Anime Story 2 spreads its roster across Story, Raids, Tower, Nature Tower, Secret Bosses, and the limited Slime Event, so the strongest unit depends on the mode you are clearing. The fastest way to build a winning team is to focus on the meta DPS carries, pair them with the right Tank and Support, and auto-sell everything that falls behind once the difficulty climbs.
Quick answer: Build around Slime (Demon), Sound Breather Master, Kaizen (Ascended), Majestic Vampire, and Vampire Brandon for damage, run Raven (Red) as your Tank, and slot Jolios (King) or Yono (Star) for Support. Put Baseball Bat (or Candy Cane) and the Monarch trait on DPS and Support, and Demon Ring or Coal on Tanks.
What the tiers mean
S-Tier units are the meta DPS picks that hold up in every mode. A-Tier units are strong alternatives that shine in specific content but lose ground elsewhere. B-Tier picks lean on team synergy to perform, and C-Tier units are early-game fillers you replace as fights get harder. Tanks and Supports sit in their own Meta categories because their job is protection and buffing rather than raw damage.
S-Tier DPS units
| Unit | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|
| Slime (Demon) | Top DPS and passive buffer. Buffs every Water unit by +50% and all other elements by +10%, and applies Black Flames for +66% damage that makes enemies take +10% more from all sources. |
| Sound Breather Master | The best pure DPS in the game, especially in Nature Tower and late Story. Gains +15% Crit Chance with Black Bull. His Musical Score passive is RNG, swinging between 2x and 0.5x damage. |
| Kaizen (Ascended) | Consistent in every mode and an auto-include for Raids, Bosses, and Towers. Stuns 3 enemies at round start and deals 200% more on the first attack. |
| Asota (Devil) | Leader and DPS hybrid. Buffs Sword allies by +15% damage, is immune to all crowd control, attacks twice on round one, and gains +25% damage plus team heals per kill. |
| Ant King | Brawler that excels against Bosses and in Raids. 50% chance to Poison for 90% damage, marks all enemies for +20% damage, and supports Shadow Knight. |
| Dark Swordsman (Ascended) | The best Nature Tower carry. Applies Bleed for 80% of his damage (doubled on burning enemies) and dodges then counters the first attack. |
| Majestic Vampire | Stacks Crit Chance and Crit Damage for high AoE output. Every 3 turns freezes the field and grants an extra turn. |
| Vampire Brandon | Tanky Bleed DoT unit with self-healing, strong across Raids, Towers, and Secret Bosses. |
Tip: Slime (Demon) and Flame Lion together turn the Black Flame interaction oppressive, since Flame Lion doubles all Burn and Black Flame damage your allies deal.
A-Tier DPS units
| Unit | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|
| Devil Cyborg (Meltdown) | One of the biggest single hits in the game. Below 50% HP he deals 400% damage to all enemies, and he buffs every Fire unit by +50%. |
| Shadow Knight | Strong for Story progression. Bleeding enemies take +80% damage per turn, and he attacks again when a marked enemy dies. Pairs with Ant King and Dark Assassin. |
| Flame Lion | Mandatory on Burn and Black Flame teams. Buffs Brawler allies by +10% and adds a second flame hit that applies Burn, but falls off without synergy. |
| Reaper (Bankai) | RNG-heavy carry that performs in Tower content. 35% chance to hit up to 5 targets with random damage and debuff procs. Needs strong stats to peak. |
| Ultimate Warrior | Great early Story, Slime Event, and Raid pick. Deals 2x damage with elemental advantage and rolls easily from the banner. |
| Aura Farmer | Reliable early to mid Story DPS. 20% chance to dodge attacks and +50% damage to enemies above 35% HP. |
| Crimson King | AoE burst Leader who buffs Villain allies by +10% but also hits your own team, so he needs a healer. |
| Maid Dior | Buffs all Maid units by +30%. Solid only inside a dedicated Maid composition. |
B-Tier and C-Tier units
| Tier | Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| B | 23rd Magic Emperor, Greed (Fox), Pride (Sun), Battle Maniac, Acu, Shiny Wrath (Fury) | Conditional spikes that depend on synergy. 23rd Magic Emperor changes element each attack but gains almost no team synergy. Acu is the best beginner Story unit, and Pride (Sun) works best slotted as a Tank. |
| C | Anti Hero, Bald, Super Roku, Agony, Youji, Sosuke | Fine to run while pulling for better options. Bald shares a 25% mutual damage buff with Devil Cyborg, but stronger replacements exist. |
Best Tank units
| Unit | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|
| Raven (Red) | The best Tank in the game. 25% dodge that triggers a 50% damage counter, plus a passive that forces the next attack to miss after any hit. |
| Black Bull | Strong Tower tank and Leader. Survives his first defeat with 1 HP and grants Captain allies +15% Crit Chance, which directly feeds Sound Breather Master. |
| Titan | Flat 60% damage reduction but no offense. A placeholder until you secure Raven or Black Bull. |
| Ruki | Reliable beginner Tank. |
| Vogita | Alternative Tank option for mid-game teams. |
Note: Demon Ring and Coal are Tank-exclusive relics. Do not put them on DPS or Support units.
