Epic Seven Tier List 2026: Best PvP & PvE Heroes

The Epic Seven tier list for May 2026 is right here, ranked based on actual RTA performance, Hunt clearing speed, and Abyss floor viability rather than theory.

We cover the post-May 7 balance patch, which touched Arbiter Vildred, Pirate Captain Flan, Tenebria, Lidica, and Iseria.

The patch nudged a few units but didn’t blow up the meta. Speed/CR manipulation, defense break chains, injury scaling, and evasion/counter bruisers still run the show.

Below you’ll find our full breakdown: PvP, PvE, and a dedicated section for new players who need to know where to spend those scarce MolaGoras.

How We Rank the Tier in Epic Seven

Our tier placements pull from high-rank RTA draft data, top Arena defense compositions, Hunt clear rates, and direct player testing. We don’t just eyeball kit descriptions. Here’s the tier key:

• SS — Meta-defining. Pick or ban in RTA, anchor of the best Arena defense teams.
• S — Core meta. High win rate across multiple content types.
• A — Solid and flexible. Fits cleanly into team comps, reliable in at least two content areas.
• B — Strong in one specific content type. Needs the right setup to shine.
• C — Decent but outclassed. Works in PvE, struggles in high-rank PvP without premium gear.
• D — Replaceable. There’s almost always a better option available.

We separate PvP and PvE rankings because the game demands it. A unit that farms Wyvern 13 at record speeds might crumble the moment a 305-speed Peira stacks in against you in RTA.

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Epic Seven Tier List for PvP (Arena, RTA, Guild Wars)

PvP in 2026 is defined by openers, injury bruisers, anti-revive tech, and control mages. The May patch gave Frieren and Rinak more relevance in the turn-2 control archetype.

Soulburn cleave is still viable at mid-rank but gets dismantled by evasion teams at Emperor+.

SS Tier

These are the units your opponents will ban first. Build them on sight.

Boss Arunka is a walking threat multiplier. The damage scaling makes her terrifying against any team that can’t perma-CC her before she moves.

Lady of the Scales controls pacing in a way almost no other unit can. She’s been a draft-stage headache since her release and hasn’t slowed down.

Rinak punishes speed-stacked teams hard. His kit synergizes with the current trend of 280+ speed openers by disrupting CR order and forcing opponents to rethink their sequencing.

Empyrean Ilynav brings consistent injury damage with aggressive self-sustain. She doesn’t need a perfect comp around her; she just wins 1v1s.

New Moon Luna is one of the better “I drafted a bruiser and now I win the long game” units. Her damage ceiling against high-HP targets remains among the best.

Ruele of Light is the gold standard reviver. She’s been a staple long enough that people know her name before they even start the game, and she still earns her slot in 2026.

School Nurse Yulha shores up sustain in ways that shut down aggro cleave. If your opponent is relying on one-shotting their way through, Yulha buys the time to flip that.

Harsetti deserves special attention: she hard-caps opponent speed to her own. Running a 300-speed cleave into a Harsetti team is an instant slowdown. She’s why speed-stacking as a strategy has a ceiling right now.

Briar Witch Iseria shuts down revive chains entirely and ignores Effect Resistance when stripping buffs. Against Ruele/Maid Chloe compositions, she’s required.

S Tier

Ambitious Tywin is a Swiss Army knife. Stun, cleanse, team utility; he fits into almost every draft style.

Belian blocks souls, which cuts off specific soulburn strategies cold. Against certain cleave teams, she’s a hard counter.

Blood Moon Haste handles anti-revive and sustain in the same unit. Lean on him when running non-Iseria anti-revive setups.

Conqueror Lilias forces dual attacks, which pairs nastily with counter-set bruisers. She’s also one of the better openers for turn-2 heavy teams.

Death Dealer Ray heals, cleanses, and deals enough damage to stay relevant in fights that go long. His kit aged well.

