AFK Journey is an idle RPG from Farlight Games in which you build teams from rival factions to explore Esperia, take on Dream Realm bosses, and compete in PvP. With the eighth season, Veil of Memories, now live and new heroes joining the roster, the strongest picks look very different from those at launch. This guide breaks down ten of the best characters in the current meta, covering what their skills do, where they perform best, and how far you need to upgrade them. For a full look at how to combine these heroes into complete lineups, check out this AFK Journey guide to building the strongest teams for PvE and PvP.

How These Characters Were Chosen

This list is not ranked. Each character earned a place by meeting the following criteria:

• Strong performance across AFK Stages, Dream Realm, and PvP in the current Season 8 meta.
• A spread of classes, so the list covers supports, damage dealers, and a tank.
• Clear value at realistic investment levels, with notes on where a hero needs extra copies to function.

Top 10 Characters at a Glance

The table below summarizes each character’s rarity, class, faction, and main job on a team.

Rolan

Rolan arrived in Version 1.7.3 and quickly became the most valuable support in AFK Journey. His Undying Valor skill gives your team Morale at the start of battle and adds more each time an ally casts an Ultimate or defeats an enemy, with every 20% Morale raising all allies’ ATK. Its active part makes the two highest damage allies unaffected for 10 seconds and boosts their ATK. His Ultimate, Oath in the Stone, cleanses debuffs, equalizes allies’ HP percentages, and grants a temporary max HP boost with a large heal, while Clemency’s Edge heals a group and reduces their damage taken. At Mythic+, full Morale creates a Radiant Ward in which a clone repeats each ally’s Ultimate. If Rolan is defeated, all Morale is lost, so protect him. Pairing him with Rowan helps the team reach Morale thresholds faster.

Contess

Contess runs the battlefield through two school rules. Under Be Civil, a unit that deals heavy damage to a single target is marked as a violator and loses max HP, and under Be Quiet, any unit that casts an Ultimate is marked as well. Her Ultimate, Detention Pass, keeps her hidden and untargetable while she recovers Energy, then she emerges to heal an ally and grant Exemption, which protects them from her rules and raises their ATK while their shield holds. Quiet Period lowers the Energy recovery of the enemies casting the most Ultimates. At Mythic+, an enemy punished more than six times is permanently silenced, and at Supreme+ rule breakers are also stunned or silenced. She is built for Dream Realm and PvP, where longer fights let her rules stack up.

Senea

Senea is a Graveborn Marksman from Season 8 with an auto-attack range of 20 tiles. Her normal attacks mesmerize enemies and reduce their ATK, and fallen mesmerized enemies become spectral spectators, up to five at a time. Melodic Cascade adds extra projectiles to her attacks, gaining one more each time a different ally buffs her, while Swell of Sorrow hits every enemy three times and lets each spectator restore her HP and Energy. Her Ultimate, Grave Crescendo, boosts her ATK SPD and turns her normal attacks into true damage hits based on the target’s max HP. At Mythic+, three spectators trigger a solo performance in which roses deal extra true damage, and at Supreme+ she starts each battle with two spectators. Mythic+ is a sensible first target, with EX+10 and Supreme+ as long term goals.

Aster

Aster is the other S-Level arrival of Season 8, a Hypogean Mage whose kit revolves around Stars, Planets, and Black Holes. His Ultimate, Stellar Flare, summons up to three Stars that damage and stun nearby enemies, and Gravitic Maw creates a Planet for each Star that orbits it and strikes anything in its path. Darklight Pulse fires beams along three lines, giving him a shield based on the damage dealt and stripping enemy shields. At Mythic+, his Stars become Black Holes that deal true damage and drain enemy ATK and Haste, and at EX+15 his Black Holes devour defeated enemies to restore his Energy. His Supreme+ bonus makes him invincible after the conversion until he is the last hero alive on his team, which makes him a top PvP pick. Heroes who cancel Ultimates, such as Dunlingr and Lily May, can counter him.

