Horizon Walker is a gacha game split into two halves. One of them is a squad based tactical combat game and the other a dating sim where you raise the affection of you Vanguards. While I can't help you make a choice for the latter, when it comes to the combat part and the best characters to use there, this Horizon Walker Character Tier list has got you covered.
Best Vanguards in Horizon Walker
Bellow you will find our general ranking of all characters (Vanguards) in Horizon Walker based on their overall performance across the different game modes. Since this is a squad based game, we'll be ranking them based on their contribution to the team as a whole, but also on how much they can stand on their own two feet, outside of their optimal teams. With that in mind, here's what the different tiers mean:
- S Tier - The best characters in Horizon Walker that make any team better by being a part of it. They should be your highest priority when using the FairyNet pulling system
- A Tier - Very strong characters that deal a lot of damage, especially the elemental kind or bring good utility to the team.
- B Tier - These characters are still strong, but might require some more specific team building to unlock their full potential.
- C Tier - Right now these characters are not worth investing into. They are still playable, but you'll have to put in a lot more effort to make them work.
S Tier - The Apex Vanguards
| Vanguard | Details |
|---|---|
 Olivia |
+ Olivia can deal a ton of damage to multiple targets at once. + Her Ascendant effect lets her counterattack multiple times. + The best consistent damage dealer. - Can’t do critical strikes, but she does more than enough damage without them. |
 Fammene |
+ Fammene increases the Speed of the whole squad which is an amazing buff to have. + Can protect herself and allies while also recovering their AP. + Best support in the game that automatically makes any team better, so long as you have her, you won't have to even consider anyone else. |
 Mahari |
+ Incredible defensive attacker with lots of ways to attract enemy Aggro. + Mahari has a lot of defense and self sustain, allowing her to stay in the middle of the fight and keep the enemies focused on her. |
 Juha |
+ Amazing support for ranged units, especially those using Firearm based skills. Unlocks a whole new way to build your squad. + Juha has a way to give other allies AP, while also buffing them. + Escape master with her Combat Roll skill. |
 Prisoner - Cora |
+ Great Heat Elemental damage with a big area of effect. + Leaves behind Lava pools that do damage outside her turn . + Prisoner - Cora is an S class unit that outperforms a lot of EX ones. + Provides tremendous value, especially as a free to play unit you get by clearing the story. |
A Tier - Very Strong Vanguards
| Vanguard | Details |
|---|---|
 Griselda |
+ Best Immaterial Elemental damage dealer. + While she is primarily an attacker, Griselda offers a good amount of support to allies as well with passive Speed buffs, heals and shields. |
 Yvonne |
+ Yvonne dishes out a lot of Cold Elemental damage. + Great Support attacker who provides allies buffs for support attacks. + Passively increases ally defense when they are attacked. |
 Korabi |
+ Korabi is immune to action-restricting effects most of the time. + Can reduce aggro of allies, while also buffing them. + Great all around unit with a mix of damage, ally buffs, enemy debuffs and healing. |
 Vlissing |
+ Vlissing also has immunity to action-restricting effects most of the time. + Great healing output for allies, while also dealing great damage to enemies. |
 Everette |
+ Mix of Heat and Immaterial damage. + Provides great ally critical chance buffs and enemy attack debuffs. + Everette can get around the battlefield quickly. - Starlight Shower takes a whole turn to activate, which can get her killed sometimes |
 Kalma |
+ Kalma has the ability to give herself Extra actions while also buffing her damage. + Great source of Electric Elemental damage. + Shines when attacking multiple enemies, but also has a passive that boosts her damage against fewer targets. She can be relevant against larger groups of enemies as well as when their numbers dwindle. |
B Tier - Strong In the Right Squad
| Vanguard | Details |
|---|---|
 Valeta |
+ Valeta has great self sustain, while also healing others. + Buffs herself with on successful attacks. - Her damage at the start of the fight can be lacking before she stacks up her damage buffs. |
 Yui |
