New players have an absolute slew of questions about how to best progress, what they’re even supposed to do, and which units they should be adding to their teams. I try to answer some of these questions in my team building and unit priorities guide, but there’s still a lot more ground to cover than what’s found there.
This time around I want to touch on Endless Frontier’s current best units, along with explanations as to what makes them so good compared to other options. The game isn’t rolling in units right now, so it’s not terribly hard to tell which ones are above and beyond, but for new players it’s overwhelming. There’s a lot to pay attention to.
This guide is sorted by race. Each unit is listed with an explanation detailing why it is currently in the top tier, which roles (support or core) it can competently function as, its general features, and its “stop point” if leveling as a support. This way you get a clear idea of the strengths of these units.
As a side note, the “stop point” is the enhancement level at which you should stop when using a unit as a support, so you don’t waste medals on less important stat gains. I go into this a bit in the unit priorities guide linked above (as well as using medals efficiently), but here the stop points are simply listed out.
If you’re trying to decide between units, I highly recommend looking at their unit skills in-game. You can look at the details of all of the game’s units in the unit compendium, located within the arrow at the top right of the game’s screen.
(As a side note, I have also translated the new Honor Units’ skills. These are currently out in Korea but aren’t out in the international version just yet.)
Best Human Units
ValkyriePhysical rangedSupport or core
Of all the units mentioned here, the Valkyrie is probably at the top of the current meta. She can not only hold her own as a core, but acts as a powerful support granting a whole host of human unit skills, an AoE (area of effect) stun attached to her normal attack, and the best buff currently in the game.
The stuns and all the other benefits are nice, but the Valkyrie buff itself is the real icing on the cake for this unit. The buff grants additional attack, movement speed, and attack speed – all three being incredibly important stats.
Her casting the buff on death really seals the deal as a support, as supports never live as long as a team’s cores. The strength of the buff is why you sometimes see Valkyrie on non-human teams.
Support enhancement stop points:
300 (Human movement speed) 900 (Human critical strike rate) 1200 (All units’ attack distance)
Steam PunkMagical rangedSupport or core
With units like Valkyrie and Steam Punk, it’s not hard to see why humans are at the top of the meta right now. Like Valkyrie, Steam Punk is competent as both a core and support thanks to his AoE stun attacks. As you can see below, his normal attack also has a chance to stun.
What’s different here is that Steam Punk seems to be geared toward either pure human or human-elf teams. He grants movement speed, attack speed, and attack range to both races passively, and he has some unit skills that benefit all ranged units (though most benefit only humans).
Support enhancement stop points:
200 (Human movement speed) 500 (Human movement speed) 900 (Human attack speed) 1200 (Ranged units’ attack speed)
PriestRanged magicalSupport
The Priest is neither a very interesting nor strong unit on its own, but it is the only party healer in the game and grants a specific function literally any player is happy to have.
The biggest reason you see Priests in almost every high ranking team isn’t because of its unit skill kit or is it her healing capabilities. It’s because she has a chance to cast God’s Blessing and speed the game up by 5x every 10 floors for 2 minutes (based on accumulation). That is a massive speed increase that will make your runs go faster, which in turn makes you accumulate medals faster.
Her unit skills are nothing really to write home about and mostly focus on health and defense. It’s all about those God’s Blessing procs.
Support enhancement stop point:
300 (All units’ movement speed)
Best Elf Units
Sword DancerMelee magicalSupport or core
This is one unit that is hard to say goodbye to once you’ve gotten used to it. She dashes to (and through) enemies, shielding herself for 99% of both types of damage, and on normal attack throws out additional projectiles, too. It’s very satisfying to watch, and her mix of damage and survivability is among the best.
Though she is melee and can only directly attack flying units, the projectiles that come off her standard attacks do hit flying units. That’s another plus.
There really is no downside to the Sword Dancer, but she misses out on ranged unit-only skills that are such a prime component of multi-race teams. She is the only suitable melee core at the time of writing. Overall a fantastic elf core and support.
Support enhancement stop points:
200 (Elf movement speed) 500 (Melee units’ movement speed) 1100 (Melee units’ attack speed)
DruidRanged magicalCore
Unique forms of CC (crowd control) are always welcome as there are no direct tribe counters (such as seniored elves being immune to blow attacks) and the Druid has just that: an AoE damage slow.
This is one of the few cores that aren’t particularly suited to the support life as so many of her unit skills are self-only, with one as high as level 1800 being for herself. That said, she is a fantastic core packed with three potential CC types (slow, knockback, and stun).
