The Hidden Ones Tier List: Best Characters for PvE and PvP

What this snapshot covers

The list is built from strength labels the test reports actually recorded: T0 recognition for Zhuge Qing, Ru Hua's firearm form, Lu Linglong and Zhuge Meng, a T1 control label for Wang Ye, and role evidence for everyone else. It reads that evidence rather than a datamined damage table, and the ordering inside a band matters less than the band.

The two columns ask different questions. PvE rewards shield damage, add control and safe uptime against a scripted boss; PvP rewards taking away options through guard pressure, stamina drain, wake-up coverage and a plan for the opponent's Break Away.

The four roles behind the tiers

Four labels explain most of the placements. They describe what a kit is trying to do, not how strong it is; a T2 support can still be the correct pick for a specific boss.

• Zoner — controls space instead of chasing. Ru Hua's firearm form owns the long lane, Wang Ye's formations shrink the arena, and Yun fights at mid-range.
• Pressure — refuses to let the opponent breathe. Feng Baobao, Ba Lun, Han Dan and Rong Shan all want contact and a knockdown they can keep.
• Support — makes someone else's damage land. Feng Xingtong's summons block lines, Zhang Lingyu's shields absorb them, Lu Linglong's aura amplifies them, and Han Dan's attack speed extends them.
• Burst — converts one opening into a health bar. Zhang Chulan, Lu Jin, Ling Jiu and Zhuge Qing all have a route that ends a round if the first hit is clean.

Control sits between zoner and support: Wang Ye and Zhuge Meng are ranked on removing the opponent's turn, not on raw damage.

Tier table: PvE and PvP side by side

The table gives a mode-specific band, the role label used on this site, an execution rating and a gear rating. T0 is the strongest recognition in the test, T1 is strong with a clear job, and T2 is viable but specialist or beginner-facing. No T3 is listed, because every named kit in the test can clear ordinary content.

How to read the T0 and T1 bands

T0 does not mean unbeatable. Ru Hua holds the top PvP band because her range interrupts dashes, yet her normals deal no hitstun, her startup is slow and she has no red risk move. A T0 label describes how much of the arena she takes away, not a clean matchup against every pick.

Lu Linglong's T0 placement assumes perfect-dodge timing, and the difference is whether you trigger Bullet Time on purpose. On a phone at low frame rate the input is unreliable; on PC at high frame rate the same read is cleaner. That is an execution gate, not a tier disagreement.

Those numbers decide more fights than one tier letter. Below 950 elemental mastery, Zhuge Qing loses roughly 15% to 20% of his output against Train No.7 elites; below 45% crit, Feng Baobao can lose the final hit of A-Wei's Eighteen Forms. Build the threshold before arguing about the band.

PvE picks: shields, adds and boss uptime

Zhuge Qing is the default PvE carry. Wind Rope reaches 8 m, holds for 1.8 s and adds 2 s of stiffness when it pulls a floating target to the ground; Li Sigil: Fire is the damage behind it. The condition is the 950 elemental mastery threshold after level 70 breakthrough, which is what makes his T0 PvE placement gear-dependent rather than free.

Zhuge Meng is the other top-band PvE pick, for guard-cancel loops rather than range. Her set is 4-piece Tongxuan plus 2-piece Fenxie, with skill damage first, then crit rate, crit damage and qi cap; hold her ultimate until the target is around 40% health.

Against shields, Lu Jin is the most direct answer: his five-hit string refills qi, Five Thunder Talisman has a 5-second cooldown and chains after almost anything, and the wall bounce doubles its damage. Zhuge Qing is the second breaker because his hit count is high, which is why both are recommended against Ma Xianhong's armor.

Feng Xingtong is utility, not damage. In a physical team his summons block the Train No.7 fan attack and buy a clean window for Feng Baobao or Zhang Chulan; his assist still adds up to 2187% water damage.

Han Dan is the budget enabler. His attack-speed buff lets Feng Baobao fit 3 to 4 extra normals into a route, but his large body catches wide AoE, so he belongs in the third slot.

The low-investment Biyou composition is worth copying: Zhang Lingyu tanks with a stacking 30% all-damage reduction shield, Lu Linglong heals and reduces poison, and Zhuge Qing plus Zhang Chulan supply damage. It clears hard difficulty without a whale account, which is the clearest PvE argument for Zhang Lingyu's T2.

