The Best Heroes In Heroes vs Hordes

Welcome to the 2025 Heroes vs Hordes hero tier list! These are the best heroes in HvH as of this writing.

Choosing the wrong hero can cost you months of grinding for 17,000 gems or even real money. I've been there. I spent $100 on the Barbarian, and it was a total waste.

So let's make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to you!

I'll break down all 50+ heroes to determine which ones are worth putting in the extra effort to get. You can see the table at the end.

These 10 heroes can carry you through late-game Hard Mode, but that's only part of the reason for being in the top ten.

The very best S-tier heroes dominate across the board—they crush Arena, defeat all challengers in Hero Clash, conquer early Nightmare Mode, and farm more efficiently than anyone else. That's what sets them apart from the rest.

So, the stakes couldn't be higher. Your time, your gems, and your sanity are on the line.

At the end of the day, I used the criteria: "If I had to spend $100 on heroes, who would I spend it on?"

Let's uncover the Heroes that truly dominate the Hordes.

Edit Log

3/13/2025: Patch 3.2.0 update. Rank and table has been updated. Added Echo and Bombardier. Void Raven, Tinkerer, Steam Golem, and Druid moved up based on Boss Brawl performance. Dragon Empress move down. No change to Warlord despite nerf.

2/15/2025: Patch 2.9.0 update. Rank and table has been updated. Added Snake Emperor. Nutcracker, Sentry Specialist, and Werebeast moved up. Astral Mage, Bunni, and Crystalmancer down.

#10 - Shield Warden

At number 10, Shield Warden is an A+ tier hero who can clear the end of hard mode, but his time to shine comes in Nightmare Mode. While most other heroes focus on offense, he's a defensive master.

The stuns in his kit let him survive and kite through more difficult content. He can carry you through the first 200 levels of nightmare mode without the global buffs other heroes require.

He doesn't offer much flare or fun. He should not be used for Arena and Guild Events, but he'll help you progress through the game's core.

#9 - Barbarian

But what if you want pure offensive dominance and blazing speed? That's where #9, the Barbarian, comes in. The Barbarian has fallen off as new content has been introduced to the game, but he's still a monster in normal, hard, and adventure modes, earning him A+ tier and a top ten spot.

His kit allows him to mow through horde up until nightmare mode. The movement speed in his ultimate and skills make him an S+ tier champion for events that require scrolling through the battlefield.

You can clear the end of hard mode content without upgrading his primary weapon in the forge, which offers significant savings on tokens.

#8 - Blademaster

The Barbarian mows through hordes with raw power and speed. But what if you're looking for a free-to-play option that's just as deadly? You can spin to win with the Blademaster, the only F2P hero on this list. He's an A+ tier hero that really shines in mid to late game once you have the gear and globals to let him loose.

His ultimate has two huge advantages:

1. It makes him invulnerable, meaning you don't take damage.
2. It scales off of critical strike chance

This combination of ultimate uptime with invulnerability allows him to cheese through content - beat levels and events that other heroes can't.

The most important of which is Arena. He was the first hero I could use to clear levels 16+, as long as Crit hasn't been cursed away.

#7 - Monk

Blademaster's invulnerability lets you cheese through life, but sometimes you want to sit back and relax. Enter #7, Monk.

Just a man and his pole, his ability to keep horde away and himself safe with shields and pushback push him into the top ten. He's an S- tier hero after evolving his weapon and A+ before.

My idea of fun over the summer was going for a walk, putting on a podcast, and watching this bald Avatar blast through hard mode.

Of all the heroes I used to clear the end of Hard Mode, he was the easiest by far. After evolving his weapon in the forge, you can run right, ignore the horde, and blast through chapters.

#6 - Oracle

At 6 I have the Oracle, a hero that dominates special events and climbs leaderboards. The oracle is one of the two heroes on this list I don't personally own, but she shows up everywhere I play. I give her S- tier status.

Her massive amounts of AOE damage make it possible to clear through harder content.

While being able to clear hard mode content with her evolved weapon, she shines in special events, particularly Hero Clash and Guild events. I always see her atop the leaderboards of level 10 and 11 hero clashes.

She's one of the few champions that excels throughout the entire game.

#5 - Artificer

If you want another hero to carry you from Chapter 1 to Chapter 370, then look no further than the artificer at Number 5. I place him at S- tier.

Take the Oracle and make her slightly better in every way. You end up with this goggle-wearing boy wonder.

Once he gets his rotor blade spinning, there's no stopping his damage output. He put up some of the highest damage numbers in hard mode content for me. He's an S+ tier champion in Hero Clash, probably the best for the even.

And I know people who used his damage output to clear Arena early after evolving his weapon in the forge.

#4 - Santa

The next hero up on my list is different from the rest. He doesn't really do damage. You don't use him to directly progress, but you end up playing him more than any other hero.

His name? Santa.

The first pure S-tier hero on the list, this cheerful bag of joy is the single best farming champion in the game. Gifted 300 shards as soon as you get him; his globals and skills increase the chance of getting Gold Keys. Combined with the gold increase from his star levels, Santa delivers more ongoing presents than any other hero.

Farming is core to progressing in the game, and his increases to gold and gold keys will save you hours of your life.

Not to mention, he has the best theme of any hero in the game. I love this jolly old rocket-launching legend.

#3 - Werebeast

While Monk is boring and efficient, what if you want a hero with a bit more spice? Say hello to everyone's favorite uncuddly monster, the Werebeast at #3. With an insane amount of internal cooldown from hero levels, he's a beast in Hard Mode and Adventure, earning himself S tier in my book.

Combine that with the wherewithal to have healing built into his kit, and he can progress much faster than almost any other hero.

That healing and shielding also make him an excellent hero for Nightmare Mode. That means you can keep playing the bloodhound through basically all the content if he's your type.

But know he's weaker in events like Guild, later Arena stages, and Hero Clash, where the defense is wasted.

#2 - Warlord

The next hero is the one I wish I had. You know how I said spending $100 on Barb was my biggest regret? Well, it's for exactly this reason.

While the Barbarian can get you through the end of hard mode, only the Warlord can get you through the end of the game. The Warlord is an S tier champion because of his late-late-game utter dominance. After forging his weapon, he becomes the god of Nightmare mode.

He can also plow through the end of hard mode once you build up your globals. That said, he is very weak in the early game, so you can't wait to buy him until later.

#1 - Clockwork Mage

But if you're looking for a game changer immediately, you'll find it at number one. The best bang for your buck and the only S+ hero in the game, the Clockwork Mage.

This master of time slows your enemies into submission. Viable from Chapter 1 in normal through Chapter 120+ in nightmare mode, her specialties are Arena and Hero Clash.

An S+ arena hero, her slows give you time to navigate the horde. She's the best arena hero and will let you start collecting more forge tokens sooner than any other hero.

Her S status in Hero Clash will unlock more rewards in that game mode faster.

She also shreds through Faction Wars and Adventure mode.

If I had to drop $100 on the game today, she'd be it hands down.

Summary

And there you have it—my definitive Heroes vs Hordes tier list. I've made the mistakes, spent the gems, and endured the grind, so you don't have to.

Want to see how the rest of the heroes stack up? Head to my website—link's in the description.

I'm Kolz, a high-level HvH player. Feel free to ask me questions on Youtube, on Reddit, or Discord.

And remember, always do your adventures!

Full Hero Table