Last verified: April 28, 2026 — Season 3

Five Nights TD 2 Tier List (2026) — Best Units Ranked

By Earnaldo  •  April 28, 2026  •  Five Nights TD 2

Five Nights TD 2 is one of the most active tower defense games on Roblox right now, and with Season 3's Nightmare theme dropping a wave of powerful new units, figuring out who's actually worth building around has gotten a lot more complicated. We've spent serious time testing compositions, running numbers on upgrade costs, and pushing into late-game waves so you don't have to start from scratch.

This tier list covers the current state of the game as of April 2026, with full attention to the Season 3 banner and its Nightmare-rarity units. The pity system sits at 500 pulls for a Secret and 1,500 for a Nightmare, so knowing which units are genuinely worth chasing matters more than ever. We've ranked everything from the dominant Meta picks all the way down to the units you're better off using as crafting fodder.

Meta & S Tier — Best Units in Five Nights TD 2

These are the units that shape the current meta. Whether you're clearing story mode or pushing into the hardest infinite waves, this is where you want to be spending your pulls and your upgrade resources. We've grouped Meta and S tier together here because the gap between them is smaller than you might expect — a well-built S-tier team can absolutely outperform a poorly-built Meta team.

Headless Horseman Mangle (Apex) — #1 Overall

Headless Horseman Mangle is the best unit in Five Nights TD 2 right now, and it's not particularly close. Its area-of-effect damage covers wide sections of the track with devastating efficiency, and the utility it brings on top of raw DPS puts it in a category of its own. In our testing, no other single unit cleared mid-to-late wave crowds as consistently. If you pull this from the Apex banner, build around it immediately.

The Haywire trait pairs especially well here, pushing its already high damage ceiling even further. One placement can carry early waves while your economy scales, which frees up placement slots for support units.

Dreadbear (Nightmare) — Boss Killer

Dreadbear is the premier single-target specialist in Season 3. Its stacking debuff mechanic means that the longer a boss stays on the map, the more damage it takes — which is exactly what you want when dealing with high-health targets that resist most AoE solutions. We ran it against every boss encounter in Season 3 and it consistently outperformed alternatives by a measurable margin.

At 1,500 pulls for a guaranteed Nightmare, it's a significant investment. That said, Dreadbear is one of the clearest cases where the pity is worth tracking. Pair it with Endo 01 or Endo 02 for the team buff and the damage spike becomes even more pronounced.

Purple Guy (Nightmare) — Assassin

Purple Guy operates differently from most DPS units. Its teleport-based attack pattern lets it bypass normal range limitations and eliminate high-priority threats before they reach critical positions on the map. In our experience, this makes it uniquely effective on tracks with sharp corners where standard units struggle to maintain consistent targeting.

The Haywire trait amplifies its burst windows significantly. It's not a carry unit in the traditional sense — it needs threats to actually appear — but paired with a unit that slows or debuffs enemies, it cleans up fast.

Mangle (Nightmare) — Versatile DPS

Mangle earns its Meta placement through flexibility rather than one dominant stat. Its multi-attack cycling mechanic means it's never sitting idle, rotating through targets and maintaining high uptime across different enemy types. This makes it one of the most reliable carries across mixed-enemy wave compositions, which you'll see frequently in Season 3's later stages.

S Tier Highlights

Scarecrow Freddy is the most unique unit in S tier, running a dual-form switching mechanic that toggles between support output and direct DPS depending on the situation. It takes some time to get the timing right, but once you do, it covers two roles in one placement slot. Slasher Bonnie complements it well — its chain attack hits multiple enemies in sequence and scales well with density, making it particularly strong on waves where enemies bunch up.

Party Glock Freddy sits firmly in S tier. Its Party Time mode activates periodically for substantial burst windows, and for players who'd rather skip the pull grind, it's available directly for 435 Robux. Party Packer Cupcake handles boss encounters that need sustained single-target pressure, with missile targeting that locks onto the highest-health enemy on the field. Golden Freddy rounds out S tier with wave-based scaling — it gets progressively stronger as waves increase, which makes it especially valuable in longer runs. You can find active codes for Golden Freddy's unlock requirements on our Five Nights TD 2 codes page.

