Highguard’s release has introduced players to a brand new world to dive into, alongside a roster of unique characters. The playable characters in Highguard are known as Wardens, and they are the heart of the game’s experience, much more than the powerful weapons and intricate maps.
If you are looking for a guide on which Highguard Wardens work the best in the game’s Episode One meta, here’s a full tier list of all of the characters that you can choose from in this new raid shooter.
Editor’s Note: This tier list was last updated on January 29, 2026.
Best Characters in Highguard – Wardens Tier List
There are a total of 8 Wardens in Highguard, each with their unique sets of Passive, Tactical, and Ultimate abilities. We have ranked every Warden in the game into three tiers below:
| Tier | Wardens |
|---|---|
| S | Atticus, Scarlet |
| A | Kai, Mara, Redmane |
| B | Slade, Condor |
| C | Una |
S-Tier Characters in Highguard
The S-Tier Wardens in Highguard provide an overall balance of both utility and damage capability, making them extremely versatile in almost any situation.
Atticus
Atticus Abilities
- Shockspear (Tactical)
- Supercharged Axe (Passive)
- Powerstorm (Ultimate)
The poster boy for Highguard, Atticus, is an Assault-class Warden in Highguard, and he earns his value through being incredibly versatile. Atticus can adapt to every phase of a match, from the initial Gear Up phase to the Raid phase. His Supercharged Axe ability makes for quicker Vesper farming, which in turn leads to better equipment for battle. He can particularly shine during the Overtime stretch of a round when respawns are disabled, forcing enemies out of cover and punishing them for grouping up.
However, despite his versatility and damage potential, Atticus is not invincible and can be countered with other Wardens. This includes Kai, who can use his ice barriers to defend against Atticus’s pressure while also reinforcing walls to undo any structural damage. While Atticus can pick off characters using his ultimate, Mara’s Immortal Coil respawn beacon can negate the impact of a team wipe. Additionally, his Ultimate ability leaves him extremely vulnerable when activated, allowing a coordinated team to take him down without incurring much damage.
Scarlet
Scarlet Abilities
- Sandstorm (Tactical)
- Shifting Sands (Passive)
- Whirling Blades (Ultimate)
Scarlet serves as Highguard’s aggressive assassin with a kit that allows for a lot of outplay potential, especially for skilled players. Scarlet’s passive Shifting Sands ability is arguably the most powerful utility in the game as it allows her to turn destructible walls into passable barriers of sand. This can come in handy during raids, as Scarlet can sneak into the enemy base and plant bombs before the enemy team even knows she’s there.
While she shines with both stealth and defensive positions, a character like Condor, with her reconnaissance bird, can counter Scarlet by marking her even when she is cloaked. Meanwhile, Kai can also use his Frozen Repair abilities to trap Scarlet in rooms, while his ultimate can serve as a tank that can absorb her damage and block her escape routes.
A-Tier Characters in Highguard
The A-Tier Wardens pack a lot of punch with their abilities, but not without shortcomings that place them below other characters.
Kai
Kai Abilities
- Ice Wall (Tactical)
- Frozen Repair (Passive)
- Frost Giant (Ultimate)
The first A-Tier Warden, Kai, is a defensive anchor in Highguard. While he does not have the best potential for aggressive plays and mobility, his ice-based kit helps in maintaining base integrity and area denial. Kai can provide rolling cover to his teammates during offensive pushes or objective contests in tight corridors, where he can create instant safety zones for his teammates. His Ultimate ability can also make for a great tank that absorbs enemy damage.
However, Kai comes with his own shortcomings and can be countered by characters built around destruction. This includes Redmane, who can smash through Kai’s ice barriers and reinforced walls faster than Kai can repair them. While Kai can defend himself using ice barriers, a player using Atticus’ ultimate at the right time and angle can bypass Kai’s defenses by dealing damage to him over the walls.
Mara
Mara Abilities
- Soul Armor (Tactical)
- Sacrifice (Passive)
- Immortal Core (Ultimate)
Mara serves as Highguard’s essential support character. Despite lacking the raw power of Assault Wardens, she functions more as a force multiplier. Not only can she provide more overshields to her teammates, but also harvest enemy Soul Orbs to significantly reduce her ability cooldowns. Mara particularly excels during deep-base sieges, as her Immortal Coil ability can keep her team in the fight while removing the travel time from the base to the raid.
