Z Route: Redemption Heroes
Z Route: Redemption has 30 heroes: 15 UR, 12 SSR and 3 SR. Every hero belongs to one of three factions, Warrior, Tactical or Assault, and stands in the Frontline, Backline or Support position. The list below shows all of them with their tier, and the sections after it explain the rules that apply to every hero.
Hero List
The tier column shows the consensus rating and how many of the popular tier lists give that tier. A hero marked "average" has no single list that matches the average rating. Heroes with their own page link to it, and the rest link to a section on this page or on the SSR and SR page.
| Hero | Rarity | Faction | Position | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe | UR | Warrior | Backline | S (6 of 7) |
| Arnold | UR | Warrior | Frontline | S (6 of 7) |
| Leah | UR | Tactical | Backline | S (6 of 7) |
| Bekka | UR | Tactical | Frontline | S (5 of 7) |
| Victor | UR | Assault | Backline | A (4 of 6) |
| Yana | UR | Assault | Backline | A (2 of 6) |
| Carter | UR | Warrior | Support | A (5 of 6) |
| Dirk | UR | Warrior | Frontline | A (4 of 6) |
| Silas | UR | Tactical | Backline | A (4 of 5) |
| Vince | UR | Assault | Frontline | S (4 of 6) |
| Lucian | UR | Warrior | Backline | S (6 of 6) |
| Virgilio | UR | Tactical | Frontline | A (3 of 6) |
| Katya | UR | Tactical | Backline | S (4 of 6) |
| Vera | UR | Assault | Frontline | A (3 of 4) |
| Nicole | UR | Assault | Backline | A (3 of 4) |
| Nora | SSR | Warrior | Backline | B (3 of 7) |
| Aria | SSR | Warrior | Backline | A (2 of 7) |
| Zara | SSR | Warrior | Frontline | A (average) |
| Toxina | SSR | Warrior | Frontline | A (2 of 6) |
| Conan | SSR | Tactical | Frontline | B (2 of 5) |
| Jack | SSR | Assault | Frontline | B (1 of 5) |
| Logan | SSR | Warrior | Backline | B (2 of 6) |
| Rachel | SSR | Warrior | Backline | B (3 of 6) |
| Kim Mina | SSR | Tactical | Backline | B (average) |
| Lee Yu | SSR | Assault | Backline | C (3 of 6) |
| Taylor | SSR | Tactical | Backline | B (1 of 5) |
| Celeste | SSR | Assault | Backline | A (3 of 5) |
| Jamal | SR | Warrior | Frontline | D (4 of 5) |
| Hank | SR | Warrior | Frontline | D (4 of 5) |
| Jackson | SR | Tactical | Backline | D (4 of 5) |
The ranking behind the tier column is explained on the tier list page. For squads, see the best team guide.
Factions and Counters
The three factions form a triangle. Warrior beats Assault, Assault beats Tactical and Tactical beats Warrior. The side that counters the other takes 20% less damage from it. Tactical squads therefore make a good counter to the Warrior lineups that many servers favor.
| Faction | UR | SSR | SR | Total | Takes 20% less damage from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | 5 | 6 | 2 | 13 | Assault |
| Tactical | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | Warrior |
| Assault | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | Tactical |
Heroes of one faction also strengthen each other. Five heroes from the same faction earn a 20% faction bonus on squad stats, and guides list smaller bonuses for squads with fewer matching heroes, but only the five-hero bonus is certain. Do not mix factions at random just because single heroes look strong. The squad guide shows the five-hero lineups for each faction.
Each faction has its own Training Center, and the hero research has a matching branch for Warriors, Tactical and Assault. Build the center of the faction in your main squad first.
Hero Positions
There are three positions. Frontline heroes (12 in the game) are tanks that absorb damage at the front. Backline heroes (17) deal damage from behind them. Support has one hero, Carter, who raises the ATK of the whole squad and speeds up skill cooldowns.
The formation has five seats, two in the Frontline and three in the Backline. The best tank goes to the Front-Right seat and the strongest damage dealer to Back-Center, which takes the least damage. Slot details are on the squad page.
