Update 2.5 “Eclipse” reshuffled the top of Anime Expeditions by adding four units at once: Iron Wolf (Struggler), 5th God Hand, Silver Falcon, and Eclipse Hunter (Savior). Three of them landed at or near the top of the pile, which means the teams that carried Update 2 are no longer the fastest way through Infinite, Infinite Tower, and raid-style stages.
Quick answer: The strongest Update 2.5 core is 5th God Hand, Sovereign (Djinn), and Iron Wolf (Struggler) for damage, with Silver Falcon buffing and boosting Yen behind them.
How the Update 2.5 rankings were decided
Placements here reflect the Update 2.5 Eclipse meta as of September 2026. Units are judged by how much they contribute inside their own role rather than on raw damage alone, since a buffer and a boss killer are never doing the same job. The heaviest weighting goes to competitive usage in long-form modes such as Infinite and Infinite Tower, where scaling, uptime, and stalling matter more than a single burst window.
Two placements are worth flagging before you invest. The three brand-new top-tier units are still settling, so their exact order within S can move. Jester is also the most contested unit in the game right now, sitting at the top of combined charts while damage-only rankings put him mid-pack.
Anime Expeditions tier list: all ranked units (Update 2.5)
This is the combined ranking, counting damage, utility, and support value together. Anything not listed is not worth building around in the current patch.
| Tier | Units |
|---|---|
| S | Sovereign (Djinn), 5th God Hand, Silver Falcon, Iron Wolf (Struggler), Lightning God (Overcharged), Shadow (Divine), Kitsune, Prodigy (Rage), Puppet (Telekinetic), 8th Sword (Berserk), Crow (Black Fire), Vegetable (Prince), Elf Mage (Unleashed), Jester, Head Captain (Char), Rainman (Forecast), Water Mage (Scholar), Sharkfang (Abyssal) |
| A | Eclipse Hunter (Savior), Sand (Alligator), Carrot (Unleashed), Dark Mage (Sovereign), Salmon Sorcerer (Grade 1), Crimson (Brother), Cubert, The Drink (Juicebox), Razorjaw (Hunter), String Demon (Awakened), Lady Giant (Envy), Cursed Student (True Love), True Saint (Holy), Water Princess, Forbidden Teacher, The Hero, Ramen Guy, Stone Alchemist |
| B | Flame Emperor (Reincarnate), Toy Maker, Reaper (Released), Hollow (Blaze), Greed, Ice Queen, Scissor, Cursed Immortal (Black Sun), Bioinsect (Final Form) |
The four Update 2.5 units and where they land
5th God Hand (S)
5th God Hand is the best combined damage and crowd-control unit in the patch. His Distortions hold enemies in place long enough for the rest of your board to fire, while simultaneously feeding him Fated Meter and applying Mark of Fate. Once the Marks are up and the meter is stacked, his damage sits with the best in the game, which is why he shows up on both the damage list and the control list. He runs a dark element with a psychic archetype, and Unbound is the trait you want on him.
Iron Wolf (Struggler) (S)
Iron Wolf (Struggler) is the patch’s marquee damage-over-time unit, and the reason he ranks so high is terrain. His Crimson Spills leave Bleed pools on the ground that can become permanent, so the longer a run goes, the more of the map is actively hurting enemies. That makes him outstanding in extended modes and noticeably weaker in short stages where you never get to saturate the path. He is dark element, physical archetype, pairs with Demon Slayer gear, and wants Unbound.
Check your intended mode before spending on him. If most of your play is short clears, a burst unit returns more per upgrade.
Silver Falcon (S)
Silver Falcon is not a damage unit, and ranking him by damage misses the point. He is the top buff support in Update 2.5 and he also appears on the economy list thanks to a Yen boost, so a single placement pays for itself twice over a long run. Light element, magical archetype, and a straightforward fit in almost any board that already has a carry to amplify.
