anyway, I mean you can, if you pay…
However, before accepting all these facts regarding her, I suggest checking our Arena article.
Morzha – Morzha’s doom is Khazh Ironhide. Without a big nasty armored Troll who can be easily unlocked and who is your answer to everything, Morzha could be even in Tier S at the moment, but all of his advantages are negated with just 1 ability – the special ability of his ally Khazh.
Morzha’s main role in the early game is to remove Boons and possibly to ease the chance of placing Banes on enemies with his basic by placing Weak-Minded. Considering the mechanics of all the most powerful shadow teams (including Goblins) that is a really good basic ability.
However, Ugluk does the same without doing anything – he just stands waiting to be attacked and punishes enemies with Weak Minded if they attack him. In short, Morzha is not needed even there. However, he can place Mass haste which is solely good enough for him to be in Tier A at least.
The problem is that he needs Level 6 ultimate for that (or at least Level 5), and by the time you build his ultimate to the maximum, there will be definitely someone new and more important with the same ability for less investment.
Just leave him be for now – unlock him but nothing else. You may accidentally farm some of his shards while farming gear but that is ok, you will only gain in case you need him in the future.
Fro – One of the slowest characters in the roster (after Gruhur the Brute) with second-greatest armor and low health (Tordok has higher Armor and more HP than him, but it is a similar design).
Fro seems interesting as the only character who can stun at the moment. Also, his damage is really good. Unfortunately, in addition to the fact that all of his attacks are single-target based while he is so slow, his main strength is actually not usable at all.
You see, Fro will Stun no one because he has the lowest Focus in the roster (next to Gruhur The Brute who compensates for that by having 2 turns CD AoE which places Bane(s) on the entire enemy team). To not explain any further, just let him be for now – he may have some uses later, we will see.
Same as for Nerimiri, all those are undeniable facts but …
Read our Arena article, please.
Chef Krazhka – Goblin Healer – read Great Goblin
Golburz – Goblin Debuffer – read Great Goblin
Grimpa – Goblin Tank – read Great Goblin
Orfurz – Goblin AoE- read Great Goblin