Anchor Point Character Tier List | 2026 Taiwan Version Complete Guide to Top-Tier Characters, Gacha,

If you just started playing **Anchor Down Re:Code** recently, or have been playing for a while but are hitting story stages, getting crushed in the Arena, or running low on resources and can’t pull limited banners, you’ve definitely felt the core truth of this game: It’s never about how many characters you have—it’s about whether your leveling order, gacha pulls, and team composition fit the current meta.

The Taiwanese version of *Anchor Down Re:Code* launched in 2025 with super fast patch updates, already hitting version 2.8 by March 2026 and constantly refreshing the game’s landscape with new story chapters, characters, and limited-time banners. The half-year limited character **Tingyuan Alicia** has become an unavoidable name when Taiwanese players talk about main DPS. From App Store pages, event pages, Bahamut, GNN, and So-net’s official news, the Taiwanese version is no longer in the "pull an SSR early and steamroll everything" phase—it’s clearly entered an era where team synergy, character roles, and investing in signature weapons directly impact your gaming experience.

First, the key point: this guide won’t just dump a tier list and stuff every character into T0-T3 to call it done. I’ll talk entirely from the perspective of real players’ experiences: which characters are "game-changing when you pull them", which are "high-ranked but might not fit your account", which are "good even without signature weapons", which are great for story stages but less useful in the Arena, and most importantly, where you should spend your diamonds if you’re F2P, low-spender, or monthly-pass user.

Also, let’s clarify one thing: the original plan was five class types, but based on Taiwanese version data and player compilations, it’s actually a six-class system: Assault, Special Ops, Support, Healer, Core, and Crowd Control. Many tier list makers merge Crowd Control characters into Support roles, which is why you’ll see claims of five roles; but when building teams, separating Crowd Control matters directly affects how you rate characters like Lengjiao and Xingzhuan.

We won’t just look at stat numbers on paper—we’ll judge based on these factors: PVE story progression, hard Boss battles, event farming speed, PVP Arena rankings, reroll usefulness, signature weapon dependency, and F2P-friendly training costs. If you just want conclusions, every section will be straightforward; if you want to know why a praised character feels underwhelming when you level them up, I’ll explain the gaps.

I. Preface: Full Character Strength Overview for Anchor Down Re:Code

A. Analysis of Current Character Strength Meta in Taiwanese Version

To be honest, the 2026 Taiwanese version isn’t like the early launch’s "one core DPS carries everything" mindset. To rate characters now, you need at least three core dimensions:
First is story and general stage performance; second is damage efficiency in hard Boss battles; third is Arena turn advantage, crowd control, and burst exchange ability. The same character’s performance varies a lot across these three scenarios.

Characters like Tingyuan Alicia are top-tier main DPS for many Taiwanese and Hong Kong players not just because of high skill multipliers, but because she balances survival, damage, and versatility. A Bahamut half-year review called her "the highest skill multiplier right now" and noted she’s hard to take down when teammates are around—this isn’t a one-shot glass cannon, but a meta core that can stay alive, pressure enemy HP, and work well in long fights. Official half-year news and App Store events confirm she’s heavily promoted as a key limited character here.

Another clear meta trend: Frontline and support roles are way more important now. Early on, people thought "just focus on damage dealers"—that worked for first chapters. But once you need efficient resource farming, long-stage survival, hard Boss mechanics, or Arena turn order battles, you’ll see: without a reliable healer/tank, turn boosters, or solid frontline, even a great main DPS with high stats can’t deal consistent damage. That’s why Taiwanese players rate Shuangqiong, Lilila, Ai Ke, and Yanyao so highly.

Simply put, the current Anchor Down Re:Code

Anchor: Arrival isn’t just about who deals more raw damage anymore—it’s about who can consistently deliver that damage **through the full team rotation**.
Characters that let their Main Carry ult reliably, avoid clunky skill timing, cut down on deaths, and take control of the battle pace early—their practical value is often higher in my mind than even the second-best damage core.

B. Class Breakdown: Assault, Support, Special Ops, Vanguard, and Healer

While the game technically has six classes, most players group characters by core functions when building their teams.

Assault Class is the most straightforward damage core—aka the "Main Carry" everyone talks about. They handle frontline attacks, finishing off weakened enemies, clearing backline units, and chipping away at Boss health. Names like Raven, Karan Lisa, Zhaohui, and Tyrant Alicia are basically markers for how "developed" your account is. The biggest differences between Assault characters aren’t just their damage multipliers—it’s whether they hit single targets or groups, need warm-up time, or have extra requirements for positioning and attack speed.

Special Ops Class is often overlooked by new players—most don’t deal that flashy million-damage one-hit, but they’re the key to unlocking your team’s full damage potential in actual fights. Characters like Echo, Osprey, and Daphne aren’t just generic supports—they can often turn your Main Carry from "usable" to "insane." Some Special Ops characters have crucial mechanics like armor penetration, damage buffs, turn meter manipulation, silence, or speed boosts, and their utility is often more valuable than raw stats in PVP modes.

