Which Characters to Mod First in SWGOH
Mods decide close fights, and your best mods are scarce. Most rosters don't have a mod problem, they have a mod allocation problem: +20 speed arrows sitting on characters that never leave the bench. Fixing the order you mod characters in is worth more than farming another set.
This is the priority order we use. Each character belongs to the first group it qualifies for, so when you work top-down, the characters that matter take the good mods before anything else can.
The priority order
The biggest investment in the game and the anchor of your GAC and TW lineups. A GL with mediocre mods loses mirror matches it should win. Every GL you own gets first pick.
A GL team is only as fast as its wingmen. The units you actually run next to each GL rank right behind the GLs themselves, not scattered through the rest of the list.
The key units you invest in on the way to your next Galactic Legend. You're relicing them anyway; mod them while they carry your GAC in the meantime.
Your staple offense and defense teams, whether or not a tier list approves of them. A team you place every round earns good mods. A meta team you don't own yet doesn't.
The teams top Kyber players actually place, ranked by tier and usage. This is where new farms usually land, so modding them early pays off the moment the team comes online.
Ship stats are derived from crew, so pilot mods carry into fleet battles. Your starting lineup's crew matters most.
Journey guide requirements you'll relic later, platoon filler, story-mode squads. They get whatever is left, and that's fine.
Why this order works
Speed wins fights, and speed lives in a small number of mods. If you optimize top-down through this list, the scarce +15 and +20 speed secondaries end up on the characters that take turns in matches you care about. Skip the order and the same mods spread evenly across 200 characters, which is the same as having none of them.
The order also survives meta churn. Groups 1 through 4 are about your roster: your GLs, your squads, your GAC lineup. Only group 5 moves when the meta does, so a balance patch means re-checking one group, not starting over.
How to apply it
If you use the Grandivory Mods Optimizer: the template builder generates this exact priority order for your account. It reads your GAC history for your staple teams, pulls the current meta from top Kyber data, and exports a character template you import straight into the optimizer. Then you optimize top-down and lock characters as you go.
If you mod by hand: run the Mod Analyzer and start from the wasted speed list. It finds your fast mods stuck on low-priority characters, which is this priority order applied one swap at a time. Per-character builds live on the character pages.
FAQ
Which characters should get mods first in SWGOH?
Galactic Legends first, then the squads that fly with them, then the key units you invest in on the way to a GL, then the teams you actually field in GAC, then the rest of the current GAC meta, then fleet pilots, then everyone else. Each character belongs to the first group it qualifies for.
Should every character get good mods?
No. Good speed mods are scarce, and a +15 speed secondary does nothing on a character you never field. Concentrate your best mods on the teams that fight in GAC and TW, and let story-mode and platoon-filler characters run leftovers.
Do fleet pilots need good mods?
Yes. A ship's stats are derived from its crew, so mods on pilots carry into fleet battles. Pilots rank below your GAC squads but well above the leftovers, especially the crew of your starting lineup.
How often should I redo my mod priority?
When something real changes: you unlock a GL, you change your GAC lineup, or the meta shifts after a big balance patch. Between those events, leave your mods alone and bank the credits.