Gunnar

Gunnar is a Hypogean Tank designed around a single partner. When battle starts, he places a Doomfield on the ally directly behind him, raising their range and ATK and making both units steadfast. Bombing Engine fires his cannons six times, and the ally in his Doomfield joins in with attacks based on the target’s max HP that briefly stun them. Absolute Defense shields Gunnar and every ally behind him while speeding up the Doomfield ally’s attacks. His Ultimate, Annihilation Directive, calls down a Doomsday Meteor that burns the ground and lowers enemy Vitality. At Mythic+, he fires bonus missiles that heal him, and at Supreme+ a second meteor on burning ground stops enemies from healing or gaining shields. One copy works, but Supreme+ with EX+15 unlocks his full value.

Frieren

Frieren is a Dimensional Mage who rewards patience. She begins each battle concealing her magic, which makes enemies less likely to target her, and after 15 seconds she amplifies it, gaining bonus damage and replacing her normal attack with Lightning: Judradjim, a three hit strike that stuns on the last hit. Hellfire: Vollzanbel burns an area with heavy HP loss and reduced Vitality, and its cooldown is halved once she is amplified. Her Ultimate, Zoltraak, moves her to the rear and fires a beam whose true damage is shared among every enemy hit. Her Mythic+ Defensive Magic reduces large hits on her and the frontmost ally, and EX+10 adds Haste while that ally survives. Fighting alongside Himmel lets her amplify after just five seconds, so one copy of Himmel is a worthwhile addition.

Elijah and Lailah

Elijah and Lailah are two units that share a single HP and Energy pool. Their Stellar Bond links them in a straight line, and every ally placed on that line receives Energy from Elijah and healing from Lailah. Their Ultimate, Starlight Waltz, grants every ally a burst of Haste and makes linked allies unaffected during the dance, while Cosmic Protection shields Lailah and the weakest ally and blinds nearby enemies. At Mythic+, filling the line with allies from a single faction triggers a resonance that raises their Vitality and Energy gain and later refunds part of each Ultimate’s cost. Their shared HP pool makes them vulnerable to burst damage, so they need Supreme+ and EX+15 to stay alive. They remain best in slot for Dream Realm and are often paired with Rolan.

Gwyneth

Gwyneth is a Lightbearer Marksman with slow but powerful charged normal attacks that grow stronger with ATK SPD and Haste. Her attacks follow a three hit cycle, where the second arrow burns the target and lowers their Vitality and the third chains lightning that silences the target and stuns nearby enemies. Her Ultimate, Hailing Arrows, covers an area in arrows and immobilizes enemies. At Mythic+, the first arrow of the cycle combines both effects, and at EX+10 it also deals max HP damage and ignores part of the target’s defenses. At Supreme+, she attacks faster when no enemy is within one tile of her. Her eight tile range keeps her safe in PvP, and she is a leading damage dealer in Dream Realm, although divers can disrupt her.

Saida

Saida is a Hypogean Rogue who wins by outlasting her opponents. Her Ultimate, Seed Siphon, teleports her to an enemy, deals heavy damage, drains Energy, and plants a Drain Seed that keeps damaging its host and reducing their Energy, with up to eight seeds active at once. Crimson Claim heals her for the damage she deals and turns excess healing into a shield, and Revenant Sprout revives her at a Drain Seed whenever she falls. At Mythic+, enemies carrying a seed deal 35% less damage, and at EX+15 her third Ultimate unleashes a huge attack that traps every enemy. She works well with Alna in high deficit AFK Stages and anchors PvP stall teams, but her boss damage is weak and she needs Supreme+ with EX+15 to shine.

Solise

Solise is a Wilder Support who specializes in making one ally much stronger. At the start of battle, she becomes invulnerable while sending a healing Bulb to every ally, and once a Bulb stores enough excess healing it blooms into a Bulbsprite that permanently raises that ally’s ATK, even if Solise is defeated. Floral Favor heals the two weakest allies and grants a permanent shield to any ally with a Bulbsprite. Her Ultimate, Life’s Embrace, releases three healing waves, and Bulbsprites hit by them send out damaging water rings. At Mythic+, Bulbsprites add defenses and can level up three times, and EX+10 adds max HP once they are fully upgraded. She works from a single copy and competes with Velara as a Dream Realm support.

The strongest characters in AFK Journey today combine flexible kits with clear roles, from Rolan’s Morale support to Senea’s and Aster’s true damage. Focus your pulls and upgrade materials on the heroes that fit your preferred modes, and keep their key investment milestones in mind so each copy delivers real value. For the best gaming experience, play AFK Journey on BlueStacks!