With ZIO and the Magic Scrolls having been released a couple of weeks ago, there’s still a scramble among the player base to figure out which characters in this gacha idle RPG are the best. And while it may take a while until there’s a consensus for the current meta, it’s easy to see that there are already many different characters as the runner-ups for being the best that the game currently has to offer.

With that being said, and in the spirits of helping players to find the best characters in ZIO and the Magic Scrolls, we’ve created our own tier list where we’ll be not only giving a few examples of the best units in this game, but also commenting on what makes them great, so that you can also contribute towards creating your own customized formations—who knows, you might even create the new meta!

S Tier

Our tier lists are always divided into four categories, in descending order of quality, with the S tier consisting of the characters that are the best of the best. These units, oftentimes, are powerful enough to make or break your squad, and seldom require any complex setups or synergies as they will usually be the ones carrying your team, and not the other way around.

• Gallistos: Tons of AoE and single target burst damage, and the ability to teleport to other enemies on defeating his current target.

• Mei: Considerable self-healing skills combined with devastating AoE damage, topped off with a counterattack skill that not only returns damage taken, but also reduces the damage she receives.

• Diogoram: Powerful buffs, healing skills, and debuffs make this character the ultimate support.

• Exavius: A master of AoE burst damage, with some degree of CC in the form of stuns. He’s also versatile as he receives a defense bonus when placed on the front row, or an attack bonus when placed in the back.

• Sumima: Even better AoE skills than Exavius, but with a tradeoff in defense. Sumima is a damage dealer through and through. He’s also good for dealing with enemy mages since he can counter magical damage.

A Tier

While the S tier units are the best in their respective categories, the A tier characters are not far behind. However, the ones in this tier usually thrive when paired with other units with whom they have great synergy. In other words, while not as strong as the S tier characters by themselves, they can be equally as powerful in the right hands.

• Zio: The protagonist of the game features powerful AoE skills combined with some self-healing. Excellent when paired with someone that can boost his ATK.

• Tun: A powerful melee combatant that can not only deal good damage, but also mark enemies. Tun deals increased damage to marked enemies, and can also trigger additional effects when attacking the said enemies.

• Hrachas: A powerhouse of a tank that trades in damage for massive survivability. He just might be one of the best tanks in the game, though he’s quite lacking in the DPS aspect.

• Won: This old man is more than meets the eye. Won is a great healer that goes well in any team, though he’s somewhat of a one-trick pony, focused more on healing and dispelling debuffs than anything else.

• Petnak: Though not as great as Diagoram in the S tier, Petnak is a great support character that offers good heals and decent buffs. She can also reduce enemy damage at the start of the battle.

B Tier

This tier encompasses the average characters, neither good nor bad. They are usually the ones you’ll replace as soon as you unlock better units, though your team will likely have a few of these all throughout the early game, all the way to the endgame.

• Rudemila: Decent AoE skills and CC, but held back by some shoddy defensive traits that aren’t very good. She’s still a good addition if you don’t have anything else to fill the slot.

• Fanzifei: Though she can do good damage, her most damaging skills are either over time, or rely on a gimmick for them to do full damage. If you can get past these hurdles by teaming her with other characters that offer good CC, Fanzifei can actually be quite good.

• Bono: Bono is very circumstantial since his skills are almost purely support. Nevertheless, he can be vital in certain formations, as he can dramatically speed up the mana recovery rate of his teammates, giving them access to their special skills much faster.

• Michel: He can do massive damage in the right hands. However, his most damaging skill requires that he actually defeats enemies with it, so it can jump to other enemies and continue dealing damage. This makes Michel very difficult to use correctly.

C Tier

Lastly, this tier exists to show you one thing: the characters that you want to avoid. Whether it’s because their skills are not suited to the current meta, or they’re just plain bad, these characters are the ones you never want on your team. Basically, all B rarity characters fall into this category.

• Delph: Unreliable CC, low damage, and meager shields make him a bad character all around.

• Ganzo: Though he has a good self-buff that increases his stats, this only lasts for 5 seconds. Other than that, his damage output isn’t very good at all.

• Nyahu: Low damage, shoddy self-healing, and some defensive buffs for himself that aren’t very good. The only thing going for him is his taunt skill that can draw the enemy’s attention, and that’s saying a lot.

• Zbella: She has decent CC and moderate damage, which makes her the best in this category, though that’s not really saying much. You can still do much, much better than Zbella.

• Juan: While his CC is unreliable, he offers solid AoE damage. He’s great as a character that you might unlock initially, but feel free to replace him as soon as you get better units.

Keep these characters in mind as the ones you should look for (and avoid, in the case of the C tier) when you’re looking to reroll in ZIO and the Magic Scrolls.