Support Class is more like traditional support or sub-carry roles, offering stat boosts, team damage increases, positioning adjustments, and battle pace help. Whether you can build full-element teams (Fire, Ice, Electric) often depends not just on your Main Carry, but also if your Support role is set up right.

Vanguard Class is your frontline tank—they’re the backbone of the team. Think of them as the core that lets your team even attempt long battles. Without a good Vanguard, some stages are as fragile as paper; with one, the whole battle pace is way more stable. Names like Korraz, Antelope Horn, Frost Qiong, and Huiyue have slightly different niche roles, but all are key for taking damage and protecting your team’s rhythm.

Healer Class might seem like just a "heal bot," but in Anchor: Arrival, they’re more like "Survival System Managers." Sometimes what you need isn’t just more healing—it’s debuff removal, shields, damage reduction, sustained healing, group sustain, or burst healing. Characters like Lilila, Stheno, and Centaurea vary a lot, and the best healer isn’t always the one with the highest stats—it’s the one that keeps your team’s battle rhythm going.

As for the Crowd Control (CC) Class—it’s not listed as a separate category in the base game, but I need to highlight it. Characters like Cold Flood and Star Diamond are super easy to undervalue if you don’t treat them as a unique role. CC characters are amazing for both exploration and PVP, especially when the meta prioritizes things like turn order control, turn meter push, freeze, silence, or interrupting the battle rhythm. They’re the key to pulling off that "low overall power, game-breaking effect" even if your team’s total strength isn’t that high.

C. Ranking Criteria: Burst Damage, Crowd Control, Survival, and Utility Value

For this character ranking, I’m using four core criteria to evaluate each unit: First, actual damage performance. It’s not just about theoretical damage numbers—it’s whether the character has long-term use value, if their warm-up time is too long, if their damage is easy to miss, if they rely too much on teammates, and if they perform consistently in both Boss fights and trash clears. Second, utility rarity. Some characters don’t have top-tier damage, but they bring unique mechanics that are rare in the current meta—like turn meter push, silence, high-reliability turn meter pulls, special damage reduction, or group shields. These characters get higher ranking points because their utility is hard to come by. Third, survivability and versatility. If a character works for exploration, events, Boss fights, and PVP, they’re way more worth investing in than a character that only shines in one mode. Fourth, F2P (Free-to-Play) investment return. This is super important—most ranking guides assume you have exclusive weapons, enough constellations, and fully built mods, but most players don’t have those resources. So I’ll highlight which characters are "strong even without their signature weapon" and which are "just the start when you pull the base form—missing their signature weapon makes a huge difference."

II. 2026 Latest T0 Character Tier List

A. T0 Main Carry Roles: Raven, Karan Lisa, Tyrant Alicia, and more

 

Pros and Cons

If you ask me what are the best damage core units to build your team around in the 2026 Taiwan server version of this game, I’d definitely put Tingyuan Alicia, Kalan Lisa, Raven in the top-tier T0 rank. First up, Tingyuan Alicia. The reason she’s my go-to pick for the closest thing to a “meta answer” DPS right now isn’t just because she’s a half-anniversary limited unit—she actually fixes a lot of the biggest flaws main DPS players hate dealing with. The devs confirmed she was a key limited unit in their half-announcement, and even App Store promoted her again in February 2026; Bahamut players’ practical reviews of her are super straightforward: high damage multipliers, hard to take down.

Next up, let’s talk about the highly-discussed “T0 Core Main DPS Tier”. These three are the real deal that can carry the current meta—they’re no empty stat sticks. Even in chaotic battles, they always carve out their own damage windows and carry half the team’s weight! Tingyuan Alicia’s strengths are obvious: full damage ceiling, fast enemy health gap closure, wide versatility, and extremely meta-stable. But she’s a limited unit, so she’s definitely not easy to get. When you play her, you just can’t help but max out her signature weapon too—this “go all out” feeling is something so many players can relate to!

Next up is Kalan Lisa—for Electro team players, she’s basically the “standard template” for a single-core main DPS. The reason Electro teams are so easy to pick up is exactly because her kit is so complete: as long as she’s on the field, she locks in the team’s floor, and you don’t have to stress over complicated mechanics. Her strengths are single-target pressure, perfect fit for Electro teams, great at finishing enemies and keeping the fight going. Unlike some pure limited units that only shine in specific stages, she works in almost all scenarios. The downside? She needs to pair with proper Electro support units—otherwise, even if her numbers look good, you’ll miss that satisfying kick!

