This guide ranks the strongest Drifters in Warborne: Above Ashes for PvP, following the major PTR patch in April 2025. Some skill names and item details may still be adjusted as updates continue, but this is the best snapshot of who dominates after the latest changes. Whether you are leading Warbands, fighting in Rift arenas, or coordinating Veinhold Extractions, these Drifters offer the strongest PvP builds today.

Best Support Drifters (Crowd Control, Utility, Buffs and Debuffs)

Veska

Veska excels at mid-range disruption, anti-healing, and shutting down enemy supports. Her active ability, Serpent's Whisper, prevents movement and skill use for four seconds while granting full immunity to damage and control, damaging nearby enemies and applying Creeping Stone. Her passive, Shedskin, offers a second life effect, allowing Veska to survive lethal damage by turning into a spirit serpent that rapidly heals her.

For gear, Veska uses the Tendril's Grasp weapon. Key skills include Evil Seed, which throws a damaging zone every five attacks, Winding Vines to immobilize enemies entering a designated area, and Entangling Growth, a bouncing projectile that can stun multiple targets. Her armor setup focuses on scaling survivability, with Scale Armor providing a large shield after being hit by crowd control, Vulnerability increasing her damage resistance and weakening nearby enemies, and Decay applying healing reduction and movement slows.

Veska's ideal rotation begins with activating Serpent's Whisper to zone or engage. Entangling Growth stuns enemies, Winding Vines locks down critical paths, and Evil Seed builds pressure through constant slowing zones. Combining Decay and Vulnerability at the right moment cripples healing-heavy teams. Veska shines in midline fights, peeling assassins and shutting down backline healers.

Kyra

Kyra is a control-focused Drifter specializing in freezing zones and slowing enemies to deny objectives. Her active skill, Frozen Maelstrom, deals massive magic damage, slows movement and attack speed, and applies a Frozen debuff to enemies directly hit. Her passive, Fractured Ice, grants damage resistance and creates an area-of-effect freeze effect when taking close-range damage.

Kyra's weapon, Glacier Prism, provides consistent frost-based damage and control. Frost Burst modifies her basic attack into an AoE burst that applies Chill. Crystal Frost roots enemies on explosion, and Frost Torrent channels a slowing, damaging frost wind. Her defensive options include Swift Aid for reactive shielding during heals, Barrier for absorbing incoming damage, and Frost boots to create slowing trails that cripple enemy pushes.

In combat, Kyra opens with Frozen Maelstrom for a powerful initiation. Crystal Frost roots groups, Frost Torrent maintains slow pressure, and Frost Burst provides sustained AoE damage. Her Frost trails are perfect for controlling narrow paths and objective points. Kyra thrives in Veinhold defenses, Rift core control, and synergizes extremely well with frontline tanks like Sirokos or disruption DPS like Draknor.

Astral Magus

Astral Magus provides elite team repositioning and reactive defense in PvP. Her active, Astral Gate, creates a teleport field that sends up to fifteen allies to a target location after three seconds, dealing damage and stunning nearby enemies on arrival. It also shields allies and grants speed boosts and immunity to slow and immobilize effects. Her passive, Celestial Rotation, slightly reduces all cooldowns every time her abilities deal damage.

Astral Magus uses the Celestial Redeemer weapon, focused on healing and zoning. Holy Feather fires quick magic projectiles, Holy Wave knocks enemies back, and Blessed Halo sets a healing field that also grants movement speed. Her armor choices include Swift Aid for shielding allies during heals, Barrier for absorbing attacks while restoring mana, and Vitality boots for rapid movement and healing during retreats or regrouping.

Her typical combo starts with Astral Gate for repositioning or initiating, followed by Blessed Halo to create a healing safe zone. Holy Wave disrupts enemies trying to dive the backline, while Holy Feather keeps up constant pressure. Astral Magus works best when anchoring a defensive line or rotating heals during drawn-out skirmishes. Positioning is crucial, as her passive aura increases the durability of surrounding allies.

