Highguard Warden Meta Tier List

Highguard makes its surprise launch after radio silence since its initial reveal at The Game Awards 2025, dropping into an already hefty player base, jumping in on day one. This 3v3 raid hero shooter pits players in Raid, a mode where players must claim the Shieldbreaker to storm the enemy base, blowing it up to claim victory.

With Highguard being a hero shooter at heart, players have a selection of characters to choose from called Wardens. These arcane gunslingers have a whole host of unique abilities, and while each one is good in its own right, some definitely rank higher in the meta than others. Here is a meta ranking of every character in Highguard, along with a deep dive into how to use each one.

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S-Tier: God Tier Wardens

Scarlet

Surging straight to S-Tier on day one, Scarlet is easily one of the strongest Wardens players can add to their lineup. While not every squad needs a Scarlet, as her stealth-focused kit makes her better suited to flanking, she can still be a top-tier meta pick thanks to her Shifting Sands Passive alone. This ability lets her breach walls, floors, and ceilings with ease, while also acting as a powerful tool for opening locked areas during the looting phase or in open engagements.

As mentioned, Scarlet leans heavily into stealth with her Sandstorm Tactical Power, which can be used in several effective ways. Players can activate it to reduce visibility while flanking objectives or enemies in the open, or use it defensively to disengage, escape danger, and quickly reposition when under heavy fire.

Rounding out her ability set is the Whirling Blades Ultimate Power, a devastating ability capable of dealing massive damage, especially when landing direct hits or headshots. It is also one of the few ultimates that can be held and activated at will rather than being instantly used, giving players more flexibility to prepare behind cover or activate it before pushing enemies. However, it is highly reliant on good accuracy and is a lot harder to use outside of tight 1v1 scenarios.

Atticus

Atticus is the face of Highguard, and it is only fitting that he is also one of the best Wardens in the current roster. Adept in an assault role, Atticus is suited for players who want to dish out immense damage, while also having a level of defensive capability. His most broken ability currently is the Shockspear, which players can use to throw down a spear that locks in place and arcs electricity to nearby enemies. This deals rapid tick damage, and players can also pick up the spear to regain a charge on the ability.

The Shockspear works great when used to defend the base or Shieldbreaker, but also functions well when thrown into rooms while attacking. His passive, Supercharged Axe, allows players to charge up their axe throughout the game by mining Vesper. Once fully charged, the axe will arc electricity to nearby nodes to farm even more quickly, essentially allowing players to stock up on plenty to trade later on.

His signature ability is Powerstorm, a pure offensive ability that lets players rain down multiple spears for massive area of effect damage. When used on unsuspecting players, it can quickly take them down with ease. However, players are incredibly vulnerable when deploying it, as they are suspended in the air, making it relatively easy for enemies to shoot them down if they are not careful.

A-Tier: Great Meta Wardens

Redmane

While Scarlet is a slightly more versatile character with a broader skill set, Redmane is, without a doubt, the best breacher in the game. This is thanks to his two main abilities, both of which center around breaking down walls with ease. The first is Pounce, which allows players to either smash through walls with the push of a button or use it as a mobility tool by holding it.

The Beast’s Roar Ultimate is also capable of destroying walls with ease, but has the secondary use of unleashing a wave that damages nearby players. Both abilities function as excellent ways to quickly breach a base’s bomb sites, creating routes for the entire team to rapidly engage.

Lastly is Redmane’s passive, which makes him a go-to pick for players who are not fans of Highguard’s generally slower pace of gameplay. With each elimination, Redmane gains a speed boost, making him perfect for those who like to run and gun and consistently rack up kills.

Kai

Looking to counter Redmane and fortify your base even further? Then, Kai is the Warden to opt for. Kai is by far the best defender there is, putting all his focus into strengthening the base and providing cover. The best way Kai does this is by literally repairing walls through his Frozen Repair passive, allowing players to plug breaches.

His Ice Wall can also be used in a similar way, but it can be placed anywhere, allowing players to set up cover out in the open or seal off routes that enemies may be using to flank. It can also be used to create ledges or provide some much-needed cover to quickly revive a player or heal, making it far more versatile than Frozen Repair alone.

Kai’s most overpowered ability, however, has to be his Ultimate, which shifts players into his Frost Giant form. Press the shoot button to unleash a ranged ice attack for massive damage, or hold the aim button to deploy a shield that protects both yourself and players behind you. This ability is excellent when used to quickly dispatch attackers and defend teammates, and can also be wielded offensively to break structures and breach a base.