Dragon Bride Senya is the bruiser tank that doesn’t fold under pressure. Her team utility and raw survivability make her an A-tier draft at minimum in most seasons.

Fallen Cecilia anchors tank compositions with a revive that lets slower teams weather aggressive openers.

Frieren, the collab banner unit, has legitimate staying power in the control mage slot. Her kit limits enemy CR and her post-patch numbers make her worth the investment if you pulled.

Genesis Ras can fill the opener role and bring team-wide immunity, which matters when opposing Sage Baal & Sezan or similar AoE CC.

Lone Wolf Peira still opens well with “Swift Attack” generation. She has a speed threshold. You need 280+ for her to run her intended turn cycle but when geared right, she drives cleave teams.

Sea Phantom Politis disrupts and controls. She’s been a dominant RTA pick across multiple seasons, and the May patch didn’t change that.

Setsuka brings evasion pressure paired with counter damage. Running into her with a CR-heavy team without the right counters is painful.

Witch of the Mere Tenebria (post-patch) maintains her control mage role. The balance adjustment kept her functional in A/S range.

Other strong S-tier mentions: Shepherd of the Dark Diene for the immunity chain, Urban Shadow Choux for raw injury damage on bruiser teams, Last Rider Krau for AoE immunity/damage, and Navy Captain Landy as a counter set DPS that punishes dual-attack heavy teams.

A Tier

This tier is long because E7’s hero pool is deep and the balance team has been doing solid work keeping multiple units relevant. Highlights:

Remnant Violet anchors evasion/counter teams. Pair him with a defense break support and watch single-target attackers whiff all game.

Ran is an opener who gets outpaced at the very top but is legitimate at mid-high RTA rank. Speed floor is demanding; under-gearing him is the most common mistake.

Apocalypse Ravi brings injury scaling with survivability. She’s a cleaner bruiser option when you don’t have Empyrean Ilynav.

Mediator Kawerik blocks combat readiness transfers, which specifically wrecks CR-push compositions. Niche, but when it’s relevant, it completely swings drafts.

Maid Chloe is still a revive option if you haven’t pulled Ruele. Not as hard to counter as she used to be, but the kit still holds up in many matchups.

Spirit Eye Celine steals buffs on a fast cycle and punishes teams that stack defensive buffs.

Other A-tier picks worth building depending on your roster: Abyssal Yufine, Amid, Choux, Closer Charles, Crimson Armin, Diene, Elena, Eligos, Jenua, Krau, Lilias, Milim, Mort, Nahkwol, Pirate Captain Flan (post-patch adjusted), Requiem Roana, Roy Mustang, Sage Baal & Sezan, Schniel, Shalltear, Sharun, Solitaria of the Snow, Straze, Zahhak, Zio, and ae-KARINA.

B/C Tier

Units here aren’t useless; they just need premium gear to function in high-rank PvP or serve hyper-specific roles.

Eternal Wanderer Ludwig, Commander Pavel, and Operator Sigret can burst well in niche cleave/aggro builds but get outclassed at top-level RTA.

Standard Peira and Hwayoung variants fit specific cleave windows but lack the ceiling of SS/S picks.

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Epic Seven Tier List for PvE (Hunts, Abyss, Raids, Expedition)

PvE forgives gear gaps more than PvP does. A well-built B-tier PvE unit with solid Lifesteal gear can push further than a poorly-geared SS unit.

Focus on farmers, defense break suppliers, percent HP damage, and sustain.

SS Tier

Arbiter Vildred is still the best AoE wave farmer in the game. His self-revive means he doesn’t die on the way to Wave 3. If you have him, he’s your story farming autopilot.

Tamarinne is the best healer/buffer in PvE and it’s not close. She transforms into a powerhouse that stacks attack buffs, cleanses, and heals simultaneously. The Tamarinne + Iseria pairing is what the community calls a “cheat code” because Iseria resets Tamarinne’s transformation cooldown immediately.

Salome brings percent HP damage with debuff extension, which makes her a staple for any boss fight with a long health pool.

