How Many Dudes Tier List

In How Many Dudes, I rank the Dude families and compare the best Dudes for healing, tanking, DPS, utility, and off-role tanking. I also share my overall thoughts on family balance, relics, and which Dudes stand out the most.

Dude Tier List (for v 1.0.5)

I have ranked each Dude family from strongest to weakest based on the overall quality of its Dudes, family relics, and how useful they are on harder difficulties.

Dude Family Ranking

Employed – Finance Dude is amazing, and several of the family relics are practically mandatory on harder difficulties.
Action – This family has many strong Dudes, along with several extremely good relics that can become borderline mandatory.
Undead – Mummy Dude is the only one I consider average. The rest of the Dudes are great, and all of their family relics are very good.
Sci Fi – Cyborg Dude is amazing, and several other Dudes in this family are extremely strong. The family relics are only okay overall.
Fantasy / Warrior – I consider these two tied for last place. Both have a few underperforming Dudes that need a lot of setup, while their family relics are mostly minor stat boosts and are not especially noteworthy.

I could not decide whether Fantasy or Warrior deserved the final spot, so I rank them equally at the bottom.

Best Healers Tier List

For healing, I rank the Dudes based on how effectively they can keep the team alive through their abilities and innate relic options.

S Tier Healers

Franken Dude
Explorer Dude

A Tier Healers

Quantum Dude
Mutant Dude
Chef Dude
Ghost Dude

B Tier Healers

Cleric Dude
Medic Dude

C Tier Off-Role Healers

These Dudes can heal, but they need a specific innate relic to do it.

General Dude – Frilled Shoulderpads
Vampire Dude – Soul Reliquary
Mummy Dude – Anubis Statue
Necro Dude – Calcium Pills
Dentist Dude – Mouthwash
Manager Dude – Pizza Party
Farmer Dude – Heals others when he is healed through his ability, Coffee Time, and Sprinkler
Alien Dude – Brain Implant and Dissection Kit
Cowboy Dude – Bite Stick
Agent Dude – Bulletproof Suit

Extra Mention: Vampire Dude can grant life steal to other Dudes.

I also keep in mind that any Dude can heal when equipped with the Medical License trinket. It triggers a heal every time the holder deals 100 damage to a target. This means that the more DPS the holder deals, the more healing they can produce. It works similarly to Medic Dude’s healing, although Medic only needs to deal 50 damage to trigger a heal.

Best Tanks Tier List

When I judge a tank, the first thing I look at is the ability to taunt. After that, I consider how well the Dude can survive. Relics such as Black Sheep, or abilities from other Dudes, can allow almost anyone to tank, but I do not count those as pure tank roles.

This ranking is specifically for Dudes who either have taunt as an innate power or can gain it through an innate relic. I usually want my tank in the final Roster slot so I can use the Caboose relic, which gives the Dude in that position 30% additional maximum health.

S Tier Tanks

Psionic Dude

A Tier Tanks

Construction Dude
Pirate Dude
Zombie Dude
Knight Dude
Warlock Dude

B Tier Tanks

Necro Dude – Tanks through his Skeledude’s taunts
Lich Dude – I place him in B Tier because I cannot use the Caboose relic on him while also having Thralls

C Tier Tanks

Farmer Dude

Best Off-Role Tanks

The list above covers my main tanks, but relics such as Black Sheep and Dudes such as General Dude and Lich Dude can force other characters to taunt during battle. Because of that, I also have a separate list of off-role tanks with strong survivability.

These Dudes cannot reliably serve as main tanks because they need Black Sheep, General Dude, or Lich Dude before they can actually tank for the rest of the team. I do not rank the following Dudes in any particular order. I simply consider them naturally tanky because of their base stats or innate relics.

