The King Of Fighters AFK Tier List – Best Fighters Ranked (September 2025)

Updated September 9, 2025

We've checked the meta to find the best fighters in the game.

This The King of Fighters AFK tier list will help you choose the best fighters in the game. Some of the best heroes are specific LE characters that have the best DPS, supporting capabilities, buffs, and synergies. On the other hand, UQ fighters are starting units that you should replace as you play the game. I won't be ranking N, R, and EP rarity Fighters since they're just weak filler characters.

Summary

• SSS-Tier Meta Fighters: Features game-breaking characters like Orochi Iori and Orochi Leona with massive team buffs, self-revive abilities, and superior damage output that define the current meta
• Tier Breakdown System: Ranks fighters from SSS (must-have meta units) down to D-tier (beginner UQ fighters), focusing primarily on LE rarity characters due to their superior stats and abilities
• Synergy-Based Team Building: Covers key synergy types including Fury, Endurance, Deathblow, Corrosion, and Spike with specific character recommendations for each playstyle
• Character Highlights & Analysis: Provides detailed explanations for each top-tier fighter's unique abilities, passive effects, star upgrades, and optimal team positioning strategies
• Strategic Recommendations: Includes guidance on which characters to prioritize for different game modes, team compositions, and progression stages from beginner to endgame content

King of Fighters AFK Fighter Tier List

This King of Fighters AFK tier list focuses on LE fighters, which are the strongest units in the game. The best fighters in the game are in SSS and S-Tier since they have the strongest abilities and the optimal synergies with other top-tier characters. Here are some tier ranking breakdowns, and be sure to check out the individual highlights below:

• SSS-Tier: The Meta fighters that you should have in any team.
• S-Tier: Excellent alternatives to SSS.
• A-Tier: Really strong if you build upon their synergies and team compositions.
• B-Tier: The weakest LE fighters but still better than UQ.
• C & D Tier: The UQ units with C-Tier listing the best UQ fighters and D-Tier being beginner options.

SSS-Tier Highlights

Highlights	Why SSS-Tier
Orochi Iori	• A massive example of power creep that's common in Gacha and especially Netmarble games • Orochi Iori's Madness effect, Team HP buff with Owned Effect, and overall abilities and stats are just drastically more powerful than most LE fighters • Has a 30% to 50% HP self-revive Passive and deals amazing Crit damage with Finisher
Orochi Leona	• Like Iori Orochi, Leona buffs your entire team's ATK instead of HP with the Owned Effect • She also has solo Frenzy and deals the same crazy amount of Crit damage with finisher • Instead of the revive, she gets an ignore death effect for one turn and buffs her own damage the lower HP she is, up to 50% with the max star effect • Incredibly powerful both solo and great for your team due to the Owned Effect like Iori
Athena	• Note that this is the new LE Athena, and she's a fantastic support character with tons of buffs for your team, like ATK and CRIT • Place her in the back row, and your front DPSs will do crazy damage while she gets a DEX buff • She's also one of the best Endurance synergy fighters • Has synergy with top-tier fighters
Chizuru	• Along with Mai, Chizuru is your best Fury synergy option for Finisher Skill damage boosts • Solid single target boss killer damage and an AOE Finisher, so she's extremely flexible • Chizuru can be quite tanky due to her passive dodges and the Mirror of Yata EVA buffs with star effects
Mai	• Another great Fury synergy option • Just a straight up great DPS that spams her Finisher skill thanks to her passive, especially with the star effects • Also buffs herself
Rugal	• Has Spike synergy with good fighters • Overall deals good DPS, but he's SSS because he also buffs your team's DEF, and you can stack buffs really quickly with Orochi options • The DEF buff is massive and makes your team really hard to kill, so Rugal is great as a frontline tank generator
Shun'ei	• Shun 'Ei is one of the best Rush DPS fighters • Deals incredible damage by stacking bonus attacks and self buffs CRIT with star effects
Kusanagi	• Best Deathblow synergy fighter in the game • Can stun enemies, which is really strong in harder modes • Drastically boosts the damage enemies take with his passive • He desperately needs the HP recovery star effect to sustain himself due to his passive's HP trade

S-Tier Highlights

Highlights	Why S-Tier
Tung	• A great Endurance option alongside Athena and King • Has an incredibly powerful skill to grant Barrier to teammates, which helps them tank • Perhaps SSS-Tier due to the barrier, but I put him in S for now since the damage is a bit low
Saisyu	• A must-have for damage-over-time Corrosion synergy • Focuses on Burn DoT and is the best at it • Amazing star effects for both DoT and overall great ATK buffs
Mr. Big	• Another great Corrosion option • Instead of Burn like Saisyu, Mr Big applies the incredibly powerful Paralysis debuff, which skips enemy turns • Also applies the Shock debuff, which constantly deals damage to enemies • Overall, a great debuffer to have
Joe	• Round up your Corrosion team with Joe for the Laceration DoT effect • Keeps damaging Laceration targets that other allies hit due to his passive
Maxima	• Maxima is just a great Fury DPS • He's all about stunning enemies and getting hit back to recharge PG with his passive and then spam his AOE Finisher with the Fury synergy damage buffs for Finishers • Just a solid DPS overall

A-Tier Highlights

Highlights	Why A-Tier
Isla	• Great Deathblow fighter to pair with Kusanagi • One of the best single-target DPS units • Can chain her Finisher by killing units with it, so she's best when enemies are weakened to chain Finishers
Clark	• A powerful Solid synergy unit • Buffs your team's DEF like Rugal
Ryo	• All about being low HP for the passive damage increase and regens HP on kills • Deals great single-target and adjacent damage • Good Deathblow unit
Ralf	• Pairs really well with Clark for Solid synergy • Ralf buffs team ATK

B-Tier Highlights

Highlights	Why B-Tier
Kasumi	• A decent unit for Endurance synergy • Buffs your team's DEF • Good frontline
Yashiro	• Decent Spike synergy • Also a good filler unit to buff DEF to all allies which B-Tier is all about (filler units if you don't have higher tiers)
Antonov	• Pretty good Fury synergy fighter if you lack higher tiers • Just deals decent damage with no special utility
Yamazaki	• Decent Rush alternative • Has a strong DEF down debuff • His passive increases counter rate which is pretty good

C-Tier Highlights

The C-Tier represents the best UQ Fighters, but note that these are drastically weaker than LE due to fewer status slots and overall power. Still, these can be good to get you started, so characters like Mature, Chang, or Goro are decent options for beginners. That said, replace these with LE as soon as you can.

King of Fighters AFK FAQ

That's it for our The King of Fighters AFK fighters tier list and guide. Check out our King of Fighters AFK codes to get free Gacha resources.