27 January 2026

Highguard Character Guide: Roles, Abilities & Strategies

By newsgame

Highguard is a complex PvP experience, where cooperation and knowing which character to choose are key to success in a fast-paced, non-stop battle arena. With various Wardens to pick from, each of them with their own abilities, it is easy to get a little bit lost at first.

This full guide on every character in Highguard and how to unlock them will help players get the hang of every Warden in the game. Includes an overview of their abilities and how to use them effectively.

Best PC Settings for Highguard (Fix Locked FPS)

Players are experiencing performance issues while playing Highguard on PC, so here are some best graphics settings you can try to optimize it.

Every Warden in Highguard & Ability Overviews

Luckily, every Warden in Highguard is available and doesn’t require players to do anything in particular to unlock them. At least, that is how it works with the current roster. Here’s an overview of every Warden, their Roles and abilities in Highguard:

Atticus

Role: Assault
Good For: Chasing/Rushing
Strong Points: Damage, Mobility, CC

Atticus relies on its aggressive kit to rush opponents and call forth a barrage of lightning spears that destroy their shields and slow them down. He has a lot of mobility thanks to his Ultimate, which allows him to hover while launching his spears, and he can also farm faster thanks to his Supercharged Axe passive.

Tactical Power – Shockspear: Throws a charged spear that shocks nearby opponents. Continuous damage charges his passive.
Passive – Supercharged Axe: Charged Axe releases an electrical explosion that damages nearby resource nodes.
Ultimate – Powerstorm: Rise into the air and rain lightning spears that do heavy damage to players and structures.

Atticus is incredibly versatile, but he excels the most during Sieges, since he can cast his ultimate to destroy everything in a room and expose both enemy players and Bomb Targets. For those eager to try the game, this is the ideal character to test out the waters.

Condor

Role: Recon
Good For: Finding Enemies, Defensive Play
Strong Points: Great For Tactical maneuvers and Detection of Enemies

Condor can deploy her ally Hawk as a drone to explore the surroundings. She can also automatically detect nearby enemies and warn the team of their presence. On the other hand, she can also conceal the team and obscure the enemies’ vision thanks to her ultimate. She’s at keeping the enemy team in check and giving her team tactical advantage.

Tactical Power – Eyes in the Sky: Send out her bird, which scans to detect enemies that move.
Passive – Hinter’s Instinct: Condor’s Bird warns her when enemies are nearby.
Ultimate – Soaring Guardian: Launch 3 smoke clouds that reveal enemies within its wake.

Using Condor’s ability to obscure the enemy vision during a Siege means the difference between life and death. This ultimate is similar to the combination of two popular abilities from Apex Legends (Bloodhundr Ultimate + Bangalore Smoke Bomb) since it not only blocks the vision of foes but reveals their position inside it, allowing players to shoot at them with ease.

Kai

Role: Defensive
Good For: Holding the Fort, Crowd Control
Strong Points: Can fix walls, Ultimate turns him into a living siege engine

Kai is a decent tank, and also a useful support that can repair broken structures. Pretty annoying to face during a Siege, but players will thank he is on their side while defending the base from an enemy attack. His tactical allows him to deploy Ice walls blocking the enemies advance, and its ultimate will turn him into a monster that breaks everything on his way.

Tactical Power – Ice Wall: Create an ice wall at the target location.
Passive – Frozen Repair: Restore broken walls with ice.
Ultimate – Frost Giant: Transforms into Kai’s Inner Ice Demon (he gains a powered up attack, health, and defense).

Kai’s ability to turn the tide of a siege is unmatched. He can quickly deploy Ice Walls to protect Bomb Targets, and also block the enemy inside a room with Ice repair. Then, quickly transform to go on the assault and wipe them out when they’re most vulnerable. He is difficult to master, but offers a lot of tactical advantage to any team.

Mara

Role: Support
Good For: Defending Allies, Restoring Shield, Defensive Plays
Strong Points: Uses Downed Enemies to recharge Tactical, Grants Overshield

Mara is the closest to a healer-type character in Highguard. Her tactical ability allows her to recharge her allies’ (and herself) shields and grants overshield when it’s full. She can also use her enemies corpses as a resource to recharge her Tactical Power. Her Ultimate creates a spawning point that depletes after three uses, but it’s super advantageous during a Siege.

