Guardian Tales has two separate weekly PvP ladders. Colosseum is asynchronous — your AI plays your attack team against another player's saved defense team on a 4-column, 5-row board. Arena is a live 3v3 you control in real time. They reward the same Battle Medals and season-end Diamonds, but they ask for different Heroes, because the stat rules and the way the non-controlled slots work are different. This tier list ranks Heroes on their PvP value specifically, not their PvE value — it is a synthesis of Guardian Tales' own documented mechanics (one-hit-stun exceptions, ailment-resist passives, the all-ailment chain funnel) and long-standing community consensus, not a copy of any single external list.
The stat rules that decide PvP
Damage Reduction is switched off in both modes. Any Hero or accessory whose survivability leans on flat Damage Reduction (the Ancient God Ring, Mercenaries Brooch, several tank passives) is much weaker in PvP than in PvE — build PvP tanks around raw Defense and HP instead.
Colosseum multiplies the party leader's HP by 12 and every other Hero's HP by 6. The Hero you put in the lead slot is meant to soak the fight, so it should be your toughest body, not your damage dealer.
Arena triples every Hero's HP and keeps Party Effects (Leader Skills) active. In Arena you only actively control 3 Heroes; there is no fourth slot, and a Hero's Leader Skill still fires at the start even for Heroes you picked — so Leader Skill quality is a real selection factor.
In Arena the ailment gauge carries between rounds. If you stunned an enemy Hero with, say, Airborne last round, one matching Weapon Skill hit can re-stun them immediately this round.
Why one-hit-stun Heroes rule offense
Guardian Tales' own Ailments page states that in PvP a Hero normally needs two full Weapon Skill hits to stun an opponent — with three exceptions who stun in a single hit: Future Princess, Robbers' Killer Lina and Grim Reaper Hana.
A one-hit stun means you open the Chain Skill window before the opponent can act, which in a burst-first mode like Arena frequently decides the round. All three sit at the top of the offense tier for this reason, and Future Princess additionally has an on-hit passive that benefits from Injured damage-over-time ticks counting as hits.
The counter is Legendary Hero Erina, whose special ability raises ailment resistance by 5% (confirmed in official patch notes) — enough to blunt one-hit-stun weapons, which is why she is the standard PvP point/defense tank.
PvP tier list — S tier
Heroes that define the current PvP meta on offense, defense, or both. Element shown for matchup planning — advantage is 130% damage, disadvantage 70%.
| Hero | Element | Why it's S tier in PvP |
|---|---|---|
 Future Princess |  Light | One-hit Weapon Skill stun; on-hit passive fed by Injured ticks; a top-cited barrier Leader Skill for the support slots. Offense and defense. |
 Robbers' Killer Lina |  Fire | One-hit Weapon Skill stun on a Ranged burst kit — opens the Chain window and deletes a backline Hero before it moves. |
 Grim Reaper Hana |  Water | One-hit Weapon Skill stun with strong self-sustain; holds an active point slot and still threatens kills. |
 Legendary Hero Erina |  Basic | +5% ailment resistance passive is the direct answer to one-hit-stun weapons; Absolute Defense scales as she is hit. The default point/defense tank. |
 Dark Magician Beth |  Dark | Stealth approach onto the enemy backline; extremely common Colosseum defense pick because the AI struggles to answer her dive. |
PvP tier list — A tier
Strong, frequently-run PvP Heroes that need a little more support or a favourable matchup than the S tier.