Rarity: UR, SSR, SR
Heroes come in three rarities. UR (Ultra Rare, gold) heroes are the long-term goal for every seat of the main squad. SSR (purple) heroes are a bridge while you collect UR shards and stay useful against monsters. SR (blue) heroes are start-of-game fillers that are not worth real resources.
| Rarity | Heroes | Skills | Fourth skill | Bonus of the fourth skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UR | 15 | 4 | Doomsday Judgment | 20% ATK, DEF and HP |
| SSR | 12 | 4 | Wasteland Wanderer | 10% ATK, DEF and HP |
| SR | 3 | 3, no passive | Survival Expert | 5% ATK, DEF and HP |
Rarity beats stars. Gold heroes at 3 stars generally outperform purple heroes at 5 stars, which sends shards and skill books to UR heroes first. The SSR and SR page covers the purple and blue heroes one by one.
Hero Levels and EXP
The maximum hero level is 150. Levels raise ATK, DEF, HP, power and Command, the number of soldiers a hero leads. Your Base level gates the climb: the minimum Base level needed to level a hero up rises by 1 for every 5 hero levels, and level 150 needs Base 30. Past a certain point the Base level blocks level-ups, not EXP, so keep upgrading the base.
The EXP cost grows steeply: a few hundred EXP for early levels, thousands in the middle and tens of millions near the top. One guide lists Radar, AFK rewards, Special Operations, campaign progress, Arena rewards, events and passes as the main sources of hero EXP, and the VS event also scores hero EXP on its first stage. Spend it on the main five heroes.
Stars and Shards
Heroes have 0 to 5 stars, and shards raise them. Stars add raw power and also improve or unlock skill effects, so read the star text before you spend shards. Aim for 3 stars early, make 4 stars the priority and treat 5 stars as the long game. Four stars unlocks the fourth skill, and a few 4-star heroes beat many 3-star ones.
Stars also decide how high a skill can go. The skill level cap rises with every star step, as the table shows.
| Hero stars | Skill level cap |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 20 |
| 5 | 30 |
One guide lists the shard cost of a UR hero as 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 shards for stars 1 to 5, which makes 975 shards in total. Treat these numbers as an estimate, because shard costs come from a single table.
Shards come from the Alliance shop, the VIP shop, the Trial shop, the Honour shop, supply trucks that carry hero shards, and paid hero packs and Hero Day offers. Shop contents differ by server and season.
Omni Shards
Omni shards, also called universal shards, work on any hero of their rarity. Purple SSR Omni shards raise SSR heroes and UR Omni shards raise UR heroes. Hero-specific shards work only on their own hero. Spend the specific shards first and use Omni shards to close the gap: if a star-up needs 60 shards and you hold 34 specific ones, add 26 Omni shards.
Small top-ups of about 4, 10 or 20 Omni shards are efficient permanent upgrades. UR Omni shards can be bought in the Alliance shop and the Trial shop, and the Road to Survival event hands out SSR and UR Omni shards for Base upgrades. Stock and prices vary by server and season.
Skills and Skill Books
Every hero has an auto attack, an active battle skill, a passive skill and a fourth skill. The slots open at hero level 1, 5, 21 and 31, and the fourth skill also needs 4 stars. SR heroes skip the passive and have three skills.
Skill books level the skills. Level the team skills that buff several heroes first, then the main damage skill, and compare the real gain of the next level before you spend books. Check who a skill affects, because a passive without ally wording only helps the hero itself. Some passives of purple heroes work only against monsters.
Skill upgrades cannot be reset or recycled, so the order matters. Do not chase 4 stars on every purple hero. Unlock the fourth skill on the ones you keep.
Doomsday Judgment
Doomsday Judgment is the fourth skill of every UR hero. It opens at hero level 31 with 4 stars and gives a flat personal boost: 20% ATK, DEF and HP, plus 10% skill cooldown speed. The bonus is the same for every UR hero and does not grow after 4 stars.
