The tier labels below are recommendations, not official rankings. The game’s random card draft means a lower-ranked tower can be the correct choice when it matches your available upgrades or damage element.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
For most runs, prioritize Sin Spotter first, then add Sunder or Dark Pike for wave clear. In Torment, Dark Marker is one of the best enabling towers when paired with Blighted Blood, Unholy damage, crit, or Unholy Pulse effects. In Endless, favor towers that scale with attack speed, pierce, area of effect, and global damage rather than relying on one slow burst attack. Divine Light is strongest after your build already has attack-speed support. Great Cleanser, Holy Wind, and other specialist towers are useful when their control or coverage solves a specific problem, but they are less dependable as the only carry.
Quick ranking
The practical tower tier list
This ranking measures consistency across ordinary runs rather than theoretical maximum damage. A tower’s tier can change substantially when the draft supplies matching elemental damage, attack speed, pierce, range, area of effect, or curse effects.
- S tier: Sin Spotter. It is the best blind pick for many runs because it provides targeted area damage and benefits from several broadly useful upgrades. Community players also describe it as a dependable tower for high Torment attempts.
- S tier with a build: Dark Marker. Its direct damage is poor at low tiers, but its projectiles and Dark Mark application can support Blighted Blood, crit generation, and Unholy Pulse setups. Treat it as an engine rather than a conventional carry.
- A tier: Sunder. Its continuously fired, infinitely piercing line is excellent against dense waves and improves noticeably with range and attack speed. It is less impressive when enemies are widely spread or when single-target damage is the main problem.
- A tier: Dark Pike. It delivers heavy line explosions and has useful range, making it strong into packed groups. Its slow cadence and dependence on enemies lining up make it less consistent against scattered rushes.
- A tier late: Divine Light. Its damage and firing rate can become formidable after attack-speed investment, but it is not usually the best early stabilization tool.
- B tier: Great Cleanser and Holy Wind. Both can solve positioning or leak problems, but their performance depends more heavily on enemy movement and the rest of the build.
- Situational: other specialist towers. Keep them when their control, elemental type, or upgrade synergy directly answers the current wave; do not force them into a generic ranking.
| Tier | Tower | Best use | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Sin Spotter | Reliable general damage and targeted area coverage | Wants attack speed and pierce to scale into very dense waves |
| S, build-dependent | Dark Marker | Dark Mark, curse, crit, and Unholy Pulse setups | Low standalone damage, especially before higher tiers |
| A | Sunder | Dense waves and long lanes | Lower single-target pressure and weaker performance against spread enemies |
| A | Dark Pike | Bursting grouped enemies | Slow attacks and poor coverage when targets are separated |
| A, late | Divine Light | Attack-speed-focused late builds | Needs investment before its firing rate feels exceptional |
The official store page confirms that towers deal Holy, Unholy, and Hellfire damage and that runs use deck-building across different circles of Hell. The detailed role descriptions and the tier order above are recommendations based on the available community reference and player discussions, not developer-published balance rankings.
Modes
Best choices for each mode
In a normal story shift, consistency matters more than a perfect endgame combination. Your first objective is to stop leaks while preserving enough card quality to reach stronger merges. In Torment and Endless, scaling and synergy matter more because enemy pressure keeps increasing and mediocre towers are exposed over longer runs.
- Story and early progression: choose Sin Spotter when offered, or Sunder when the opening waves are tightly packed. Dark Pike is a good alternative if you can protect yourself from scattered enemies. Do not delay a needed defensive upgrade while waiting for a theoretical carry.
- Torment: begin with a stable damage source, then look for Dark Marker if your draft contains Blighted Blood, Unholy damage, crit support, or Unholy Pulse. Sin Spotter remains the safest fallback. Community advice also frequently recommends range, attack speed, global damage, and area-of-effect upgrades.
- Endless: favor repeatable scaling. Sin Spotter, Sunder, and Dark Marker all have clear long-run roles, but they need different support. Sunder wants range and attack speed; Sin Spotter wants attack speed, pierce, and area coverage; Dark Marker wants curse, crit, and Unholy synergies. Divine Light is better once those supporting stats are already online.
- Garrison-heavy runs: do not assume the tower tier list applies unchanged. Garrisons occupy the same broad structure economy but contribute through spawned units and different statistics. A tower that looks weaker alone may be preferable if your garrisons already cover melee or area control.
| Mode or stage of a run | Priority | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Opening story waves | Sin Spotter or Sunder | They stabilize common enemy groups without demanding a narrow build |
| Mid-run Torment | Sin Spotter plus a matching elemental plan | Reliable damage is safer while you search for scaling cards |
| Late Torment | Dark Marker in a curse or Unholy build | Its value comes from enabling effects rather than raw damage |
| Endless | A merged core with attack-speed and pierce support | Long fights reward scaling and coverage over isolated burst |
I found no dependable source establishing that a named circle permanently favors one tower through unique map rules. Use the visible wave pattern instead: dense formations favor Sunder and Dark Pike, while spread or high-pressure waves favor wider targeting, pierce, range, and reliable single-target coverage.
