Best Unit Composition and Formation in Unicorn Overlord

Unicorn Overlord separates itself from other tactical roleplaying games by turning each Unit Formation into a group effort. Every unit is built around multiple characters and plays differently based on the positioning of those characters on a grid, meaning you need to work to find the best Unit Formations. 

Unit Formations in Unicorn Overlord can contain up to six individual characters, each with their own class, item builds, and skills. Those unique character elements paired with every Unit’s Leader Effect giving that formation a special ability leads to hundreds of different combinations you can use depending on your combat needs. Experimenting with what units complement each other and make overpowered combinations is key to Unicorn Overlord, so here are some of the best overall Unit Formations in the game—based on classes and specific characters. 

Unicorn Overlord: Best Unit Formations and Combinations

The best Unit Formations in Unicorn Overlord use different classes, skills, and abilities to amplify certain characters’ strengths while covering their weaknesses. The game hints about some classes that play well together when paired in a composition, though you will mostly be left to your experimentation. 

Even in the early game, you will unlock plenty of different characters and classes that will open the door to trying specific Unit Formations, but here are some options you can try as you continue playing. These compositions will mostly focus on named characters, though we will also list their class, just in case you want to use a mercenary or different character in that slot. 

Best early game Unit Formations and combinations in Unicorn Overlord

Alain with support

Because Alain is a unique unit and the first character you will be building around in Unicorn Overlord, getting a solid Unit Formation with him at the core will be a great boon for the early game and beyond—especially since you need to use him in missions to recruit some characters.

Since Alain will likely be one of your main fighters, putting him at the front of a unit and then pairing him with another damage dealer like Yhana and a supporter in Scarlett is a solid foundation. You can add to that by dropping a versatile unit such as Hilda, Virginia, or Berenice as you recruit them. 

Best overall Unit Formations and combinations in Unicorn Overlord

Dark Magic abuse

This can fall under a good early-game option since you can recruit Sylvie early and access the Shaman class, which is considered one of the strongest in the game. Using this class’ ability to debuff enemies means you can deal more damage and live longer with the right approach.

Since the goal here is to protect the Shaman at all costs and get those sweet, sweet up to 50 percent debuffs, dropping some heavy hitters in the frontline is a must. Hodrick can tank plenty of damage, and Clive provides damage capable of hitting a full column—plus boosted movement as the leader. From there, you can finetune your lineup a bit more by adding a Radiant Knight for some extra defense, a Cleric for pure healing, or additional offense in the form of a Hunter to deal with flying units as needed. 

Gryphon Knight focused 

Gryphon Knights are an amazing unit, especially in the mid-game, as long as you can work around their huge weakness to Archers—abundant in Unicorn Overlord. They can take out entire rows of enemies and quickly traverse nearly every map type in the game, making them a versatile addition to any lineup. 

While you will later Promote your Gryphon Knight, and they will get the ability to better handle Archers on their own, having a Fighter class character dedicated to taking those blows and ensuring no heavy damage comes in at all is an easy workaround for the early and late game. 

Giving this composition a magic unit like a Witch or Shaman will let you buff your Gryphon Knight or debuff enemy units, respectively, while also dealing with armored classes a bit more easily. Another great addition in the late game, when you retool your Gryphon Knight Unit Formation, is a Werewolf or Elven Fencer. 

Distraction Rogue build

Travis is one of the first characters you recruit in the game and can also be one of the hardest to build around if you don’t know how the Thief/Rogue class works. This versatile unit serves as a great method to open up an enemy for other attacks but with multiple ways to blind, disable, or drain resources like PP.

Travis will want to draw the attention of whatever enemy unity he faces, using his high Evasion stat and skills to stay alive despite having low health and defense. Stealing PP or blinding a target to disrupt how your enemy attacks is the way to go here—if you don’t just want to focus on stealing money using Plunder.

The Cleric is there to keep him alive or help you revive him without using items if he goes down. You will also want to pair another offensive option like Ochlys or a Swordfighter with him in the frontline because while Travis can deal damage with poison and his normal attacks, that won’t be effective enough. Some other good pairings include the Berserker and Werelion, which can tank hits and benefit from a Cleric or Knights like Clive in the backline. 

How to create a good Unit Formation in Unicorn Overlord

Making a good Unit Formation is not just about which classes work well together. You also need to have good builds for each character and learn about prioritizing certain Tactic Actions. 

You can also ignore this advice and simply build your Unit Formations based on which characters you like and the relationships you want to foster—using the game’s Rapport and romance systems. I have been using my favorite units, with a secondary focus on trying to balance those formations, mostly by using items to cover major weaknesses.

The best way to test Unit Formations is through the Mock Battle option at Forts, which lets you freely run out your compositions to see how they perform against some of your other formations. Just have fun feeling out the balance you want to strike, whether that be hyper-focused combos or formations built to handle any situation.