Last up is Raven—to a lot of veteran players, she’s the “rock-solid classic main DPS template”: consistent damage, tough survivability, excellent single-target handling, and great Boss fight feel. A lot of player guides also specifically mention her great “ignore defense” ability—this shines so much when fighting high-defense targets, and her damage efficiency jumps way up. She’s not flashy like new limited units—her win comes from simple, easy-to-understand damage logic and clear, straightforward upgrade paths. Most importantly: “you don’t have to chase every new meta unit”. Raven’s a classic main DPS that’ll stick with you for a long time. Solid reliability is what matters!

My personal ranking goes like this:
Tingyuan Alicia = T0 Top-Tier All-Rounder Main DPS
Kalan Lisa = T0 Electro Team Core Main DPS
Raven = T0 Versatile Single-Target Main DPS

If you’re low on account resources and can only focus on maxing one unit, I’d prioritize Tingyuan Alicia or Kalan Lisa. But if you want a “safe, stable pick that won’t get thrown off by meta changes”, Raven is definitely a great unit to level up.

B. Analysis of T0.5 High-Damage Units: Jiao Leng, Tia, Zhaohui & More

In this section, I’ll talk about a few units that are strong, but only fully shine under specific conditions or in certain scenarios—they’re in the T0.5 high-power tier.

Zhaohui is a unit that many players feel is super strong when pushing stages or fighting hard content. From her kit and player talks, she’s a Frost Strike unit with a clear role: core damage dealer. Her pros: not too hard to pick up, many Frost team rotation setups use her as a consistent damage source. Her cons: overall Frost team take longer to build than Electro teams, and if you’re missing one or two key support units, her feel drops off hard. Frost team players know this all too well.

Jiao Leng is labeled as a Crowd Control unit, not a traditional pure DPS—but I still put her in T0.5 discussions for a simple reason: her “win-rate value” in actual matches is just as good as a sub-DPS. Players often mention she has high damage buffs, gauge push control, and group defense down—what’s scary about her is: she doesn’t look like a main DPS on paper, but she controls the entire battle’s pace. If you’re a Frost team player, or someone who values PVP first-mover advantage and stage push crowd control, Jiao Leng is a unit you won’t regret leveling up.

Tia is a more unique case. A lot of Chinese-speaking players say she’s “super strong for PVE, almost top-tier core DPS” because her single-target handling and burst damage are solid. Bahamut’s half-anniversary guides also mention she’s part of

"Fake break resistance, real DPS" — her ultimate hits like a truck, and she boosts the whole team’s attack power too. So she’s not that boring, generic single-core DPS unit; she actually adds real value to the entire party. That said, her actual performance fluctuates a lot based on your module builds, team comp, and battle style. If you don’t have enough support units on your account, you might not feel how good she is right away. Keep that in mind.

So here’s how I’d rank them at this tier:
Leng Jiao, Tia, Zhaohui = T0.5
This isn’t saying they’re weak — they either shine only in specific scenarios, or need a fully synergistic, built team to unlock their full potential.

C. Core DPS Tier List for Fire, Electric, Ice Teams + Pull Recommendations from the Wish Pool

Let’s start with my straight take on the current meta:

Electric teams are the easiest to build, Ice teams have high ceilings but slow progression, and Fire teams depend on getting all their core units.

This is such a common take among players. Some even call Electric teams the easiest to gear up, and Ice teams dominate Arena — I totally get that vibe. For new players, Electric teams are great because their main DPS is clear: grab Tingyuan Alicia or Karan Lisa as the core, pair them with a few speed-tune units, and the whole rotation system comes together fast. Ice teams rely heavy on synergy between units like Leng Jiao and Zhaohui; their full team is insanely strong, but building them can feel super slow, which might get frustrating for newbies. Fire teams? They live or die by their core units and support combos. When fully built, they hit like a freight train, but fall off hard if you’re missing key pieces.

Here’s my ranked list of main DPS per element:

Electric Team: Tingyuan Alicia, Karan Lisa
Ice Team: Zhaohui, Leng Jiao, Prism (depends on your account)
Fire Team: Units like Yuen Ya, Yuying, Merlot — adjust based on how deep your account is

If you’re deciding between pulling on the Wish Pool or Selective Pool, here’s my priority order:

1. First, lock in meta-defining core DPS units: Tingyuan Alicia / Karan Lisa / Crow

2. Next, get core support units that make your main DPS work: Ai Ke / Yan Ou / Lilira

3. Last, worry about second-element DPS or counter units for specific scenarios

One of the biggest mistakes new players make is thinking every new unit is awesome, so they spread themselves thin — missing key pieces for every team, leaving all half-built and none that can carry you far. The worst thing in this game isn’t having few units, it’s spreading your resources too thin and focusing on nothing.

III. T0 Support/Healer Tier List

A. Deep Dive into T0 Supports/Healers like Lilira, Ai Ke, Yan Ou

If DPS units are your team’s engine, then Supports and Healers in *Anchor Descent* are the chassis that keeps that engine from crashing. Without a solid chassis, even the strongest engine won’t take you far.

