Tiles Survive Hero Tier List: Best Heroes Ranked

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The Tiles Survive hero tier list matters a lot more than it looks at first glance. Tiles Survive is one of those games where your heroes aren’t just cool art on a card – they decide how fast your shelter grows, how hard your armies hit, and how much you regret wasting resources on the wrong units. With the game still pretty new and balance shifting patch by patch, the community has already started locking in a clear early meta of must-build powerhouses vs “do not touch unless forced” picks.

This guide pulls from current tier lists, early-game testing, and community discussions to rank each hero by overall value: combat, utility, and long-term account impact. It’s based on the current roster and may shift with future updates, but right now there’s a very real gap between heroes that hard-carry your account and heroes that quietly eat your resources in the background.

Tiles Survive hero tier list – how this ranking works

Before dropping everyone into S/A/B/C, a quick reality check:

S Tier = meta-defining, worth building on almost every account
A Tier = strong, flexible, and safe to invest in
B Tier = fine for early/mid game, but get outscaled later
C Tier = niche at best, usually not worth heavy resources

This tier list looks at:

Combat performance (PvE campaign, events, basic PvP)
Utility and economy (gathering, production, stamina sustain)
Team synergy and future-proofing

Names and exact values can shift slightly between patches, but the heroes below show up consistently across early tier lists and guide articles.

Tiles Survive hero tier list: S Tier (must-build heroes)

These are the heroes that define early meta and feel good in almost every lineup.

Rosie (SSR, Guard)

Rosie is the one hero almost every tier list agrees on. She’s a frontline bruiser with big AoE swings and built-in lifesteal, which means she can pump out damage and stay alive at the same time. In longer fights she often ends up as the last one standing, slowly chopping through enemies while healing herself back up. If you pull Rosie early, she is absolutely worth building.

Layla (SSR, Support / Healer)

Different sites spell her name slightly differently, but they all agree she’s one of the strongest healers in the game. Layla’s healing scales off her stats and she also gets extra survivability for herself, making her very hard to remove. Wide-area heals and team sustain push her into S Tier, especially for players who want safe, consistent runs instead of fragile glass-cannon teams.

Nicola (SSR, Tank)

Nicola is the classic “refuses to die” frontliner. His kit revolves around shields that trigger at low HP and reapply over time, turning him into a wall in long fights. With the right gear and team comps he can anchor an entire frontline while your damage dealers work behind him. He’s especially strong in harder PvE stages and any content where fights drag out.

These three form the backbone of many top formations: Nicola or Rosie up front, Layla keeping everyone alive, and damage dealers filling the rest.

Tiles Survive hero tier list: A Tier (strong and reliable)

These heroes might not be as universally dominant as the S Tier trio, but they’re very good investments and appear across multiple recommended lineups.

Ray (SSR, Guard)

Ray is a straightforward frontline combat hero with high base stats and strong combat effectiveness. He doesn’t have flashy gimmicks, but he hits hard, stays up, and makes early and mid-game stages feel much more stable. BlueStacks and other guides flag him as one of the most impactful early SSR Guards.

Maddie (SSR, Marksman)

Maddie brings a mix of damage and sustain, acting like a hybrid DPS/support unit. She deals reliable damage while adding healing or sustain effects, which makes her very flexible in smaller rosters where you can’t afford hyper-specialized heroes yet. She shows up near the top of several early tier lists for that reason.

Freya / Freja (SR)

Among the SR heroes, Freya is the standout pick. She doesn’t match SSRs in raw stats, but her efficiency and kit let her punch above her rarity. She’s particularly good for free-to-play players or newer accounts who don’t have a deep SSR pool yet. Packsify’s tier list calls her the SR to prioritize, and that tracks with her overall flexibility.

Lucky (SR, Marksman / Utility)

Lucky reduces stamina consumption and improves efficiency in exploration and tasks. That doesn’t sound as cool as “giant lifesteal tank,” but for long-term progression, reducing stamina burn is massive. Guides highlight Lucky as a key economic hero that helps you play more and farm more over time.

