Though there are different factions to choose from, only a few of them are the best. Read more to know the OP factions suitable for your gameplay!

The world within AFK Arena is populated with 7 unique factions, all with distinguishable qualities and strengths. Whether you are a complete beginner or have been playing AFK Arena for a while now and want to start a new account, this guide is for you! 

In this article, the factions will be categorized into default factions and special factions. The four default factions, namely Lightbearers, Maulers, Wilders, and Graveborn, are the easiest to obtain due to their high availability in stores and events and their high pull rate in the Noble Tavern.  On the other hand, the special factions include Celestials, Hypogeans, and Dimensionals. These special factions are very powerful  but are expensive to pull for and build. 

Let’s now dive deep into each faction!

Default Factions

1. Lightbearers

The Lightbringers, Belinda and Lucius

Lightbearers are heroes who long to spread goodness and light throughout Esperia and cast away evil. They are described as righteous heroes who serve in the name of Dura, the Goddess of Esperia. From thename itself, the Lightbearers’ appearances and abilities depict the theme of light and benevolence. They are heroes knowledgeable in magic use and are technologically advanced than other factions.  

Lightbearer Details

• Territory: Ranhorn City, Maldan
• Enemies: Hypogeans, Maulers, Graveborn
• Factional Advantage: Deals 25% more damage to Maulers
• Disadvantage: Weak against Graveborn heroes
• There are 23 playable heroes of the Lightbearer faction

Choose Lightbearers if…

• You are only planning to invest in them during early and mid-game. Lightbearers have been declining in the meta due to their lack of strength and efficiency in the late to end-game. Additionally, there are a limited number of heroes who even make it to late-game for their potent skillset and survivability. If you were to invest in at least one hero of the Lightbearer faction, Rowan is a perfect choice – offering OP support reliability and is a staple in end-game teams. 
• You are an F2P and have no budget. AFK Arena is somewhat generous to its F2P players. As for the Lightbearer factions, they’re one of the easiest to obtain. From an F2P experience, I had built so many Lightbearer heroes by the time I reached late-game. 

2. Maulers

Master and Apprentice, Brutus and Khasos

Maulers are beast-like heroes known for their monstrous strength. Maulers are known to be warriors and focus on might. They were created and exiled by Lightbearers. This caused insurmountable conflict between the two factions. A few Maulers are said to be affiliated with the Hypogeans, but the majority of them are deemed to be fighting  for Dura. They are distinguished by their brawn, animal-like appearance.

Mauler Details

• Territory: Steelthorn Cliffs, Dura’s Gift, The Crimson Arena, The Land of the Exiles
• Enemies: Lightbearers, Wilders, Hypogeans
• Factional Advantage: Deals 25% more damage to Wilders
• Disadvantage: Weak against Lightbearer heroes
• There are 22 playable heroes of the Mauler faction

Choose Maulers if…

• You are an F2P and have no budget. Maulers are known to be at the bottom ranking of all factions due to their lacking great heroes and synergy. The only notable heroes in this faction are their Grand Chieftain, Skriath, and others like Safiya, Skreg, and Brutus. Maulers are somewhat good in the early and mid-game but only those mentioned above are worth investing towards late and end-game. 

3. Wilders

The Dusk Patrollers, Lyca, Ira, and Kaz

Wilders are somewhat similar to Maulers due to their animal-like appearances. But they differ in terms of moral compass and upbringing. Wilders are known for their calm demeanor and are connected to nature. Some appear as human beings having animal features, while others are purely wild creatures. Some Wilders are melee and ranged heroes, while others have a grasp of sorcery that stems from the powers of nature. 

Wilder Details

• Territory: Yggdrasil/The World Tree, Azure Cove, Forest Maze, the Burning Woods
• Enemies: Maulers, Graveborn, Hypogeans 
• Factional Advantage: Deals 25% more damage to Graveborn
• Disadvantage: Weak against Mauler heroes
• There are 21 playable heroes of the Wilder faction

Choose Wilders if…

• You are playing until the end game. Some Wilders are solid and reliable heroes since they can last through the challenging chapters of the end-game Campaign. Heroes like Lyca, Raku, Saurus, Eironn, and Tasi are worth building as their skillsets are outstanding and can survive long enough in the end game. But other Wilders are good enough that they can still be considered. 
• You are an F2P and have no budget. Again, these factions are easy to acquire, and Wilders are no exception to that. They are by far one of the best factions due to their incredible performance and as they don’t cost much. 

4. Graveborn

Brains and Brawn, Silas and Izold

Graveborns are the undead heroes in AFK Arena and are known for their vengeful wickedness. The heroes of this faction are raised from the dead through   necromancy and dark arts. Their appearances vary and stem from the qualities of skeletons, corpses, ghosts, and uncanny experimented monsters. There are no known unified objectives of the Graveborns towards other factions, except  that they strive for immortality. There isn’t any evidence that says they are affiliated with the Hypogeans; some Graveborns even consider them enemies. 

Graveborn Details

• Territory: Bantus Empire
• Enemies: Lightbearers, Wilders, Hypogeans  
• Factional Advantage: Deals 25% more damage to Lightbearers
• Disadvantage: Weak against Wilder heroes
• There are 22 playable heroes of the Graveborn faction

Choose Graveborn if…

• You want to play the best default faction and play until the endgame. Graveborn is claimed by many players as the best faction among the four since the heroes are versatile and ultimately strong in the endgame Campaign, even for PvP Arena. Some of the heroes’ synergy with other factions are just OP. Noteworthy Gravebown heroes in the current meta are Thoran, Grezhul, Daimon, Ferael, Silas, and Oden.
• You are an F2P and have no budget. Graveborns are quite rarer and have lesser pull rates than other factions like Wilders and Lightbearers, but they are more common and have a higher pull rate than the special factions. Nevertheless, to build them is to have yourself set up for success in the end game. 

