Heroes Tier List: Which Champions Are Worth Recruiting First?

The Hero System Overview

Heroes in Vampires vs. Werewolves are powerful NPC companions that grant permanent passive bonuses and powerful active skills once recruited. You can find all available heroes at game/heroes.html — each one tied to a specific NPC in Aeternum, unlocked through quests and reputation grinding.

The loyalty system has three tiers: Neutral (0–39 favor), Friendly (40–79 favor), and Trusted (80+ favor). Most of a hero's strongest bonuses only unlock at Trusted tier, making the grind to 80 favor a critical investment decision. Each mission with a hero's NPC earns 10 favor and has a 1-hour cooldown, meaning Trusted status takes a minimum of 8 hours of active play per hero.

You unlock the ability to recruit heroes through story quests — typically after completing your first 5 chapter quests. Recruitment itself is free; the real cost is the time invested in building loyalty.

How We Ranked Heroes

Each hero was evaluated on four criteria weighted equally:

• Passive bonus strength — how powerful the permanent stat bonus is at Trusted tier
• Active skill power — combat impact during boss fights and PvP encounters
• Recruit difficulty — level requirement and quest complexity to unlock
• Loyalty grind — time and missions required to reach full Trusted tier benefits

A hero ranked S-tier delivers top-end performance in at least two of these areas and has game-changing impact once fully unlocked.

S Tier — Must Recruit

Rael the Soulharvester (Legendary)

Rael is widely considered the most powerful hero in PvE content. His passive grants a 5% chance to instantly kill any non-boss enemy, which stacks impressively over long dungeon sessions. His active skill, Soul Drain, deals 200% magic damage and restores 15% of your max HP — making him self-sustaining in extended fights.

The catch: Rael only becomes recruitable at level 60, behind a lengthy quest chain in the Abyssal Rifts region. His loyalty grind is also steeper due to the higher-level NPCs involved. But for endgame PvE — especially Mythic+ dungeons and Infinity Tower — Rael is simply broken and worth every hour invested.

Best for: PvE, Dungeons | Unlock: Level 60, Abyssal Rifts quest chain

Lord Ashveil (Legendary)

For economy-focused players, Lord Ashveil is the undisputed king. At Trusted tier he grants +50% gold earned from PvP victories and a +25% Prestige rate — two bonuses that compound dramatically over hundreds of hours of play. A player grinding ranked PvP with Ashveil active will accumulate gold 50% faster than anyone without him.

Ashveil is unlocked at level 45 via a multi-step quest involving the Shadowmere Merchant Guild. His loyalty missions are efficient — 10 favor per mission like all heroes — but his NPCs are clustered in one region, making rotation fast.

Best for: Economy, Endgame PvP | Unlock: Level 45, Merchant Guild quest

A Tier — Highly Recommended

Seraph Shadowblade (Epic)

The essential F2P hero. Seraph's Trusted-tier bonus reduces all shop prices by 15% and grants access to the Black Market — a hidden vendor with rotating rare items at below-market prices. For free-to-play players, this translates to thousands of gold saved over the course of a campaign. Recruit her as early as level 20.

Elder Theron (Epic)

Elder Theron's -10% dungeon cooldown reduction is deceptively powerful. For active players running dungeons multiple times per day, this effectively adds an extra full dungeon run every 10 sessions — significant for both XP and loot farming. Low recruit difficulty (level 25) makes him accessible early.

Mira the Bloodmage (Rare)

Mira is the top choice for vampire players prioritizing magic damage. Her passive grants +15% magic damage and +10% XP from battles, accelerating leveling significantly during the mid-game grind. She's recruitable at level 10 — one of the earliest heroes available — making her excellent value from the start of the game.

B Tier — Solid Choices

Gorn (Rare) — A werewolf-focused hero granting +12% STR at Trusted tier. Excellent for physical build werewolves in PvP but outshone by more versatile options at higher tiers.

Commander Brutus (Epic) — Clan-specific passive: +10% to all clan members' attack during Eclipse War. If your clan runs coordinated wars, Brutus delivers above-average value. Otherwise situational.

Vex the Heretic (Epic) — Unique active: Chaos Bolt deals splash damage hitting up to 3 enemies simultaneously. Niche but excellent in dungeon packs and multi-enemy encounters. B-tier due to limited passive bonuses.

Lyra Moonweaver (Epic) — Grants +8% DEX and +5% gathering yield at Trusted. Solid for gathering-focused builds seeking to maximize resource output without heavy combat investment.

C Tier — Situational

Iron Krag (Uncommon) — +10% crafting success rate at Trusted. Only worth recruiting if you're running a dedicated crafting economy build. Otherwise his single-purpose bonus is too narrow.

Sister Varla (Uncommon) — A healing passive that restores 3% HP after each battle. Useful at level 8 when sustain is scarce, but quickly outclassed once you access better gear and potions. Good first recruit, poor long-term investment.

Zora Bloodtracker (Rare) — Niche bounty hunter bonus: +25% gold from completing bounty missions. If you focus on the bounty board as a gold source, Zora has genuine value. Most players ignore bounties past mid-game, leaving her stranded in C-tier.

Overall Tier List Table

F2P Recruit Priority

If you're playing free-to-play and want to maximize efficiency, here's the recommended recruitment order:

1. Level 8: Recruit Sister Varla first — her healing passive carries you through the early game when potions are expensive.
2. Level 10: Recruit Mira the Bloodmage (or Gorn if werewolf) — the XP bonus accelerates early leveling significantly.
3. Level 20: Recruit Seraph Shadowblade — begin grinding loyalty to Trusted as fast as possible. Her -15% shop discount is your most impactful long-term F2P tool.
4. Level 25: Recruit Elder Theron — the dungeon cooldown reduction starts paying off as you enter mid-game dungeon rotations.
5. Level 45+: Begin working toward Lord Ashveil if focused on economy.
6. Level 60+: Rael is your endgame target — prioritize his quest chain in the Abyssal Rifts once you hit the level requirement.

Loyalty Grinding Tips

Each hero's NPC offers one mission per hour, granting 10 favor per completion. Reaching Trusted tier (80 favor) requires a minimum of 8 missions — but the real investment is building a consistent daily routine around it.

• Run missions on cooldown: Set a timer for every hour during active sessions. Missing even 2-3 missions per day adds days to your grind.
• Focus one hero at a time: Spreading loyalty across 4 heroes simultaneously quadruples your time to any single Trusted unlock. Pick your priority (Seraph for F2P) and grind it to 80 before diversifying.
• Check mission type: Some loyalty missions are combat-based and require level-appropriate gear. Don't attempt level 50 hero missions at level 30 — you'll fail and waste the cooldown.
• Clan bonuses: Certain clan upgrades reduce NPC mission cooldowns. If your clan has invested in this, coordinate with your leader to maximize throughput.
• Double favor events: Watch the events calendar. Seasonal events occasionally double favor earned — this is the time to grind the hardest-to-reach heroes like Rael and Ashveil.