AFK Journey: Is Phraesto Good - Should You Pull?

Recently, Phraesto dropped in AFK Journey, seeming out of nowhere, and definitely did stir up the community a bit, being the first new Hypogean Hero and all.

And as with any new hero, the question of whether Phraesto is any good began to pop up here and there. The problem with this is that Phraesto is a hypogean hero, which means that he’s a pain to get and even more of a pain to get to Mythic+, where he can actually be compared to other heroes.

Nonetheless, I’ll go over my first impression of Phraesto from what I’ve seen through the community and experienced myself, so sit back and enjoy.

Another Bad Hero?

Phraesto’s launch came out of nowhere. He was announced two days before his official release, and although Lilith Games has taken exactly the same approach as their previous Rate-Up banners when it comes to Hypogean and Celestial heroes, it’s a bit different.

After all, the only way to get these heroes is to go to the Stargazing Station and sell your liver to Lilith Games.

The other way to get them is through the Guild Store for 30,000 Guild Coins, but those are certainly not quick to get, and if you’ve already spent them on someone else, then there isn’t another way to get Phraesto.

The question here is, should you be worried? Quite honestly, no.

Although Phraesto has been hyped up through the season’s main story and our encounter with him, while also being a Tank, one of the more desirable roles in the game, Phraesto isn’t all that great.

As of right now, Phraesto is a big meat wall that can take a serious amount of beating before going down. In that regard, he’s great; after all, that’s what a tank is, but that simply doesn’t do it in the current meta in AFK Journey.

Putting it simply, Phraesto lacks damage. Yes, he’s tanky, and he can shield your other heroes, but he doesn’t have nearly as much damage as, let’s say, Thoran, who’s been one of the most used Tanks ever since the game’s release.

Thoran or Phraesto

When compared to Thoran, Phraesto lacks in certain aspects, and the only thing that he’s better at is soaking damage. Phraesto lacks the sheer damage potential that Thoran has thanks to his ultimate and is not nearly good enough in PvP, where a single Thoran ult can wipe out your whole team if you’re unlucky.

Being able to tank a ton of damage is fine for some AFK stages, but the game’s main focus is currently centered on the Dream Realm and Arena, where Thoran is the Tank that stands at the top due to his survivability, damage, and debuffs.

Phraesto can certainly see some use in AFK Stages, but he falls off when it comes to other modes, and there are honestly better alternatives to choose from.

Lastly, Phraesto is just a pain to get. If you’re not willing to spend a ton of money, that is...

Should you Pull for Phraesto?

As of right now, I’d say that you better hold off on pulling for Phraesto. However, you should note that this only concerns free-to-play players or low-spenders. Whales undoubtedly already have him, so that’s a completely different topic.

For F2P and low-spenders, Phraesto is just not worth it right now. Even after his release, the best Hypogean hero to invest in still remains Reigneir, with Scarlita still securing her solid second spot due to her usefulness in AFK Stages and PvP.

I would in turn place Phraesto as the third or fourth Hypogean/Celestial hero to get after those two.

The reason is that Reignier and Scarlita simply see way more use and are better in the different game modes. Both can be used in Dream Realm and perform well while putting Phraesto there would simply lead to a drop in your damage.

All in all, Phraesto can be good in the future with the addition of more units and heroes that can utilize his buffs better, but if you aren’t a heavy whale, you should prioritize other characters first and simply hold off on building him for now.