Warrior Off-Role Tanks

Ninja Dude – Base evasion, high base move, Smoke Bomb for invisibility, Turbo Team for maximum health, and Mix Tape for evasion
Samurai Dude – High base move, Naginata for self-healing through damage, Tosei for temporary health, and Bokken for maximum health
General Dude – Base toughness, Combat Boots for toughness, and Heroic Medal for maximum health
Viking Dude – Runic Tat for temporary health, Wolfskin Cloak for maximum health and toughness, and Valk Amulet for self-revive and self-healing
Spartan Dude – Base health, base block chance, Ab Roller for maximum health, and Aspis for toughness and block chance for other Spartans

Undead Off-Role Tanks

Vampire Dude – Huge base life steal, Blood Siphon for self-healing, Bat Wings for self-revive and life steal, Shadow Skin for temporary health, and Soul Reliquary for healing
Franken Dude – High base health, starts with regeneration, Coper Botls for regeneration, Brain in a Jar for regeneration, Leaky Heart Valve for maximum health and toughness, and Jaw Implant for self-revive, self-healing, and toughness
Mummy Dude – Base health, Golden Tongue for maximum health, Sarcophagus for self-revive and self-healing, and Sandstorm for enemy miss chance
Paladin Dude – High base health, Book of Life for increased self-healing, self-revive, and self-healing, Medallion of Vengeance for self-revive and self-healing, Golden Shield for maximum health, and Ruby Scepter for maximum health and increased self-healing
Druid Dude – Base health, Bear Hug for toughness, Bear Back for toughness and temporary health, and Bear Down for self-revive and self-healing

Sci Fi Off-Role Tanks

Cyborg Dude – Base health and high base move, Overclocked Servos for massive move speed, Mag Boots for maximum health and stun resistance, Retractable Shield for toughness, and Liquid Metal for self-revive and self-healing
Time Dude – Base health, Rewinder for self-revive and self-healing, Fossilizer for toughness, and Chrono Towel for maximum health
Alien Dude – Base health, Brain Implant for regeneration and health equalization, and Probe for maximum health
Trooper Dude – Base health, Shock Helmet for maximum health, and Cloning Tank for self-revive

Action Off-Role Tanks

Agent Dude – Base health, Disguise for maximum health, and Bulletproof Suit for toughness and self/other revive
Hacker Dude – Exfiltrate for temporary health, Firewall for maximum health and cleave immunity, and White Hat for self/other revive
Cave Dude – Base toughness, Pyre for toughness, Trophy Necklace for toughness, Cairn for self-revive, and Cave Painting for maximum health for every Dude, including himself
Assassin Dude – Base evasion, base move, Snake Oil for enemy miss chance, Plague Mask for maximum health, and Wrist Blade for evasion

I also consider healers naturally tanky as off-role options because their ability to heal themselves improves their survivability.

Best DPS Dudes Tier List

Every Dude can deal damage, but some clearly perform above average. For this ranking, I focus on Dudes whose innate abilities and innate relics give them especially strong DPS.

I consider the average Dude to be around D Tier for damage. My S Tier choices have infinite damage scaling that is easy to activate. A Tier Dudes either have high base damage, a strong damage ability, powerful innate relics with good uptime, or an infinite scaling mechanic that is harder to activate. B Tier Dudes have good overall damage without infinite scaling. C Tier Dudes can potentially deal very high damage, but only under specific conditions.

S Tier DPS

Cyborg Dude
Finance Dude

A Tier DPS

Viking Dude
Zombie Dude
Vampire Dude
Franken Dude
Lich Dude
Warlock Dude
Ranger Dude
Mutant Dude
Cave Dude

B Tier DPS

Ninja Dude
Samurai Dude
Necro Dude
Mummy Dude
Wizard Dude
Bard Dude
Druid Dude
Electrician Dude
Trooper Dude
Hacker Dude
Assassin Dude

C Tier DPS

These Dudes have a damage relic that can copy another Dude’s damage. If I copy the damage of a Cyborg Dude, for example, they can match that damage. Otherwise, their own damage remains low.

Manager Dude
Time Dude
Alien Dude

Best Utility Dudes Tier List

I use this category for Dudes that provide support outside of traditional healing, tanking, or DPS. Their utility can include money generation, teleporting other Dudes, buffs, debuffs, and similar effects.

