You just pulled a shiny new Nightmare unit. Purple borders. Cool name. You're ready to dominate.
Then it dies on wave 15.
Yeah. Rarity doesn't mean everything in Five Nights TD 2. Some Secrets are mid. Some Rares are cracked. And figuring out who's actually worth your hard-earned coins is half the battle.
This Five Nights TD 2 tier list cuts through the noise. I've tested every unit—from the new Nightmare roster (Nightmare Fredbear, Nightmarionne, Amalgam) to the old staples. I'll tell you who carries, who supports, and who belongs on the bench.
Need free coins and souls to summon these units? Grab our Five Nights TD 2 codes guide first.
How This Five Nights TD 2 Tier List Works
Before we dive in, a few things to know:
- Meta Tier – The absolute best of the best. Build around these.
- S-Tier – Sub-Meta. Still amazing, just not game-breaking.
- A-Tier – Really good alternatives. Solid picks.
- B-Tier – Situationally great. Good for Endless, specific builds, or early Story.
- C-Tier – Low DPS but has niche uses (starters, slows, boosts).
- D-Tier – Underpowered. Don't bother.
I've also separated Starters and Boosters into their own sections below the main DPS rankings.
Meta-Tier Five Nights TD 2 Units
These are the best units in the game right now. If you have any of these, build around them immediately.
Unit | Rarity | Best Trait | Why They're Meta |
Headless Horseman Mangle | APEX | Champion | First Apex unit. Amazing cone AoE DPS with massive range. Hellfire clears crowds, Mutilation kills bosses. Better for Endless than Story due to cost, but still insane. |
Dreadbear | Nightmare | Haywire | Best unit to boost with Scarecrow Freddy. Rush to upgrade 6 for twin tesla towers. Just don't place two Dreadbears near each other—they cancel each other's buffs. |
Purple Guy | Nightmare | Haywire | Best boss killer in the game right now. Summons Endos that walk down the track and shoot. Use Salvage wisely—it removes a placement but lets you reposition. |
Mangle | Nightmare | Haywire | One of the best mid-game and Endless DPS units. Cycles through three attack modes. The second head bites and bleeds enemies. Mini-stun on the support passive is great. |
S-Tier Five Nights TD 2 Units
Sub-Meta. Still fantastic, just not quite as broken as the Meta tier.
Unit | Rarity | Best Trait | Why They're S-Tier |
Scarecrow Freddy | Exclusive Secret | PuppetNightmare | Best booster and support in the game. Raiser form buffs towers by 15% damage and range. Guardian form slows enemies by 30%. Switch forms with active ability. |
Slasher Bonnie | Exclusive Secret | Haywire | Some of the best DPS in the game at final upgrade. Bloodlust stacks damage, range, and cooldown per enemy in range. Better for Endless but good in Story too. |
Withered Freddy | Secret | Haywire | One of the highest DPS units in the game. Switches between Circle AoE and Cone AoE with armor piercing. Mode Swap active lets you adapt to whatever you're fighting. |
Withered Bonnie | Mythic | Haywire | AoE attack every 5 seconds. Every 4th attack crits for double damage. Great late-game and boss killer alternative to Purple Guy. Get Speed 3 to maximize crits. |
Shadow Freddy | Secret | Haywire | Amazing off-DPS and support. Corrosion reduces enemy armor by up to 70% for your whole team. Range increases with upgrades placed near him. |
Golden Freddy | Hero | Haywire | Slow to get going (lots of upgrades) but insane at max. UPG 18 hits every enemy on the track. 3 placements now. Better for Endless than Story. |
Puppet | Hero | PuppetNightmare | Incredible Endless unit. Music Box does damage based on units placed. UPG 18 boosts all units' damage by 25% for 15 seconds. Takes practice but pays off. |
A-Tier Five Nights TD 2 Units
Really good alternatives. Solid picks if you don't have Meta or S-Tier units.
Unit | Rarity | Best Trait | Why They're A-Tier |
Puppet's Alliance | Secret | Investor | Decent support unit with AoE damage. Not a must-have, but good filler for AoE support. |
Undead Chica | Rare | Haywire | One of the best starters. Zombie Cupcake summons are great early to mid-game. Some economy potential too. |
Endo 02 | Secret | Haywire | Free pass unit. Places turrets for DPS. Stacks damage on kills starting right away (unlike Shadow Bonnie). Good for both Story and Endless. |
Jack'O Bonnie | Mythic | Haywire | Decent DPS but unreliable. Pumpkin bombs drop randomly, so weaker enemies might trigger them instead of bosses. Still solid. |
B-Tier Five Nights TD 2 Units
Situationally great. Good for Endless, specific builds, or early Story.
