This guide recommends practical routes rather than claiming a permanent tier list. The game has received frequent balance, pet, loadout and run-modifier updates, and exact values may change.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
For most players, start with Novu and use a physical melee route built around Dash, one wide-area Heavy skill and one safe ranged or piercing option. Choose Archi when you want the most forgiving distance-based plan: combine Rapid Fire with Arrow Rain, Bouncing Shot or Scatter Shot, then stack physical damage, attack speed and critical chance. Choose Liora for difficult progression or learning boss patterns; combine Divine Prayer with Divine Shield, Crusader's Leap or Consecration, then prioritize health, defense and physical damage. Do not split physical and elemental scaling without a clear reason.
1. Pick your route
Classes and characters
Endless Wander does not use traditional permanent classes. Your character determines the basic weapon, movement skill, passive effects and available skill pool, while each run lets you assemble a temporary combination of weapon abilities, magical runes and other upgrades. The official store description presents this combination system as the core of build-making, so the best choice is usually the character whose combat rhythm matches your experience.
Novu is the recommended first route. His sword kit covers short and medium range, many attacks have broad coverage, and Dash lets him cross enemy groups while avoiding incoming attacks. He is not the highest-specialization option, but his flexibility makes mistakes easier to recover from. Use him to learn enemy patterns, Heavy skill timing and when to spend mobility charges.
Archi is the best choice for a ranged plan. Her kit includes straight, piercing, bouncing, area and multi-arrow attacks, while Rapid Fire temporarily increases movement and attack speed. That combination rewards staying near the edge of danger and using burst windows instead of trading hits.
Liora is the defensive route. Her Sacred Health system, Divine Prayer and several damage-reduction skills give her more room to survive difficult encounters. She is slower to finish enemies than a focused Archi or Novu, but she is excellent for progression attempts where staying alive matters more than record clear speed.
- Choose Novu for a balanced melee learning route.
- Choose Archi for safer ranged clearing and strong movement bursts.
- Choose Liora when survivability, shields and damage reduction are your priority.
| Character | Role | Main strength | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novu | Flexible physical melee | Dash, broad attacks and simple skill coverage | Must play closer to enemy groups |
| Archi | Ranged physical damage | Projectile variety, Rapid Fire and strong spacing | Can struggle when enemies collapse on you |
| Liora | Defensive physical bruiser | Sacred Health, shields and damage reduction | Lower pressure when defensive skills are unavailable |
The character abilities and available skills are verified from the current community reference. The labels such as safest, best ranged route and easiest progression route are recommendations based on those kits, not official rankings.
2. Build the run
Skill priorities and route order
A good run needs four jobs covered: reliable damage, area control, a way to handle elites or bosses, and a mobility or protection tool. Do not fill every slot with attacks that perform the same function. A second wide attack is often less valuable than one skill that buys time when enemies surround you.
For Novu, begin with a dependable area or piercing attack. Crescent Strike, Spin Attack, Swipe Strike and Air Blade cover groups or lanes, while Blade Thrust gives forward reach and a safer attack pattern. Shock Blade is a strong later pickup when its surrounding coverage fits the room. Keep Dash available for repositioning rather than treating it only as damage.
For Archi, prioritize one efficient clearing skill and one boss skill. Arrow Rain, Bouncing Shot, Spinning Arrows and Scatter Shot help control groups, while Piercing Shot, Consecutive Shots, Impale Shot or Bounce Back can concentrate pressure. Activate Rapid Fire before a dangerous wave, elite, or boss damage window instead of spending it immediately after entering a room.
For Liora, take at least one defensive button before chasing maximum damage. Divine Shield gives substantial protection while attacking around her, Crusader's Leap provides movement with damage reduction, and Consecration adds a damaging zone with protection. Divine Prayer should be used to stabilize Sacred Health or survive a planned hit, not saved indefinitely for a theoretical emergency.
- Early run: take the first skill that solves your weakest range or coverage problem.
- Mid run: add either a boss-damage option or a defensive escape tool.
- Late run: improve your strongest damage pattern instead of adding unrelated scaling.
- Heavy skills can interrupt or delay attacks, making them especially useful against dangerous enemies.
| Route | Core skill idea | Support skill idea | How to play it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novu physical | Wide melee or piercing attack | Air Blade, Blade Thrust or Dash timing | Enter briefly, cast, then leave before enemy attacks resolve |
| Archi ranged | Arrow Rain, Bouncing Shot or Scatter Shot | Rapid Fire plus Impale Shot or Bounce Back | Maintain distance and use burst during safe openings |
| Liora defensive | Divine Shield or Consecration | Crusader's Leap and Divine Prayer | Reduce incoming damage, then punish while enemies are grouped |
A route built around physical damage should not spend several upgrades on elemental effects unless the run has already supplied strong matching bonuses. Consistent scaling usually outperforms a collection of individually attractive skills.
