Paladins Tier List - Best Characters & Builds

Ranking Methodology

Evaluating champions in Paladins requires looking far beyond simple damage numbers. Because Paladins is a highly synergistic team shooter heavily influenced by item shop purchases, map geometry, and specific tank/healer matchups, a champion's tier is dictated by their overall impact on a match. This ranking system evaluates characters based on four core criteria: survivability (escape tools, mobility, and effective health), consistency (reliance on cooldowns or RNG versus always-available pressure), splash utility (AOE damage, area denial, and crowd control), and pick potential (the ability to isolate and eliminate key targets).

The current meta is defined by high-mobility flanks, aggressive frontline playmakers, and off-tank flex picks that can transition from soaking damage to dealing burst damage. The champions that dominate this environment are those that can flexibly adapt to chaotic team fights, ignore traditional line-of-sight restrictions, or instantly delete backline targets. This list reflects the standard Competitive 5v5 drafting mode, where synergy and counter-picking are paramount.

Top Tier Picks

These are the champions that dictate the current meta. If you are looking to climb the ranked ladder efficiently, or if you want to guarantee you have a consistent edge in a competitive draft, these S-tier and A-tier characters should be your primary focus. They possess the highest win rates and the most forgiving skill floors, paired with incredibly high skill ceilings.

S Tier: Meta Definers

• Vatu — Vatu is the undisputed king of the Flank role right now. His kit perfectly encapsulates what a modern assassin needs: overwhelming burst damage, exceptional mobility, and built-in survivability. His ability to become untargetable and invulnerable during his Stasis ability allows him to effortlessly survive burst damage that would kill other flanks, while his shurikens provide consistent poke before he commits to an all-in dive. He dictates the tempo of a match simply by being alive, forcing the enemy backline to play incredibly passive.
• Torvald — The ultimate annoyance and one of the most powerful off-tanks in the game. Torvald completely bypasses the traditional shield-fighting mechanics of Paladins by stripping shields and nullifying damage with his Protection ability. In a meta where sustain shields are highly valued, Torvald is a hard counter. Furthermore, his ultimate, which knocks up and silences the entire enemy team, guarantees free kills for his damage and flank teammates. He requires almost no aim, allowing a player to focus entirely on game sense and ability timing.
• Dredge – When it comes to area denial, nothing beats Dredge. His Broadside attack allows him to blanket choke points with massive, slow-moving projectiles that deal incredible splash damage. Because his projectiles have travel time but massive hitboxes, he excels at pre-aiming common pathways, punishing players who lack spatial awareness. His ultimate is a massive, team-wiping zone of death that forces the enemy team to completely abandon their position or die. He is the pinnacle of consistent AOE pressure.
• Cora — The newest addition to the Support roster has shaken up the game entirely. Cora blends the line between a traditional healer and a secondary damage dealer. Her healing beam deals damage to enemies while healing allies, meaning she is never useless, even when her team is at full health. Her ability to deploy her drone for independent healing while she actively participates in a fight makes her incredibly difficult to pin down and kill.

A Tier: Elite Contenders

• Koga — Koga represents pure, unadulterated chaos. With his climbing ability allowing him to bypass standard frontline engagements entirely, Koga forces the enemy team to split their attention. His ultimate grants him infinite ammunition and increased fire rate, allowing him to melt tanks and shields in seconds. While he lacks the invulnerability of Vatu, his raw DPS output makes him a mandatory ban or first-pick in many high-level lobbies.
• Raum — Raum is the quintessential point tank for players who want to carry from the frontline. Instead of relying on a traditional shield, Raum uses his massive health pool and life-drain mechanics to sustain himself. His ultimate is arguably the most powerful engage tool in the game, allowing him to grab an enemy, drag them out of position, and instantly isolate them. A good Raum will single-handedly break the enemy team's formation.
• Furia — Furia remains a staple because of her immense anti-dive capabilities and her secure healing output. Her Beam ability deals massive damage to enemies while healing allies, acting as a powerful deterrent against flanks trying to dive her. Her ultimate provides a massive movement speed and damage buff, enabling devastating coordinated pushes that the enemy team simply cannot outrun or out-damage.
• Vivian — If you want a damage champion that requires very little mechanical skill but offers maximum consistency, Vivian is the answer. Her automatic sensor drone ensures she never loses track of enemy positions, and her shield completely nullifies incoming damage while she outputs a relentless stream of bullets. She excels at chewing through enemy tanks and holding down choke points with absolute certainty.

Mid Tier Options

B-tier champions are the backbone of many team compositions. They are fundamentally strong and perfectly viable in ranked play, but they generally fall short of the S and A tiers due to specific limitations. These limitations usually come in the form of strict cooldown dependencies, predictable movement patterns, or a heavy reliance on the enemy team failing to draft a direct counter. You can absolutely win games with these characters, but you will have to work harder for it.

