Eternal Return blends the MOBA, Battle Royale, and Survival genres into one big game. The result is a blend that creates an exciting and compelling experience; in which players seek and destroy each other while simultaneously scavenging the environment for supplies. A rare showcase of a survival game without zombies, it cherry-picks the best features from all three genres.
Eternal Return features dozens of characters, otherwise known as Test Subjects, all offering unique kits and playstyles from the other. There is a mixture of skill levels required for the characters across the game, but all of them are viable enough to climb up the ranks with. The game is constantly evolving and adding in new characters, leading to regular shifts of what's meta. Finally, Eternal Return is a game with low requirements, making it accessible to lots of players.
Updated January 3rd, 2021 by Russ Boswell: Developers continue to update Eternal Return Black Survival by adding new and interesting characters to the mix. Most of these characters are pretty balanced but there are some that stand out among the crowd thanks to their strength and abilities. But what are the best characters in Eternal Return? With so many to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which characters are worth picking up. To better answer this question, the following list has been updated to feature even more entries that showcase the best characters in Eternal Return Black Survival.
13 Yuki
Yuki acts as the poster boy for the game and is the character that the player controls in the tutorial. A swordsman combatant, Yuki combines stunning auto-attacks with AOE bursts that can chase and kite other combatants with ease. He has a high critical chance, is fairly tanky, and has an executioner-styled ultimate.
A fairly simple character to play, the player can improve their skill and macro using Yuki before trying out more challenging characters. He has a cool, suave-gentlemen visual design that complements his playstyle.
12 Fiora
Fiora combines high melee bursts and high mobility to be one of the best melee character choices in the game. Her auto attacks grant extra mobility, making her best suited to players who incorporate a faster, up close, and personal playstyle.
Her three different weapon types make her a flexible character, with multiple play styles available to the player. The Rapier playstyle mixes low cooldowns, high bursts, and high mobility, whereas the Two-Handed playstyle takes a more defensive approach. Finally, the Spear playstyle offers higher attack power with a speed tradeoff, with long-distance combat as an option.
11 Hyejin
Hyejin is an out-and-out mage who uses either a Shuriken or Bow to kite other characters down from afar. Her playstyle is focused on high mobility and high bursts with lots of skill shots and combos, suiting more skilled players. Most of her damage comes from these skill shots, leaving the player vulnerable with frequent misses but unstoppable if accurate.
Hyejin's slows offer strong crowd control, making her viable in situations where she's faced with multiple enemies at a time, and her high mobility offers a good chance of escaping when death seems inevitable.
10 Aya
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Aya is obtained through the fourth tutorial and is a fairly easy character to learn, but hard to master. Her high skill ceiling makes her a viable choice for both beginner and more advanced players. Her rookie detective character backstory makes her a fun, friendly face that packs a punch in the field.
Through three different weapons; the Pistol, Assault Rifle, and Sniper Rifle, Aya has drastically different play styles depending on weapon choice. The Pistol playstyle is focused on spells and high mobility, the Assault Rifle focuses on high attack speed whereas the Sniper focuses on a long-range, auto-attack playstyle. Aya's mixture of different gun weapons helps Eternal Return to feel closer to other Battle Royale games.
9 Sissela
Sissela is a unique mage character, with her attacks revolving around throwing a ball named Wilson that she throws around her. She has high sustain, with her health regeneration increasing the lower her HP gets. Wilson pulls in characters towards Sissela when thrown, allowing her to use auto attacks to kite and pick their HP apart.
Sissela requires a good skill level due to having to pre-emptively throw Wilson into spots where other characters may be moving to. While she's best suited to more advanced players, her high sustain, mobility, and unique style make her a worthy character to play. Through her mobility, Sissela tends to roam around the map much more, which helps the player to enjoy the survival game aspects of Eternal Return.
8 Luke
Luke has some of the best chasing abilities out of any of the characters in the game. His kit results in an aggressive mage/ bruiser hybrid that complements both long and short-range combat. What Luke lacks in escape potential he makes up for in damage and mobility.
His kit has a unique ability to evolve skills as well as level them up, allowing for much more customization and flexibility in skilling, building, and evolutionary order. His kit combines simplicity with outplaying potential to make him viable for players of all skill levels. Luke's aggressive playstyle keeps the player focused on the game's Battle Royale aspect, prioritizing that over survival.
7 Magnus
Magnus is a defensive bruiser whose playstyle revolves around point-and-click crowd control. He focuses on auto-attacks but can also be played as a burst mage. His defense increases the lower his HP gets, giving him sustain in more drawn-out fights.
A tankier mage, his E can slam characters into objects in the terrain in order to stun them. This can be used to quickly take characters by surprise and inflict a ton of damage before the opponent has time to react. With a simple kit and versatility in playstyle; Magnus is viable even for beginner players. Magnus is similar to League of Legends champions such as Garen and Darius, so players migrating from League will feel at home with him.
6 Isol
Isol is stealthy and highly mobile, able to root people and then kite them as well as set traps around the field for other characters. His playstyle allows for weaving in and out of combat and picking off opponents slowly, and is best suited for players who prefer to play survival and take their time baiting others rather than being up close and personal.
His kit is unique compared to other Eternal Return Test Subjects and offers a lot of versatility in attack methods. He is better suited to more advanced players.
5 Eleven
A nod to the modern age, Eleven is a popular streamer in the Eternal Return universe, often seen broadcasting to thousands of fans at any given time. Eleven's viewers have become accustom to seeing the star consume some of the best food in the world and her skillset reflects her career in chowing down. Her Mukbang-based (the popular trend of broadcasting veritable buffets of food to hungry fans) abilities give her an edge in combat by providing her with an array of healing items and buffs.
She's a great support and also capable of taking punishment thanks to her large health pool.
4 Sua
Players that are looking for a solid Crowd Controller that is capable of dishing out solid damage should take Sua for a spin. This book worm comes jam-packed with an array of CC-based skills that make her a veritable nightmare in a team fight. She can blind, stun, slow, and even knock enemies airborne. Her ultimate ability even allows her to "buff" any of her skills, making them even more painful and controlling.
Sua is capable of dealing damage quickly thanks to her attack speed and she even has a nifty shield that can turn allies unstoppable for a moment.
3 Chloe
Using Chloe is like having a private team, thanks to her marionette, Nina. The skilled puppeteer may look soft and sweet on the outside but she's actually capable of dishing out some solid damage thanks to her created counterpart, and she can even tank hits with a huge armor boost via some well-timed attacks. Players that have a Chloe in their match are always on their toes as they know they may have to contend with Nina at any moment.
Those that enjoy micromanagement should check out the powerful character.
2 Zahir
Zahir is a skill shot-focused mage that needs to land shots in order to charge up other skills. While his passive mobility is low, landing skills increase his movement and slows enemies down allowing the player to close the distance. His kit is simple to learn and he is one of the more competent mages at chasing people down.
Players who enjoy chaining combos and closing the distance on opponents will have a lot of fun with Zahir. Zahir is one of the more successful characters in terms of win rates in high ELO, making him viable for even the most advanced Eternal Return players.
1 Jackie
Jackie is a character that all players have access to right from the start of the game, and she is one of the most viable picks across all skill levels. She has one of the highest mobility in the game and has a simple kit that complements attack damage and mobility.
Jackie has built-in healing when attacking other characters as well as bleed on one of her skills, giving her high sustain. She also has access to four weapon types; offering plenty of versatility to playstyles.