Return of Shadow features a nice collection of fascinating heroes from a fantasy world of vampires, werewolves, and humans with amazing superpowers. These heroes play a major role in the game as they help you progress through quests, complete missions, and defeat dangerous enemies.
To help you pick the best heroes in the game, we prepared this tier list, which ranks all characters in Return of Shadow based on their power level and usability.
S Tier (Best Options)
- Elena (Shooter, Attack)
- Sam (Fighter, Attack)
- Reaper XIII (Fighter, Rally)
- Bill (Fighter, Defense)
- Aliy (Rider, Development)
The S tier includes the best and most powerful heroes in Return of Shadow and can are capable of causing massive damage in combat.
Elena
Elena is the best hero in Return of Shadow because she has great skills and the highest basic stats for any type of combat mode, whether is a PvE fight, PvP, or Exploration. She also has a powerful dragon that can burn all enemies on the battlefield, dealing great AoE damage.
Her role also offers you a good advantage in any type of battle, providing useful buffs for your troops. If you want a hero that can handle any situation and be effective in all combat modes, Elena is the best choice.
- Tier list rank: S
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Shooters
- Role: Attack
Sam
Sam is also a fantastic hero to have on your team. But unlike Elena, he is more specialized in weakening his targets by reducing their defense and casting negative effects on them.
He also has a special ability that can help reduce the number of defeated Fighter units at the end of the battle. Overall, he is a great addition to your team, especially if you are looking for a hero that can support your team and weaken enemy forces.
- Tier list rank: S
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Fighters
- Role: Attack
Reaper XIII
This creepy skeleton hero is best used in rallies with other players, either in PvP fights or attacking neutral enemies such as Demon Lords.
He can cause great damage to multiple enemy targets while providing a decent increase in lethality and skill effects efficiency. This will help his formation and those of your allies deal more damage, making it easier to win the battle.
- Tier list rank: S
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Fighters
- Role: Rally
Bill
Bill is the best hero for defending your city as he provides nice buffs for your troops while having him garrisoned at the Wall. He has the ability to cast devastating thunders upon his targets that deal good damage output and stun them for a short period of time.
When Bill leads the garrisoned troops, the number of severely injured soldiers is decreased significantly, which is a great advantage during tough sieges.
- Tier list rank: A
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Fighters
- Role: Defense
Aliy
Aliy is best used in Exploration battles as she offers the highest base stats among all heroes for this type of combat. Although she is not as good as other players in PvP fights, she is a fantastic hero for new players looking to speed up their progress.
Aliy can increase the instant construction time significantly. This means that you can finish construction projects in a fraction of the time, which is very helpful for early-game players when the upgrade durations are not that long. If you are lucky enough to recruit her, you should consider maximizing her skills and leveling her up as soon as possible.
- Tier list rank: A
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Riders
- Role: Development
A Tier (Essential)
- Lora (Rider, Attack)
- Sara (Fighter, Attack)
- Caroline (Rider, Defense)
- Drizzt (Shooter, PvE)
- Camilla (Rider, Gatherer)
- Rosarita (Shooter, Attack)
These heroes are slightly less powerful than those from the S tier, but they are essential for your progress. They offer great city development and gathering bonuses, as well as effective combat abilities.
Lora
Lora is another good hero for AoE damage. Her special ability increases the defense of all Rider units in her formation and can also boost their attack power while in a rally.
But her secret power is the little puppy that can turn into a giant wolf and deal massive AoE damage to all enemies around her.
You should definitely include her in your formation, especially if you do not have Elena yet or any of the mentioned heroes from the previous tier.
- Tier list rank: A
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Riders
- Role: Attack
Sara
Sara is a fearless werewolf hero who can move very quickly on the battlefield and attack multiple enemies at once.
When used as the captain of your formation, she can increase the marching capacity and boost your units’ stats while attacking any type of enemy, whether is other players or demons on the world map.
- Tier list rank: S
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Fighters
- Role: Attack
Caroline
Caroline is a great hero that can help you protect your city more effectively. Same as Bill, she should always be garrisoned at your city’s wall.
She has magic frosty abilities that can reduce the enemy’s defense, deal strong AoE damage and cause status effects. Her special ability also increases the ATK of all the Rider units in her formation.
- Tier list rank: S
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Riders
- Role: Defense
Drizzt
Drizzt specializes in hunting demons and lord demons. He can boost your troop’s attack power and march speed in PvE battles. In addition, when Drizzt is the captain of your formation, you get a chance to loot extra treasures from the defeated monsters. Although he is not recommended for PvP battles, his ability to hunt neutral units is invaluable in the game.
- Tier list rank: A
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Shooters
- Role: PvE
Camilla
Although Camilla has strong AoE and crow-controlling abilities, her best feature is her ability to gather Food and Metal resources. She can increase your troop’s gathering speed and load capacity, which means more resources are gathered from resource tiles on the world map.
- Tier list rank: A
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Riders
- Role: Gatherer
Rosarita
Rosarita is more of a universal hero. She can deal a good amount of damage but she also has the ability to heal wounded units. However, the attack power of her healing spells is not so good but can be a handy hero if you need to increase your formation’s survivability.
- Tier list rank: A
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Shooters
- Role: Attack
B Tier (Average)
- Jennifer (Shooter, Defense)
- Leahona (Rider, Honor Duel)
- Maggie (Shooter, Attack)
- Ophelia (Rider, Rally)
- D (Shooter, Defense)
- Pyron (Fighter, PvE)
These heroes are not as powerful as those from the previous tiers, but they still offer some nice bonuses and abilities that can help you in the early-mid game.
Jennifer
- Tier list rank: B
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Shooters
- Role: Defense
Leahona
- Tier list rank: B
- Rarity: Legendary
- Excels at leading: Riders
- Role: Honor Duel
Maggie
- Tier list rank: B
- Rarity: Epic
- Excels at leading: Shooters
- Role: Attack
Pyron
- Tier list rank: B
- Rarity: Epic
- Excels at leading: Fighters
- Role: PvE
Ophelia
- Tier list rank: B
- Rarity: Epic
- Excels at leading: Riders
- Role: Rally
D
- Tier list rank: B
- Rarity: Epic
- Excels at leading: Shooters
- Role: Defense
C Tier (Weak)
The C tier includes the weakest characters in Return of Shadow. They are usually not worth investing resources into and should only be used in the early stages of the game.
- Claudia (Shooter, Rally)
- Kowel (Rider, PvE)
- Wendy (Shooter, Gatherer)
- Ignas (Rider, PvE)
- Bane (Fighter, Gatherer)
- Rase (Rider, Gatherer)