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B-Tier: Neat Niche Wardens

Slade

Entering the B-Tier now is Slade, an excellent Assault character, but one who is mostly effective in niche scenarios. Slade is an adept fragger and area-denial Warden, and is a definite must-have if players want to overhaul their team with attackers. Where Slade shines most is within the base, especially during a raid, as two of his abilities are devastating in enclosed spaces.

Both Heatwave and Firebomb serve a similar role by creating molten fire on the ground and dealing rapid tick damage. Heatwave shines best in long, narrow corridors, while Firebomb has a wider radius and can be thrown into rooms or entrances. Both are extremely effective when paired with traditional weapon damage and can be used well for both breaching and defending key routes.

Slade’s Ultimate Power is a little more strategy-reliant in its use, as it effectively allows players to rain down a massive area-of-effect attack from the sky. This creates a hazardous zone and is well-suited for damaging multiple players grouped. The main downside of Slade is that his abilities have hefty cooldowns, and his kit outside his Ultimate is rather ineffective in open areas.

Mara

Serving as another great niche character is Mara, an excellent support character who focuses on aiding her allies and denying enemy revives. While she is not an absolute must-have, she can be a great asset when players are jumping in as a team. Mara’s standout ability is her Soul Armor Tactical, which allows players to throw down overshields for both themselves and their teammates.

Soul Armor grants an excellent additional layer of protection, with any form of extra damage mitigation being a lifesaver. However, the armor cannot be stacked and is far more effective when used before engaging in fights, rather than being thrown down while actively taking damage.

Mara’s Sacrifice Passive is also useful, allowing players to destroy enemy souls after elimination to instantly recharge their tactical, essentially refunding the ability while denying enemy revives at the same time. Lastly, her Immortal Coil can seriously come in clutch in specific situations. For example, it can be placed at the Shieldbreaker spawn point to allow teammates to quickly respawn and assist in claiming it, or set down in areas that are otherwise inaccessible via default respawn points. Be careful not to place it out in the open, however, as doing so can create a deadly spawn trap for your team.

C-Tier: Average Wardens

Condor

Entering C-Tier now with Condor, an excellent Warden on paper, but one that has a big drawback on a certain ability. All of Condor’s abilities are centered around revealing enemy positions, either through gathering intel or highlighting enemies on the field for both herself and her teammates, essentially serving as built-in wallhacks.

The most deployed ability in her arsenal is Eyes in the Sky. This requires a short wind-up time and highlights enemy positions within the surrounding area. However, it is massively underpowered, as players are warned during the wind-up, meaning that if they are in a position to do so, they can remain perfectly motionless to avoid detection. The combination of a warning and a limited range significantly hurts this part of her kit.

Her additional abilities are a little more useful, however. Hunter’s Instinct provides both a visual ping and a callout from Condor when an enemy is nearby, which can be a lifesaver for anticipating flanks and rushers. Soaring Guardian, on the other hand, is a much stronger version of Eyes in the Sky, serving as an excellent ranged ability that can be deployed onto bases or in surrounding areas to reveal enemy positions to the team.

Una

A niche portion of players will definitely get some use out of Una. However, when compared to the rest of Highguard’s roster, she is easily one of the weakest additions to a player’s team. Una’s ability set revolves around her Spirits, each offering a different use. That said, each Spirit in its current state is either too weak to make a meaningful impact or serves a purpose that is not particularly useful.

For starters, the Helping Hand sounds intriguing at first glance. It can often grant players access to high-tier armor and other valuable loot much earlier than they would normally find in the world, reducing the RNG element slightly. However, it is not exactly a groundbreaking ability, as players will often find high-rarity items in chests when using other Wardens without much trouble.

Her Forest Wisps are equally uninspiring. While they can be deployed defensively to stun incoming players breaching your base or placed behind cover, they are easily countered with a few quick shots. They tend to work best when placed strategically at entrances or grouped to overwhelm a single target. Lastly, there is Tree Walker, who can be somewhat useful and can act as a fourth member of your team for both offense and defense. While its ranged attack can pack a punch, and the spirit itself is noticeably tankier, it still does not quite compare to many other available options, mostly serving as an extra nuisance that dishes out damage for enemies to focus on.

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Highguard

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FPS

Action

Multiplayer

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Systems

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Released

January 26, 2026

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DIGITAL

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Developer(s)

Wildlight Entertainment

Genre(s)

FPS, Action, Multiplayer

Platform(s)

PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC

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