With so many new characters coming up in AFK Journey, knowing where to invest your resources is key to maximizing your progress in all game modes, such as PvP campaign and Dream Realm.
This guide breaks down the current hero meta into clear tiers, from must-have options to niche picks and easy skips. Check out now!
MUST HAVE |
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Elijah and Lailah |
Reinier |
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NEXT UP |
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Baelran |
Phraesto |
Harak |
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PVP/NICHE |
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Athalia |
Cryonaia |
Dunlingr |
Saida |
Kulu |
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PASS |
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Talene |
Dionel |
Scarlita |
Berial |
Must-Have Heroes
Right now, only two heroes are absolutely essential for every player: Elijah & Lailah and Reinier.
Elijah & Lailah
With the enhancement from Elijah & Lailah's ultimate ability and exclusive weapon, the entire team's combat power is significantly elevated. In the current version, Elijah & Lailah are viable in every game mode. They are essential in all major meta teams for pushing campaign stages at the highest difficulty, and are also exceptionally versatile in PVP, seamlessly integrating into various offensive or defensive formations.
They are used in the top team for every single dream on boss. For pre-endless as well as endless stage of bosses. Also for AFK stages, you're almost always going to be using them. So the new priority will be really rushing Elijah & Lailah to supreme+ as quickly as you can.
Reinier
As one of the oldest Celestial and Hypogean heroes since the game's launch, Reinier's value remains high and continues to grow. His versatile utility and comprehensive skill set within the faction make him exceptional. His core mechanics of repositioning and damage transfer currently have no viable substitutes among other heroes. And for the pre-endless dream Realm bosses, Reinier is going to be used in almost every single team.
If you do not have Reinier, you will miss out on a significant number of points during the pre-endless stage of Dream Realm, which lasts for over a month per season.
Additionally, Reinier only needs to be upgraded to Mythic+ to reach his full potential, requiring just eight copies in total. One copy can be obtained from the login event available at the start of your account, making it relatively easy to get him to Mythic+. No further investment is required beyond that, and he will deliver a transformative impact on your overall account progress.
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Next Up Heroes
This is where the meta has changed a lot.
Baelran
The celestial hypergen endless damage hero, Baelran, excels in both campaign pushing and arena combat. Upon entering his second divine phase, he becomes a true powerhouse—gaining permanent crowd control immunity, dealing area-of-effect true damage, and unleashing additional holy light attacks.
His true damage pierces through enemy defenses, making him both highly durable and destructive, a well-rounded combatant capable of dominating both offense and defense. So that is why Baelran basically is going to be the most important hero to build up after you have Elijah & Lailah and Reinier.
Phraesto
Phraesto was a top-tier hero for a long time and could do well in all game modes. However, with so many new heroes, his use has gone down a bit. He is not good for the early boss stages because his damage—which is based on the enemy's health—only works well in the endless difficulty.
He is now mostly used as upgrade material for Harak or as a sacrifice for the Craze Shell Brute boss. Even a single copy can work for this. He is still unique because he can summon an illusion, effectively putting two units on the field for the price of one. He has strong shields and does true damage, so he is still a hero you can trust, but he is no longer a main damage dealer and is not a priority to build high.
Harak
Harak is a demon born in the region of the Blackthorn Sea. At the start of battle, his "Gluttony" effect increases his Crit Rate and Haste. When the effect ends, he will lose control and devour the weakest non-summoned unit on the battlefield, immediately defeating them.
During combat, he frenziedly attacks a single enemy, continuously knocking them into the air while dealing multiple instances of damage. The final strike knocks the enemy down and deals extra damage based on a percentage of the target’s lost Health. After hitting, the target becomes unable to recover Health for a period of time and loses Health over time during this effect.
If you don't have Harak, you're going to be like almost 100 billion damage lower score in the endless stage we're at right now. He's very niche, but certain bosses he does do well in and so he still is considered meta and like still building him up wouldn't be a bad thing. And the other thing about Harak is that you need to build Phraesto along with him. Harak is going to eat your own team and he needs to be run with Phraesto and Phraesto isn't that good anymore.
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PVP & Niche Heroes
These heroes are good for specific things but are not a major priority for most players.