Let’s start with Lilira. I’m a huge fan of her, no matter if you’re a free-to-play player or a whale — you should prioritize grabbing her. Almost every player community agrees on her: she gives shields, heals, boosts defense and attack. She’s the ultimate all-rounder support you can use all the way into the late game. She’s always on top of official/player-curated 7-day select unit lists, ranked right up there with Ai Ke as top-tier. What makes her so valuable isn’t burst healing in one turn — it’s her consistency and versatility; she fits in literally any team and brings real value.

As for Ai Ke, she’s a super versatile, high-impact support. Many players call her the “Electric team version of Yan Ou”, and think she’s way too strong right now. Why? Because she doesn’t just boost attack — she’s got a whole utility toolset: healing, turn meter boost, silence, defense boost. The thing about her is you might not get why she’s great at first, but swap her out on a hard stage and you’ll immediately feel the difference.

Yan Ou is one of the closest things to a “universal speed tool-top tier” unit. She can speed up your team, give big attack boosts, and reduce damage — all super strong for burst teams or fast-paced teams. She’s perfect for main DPS units that have huge damage numbers but struggle with attack speed. Basically, if your main DPS is a “nuke-level” unit, Yan Ou is the fuse that lights that nuke. Lots of players group her with core units like Lilira and Shuo Xi as must-haves for Arena and meta teams, which makes total sense.

 

So here’s my T0 Support/Healer list:
Lilila, Eiko, and Tern

What these three have in common isn’t just good stats—more importantly, they can completely flip your entire team’s battle rhythm and power, pushing your team’s playstyle up a whole tier.

B. Tier 1 Support Characters like Deade and Sthirne: Playstyle & Build Recommendations

Deade is a special one—she’s easy for F2P players to sleep on, but veteran players always hype her up. Some players even call her the “God of F2Ps”, especially in the early-to-mid game where you get great returns for low investment. Her attack boost, defense boost, and full-party support buffs are super noticeable. Based on player feedback from 2024 to 2025, she’s roughly Tier 0.5 in PvE, and Tier 1 in PvP. What does that mean? It doesn’t mean she’s the flashiest meta character, but if you invest in her, your account will run way smoother and you won’t get stuck halfway through.

Sthirne leans more towards a high-quality healer. Players often mention that her single-target heal, AOE heal, and damage-boost are all solid, but she has a higher skill floor than Lilila—she requires a better understanding of your team’s battle rhythm and healing timing. If you just want a simple, reliable healer, Lilila is usually more straightforward. But if your account is already coming together and you want to boost survivability and damage cycles for tough, long fights, Sthirne is actually really valuable.

I put these two in Tier 1 not because they’re weak, but because in the current meta, the versatility of Lilila and Eiko—who fit almost every team and make every team noticeably stronger—simply stands above.

C. F2P-Friendly Support Characters That Are Great Even Without Signature Weapons

This section is for F2P (Free-to-Play) and low-spending players specifically.

If your gacha budget is limited and you don’t want to sink resources into signature weapon banners either, your top priority should be characters that can perform at 80%+ of their potential just by getting their core body (no signature weapon needed). Right now, the most worth investing in among these are…

Getting back to resource allocation, these are the usual top picks to prioritize:

Lilila: Her core kit is already strong on its own, dealing solid damage even without her signature weapon.
Tern: Maxed out in utility—no signature weapon required, and she still brings so much to the team.
Deade: Insane return on investment—super friendly for F2P players.
Eiko: Way easier to use with a signature weapon, but her base kit is already solid enough to work well.

On the flip side, if a character’s core power relies on their signature weapon, or only becomes really strong when you pull multiple copies (high constellations), I usually won’t list her as a top priority for F2P players. It’s not that she’s bad, but when resources are tight, it’s easy to get stuck halfway through investing in her, and the final payoff is way less than focusing on functional characters who can perform well even without signature weapons.

4. Tank & Frontline Character Tier List

A. Frostqueen & Core Tier 0 Tanks: Tier List & Shield Value Review

Let’s start with the obvious: Frostqueen is definitely one of the top-tier, universally agreed-upon strongest characters in the current Taiwan server’s frontline and survival roles.

Official publisher So-net’s event page clearly labels her as a limited SSR with a Frost affinity, plus a dedicated signature weapon was released alongside her. Players on Bahamut (a popular gaming forum in Taiwan) have named her a core survival character in high-difficulty raids, even commenting she “can tank, heal, and support”—this is way beyond just “core” tier strength; she’s a key character that determines your team’s overall fail rate tolerance. The weirdest part about these kinds of characters is, her stats might not look crazy on paper, but once you take her into high-difficulty raids, long fights, or grinding PvP rallies, the difference becomes obvious right away.