Special Factions

1. Celestials

The Resurging Flame, Awakened Talene

Celestials are majestic heroes who reside in the heavens. They served directly for Dura. Despite the Goddess’ death, they still protected mortals and strive to bring peace to Esperia by ending the Hypogean’s schemes.  They are immortals or gods, some of which are based on different real-life mythologies. The distinguishable attribute among Celestials is their white and gold-themed appearance. 

Celestial Details

• Enemy: Hypogeans  
• Factional Advantage: Deals 25% more damage to Hypogeans, adds Same Faction bonus to default factions 
• Disadvantage: Weak against Hypogeans
• There are 11 playable heroes of the Celestial faction

Choose Celestials if…

• You are playing until the end game and ultimately want their skillset and roles. Celestials’ skills are slightly complex, but most used for a tanky frontline, buffer, and debuffer. Choosing a DPS from the Celestial faction narrows down to a few heroes like Alna, Talene, or Athalia. 
• You are planning to pay a lot of money. P2W (Pay-to-win) players, also called Whales, tend to spend loads of money in the game just to summon heroes and build them. Celestials are part of the special faction, which means they are very rare to get in the Noble Tavern. Players use the Stargazing Room to pull for Celestials heroes. Paying the game to get more resources to pull for your desired hero is costly. So think first before deciding to build Celestial heroes.  

2. Hypogeans

The Insidious, Mortras

Hypogeans are the main villains of the game although they are still playable. They were created by the God of Death Annih using his blood. Their characteristics span from being nefarious and mind-controlling. The Hypogeans’ ultimate goal is to take over and spread evil across Esperia while destroying Dura’s creations. They despise the Celestials and long to defeat them. Their appearance usually includes horns, and dark violet and red hues. Even though they want to defeat all who stand for Dura, some of them find their way to manipulate mortals into being Hypogeans themselves. 

Hypogean Details

Enemies: All factions

• Factional Advantage: Deals 25% more damage to Celestials, 
• Exclusive Same Faction Bonus of the Team:
  • 1 Hypogean Member: +30% defense
  • 2 Hypogean Members: +25% energy recovery when injured
  • 3 Hypogean Members: +15% critical rating
  • 4 Hypogean Members: +30% critical damage
  • 5 Hypogean Members: +15 Haste
• Disadvantage: Weak against Celestials
• There are 10 playable heroes of the Hypogean faction

Choose Hypogeans if…

• You are playing until the end game and ultimately want their skillset and roles. Just like the celestials, Hypogeans offer great tenacity and damage in the end game. Ultimately, most of the Hypogean heroes thrive in the late and end game. The most notable of them all is Lucretia for her amazing skillset, damage, and survivability. Others like Mehira, Khazard, Ezizh, Mortras, and Zolrath are also considerable picks due to their great crowd control and support.
• You are planning to pay a lot of money. Like the Celestials, Hypogeans are rare, and spending lots of money to pull for them is the only way to build them to their maximum potential. You may also want to wait until you have 10 Ascended heroes before using Stargazing Room to pull for Celestials and Hypogeans. 

3. Dimensionals

Persona 5 QUEEN and JOKER

Dimensionals are heroes that come from a tear in spacetime which allowed them to travel to the dimension of Esperia. They are a really good addition to the game since they come from different shows or games. The collaboration makes players hyped particularly when they are fans of the collaborator. Dimensional heroes are somewhat easy to acquire since Lilith launches a limited-time event when they first release the hero. In this event, you must grind resources for weeks to buy a single copy of the hero. But don’t worry, Dimensional heroes are soul-fused – which means once you fuse them with an Ascended hero, the Dimensional hero will acquire the same level and Ascension level as the non-Dimensional hero. 

Dimensional Details

• Enemy: None in particular
• Factional Advantage: None
• Disadvantage: None
• There are 11 playable heroes of the Dimensional faction

Choose Dimensionals if…

• You are playing until the end game and ultimately want their skillset and roles. Same thing; Dimensional heroes are known for their versatile roles, skillset, and damage, and they are also dominating the meta for their outstanding performance in both PvE and PvP. The noteworthy heroes besting the Legends’ Championship Tournament include Ainz Ooal Gown, Albedo, Arthur, and Merlin. Ainz is, by far, the most OP DPS carry of the game.
• You are either F2P or willing to pay. Acquiring the heroes from the store is quite easy but takes a huge amount of time (acquisition of resources). Additionally, having the right gear for Dimensional heroes is hard as the chances of seeing one in the store are slim. So Whales spend a lot of money to reset the store and find Dimensional gears. If you are an F2P, you best be patient in the process of grinding for and building your desired Dimensional hero. Whales can also buy Dimensional heroes in the Merchant tab. 

Conclusion

The factions in AFK Arena have their pros and cons, and it may be from the faction’s efficiency or the faction’s build cost. However, choosing the right ones to build will save a lot of time spent playing and money spent on investing. sTake some time to consider them, and have fun in your AFK endeavors!

You may also be interested in:

• AFK Arena Best Heroes That Are OP
• AFK Arena Best Factions - Which To Choose?
• AFK Arena Best Artifacts (And How To Get Them)
• AFK Arena Best Healers That Are Great
• AFK Arena Best Teams that Wreck Hard! [Top 10]