Trying to choose between Druid or Sword Dancer for your magic elf core? Consider the following:
Sword Dancer pushes through stages faster than any other unit in the game Druid’s triple CC barrage is a lifesaver, but better suited to PvP Druid is barely suitable as a support, with only its CC standing as a reason to use one as support Sword Dancer misses out on those oh-so-common ranged attack increase unit skills
I personally prefer Sword Dancer core due to her stage clear speeds, but a Druid core backed by Sword Dancer support is nothing to sneeze at either.
Support enhancement stop points:
300 (Elf movement speed) 700 (Elf attack speed)
SylphidRanged physicalSupport or core
There aren’t a lot of great options for elf physical cores, but luckily the Sylphid is such a good one it doesn’t matter. Not only is her base damage high, she brings a stun and a short-term knock up to the table.
She doesn’t have the CC versatility the Druid does, but the two aren’t really competing considering they are different damage types. Furthermore, Sylphid is good for elf-human teams as she grants bonus movement speed and attack speed to both races and has some unit skills that affect ranged units as opposed to only elves.
Why choose Sylphid over Hoyden Goku, another good elf physical core? Ultimately it comes down to Sylphid’s true ranged attack (able to attack air units) and CC. Overall, it’s a better unit with that in mind.
Support enhancement stop points:
200 (Elf movement speed) 500 (Ranged units’ movement speed)
AlchemistRanged magicalSupport or core
Make no mistake, Alchemist is the best elf support unit. The others may have their benefits (such as several unit skills benefiting all ranged units), but there is still no denying the usefulness of the Alchemist as an elf team support – and it’s not a bad core, either.
If you need a direct example of why this unit outclasses this race’s other supports, look no further than its unit details.
The Alchemist not only has two forms of CC, but one of them is unique and unblockable (though does not affect large or flying units). Turning an enemy into a bunny makes them completely defenseless for a short period of time, and its normal attacks are fast enough to relentlessly push enemies back.
If its CC doesn’t convince you, the increase to all units’ attack range and speed should seal the deal. This is a potent support, but can be considered a candidate for magical core if you don’t have a Druid or Sword Dancer.
Support enhancement stop points:
200 (Elf movement speed) 500 (Elf movement speed) 1700 (Ranged units’ attack speed)
Best Orc Units
Ice SpiritRanged magicalSupport or core
This unit’s freezing capabilities are certainly nice but the real benefit lies in its distortion, which sends enemies back a ways. This is yet another unique form of CC, which is extremely valuable on any unit.
Ice Spirit’s unit skills are geared almost entirely toward support, but that does not mean you can’t use it as a core. Its base stats are lower than the Ice Wizard, another orc magical attacker, but its overall strength and benefits to the team as a whole are much higher.
Like a fair amount of the other top-tier units, Ice Spirit also increases the basic speed of the game on top of movement speed and attack range for its tribe. There really are no downsides to this unit and it (along with Naga) is the best orc units by a long shot.
Support enhancement stop points:
100 (Orc movement speed) 300 (Orc movement speed) 500 (Orc attack speed) 1100 (Ranged units’ attack speed)
NagaRanged physicalSupport or core
Any orc team worth its salt is going to have one – or multiple – Nagas and Ice Spirits. There is no getting around it.
Naga is easily the best stealth unit in the game, but she does a lot more than stealth. Naga has two forms of CC in her toolkit, one of which being a slow (unblockable) attached to her standard attack. The other traps enemies in an ice prison, holding them still.
Her stealth is pretty great, but even better is that the first hit she would receive from an enemy that detects stealth is dodged. The Wyvern Rider dodges as well, but he finds himself below the Naga due to his lower stats, being a flying unit, and having only one form of CC.
Naga is also decently suited to orc-undead teams thanks to the 4% increase to both races’ movement speed, attack speed, and attack range. Her double CC and stealth makes her a good support and core.
Support enhancement stop points:
100 (Orc movement speed) 300 (Orc movement speed) 1100 (Orc critical strike rate) 1200 (All units’ attack range)
Battle DrummerNo attackSupport
A pure support, the Battle Drummer is a welcome addition to almost any team as all of its unit skills are stat increases for every race. The only downside to this unit is that it does not attack.
There is not much to say about the Battle Drummer. It’s an amazing support, granting a flat 10% to critical strike rate, 5% to movement speed, and 5% to attack speed for all units – and that’s not even touching the 10% additional medal gains it provides or its beautiful unit skills.
A great unit for most teams without a doubt.
Support enhancement stop points:
300 (All units’ attack speed) 700 (All units’ movement speed) 900 (All units’ attack range) 1700 (All units’ movement speed)
Best Undead Units
LichRanged magicalSupport or core
It’s fitting to start with the Lich, because he’s probably the best of the undead units overall. Lich has two forms of CC, a reasonable default attack range, and is immune to the Druid’s vine slow.