If I had to make a Tier 0 frontline list, I’d just write:
Frostqueen = Tier 0 Frontline / Survival Core

Everyone rates her so high not just because her tankiness is enough, but because she drastically boosts your team’s tactical flexibility. She can take damage, sustain herself, protect teammates, and help the main damage dealer land a few more attacks—these kinds of characters are rarely ever phased out by meta shifts.

B. Frontline-DPS Hybrid Characters like Klaze: Team Fit & Usage

Klaze is a character many new players pull, a very typical transitional frontline. A lot of players say she’s okay for building a Burn team early on, but long-term, she’s not worth sinking a ton of resources into. Basically, her issue isn’t that she’s unplayable—it’s that when you start going for higher efficiency and more stable high-difficulty content, her power ceiling just isn’t enough.

So who is this kind of character suitable for?

For whom?
Simple: New players who lack resources early in the game, need a frontline tank, and someone to take damage first. She’s not a character you’ll lose hard investment on, but usually not your final pick for maxing out late-game.

 

So for Claraz, her tier is around T1.5 to T2, the transition tank tier. Use her if you pull her, but don’t waste precious resources on her.

C. Tips for New Players & F2P Players on Tank Picks & Resource Allocation

The biggest mistake new players make when picking a tank is dumping all resources into DPS characters and thinking “as long as the tank stays alive.” The result? You’ll hit a stage where your entire team is paper-thin, your DPS hasn’t even gotten going, and all your tanks are already down.

My advice is straightforward:

• Pull Shuangqiong? Level her first.

• If you don’t get Shuangqiong, grab a solid, reliable tank to hold the line for now.

• Healers and tanks need at least one to be decent, ideally neither is trash.

• Tanks don’t need to deal massive damage—your goal is to keep the team alive through the stage.

For F2P players, investing in tanks isn’t about damage—it’s about keeping your main DPS alive for 3+ rotations. If you get that right, you’ll push stages way faster than forcing a second main DPS.

V. Full Character Tier List: Complete Guide from T0 to T3

A. T0 / T0.5 Character Lists & “Priority Level” Markers

Here’s my personal tier list from actual gameplay—not just numbers, but based on meta fit, resource investment return, and overall performance in PvE and PvP.

T0 Priority Level
Tingyuan Alicia, Calan Lisa, Raven, Lilia, Aike, Yan’ou, Shuangqiong

T0.5 High Strength Tier
Cold Jiao, Tia, Zhaohui, Dailing, Sinië

Characters in this tier are worth long-term investment if you’re on the right account track. The main difference between them:
T0 characters let you build a team around them the second you pull them;
T0.5 characters? It’s better to have a clear plan for how you’ll use them before investing resources.

B. T1 / T1.5 Solid, Reliable Picks: Mainstays for Stages & Events

These are my second-tier picks—they’re not the absolute best in the current meta, but they’re super useful. They include some Fire team main DPS, support units, secondary tanks, and utility sub-DPS.

Characters like Yuan Ya, Yeying, Ling, Deepsea, Cole, Lingjiao, Huiyue—they shine when placed in the right team. They’re not weak, but they usually depend on specific environments, good teammates, or matching your account’s existing build direction.

The best part about T1 characters:
You don’t have to rework your entire account’s build to use them. Just having them fills gaps in your current team and makes your lineup way more complete.

C. T2 ~ T3 Transition & “Benchwarmer” Characters: Picks to Level & Ones to Skip

Let’s be real about this part.

T2 to T3 characters aren’t “unplayable,” but you get way less return for the same resources you put in. Especially if you’re F2P, a light spender, or short on modules and SSR materials—these characters are only good for:

• Filling team gaps early game

• Ad-hoc needs for certain events

• Meeting elemental requirements for team comps

• Pure love for a character (collector’s pick)

Take Claraz as an example—she gets you through early game, but gets replaced by stronger characters later. Classic T2.
This isn’t saying she’s bad—it’s a reminder: Just because she worked well early doesn’t mean dumping all resources into maxing her is worth it later.

VI. New Player Onboarding & First Pull Picks

A. Must-Pull T0 Characters for First Roll & Wish Banner Tips

If you’re new to the game, still rolling for your first character, or thinking about restarting your account—my first-pull priority list is crystal clear:

Top Tier: Tingyuan Alicia, Calan Lisa, Raven, Lilia

Tier 2: Echo, Tern, Frostmist
Tier 3: Cold Flood, Dawn, Diya

Why does Lilila make it to Tier 1? Actually, what new players lack most isn’t a top-tier main DPS that can burst down enemies in seconds, but a core key character that helps your entire account avoid wasting resources and taking wrong paths. It’s often mentioned in player discussion threads that when you get your free 7-day selectable character, you should pick Lilila or Echo first, and I totally agree with this logic.

