Escanor, the Lion’s Sin of Pride, has debuted as an SS-tier meta unit in Seven Deadly Sins: Origin (7DSO). The game’s latest update (1.2) adds him as a feature banner to pull, alongside a major continuation of the main quest, which now goes all the way up to Act 13.
Much like Meliodas or Daisy, Escanor’s main attribute is the sheer damage potential he brings, making him an excellent hypercarry that promises to shake up the entire character tier list of the game.
However, unlike other units, he does bring his own quirks that require player attention to properly take advantage of. So, if you managed to pull Escanor but are feeling somewhat lost as to who you should pair him up with, check out our breakdown below!
Best Fire Burst Team
When equipped with the Axe, Escanor transforms into a high-firepower berserker who scales damage based on his Max HP. This team is designed to build up the Fire Burst gauge as quickly as possible while providing the protection Escanor needs to maintain his powerful Flare state.
- Escanor (Axe): Serves as the Main DPS, dealing explosive Fire damage that scales with his current health.
- Tristan (Dual Swords): Functions as a Burst machine, utilizing his high attack speed to trigger Fire Bursts rapidly.
- Guila (Sword and Shield): Acts as Defense Support, providing essential shields and a 30% Fire damage buff for the team.
- Tioreh (Grimoire): Operates as the Element Buffer, shredding enemy Fire resistance and boosting the team’s overall crit chance.
Best Burn & Shred Team (Greatsword Escanor)
The Greatsword playstyle shifts Escanor into a debuffer role, focusing on Holy damage and stacking Burn effects to weaken enemies. This composition excels at “shredding” through bosses by reducing their defense every time a Burn tick occurs.
- Escanor (Greatsword): Works as a Damage Amplifier, shredding enemy defense and dealing massive Holy damage to targets afflicted by Burn.
- Guila (Rapier): Acts as the Primary Burn Applier, keeping the status effect active so Escanor can exploit his passives.
- Dreyfus (Rapier): Serves as the DoT Amplifier, increasing the damage enemies receive from damage-over-time effects like Burn.
- King (Grimoire): Provides Utility Support with crowd control and healing that scales with Max HP—perfect for sustaining the team in long fights.
Best Defensive Anchor Team (Sword & Shield Escanor)
When wielding a Sword and Shield, Escanor becomes a defensive anchor or “Warden”. This team focuses on his ability to protect allies with Fire Barriers while building Overheat stacks to increase the party’s Fire damage.
- Guila (Lance): Steps in as the Main Fire DPS, taking advantage of the space and buffs Escanor provides.
- Escanor (Sword & Shield): Functions as the Main Tank, providing team-wide barriers, taunting enemies, and buffing Fire damage through Overheat.
- Daisy (Grimoire): Acts as Crit Support, significantly increasing the team’s critical rate and damage output.
- Tioreh (Grimoire): Continues as Element Support, ensuring high Fire Burst frequency and extra elemental buffs.
Top Flex & Abyss Support Options
If you are missing the units above or are tackling high-difficulty content like the Abyss, these characters are top-tier choices for filling flex slots in an Escanor team.
- Mannie (Staff): A powerful Magic Gauge battery who helps Escanor spam his high-damage Ultimate, which can hit for over a million damage.
- Elaine (Staff): Excellent for Burst efficiency, Elaine grants the team two free magic points whenever a Burst is triggered.
- Slater (SR): A strong F2P crit amplifier, useful for players who want to maximize Escanor’s “nuke” potential without other SSR supports.
- Gilthunder: An alternative Burst builder that is particularly effective in Holy-weak content like the Ferzen Mines.
Best F2P Fire Team (Axe Escanor)
For free-to-play players (well, freeish, given that Escanor must be pulled from the premium banner), the Axe Escanor build is the most recommended path because his damage scales with Max HP, making him naturally tanky and effective even with limited gear. This composition focuses on using accessible SR units and high-value SSR characters from selector tickets to clear top-tier content like the Galand Abyss.
- Escanor (Axe): Acts as the Main DPS, leveraging his self-sustaining “Berserker” kit to deal massive Fire damage based on his current health.
- Tristan (Dual Swords): Serves as a vital “burst machine” that rapidly builds the Fire Burst gauge, which is necessary to trigger Escanor’s high-damage windows.
- Guila (Sword and Shield): Provides an essential 30% Fire damage buff and shields to keep Escanor healthy enough to maintain his HP-based scaling.
- Mannie (Staff): Often acquired via the SSR Hero Selector, she functions as a “magic battery” to ensure Escanor can frequently unleash his high-damage Ultimate move.
If you are missing these specific units, Slater (SR) can be used as a budget “nuke” support to increase critical damage, or Tioreh (SR) can fill a slot to decrease enemy Fire resistance.
Final Thoughts
Escanor’s arrival has solidified his position as an SS-tier meta unit, offering a level of versatility that allows him to dominate various roles depending on your team’s needs. While the Fire Axe remains the top recommendation for its straightforward HP-scaling damage and ability to clear difficult content like the Galand Abyss with ease, his Greatsword and Sword & Shield paths provide essential utility for specific endgame challenges and defensive strategies.
To truly master the Lion’s Sin of Pride, focus on building teams that maximize his weapon-specific mechanics—whether that means utilizing Tristan for rapid Fire Bursts or employing Mannie as a magic battery to fuel his million-damage Ultimates. By tailoring your composition to support Escanor’s “Sunshine” power, you can ensure he remains a dominant force on the battlefield, proving exactly why he stands at the pinnacle of all races.
Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is available as a free download on PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android, with optional microtransactions.