However, Mara is quite vulnerable to characters like Atticus, whose lightning strikes have the potential to stun her and even bypass her setups with aerial attacks. Additionally, Redmane can also effectively counter her by using AoE damage to scatter her team and disrupt her defensive lines. Mara is not a character that can function without timing and precision, as a coordinated team attack can potentially starve her of the soul energy she needs to function efficiently.
Redmane
Redmane Abilities
- Pounce (Tactical)
- Enraged (Passive)
- Beast’s Roar (Ultimate)
Redmane is Highguard’s primary Destruction specialist, and he serves as the ultimate siege engine in the game, with the character being designed to break through walls and other fortifications with raw power. Possessing high mobility thanks to his Pounce ability, he can be effective in deleting reinforced walls and snowball eliminations, which grant him massive movement buffs.
Despite Redmane being a force to be reckoned with, he can be countered by Condor, who can use her Eyes in the Sky ability to reveal his location and breach points before he can surprise the enemy team. Additionally, Atticus can stun Redmane during his leap animations, leaving the latter open to damage. Despite the character being A-Tier, Redmane might fall lower on the Highguard Warden tier list for some players due to his primary niche being environmental destruction and opening paths for his teammates.
B-Tier Characters in Highguard
The B-Tier Wardens in Highguard can be extremely situational and follow a strict playstyle, leaving little to no room for versatility when it comes to offensive or defensive capabilities.
Slade
Slade Abilities
- Heatwave (Tactical)
- Firebomb (Passive)
- Firestorm (Ultimate)
Slade can be a formidable Assault character with a lot of damage potential in Highguard, but his reliance on specific environmental conditions to really shine gives him a much more niche status. His pyrotechnic kit can help him act as a tactical pusher, forcing enemies out of cover and even blocking access to objects by setting the surroundings aflame. He is at his best in tight corridors, where he can use his fire to buy his team some time.
Despite his powerful pyrotechnic abilities, Slade can be easily countered by Kai using his ice barriers, which can absorb Slade’s fire waves and heavily impact his momentum. Additionally, Scarlet can make use of her stealth abilities to bypass Slade’s zones, allowing her to eliminate him while he is preoccupied with managing his chokepoints. While Slade can undoubtedly be effective in Shieldbreaker spawn locations like Dusty Tunnels, he cannot impact a fight from range and effectively defend himself.
Condor
Condor Abilities
- Eyes in the Sky (Tactical)
- Hunter’s Instinct (Passive)
- Soaring Guardian (Ultimate)
Moving away from pure damage, Condor serves as the best Recon Warden in Highguard. She can be an extremely useful asset to have on your team, especially when planning attacks on the enemy base, but her kit focuses entirely on gathering intelligence and fails to have significant damage capabilities. Condor can excel on Highguard maps like Summit, as her intel can be useful in avoiding snipers hiding on different levels.
Since Condor lacks any real mobility or defensive options, she can be easily countered with Assault Wardens like Atticus, who can attack her from aerial angles that are not as easy to monitor. Additionally, Redmane can also be a major threat to Condor, as his aggressive kit allows him to close the distance and eliminate her before she can escape. Even though Condor can be an invaluable part of any Highguard squad, she possesses very little when it comes to self-defense or high-damage abilities, landing her in B-Tier on the Highguard Wardens tier list.
C-Tier Characters in Highguard
The C-Tier Wardens in Highguard have their perks, but should not be players’ first pick when assembling their squad for a match.
Una
Una Abilities
- Forest Wisps (Tactical)
- Helping Hand (Passive)
- Tree Walker (Ultimate)
The Warden with possibly the coolest design in Highguard, Una, offers a unique summoner playstyle as a Defensive character. However, she is likely to be overshadowed by Wardens like Kai, who can provide more immediate structural protection and fill the defensive role much better. Una can be great for pressuring chokepoints and securing high-value loot using her Helping Hand passive ability, but fails to provide any long-term tactical advantage during battle.
Atticus’s electrical attacks can be a pain for Una to deal with, as they can bypass her Forest Wisps with little to no challenge. Characters like Slade, with his pyrotechnic kit, can make Una’s Wisps essentially unusable by setting the surroundings on fire and eliminating the Wisps before they even spawn in. All of these factors lead to Una landing in the C-Tier of the Highguard Wardens tier list since her playstyle is less about damage and more about disruption.
That’s it for our tier list of Wardens in Highguard that are available at launch. We will keep this list updated as new updates for the game come in and the developers introduce new Wardens to the game. Who is your favourite character to play as in Highguard? Let us know in the comments below!