Eclipse Hunter (Savior) (A)
Eclipse Hunter (Savior) is the weakest of the four newcomers but still a useful pickup, landing in A on the combined chart and on the buff list for role rankings. He is a neutral element psychic unit built around blade reality gear, and his value comes from amplification rather than from carrying a wave himself.
Best DPS units in Anime Expeditions, ranked
Stripping out support value changes the order. If you only care about which units delete enemies, use this ranking instead of the combined chart.
| DPS tier | Units |
|---|---|
| S | 5th God Hand, Sovereign (Djinn), Crow (Black Fire), Prodigy (Rage), Iron Wolf (Struggler), Lightning God (Overcharged), Dark Mage (Sovereign), 8th Sword (Berserk), Shadow (Divine), Head Captain (Char), Vegetable (Prince) |
| A | Rainman (Forecast), Sharkfang (Abyssal), Elf Mage (Unleashed), The Drink (Juicebox), Puppet (Telekinetic), Carrot (Unleashed), Cursed Student (True Love) |
| B | Lady Giant (Envy), String Demon (Awakened), Sand (Alligator), Razorjaw (Hunter), Crimson (Brother), Reaper (Released), Jester, Toy Maker (with Unbound) |
| C | Cursed Immortal (Black Sun), Flame Emperor (Reincarnate), Hollow (Blaze), True Saint (Holy) |
Sovereign (Djinn) is the boss killer of the patch. His boss mode does enormous single-target damage, his attacks chain out to nearby enemies, and he layers freezes and slows on top, so he rarely sits idle even on a clear wave.
Lightning God (Overcharged) is the mirror image: the strongest pure AoE unit available, with stuns attached for extra control. Pairing him with Sovereign covers both ends of the damage spectrum.
Vegetable (Prince) has the highest ceiling of anything in the game if your team is built to feed him, but he needs time and specific partners to stack his damage and crit buffs. 8th Sword (Berserk) is less conditional, putting up the biggest raw numbers as a full-AoE unit once you stack crit gear behind Unbound.
Crow (Black Fire) remains a premier boss killer through his Black Fire damage over time, with one caveat: the effect cannot be reapplied until it expires, which is why a Unbound build beats a Draconic one on him.
Head Captain (Char) is a Mythic that plays like a Secret in the right team. Burn stacks infinitely and his damage rises with every stack, so a Burn-focused board turns him into a single-target monster. Outside that setup his summons and nuke still hold up.
Dark Mage (Sovereign) is the biggest gap between the two ways of ranking units. On the combined chart he sits in A, but as a damage dealer he is top tier: set his targeting to None once he enters Lightning mode so he stays there, and he becomes a passive AoE clearer for everything inside his range.
Prodigy (Rage) needs a Yen budget to unlock his passives, but after he transforms he is a full AoE threat that also refreshes damage-over-time effects on hit, which makes him an ideal partner for Crow and Iron Wolf.
Best support, crowd control, and economy units
A board of five damage units loses to a board of three damage units and two enablers in long modes. These are the units worth a slot for reasons other than their own damage.
| Role | Units |
|---|---|
| Buffs / damage amp | Silver Falcon, Kitsune, The Drink (Juicebox), Eclipse Hunter (Savior), Puppet (Telekinetic), Shadow (Divine) |
| Crowd control / stall | Salmon Sorcerer (Grade 1), Bioinsect (Final Form), Shadow (Divine), 5th God Hand, Sovereign (Djinn), Sharkfang (Abyssal), Puppet (Telekinetic), Water Mage (Scholar), Sand (Alligator), String Demon (Awakened) |
| Economy / Yen | Stone Alchemist, Ramen Guy, Silver Falcon |
Puppet (Telekinetic) is arguably the best Mythic in the game precisely because he works either way. Run Unbound and he is a heavy damage dealer; run Optics and he becomes a support that amplifies damage and marks two enemies at once, with doll summons slowing the lane.