Build order
How to turn a good tower into a winning core
The strongest choice is often the tower you can merge and support, not the one with the highest isolated description. Use this sequence when the draft is uncertain.
- Secure one dependable damage tower before collecting several different tower names. A single upgraded core is generally more useful than multiple low-tier specialists.
- Merge duplicates when the upgrade materially improves coverage or firing rate. Dark Marker is the clearest example of a tower whose higher tiers can change its practical role.
- Match upgrades to the tower’s job. Range and attack speed are especially valuable for Sunder; attack speed, pierce, and area effects improve Sin Spotter; curse and Unholy support make Dark Marker worthwhile; attack speed is the key investment for Divine Light.
- Keep a backup answer for the weakness your main tower does not cover. Pair a swarm-focused Sunder or Dark Pike with a more reliable targeted option rather than assuming one line attack will solve every wave.
- Avoid forcing a color or element solely because a tier list recommends it. The official game design is deck-based and randomized, so an available high-quality synergy can outweigh a generic ranking.
- Watch for current bugs and unusual behavior after patches. The official update feed has documented fixes for speed behavior, saved structures, and Sunder-related issues, which is another reason to reassess a build after an update.
| Main tower | Best supporting direction | Do not overvalue |
|---|---|---|
| Sin Spotter | Attack speed, pierce, area of effect, global damage | Range alone if enemies already enter its coverage |
| Sunder | Range, attack speed, tower damage | Single-target performance against isolated enemies |
| Dark Pike | Damage, area of effect, range, grouping or control | Its listed hit damage without accounting for slow firing |
| Dark Marker | Dark Mark, Blighted Blood, crit, Unholy Pulse | Raw tower damage as the only criterion |
| Divine Light | Attack speed, Holy damage, range | Its late-game ceiling before the build can support it |
If a tower is keeping the lane stable, improve it before gambling on a new archetype. If it is failing because enemies are too spread out, add coverage or replace it; merging a weakly matched tower only makes the same problem more expensive.
Limits
What this ranking does not claim
The available public references do not provide a current, developer-maintained numerical balance sheet for every tower, every tier, and every map. Community comments also reflect different characters, card pools, difficulty levels, and preferences. For that reason, the list should be read as a practical decision guide rather than a definitive damage-per-second spreadsheet.
- No tower is mandatory for every character or map.
- A specialist can move up a tier when the draft supplies its exact synergy.
- A tower’s element matters because cards and effects can reward a focused damage plan.
- The latest official notes located during research did not announce a comprehensive tower rebalance, but future updates may still change performance.
Check the developer’s Steam announcement feed after an update, then compare the in-game card text and behavior. If the patch notes and community descriptions disagree, trust the current in-game text and report the discrepancy rather than relying on an old tier list.
FAQ
Common questions
What is the best first tower for a new run?
Sin Spotter is the safest general pick when it appears. If the first waves are tightly grouped or you already have range and attack-speed support, Sunder is an excellent alternative. Choose Dark Pike when you need heavier burst into packed enemies.
Is Dark Marker actually strong?
Yes, but mainly as a synergy tower. Its low-tier direct damage can feel disappointing, while Dark Mark application supports Blighted Blood, crit effects, and Unholy Pulse strategies. It becomes much better when the rest of the deck is built around those effects.
Which tower is best for Torment?
There is no universal winner, but Sin Spotter is the safest baseline. Dark Marker is one of the strongest Torment options when paired with Unholy or curse scaling, while Sunder helps stabilize dense waves. Community reports specifically mention Dark Marker with Blighted Blood in high-Torment play.
Should I use Divine Light early?
Usually only if the draft already gives attack-speed support or a strong Holy plan. Its late-game firing rate can be excellent, but relying on it before the supporting upgrades arrive may leave the run vulnerable.
Are some towers best on specific circles of Hell?
No reliable public source located for this guide proves a permanent circle-by-circle tower ranking. Judge the current wave pattern instead. Dense formations favor piercing lines and explosions, while spread enemies reward targeted coverage, range, and area effects.
Do towers or garrisons make the better build?
Neither is always superior. Towers provide direct automatic damage, while garrisons use spawned units and different scaling rules. Build around the strongest cards you are offered, and avoid splitting your upgrades so widely that neither structure type reaches an effective tier.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.