Your Buddy Digimon might not be the first thing you focus on in Digimon UP, but it can have a huge impact on your team’s overall performance. A strong Buddy provides passive bonuses or temporary buffs that make your main Digimon hit harder, survive longer, or even counterattack more often.
The tricky part is deciding which Buddy is actually worth investing in. Some offer powerful passive effects that stay active throughout every battle, while others only provide short buffs after using a skill. Choosing the right one can make progression through tougher stages much smoother.
This tier list ranks every currently available Buddy Digimon based on their maximum potential and explains why each one deserves its placement.
Digimon UP Buddy Digimon Tier List – Best Buddy Digimon Ranked
| Tier | Buddy Digimon |
|---|---|
| SS | Agumon (Tai Kamiya Ver.) |
| S | Triceramon |
| A | Andromon |
| B | Mammothmon |
| C | Tuskmon |
| D | Tyrannomon |
This tier list is based on each Buddy Digimon’s overall usefulness in endgame content rather than how early you can obtain them.
The rankings primarily consider:
- Performance at Breakthrough 10 (maximum upgrade).
- Strength of each Digimon’s Unique Skill.
- Overall contribution to team damage.
- Long-term value for progression.
Since higher-rarity Buddies naturally have much stronger stats, they usually outperform lower-rarity options with similar abilities.
Attack-focused buffs are also valued much higher than defensive effects because defeating enemies faster is generally the best strategy in Digimon UP.
SS Tier – Agumon (Tai Kamiya Ver.)
If you’re lucky enough to obtain Agumon (Tai Kamiya Ver.), you’ve already found one of the strongest Buddy Digimon currently available.
Its biggest strength comes from its passive ability, which means you don’t have to activate anything manually.
Strengths
- Increases Counterattack Rate by up to 50%.
- Passive effect is always active during battle.
- Can apply a 100% debuff when fully upgraded.
- Excellent in both boss fights and long battles.
Because its effect never expires and requires no setup, Agumon consistently provides value throughout every encounter.
S Tier – Triceramon
Triceramon specializes in boosting Normal Attack damage.
Whenever you use a skill, it dramatically increases your Normal Attack power for the next few seconds.
Strengths
- Normal Attack increases by up to 120%.
- More than doubles basic attack damage.
- Excellent for builds that rely heavily on Normal Attacks.
Weakness
The bonus only affects Normal Attacks, so teams focused on skill damage won’t benefit as much.
A Tier – Andromon
Unlike Triceramon, Andromon increases your overall Attack instead of just Normal Attacks.
This makes it a much more flexible Buddy for most team compositions.
Strengths
- Attack increases by up to 48%.
- Buff activates after using a skill.
- Improves both skill and basic attack damage.
- Strong all-around offensive option.
Although its bonus isn’t as explosive as Triceramon’s, it works with nearly every damage dealer.
Verdict: A reliable Buddy that fits almost every team.
B Tier – Mammothmon
Mammothmon offers a similar effect to Andromon but with a smaller attack bonus.
Strengths
- Attack increases by up to 32%.
- Activates after using a skill.
- Easy to use with most teams.
Weakness
The lower attack increase means it is generally overshadowed by Andromon once both are upgraded.
C Tier – Tuskmon
Instead of increasing damage, Tuskmon focuses on defense.
Strengths
- Defense increases by up to 48%.
- Better defensive boost than Tyrannomon.
Weakness
While survivability is useful, most content rewards eliminating enemies quickly rather than simply surviving longer.
For that reason, defensive Buddies usually rank lower than offensive ones.
D Tier – Tyrannomon
Tyrannomon performs a similar role to Tuskmon but offers a noticeably weaker defensive buff.
Strengths
- Defense increases by up to 32%.
- Simple and easy to use.
Weakness
- Lowest defensive bonus among Buddy Digimon.
- Doesn’t contribute much to increasing damage.
- Easily replaced by higher-tier Buddies.
One important thing to remember is that this tier list assumes every summonable Buddy has reached Breakthrough 10, their maximum upgrade level.
At this point:
- Buff percentages become significantly stronger.
- Passive effects reach their full potential.
- Higher-rarity Buddies pull even further ahead.
If you’re comparing Buddies before upgrading them, the performance gap may feel much smaller.
Free Buddy Digimon
The free Buddy Digimon you receive early in the game are helpful for getting started, but they have one major disadvantage.
Currently, they cannot be Breakthrough upgraded.
Meanwhile, Buddy Digimon obtained through summons can continue growing stronger with additional copies.
Because of this, summon-exclusive Buddies eventually become much more powerful in the late game.
Buddy Digimon may seem like a small part of your team, but choosing the right one can noticeably improve your damage output and make difficult battles much easier. While defensive Buddies have their uses, offensive buffs are currently far more valuable for clearing content efficiently.
If you have access to Agumon (Tai Kamiya Ver.), make it your top priority, as its powerful passive effects outperform every other Buddy in the current meta. Otherwise, Triceramon and Andromon are excellent alternatives that will carry you through most of Digimon UP’s content.