Archero guide: Best heroes, abilities, talents, tier lists, and more!

Archero is a deceptively simple game, but pushing into new chapters can be very difficult without the right knowledge. To help you progress we’ve put together this Archero guide, covering everything from basic gameplay to hero and ability tier lists for beginners and veterans alike.

Without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about Archero gameplay, heroes, abilities, talents, and more!

How to dodge enemy attacks

The very first thing you’ll need to master in Archero is dodging enemy attacks. Dealing more damage can help you finish levels more quickly, but if you run out of health it’s game over!

The big tip here is to keep your eyes on your hero. You might be tempted to look around the screen or follow specific attacks, but this is a mistake. If you are focusing on a single bullet, the odds of getting hit by another are much higher than if you watch your own character, especially as things get more hectic in later levels.

When you do move, try to keep your movements as tight as possible. A short swipe is often all it takes. If you hold on and run all the way across the screen, you’re more likely to run into multiple bullets and quickly deplete your HP.

Obviously, as you play you will also learn the attack patterns of enemies, which makes dodging much easier. Also, certain types of Archero equipment and abilities can boost the stat called dodge (causing attacks that hit you to occasionally miss), but you should never rely on this. Learning how to move your character effectively will pay huge dividends later on.

Archero devil: How to summon and when to skip

The Archero devil is the only way to access certain powerful abilities (including duplicate Multishots, Through The Wall, and Extra Life), although they will come at a significant cost to your maximum HP (20%). But before we get into that, you should first know how to summon him.

To guarantee an appearance from the Archero devil after a boss fight, you have to beat the boss without getting hit by any attacks. He may still appear if you do get hit, but most of the time, it will spawn the spinning wheel instead.

Once he does appear, you need to decide whether or not it’s worth it to sacrifice a percentage of your max HP for a single ability. If your max HP is already low, you may open yourself up to a quick death from hard-hitting opponents. For fairly run-of-the-mill abilities you may want to pass.

We have a full Archero ability tier list later in this guide, but as a general rule, you should always take Extra Life and try to take Through The Wall and Water Walking where possible. These last two not only make it much easier to dodge attacks, but they also boost damage by 15%.

It’s worth mentioning that there are situations where you don’t want to summon the Archero devil. If you don’t want to sacrifice max HP or are trying to farm up gems, take a hit just before finishing the boss to reduce its chance of spawning.

Angels: Abilities or health?

Unlike the Archero devil, angels offer two good choices every time you meet them. One is a minor ability or max HP boost, and the other is raw healing.

Although the abilities on offer aren’t very powerful, always try to grab them when you arrive at an angel. They add up in the long run, and you can always pick up more healing red hearts in later stages.

The major exception is when you are very low on health. If you think you might die in the next room,  healing is a better choice. That said, if you’ve managed to collect an Extra Life ability your health will be fully restored anyway.

Archero talent guide

Archero talents are by far one of the most critical elements of progressing in the game. Not only can they provide stat bonuses you can’t get anywhere else like enhanced equipment bonuses and healing upon level up, but these bonuses also persist across every Archero hero and run.

You can’t choose which talents to unlock, but they do unlock in a particular order. Your first upgrade will unlock Glory, which is easily the best talent in the game. It provides a single ability at the start of each run, which can be game-changing for boss-heavy areas like Chapter 7. Unlike other talents, it maxes out at level one.

Other Archero talents max out at level 10, and are unlocked in a specific order. The exact order doesn’t really matter, but you should try to upgrade a total of 22 times as soon as possible, as this unlocks the final talent: Time Reward. This will build up coins and scrolls over time, even when you’re not playing the game!

As a general rule, though, upgrading Archero talents is never a bad idea. Consider them coins well invested in your progression.

Archero hero mode: Is it worth it?

Hero mode is a harder game mode that unlocks early in the game. In it, each stage is filled with more obstacles and spikes, and some enemies are significantly stronger.

Despite this, the rewards are exactly the same as normal mode. If you’re just looking to farm coins and gems, there is no reason to run hero mode over normal mode.

That said, hero mode does have its own clear rewards, so you should still try to clear each chapter once to collect them. Just don’t make it a priority.

Archero gem spending guide

Gems are the most precious resource in Archero, so you should be careful about spending them. Before you starting shelling out for temporary deals on equipment and scrolls, you should know that there are much better things to save up for.

The best things to buy with gems are heroes. Two of the three Archero heroes that you can purchase with gems are top tier (Helix and Meowgik), but they cost 1500 and 1800 gems, respectively. It can take several weeks to farm up enough gems for just one of these heroes, but it’s more than worth it.

Next up you should pick up extra hatchery slots. This will greatly speed up how quickly you can hatch eggs and increase the strength of your monsters.

Once you’ve picked up these two heroes and upgraded your hatchery, the best uses of gems are extra attempts of Ancient Maze if you’re farming or equipment chests. Saving up for the Obsidian Chest x10 is obviously the best value, but it can be difficult to save 2600 gems. Another option is opening individual Obsidian Chests, which provide a discount on subsequent opens. This means that by saving a more reasonable 840 gems you can open three Obsidian Chests in a row.

Best Archero hero

Any Archero guide wouldn’t be complete without talking about heroes. Next to your weapon, the Archero hero that you pick will have the biggest impact on your gameplay. This also means that like weapons, the best Archero hero for you will depend largely on your preferences.

It’s also worth noting that you should try to upgrade all heroes to level 20, even if you don’t intend on using them.

Still, some heroes have more potential than others. We’ve dropped a full Archero hero tier list below (listed in order of strength), but you’ll be relieved to know that some of the best Archero heroes can be unlocked without spending any real-world money. It’s also worth noting that while a lot of this is subjective, everyone in the community agrees that Atreus is the worst of the lot, so pick up a new hero as soon as you can!

Best Archero abilities/skills

The final thing we’ll touch on in this basic Archero guide is abilities (or skills). Which abilities you pick up in any given run can have a major effect on your chances of success. A few lucky options early in a run can set you up for an easy downhill ride to the end of the chapter.

While there are good and bad Archero abilities, ideal choices will depend on your weapon. Tornado, for example, already has a built-in pierce and bouncy wall effect, so adding those skills again will actually reduce overall damage.

Here is a simple Archero ability tier list, focusing just on the abilities that are worth picking up. Others excluded from the list, like Spirit Attack boosts, Meteors, Sword abilities, and Smart, are generally not worth prioritizing in any situation. Again though, personal preferences play a big role, so focus on what you enjoy using.