Punch Upon a Time Best Starter Characters

If you are new to Punch Upon a Time, the best way to climb the Squad Saga ladder is to pick one of three starter characters: Merlin, Little Red, or Goldilocks. These three legends share three properties that make them ideal first mains: simple inputs, forgiving dodge windows, and ultimates that are obvious to read in clutch rounds. This page ranks each one, breaks down their combos, and recommends the Pocket Items that pair best with each kit.

Why these three?

The launch roster has twelve characters, but most new pilots learn the game faster when they start with a low-execution pick. Merlin, Little Red, and Goldilocks all have:

• Average mobility — neither too fast nor too slow. You can focus on learning the dodge window instead of chasing movement tech.
• Simple combo trees — every combo string uses 2–3 inputs. You can learn the bread-and-butter strings in twenty minutes of Practice mode.
• Readable ultimates — the screen clears when you press the button, so you do not need to think about positioning the ultimate before triggering it.

These three also cover all three roles — ranged, grappler, support — so you can sample the entire game without ever touching a more execution-heavy character.

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Merlin — the ranged starter

Merlin is the easiest character in the roster. His wand attacks arc through mid-range and his dodge covers a long distance. His ultimate, Arcane Bombardment, locks down an entire zone for four seconds and is a one-button escape from a losing round.

• Bread-and-butter combo: wand → wand → dodge cancel → special → wand. This string deals 32% damage and is your go-to confirm on hit.
• Best Pocket Items: Freeze Wand (defensive), Big Top Hat (area denial).
• Skill ceiling: medium. Merlin’s combo extensions reward time in Practice mode.

Little Red — the grappler starter

Little Red teaches the dodge-cancel combo that defines the whole game. Her basic string is dodge on hit, special on launch, ultimate on the knock-up. She is the second-easiest character to pick up and the most rewarding in 1v1 rounds.

• Bread-and-butter combo: attack → attack → dodge cancel → attack → special. This string deals 28% damage and is a guaranteed confirm after a successful dodge.
• Best Pocket Items: Speed Boost (offensive), Shield Charm (defensive).
• Skill ceiling: medium-high. Her wolf-form ultimate rewards precise timing.

Goldilocks — the support starter

Goldilocks is the canonical beginner support. Her basic attacks generate small healing orbs that the squad can collect, and her ultimate, Porridge Storm, drops three healing zones that restore HP to anyone who walks through them.

• Bread-and-butter combo: attack → attack → special (healing orb) → dodge → attack. This string cycles healing without overextending.
• Best Pocket Items: Medkit (squad healing), Freeze Wand (defensive panic button).
• Skill ceiling: low. Goldilocks is the easiest character in the roster and a perfect first main for support players.

How to switch once you climb

Once you feel comfortable with one of these three, branch out to a more specialised character. From Merlin, move to Red Riding Hood or Pinocchio. From Little Red, move to Frog Prince or Pinocchio. From Goldilocks, move to Sleeping Beauty or Three Little Pigs. The Tier List tracks which characters dominate the current meta, and the Squad Strategy page explains which compositions are strongest.

Practice mode before ranked

Spend twenty minutes in Practice mode before your first Squad Saga lobby. The mode lets you set a dummy opponent, freeze their damage, and slow the game to 0.25x speed. Practice your starter’s combo strings until you can land them consistently. The Controls page covers the bindings you should set before you start practicing.