Unit | Rarity | Best Trait | Why They're B-Tier |
Party Glock Freddy | Secret | Haywire | One of the best beginner units. Party Poppers spawn two extra attackers with cone AoE. Good mid-to-late game. Get with fazbucks, not Robux. |
Withered Golden Freddy | Nightmare | PuppetNightmare | Great boss killer support. Perpetual 20% slow on enemies within 40% range. Teleport active leaves a clone. Scarecrow Freddy does slow better now though. |
Party Packer Cupcake | Secret | Haywire | Amazing passives but only one placement. Rockets hit highest HP enemies globally. Fallout active launches missiles every 3.4 seconds for 17 seconds. Hard to use. |
Shadow Bonnie | Secret | Haywire | Poison DoT unit. Stacks damage with Blackout ability at upgrade 6. Takes time to get going—better for Endless than Story. |
Fazcade | Mythic | Investor | Only farm unit in the game. Makes money every wave based on upgrade level. Good for Endless, not great for Story. |
C-Tier Five Nights TD 2 Units
Low DPS but has niche uses. Starters, slows, or boosts.
Unit | Rarity | Best Trait | Why They're C-Tier |
Withered Foxy | Secret | Haywire | Strong raw stats but awkward ability. Have to keep him out of combat for 30 seconds to get the damage buff. Sword Lunge is good (bonus damage + bleed on first hit), but clunky. |
BBNJ | Mythic | Haywire | Fun unit but not great. Random buffs and debuffs every 30 seconds. Two out of three times you get a buff, but the DPS averages out to mediocre. |
Toy Freddy | Epic | Haywire | Best DPS Epic. Gets a damage buff the closer he is to enemies. Place near spawn or on chokepoints for 120% damage. |
Toy Bonnie | Epic | Haywire | Bonus damage every 4th attack. Decent starter DPS. Get Speed 3 for best results. |
Toy Chica | Mythic | PuppetNightmare | Okay support with slows and knockbacks. Slow is barely noticeable though. |
D-Tier Five Nights TD 2 Units
Underpowered. Don't bother.
Unit | Rarity | Why They're D-Tier |
Withered Chica | Epic | Slow. Can do okay DPS with Speed 3 early on, but drop her as soon as you get anything better. |
Chica | Uncommon | Fine starter if you have nothing else. Freddy is slightly better (you can place two). |
Foxy | Uncommon | Worst DPS unit in the game. Avoid. |
Starter Units (Best for Early Game)
These are the units you want in your first few slots. Cheap, effective, and easy to upgrade.
Unit | Rarity | Why Use This Starter |
JJ | Rare | Underrated. Line AoE with really good DPS. Cheap to place and upgrade. Gets range boosts when enemies die near her (up to 10%). Better than most Epics. |
Paper Pals | Rare | Similar to JJ. AoE attacks that apply bleed. One of the best starters in the game. |
Bonnie | Uncommon | Respectable DPS. Cheap placement (up to 4 units). Guitar Solo gives self 10% damage boost every 10 seconds. |
Freddy | Uncommon | Great starter until you get JJ or Paper Pals. Mic Toss applies bleed every 5 attacks. |
Booster Units (Support Buffs)
These units buff your other units. Most are too slow for Story but can work in Endless.
Unit | Rarity | Best Trait | Why Use This Booster |
Cupcake | Epic | PuppetNightmare | Affordable Story booster. Gives 3% damage, range, and cooldown buff to units in radius. Weaker than Endo 01 but cheaper. |
Endo 01 | Mythic | PuppetNightmare | Great damage boost but extremely expensive. Only use in Endless. Usually too slow for Story. |
Balloon Boy | Epic | PuppetNightmare | Gives range boost to units in radius. Niche use for chokepoints. Better off spending money on DPS units. |
Five Nights TD 2 Tier List FAQ
Q: What is the best unit in Five Nights TD 2 for starters?
A: JJ and Paper Pals (both Rare) are actually the strongest starters. They deal great AoE DPS and are cheap to place and upgrade. Don't sleep on Rares just because they're not high rarity.
Q: What is the best DPS unit in Five Nights TD 2?
A: Headless Horseman Mangle for Endless AoE, Mangle for versatile DPS, Purple Guy for bosses, Withered Bonnie for AoE DPS, and Withered Freddy for overall DPS.
Q: What are the best traits in Five Nights TD 2?
A: Haywire is the best DPS trait. PuppetNightmare is better for units that scale well with range (boosters, some supports). Investor is for Fazcade (the farm unit).
Q: Is there a cash/farm unit in Five Nights TD 2?
A: Yes. Fazcade (Mythic) gives you gold each round and more gold on upgrades. Use him the moment you get him.
Q: Do pets give buffs in Five Nights TD 2?
A: No. Pets are cosmetic. They follow you around and can be used for crafting and evolving units. Still worth having one for those evo situations.
Q: What about the new Nightmare units (Season 3)?
A: Full rankings for Nightmare Fredbear, Nightmarionne, Nightmare Mangle, Amalgam, and the other 17+ new units are coming soon pending in-game testing. Check back for updates.
Why Trust This Five Nights TD 2 Tier List?
I've tested every unit on this list across Story, Endless, and Challenge modes. This Five Nights TD 2 tier list isn't theory—it's what actually works when the waves get brutal. Every ranking is based on real performance, not just rarity or stat sheets.