I chewed through three failed runs before the boss erased my party. You feel the game sharpen from casual to punishing in a single engagement. I started tracking who carried those fights and what you should actually bring to a run.
You want a simple answer that saves time and stress. I tested dozens of runs, read Steam community threads, and checked build posts on Discord and the Steam Workshop so you don’t have to.
Most players swap characters between fights when a strategy breaks — here’s a practical tier map you can use tonight.
I split the five heroes into three tiers to highlight how much they demand from you during a run.
- S-tier: High damage and low babysitting. These characters win fights with minimal fiddling.
- A-tier: Strong if you commit to the right build and team pairing.
- B-tier: Fun and situational — they need tight builds and team support to shine.
Who is the best hero in Desktop Pension Squad?
Short answer: Mori and Gula, and Chopper. Mori and Gula are a ticking time bomb of arcane damage — the twin-team’s spell combos exploit elemental weakness and blow holes in bosses before they react. Chopper, available as paid DLC (roughly $4.99 (€4.50)), is a wrecking ball in a glass shop: pure, brutal melee DPS that can carry a run if you invest the gear pieces.
When I watched public runs, S-tier picks repeatedly ended fights faster than others — here’s why those two lead the pack.
- Mori and Gula (S) — Free: Their spell kit offers high burst and flexible elemental targeting. They trade survivability for damage, so you’ll keep them alive with positioning and a healer or shield tank. For most playstyles they’re the safest free pick for late-game content.
- Chopper (S, DLC) — Paid: If you buy one DLC, this should be it. Chopper’s melee set produces steady, high single-target damage and scales cleanly with offensive gear. He can be tuned into a hybrid with the right parts, but his core value is raw DPS; worth the small outlay if you want a straightforward carry.
Which heroes are free in Desktop Pension Squad?
Three heroes come without a price tag: Mori and Gula (counted together as the twin mage), Diana, and Minos. The remaining two characters are sold as DLC — Chopper is one of them; buying Chopper on Steam costs about $4.99 (€4.50) at release prices, which many players call a cheap route to a dependable main.
I noticed that mid-game players swap A-tier heroes when fights narrow — here’s how Minos fits into that bracket.
- Minos (A) — Easy to pick up and flexible in gear choices. Minos carries strong early and mid-game value but tapers off in advanced encounters unless you refine his build. He’s forgiving for new players and adapts to multiple team roles, which makes him a reliable A-tier option.
On public leaderboards, B-tier heroes appear in specific metas — Diana is one of those niche picks.
- Diana (B) — Free: A ranged option with clean mechanics and decent damage. She’s very playable for casual runs, but her ceiling is lower unless you invest in the right parts and team synergies. Use Diana when fights require safe spacing or for content that rewards sustained ranged output.
If you use Steam’s community hub and Discord build threads as reference points, you’ll spot which stat rolls and weapon parts the meta favors; I recommend following a handful of creators who post tested builds so you don’t waste time crafting the wrong gear.
Which hero will you bet your next run on — the mage who melts problems or the paid brawler who smashes them?