+ Yui summons additional units in the form of Bullet Battalions and can buff them throughout the battle. + Can do a lot of AoE damage with her Anarchic Barrage ability. - Tough to set up her summons against enemies with area of effect attacks. |
 Leah |
+ Leah provides good single target buffs and debuff removal. + Can do some great damage with setup. - Her true potential can only be achieved if you build up her Evasion to the required amount, which can be tricky. |
 Yeonwoo |
+ Yeonwoo has amazing self sustain by using the power of Gluttony. + Very hard for her to die as long as you’re paying attention. - Compared to other units, her damage can be lacking. |
 TX - Manticore |
+ TX-Manticore deals multiple types of damage and is great against multiple enemies. + Triggers Support attacks when allies are attacked. - Damage falls off a lot when attacking a single enemy. |
 Berga |
+ Berga can do a lot of damage from the start while also having a lot of self buffs to increase it further - Very AP hungry, even stealing AP from her allies as well. |
 Nika |
+ Great Poison damage dealer with safety provided by stealth. + Nika shines in long fights against high HP enemies where her damage over time can do it’s thing. - Not that great against big groups of enemies. |
 Marhim |
+ Marhim can disable enemy counterattacks and her stealth gives her a lot of safety. + Can lower the enemies defense making it easier to use her kit to the fullest. - Very dependent on landing killing blows or Weak Point hits so she can trigger her passive abilities. |
 Efreeti |
+ Efreeti deals different types of Elemental damage while focusing on Heat. + Can do great amounts of both single and AoE damage with her skills. - Her big utility skill that she has for protecting other allies costs a lot of her own HP and can end up being fatal. - Sadly for her, Prisoner exists and does as much if not more damage than her, while also being a free to play unit. |
 Nari |
+ Nari has a redeployment skill that actually gains her AP. + Pretty good damage once she sets up. - Provides little to no utility outside of killing enemies. |
 Kalina |
+ Very simple, but effective early game unit. + You unlock her at the start of the game and Kalina will help carry you through the story. - Suffers later in the game due to the lack of any utility. |
C Tier - Not Worth It
| Vanguard | Details |
|---|---|
 Platina |
+ You unlock her by playing through the story. + Platina can’t receive a Weakness attack. - While she can offer decent protection, her damage is lacking, even for tank standards. - There are plenty of characters that do her job better. |
 Headless Knight |
+ Headless Knight decent damage to multiple enemies and has some good passive self-buffs. - Has long cooldowns which can be decreased, but only by consistently killing enemies. |
 Matrotho |
+ Matrotho has great maneuverability around the battlefield. + Unique counterattack replacement with her evasion increase. - Her damage is sadly lacking at the start and even though it ramps up, it takes a while to do so. - Outclassed by a lot of lower rarity units . |
Our Horizon Walker character tier list is here to help you understand where they stand compared to each other. None of them are actually unplayable, so if you like the personality or design of a particular Vanguard go ahead and use them, even if they might be low on the tier list.
Horizon Walker Character Tier List FAQ
Depending on the cost of the Vanguards you're using, you can make a team of anywhere between two to six characters.
You have a certain allowance of points to spend when assembling your squad, with different Vanguards having various costs. You start with a maximum of 16, but you can increase that to 18 by clearing the story missions.
For better or worse, you're stuck with him. Thankfully he's a pretty good unit that can either be built as a Tank or a Damage Dealer. Early on I suggest you build him more defensive.
The Devotion Level is a representation of your progress in the game. It allows you to level up your Vanguards and increases the amount of passive rewards you get as time goes by.
Make sure to answer their messages as soon as you can, interact with their posts on Palrang+ and regularly invite them over to spend time together and find out more about them.
We hope our Horizon Walker Character Tier List helps you make the right choice for your squad building. If you're looking for more gacha game related tier lists, make sure to check out our Duet Night Abyss Tier List for more!
