Prelude Dark Pain Heroes

Early Access roster overview

Prelude Dark Pain ships Act 1 with nine playable heroes, each offering four active skills, two passives, virtues, and two talent branches that push the same character toward different battlefield roles. Squads hold up to five heroes, so roster knowledge is the fastest way to improve win rates on the world map, story encounters, and optional challenges.

This hub links every hero page in release order. Use it to compare roles before you commit skill points, or jump straight to the hero tier rankings once you know who you want to main.

Story anchors and faction ties

Soren is the protagonist — a retired warrior turned blacksmith who returns to the fight after the Order of the Ashen Crusade tears his family apart. His son Tizon fights beside him with deployables and rifle knockback. Allies from the Blue Nets faction — Tammais, Maya, Rufio, and Urza — bring frontline durability, hunter control, grappling, and shaman support.

Sade represents the Keepers of the Veil with divine zone control through her golden cross. Gala of the Van Rigmars combines musket pressure with explosive barrels and blood-crystal empowerment. Rayder rounds out the roster as a hardened soldier whose kit keeps him relevant even when the fight turns brutal.

How to read each hero page

Every profile below covers:

• Combat role — where the hero fits in a five-man lineup
• Active and passive kit — what each skill does in grid combat
• Virtues and dual branches — the two build paths Quickfire designed for Early Access
• Squad synergies — who amplifies bleed, traps, taunt, blind, or zone denial
• Build and tier pointers — links to build guides and rankings

If you are new to battle points, flanking, and height advantage, start with the getting started guide before min-maxing individual heroes.

Full hero list (Act 1)

Order	Hero	Role	Signature mechanic
1	Soren	Melee DPS / rogue	Bleed and flank bonuses
2	Tizon	Engineer / support or DPS	Turrets, traps, healing branch
3	Tammais	Tank	Taunt and damage scaling when hit
4	Maya	Ranged DPS / hunter	Owl companion, blind, knockback
5	Sade	Zone control / support	Golden cross area lockdown
6	Gala	Ranged DPS / trapper	Explosive barrels, blood crystals
7	Rufio	Melee bruiser / grappler	Axe throws and reposition
8	Urza	Magic support	Buffs, cleanses, battlefield control
9	Rayder	Frontline soldier	Death-defying sustain and pressure

Squad-building principles

Early Access rewards status chains more than raw stat stacking. Soren’s bleed pairs with Maya’s accuracy debuffs and Gala’s area bursts. Tammais and Rufio anchor the front while Tizon or Urza stabilize the back line. Sade’s cross creates no-go zones that funnel enemies into traps or turret lanes.

Because each hero only equips four actives at a time, your branch choice matters. A support Tizon frees points for damage dealers; a trap-heavy Gala wants setup from Tizon’s bear traps or Sade’s zone denial.

Related pages

• Hero tier rankings — compare power level across Act 1 content
• Build guides — sample skill loadouts and attribute priorities
• Guides hub — combat fundamentals, world map tips, and Citadel basics
• Controls reference — battle points, defend action, and movement rules