Eva (SR, Gunner)

Eva boosts gathering speed, which makes her a fantastic pick for players focused on resource snowballing. She won’t carry fights by herself, but she makes your entire account feel smoother by feeding your economy. For progression-focused players, that’s easily A-tier value.

Travis (SR, Gunner)

Travis increases smelter output and helps with advanced production. Like Eva, he’s more about boosting your base than dominating battles, but that’s exactly what you want for mid-game power growth. If you like optimizing production and staying ahead on tech, Travis is worth the investment.

Tiles Survive hero tier list: B Tier (serviceable and situational)

These heroes are perfectly usable, especially early on, but many players eventually bench them once stronger options arrive.

Ghost (SR)

Ghost offers some combat utility and can fill a frontline or flex slot early on. However, compared to heroes like Rosie or Nicola, his late-game scaling just isn’t there. He’s fine while your roster is small, but not a long-term priority.

Rusty (SR)

Rusty can help out in fights and contribute some utility, but he doesn’t stand out in any particular direction. Most lists place him around B tier – usable, but you’ll likely replace him once you get stronger SSRs or better-designed SRs like Freya.

Sarge (R / Starter)

Sarge is the face of the game and your early leader, but as a hero, he’s more of a story piece than a meta unit. He’s perfectly fine in the early chapters and helps you get used to the combat system, then quietly gets outclassed once you pull stronger heroes. Think of him as a tutorial hero, not a long-term carry.

Chef (R / Support)

Chef offers some minor support value and theme flavor, but doesn’t bring the kind of game-changing utility that Eva, Travis, or Lucky provide. If you pull him early, he can fill gaps, but he’s not a hero you build heavily around.

Tiles Survive hero tier list: C Tier (low priority)

C Tier is reserved for heroes that either:

Have weak numbers compared to others in the same role
Provide niche utility that doesn’t justify heavy investment
Fall off hard as content ramps up

Exact names here can shift between patches and different tier list authors, but the pattern is consistent: these are heroes you run only when your roster is tiny or when you like them for personal reasons, not because they’re actually efficient. If you’re trying to optimize a fresh account, avoid dumping rare resources into obvious underperformers.

Tiles Survive hero tier list: best heroes for new players

If your roster is still small and you’re wondering “who do I actually build first?”, the safest early priorities based on current data are:

Rosie – if you get her, build her. She’s one of the strongest all-round SSRs.
Layla / Leila – top-tier healer that will stay relevant for a long time.
Nicola – rock-solid tank who shines in harder content.
Ray, Maddie – excellent SSRs once you get them built.
Freya, Lucky, Eva, Travis – SR heroes that massively help economy and flexible team building.

If you don’t have the S-tier SSRs yet, focusing on the SR standouts is a very valid strategy. They’re easier to obtain, cheaper to upgrade, and make your entire account feel smoother.

Tiles Survive team-building tips

A few quick rules that align with how most high-level players are building teams right now:

Anchor your frontline with at least one sturdy Guard or tank (Rosie, Nicola, Ray).
Always run some sustain if possible, Layla or Maddie make content much safer.
Don’t ignore econ heroes like Lucky, Eva, and Travis; they don’t win fights directly, but they let you out-progress everyone else.
Build around your best SSR, not around your favorites’ rarity, one well-built SSR and two good SRs often outperform a messy team of unbuilt legendaries.

Right now, the Tiles Survive hero tier list clearly separates a handful of standout units from the rest of the cast. Heroes like Rosie, Layla, and Nicola sit comfortably at the top thanks to their mix of survivability, utility, and damage, while a second row of strong SSR and SR heroes round out most optimal teams. Below that, you have perfectly usable but clearly outclassed units that will mostly live in early-game rosters or personal “I just like this character” lineups.

As the game gets more updates, balance changes and new heroes will absolutely shake this list up, but the general rule will stay the same: invest first in heroes that either carry fights or supercharge your economy, and avoid sinking precious resources into units that don’t scale. Build smart now, suffer less later.

If you’re gearing up to push harder stages or build out your strongest team, make sure to top up Tiles Survive on Joytify so your heroes and base stay ahead of the curve.