There’s one rule to follow when building your Wish Pool:
First lock in one main DPS, then lock in one functional support character.
Don’t pick all three DPS characters in your wishes—otherwise, your team will end up missing a healer, speed booster, or tank, which will make it really awkward.

B. Advice for rerolling starter accounts and your beginner 10-pull

If you’re willing to put in the time rerolling, the ideal starter account will roughly have:

• One T0-tier main DPS

• One T0-tier support or healer

• One usable tank / functional role character

For example:
Kalani + Lilila
Raven + Echo
Thunder Abyss Alicia + Tern
These all make really comfortable starting teams.

If you don’t pull the most desirable meta characters in your beginner 10-pull, that doesn’t mean your account is unplayable, but I suggest you lock in your development direction early on. Though *Anchor Rising* isn’t an extremely gacha-heavy game—some players even say on App Store “once you get one of the key characters, you can clear all stages with full stars by playing slowly”—that doesn’t mean you can raise characters randomly. Raising characters without a clear plan will definitely slow down your progress.

C. Priority order for free-to-play / small-spend players in the first month

Stick to this order in the first month:

Main DPS > Healer / Tank > Functional Support > Second DPS > Consider Signature Weapon

Many people can’t help wanting to level up dual DPS or even three DPS at the start, leading to splitting resources evenly and not maxing anyone out.
A well-running account usually starts by stabilizing a core team skeleton first, then slowly builds a counter team for the second element.

VII. Character rankings for story progression and high-difficulty dungeons

A. Top characters and recommended team templates for main story progression

What’s most important for main story progression?
It’s not just raw burst damage, but stable clearing and team survivability (error tolerance).

In my opinion, the top main story characters are:
Thunder Abyss Alicia, Kalani, Raven, Lilila, Frostmist, Echo, Tern, Cold Flood

Recommended templates are:

Electric Attribute Team Template—pairing the above characters will let you easily handle most main story stages.

Kalani, Echo, Lilila, Tern, plus one tank character
This team has a really fast completion speed, a crisp pace, and the main DPS has a very clear and intuitive playing experience.

Ice Attribute Team Template
Recommended: Dawn, Cold Flood, paired with Lilila or Stronie, plus one tank and one synergist character
This team’s full formation has very impressive combat power, but requires collecting a lot of character sets to put together.

Fire Attribute Team Template
Options: Yuan Ya or Glow Firefly as DPS, paired with Tern, plus a healer, core midline character, and functional support role
Fire teams demand a higher depth of existing character pools from players. Once you have the core characters, the DPS experience is very satisfying, but if you lack core roles, it will perform quite mediocrely.

B. Character list for high-difficulty stages, ruins challenges, and Boss battles

When dealing with high-difficulty stages, ruins challenges, or Boss battles, I prioritize the following factors:

• Sufficient single-target suppression capability

• High team survival stability

• Can functional roles support the main DPS’s continuous output

Based on these considerations, here’s my high-difficulty dedicated character list:
Main DPS: Raven, Thunder Abyss Alicia, Diya
Functional Support: Echo, Tern, Cold Flood
Survival Guarantee: Frostmist, Lilila, Stronie

You’ll find that in high-difficulty battles, just looking at damage numbers isn’t enough anymore.
Many times, whether you can last one more round of battle

... is the key difference between winning and losing.

C. Top Character Recommendations for Fast-Clearing Events & Material Stages

For fast-clearing stages, these are the traits that matter most:

• Skills that activate quickly

• Cleaning mobs smoothly and effortlessly

• Skill animations and damage flows don’t drag on and waste time

In these scenarios, characters like Kalena Lisa, Tingyuan Alicia, and other damage dealers with efficient AoE or single-target burst skills really stand out.
If you grind materials every day, you’ll know: a good fast-clearing main DPS can totally cut down the fatigue of having to AFK for long hours in the game.

VIII. PvP Arena & Leaderboard Tier List

A. T0 Character Recommendations & Team Building Examples for Arena

The biggest difference between Arena and regular stage clearing is that turn order and battle rhythm are way more important than raw damage.

Here’s the T0-tier Arena characters I’ve sorted out:

• Cold Flood Dragon: Its crowd control and gauge-pushing abilities heavily shape the battle

• Swift Gull: Its speed stat and early-game turn rhythm are super valuable

• Echo: A multi-functional support with insane versatility

• Frost Jade: Excellent at taking frontline damage and disrupting the opponent’s rhythm

• Lilila: Reliable consistent sustainability and team protection skills

• Tingyuan Alicia / Kalena Lisa: Core damage dealers for the team

A practical Arena team template looks like this:

Frost Jade + Lilila + Swift Gull + Cold Flood Dragon + Main DPS

This team doesn’t need fully maxed characters, but it’ll usually make opponents frustrated.
When you fight this team, you’ll often have this feeling: “I feel like I keep getting turns, but I can’t do anything meaningful.”

