What are the best free characters in NTE? Who should I build?

Questions about which free characters are "must-build" are better answered by account function than by a fixed launch-era hierarchy. For current players, the more useful lens is: which free units give you reliable progression value with low investment, and which ones solve core roles you have not filled yet.

A safer way to judge free-character value is:

1. Prioritize units that immediately stabilize your team structure, such as sustain, utility, or a dependable early carry

2. Value characters more for how efficiently they help your actual account progress than for old blanket tier labels

3. Treat free characters as roster anchors and gap-fillers first, not as proof that every account should build the exact same list

So this page now focuses on how to evaluate free-character investment rather than declaring one universal must-build order.