Squad Leaders are the backbone of every deployment in MENACE. They don’t just define how a squad fights, they shape how an entire mission flows: where pressure gets applied, how aggressively you can move, and how much room you have to recover when things go wrong. On paper, many of them look similar, sharing generic perks and overlapping weapon options, but once you start using them in real missions, the differences become very clear.
This MENACE Squad Leaders Tier List guide is meant to be a practical overview of every Squad Leader currently available, focusing on their base stats, innate perks, unique synergies, and the roles they naturally excel at. It is not a tier list, and it’s not trying to declare any one leader “best.” Star ratings matter for supply cost and promotion tax, but lower-star leaders often bring niche strengths that can outperform higher-star options when used correctly.
MENACE Squad Leaders Tier List – Stats, Ranking Guide
Every Squad Leader discussed below is viable. Some are flexible generalists, others are narrow specialists, and a few demand specific builds or team support to shine. Understanding what each leader wants to do — and what they struggle with — is far more important than raw numbers. This breakdown keeps everything intact: stats, perks, builds, and playstyle context, without cutting corners or oversimplifying how these leaders actually function in MENACE.
Darby (⭐⭐⭐)
Darby is the closest MENACE gets to a ghost. Her innate perk, High Value Targets, disables enemy special weapons on any unit she hits. On paper, that’s huge. In practice, you’ll forget it exists until you suddenly realize a weapons team isn’t firing back and you’re not sure why. The real reason you bring Darby is her raw statline. For a three-star, her base stats are excellent across the board, and her growth rate is better than it has any right to be.
Her unique perks lean hard into concealment and independent action. Covert Ops alone gives +2 concealment, which is absurd once you stack it with suppressed weapons and concealment armor. Commando, Ambush, and Vanguard Deployment turn her into a deep-strike menace who doesn’t need the rest of the squad nearby to function. Sharpshooter gives her real killing power by downgrading enemy cover, which is often more important than raw damage.
Darby works as a 3-man recon unit, a 9-man stealth rifle squad, or something in between. She’s the only Vanguard SL who can also stay hidden after deploying, which makes her uniquely suited to operating behind enemy lines instead of just rushing forward and hoping for the best.
Weapon-wise, Darby doesn’t care much about raw damage. Suppression, concealment, and consistency matter more. A suppressed rifle smooths everything out. A DMR works well with her innate because it only needs to hit once. She’s also shockingly good with SMGs because she can close distance without being seen. Her high Weapon Skill even makes the Crowbar viable, which feels wrong until you see it work.
Invisible Darby build
Covert Ops → Scout → Ambush → Vanguard Deployment → Commando
This turns Darby into either an untouchable observer or a silent executioner. Athletics and Impossible Shot are luxury picks once you can afford them.
Kody (⭐⭐⭐)
Where Darby cuts, Kody crushes. His innate, Guerilla, massively boosts accuracy and damage against targets above 80% HP. That alone makes him one of the best alpha-strike leaders in the game. He also stacks damage perks like Assassin, Tankbuster, and Sharpshooter, letting him delete priority targets before they even get a turn.
Kody’s playstyle rewards patience. Assassin requires isolation, but the range is more forgiving than it looks. If you wait for the enemy to shuffle slightly out of formation, Kody can cash in huge damage. Recovery lets him shed suppression on kills, which makes him oddly self-sustaining even under fire. Deploy Decoy is deceptively strong; the AI loves shooting at it, and that wasted fire often saves entire turns.
Unlike Darby, Kody doesn’t rely on stealth. He’s tough enough to sit in cover, eat shots, and then erase whatever dared to shoot him. He works equally well as a hardware killer or a frontline rifle squad leader.
Give him whatever kills your current problem best. AMRs, RPGs, ATGMs all shine thanks to Tankbuster. If you don’t need anti-armor, just hand him your best rifle and let him work.
Anti-materiel specialist
Athletics → Vanguard Deployment → Tankbuster → Assassin
Run him lean with 2 squaddies and concealment armor, or bulk him up into a hybrid backline destroyer.
Frontline grunt
Athletics or Recovery → Sharpshooter → Deploy Decoy → Fortify
Heavy armor recommended. Decoy buys time, Fortify keeps him alive.
Achilleas (⭐⭐⭐)
Achilleas is expensive, demanding, and brutally effective if you build around him. His innate, Spartan Duty, grants increasing AP as his vehicle loses health. It’s powerful, but awkward, because vehicle defects and burst damage can ruin your day fast. Shield Wall helps by capping incoming damage, letting you deliberately dip into AP thresholds without exploding.
That said, you don’t need to chase the innate. Achilleas has monstrous base stats and excellent vehicle synergy regardless. Lancer rewards close-range aggression. Full Send refunds AP when firing multiple times, and it works with vehicle weapons. Dash is one of the few perks explicitly designed to make Walkers better.
Achilleas should be treated as a centerpiece. He eats supply, promotion points, and attention. If you under-equip his vehicle or misjudge anti-armor threats, he will die quickly. But if you invest properly, he becomes the most resilient and flexible pilot in the roster.
Mechanized core build
Expert Pilot or Tankbuster → Dash (Walker) or Fortify → Shield Wall
From there, specialize. Flamers shred bugs. Long-barrel tank guns kill hardware. AGLs ruin infantry.
Pike (⭐⭐)
Pike is quietly one of the strongest leaders in the game, not because of damage, but because of tempo. His innate, Taking Command, lets him convert 60 of his own AP into 40 AP for another leader at long range. He doesn’t need gear. He doesn’t need squaddies. That alone makes him worth bringing.
Everything else he does is support. Command: Rally clears suppression. Call Out Target marks enemies for accuracy and ATGMs. Inspiring Presence stacks massive accuracy and discipline buffs if your squad clusters around him. On static missions, Pike turns average squads into monsters.