Shadow (Divine) straddles all three columns. His Domain pushes enemies back and buffs magical units while he keeps summoning, which is why he is both a top-tier damage pick and a fixture on the buff and control lists. He works especially well next to Dark Mage.
Kitsune is a pure buffer with a flame magical kit and range-boosting gear, and she pairs with the Primordial trait. Carrot (Unleashed) is the odd one out here: nominally a hybrid, his real draw is teleporting friendly units around the map to set up follow-up attacks, which makes him a multiplier on whatever your strongest carry is.
Further down, the B-tier names still have narrow uses. Cursed Immortal (Black Sun) functions as a magical support with a memory pendant build, while Hollow (Blaze) and Reaper (Released) hold up as early-to-mid progression units before you have Mythics.
Best traits and equipment for the top units
Trait choice swings a unit’s output more than a couple of upgrade levels do. Unbound is the default answer on nearly every damage unit, with Primordial as the common alternative and Optics reserved for support builds.
| Unit | Best trait | Key equipment |
|---|---|---|
| 5th God Hand | Unbound | — |
| Iron Wolf (Struggler) | Unbound | Demon Slayer gear |
| Sovereign (Djinn) | Unbound / Primordial | Lightning Dagger, Shinigami Sword, Warrior Pole |
| Lightning God (Overcharged) | Unbound / Primordial | Storm Trident, Shinigami Sword, Magic Book |
| Prodigy (Rage) | Unbound / Primordial | Mentor’s Cape, Shinigami Sword, Warrior Pole |
| Crow (Black Fire) | Unbound | Illusion Crow, Magic Book, Shinigami Sword |
| Head Captain (Char) | Draconic / Unbound | Fiery Staff, Shinigami Sword, Warrior’s Axe |
| Dark Mage (Sovereign) | Unbound | Dark Scepter, Magic Book, Shinigami Sword |
| Vegetable (Prince) | Unbound / Forsaken | Royal Gi, Shinigami Sword, Magic Book |
| 8th Sword (Berserk) | Unbound | Hair Bells, Shinigami Sword, Magic Book |
| Shadow (Divine) | Unbound | Hexed Blade, Bamboo Bottle, Magic Book |
| Elf Mage (Unleashed) | Unbound / Forsaken | Elven Battle Staff, Shinigami Sword, Magic Book |
| Sharkfang (Abyssal) | Unbound / Primordial | Tideblade, Shinigami Sword, Bamboo Bottle |
| Puppet (Telekinetic) | Unbound (DPS) / Optics (support) | Calamity’s Eye, Shinigami Sword, Bamboo Bottle |
| Carrot (Unleashed) | Unbound / Forsaken | Carrot’s Gi, Shinigami Sword, Warrior Pole |
| Cursed Student (True Love) | Forsaken / Unbound | Promise Ring, Shinigami Sword, Three Swords From Hell |
| The Drink (Juicebox) | Primordial / Optics | Pointy Straw, Bamboo Bottle, Warrior Pole |
| Rainman (Forecast) | Unbound / Primordial | Poison Frog, Shinigami Sword, Bamboo Bottle |
| Kitsune | Primordial | Range-boosting gear |
On farming units, take Investor rather than a damage trait. The extra Yen is worth more than the marginal damage a farm unit contributes.
Progression order if you are starting from scratch
Early on, grab the Time Chamber unit and lean on Greed (Ban) and Scissor (Riyo) for damage while stalling Legendaries cover support. From there, the goal is not a Secret but the A and S-tier Mythics, which are far cheaper to reach and clear most content on their own. Secrets are the last step, not the first.
New units come from the Summon system, reachable from the Summon button on the left side of the lobby in Anime Expeditions. Most banners cost Gems, so clear daily and weekly challenges before spending. You will know an investment has landed when the unit card shows the intended trait and all three equipment slots filled, since trait and gear choices are what separate a mid-tier board from a meta one in the Eclipse patch.