A Tier — Excellent Units

A-tier units are strong, reliable, and capable of carrying in the right compositions. Most players will have at least a few of these on their roster, and several are genuinely competitive with lower S-tier picks when you account for upgrade costs and placement efficiency.

Shadow Freddy (Mythic) — Armor Reduction Specialist

Shadow Freddy fills a niche that becomes critical in later waves: armor reduction. Many of Season 3's tougher enemies have significant damage resistance, and Shadow Freddy's debuff peels that back to let your DPS units hit full numbers. In our testing, adding it to a team that was stalling on wave 35 pushed us through consistently. It's not a carry, but it's one of the best force multipliers at Mythic rarity.

Endo 01 & Endo 02 (Mythic/Secret) — Team Buffers

Endo 01 provides a team-wide damage buff that scales with the number of allied units in range. It's straightforward to use and consistently valuable. Endo 02 takes that further with an enhanced buff and the Overclock ability, which temporarily supercharges adjacent units' attack speeds. Endo 02 is the stronger pick when you can afford the Secret rarity investment, but Endo 01 is a legitimate A-tier option if you pulled it first and haven't hit 500 pity yet.

Withered Foxy (Secret) — Damage Accumulation

Withered Foxy rewards patience. It runs a damage accumulation mechanic where repeated hits on the same enemy build a multiplier, which means it performs worst against fast, single-hit enemies and best against tanky targets that stay on the field. Against bosses and elite enemies in Season 3, it punches well above its rarity. Pair it with a slow unit like Toy Chica to maximize the accumulation window.

Jack'O Bonnie, Toy Chica, Cupcake & JJ

Jack'O Bonnie brings fire-based sustained AoE damage that ticks consistently regardless of enemy count, making it a reliable source of passive clear. Toy Chica handles crowd control with slow and knockback effects that keep the whole team's DPS numbers cleaner. Cupcake (Epic) is one of the better multi-stat buff units at its rarity tier — if you're not running Endo 01 or 02, it fills the support slot adequately.

JJ deserves special mention for free-to-play players. Five placement slots, damage that scales with range, and it's a Rare — meaning you'll likely have it early. In our experience, JJ carried more starter runs than any other single unit, and it holds up through mid-game without needing replacement. Check our Five Nights TD 2 free Robux guide if you want to accelerate pulling for upgrades without spending real money.

B Tier — Good Units

B-tier units are worth using, particularly if you don't yet have A-tier or higher alternatives. Several of them fill specific niches that the tiers above don't cover well, and a couple are strong enough in their lane that they might slot into late-game teams situationally.

Fazcade (Mythic) is the game's main economic support, generating money every wave to speed up your upgrade curve. If you're struggling to keep up with upgrade costs in longer runs, one Fazcade placement pays for itself within 4 to 6 waves. It's not a DPS investment — it's a quality-of-life unit that makes everything else slightly better. Withered Golden Freddy (Nightmare) leans into control and debuffs over raw damage, which works in specific compositions but limits its ceiling compared to other Nightmare units.

Toy Freddy uses distance-based damage mechanics that make positioning critical — place it poorly and it underperforms its rarity. Place it correctly at the far end of a long track and it delivers consistent Epic-level output. Toy Bonnie builds toward periodic damage boosts on a timer, which means its effectiveness varies based on how frequently enemies appear. Paperpals (Rare) applies a bleed effect to multiple enemies with each AoE hit, which stacks well in dense waves and makes it one of the more interesting Rare-rarity picks.

Freddy (Uncommon) gets six placement slots, which gives it scaling that most uncommons can't match. It's a reasonable early-game DPS solution before you have access to Epic and above. Undead Chica mixes self-sustain with debuff application, covering two functions in a single placement — useful when you're short on slots and need flexibility.