Hecate and Amid both deliver consistent PvE damage output with enough utility to function across Hunts and Abyss.

Death Dealer Ray shows up in PvE SS as well; his sustain and cleanse are genuinely useful in drawn-out content.

Bystander Hwayoung and Argent Waves Hwayoung bring percent damage scaling that wrecks boss HP. They’re not purely PvE but their PvE output is top-tier.

Other SS PvE picks: Abyssal Yufine, Empyrean Ilynav, Wretched Rose, Swift Flagbearer Sigret, Perfumer Byblis, Frieren, and the budget-accessible Commander Lorina for single-target cleaving.

S Tier

Seaside Bellona brought the Wyvern-solo-team fantasy to life when she released and still holds her role. Her AoE defense break on S3 is the backbone of many W13 teams.

Sigret is the Wyvern 13 specialist. Her defense break and bleed application on S3 are the reason the classic Sigret + Angelica + Furious + Alexa budget team still clears.

Blood Blade Karin brings reliable injury damage in Abyss and Hunt content. Her kit has good uptime once properly geared on Lifesteal or Counter sets.

Roana punishes teams that heal; in PvE, she turns enemy HP recovery against them. She’s one of the better Abyss units when floors start running buffs.

Diene brings shields and speed buffs, making her a support backbone for any PvE comp that needs to speed-tune carefully.

Charles hits hard on counter set and brings solid AoE damage. His role in Hunts requires high speed, but the payoff is there.

Other solid S-tier PvE picks: Luluca, Vivian, Iseria (standalone), Ken, Challenger Dominiel, Blaze Dingo, Achates, Elena, Hellion Lua, Peira (for specific CR setups), Schniel, and Angelic Montmorancy.

Key PvE Content Breakdown

Wyvern 13+ (Budget Team): Sigret + Angelica + Furious + Alexa. Sigret handles defense break and bleed, Angelica provides barriers, Furious strips defense with his S3. This clears with moderate gear investment.

Abyss: Tamarinne and Roana for sustain. Kiris for poison floors. Dizzy or Salome for CC/debuff heavy floors. Specter Tenebria is an Abyss cheese option; she can’t be targeted by single-target attacks, which trivializes specific floor mechanics.

Raids and Expedition: The accessible core is Tamarinne + Roana + Commander Lorina + Adventurer Ras. This covers most Expedition content without needing SS-tier pulls.

Story/Wave Farming: Arbiter Vildred or standard Vildred with enough speed for turn cycling. Get them to 220+ speed at a minimum for consistent farming.

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Best Epic Seven Characters for Newbies (2026 Start Guide)

Starting in 2026 is actually decent for new players. The game has layered in QoL improvements, better summoning mechanics, and gear trial systems that speed up early progression. Here’s what to target.

Reroll Priority

Reroll for Iseria or Destina from the Selective Summon. Most strong DPS units (Sigret, for example) are now distributed through Hunt events and story rewards, so the Selective Summon is better spent on a support or utility unit that doesn’t come free.

If a limited collaboration banner is running when you start (Frieren, for instance, is listed as an active/recent option), rerolling for those takes priority. Collaboration units with SS-tier placements are rarely acquirable again.

Moonlight Blessing (Free ML 5-Star)

Specter Tenebria is the safest pick. Her permanent stealth mechanic means single-target attacks skip her entirely, which handles a wide swath of Abyss floors and PvE boss mechanics. She’s also usable in Guild Wars.

Alternative pick: Conqueror Lilias if you’re pushing PvP faster. She’s a legitimate opener for Arena and RTA once geared, but Specter Tenebria has broader early-game PvE utility.

Must-Build 3-Star Units (Free/Accessible)

Adventurer Ras (unlocked after Episode 2 completion): The best free tank in the game. His Specialty Change gives him dual attacks and defense buffs that make him the backbone of early Expedition and Abyss comps. Build him first, before almost anything else.