| Hero | Element | Why it's A tier in PvP |
|---|---|---|
 Vampire Girl Karina | Dark | Charm CC removes an enemy Hero from the fight for its duration; disruptive on both attack and defense. |
 Succubus Adventurer Yuze | Dark | Charm plus lifesteal — a self-sufficient point Hero that also neutralises a target. |
 Santa's Little Helper Rue |  Earth | High burst that applies an ailment on its Exclusive Weapon; a reliable Arena opener. |
 Scrivener Lahn | Basic | Counter-tank: punishes melee attackers and scales damage off Defense — a sticky Colosseum point body. |
 Goddess of War Plitvice | Fire | Heavy Fire nuke that ends rounds against non-Water teams; two Exclusive Weapons cover different playstyles. |
 Demon Queen Lilith | Dark | All-ailment Chain Skill that can funnel the ailment advantage to your main damage dealer; also a Defense-shred Leader Skill. |
 Exorcist Miya | Fire | All-ailment Chain funnel plus healing — keeps a Chain chain alive and the team standing. |
 Goddess of Wealth Eleanor | Light | All-ailment Chain funnel; one of the named Heroes able to redirect the ailment window to the carry. |
 Mecha Warrior Oghma | Dark | Defence Regulator raises allies' Defense toward his own — better in Colosseum's longer fights than a quick Arena bout. |
 Aspiring Warrior Craig | Earth | Pure durability point tank; a common Colosseum lead when you just need the fight to last. |
 Executive Red Hood Arabelle | Dark | Ranged burst with an Injured Weapon Skill; strong at removing an unshielded backline Hero. |
 Lord of Dark Beasts Klen | Dark | Ranged damage with a lasting Dark-resistance shred on hit; scales a Dark-stacked attack team. |
PvP tier list — B tier
Situational PvP picks — good in the right comp, as a Leader Skill body, or against a specific defense, but not a first pick.
| Hero | Element | Why it's B tier in PvP |
|---|---|---|
 Archangel Gabriel | Light | Heal-and-cleanse Leader Skill is the reason to bring her — a defensive support slot, not a combatant. |
 God of Harvest Kamael | Earth | Dependable Support Leader Skill for the party slots; low personal PvP threat. |
 Eight-tailed Fox Nari | Basic | Ranged poke with an enhanced-projectile Exclusive Weapon; fine filler damage. |
 Dancing Archer Tinia | Earth | Ranged damage that ramps; needs setup time a fast Arena round rarely gives. |
 Idol Captain Eva | Basic | All-ailment Chain funnel option and a party Attack buff on her Exclusive Weapon. |
 Chosen One's Archpriestess Veronica | Water | All-ailment Chain funnel plus a heal; a support-slot pick when you already have your CC. |
 Necromancer Noxia | Dark | Named alongside the general PvP pool as a point-slot swap when the enemy comp punishes melee tanks. |
 Grand Admiral Marina | Water | Tanky body with a pull; more of a PvE raid pick, usable as a Colosseum lead into non-Water teams. |
Building an attack team
Colosseum: lead with your toughest Hero (they get the x12 HP) and place them where they will absorb the enemy's opener, then bring one or two one-hit-stun threats and a Defense-shredder. The board is 4 wide by 5 deep — keep your damage dealers a row back from your tank.
Arena: pick your one-hit-stun Hero, a second burst Hero, and a Hero whose Leader Skill is worth having active (a barrier or a Defense-shred). Lead with the stun, chain into the burst, and use the between-rounds ailment carry-over to re-stun the same target.
If you run an all-ailment funnel Hero (Lilith, Miya, Eleanor, Eva, Veronica), the plan is to chain your main damage dealer immediately before that Hero's Chain animation ends so the ailment advantage lands on the carry.
Building a defense team
Your defense team is played by the AI, so pick Heroes that do not need clever timing. Beth's stealth dive, a bulky Erina or Lahn point body, and a Defense-shred or barrier Leader Skill are the standard shell — the AI plays the tank forward and lets the Leader Skills do the rest.
Because Damage Reduction is off, do not rely on a DR-based wall on defense; a high-Defense, high-HP Hero with a self-scaling passive (Erina, Lahn) holds far better.
Vary your defense from your attack team — the game lets you save them separately, and a defense that mirrors your attack is easy to read.
Ready-made PvP comps
The Best Teams page has three PvP shells built from this same consensus pool: the PvP Point Team (Arena), Colosseum Core, and the general Point-Hero build. Use them as a starting point and swap the point Hero for the matchup per the notes above.