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Cozy life simulator titleDisney Dreamlight Valleyfeatures over 20 different recruitable villagers hailing from many different Disney and Pixar films. They range from classics like company mascot Mickey Mouse and his sweetheart Minnie to more modern additions like Elsa, Moana, andEncanto’sMirabel. Each villager inDisney Dreamlight Valley—save Merlin, who unlocks automatically — requires players to complete a series of Quests, often involving building them a themed home in the Valley. Players can then chat with villagers, give them gifts, and recruit them to help out with daily tasks like farming, mining, and foraging.
This tier list categorizes all the villagers currently available to recruit in both the base version ofDisney Dreamlight Valleyand its purchasable DLC expansion,A Rift in Time.It considers what functions villagers serve in the Valley, how annoying they are to unlock, andeven their day-to-day behavior.As more characters are constantly being added to the game, it is likely that this tier list will be updated and expanded in the future.
S -Tier Villagers in Disney Dreamlight Valley
S-tier villagers are those who contribute in a major way to life in Dreamlight Valley. These range from running a themed stall like Kristoff, Mulan, or the Beast, to operating a more general shop like Scrooge McDuck and Goofy or arestaurant like Remy and Tiana. Moana and WALL-E offer free fish and vegetables, valuable resources needed for cooking tasty meals, while Vanellope is in charge ofDreamlight Valley’smultiplayer mode, Prince Eric is the source of unique nautical-themed crafting blueprints, and Daisy Duck hosts daily fashion-themed challenges.
Merlin does not run a stall or shop, but is the first villager players will encounter and plays a major role in developing the plot and lore ofDreamlight Valley –he is crucial to keeping the Valley running, teaching the player Dreamlight Magic, and introducing new characters to the Valley. Mickey Mouse also makes his way into this tier due to being Disney’s iconic mascot, as well as introducing theScramblecoin mini-game in theA Rift in Timeexpansion.
A-Tier Villagers in Disney Dreamlight Valley
A-tier villagers are available at no extra cost in the base edition ofDisney Dreamlight Valleyand bring life to the Valley without having any major drawbacks, but don’t serve a special function like their S-tier friends do. Many of the villagers in this tier come from magical Realms, which allow players to visit worlds based on their original films and complete Quests to convince them to move to the Valley. Even those who don’t come with a Realm of their own, like Mirabel andJack Skellington, add a touch of their special magic to the game in the form of particularly unique houses like Jack’s holiday tree and Mirabel’s Mini-Casita.
B-Tier Villagers in Disney Dreamlight Valley
B-Tier villagers come with a drawback that someDisney Dreamlight Valleyplayers may find frustrating or negative. Buzz, Woody, and Mushu are extremely small in size, and can be difficult to locate when players need to find them for a quest or a game of Scramblecoin. Additionally,Buzz’s alien-collecting Questcan be an annoyance because the little green men show up practically anywhere in the Villager and can be difficult to find.
Stitch, while a beloved villager due to his energetic and chaotic personality, must be unlocked through a complex, time-gated Quest that requires waiting several real-world days. Minnie Mouse, similarly, cannot be unlocked until several other villagers' Quests have been completed. She has also earned the ire of many players due to one of herFriendship Questsrequiring the construction of an extremely complex clock tower necessitating several hundred units of stone, clay, wood, and iron.
Also included in this tier are most of the villagers from theA Rift in TimeDLC. While they are well-liked and feature in an interesting story,Rapunzel, EVE, Gaston, and Oswald are knocked down a few tiers because they require players to spend extra money to unlock them. This is also frustrating as they all have potentially interesting interactions with base game villagers (Rapunzel with Mother Gothel, EVE with WALL-E, Oswald with Mickey, and Gaston with Belle and the Beast) that cannot be seen without spending money.
C-Tier Villagers in Disney Dreamlight Valley
Villagers in C-tier are annoying or frustrating in some way that sets them apart from the other residents of Dreamlight Valley.Donald Duckis disliked for his loud, frequent temper tantrums, while Maui is similarly annoying for his enormous size, bellowing voice, and limited topics of conversation (mostly revolving around his love of himself and his many accomplishments). Mother Gothel can be difficult to interact with due to her snappish personality and fondness for insulting and talking down to the player; even as the plot progresses, she never seems to warm up to the player like other villagers such as Scar reluctantly do.
While Ariel and Ursula are generally liked for their personalities, they are mechanically frustrating. As they are limited to the water, Ariel and Ursula cannot Hang Out with the player or perform tasks such as fishing and gardening. This makes it extremely difficult to raise these characters' Friendship levels to max, often requiring the player to ply them with dozens of gifts instead. While Ariel ultimately gains a land-walking form as part of her Quest chain, acquiringUrsula’s land-based “Vanessa” disguiserequires the player to purchase a bonus bundle.
The last C-tier villager,Jafar, is the villain of theA Rift in Timeexpansion. In addition to costing money like the other DLC villagers, he cannot be unlocked until players have completed the entirety ofA Rift in Time’splot, making him the most difficult villager to acquire in all ofDreamlight Valley.Jafar is among Disney’s more popular villains, leaving many players frustrated that they must play through hours of story before he will officially move in.