Vildred (obtainable early, often in starter packages): Your primary farmer. He can’t compete with Arbiter Vildred in endgame, but he clears story content on autopilot and lets you funnel Catalysts without babysitting each stage.

Angelica (Angel of Light variant from Covenant summons): The wall that holds your early team together. Her barrier, cleanse, and heal keep squishier units alive through W11-13 while you build out your Lifesteal gear. Many players call her a “nat5 in disguise” for how hard she overperforms her rarity.

Furious: His S3 defense break is the reason the W13 budget team works. Even after Specialty Change alternatives exist, he’s free, accessible, and you’ll use him for hundreds of Wyvern runs.

Early Progression Tips

Build speed gear before anything else. A 200+ speed support beats a 170-speed damage dealer in almost every content type. If your first few W13 runs drop Destruction or Hit set pieces, don’t toss them; the flat attack rolls still matter while you’re working toward Crit/Speed sets.

Invest MolaGora into key skills on farmers and supports first. Pouring Molas into a DPS before your sustain units have their S3 maxed is how players stall out in mid-game Abyss floors and can’t push past Floor 80.

Your early team should look like this: Ras (tank) + Angelica (heal) + Vildred (DPS) + any DPS from story rewards or 3-star pulls. That core gets you through Episode 2, into early Hunts, and partway through Abyss before it starts asking for more from you.

Save bookmarks for limited banners. The standard banner pool is available long-term. SS PvP units with short rerun windows, like the collaboration characters, are where you spend your saved currency.

MolaGora Investment Guide

This is the place where free-to-play players live and die. MolaGora is the hardest skill upgrade resource to accumulate, and spreading it too thin is the fastest way to stall your account.

Priority order:

1. Tamarinne S2/S3 (transforms her kit from good to broken)
2. Sigret S3 (the Wyvern defense break)
3. Angelica S2 (extends barrier uptime significantly)
4. Adventurer Ras S3 (Specialty Change payoff)
5. Your main PvP unit’s key skill (opener S1 or bruiser S3 depending on your comp)

Hold back on mola-ing DPS units until you’ve confirmed you can gear them properly. A max-skilled Empyrean Ilynav on 180-speed gear with no Crit Chance isn’t doing anything that a 220-speed half-skilled version wouldn’t.

Gear Thresholds to Know

These are the floors where units start functioning as intended:

Role	Speed Floor	Secondary Priorities
Opener (Peira/Ran)	280+	Effect Hit (for debuffs)
Bruiser (Ilynav/Luna)	200–220	Effectiveness, HP, DEF
Sustain Support (Tamarinne/Angelica)	200–230	HP, Effect Resistance
Cleave DPS (Landy/Karin)	220–240	Crit Rate 100%, Crit Dmg 220%+
Hunt DPS (Sigret)	220–240	100% Crit Rate, Def Break uptime
Tank (Ras/Krau)	180–210	HP, DEF, Effect Resistance

The 15% innate Effect Resistance on most units is the reason even “reliable” debuffers miss at the worst possible moment.

If you’re running a debuffer without enough Effectiveness to clear 85%+, don’t be surprised when your defense break misses on Floor 110.

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The Epic Seven tier list for May 2026 shows a meta that’s in a healthy place; multiple archetypes are viable, and the May 7 patch made modest adjustments rather than flipping everything upside down.

Speed/CR manipulation still dominates high-rank PvP, but the emergence of Harsetti as a hard counter to speed cleave means you can’t just stack 300-speed openers and coast.

For new players: Adventurer Ras, Angelica, and any Vildred variant carry you further than almost any nat5 in your first month. Build the fundamentals before chasing banner pulls.

For veterans, the Tamarinne + Iseria pairing is still the cleanest path through 90% of Abyss content. If you’re pushing PvP, Boss Arunka and Harsetti are the units opponents are banning in RTA; that should tell you exactly where to invest next.

Our list reflects data as of May 12, 2026, but the community datamines balance previews quickly and tier adjustments can come fast after a major update.