PvP picks: slot by slot

In Tianxia Huiwu 3v3, the first slot is not there to win. It forces out Break Away, doppelgangers and stamina, then hands a weakened main to the second player. Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing drain options from range, Zhang Chulan uses normal-attack range and stiffness, and Feng Baobao's fast startup and launch disrupt any planned rotation.

The second slot converts that damage. Han Dan and Lu Linglong are the clearest picks; Yun's confirmed mid-range role fits too, though his legacy kit is unranked. The second player should be trying to finish, not reset the neutral.

The third slot is the finisher. Feng Baobao, Lu Jin, Ling Jiu, Wang Ye and Ru Hua all work; put your most practiced character there, not your highest tier. A Ling Jiu who knows the short-press gamble beats a T0 played cold.

Specific counters matter more than the bands. Against Ru Hua, do not trade normals: her shots cause no hitstun, so attack the moment the blue effect appears and use a fast guard-and-attack cancel. Against Zhang Lingyu, dodge left to leave the area damage. If you play Lu Linglong, ban Ru Hua in the pick phase; that is a matchup problem, not a skill problem.

For Liangyi Xiangdou 2v2, three test pairings stand out: Zhuge Meng with Feng Baobao, Ru Hua with Lu Jin, and Wang Ye with Feng Baobao. Each pairs space control with a character who converts one opening.

Easiest picks for a new account

Zhang Chulan is the safest first investment. He is available from the opening pool, his six-hit string is forgiving, and his plan is readable: land a launch, convert it with Palm Thunder, finish after 3A or a second Swift Thunder. The feint layer exists, but a new player can win with the basic route before learning it.

Zhang Lingyu is the second easy pick and the better choice if you expect to play a support role. His five-hit string launches on the fifth hit, two normals into a skill does more than mashing, and his kit asks for very little gear. Treat him as a beginner-friendly sub-DPS, not as a main carry; old complaints about his PvP hitboxes belong to a previous build.

Han Dan is the easiest grappler; Ru Hua is easy to start and hard to finish, because her range is generous but she cannot threaten a patient blocker. The resource rule is to build no more than three characters at once, with one carry funded first.

High execution and gear thresholds

Feng Baobao has the highest ceiling in the game and the highest input cost. She is the only character who can kill from one combo, but the route depends on launch height, step timing and knowing when to stop. Her 45% crit threshold is a test-server figure, not a permanent guarantee: below it, the last hit of A-Wei's Eighteen Forms tends to drop, which wastes the entire recovery.

Lu Linglong and Ling Jiu are the other execution-gated picks. Lu Linglong needs perfect dodges to turn Bullet Time into pressure, and Ling Jiu lives on the short-press versus long-press decision, including paying health for a longer pull. Zhuge Meng is about discipline: a 1:3 dodge-to-skill ratio and guard-cancel loops inside the stamina budget.

Gear thresholds are concentrated in four places: Zhuge Qing's 950 mastery, Zhang Chulan's 2-piece thunder set, Zhuge Meng's 4-piece Tongxuan, and Wang Ye's Tortoise Shell Disc. Everyone else can contribute on a mixed set, which is why T2 is not a dead end.

Excluded from this ranking

Bai Shixue is not ranked. Her skill framework comes from the older Hitori no Shita mobile game and the final test recorded no verified kit data, so every part of her entry is Unconfirmed. She belongs in the roster for context only, not in a build or a tier row.

Yun's legacy kit is excluded for the same reason. His final-test role as a mid-range zoner with a seven-hit string and the Huawu state is confirmed, but the old skill names and combo strings around that role are Unconfirmed legacy material. The confirmed role can be discussed; the old route cannot be ranked.

How to use the list without over-committing

Pick one PvE carry, one PvP opener and one flex slot, then stop. If you can reach 950 elemental mastery, Zhuge Qing is the cleanest PvE investment; if you cannot, Zhang Chulan is the more honest first carry and his full build guide covers the route. For the PvP side, start with Wang Ye or Zhang Chulan as the opener and read the PvP guide before committing to a 3v3 team.

Do not copy a T0 pick without its conditions: Ru Hua wants distance, Lu Linglong wants frame clarity, Zhuge Qing wants mastery, and Feng Baobao wants crit. The doppelganger guide explains the shared 4-point budget, and the Feng Baobao page shows the execution behind her T1 label.