B. Core Character Analysis for Current Meta PvP Teams

There’s a take from the player community I find really useful:
Ice-type teams are super dominant in Arena.
That doesn’t mean every Ice-type character is broken, but Ice teams are good at combining damage, crowd control, and rhythm disruption. Pair that with utility supports and speed boosters, and they can put pressure opponents can’t escape.

So the core structures of current meta PvP teams are these:

• Ice-type CC Burst Team

• Electric-type Fast Assault Team

• Healer-Tank Rhyme Control Team

• Hybrid Turn Order Pressure Team

C. Taiwan Server Leaderboard Environment & “National Team” Cost Evaluation

If you want to build a top-tier PvP team close to a “National Team”, the resources and cost needed are definitely not low.
The reason is simple—PvP battles value these points most:

1. Full and functional utility support slots

2. A smoothly working speed line for the team

3. Frontline characters tough enough to stay alive

4. A core main DPS with enough threat and damage output

A reminder here: PvP is mid-to-endgame content you should focus on, and it’s definitely not something new players should rush in their first month after launch.
Early on, you can keep an eye on PvP-oriented characters, but don’t mess up the balance between main story progression and character development just for Arena grinding.

IX. Half-Anniversary Limited & New Character Strength Analysis

A. In-Depth Review of Half-Anniversary Limited “Tingyuan Alicia” Strength & Role

This character is really worth a separate deep dive.

When the Taiwan server hit its half-anniversary, the official announcement directly listed her as a key limited

 

Speaking of this character, her rerun was again promoted during the App Store event in February 2026. Players have been buzzing about her high damage multipliers, low death risk, damage reduction capabilities, and excellent overall output — it’s obvious she’s the meta’s top-tier carry designed by the devs.

What makes her so appealing isn’t just her stacked stats, but how versatile she is across most game modes:
She’s super efficient for story progression, deals enough damage for Boss fights, and even works in the Arena too.
This is exactly why she has such high value and stays relevant for so long.

If someone asks whether you should pull for her?
My take: She’s 100% worth investing resources into if your account doesn’t already have a top-tier main carry.

B. Quick Thoughts on Recent Limited-Time Featured Characters & Pulling Advice

According to official news from the Taiwanese GNN, between late 2025 and March 2026, at least 6 limited characters were released: Huiyue, Lingfeng, Kefunier, Yunzhuan, Tongguang, Xianzhi — which shows the game’s environment is constantly evolving and new content won’t stop coming anytime soon.

My advice for pulling limited characters has always been straightforward:

• If you lack a main carry, prioritize getting one first

• Once you have a main carry but your team lacks core support functions, go for functional characters next

• If you already have a strong, complete team, only consider pulling new limited characters for fun

Don’t pull every limited banner just because a new character looks strong.
The worst part about pulling limited characters isn’t missing them — it’s pulling them and not having enough resources to actually build them.

C. Expected Tier List Predictions for Future Versions

I won’t make absolute calls here because game characters keep getting updated all the time.
But based on the current update pace of the Taiwanese server, new characters that make it to high Tiers in the future will likely be designed around three directions:

1. More complete main carry mechanics

2. Rare special function characters

3. Excellent frontline survival integration

In other words, future characters won’t just beat old ones by slightly higher stats — they’ll need to completely change how you build your teams to replace the old ones.

X. SSR Characters / Signature Weapon Building & Resource Allocation

A. SSR Character Building Priority & Constellation Investment Returns Analysis

For most players, the problem isn’t building too many SSR characters — it’s building too many at the same time.

Building priority can be referenced as:

First Priority Tier: Main carries, core healers, core functional characters
Second Priority Tier: Frontline tanks, mid-speed sub-carries
Third Priority Tier: Counter characters for specific stages, secondary attribute backup characters

When it comes to constellation investment returns, they’re usually the most noticeable on main carries and specific functional characters. But if you’re a free-to-play player, I still recommend prioritizing “does the character’s base form work well” first.
Don’t break your account’s resources just to chase a max-constellation top-tier character.

B. Signature Weapon Must-Pulls vs Strong Without Signature Weapon Characters

Characters you should definitely pull their signature weapons for:
Tianyuan・Alicia, some limited main carries that heavily rely on mechanics to complete their kits, and some high-end PVP functional characters

Characters that are strong even without their signature weapons:
Lilila, Yandao, Dailing, Aike, and some stable general-purpose healers and support characters

The logic here is simple:
Signature weapons for main carries mostly just boost their ceiling;
Support characters usually already have their core functions built into their base kits.

C. Free-to-Play Building Path: Which Characters Worth Maxing, Which Are Just Tools

Free-to-play players must have a clear division of roles when building characters.