S Tier Utility Dudes

Finance Dude
Alien Dude
Assassin Dude

A Tier Utility Dudes

General Dude
Paladin Dude
Bard Dude
Manager Dude
Chef Dude
Pirate Dude
Agent Dude
Explorer Dude
Cowboy Dude
Hacker Dude

B Tier Utility Dudes

Medic Dude
Ghost Dude
Franken Dude
Lich Dude
Dentist Dude
Farmer Dude
Time Dude
Caveman Dude

C Tier Utility Dudes

Spartan Dude
Mummy Dude
Psionic Dude
Trooper Dude

Final Thoughts on Dude Balance

Overall, I think the balance between the Dudes is handled fairly well. There are a few characters that clearly stand above the rest and a few that feel underwhelming, but I find the majority of the roster reasonably balanced.

For me, the two best Dudes in the game are Cyborg Dude and Finance Dude.

Cyborg Dude is easily the most overpowered Dude in my experience. I can even complete a run using only him without much trouble.

Finance Dude gives me free money, except when the NFT RNG works against me repeatedly, while also having infinitely scaling damage as long as I have plenty of money. The fact that I eventually need to spend that money is the main reason I do not rank him above Cyborg Dude.

My family ranking also reflects both the strength of each family’s Dudes and the quality of its relics. The Undead family is one of the clearest examples.

Almost every Undead Dude is extremely strong. Mummy Dude is the exception, although I still consider him above average. The synergy between the Undead Dudes is better than what I see in the other families, and Zombie Dude has one of the most unique mechanics, which also makes him especially fun for me to play. I also consider all of the Undead family relics very good.

Warrior is the opposite. Overall, I consider it the weakest family. Ninja Dude, Medic Dude, and Spartan Dude all underperform for me. Samurai Dude and General Dude are decent without being exceptional, while Knight Dude and Viking Dude are the only ones I consider genuinely strong.

The Warrior relics are also only okay. Hidden Daggers is the best one in my opinion, while the rest are mainly minor stat boosts.

Many Fantasy Dudes can be good in specific situations. Paladin Dude and Warlock Dude are the only ones I consider overperformers. Bard Dude, Cleric Dude, and Ranger Dude are good, but I feel they need all of their trinkets before they really perform well. Wizard Dude and Druid Dude are both very underwhelming to me.

The Fantasy relics are also very inconsistent. Heart Boxers are fine when I get them for free, but I would never buy them. Jazz Flute is not useful to me, Ring of Shielding does not last long enough, and I think False Face would need a minimum evasion effect similar to Trench Coat to be worthwhile. I also do not think Emergency Ring actually works. That leaves Mana Collector, Sequined Vest, and Snapback Sneakers as the Fantasy relics I consider good.

For the Employed family, Electrician Dude is only okay for damage because his self-stunning mechanic limits his potential. I can use Alien Dude or Cowboy Dude to move him back after he sends himself away, and combining him with Taser lets me gain damage from the fact that he launches himself away from the fight. Even so, the amount of setup he needs makes him an underperformer for me.

Manager Dude and Farmer Dude are also very dependent on the rest of my team. They can do many different things and feel like jack-of-all-trades characters, but they do not do any single job well enough to avoid being replaced by something more specialized. Because of that, I consider Manager Dude, Farmer Dude, and Electrician Dude slight underperformers.

The rest of the Employed Dudes are very strong, though, and I consider the Employed relics top tier. On harder difficulty runs, some of them are effectively mandatory for me.

Sci Fi has only one clear underperformer for me: Trooper Dude. His special ability has an extremely long cooldown, the longest in the game, and I feel he needs all of his trinkets before he becomes useful.

On the other hand, Cyborg Dude, Psionic Dude, Alien Dude, Quantum Dude, and Mutant Dude are all excellent. Time Dude is more average. Most Sci Fi family relics are good except for Time Sink, while Stasis Cube is the one relic I consider truly outstanding.

Action Dudes also have some of the best family relics. Vault, Ticking Clock, Bullet Time, and Plot Armor are all excellent in my experience. Nuke is fun but very unreliable. I have completed several runs with the Nuclear Codes relic without seeing it activate at all.

Among the Action Dudes, Pirate Dude, Explorer Dude, and Assassin Dude stand out the most to me. Agent Dude, Cowboy Dude, Caveman Dude, and Hacker Dude are also good choices.