AFK Journey lets you be quite flexible when building the best team. While there are optimal role choices to make the best composition, you can change a few pieces here and there and still progress through the Story, the Dream Realm, and Arena.
Best early game team in AFK Journey
| Role | Character |
|---|---|
| Tank | Thoran |
| Damage | Vala |
| Damage | Cecia |
| Support | Rowan |
| Flex | Lucius |
In the early game, it’s crucial to focus on a solid defensive strategy that keeps your heroes alive longer rather than an explosive offensive setup. This is why a lineup featuring Thoran, a tank who resurrects once per battle, and Lucius, who can shield allies in an area, proves so effective in your initial Story and AFK battles. Thoran also delivers massive damage with his Ultimate, affecting multiple enemies in an area, and sustains himself through life steal. Pair them with the Awakening Spell Artifact, and you’re well-equipped. This team composition carried me through the first 200 AFK stages and helped me progress in the story up to the Dark Forest without significant issues. It’s a setup I still enjoy testing occasionally.
This composition also relies on the two-three synergy of Graveborn (Thoran, Cecia) and Lightbearer (Vala, Rowan, and Lucius.) Cecia and Vala are your damage carries, so they should stay in the back. Rowan should be between the frontline and the backline, since his ultimate will boosts the team’s Energy, allowing for quicker use of their ultimates. Although Rowan’s healing isn’t as strong as that of Hewynn or Smokey & Meerky, the shields Lucius gives act as a sort of healing, making up for the difference.
Best overall AFK Journey team composition
| Role | Characters |
|---|---|
| Tank | Antandra |
| Damage | Cecia |
| Support | Koko |
| Support | Smokey & Meerky |
| Flex | Rowan |
This meta team composition is a turtling strategy that relies on positioning all heroes in the backline and allowing the opponent to attack aggressively. Cecia is your only damage carry, which might seem risky, but it works effectively because Antandra absorbs damage and protects the team. Meanwhile, Koko’s Ultimate gives the team an attack boost and life leech, and Smokey & Meerky provide constant healing and an attack buff as well. Essentially, Antandra never dies, as any damage she and the team take is quickly healed by Smokey & Meerky, while everyone benefits from the buffs provided by Rowan and Koko. Cecia remains safe in the backline, taking down enemies from a distance.
This is a unique team composition that needs Smokey & Meerky’s abilities, but it has been proven to help players gradually progress through AFK stages comfortably, even with significant power gaps between their team and the computer’s. Some players have managed to beat stages where their team was 40,000 points weaker than the opponents, a feat not typically achievable with other compositions. I noticed the usual power gap you can overcome with team building and positioning is no more than 30,000 points with other teams.
Best Graveborn team composition in AFK Journey
| Role | Characters |
|---|---|
| Tank | Thoran |
| Damage | Vala |
| Damage | Silvina |
| Support | Koko |
| Flex | Brutus |
The goal of this meta Graveborn team is to get an early five-versus-four situation, which is why I call it the “backline demolition.” Thoran absorbs the initial blows at the front, while Brutus draws enemy attacks with his taunt. Behind these tanks, Koko contributes some damage while also boosting everyone’s attack power and providing life leech with her ultimate. All this happens while Vala and Silvina attack the same target in the backline, quickly eliminating them and giving your team the advantage.
In this scenario, Silvina often dies early. However, she typically manages to eliminate a key support or damage carry, with Hewynn and Cecia being her usual targets. If Silvina dies after successfully taking out one of these characters, your team actually gains an advantage and is very likely to win the battle—provided the rest of your team stays alive.
Best Lightbearer team composition in AFK Journey
| Role | Characters |
|---|---|
| Tank | Lucius |
| Damage | Vala |
| Damage | Korin |
| Support | Hewynn |
| Flex | Grannie Dahnie |
This Lightbearer meta lineup excels in staying healthy with big heals and constant shielding. Lucius and Grannie Dahnie are strong frontliners, with both boasting excellent self-sustain capabilities through Lucius’s shields and Dahnie’s self-healing. Vala is tasked with the heavy damage, whereas Korin offers additional shield support and inflicts true damage to help Vala. In the backline, Hewynn uses her global healing abilities to ensure the whole team remains in good shape and well-protected.
If your fights are long and your team is staying alive while slowly taking down the enemies, don’t worry. This Lightbearer team is made for sustained fights; it wins in the long run. Offensive artifacts like Starshard Spell work best in this composition to make up for the low damage.
Best Mauler team composition in AFK Journey
| Role | Characters |
|---|---|
| Tank | Antandra |
| Damage | Odie |
| Damage | Shakir |
| Support | Smokey & Meerky |
| Flex | Koko |
Maulers break the usual belief that a meta team can’t consist of all five members from the same Faction. Antandra serves as the primary tank, with her defensive capabilities being enough to solo tank with the help of the healing of Koko and Smokey. Shakir joins them, offering both damage and defensive support, while Odie hangs back, delivering significant damage with poison and finisher moves. Smokey & Meerky contribute constant healing and attack buffs to ensure the team’s survivability and damage. This creates a balanced team composition that’s definitely worth experimenting with.
Best Wilder team composition in AFK Journey
| Role | Characters |
|---|---|
| Tank | Grannie Dahnie |
| Damage | Bryon |
| Damage | Cecia |
| Support | Hewynn |
| Flex | Lyca |
This meta Wilder team strategy focuses on strong attack power and Grannie Dahnie’s ability to singlehandedly hold the front line as the tank. Bryon is included to help break down the enemy’s Tanks and Warriors, with Cecia assisting. Lyca boosts the team’s attack speed and also contributes damage from the back. As is common, Hewynn remains in the back, consistently healing the team.
Best team structure in AFK Journey
The best team compositions in AFK Journey are those that use heroes with strong skills, high stats, and good utility in their kits. The usual standard team you will build will consist of:
- One tank hero
- One support hero
- Two damage heroes (Rogue, Marksman, or Mage)
- One situational hero. This is a flexible spot you can fit a hero with utility skills, a second tank or Warrior, or a second support. A third DPS is rarely effective in this position.
With a team featuring the roles above, you can take on most challenges across all modes. Feel free to test other compositions, but in general, a team without a tank will die too fast, a team with a single damage hero will not have enough damage to win, and a team without a support will lose fights in the long run due to lack of sustain, even if it starts winning.
Avoid noob traps
While the faction bonus gets to its highest level when your entire AFK Journey team is of the same faction, the only faction in the game today that has five heroes with enough synergy to actually make a good team comp is the Maulers. Aside from them, I found the best bonus you can get is making a team composition with two factions, one with two heroes and another with three, instead of trying to force a single-faction team.