Saida
Saida is the best hero for pushing the main AFK stages. She does huge damage and has the best crowd control in the game. There is speculation that the Primal boss, Crystal Crawler, may eventually join the Dream Realm rotation. If it retains its same mechanics and Saida continues to excel against it, she would be a strong candidate to move up to a higher priority tier. But she needs a lot of investment, including getting her exclusive weapon to at least +15.
Dunlingr
Dunlingr is a great technical hero for PvP. He is similar to the Gerda in that his value depends on how many other heroes you have. Dunlingr requires a relatively deep hero roster to perform effectively. The stronger and more diverse a player's collection is, the higher Dunlingr's tier ranking becomes. He is no longer strictly tied to Dionel and can now be integrated into a wider variety of team compositions.
However, Dunlingr's investment cost is quite high. For free-to-play or low-spending players, his pulling priority remains relatively low. That said, for high-spending players, he can actually reach a higher level ranking.
Cryonaia
Cryonaia is still a very solid nuker that can counter annoying enemy teams. Her skills can freeze enemies and deliver devastating area-of-effect damage across the entire battlefield. However, although her abilities have high damage multipliers, she lacks survivability due to an absence of self-healing mechanics.
Additionally, obtaining and upgrading Cryonaia can be challenging for casual players. She demands substantial resources, making it difficult for free-to-play users to sustain her development. As a result, Cryonaia is most commonly seen in the lineups of spending players.
Kulu
Kulu is a serviceable hero for both AFK stages and PvP, though she is not considered a top priority. Even a single copy can perform reasonably well in AFK progression. However, she generally offers little value in Dream Realm, and her overall utility falls behind more impactful heroes like Saida. While not without uses, she is not recommended as a focus for development at this time.
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Pass below Heroes
These heroes are not worth building right now.
Talene
Talene is no longer a top-tier hero in any game mode. She has been completely overshadowed in Dream Realm by Shamira, and many better options exist for AFK stage progression. While she remains usable in PvP—particularly if you have already invested in her and lack alternatives—she is hardly essential.
Even in Supreme Arena, she is outclassed by more current heroes and stronger team compositions. Unless you are heavily invested in her already or have very limited options, she is not recommended for priority building.
Dionel
Dionel is a hero usually used in Supreme Arena defense compositions, and he possesses considerable strength as a massive nuker. However, it isn’t strongly recommend investing in him at this time. Cryonaia offers more unique utility compared to Dionel. While he can be effective and might even be moved up to a PvP niche tier if you particularly value his playstyle, he remains a lower priority. This is partly because older global launch heroes like him tend to become less dominant over time as newer heroes are introduced.
Scarlita
Scarlita's second awakening did not fundamentally address his core issues. His ultimate ability remains unreliable, and he is now primarily used to activate Celestial / Hypogean faction bonuses and provide aerial shields for his teammates, fulfilling a more supportive role.
Berial
Berial is a typical character specialized in strategy. He relies on a unique isolation mechanism and, in the top arena, has unique tactical value thanks to his invincibility and resurrection abilities.
However, he’s extremely lacking in versatility—he’s completely useless in PvE. All things considered, Berial is hands down the worst hero in the current meta. He’s not recommended in any situation, and putting resources into him is a bad move. Even if his Supreme Bliss skill gets upgraded in the future, it’s unlikely to make him competitive.
Conclusion
This is the current Pulling priority for these powerful Celestial and Hypogean heroes. Hope you find it helpful.
Focus all your resources on acquiring and maximizing Elijah & Lailah and Reinier first, as they are transformative for every account. Afterwards, shift your priority to powerful damage dealers like Baelran while avoiding outdated heroes like Talene and Berial.
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Pyro Chronicler Experienced game editor
A seasoned content strategist and game analyst at LDShop.gg, specializing in anime-style RPGs and gacha games. Known for breaking down complex mechanics into smart, resource-efficient strategies, she helps players tackle high-difficulty content without overspending. By combining in-depth system analysis with practical, step-by-step tips, Pyro makes even the most daunting challenges feel approachable. With a sharp focus on games like Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero, and Honkai: Star Rail, Pyro helps players push past plateaus and master the grind—one frame-perfect dodge at a time.