Best Character Tier List (DLC Included)

A tier list for the best characters in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity for the Nintendo Switch. The Tier List has been updated to include changes introduced in the Pulse of the Ancients DLC! Read on to see all 19 playable characters ranked, along with their alternate weapon types, as well as their advantages and disadvantages over others!

Character Tier List Overview

Age of Calamity: Pulse of the Ancients DLC Character Tier List

The Pulse of the Ancients DLC introduced the Battle-Tested Guardian together with new alternate weapon types for Link and Zelda! Here is our updated Tier List and our thoughts on how each character plays.

Note: Characters are ordered within each tier.

Explanation of tiers:
S = Top Tier
A = High Tier
B = Mid Tier
C = Low Tier

Character Tier List

S Tier (Top Tier Characters)

Impa	THE best character in the game. Once she absorbs 3 symbols, she can wipe out groups of enemies or shred enemy weak-point gauges real easy. With her shadow clones, she can also charge her special-attack gauge much faster than others and basically spam special attacks.
Link (One-Handed Sword)	Well-balanced character. Link with a sword and shield has great speed, DPS, and range. Using the Master Sword gives him advantage especially when at full health. Having a shield also makes him superior against Guardians as he can deflect the beams back to them for heavy damage.
Mipha	Great at forcing weak-points out of enemies. Give her attack speed boosts and you can stunlock multiple enemies at once as well as quickly charge her special attack to heal herself and others. Her unique ability allows her to instantly blink and deliver midair attacks that hits enemies' weak-points.
Teba	The best mob clearer in the game. His barrage of strong attacks can wipe out the horde ahead of you. You can also charge his unique ability while moving or attacking then release it later for a sudden burst of damage. Though initially, he cannot go as well against strong enemies, he can still keep up with the others once his combos are upgraded.

A Tier (High Tier Characters)

Link (Two-Handed Sword)	Slower but stronger than one-handed Link. His unique ability wrecks mobs and bosses alike and can even be chained in combos. You can worry about the self-damage later as it will be replenished after you use a special attack.
Zelda (Bow of Light)	A great upgrade for Zelda. Her Luminescence form nukes enemies, especially those with light rings, by draining her special-attack gauge. Her unique ability is quite difficult to use but her basic combos can still work against strong enemies and even bosses.
Revali	Excels in aerial combat which also gives him the ability to dodge most melee attacks with ease. Revali is not that good in ground combat so keep him above the enemies where he can safely snipe them.
Link (Spear)	Faster and has farther reach than one-handed Link. He can close the gap between his target using his unique ability before unleashing a flurry of stabs.
Sidon	If you can time his unique ability in his strong attacks, it can greatly increase his damage output. Sidon already has high attack speed to begin with to decrease the chances of your strong attacks getting interrupted.
Urbosa	Enhances her strong attacks by using the charge of the lightning gauge. The lightning from these enhancements deals continuous damage over a wide area and can shred weak-point gauges if used correctly.
Calamity Ganon	Strong but slow. His attacks cover a wide area and deal ridiculous amounts of damage. A combo of Magnesis into his XY Combo can instantly deplete almost any WPG making him a very efficient boss killer. Absorbing Malice for his Calamity form also proves to be difficult but can be worth it once activated since Calamity form's attacks can stunlock strong enemies.
Link (Flail)	The Flails offer a good mix between clearing large mobs of enemies while allowing for unique playstyles thanks to it's ability to steal enemy weapons. Each Flail has a different effect for it's Strong Attack. Notably, the Fortified Flail's X attack can be used to counter and expose an enemy's Weak-Point Gauge with proper timing. It may take a bit of practice to master this move but it's very useful for sturdy enemies.

B Tier (Mid Tier Characters)

Terrako	Does well against mobs thanks to his vacuum attack. He can use his unique ability from a safe distance and summon orbs to supplement its damage output.
King Rhoam	His versatile moveset allows him to smoothly transition between guises during strong attacks and follow up another strong attack. The damage and range of these attacks make him adept both in fighting multiple strong enemies and capturing posts.
Daruk	Same with Calamity Ganon. Daruk has good combo upgrades and unique ability but his attack speed ruins his combos where he could've stunlocked enemies.
Yunobo	A real descendant from the slow Daruk. The random upgrades he obtains from his unique skill are somewhat good but you need to channel for a few seconds first on each use, which is very inconvenient.
Monk Maz Koshia	He's a decent character overall with his good DPS and range. What really puts him in B tier is his unique skill. Other than the trouble of absorbing charges, his "gigantic" form doesn't really do much damage and will just make him vulnerable from enemy fire for a few seconds.
Zelda (Sheikah Slate)	Attacks are sluggish and unique ability is difficult to use since you can accidentally activate the wrong rune and ruin your combo. She can still perform surprisingly well against groups and strong enemies but it might need practice to use her full potential.
Battle-Tested Guardian	Large sweeping attacks are really helpful for clearing out large waves of enemies, and locking-on to single targets allow Battle-Tested Guardian to deal solid damage to larger bosses. However this massive unit can get hard to control and can be frustratingly slow to use on maps that require a lot of traversal.
Great Fairies	Good for capturing outposts but only after upgrading their combos. Their unique abilities slightly differ from each Great Fairy but mostly still only good for clearing mobs. Cotera in particular can shred bosses extremely quickly thanks to her special ability to lower the enemies' defense.

C Tier (Low Tier Characters)

Riju	Can at least do well against groups of enemies but is still hard to control. Her unique ability is only good for moving from one place to another and is basically useless against strong enemies.
Zelda (Master Cycle)	Like Riju, using the Master Cycle can be a bit hard to control. Mobility is extremely useful especially for large map traversal, but when engaged in combat, it's a bit hard to predict whether a combo will land or not. The Master Cycle Sentinel does offer great opportunities for WPG depletion with successful Perfect Guards, but you'll have a much easier time using either of Zelda's other weapons.
Master Kohga	Bad moveset. Though his unique ability deals decent damage and gives long iframes, it will take several (terrible) strong attacks to fill the stress gauge.
Hestu	Attacks are slow and short-ranged due to him barely moving while attacking. Combos are underwhelming even when upgraded and Koroks are summoned. Use him if you have a powerful enough weapon so he can at least capture outposts or just for fun.

Tier List Criteria

Ease of Use

Some characters are strong but are difficult to master. Each character's combos and unique abilities should be synergized with each other easily without having to put much effort and extra steps.

Unique Ability

Each character's unique ability greatly affects their effectiveness in battle. Their unique abilities should work perfectly well with their combos and on different kinds of situations.

Ability to Attack Weak-Points

Weak-points are only present on strong enemies and bosses. A good character should also be able to chip away the weak-point gauges of an enemy or groups of strong enemies with the available moveset and ability.

Crowd Control

Determines how well the character performs against groups of enemies. This is important for objectives and challenges that requires you to capture outposts or defeat a certain number of enemies within the given period of time.

Speed, Power, and Range

These mostly refers to a character's effectiveness using basic combos. The best combination of regular and strong attacks should be able to reach and take out as many enemies as possible.

Related Guides

How to Unlock All Playable Characters

Main Characters
Link				Impa				Zelda
Mipha			Daruk			Revali			Urbosa
Secret Characters
Hestu			Sidon			Yunobo			Riju
Teba			Master Kohga			King Rhoam			Great Fairies
Monk Maz Koshia			Terrako			Calamity Ganon			Battle-Tested Guardian
Best Character Tier List
Supporting Characters
Purah				Robbie				-
Villains
Astor				Sooga				-
English and Japanese Voice Actors and Cast