Best Support units
| Unit | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|
| Jolios (King) | The strongest pure Support. Gives King allies +20% Crit Damage, makes Light allies immune to elemental weakness, freezes all enemies on first attack, and revives once. Damage rivals A-Tier DPS. |
| Yono (Star) | The go-to healer. Places Stars that heal your lowest-HP ally and gains a 100% damage boost when the strongest enemy drops below 50% HP. Excellent in the Slime Event. |
| Gojin | Doubles all damage-over-time effects, multiplying Poison, Bleed, and Burn teams. |
| Wandering Mage | Cleanses 2 allies each turn or shields the 2 highest-HP allies. 20% chance to cut all enemy damage by 20%, sometimes removing the need for a dedicated Tank. |
| Golden Wind (Requiem) | Support and damage hybrid. Plants Life Seeds for bonus damage and ally heals, revives the first fallen ally, and can force an enemy to skip a turn. |
| Destruction | Buffs every Dark unit by +30%, amplifying Kaizen, Asota, and Ant King. |
| Tatsumaki | Provides a 30% Nature buff, strong alongside Ultimate Warrior in the Slime Event. |
| Greatest Maid | Neutral Support option for mixed teams. |
Best relics and traits
Relic and trait choices are simple once you split units by role. Run Baseball Bat or Candy Cane on DPS and Support, and reserve Demon Ring or Coal for Tanks. The Monarch trait is the default for nearly everyone, with Deadeye or Ethereal as DPS alternatives and Solar for Tanks.
| Role | Relic | Trait |
|---|---|---|
| DPS | Baseball Bat / Candy Cane | Monarch (or Deadeye / Ethereal) |
| Support | Baseball Bat / Candy Cane | Monarch |
| Tank | Demon Ring / Coal | Solar |
Farming Gems, Trait Rerolls, and Gold
Efficient farming comes down to matching the right unit to the right stage. Equip Baseball Bat and the Monarch trait on your farming unit for the fastest clears.
| Goal | Unit | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Gems | Acu | World 2 Act 1 |
| Gems | Aura Farmer | World 9 Act 3 |
| Gems | Slime (Demon) | World 10 Act 1 |
| Trait Rerolls | Slime (Demon) + any team | Infinite Mode Heroic City |
| Gold | Acu | Highest Story stage you can one-shot |
| Gold | Farmer | 9-3 NM |
| Gold | Master | 9-7 NM |
| Gold | Slime (Demon) | 10-1 NM |
Elemental matchups and top units by element
Every unit except Neutral deals bonus damage against its countered element, so leaning into advantage speeds up clears. Fire beats Nature, Nature beats Water, and Water beats Fire. Spark beats Water, Light and Dark counter each other, and Neutral has no interactions.
| Element | Top units |
|---|---|
| Fire | Devil Cyborg (DPS), Raven (Tank), Flame Lion (Support) |
| Nature | Ultimate Warrior (DPS), Yono (Support), Golden Wind (DPS/Support) |
| Water | Slime (DPS/Support), Dior (DPS/Support) |
| Spark | Sound Breather (DPS) |
| Light | Majestic Vampire (DPS), Vampire Brandon (DPS), Jolios (Support), Gojin (Support) |
| Dark | Kaizen (DPS/Support), Asota (DPS/Support), Ant King (DPS), Black Bull (Tank) |
| Neutral | Dark Swordsman (DPS), Aura Farmer (DPS/Support), Titan (Tank) |
For element-focused builds, Silent Bloom (Kageyoshi) buffs every Light unit by +50%, making it the best Support for Jolios and Reaper teams, while Destruction adds +30% to Dark units to push Kaizen, Asota, and Ant King even higher.
These rankings reflect the current Bizarre and Maid update meta, and they will shift as new units arrive. If you are still building, lead with Asota (Devil) for sustained Raid damage, control Towers with Jolios, Slime, Flame Lion, and Kaizen, and bring Ultimate Warrior plus Tatsumaki and Yono into the Slime Event for the smoothest clears.