Worth maxing:
Your account’s first main carry, first core healer, first core functional slot

Just tools:
Transitional frontline units, sub-functional units only used in a few stages, low-to-mid Tier characters that will obviously be replaced later

Don’t level every character just because they seem usable.
This

 

The most frustrating part of this game isn't pulling a wrong unit (like a 5-star that doesn't fit your team), it's when you waste all your resources for no good reason.

Chapter 11: Character Development Plan for Free-to-Play / Monthly Pass Players

A. Recommended Character Pool & Must-Train List for FTP Players

For free-to-play (FTP) players, I highly recommend building your development route around these units first:

Main DPS: Kalanch Lisa, Raven
Survival/Damage Mitigation (Tank): Lilila, Frost Qiong
Support (Functional): Echo, Common Tern, Dyling
Crowd Control (CC): Cold Jiao

These units share clear, great strengths: either they have solid base stats to carry the team, their skills are extremely useful, or they're worth investing in long-term.

B. Optimal Development Order for Monthly Pass Players (Light Spenders)

Monthly pass players have a bit more flexibility than FTP players, but the core principles are pretty similar:

1. First, get a full, well-built main team up and running

2. Next, go for their signature weapons or character constellations

3. Last, you can think about building a second team or a team specifically for PvP

The biggest mistake light spenders make is thinking "since I have a tiny bit more budget than FTP, I can level every unit". But no— the best way for monthly pass players is NOT to spread resources thin, but build your full main team faster than FTP players do.

C. Strength & Development Value of Event-Exclusive / Login Gift Units

From what Taiwan server players are saying, the early game has lots of free units (choose-any units, login rewards, event resources) to fill your character pool— this is super newbie-friendly. For example, the 7-day free choose-any unit, we highly recommend picking Lilila or Echo, that’s a really practical tip.

My take is simple: the free event units aren’t always the game’s top-tier (T0) units, but they’re often core basics that save you a ton of trouble early on. Don’t sleep on these units— they’re not S-tier, but they’re easy to level and extremely useful.

Chapter 12: Taiwan Server Game Info & Community Reviews

A. Character Strength & Meta Reviews from Bahamut, 4Gamers, GNN

The most reliable sources for Taiwan server info are: official news, GNN game site, and player gameplay tips on the Bahamut forum.

From GNN’s info, we can confirm the Taiwan server’s update schedule: in 2025, there was a limited-time unit Tingyuan Alicia for half a week; in Jan 2026, version 2.5, Feb 2026 version 2.6, March 2026 version 2.8. That means updates never stop on Taiwan server, and the meta and unit strengths keep changing.

Bahamut forum tips feel more like actual player experience: e.g., Tingyuan Alicia is widely recognized as a high-damage limited main DPS; Frost Qiong is the survival core for hard stages; Tia is described as "looks like a breaker, but is actually a real damage dealer"; for the newbie’s 7-day choose-any unit, everyone recommends picking Lilila or Echo. All these tips have one thing in common: the meta doesn’t revolve around just one main DPS, it’s about a complete core team that works well together.

B. Chinese Community Tier List & Player Reputation Comparison

Even though different game communities argue a lot about tier lists, if you look closely, there’s a lot of agreement.

The general consensus is:

• Tingyuan Alicia is a very valuable, high-power main DPS

• Kalanch Lisa is one of the core members of the Electric attribute team

• Raven is reliable for single-target bosses and general damage

• Lilila, Echo, Common Tern are extremely valuable support units

• Frost Qiong is highly rated as a survival unit

• Cold Jiao has clear advantages in crowd control and PvP battles

The controversial parts are mostly these: whether a unit is "OP only when heavily invested in" or "great even at low investment", and whether you can mix PvE and PvP tier lists.

C. WIKI Character Encyclopedia Data

 

Community Perception vs. Official Guides

This is one of the biggest traps new players keep falling into.

Official WIKI character databases will tell you a unit’s class, attributes, and skill types — but they won’t tell you if the unit needs speed tuning, how easy it is to farm the mod substats you need to build them, or if your team will collapse entirely without a specific teammate. From the database, you’ll see common units on the Taiwan server including Ting Yuan & Alicia, Zhao Hui, Lilira, Ai Ke, Yanhou, Duya, Lengjiao, Sinuie, Kelazi, and Kalansha, and you can also see the game is split into six core roles: Crowd Control, Assault, Special Ops, Synergy, Healer, and Core.

What actually determines if a unit is *actually good* is the real combat experience from community players.
That said, I think tier lists are great for reference — but never treat them as gospel. The most important questions you should ask yourself are:

Can this unit consistently perform well in the modes I play most often? If you look at tier lists through this lens, you’ll avoid so many traps where units look super strong at first, but feel weak once you actually build them. If you came here specifically looking for a real guide to the Anchor: Arrival Character Tier List that’ll help you skip the headaches, I’ll condense the key points right now.

• Is this unit a good fit for my current account?

• Does this unit need a signature weapon?

• Does this unit require a specific teammate to work well?