Best Team in Z Route: Redemption
The best team in Z Route: Redemption is five UR Warriors: Arnold and Dirk in front, Monroe, Lucian and Carter in the back row. Five heroes of one faction give a 20% faction bonus. The Tactical and Assault squads below are the best answers when you want another faction.
Best Squads by Faction
The table shows the strongest lineup for each faction. Every UR squad uses five heroes of one faction, which is what unlocks the full bonus. The last row is the purple option for accounts without enough UR heroes.
| Squad | Front row | Back row |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior UR | Arnold, Dirk | Monroe, Lucian, Carter |
| Tactical UR | Bekka, Virgilio | Leah, Katya, Silas |
| Assault UR | Vince, Vera | Nicole, Victor, Yana |
| Warrior SSR | Toxina, Zara | Rachel, Nora, Aria |
The Warrior UR squad is the standard choice, because its five heroes cover tank, damage and support jobs. The SSR lineup comes from one guide and works as a bridge until the UR heroes arrive. For the ranking of the heroes themselves, see the tier list.
Squad Slots
The formation has five seats, two Frontline and three Backline. The seat decides how much damage a hero takes, so the order matters as much as the heroes.
| Slot | Damage taken | Who stands there |
|---|---|---|
| Front-Right | Most | Your best tank, with the highest stars and the strongest defensive gear |
| Front-Left | High | The second tank |
| Back-Center | Least | Your best damage dealer |
| Back-Left | Medium | The next attacker |
| Back-Right | Medium | The next attacker |
Two tanks go in front and three attackers behind. A faction bonus cannot rescue a lineup with the wrong roles, and attackers left without a tank are lost before their skills trigger. The heroes page explains the positions.
Faction Bonus
Matching all five seats to one faction earns 20% on squad stats. Some guides print lower bonuses for four or three matching heroes, yet only the full-faction number is certain, so build whole factions where you can. Heroes of the same faction share the same Training Center and the same research branch, which makes a full faction cheaper to develop than a mixed roster.
The faction triangle adds a second layer. Warrior takes 20% less damage from Assault, Assault takes 20% less from Tactical and Tactical takes 20% less from Warrior. When you face a Warrior squad, a Tactical squad has the edge, and the reverse holds for Assault against Tactical. The heroes page explains the triangle in full.
Warrior Squad
<a href="/heroes/arnold/">Arnold</a>, <a href="/heroes/dirk/">Dirk</a> hold the front. Arnold is the best tank and Dirk the second Warrior tank, so the front row has the most HP of any squad. Behind them, <a href="/heroes/monroe/">Monroe</a>, <a href="/heroes/lucian/">Lucian</a> deal damage and Carter raises the ATK of the squad and speeds up cooldowns. Monroe stands in Back-Center, the most protected seat, and the other two stand on the sides.
This squad suits the campaign, garrison and Arena. Arnold plus Monroe is the foundation of competitive accounts, and Lucian stacks Radiation damage with Monroe. Carter is the only Support hero in the game, so no other faction has a buffer like him. Build the Warrior Training Center for this squad and spend your first shards on Monroe, then Arnold.
Tactical Squad
<a href="/heroes/bekka/">Bekka</a>, <a href="/heroes/#virgilio">Virgilio</a> stand in front, and the back row is <a href="/heroes/#katya">Katya</a>, <a href="/heroes/leah/">Leah</a>, <a href="/heroes/silas/">Silas</a> with Leah in the center. Bekka cuts enemy Radiation damage, Leah is a Radiation carry that hits every enemy, and Silas and Katya stand on the edges. Leah is S tier in 6 of 7 lists.
Leah's Tactical squad is the usual counter to the Warrior lineups common on most servers. Virgilio, the newest UR Tactical hero, is a Frontline tank that one guide says shields the front row against Radiation, and he has a section on the heroes page.
Assault Squad
<a href="/heroes/vince/">Vince</a>, <a href="/heroes/#vera">Vera</a> hold the front row. Vince taunts and Vera counterattacks, so they often stand side by side. Behind them, <a href="/heroes/#nicole">Nicole</a>, <a href="/heroes/victor/">Victor</a>, <a href="/heroes/yana/">Yana</a> shoot from the back: Nicole hits all enemies, and Victor stands in the center next to Yana, whose Radiation pressure he finishes with an execute on the lowest-HP target.
Assault counters Tactical, so it is the squad to build if opponents field Leah's lineup. Start with Warriors first and add Assault later, once you see Tactical squads in Arena.