Best Healer Drifters (AoE Healing, Sustain, Cleanse, Support Buffs)

Solenne

Solenne is the definitive healer for team-focused PvP in Warborne: Above Ashes. Her active ability, Bond of Light, links to eight allies or enemies within ten meters, continuously healing friends and damaging enemies for four seconds. The channel cannot be interrupted. Her passive, Light's Echo, boosts healing done to nearby allies by twenty percent.

Solenne wields Harmony's Staff. Key skills include Soothing Mist, which replaces basic attacks with a healing mist, Vitality Seed that applies movement speed boosts and healing over time to multiple allies, and Rain of Serenity, which creates a healing rain zone. Her armor prioritizes sustaining healing output, using Swift Aid to shield allies during heals, Barrier to absorb incoming damage while regaining mana, and boots that improve speed and provide consistent healing over time.

During fights, Solenne opens with Bond of Light to quickly stabilize her team. She spreads Vitality Seeds early to boost group mobility and durability, then rotates between Soothing Mist and Rain of Serenity for consistent healing output. Barriers should be used proactively when anticipating enemy engagements to maximize uptime. Solenne pairs best with heavy frontline comps or midline bruiser teams that can spread incoming pressure.

Best Tank Drifters (Frontline, Peel, Disruption, Control)

Sirokos

Sirokos is a brutal frontline enforcer who excels at initiation and peeling for teammates. His kit focuses on chain crowd control, defense buffs, and area disruption. His active skill, Thunderous Charge, dashes forward and stuns enemies, dealing significant Physical Damage and forcing enemies to face away briefly, interrupting their casting. His passive, Titan's Endurance, increases resistance and regenerates health when standing still.

Sirokos uses the Juggernaut's Wrath weapon. Core skills include Earthbreaker Slam for massive AoE knockdown, Fortress Wall that temporarily grants himself and nearby allies heavy defensive buffs, and Shockwave, a ranged line knockback. His defensive gear choices revolve around high shield uptime, with an emphasis on maximum HP scaling and anti-CC resistances.

Sirokos engages by leading with Thunderous Charge to stun and disorient the enemy frontline, following up with Earthbreaker Slam to knock down groups. Fortress Wall is critical during heavy incoming damage phases. His passive allows him to anchor control points for extended periods without needing immediate heals. Best used in Warband pushes or Rift Arena frontline skirmishes.

Best DPS Drifters (Burst Damage, Mobility, Assassin Roles)

Durion

Durion dominates the DPS role with high mobility, burst damage, and crowd control. His active ability, Crescent Fang, slashes all enemies in a wide arc, applying Bleed and slowing Movement Speed. His passive, Bloodletting, causes his attacks to deal bonus damage to bleeding enemies, synergizing perfectly with his skill rotation.

Durion equips the Predator's Edge weapon. Key skills include Ravage Dash for gap-closing and double-hitting enemies, Hemorrhage Strike for heavy single-target burst that amplifies Bleed stacks, and Blood Reaver that restores a percentage of missing HP based on Bleed damage dealt. His armor prioritizes evasive boosts, using swift movement and self-sustain to stay alive in prolonged fights.

A standard Durion combo begins with Ravage Dash to engage, immediately applying Bleed effects. Crescent Fang spreads further debuffs across enemy lines, while Hemorrhage Strike focuses down priority targets. Blood Reaver should be activated after a successful Bleed spread to top off HP before the next skirmish. Durion shines in backline flanks, assassination missions during Rift control, and small group skirmishes.

Final Thoughts

The current PvP meta in Warborne: Above Ashes heavily favors coordinated teamplay, with supports and healers becoming increasingly valuable following the latest PTR patch. Tanks like Sirokos remain the kings of frontline disruption, while mobile DPS like Durion clean up fights with burst damage. Picking the right Drifter for your role, gearing appropriately, and understanding your combo rotation will make all the difference in the high-stakes Total War Test.

As future patches tweak Drifter balance and item synergies, we will continue to update this list with optimal builds and skill setups. Good luck out there, and may your Warband dominate the Ashes.