SSR heroes get Wasteland Wanderer instead, with 10% ATK, DEF and HP. SR heroes get Survival Expert with a smaller bonus of 5%. The fourth skill of any rarity is personal, so it never buffs the rest of the squad.
Reset Heroes
The game has no hero reset. Skill upgrades cannot be reset or recycled, and spent shards cannot be taken back. Gear is the only part that is flexible: replaced gear can be dismantled at the Gear Craft Center and the stones used again on the main squad. Because nothing else comes back, build one main squad first, finish it and only then start the next one.
How to Get Heroes
The Tavern is the main source, and special in-game events and offers sell more heroes. The recruit screen shows a counter, and one guide says a hero is guaranteed after 90 pulls. Recruit heroes early in the first week instead of hoarding tickets. Some heroes come through other routes: Monroe through a first-purchase promotion, Toxina through the Alliance shop and, according to one guide, Nora through the Road to Survival beginner event. Free codes help the early game too, and the gift codes page lists them.
UR Heroes Without Pages
Four UR heroes have no page of their own yet. This is what is known about them. The other UR heroes have full pages: Monroe, Arnold, Leah, Bekka, Victor, Yana, Carter, Dirk, Silas, Vince and Lucian.
Katya
Katya is a UR Tactical Backline hero. She is rated S in 4 of 6 popular lists on the tier list, and two lists place her one step lower. One guide describes her Viper skill as a multi-hit attack that lowers the target's DEF with every hit, and she is available through the Hero Pass. In the Tactical squad she stands in the back row beside Leah and Silas.
Virgilio
Virgilio is a UR Tactical Frontline tank and the newest UR hero, first seen in September 2026 in a New Hero event. He is rated A in 3 of 6 lists, and the lists scatter from B to S. One guide says he shields the front row and the squad against Radiation damage. Watch the New Hero event for his recruitment. In the Tactical squad he stands next to Bekka in front.
Vera
Vera is a UR Assault Frontline tank. She is rated A in 3 of 4 lists, and fewer lists cover her than most UR heroes. Vera counterattacks, while Vince taunts, so the two complement each other and often stand side by side in the Assault front row.
Nicole
Nicole is a UR Assault Backline hero who hits all enemies. She is rated A in 3 of 4 lists, and one guide calls her the pick of the Assault heroes. In an Assault squad she stands in the back row next to Victor and Yana.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many heroes are in Z Route Redemption?
The game has 30 heroes: 15 UR, 12 SSR and 3 SR. Each faction has five UR heroes. Warriors have the most heroes overall (13), followed by Tactical (9) and Assault (8). The table on this page lists every one of them with faction, position and tier.
Which faction should I start with?
Start with Warriors. They are the forgiving choice for free and medium spenders, because the UR Warriors cover tank, damage and support jobs in one faction and the first UR hero on many accounts is a Warrior. Tactical heroes counter Warriors in battle, so build Tactical as a second squad once the Warrior core is done.
Can I reset a hero in Z Route Redemption?
No. There is no hero reset. Skill upgrades cannot be reset or recycled, and shards spent on a hero do not come back. Replaced gear can be dismantled and its stones reused, but levels, stars and skill books stay where you put them. Read the skill text and the star milestone before you spend.
What are Omni shards used for?
Omni shards are universal hero shards. SSR Omni shards raise SSR heroes and UR Omni shards raise UR heroes, so they fill the gap when you lack shards of one specific hero. Spend the hero-specific shards first. Spent Omni shards cannot be taken back, so keep UR ones for the hero you want to build.
How many stars does a hero need?
Four stars is the first big target, because it unlocks the fourth skill together with hero level 31 and lifts the skill level cap to 20. Three stars is a realistic early goal, and five stars lifts the cap to 30 and is a long-term goal for the heroes of your main squad.
Which heroes are the best?
Lucian, Leah, Monroe, Arnold and other UR heroes sit in S tier on the tier list. The strongest squad is five UR Warriors with a 20% faction bonus, and the squad guide shows the full formation for every faction.