What surprises people is that Pike can also fight. This Is My Rifle halves squad weapon cost. Firing Line reduces AP cost per shot. Disruptive Fire enables Finisher builds. His growth is terrible, but his base stats are good enough that it barely matters.
Minimal Pike
Scout or Athletics → Inspiring Presence → Command: Rally → Call Out Target
Two squaddies, cheap guns, cheap armor. Exists to make someone else better.
Rifle Pike
Scout or Athletics → Disruptive Fire or Inspiring Presence → This Is My Rifle → Firing Line
Eight squaddies, long-range rifles, solid armor.
Tech (⭐⭐)
Tech is weird in the best way. His innate, Get Motherf*cked, lets him fire certain infantry special weapons and deployable accessories without deploying. That alone breaks a lot of assumptions. Mortars, designators, heavy specials suddenly become mobile.
He also has absurd survivability. Highest base HP in the game, strong defensive stats, and Die Hard, which gives 90% damage reduction when his squaddies are dead. That sounds like a meme until you watch bullets literally do zero damage.
Most of Tech’s perks push him toward accessories. Quick Hands, Long Bomb, and Bags & Belts let him throw, mark, and support constantly. He’s not a great rifleman, but he doesn’t need to be.
Tech rewards experimentation more than optimization. Try different specials. Try accessory spam. He’ll surprise you.
Lim (⭐⭐)
Lim wants to be moving, shooting, and never stopping. His innate, Aspiring, reduces promotion cost by 30%, which encourages early perk stacking. Run & Gun, Counterstrike, Blaze of Glory, and Berserk all reward aggressive play and close-range kills.
He’s one of the best CQB leaders in the game. SMGs, shotguns, ARC rifles all fit him perfectly. Mobile Infantry opens a completely different playstyle by letting him operate out of vehicles, though it shuts down some of his perk tree.
Lim feels bad if you play him cautiously. He shines when you commit.
The Yaz (⭐⭐)
Yaz is Lim without restraint. His innate, No Mercy, gives massive accuracy and damage against wavering or fleeing enemies. Fearsome doubles morale damage, letting him push units into panic states faster.
He shares many CQB perks with Lim but trades safety for brutality. Gostepriimstvo Babushki gives emergency sustain. Close & Personal fixes adjacent accuracy drop-off. He lacks Blaze of Glory, so suppression management matters more.
Yaz rewards synergy. Pair him with Disruptive Fire or flashbangs and he becomes terrifying.
Vamplew (⭐⭐)
Vamplew wants to be shot. His innate, Partir de Rien, stacks when he’s targeted and cashes out for 60 AP. Taunt increases threat. Flamboyant cheapens armor. Disdain ignores squaddie deaths.
He’s a walking distraction who turns enemy fire into momentum. Heavy armor is mandatory. Once stacked, Full Send enables absurd turns with special weapons.
He’s not subtle. He’s not safe. But he’s incredibly effective when supported.
Rewa (⭐⭐)
Rewa’s innate, Revel in Slaughter, stacks accuracy and discipline per kill. She wants momentum but doesn’t require it. Roadkill turns vehicles into weapons. Drive-by, Commando, and Berserk push aggression.
She’s riskier than Achilleas, less durable, but faster and cheaper. Smoke launchers and defensive accessories matter a lot here.
Exconde (⭐⭐)
Exconde has two personalities. Sentry and Shepherd turn him into mobile cover and accuracy support. Fervor does the opposite, trading a medium slot for absurd speed.
With Divine Intervention, he ignores one HP hit per turn, often eating rockets for free. As a battle taxi, he’s unmatched. As slow cover, he’s uniquely useful.
Carda (⭐)
Carda starts weak and grows strong. Her innate, Out of the Craters, ramps stats over turns, which fits most mission pacing perfectly. Her growth rate is excellent.
She’s flexible. Share the Load doubles special ammo. Team Spirit buffs the whole team globally. Mobile Infantry gives her safety while scaling.
She struggles early but becomes invaluable later if you invest.
Wett (⭐)
Wett has awful stats except Weapon Skill. Big Game Hunter makes him a bug killer. He’s excellent with Crowbars, DMRs, and sniper rifles. Vanguard Deployment gives him scouting utility.
He needs effort. Growth perks matter. But his damage output can rival higher stars if built correctly.
Sachin (⭐)
Sachin is simple and honest. His innate scales accuracy and discipline with squaddie count. He wants eight squaddies and good rifles. Suppressive Fire, This Is My Rifle, and Firing Line turn him into a suppression machine.
He’s slow, sturdy, and reliable. No tricks. Just firepower.
Jean (⭐)
Jean is about economy. Economics 101 reduces supply cost across her entire kit. Trinketing, Scavenger, and Resourceful turn her into a walking logistics engine.
She’s not a killer. She’s an enabler. Load her with accessories, specials, and utility and let others do the shooting.
Ivey (⭐)
Ivey shines in heavy vehicles. Directed Fire boosts accuracy and damage against marked targets. Barrage and Full Send combine to let her fire heavy weapons twice per turn.
She’s cheaper than other pilots and scales well with investment. Pair her with a marker and she becomes terrifying.
Bog (⭐)
Bog is cheap and honest. Recycled Parts reduces chassis cost at the expense of HP. Armor still works the same, which makes this trade surprisingly safe if you’re careful.
He’s a taxi, fire support, or budget pilot. Long-range weapons and AoE shine. Don’t expose him to rockets unless you have to.
MENACE doesn’t reward forcing leaders into generic roles. It rewards listening to what their stats, innates, and perks are quietly telling you they want to do. Once you stop fighting that, even the “weak” leaders start pulling their weight in ways that feel intentional instead of accidental.