Tactical Power – Soul Armor: Grants allies an overshield that absorbs damage.
Passive – Sacrifice: Sacrifices downed enemies to recharge your tactical.
Ultimate – Immortal Coil: Create a spawn point for your team.

Using Mara during Sieges is quite convenient, since she can support her team and stay protected while also disrupting foes. Though most players will target her first, since she can be quite annoying if left alone. Using her Ultimate to create a Spawn Point hidden inside the enemy base grants a lot of advantage during a Siege, so hide it carefully.

Redmane

Role: Destruction
Good For: Siege/Breaking Walls
Strong Points: Good AoE, Critical in Sieges

Redmane is the Siege Character pick by excellence. He causes considerable damage to walls (even when reinforced) and causes mayhem inside the enemy’s base, getting faster and deadlier as it kills enemies. It’s super easy to play kit is what every rookie player needs. Just seek and destroy, and break all walls that get between you

Tactical Power – Pounce: Smash through breakable walls. Hold to charge a powerful leap.
Passive – Enraged: Gains a movement and reload speed buff after killing an enemy.
Ultimate – Beast’s Roar: Roar to destroy walls and other breakable objects in front of you. It also damages enemies.

Redmane’s core mechanics are about getting in, killing, and then breaking their way into the enemy’s fortress weakspots to deploy the bombs fast. He is a walking siege engine, but also a priority target for any player in their right mind, so be careful. Lead your team but never rush alone.

Scarlet

Role: Assault
Good For: Infiltration Tactics, Single Target Damage
Strong Points: Stealth Mode, Breaches Walls, Broken Ultimate

Scarlet is currently the top performer pick in Highguard. With access to stealth, assassination abilities, and able to permeate walls, she can infiltrate and deploy bombs leisurely (as long as Condor is not present in the base). Her ultimate is super broken, and can be help her wipe out an entire team under the right circumstances..

Tactical Power – Sandstorm: Enter stealth mode, making yourself hidden to enemies who are far away.
Passive – Shifting Sands: Shift a destructible wall into sand temporarily, making it passable.
Ultimate – Whirling Blades: Throw up to 6 deadly daggers. Killing a player resets your cooldowns.

Scarlet’s kit is all about going undercover. She can enter the base undetected as long as a Condor player doesn’t spot her immediately, and then get inside walls using her passive. Once there, deploy the bomb and use the Ultimate in any approaching players to wipe them. Resetting her abilities and confusing foes from within.

Slade

Role: Assault
Good For: Frontal Fights, Sieges
Strong Points: Strong AoE, Strong Damage, Deadly Ultimate

Slade is a frontliner that causes lots of damage on surrounding foes as he uses his Tactical and Ultimate to punish players holed up in their bases. When downed, he releases an explosive surprise that can turn a defeat into a quick comeback. His ultimate has the most powerful AoE of all the current characters in Highguard.

Tactical Power – Heatwave: Sends out a cascading wave of molten fire.
Passive – Firebomb: Explodes and spreads magma to an area.
Ultimate – Firestorm: Rains down fire upon the targeted area.

Slade thrives on frontal assaults, so its ideal for players who want to lead the battle. The only problem is that his abilities have a long cooldown, though, they are destructive. His ultimate causes the most damage you can get in a targeted Area, and it helps to draw out foes who have been holding a defensive position for long. Use it at a critical moment to shift the tide of battle.

Una

Role: Defensive
Good For: Holding the Fort/Driving Enemies Out of the Base
Strong Points: Her Ultimate is like having another team member

Una is focused solely on defense, and though she can be useful in Sieges, it’s recommended for players who like to hold the fort instead of going frontal. She can unleash a barrage of explosions on her foes, and can call for the aid of a Tree Spirit that works similarly to a turret. Meanwhile, other spirits will aid Una and bring Loot to him, ensuring her resources are always topped off.

Tactical Power – Forest Wisps:Summon mischevious spirits who lob concussion grenades at enemies.
Passive – Helping Hand: Spirits appear to give Una loot.
Ultimate – Tree Walker: Summon a large forest spirit that throws smaller explosive spirits at enemies.

This character works incredibly well with Kai, and together, they form the ultimate defensive duo. The only downside to Una’s kit is that her passive doesn’t work all too well with the rest of her abilities. The silver lining is that the small spirits picking the loot for him can be useful to a certain extent.