Sure,Super Auto Petsnot beone of the most “beautiful” indie games of the year,given that it’s made up of literal emoji animals, but it’s still a ton of fun. There are quite a lot of different Pets to pick from inSuper Auto Pets,about 81 of them now as of the most recent update. Luckily, the game has a “tier” system so that only certain groups of Pets show up after a specific round.Ranking the whole roster is something that’s also already been done,and it’s quite lengthy, but let’s maybe just focus on one specific tier for right now.
RELATED:Super Auto Pets: The Best Memes That Will Give You The Juice
For example, tier-one Pets show upright as the game starts and then always have a chance to show up every round after. So, let’s go through some of the most important tier-one Pets on average, why they’re kept around so long despite arguably better options, and what to do to maximize their usage.
Disclaimer: Beta Patch V14 just came out and switched up a whole bunch of things, so the actual numbers for Health, Power, and ability numbers are subject to change in the future.
Ant: The Frontline & Buff Specialist
Ant - 2|1: On Faint, give a random friend +2|+1.
First up is the Ant, arguably the best tier-one Pet out there. How is a 2|1 considered one of the best? Well, the Ant has a Faint effect where it gives a random Pet on the team +2|+1 for the remainder of the fight, which is make-or-break in the first couple of rounds where everything has, at most, four to five health.
But, the real reason the Ant is so insanely good is simply due to this Faint effect being permanent if triggered outside of battle. Basically, use a Sleeping Pill on the Ant, and it permanently buffs another Pet randomly as much as a Snail would. So, players can run it as a frontline unit, then spend one Gold to get rid of it when something better appears, with the additional benefit of buffing another Pet on the team.
That said, these aren’t Chimera Ants,and they’re not overpowered, meaning their damage and utility do fall off pretty quickly if kept around. But, even then, since they can show up so often early on, they’re sometimes perfect level three Pets to build in the hopes of a future Bison showing up.
Beaver: The Starter Pack Scaler
Beaver - 2|2: On Sell, give 2 random friends +1 Health.
A lot of the tier one Pets inSAPhave very similar default stats. At most, there will be a one or two-point difference in their Power or Health, but the average is about 2|2, which is exactly what the Beaver has. But, unlike other early-game Pets, the Beaver is worthwhile to both buy and sell, as it gives +1 permanent bonus Health to two other Pets on the team (randomly) when sold.
Deceptively,SAPis a game all about scaling those numbers up. Sure, players can synergize the abilities of multiple Pets to create some hilarious combos and win, but they’re not (usually) going to get to ten wins without scaling their Pets at some point.
Falling into the trap of trying to run a specific Pet just because they’re “cute” or “a fan favorite” is funny, but it usually leads to an early loss andthere are other games more zoo-focusedthat are probably better for that sort of playstyle.
Otter: A Pet That Can Never Show Up “Too” Much
Otter - 1|2: On Buy, give a random friend +1|+1.
Fans of the hit indie titleInscryptionlikely have a bit of bias toward the Otter/Stout but don’t worry, this one isn’t secretly planning anything. The Otter is a lot like the Beaver, but in exchange for a better ability, the Otter is a bit less worthwhile in combat. Instead of coming out as a 2|2 like the Beaver, the Otter is a 1|2, which can really only take on Zombie Crickets, Ants, Ducks, or most recently the Pig on its own.
RELATED:The Best Actual Animal Pokemon
Where the real usage of the Otter comes in is buying it with only one or two other Pets on the board, as this sort of guarantees where its +1|+1 “on-buy” buff will go. And, because the Buy effect still triggers when the Otter is bought onto another copy of itself and immediately combined, players can even make sure that they don’t accidentally hit their own Otter with the buff.
It’s a shame that it isn’t a part of the Expansion Pack, but the Otter is by far the best early-game scaling unit of the bunch and is one of the best Pets to see in the starting round.
Mosquito: Baby’s First Sniper
Mosquito - 2|2: At start of battle, deal 1 damage to 1 random enemy.
The Mosquito was always a fantastic early-game Pet since it could snipe things like Ants, Horses, and Bluebirds before combat even began, three units which many early-game teams are sort of built around.
But now, after the most recent patch, the Mosquito is better than ever before thanks to a small change in how its ability works. Instead of doing two or three damage to one random unit (at levels two and three), it now splits that damage between two or three targets, dealing one to each.
Fish: Boring, But Dependable
Fish - 2|3: On Level-Up, give all friends +1|+1.
Next up is the Fish, likely the most “boring” Pet on here, as it does nothing but just sit there and buff the rest of the team when leveled up. The reason the Fish is so incredibly useful in the early game is simply that it has default stats of 2|3, which only the Beetle can even compare to. Going up against 3 Fish that are all 2|3 with a team full of 1|2’s and 2|2’s is almost always a loss.
RELATED:Animal Crossing New Horizons: The Best Mystery Islands, Ranked
And, when it levels, it gives +1+1 to the rest of the team, essentially functioning as a half-useful Snail ability trigger. There is no other Pet in the first couple of rounds that can scale the team as the Fish does, can tank enemy Pets like the Fish does, or is worth keeping around more than the Fish is.
Ladybug: A Food Hoarder’s Dream Pet
Ladybug - 1|3: On any Food Buy, gain +1|+1 until the end of battle.
Normally, Pets that have any sort of “temporary” buff like the Tabby Cat or the Horse aren’t the greatest, since those buffs only lead to a win right now, and don’t set up future wins. But, the fact that the Ladybug’s ability triggers on “any” food eaten, rather than just when the Ladybug eats is what’s really important.
With this, players can buy a whole squad of Ladybugs, scale another unit, and their Ladybugs still benefit from all the food that isn’t fed to them,though this may not be a build that could stomp through the entirety of an Arena run.
It does fall off around the mid-game, but it has longer viability than most other tier-one Pets and is exceedingly useful as an anchoron an Equipment-focused team.
Beetle: Like An Off-Brand Fish
Beetle - 2|3: When Beetle eats Shop Food, give Shop Pets +1 Health.
And, finally, there’s the Beetle. The Beetle’s ability isn’t the best, but it’s not bad either. Whenever it’s fed, all current Shop Animals get +1 Health, but when the Shop is rerolled, the new Pets won’t have this buff. What this means is, players can buff their Beetle in the early rounds with something like a Dog or Ladybug frozen, and after a couple of rounds they can finally buy that Dog/Ladybug with a good amount of extra Health.
That said, the Beetle can be worthwhile for its ability, but it’s not at all the primary reason this Pet is run on so many teams. Starting at 2|3 is just so big, and since Fish can still show up in the Expansion Pack, players essentially have twice the chance to find early 2|3 Pets to use.
Super Auto Petswas released on July 16, 2025, and is available on PC and Android.