3. Spend stats well
Stats, gear and scaling
Gear has six slots: headgear, necklace, cloak, scarf, ring and gloves. Headgear and cloaks provide health, necklaces and rings provide elemental damage, and scarfs and gloves provide physical damage. Higher-rarity gear can also add secondary and tertiary stats, while Rare or better gear provides a set effect.
For Novu, begin with physical damage and enough health or defense to survive mistakes. Attack speed is a useful secondary choice once your damage is stable because it improves the feel of repeated sword attacks. Critical chance becomes more attractive when your run already has strong physical scaling or multi-hit skills.
For Archi, prioritize physical damage first, then attack speed and critical chance. Movement speed is valuable because it improves both survival and the distance between casts. If your build uses a particular elemental rune or convergence, add matching bonus elemental damage only after your physical core is functioning.
For Liora, health and defense are the first priorities for progression. Physical damage remains useful because defensive play does not win fights by itself, but avoid sacrificing too much durability for a small damage increase. Her kit is designed to turn protection into more attack opportunities.
Elemental damage is a separate scaling lane. Necklaces and rings add elemental damage, while tertiary gear stats can add bonus damage for specific elements such as Fire, Crystal, Cosmos, Mist, Light, Earth, Frost or Water. Match those bonuses to the elements your run is actually using rather than collecting them evenly.
- Physical route: physical damage, then attack speed or critical chance, with health as the safety stat.
- Ranged route: physical damage, attack speed, critical chance and movement speed.
- Defensive route: health and defense first, then physical damage and movement speed.
- Elemental route: choose one or two matching elements and support them consistently.
| Build goal | Best first stats | Useful follow-up stats | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novu melee | Physical damage, health | Attack speed, defense, critical chance | Pure ranged or scattered elemental bonuses |
| Archi ranged | Physical damage, attack speed | Critical chance, movement speed, health | Standing still for long casts |
| Liora survival | Health, defense | Physical damage, movement speed, attack speed | Trading durability for minor damage gains |
| Elemental hybrid | Elemental damage and matching bonuses | Movement speed, health, cooldown-related effects if available | Mixing unrelated elements without synergy |
The reference explains that gear main stats are flat additions, while secondary stats act as multipliers. This makes upgraded gear valuable even before its secondary rolls are perfect, but strong percentage bonuses become more important as your flat base grows.
4. Improve efficiently
Upgrade route for new and returning players
Start by making one dependable loadout for each character you use. The current store history lists a loadouts system in version 4.1.1, so separating a safe progression setup from an experimental elemental setup is more practical than constantly rebuilding the same configuration.
Upgrade the gear that supplies your route's main stat before spreading materials across every slot. For Novu and Archi, that normally means physical-damage slots first. For Liora, upgrade health and defense pieces when a boss is killing you before your damage becomes relevant. The gear reference states that upgrades increase flat main stats, while secondary and tertiary stats do not improve with gear level.
Use early runs to test skill functions, not to force a perfect build. Record which attack handles crowds, which attack damages bosses, and which button saves you from contact damage. Once those three answers are clear, choose upgrades that improve the same plan.
When a run fails, change one variable at a time. Replace the weakest skill first, then adjust gear stats, then change the character route if the problem is clearly positional. This prevents confusing a bad skill combination with a character weakness.
- Make a safe loadout before testing unusual run modifiers.
- Upgrade main-stat gear first because its flat value increases with levels.
- Keep one defensive or mobility option in every build.
- Use the in-game skill text as the final authority after balance updates.
The App Store lists version 4.1.3 on August 29, 2026, with bug fixes and early-game balance changes. The available public character references also show ongoing hotfix history, so damage values and classifications should not be treated as permanent.
FAQ
Common questions
What is the best beginner character?
Novu is the most reliable beginner recommendation. His Dash provides a clear defensive tool, and his sword skills cover close and medium ranges without requiring a narrow elemental setup. Archi is also approachable if you are comfortable maintaining distance.
Is Archi better than Novu?
Archi is better for players who consistently dodge and control space because her projectile kit can attack from safety. Novu is better when you want a forgiving all-purpose route. Neither is a permanent winner because run modifiers, gear and balance changes affect the comparison.
What stats should I use on Liora?
Start with health and defense for difficult progression, then add physical damage so defensive skills lead to meaningful punish windows. Movement speed is a useful comfort stat, especially when you are learning boss patterns.
Should I build elemental damage on every character?
No. Elemental damage is strongest when your skills, runes, convergence and gear bonuses point toward the same element or pair. If your main attacks are physical, prioritize physical damage first instead of taking small bonuses across several elements.
How many defensive skills should a build have?
At least one reliable mobility or protection tool is recommended. Novu has Dash, Archi can use Bounce Back or Grappling Shot for space control, and Liora has several damage-reduction options. Add a second defensive skill when a boss or run modifier consistently prevents you from attacking safely.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.
- OfficialApple App Store listing and current version history
- OfficialFirst Pick Studios official site
- ReferenceNovu character and skill reference
- ReferenceArchi character and skill reference
- ReferenceLiora character and skill reference
- ReferenceGear stats and upgrade reference
- ReferenceEnemy and Heavy skill reference