Universal Tower Defense throws a lot of anime-inspired units at you very quickly. Some are core to the late‑game meta; others are there to get you through the early story and then retire to the bench. Knowing which is which saves a huge amount of gems and time.
How units work in Universal Tower Defense
Every unit in Universal Tower Defense is defined by four things you need to keep in mind when building a team:
- Element (Fire, Water, Ice, Wind, Rose, Dark, Light), which interacts with armor and elemental restrictions.
- Placement type (Ground, Hill, Hybrid, or Support/Farm), which controls what paths or enemies they can hit.
- Signature ability, which often adds crowd control, economy, or scaling damage.
- Rarity (Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythic, plus Secrets/Exclusives), which determines how hard they are to pull and how high their power ceiling tends to be.
On top of that, traits, etherealization, relic sets, and evolutions (EVOs) radically change how strong a unit becomes. Most late‑game tier lists assume evolved versions with good stat rolls and strong traits.
Universal Tower Defense summon rarities and odds
Summons use a standard gacha structure with sharply decreasing odds for higher‑rarity units. The core banner rates are:
| Rarity | Summon chance |
|---|---|
| Mythic | 0.5% |
| Legendary | 2% |
| Epic | 16% |
| Rare | 81.5% |
Mythics and Secrets define the meta, but strong Legendaries and Epics are very important while you build up gems and pity. Fastcart, for example, is only Epic but is the single farm unit in the game.
All currently summonable Universal Tower Defense units
For quick reference, here is the current set of banner units that can be summoned directly, with their elements, core abilities, and rarities.
| Name | Element / placement | Signature ability | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral | Fire / Ground | Lava Puddle leaves lava on the path for a short time and briefly confuses enemies. | Legendary |
| Berserker | Light / Ground | Cut Through EVERYTHING lets his attacks ignore a chunk of elemental armor restrictions. | Mythic |
| Cyborg Disciple | Fire / Hill | The Strongest's Disciple applies burn and deals extra damage to already burned enemies. | Mythic |
| Fastcart | Wind / Ground | Thriving Business reduces the cost of your next upgrade every time you place a unit. | Epic |
| Fire Foot Cook | Fire / Ground | With A Heated Leg boosts damage against burning targets. | Epic |
| Footballer | Fire / Ground | Opportunist scales damage based on how much health the strongest enemy has already lost. | Exclusive event |
| Gaaru | Water / Ground | Impenetrable Sand makes the unit immune to stun damage. | Rare |
| Gen | Fire / Ground | Shinsō increases attack damage for every point of range. | Legendary |
| Greybeard | Dark / Ground | Liberation heavily increases damage to armored enemies. | Legendary |
| Kriatu | Ice / Ground | Dual Wielder starts with a high crit rate and gains follow‑up attacks after hitting specific crit thresholds. | Mythic |
| Laffy | Wind / Ground | I Will Be Pirate King increases range for each pirate crew unit on your team. | Rare |
| Masked Ninja | Fire / Ground | Leader of Team 7 buffs the range and damage of all Team 7 units. | Epic |
| Namo | Water / Ground | Pirate Bounty marks an enemy to drop extra yen when killed. | Rare |
| Nataru (kid) | Water / Ground | My Ninja Way starts with a high base crit chance and gains extra attack and range at higher etherealization, especially near Sasku. | Rare |
| Nejo | Wind / Ground | Eyes Of The Hyuga increases crit chance for allies within range. | Epic |
| Orahemi | Rose / Hill | I'll Shield You protects one unit in range from being stunned. | Rare |
| Pebble | Rose / Hybrid | Hurricane Of The Leaf knocks enemies back and slowly builds a stacking attack buff. | Legendary |
| Psycho | Rose / Ground | Psychic Manipulation applies a delayed damage effect and increases damage taken by confused enemies. | Mythic |
| Ranji | Wind / Ground | Just Warming Up gains small permanent damage increases on each attack up to a cap. | Rare |
| Roku | Fire / Ground | Heart of the Battle passively increases damage. | Rare |
| Ruka | Ice / Ground | Arctic Freeze increases damage to frozen enemies. | Legendary |
| Rule | Water / Ground | ROOM increases damage while slightly increasing cooldown. | Mythic |
| Sasku | Dark / Ground | Uchiha Bloodline gives a chance to stun on hit and to dodge enemy attacks. | Mythic |
| Shakumira | Light / Ground | Shadow Possession Jutsu converts slowing enemies into extra range, with a higher cap when fully etherealized. | Legendary |
| Shunks | Rose / Ground | Captain's Foresight buffs all units when a boss spawns and prevents stuns while attacking. | Mythic |
| Spade | Fire / Hill | Flame Fruit's Power inflicts burn that pierces armor damage reduction. | Mythic |
| Triple Threat | Rose / Ground | Slice and Dice gains incremental damage per enemy on the field until the wave ends. | Epic |
| Virtual Idol | Light / Hybrid | Hiding in your WiFi does not attack and instead buffs allies in range, scaling the buff with distance. | Mythic |
| Zorus | Dark / Ground | Trap Magic places a limited number of stun or damage traps along the path. | Legendary |
Secret and quest units like Lulu, Jinoo (Monarch), Dragon Guy (Silverite), and Scarlet Maid (World) do not appear in the standard banner but are central to the high‑end meta.