Hero Synergies
Some pairs work better than their parts. These are the ones that guides agree on.
| Pair | Name | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Arnold and Monroe | Warrior Anchor | Warrior Anchor: best tank plus best Warrior damage dealer; Monroe in the back centre. 'Foundation of competitive accounts' |
| Arnold and Dirk | Double Warrior front | Double Warrior front: maximum front HP and the Warrior faction bonus |
| Monroe and Lucian | Warrior Radiation | Lucian stacks radiation damage with Monroe on the Warrior backline |
| Bekka and Leah | Tactical Elite | Best pure tank plus best pure damage dealer: the 'Tactical Elite' pair; Leah in the back centre, Bekka in front |
| Victor and Yana | Assault Finishers | Assault Finishers: Yana's radiation pressure plus Victor's execute on the lowest-HP target; Victor in the back centre next to Yana |
| Vince and Vera | Assault front | Other Assault tank: Vera counterattacks, Vince taunts; they complement each other and often stand side by side |
| Arnold and Bekka | Hybrid wall | Hybrid wall: Arnold covers Physical, Bekka covers Radiation; costs the same-faction bonus |
| Nora and Zara | F2P Warrior bridge | best SSR tank and best early SSR backliner; both star up fast and hold the line until UR heroes arrive |
Most of these pairs live inside one faction, which keeps the faction bonus. The exception is the hybrid wall, which gives up the full bonus for a front row that is hard to break in Arena defense.
Hybrid Squads
A mixed squad trades the faction bonus for coverage. The best-known example puts Arnold and Bekka in front: Arnold's shield cuts Physical damage and Bekka cuts Radiation damage, so the front row stands against both. Behind them, a guide example uses Monroe, Carter and Silas to keep damage high, but the squad gets a smaller bonus than a full faction.
Use a hybrid only when a full faction squad cannot beat a specific opponent. For daily content, the pure faction squads above are stronger.
Squads 1 to 4
One guide lists up to four squads in the game. Squad 1 is your main squad, and every hero, shard and gear upgrade goes there first.
| Squad | Unlock | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Squad 1 | From the start | Main squad. Heroes, shards, gear and research go here. |
| Squad 2 | Base level 8 | Gathers resources and supports rallies. |
| Squad 3 | Base level 20 | Same job as Squad 2. |
| Squad 4 | Paid | The pass that opens it is named differently in different guides. |
Build Squad 1 research deeply before you spread into Squad 2 and Squad 3, and keep secondary-squad gear at level 0 so the stones can go to the main squad.
Second and Third Squad
A second squad is the right place for SSR heroes. The lineup from one guide puts <a href="/heroes/ssr/#toxina">Toxina</a>, <a href="/heroes/ssr/#zara">Zara</a> in front and <a href="/heroes/ssr/#rachel">Rachel</a>, <a href="/heroes/nora/">Nora</a>, <a href="/heroes/aria/">Aria</a> behind, which is a five-Warrior squad with the full bonus. Other guides give different purple lineups, and the choice depends on how much you farm monsters and how much you fight players, since several purple heroes have monster-only skills.
Do not split resources evenly across three or four squads. Focus on one strong main squad, and use the SSR heroes page to pick the purple heroes for the second one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best team in Z Route Redemption?
Five UR Warriors make the best team: Arnold and Dirk tank in front, with Monroe, Lucian and Carter behind. Matching all five heroes by faction earns 20% on squad stats, and the roles are covered by two tanks, two shooters and a support. A Tactical squad led by Leah is the natural answer to it, since Tactical takes 20% less damage from Warriors.
How many heroes are in a squad?
The formation has five seats, two Frontline heroes in front and three Backline heroes behind. Put your best tank in Front-Right and your strongest damage dealer in Back-Center. The Support hero, Carter, takes one of the back seats. Faction bonuses do not fix a squad with a broken role setup.
Should I mix factions in one squad?
Only when you have a reason. A mixed squad gives up part of the faction bonus, so do not mix at random because single heroes look strong. The one common exception is the hybrid wall of Arnold and Bekka, which covers both Physical and Radiation damage in the front at the cost of the full bonus.
How do I build a second squad?
Finish the main squad first, then build the next one. Secondary squads gather resources and support rallies, so they do not need upgraded gear. SSR heroes work well for them while you collect UR shards. One good option is Toxina and Zara in front, with Rachel, Nora and Aria behind them.
How many squads can I have?
One guide says the game allows up to four squads, named Squad 1 to Squad 4. The second squad opens at Base level 8 and the third at Base level 20, and the fourth is paid. Guides name different passes for the fourth squad, so check the in-game shop before you buy anything.
My squad loses to the timer. What should I fix?
Check how the fight ends. If the squad dies before the timer runs out, improve survivability with stars, tank gear and a better front row. If the squad survives but the timer expires, improve damage with the main attackers and the Support hero. Both fixes work better than swapping heroes at random.