Defender Tier List

Counter:Side is a side-scroller, hero collector title that features an engaging story, smooth combat system, wonderful art, and interesting characters. The game’s roster has several characters and units that fill different roles in the squad. In our Counter Side Defender Tier List, we will list down some of the high tier choices for the Defender role.

Disclaimer: Tier Lists are not meant to be a standard or something that will dictate your squad-building experience to the point that it will sap your enjoyment of the game. Use Tier Lists as a guide (as it is intended to be). The characters in our tier list are arranged based on our own opinions and what the other players think as well. Our recommendation is to follow your preference and build your squad based on your favorite units, as long as you make it work and it gives you satisfaction.

Instead of listing down all units, we will list down the top S-tier and A-tier units so you’ll know which ones are the top Defender picks. Defenders are the tank of the game. Their key traits are having significantly high DEF and the ability to taunt enemies and get their aggro. While they’re quite sturdy and have higher survivability, Defenders are quite vulnerable against Rangers but they’re quite strong against Snipers.

Hilde (Awakened Defender)

Hilde is an awakened unit that can only be summoned via Classified Recruitment. Getting her is incredibly hard unless you’re extremely lucky or spend money to buy the necessary Classified Employment Contracts for pulling her. She’s a very solid Defender, with her skills capable of providing defensive effects like barriers and damage resistance buffs. Her passive skill allows her to instantly knock targets backwards as soon as she’s deployed. She then charges at a target at least 3m away from her, dealing AoE damage upon collision while also reducing her Special Skill cooldown by 3 seconds. At skill LV5, this passive creates a non-cancelable barrier that’s equal to 8% of Hilde’s max HP around all allies within 8 seconds upon deployment. The special skill cooldown has been reduced by 5s instead.

Hilde’s special skill deals AoE damage which also grants her a non-cancelable barrier equal to 25% of her Max HP. She also becomes immune to hitstun from special or lower skills while the barrier is up. At skill lv5, she’ll get a Role Disadvantage resistance by 100% while the barrier is active. This means that she’ll resist incoming damage from Rangers with the help of the effect. Finally, her ultimate skill deals AoE damage as well while also grancing a 20% damage resistance for her for 12 seconds.

Lee Yumi

Unlike other Defender units that rely on high DEF stats, Lee Yumi has an outstanding EVA stat instead while also retaining the ability to draw aggro to herself. Her passive and Ultimate skills can also boost her already high EVA stat further for a few seconds, giving her really high uptime and field presence in the battlefield. At skill lv5, her passive and ultimate skills will give her Damage Resistance buffs. Aside from drawing aggro, her special attack also debuffs enemies’ HIT stat. At skill lv5, this skill also decreases enemy ATK by 10%.

Ryan Ferrier

Ryan Ferrier is a very reliable SR Defender. His passive skill allows him to push forward every 18th attack thrown at him by the enemies, ignoring Hitstun. (At skill lv5, this passive effect activates every 13th attack instead). Furthermore, he aggroes 3 surrounding enemies for a few seconds and reduces the damage he takes by 25%. His special attack allows him to deal AoE damage while also stunning the affected targets. His ultimate skill deals AoE damage while also decreasing his target’s EVA by 50% at 10 seconds. At skill lv5, activating the skill gives him another 30% damage resistance.

Irie Alford

Irie may be an R unit but don’t be fooled. Even at low rarity, she’s highly regarded by players due to her skills and low deployment cost. Since she’s an R unit, she’ll most likely be drawn by players multiple times, making her very accessible and newbie-friendly. Her passive skills draw aggro towards her for 5 seconds while also decreasing the damage taken by nearby allied Strikers by 10%. Her special skill deals AoE damage while also knocking back enemies. Her ultimate skill allows her to deal AoE damage. At skill lv5, she’ll also have a 25% damage reduction buff for 10 seconds after activating the skill.

Fione Lowell

Fione is also another reliable R-grade defender. All of her skills deal AoE damage, with her passive giving her a knockback effect as soon as she’s deployed while also drawing aggro towards her. At skill LV5, her passive gives her a 15% damage reduction buff for 15s as soon as she’s deployed. Her special attack deals AoE damage while also drawing aggro. At skill lv5, her special attack also grants a protective barrier that scales off with her HP. Finally, her ultimate skill deals AoE damage while also decreasing her and her allies’ damage taken. At skill lv5, this support ult also restores the HP of all surrounding allies by 20% upon activating the skill.

Hound

An R, mech unit, the Hound is also another good placeholder unit especially when you’re still low leveled. Unlike Counter units, the Hound only has three skills. Its passive skill draws aggro towards it whenever it uses its basic attack while its Special Skill deals AoE damage while also knocking enemies back. At skill LV5, incoming damage has been reduced by 20% for 5 seconds after skill activation.