Meta units and what they are good at
At higher difficulties, you build around a relatively small group of extremely efficient units. These are the ones that consistently appear in late‑game teams.
S‑tier damage and hybrid carries
- Kriatu (Cheater) is the current gold standard for ground DPS. His crit‑driven passive lets him ramp damage as the match goes on, and in Virtual Realm, he is widely treated as the single strongest unit. The Duelist trait pushes his crit rate even higher, accelerating that ramp.
- Berserker (Enraged) sits among the top hybrid damage dealers. He clears waves quickly, shreds armored enemies, and performs especially well in Challenges and Virtual Realm. The Ruler trait is the default pairing for him.
- Jinoo (Monarch) is a hybrid with shadows that scale into absurd DPS on long runs. He is ideal for Infinite and strong for Virtual Realm but slower modes such as Challenges favor faster ramp characters.
- Dragon Guy (Silverite / Trance) is a scaling carry that shines when paired with freeze units. His Battle Trance and Shatter effects make him lethal against frozen targets, and he can cleanse his own stuns in long Infinite runs.
High‑value air and hill units
- Spade (Donut) is one of the two premier air/hill DPS units. Burn damage that bypasses armor reduction makes him a strong answer to shielded and armored enemies, and he is particularly valuable while you are still ramping hybrids. Astral is the standout trait on him.
- Cyborg (Fearless) offers comparable hill DPS with slightly different attack patterns. He is a reliable replacement if Spade is not available.
- Zora is a solid early Legendary air/hill unit, useful for beginners who need anti‑air coverage before they pull high‑end mythics.
Top‑tier support and utility units
- Lulu is a secret Air/Hill support unlocked through an in‑game quest chain. He never attacks directly; instead, he issues active “orders” that stall, stun, or damage enemies. His ability to make enemies walk back along the path or stand still provides extreme stalling value in every game mode.
- Scarlet Maid (World) combines support and DPS. She constantly applies slows and stuns and gains a Time Gauge that triggers powerful attacks. She is particularly important for Infinite, where long fights give her time to stack damage.
- Admiral (Magma), the evolved Admiral, is the best budget support in the game. Confusion from his lava puddles forces enemies to walk backwards, buying extra time for your carries, while his burn contributes real damage.
- Miku (Super Star) is an aura support that buffs both damage and range. With high etherealization she becomes the strongest general buffer, particularly on Infinite, where teams are fully built.
- Shunks (Conqueror) sits in a hybrid DPS/support slot, bringing both stuns and strong damage. Evolving him is worth the investment if you have him.
- Virtual Idol is another non‑attacking support, buffing allies more the further away they are. She fits niche range‑stacking strategies but is less universal than Lulu or Miku.
Farming and economy
Fastcart is the only dedicated farm unit. Every placement reduces future upgrade costs, which scales extremely well over long runs. With the Fortunate trait, he becomes more efficient in every mode, and he is effectively mandatory for serious Challenge and Infinite pushes.
Early‑game units worth investing in
Not everyone starts with mythics and secrets. Several lower‑rarity units are efficient enough to carry early story and lower‑difficulty content while you build a roster.
- Gen is a strong beginner Legendary. His range‑based damage scaling makes him easy to use on long lanes, and he is perfectly viable for story progression before he is outclassed by EVO Legendaries and Mythics.