C Tier — Average Units

C-tier units aren't useless, but they're outclassed by most of what's above them. You might use them temporarily while waiting for better pulls, but they shouldn't be part of any long-term build plan.

Withered Chica (Epic) suffers from slow attack speed that undermines its single-target damage numbers. On paper the damage-per-hit looks reasonable, but in practice the gaps between attacks let enemies pass through gaps they shouldn't. It's an Epic that plays like a Rare. Withered Bonnie (Epic) has the same rarity with even less going for it — minimal utility, straightforward single-target output, and nothing that makes it a priority over the many better Epic units in A and B tier. Both of these are better used as crafting material once you have their replacement locked in.

D Tier — Skip These

The Common units — Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy — are starting units that exist to get you through the tutorial. All three offer basic AoE damage with poor scaling, short range, and no meaningful utility. They're outclassed the moment you pull anything of Rare rarity or higher. Use them to fill empty slots in your first few waves, then replace them and use them for crafting. There's no late-game scenario where these belong in a competitive team.

Tier List Summary Table

Tier	Unit	Rarity	Role
Meta	Headless Horseman Mangle	Apex	AoE DPS / Utility
Meta	Dreadbear	Nightmare	Boss Killer
Meta	Purple Guy	Nightmare	Assassin / DPS
Meta	Mangle	Nightmare	Versatile DPS
S	Scarecrow Freddy	Secret	Hybrid Support / DPS
S	Slasher Bonnie	Secret	Chain DPS
S	Party Glock Freddy	Secret	Burst DPS
S	Party Packer Cupcake	Secret	Boss Killer
S	Golden Freddy	Hero	Scaling DPS
A	Shadow Freddy	Mythic	Armor Reduction
A	Withered Foxy	Secret	Accumulation DPS
A	Endo 01	Mythic	Team Buff
A	Endo 02	Secret	Enhanced Buff / Overclock
A	Jack'O Bonnie	Mythical	AoE Fire DPS
A	Toy Chica	Epic	Control / DPS
A	Cupcake	Epic	Multi-stat Support
A	JJ	Rare	Range-scaling DPS
B	Fazcade	Mythic	Economic Support
B	Withered Golden Freddy	Nightmare	Control / Debuff
B	Toy Freddy	Epic	Distance DPS
B	Toy Bonnie	Epic	Periodic DPS
B	Paperpals	Rare	Bleed AoE
B	Freddy	Uncommon	Early DPS
B	Undead Chica	Rare	Control / Support
C	Withered Chica	Epic	Single-target DPS
C	Withered Bonnie	Epic	Single-target DPS
D	Bonnie	Common	Basic AoE
D	Chica	Common	Basic AoE
D	Foxy	Common	Basic AoE

How We Ranked These Units

This tier list is based on hands-on testing across multiple playthroughs of Season 3's wave content, boss encounters, and infinite mode. We didn't rely solely on community consensus — we ran units in controlled compositions to isolate their actual performance contribution. Rarity alone wasn't a determining factor: JJ (Rare) sits in A tier because it genuinely performs there, and Withered Chica (Epic) sits in C tier despite its rarity because the numbers don't hold up under scrutiny.

Three primary factors drove placement decisions. First, damage efficiency — how much damage a unit contributes per placement slot relative to its upgrade cost. Second, utility value — whether the unit provides meaningful team effects beyond raw damage, such as debuffs, buffs, slows, or economic income. Third, composition flexibility — how many different team builds the unit fits into. A unit that only works in one specific composition is ranked lower than a comparable unit that slots into three or four different builds.

Traits were factored in at max-upgrade levels. Haywire consistently delivered the highest DPS ceiling for combat units, while Puppet Nightmare pulled ahead specifically for range-scaling builds running units like Golden Freddy at full upgrade. Pets were excluded from rankings entirely since they're cosmetic and their only mechanical contribution is to the crafting and evolving system rather than combat.

We'll keep this list updated as Season 3 progresses and new units enter the banner pool. For a broader overview of the game and more resources, visit our Five Nights TD 2 hub. You can also play the game directly on Roblox.

Frequently Asked Questions