This unit’s two forms of CC are an AoE paralyze (unblockable) that’s attached to his normal attack as well as a quite large AoE blow attack, both of which are highly valuable in battle. The paralyze far more so than the blow.
Lich’s paralyze is pretty great, but its gift of a 5% increase to critical damage and critical strike rate wraps it all up. No team can ever complain about a higher crit rate. He also grants an attack range increase at a relatively low gold level, which is a welcome addition to any team.
Support enhancement stop points:
100 (Undead movement speed) 300 (Undead attack range) 500 (Undead movement speed) 1700 (Undead attack speed)
Dark AdmiralRanged physicalSupport or core
The Dark Admiral is one of the most visually intimidating units in the game, but that’s not why he’s so good. It’s his unrelenting blow attacks and invincible darkness form that make him one of the best units, despite lacking the multiple CC feature many of the other units mentioned here have.
If not for the darkness form, Dark Admiral would be squarely relegated to a support spot as his unit skills are quite nice. But the darkness form puts him at the forefront as a competent physical core for an undead team.
Should you choose Dark Admiral or Medusa for your undead physical core? We’ll get to laying out the benefits and drawbacks between the two soon enough.
The Dark Admiral can be used halfway decently as a support in a multi-race team, as he does have a handful of ranged unit skills as opposed to undead-only.
Support enhancement stop points:
200 (Ranged units’ movement speed) 500 (Undead movement speed) 1200 (Ranged units’ attack speed)
MedusaRanged physicalSupport or core
The other competent physical core for undead, Medusa finds herself in a more conventional spot than the Dark Admiral. She may go invincible for a while, but Medusa has a unique debuff attached to both her normal attack and an AoE skill.
One can definitely argue that Medusa is not suitable for a support spot because she has so many self-centered unit skills, one of which being as high as level 1200. But she does have unit skills centered around ranged units, as well as undead, so it’s really up to you. Her debuff is very nice and is the biggest reason to use her as a support.
Medusa can be competently used in orc-undead teams as she grants a 6% increase to both races’ movement and attack speed, and has the aforementioned ranged unit-oriented unit skills.
Trying to choose between Dark Admiral and Medusa for your undead physical core? Consider the following:
Dark Admiral has a shorter attack range and no unique CC or multiple types of CC (Elves are immune to blow attacks) Medusa lacks Dark Admiral’s high survivability A team using Dark Admiral as a core must have enough CC from supports to make up for the gap Medusa’s debuff is often applied to several units at a time and is strong – but she has no pure CC, either Medusa has more self-centered unit skills
Support enhancement stop points:
100 (Ranged units’ movement speed) 500 (Undead movement speed) 1100 (Ranged units’ attack speed)
IncubusRanged magicalCore
One might say Incubus is the undead answer to the elves’ Sword Dancer due to his charge attack and high survivability, but he does not clear floors as quickly as the Sword Dancer. Nonetheless, he is a very competent core.
This is another exception to the CC rule as Incubus does not have any real CC in his kit. His normal attacks are AoE and his charge deals damage while granting invincibility. But he needs supports with reliable CC to shine in the long run.
Incubus does not have much direct benefit in being a support, despite the 8% increase to in-game speed and 6% increase in undead movement speed and attack range because so many of his unit skills are centered around himself. Most up to level 1200 are in fact only to his benefit. I personally wouldn’t recommend him as a support.
Support enhancement stop points:
200 (Undead movement speed) 500 (Ranged units’ movement speed)
SuccubusRanged magicalSupport
Here we are at the last unit on the list and it just so happens to be an ideal support. Succubus can be used as a core in a pinch, but Lich and Incubus are far better undead magical core options.
Succubus has two forms of CC, one far better than the other. The first is attached to her general attack and is a small knockback, while the second is a charm that renders enemy male units useless. It’s great provided the enemy isn’t running all females. She is not very useful against Valkyrie + Priest teams.
Her charm skill not only stops enemy males in their place, it frenzies nearby friendly units to increase their movement speed and attack speed – plus it disregards slows, such as those of Medusa and Druid.
As Succubus is a flying unit, she’s not great for running as a team’s core. Part of the job of a core is to act as a wall between the enemy and your crystal, and she just can’t do that. She does have some self-centered unit skills, with one all the way at level 1200, which increases her attack range, effectively making it easier for her to cast her charm without dying.
Succubus is suitable for most race teams as the majority of her unit skills affect ranged units, as opposed to simply undead. When used in non-undead teams, just think of her undead-centric unit skills as buffs to make her more useful.
Support enhancement stop points:
500 (Undead movement speed) 700 (Undead attack speed) 1100 (Ranged units’ attack speed) 1300 (Undead movement speed)
That about covers Endless Frontier’s current best units. The best and worst will shift as the game gets updated, but this is the current standing as it is for each race.