- Zora and Pebble are good early hill units. Pebble’s knockback plus stacking damage buff is especially useful on maps with bends, where you can repeatedly push mobs through kill zones.
- Shakumira is weak in base form, but once evolved into Shakumira EVO, she adds long‑range stalling. Even with lower raw DPS, the extra time she buys can let your main carries delete waves safely.
- Rogue Oni / Ronin Obito, earned from login milestones, is one of the best free story carries. He holds up strongly into Challenges and becomes far more valuable once fully invested.
- Triple Threat is a respectable Epic ground unit while you fill out your team. His wave‑based damage buff lets him punch higher than typical Rares and Epics during crowded waves.
Several Rare supports also quietly pull their weight: Nejo’s crit aura, Orahemi’s anti‑stun shielding, and Namo’s bounty mark all create value disproportionate to their rarity.
How to summon units efficiently
Summoning uses gems, with two main options on the banner in the Summon building:
- Summon x1 for 50 gems.
- Summon x10 for 500 gems.
Since there is no discount for multi‑summons, the only real difference is animation speed and convenience. Pity for Mythics makes it realistic to secure at least one early mythic unit; many players are encouraged to take the first mythic they reach through pity unless it is a very low‑impact support on a fresh account.
Gems and rerolls are front‑loaded through release rewards, daily login bonuses, level milestones, quests, and the unit index. Claiming everything you unlock and clearing story missions quickly gives enough pulls to build a functional starting roster without spending.
Traits and relics that matter for units
Traits and relic sets are where high‑end teams pull away from basic lineups. A few pairings are worth calling out because they interact directly with the units listed above.
- Duelist trait on Kriatu increases his crit rate, which directly accelerates his Dual Wielder ramp and makes him dominate Virtual Realm.
- Ruler trait on Berserker, Rule, and Jinoo gives them the raw scaling to match their carry roles, particularly in long Infinite runs.
- Astral trait on Spade turbocharges his burn‑driven damage, turning him into the premier burn DOT unit.
- Fortunate trait on Fastcart is effectively mandatory, amplifying your farming and making every other upgrade cheaper.
On the relic side, complete two‑piece sets define late‑game builds:
- Master Ninja belongs on DOT‑heavy Dark/Rose/Fire units such as Admiral (Magma) to spike their burn or bleed effects.
- Sun God works on fast‑attacking Light/Water/Ice units like Kriatu, where frequent hits keep the damage buff up.
- Berserk Shinigami is ideal for armor‑shred units like Berserker or any main carry that needs to punch through heavy armor.
- Laughing Captain reduces active ability cooldowns and is particularly potent on Lulu, letting him issue more orders per wave.
- Ex Captain Uraharo fits Mythics and Secrets with Duelist traits, who can fully exploit extra crit chance and crit damage.
Relic leveling is expensive, so it is better to upgrade only relics with strong main stats (damage or cooldown) and put them on S‑ and A‑tier units you plan to keep long‑term.
How to build a balanced team
Even with access to powerful units, runs fall apart if the team is unbalanced. A stable composition usually has:
- One or two main carries such as Kriatu (Cheater), Berserker (Enraged), Jinoo (Monarch), or Rule (ROOM).
- One air or hill DPS, such as Spade (Donut) or Cyborg (Fearless), at least until hybrids are strong enough to cover air alone.
- One farm unit, almost always Fastcart, with a good economy trait.
- Two or more supports, usually a mix of Lulu, Scarlet Maid (World), Admiral (Magma), Miku (Super Star), Shunks (Conqueror), or Virtual Idol.
In story mode and early Challenges, you can lean more heavily on pure DPS and run fewer supports. As you move into Nightmare, Infinite, and Virtual Realm, stalling and buff units become mandatory; the raw health of enemies scales beyond what bare damage can handle.
Early on, it is more efficient to fully invest in a handful of strong units than to spread resources across every Legendary and Mythic you pull. Etherealization and good traits dramatically change a unit’s performance, so pick your core carries and commit to them.
Universal Tower Defense rewards players who understand not just which units are strong, but why they are strong and how they interact. Once you have a couple of S‑tier carries, a farm, and two reliable supports, the rest of the game is about fine‑tuning traits, relics, and placement to squeeze every bit of value out of those units.
