MENACE Weapon & Squad Leader Tier List (2026)
I generally dislike tier lists. They flatten nuance into letters and encourage people to skip half the roster because some YouTuber put them in B tier. But I also understand why people search for them — when you're new to a game with 16 leaders and 50+ weapons, you need a starting point. This is that starting point.
Every ranking below comes with a reason. No "S tier because S tier." If I put something in C, I explain exactly why and when you'd still use it. The goal is to give you a framework, not a prescription.
Patch context: Hotfix #9 (July 16, 2026). All rankings assume current EA balance. Things will shift. Check dates before trusting tier lists, including this one.
Squad Leader Tier List
S Tier — Meta-Defining
Darby (★★★) — The most flexible leader in the game. Covert Ops + Commando + Ambush creates an untouchable recon element that also kills things. High Value Targets shuts down enemy special weapons, including vehicle guns. Her statline is excellent and her growth rate is better than it should be. Expensive (30 base + 22/squaddie), but worth it when missions demand precision over volume.
Jean Sy (★) — Economics 101 (-15% total squad supply) is the best economic perk in the game. At a 2,000 supply cap, she effectively gives you +300 supply to work with. She's not flashy. She won't top damage charts. She'll win you campaigns by letting you field better gear on everyone else. Trinketing and Scavenger keep her relevant beyond the discount.
A Tier — Consistently Excellent
Edwin Pike (★★) — Taking Command (AP battery) + This Is My Rifle (-50% weapon cost) + Inspiring Presence (team buff). Pike makes everyone around him better while being cheap to field. He's the leader you bring when you don't know what you need, because he makes whatever you have work better.
Kody Greifinger (★★★) — Best alpha-strike leader. Guerilla + Assassin + Tankbuster deletes priority targets on turn one. Expensive and requires patience to set up kills, but the payoff is unmatched single-target damage.
Jacques Vamplew (★★) — Flamboyant (-30% armor cost) enables heavy armor builds that would otherwise break the supply bank. Taunt + innate AP generation from being targeted makes him a genuine tank in a game where tanking isn't really a thing.
Achilleas Kainoo (★★★, Pilot) — Monstrous base stats, excellent vehicle synergy. Spartan Duty rewards riding the damage threshold with Shield Wall. Expensive to field and demanding to build around, but a properly equipped Achilleas walker dominates missions.
B Tier — Strong in the Right Hands
Charles Lim (★★) — Best CQB leader. Run & Gun, Counterstrike, Blaze of Glory reward aggression. Aspiring (-30% promotion cost) enables fast perk stacking. Falls off if played cautiously.
Fedor Yazhov (★★) — Lim's more brutal cousin. No Mercy punishes wavering enemies. Fearsome doubles morale damage. Needs suppression support to reach full potential.
Marta Carda (★) — Slow start, strong finish. Out of the Craters scales stats over turns. Highest growth potential (9) in the game. Bad in short missions, dominant in long ones.
Renu Rewa (★★, Pilot) — Faster and cheaper than Achilleas. Revel in Slaughter stacks per kill. Roadkill is fun and effective. Less durable, needs defensive accessories.
Gabriel Exconde (★★, Pilot) — The best battle taxi. Sentry + Shepherd provide mobile cover and accuracy support. Divine Intervention eats one free hit per turn.
Sachin Singh (★) — Honest, reliable suppression platform. Scales accuracy and discipline with squaddie count. This Is My Rifle + Firing Line + 8 squaddies = consistent damage output.
C Tier — Niche but Viable
J.G. Wetteroth (★) — Best anti-alien leader. Big Game Hunter shreds bugs. Mediocre against everything else. Build him for one enemy type and bench him otherwise.
Garry Boganwright (★, Pilot) — Cheapest pilot (10 base). Juryrigged + Recycled Parts keeps costs low. Not flashy, but enables vehicle options on tight budgets.
Ivory Isom (★, Pilot) — Heavy vehicle specialist. Directed Fire combos with markers. Barrage + Full Send lets her fire twice. Needs team support to reach potential.
Roisin Murdock (★★, Pilot) — Economic vehicle operator. Buyout provides financial flexibility. Solid stats but lacks a defining combat strength.
Weapon Tier List
S Tier — Best in Class
BR6A1 HaMER (Squad Weapon) — 20 supply, 38 damage, 30 AP, long range. Best damage-to-supply ratio among rifles. Works on any squad leader with rifle access. With This Is My Rifle (-50%), it drops to 10 effective cost per entity.
IMX SA-RPG 2 (Special Weapon) — 40 supply, 110 damage, 125 armor pen. The standard anti-armor solution. Reliable, affordable, available early. Not the highest damage AT option, but the best value.
M320 SSW SOC (Special Weapon) — 40 supply, 85 damage, 80 armor pen. Excellent general-purpose special. Good against infantry and light vehicles. Flexible and cost-effective.
A Tier — Strong Choices
MP3A9 "SOF" PPP (Squad Weapon) — 13 supply, 28 damage, 20 AP. Low cost, consistent performance. The default rifle for budget builds. Nothing special, never wrong.
L100 - PAL (Special Weapon) — 35 supply, 160 damage, 110 armor pen. Higher damage than RPG2, better range, lower supply cost. Limited ammo (3 shots). Best value per shot among AT specials.
L31 MAAL (Special Weapon) — 50 supply, 200 damage, 200 armor pen. The hardest-hitting infantry AT weapon. Expensive and limited ammo (3 shots). Worth it against heavy armor.
B Tier — Situational
Standard Carbine (Squad Weapon) — 7 supply, 18 damage, 20 AP. The cheapest option. Fine for support squads that aren't expected to kill things.
MK20A3 BC Autocannon (Vehicle Weapon) — 55 supply, 65 damage, 60 armor pen. Reliable vehicle weapon. Good against infantry and light vehicles. Not specialized enough for heavy armor.
AT-RGL (Special Weapon) — 35 supply, 140 damage, 120 armor pen. Good stats, awkward AP cost (20 to move, 60 to fire). The dual AP cost makes it harder to use effectively than the L100 or RPG2.
C Tier — Skip Unless Specific Build
Workshopped RPG (Special Weapon) — 25 supply, 80 damage, 95 armor pen. Cheapest AT option. Fine early game. Outclassed once RPG2 becomes available.
Grenade Pistol (Sidearm) — 15 supply, 30 damage. Indirect fire is useful, but the damage output doesn't justify the slot for most builds. Niche pickup for explosive-focused squads.
How to Use This Tier List
The S-tier leaders aren't "the best" in a vacuum — they're the most generally useful across the widest range of missions. An A-tier leader in their optimal role will outperform an S-tier leader used incorrectly.
I built a MENACE Weapon Comparator that lets you stack weapons side by side and see exact stat comparisons with difference highlighting. It's useful for deciding between, say, an L100 PAL and an RPG2 when you're staring at the equipment screen and can't remember which has better armor pen. The Squad Builder on the same site calculates full supply costs with all discounts applied, which is how I tested most of the economic claims in this list.
What Will Change
Hotfix #9 is current as of this writing (July 2026). The OCI Rework is in development per Dev Diary #49. When that ships, vehicle supply costs and pilot viability will shift. I'll update this list within a week of any major patch — the timestamp at the top of the page tells you when it was last refreshed.
Tier methodology: Rankings based on cross-referencing the official MENACE Wiki, GrindnStrat's leader analysis, community discussions on r/menace and Steam, and personal testing across 40+ hours of campaign play. All supply costs and stats verified against wiki data updated July 2026.