Tenebris: Terra Incognita Hero Tier List

This hero tier list ranks high-impact careers in Tenebris: Terra Incognita for post-1.0 campaigns. It focuses on the names players ask about most: Miles, Pellentes, Sancto, Vidua, Legionnaire, Centurio, Phoenix, Librator, plus the broader Defencor and Medicus lines. Use it with the Best Squads page—individual power means little if your 2×2 formation has no frontline or heal.

Tiers assume Steam PC single-player play on standard-to-hard difficulties with competent positioning. They do not assume perfect gear on day one. Meta notes can shift after balance hotfixes; when in doubt, cross-check the Updates Hub.

S-tier — promote and gear first

Pellentes → Sancto / Vidua. Pellentes is the classic early sniper: light armor, low HP, and the rare ability to delete a soft target in one shot from the opening turns. She pairs naturally with Miles for first-turn thinning. Sancto leans into shadow-sniping and control of the shot economy; Vidua pushes raw damage when you want less subtlety. Either promotion keeps the line near the top of damage charts if you protect her rear-row tile.

Miles → Impetum (and later branches). Miles is the other half of the early damage duo. Grenades, armor ignore options, Forced March mobility, and bleed pressure make him a reliable primary damage dealer before careers open. Impetum at level 11 doubles down on tactical attack chains. Later level-21 choices further specialize him; whichever branch you pick, keep Miles-line XP flowing because few heroes match his early clear tempo.

Medicus line (core healer). A healthy Medicus (and her later medical careers) is S-tier for campaign survival even when her damage is modest. Stimulants, cleanses, and sustain reduce hospital drain on the Solaris and keep expensive damage dealers online. If you skip a dedicated healer to chase DPS, expect longer downtime between missions.

Video guide

A-tier — excellent with the right core

Defencor → Legionnaire. Defencor anchors the front row with provocation tools, bayonet pressure, and armor that lets greedier damage dealers live. Legionnaire upgrades that toolkit—armor regeneration such as Steel Fortress style talents make him a long-fight stabilizer. He is rarely the highest damage unit, but he is often the reason your sniper gets a second turn.

Defencor → Ignifer. Choose Ignifer when you need a tank who still contributes meaningful burn and flamethrower pressure. He sheds some classic shotgun Defencor patterns for heat-based offense. Against swarms and chitin packs, Ignifer can outvalue a pure wall.

Centurio. The heavy mech-leaning tank career shines once you can field steel giants. Centurio wants time and gear, but in mid-to-late missions he absorbs punishment that would shred light infantry. Pair him with Phoenix for overlapping durability and area denial.

Phoenix. Phoenix raises the temperature—literally—and deletes clustered enemies while supporting armored allies. Alone she is strong; with Centurio she defines a late “mech core.” Bring her when fights stop being about one elite and start being about packed waves.

Librator line. Librator-style tech/support careers punch above their weight when objectives, utility, or hybrid damage matter. Exact talent valuation moves with patches, but a well-built Librator rarely feels like a dead slot if your squad already has a primary damage dealer.

B-tier — strong, situational, or gear-gated

Technicus basics. Early Technicus brings locks, gadgets, and utility that improve loot and map solutions. Pure combat rankings undervalue him; economy rankings love him. Promote along the tech tree when your campaign needs resources as much as burst.

Off-meta Miles or Pellentes talent spreads. A poorly reset talent tree can drop either S-tier base into B-tier performance. If you promoted without a plan, use the career reset back to tier-1 (hold/select the basic icon in the Career tab) and rebuild—see Career System.

Second healer / redundant tank. A second Medicus-line unit or a third wall can be correct for a specific boss, yet they compete for the four-man roster. Mark them B-tier for general campaign play.

C-tier — usable, not preferred for scarce XP

Underleveled advanced careers, experimental hybrids, and heroes stuck between promotions land here. They can clear early maps and teach mechanics, but when experience, epic weapons, and hospital capacity are tight, feed the S/A names first. C-tier is not “unplayable”—it is “do not invest blindly.”

Role checklist while ranking your own roster

• Primary damage: Miles or Pellentes line.
• Frontline: Defencor → Legionnaire or Ignifer; later Centurio.
• Sustain: Medicus line almost always.
• Utility / tech: Technicus or Librator depending on mission goals.
• AoE / heat: Phoenix or Ignifer when packs dominate.

For archetype primers before you specialize, read Basic Classes. For full compositions rather than solo ranks, open Best Squads. Returning players should skim Version 1.0 because the 10 new subclasses and Necronom content change what “safe” looks like after hour forty.

Patch caveat

Early Access saw multiple full talent revisions. Skills such as armor ignore on bayonet lines, burn stacking on Ignifer, and Medicus poison interactions have all moved before. If a hero suddenly feels wrong after an update, check Patch History before you scrap the build. This list will lag official notes by design—patch first, tier second.