• Evie — Historically one of the most iconic flanks in Paladins, Evie relies entirely on her complex ice-block and blink mechanics to survive. While an incredibly skilled Evie player can still dismantle a lobby, her reliance on very long cooldowns makes her highly punishable. If she misses her burst combo or mistimes her Soar, she dies instantly. She is a high-risk, moderate-reward pick in the current meta.
• Makoa — The ancient turtle is a classic point tank with fantastic crowd control via his hook. However, Makoa’s shield-based playstyle feels incredibly sluggish in a meta dominated by anti-shield characters like Torvald and Dez. He lacks the aggressive carrying potential of Raum or the utility of Barik, making him a solid, but unremarkable, choice for anchoring a defensive line.
• Lian — Lian is the definition of a "point-and-click" damage champion. She has no projectiles to lead, no cooldowns to manage on her basic attacks, and incredible burst. However, she lacks any real mobility or escape tools. In a meta where aggressive flanks and diving tanks are rampant, Lian often finds herself overwhelmed and focused down before she can output her sustained damage.
• Yagorath — Yagorath is a massive, immovable object that can roll over the enemy team. Her strength lies in her terrifying area denial and the fact that she is incredibly difficult to kill when supported. However, she is incredibly slow and highly susceptible to anti-tank items like Wrecker and Cauterize. Furthermore, her massive hitbox makes her an easy target for Dredge and Vivian.
• Pip — Pip toes the line between support and damage. His crowd control potion is undeniably strong, and his explosive potions can deal massive damage. The problem is that Pip's healing is entirely unreliable compared to someone like Cora or Furia. You are often relying on RNG and enemy positioning to heal your tank, which can lead to crucial deaths during intense team fights.

Low Tier / Avoid

These champions are currently struggling heavily in the competitive landscape. This is rarely because their kits are fundamentally "broken," but rather because the game has evolved past them. Whether they have been power-crept by newer releases, directly countered by the current item shop meta, or possess outdated damage profiles, picking these champions will actively put your team at a disadvantage. If you have a deep, thousands-of-hours mastery on one of these characters, you can make them work, but for the average player, they should be avoided.

• Sha Lin — The desert sniper is in a terrible spot. His entire identity revolves around landing charged shots from a distance, but the current map pool and meta heavily favor close-to-mid range brawls. Furthermore, his movement speed while aiming is abysmal, making him incredibly easy to hit. Any flank or mobile tank can close the distance and eliminate him before he can draw his bow a second time.
• Grohk — Grohk's healing totem is one of the most easily destroyed abilities in the game. Because it is a static object, any stray bullet, AOE effect, or flanker will destroy it instantly, rendering Grohk completely useless for the next several seconds. While his damage output is decent for a support, his inability to reliably keep his team alive makes him a liability.
• Khan — Once a premier tank, Khan has fallen from grace. His battle shout requires him to stay near his team, which contradicts his desire to throw his lance and initiate fights. His ultimate, while having a massive area of effect, is easily interrupted and heavily telegraphed. He lacks the consistent pressure of Raum and the utility of Torvald.
• Cassie — Cassie has been on a downward trajectory for several patches. Her micro-missiles require her to get dangerously close to the frontline to deal full damage, and her dodge roll is no longer enough to save her from the overwhelming burst of current top-tier flanks. She feels outclassed in every conceivable way by Vivian and Lian.
• Mal'Damba — Mal'Damba requires an immense amount of skill to aim his healing projectiles while actively moving to avoid damage. The tragic reality is that even if you play Mal'Damba perfectly, his maximum healing output and utility simply do not match what Cora or Furia bring to the table effortlessly. The risk-to-reward ratio on Damba is currently the worst in the game.

Meta Trends & Patch Notes

The current state of the Paladins meta is largely defined by the gradual shifting of power away from static, shield-heavy compositions and toward highly mobile, aggressive brawling. For the past few seasons, the developers have systematically introduced champions and items that hard-counter traditional shielding. The prominence of Wrecker (increased damage to shields) and Anti-Heal (Cauterize) means that champions who rely purely on hiding behind a deployable shield are effectively obsolete.

Recent patches have also heavily emphasized the importance of the item shop. Because Anti-Heal is so potent, the meta has shifted toward supports who can provide massive, instant bursts of healing—like Furia's Pyre or Cora's beam—rather than heal-over-time champions like Grohk or Ying, whose output is completely negated by a level 3 Anti-Heal purchase.

Furthermore, the introduction of characters with built-in invulnerability or untargetability (such as Vatu) has created an arms race. Flanks are no longer just assassins; they are pseudo-tanks that can survive in the middle of a team fight, absorb a massive amount of damage, and reposition instantly. If you are building a team composition, you must ensure you have either pinpoint burst damage to eliminate these mobile threats before they use their escapes, or overwhelming area-of-effect damage to punish them when their cooldowns are finally expended.

FAQ

• Should I only play S-tier champions to rank up?
  

  Not necessarily. While S-tier champions offer the easiest path to victory due to their overloaded kits, personal comfort is incredibly important in a mechanically demanding game like Paladins. If you have hundreds of hours on a B-tier champion, you will likely perform better with them than with an S-tier champion you just unlocked. Use the S and A tiers to guide your learning, but don't be afraid to flex your personal mains if you understand their limitations.

• Why is my favorite champion ranked so low?
  

  Tier lists evaluate champions based on their maximum theoretical impact in a highly coordinated, competitive environment. Many low-tier champions are incredibly fun to play in casual matches or uncoordinated ranked lobbies where the enemy team lacks the communication to focus them. A low tier placement doesn't mean a champion is unplayable; it simply means they require significantly more effort to achieve the same results as a higher-tier pick.

• How heavily does the item shop affect these rankings?
  

  The item shop is arguably the single most important factor in Paladins balance. Champions that rely entirely on one mechanic (like shields or continuous healing) are naturally ranked lower because the enemy team can spend a few hundred credits to completely neutralize that mechanic. Champions that deal burst damage or have versatile kits that don't rely on a single crutch are ranked higher because they are mostly immune to itemization counter-play.

• Will this tier list change soon?
  

  Absolutely. Paladins receives frequent balance patches, and the developers are known for making sweeping changes to champion abilities, card loadouts, and items. A single patch can instantly elevate a C-tier champion to S-tier, or completely gut a meta-defining character. Always keep an eye on the official patch notes and be willing to adapt your champion pool when the inevitable nerfs and buffs arrive.