Tier List/Legendary Silke

Hi there! This here is Legendary Silke's tier list for both adventurers and dragons. Think of it as a guide on a given adventurer or dragon's performance. I'll also have short writeups on a high-ranked character, as well as a select few adventurers that are outclassed (at the moment, at least; sometimes new features or a mana spiral will fix them up real good!).

Need help on building an adventurer? See Team Building, Wyrmprints Guide, and Progression Guide instead.

Adventurers and dragons are ranked on their performance and ease of use versus their performance, as well as safety in quests.

• Adventurers that are easy to use and have high performance will obviously be favored.
• Adventurers that have a high kit complexity will require a great payoff or their rank will suffer.
• Safety versus damage and afflictions will also be considered (unlike computers, no one is perfect!)

Just remember - tier lists can and probably will be subjective, even if it's something that is "play tested".

Before you start using the tier list, I highly recommend not skipping the next section! It explains what a given rank is, and probably explains why your adventurer was placed as such!

Also, since the game is rapidly updated, the tier list may change without much notice, especially with the release of new adventurers, dragons, wyrmprints, and/or features!

Sometimes, adventurers or dragons may be in flux when they're newly released, too, while the theorycrafters and also myself figure out how they really work. Don't worry, just check back a few days later - usually it should have settled by then!

This tier list is NOT purely based on the simulator's listed damage output! An adventurer's kit needs to be processed as a whole and treated as part of an entire team, and pit against the game's actual quests, with consideration on both optimal and free shared skills.

Note: I haven't done writing up the writeups for A- adventurers of the Shadow element yet, but it's coming REAL soon.

Looking for a changelog? See the History for this page.

Rating Definitions and Criteria

Rating Definitions for Played Adventurers

• A: Adventurers that perform excellently with all content.
  • It should be very easy to play in public co-op with these adventurers.
• A-: Adventurers that perform excellently with all content, though with some caveats on team composition and/or chain co-abilities, or be technically slightly inferior to those in A rank.
  • It should be easy to play in public co-op with these adventurers under most circumstances, provided that you create the room and select appropriate conditions.
• B: Adventurers that perform adequately, but are overshadowed by those in A or A- rank, either in damage output or in usability.
  • Some adventurers in this tier are only used for specific team compositions in co-op, while others are unlikely to be popular if poorly equipped.
• C: Adventurers that perform at an acceptable level, but require the other team members to compensate for their lower ability.
  • Generally not expected in public co-op. They can clear endgame content, but it's very likely you'll need to arrange for a pre-made room.
• D: Adventurers with serious problems.
  • It might be very difficult for these adventurers to clear endgame content comfortably, short of having other extremely strong adventurers to compensate.

Rating Definitions for Dragons

• A: Dragons that perform excellently with all adventurers, given their conditions are met, if any.
• A-: Dragons that perform excellently, but are somewhat inferior to those in A rank, or require specific set-ups/classes/niches.
• B: Dragons that perform well with all adventurers, but are overshadowed by those in A or A- rank.
  • Note that this tier includes certain HP and hybrid aura dragons; these dragons are usually disfavored in co-op, but they may be of use with certain team compositions, or in solo play.
• C: Dragons that perform merely acceptably, is overly niche, or have very contrived conditions that are unlikely to be met in regular play.
• D: Dragons that have serious problems, or should be used only as slot-fillers in early-game on new accounts.

Notes

Brackets surrounding an adventurer or dragon's icon indicate preliminary placement.

Off-element dragons in the dragon table

• This is because some dragons' abilities, or part of them, are not element-locked, and hence they are usable with their abilities, albeit with worse base stats.

Tier List (Played Units)

Rank	Flame	Water	Wind	Light	Shadow
A
A-
B				( )
C
D

Details

Flame

Portrait	Flame Adventurer	Rank	Rank w/o MS	Rationale	Notes
	The Prince (Euden)	A	B	Guaranteed availability. Extremely high damage output after full dragon ramp. Very low SP costs. S1 provides burn and additional Shapeshift Prep. S2 provides defense down, and can dodge certain otherwise unavoidable attacks from enemies by moving in the Y-axis. Extremely strong dragon ramp. Dispel is useful for improving DPS in Master High Midgardsormr's Trial, and improving safety in Expert Volk's Wrath.	Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. Dragon ramp kits usually work best in raids, arena content, wave content (defensive battles), and Agito Uprising. Works best if the weakest DPS adventurer (usually a healer) carries Shapeshift Prep. Works best with dragon haste chain co-abilities. Middling before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Ezelith	A	D	Although Ezelith can reach a higher DPS output than Mikoto, she is held back by the fact that she is extremely weak without a mana spiral, and before you have materials for unlocking mana spirals, Ezelith will be one of your weakest adventurers. Ezelith also has a perception issue with her dragons; if one is lacking or , she becomes relatively unwanted when playing in co-op. makes her less suitable than Mikoto when it comes to High Midgardsormr's Trial in the hands of less experienced players. The chain co-ability, however, is extremely useful in enabling combo-based abilities on AI and on adventurers with worse attack uptime between avoidance actions. Extremely high damage output, especially during break state. Extremely high critical rate achievable with S1, and can dodge certain otherwise unavoidable attacks from enemies by moving in the Y-axis. S2 provides defense down, if a bit finicky to apply.	Works best with Gala Mars or Arctos. A viable user for stun cheesing in Volk's Wrath, if using Arctos. Very weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Marth	A	A-	Extremely high damage output. S1 provides burn. S2 provides a variety of buff effects, cumulating in an Attack Speed +30% buff, which is extremely potent, on top of having increased damage against burning enemies.	Powerful even without mana spiral. An option is to ignore his S1 and focus on S2 only, focusing on the support aspect of Marth's kit. A Combo Time chain co-ability is recommended to maintain buff uptime that comes from his A3 and chain co-ability.
	Halloween Mym	A	N/A	Hybrid support adventurer that provides both personal DPS and debuffs to the enemy. Extremely high damage output while in dragon form, especially during break state. Overrides the equipped dragon's shapeshifted form with her own, which is always better. S1 deals some damage, and significantly reduces enemy defense, which works well in an element saturated with buffs. S2 increases team strength, as well as increasing her critical rate and dragon form's damage.	Cheaper than normal to build for endgame content - Chimeratech T2 weapons are acceptable. Effects tied to the equipped dragon's skill will not take effect, however all abilities will still function. Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. Works best if the weakest DPS adventurer (usually a healer) carries Shapeshift Prep.
	Halloween Lowen	A	N/A	One of the strongest healing and support kits in the Flame element. S1 provides regen heal and Defense Up. S2 provides burst heal and HP Up. Combined, they can help mitigate opening blast damage in High Midgardsormr's Trial, and ensures that the team can safely attack Volk in Volk's Wrath.	Extremely cheap to build for endgame content - a Chimeratech T2 and Phoenix is all you need. Pop-Star Siren, Freyja, and Shinobi may be used to provide significant buff effects to the entire team instead of a standard Flame dragon, as Halloween Lowen's healing output is more than sufficient. A viable user for stun cheesing in Volk's Wrath, if using Arctos.
	Nobunaga	A	N/A	Extremely high damage output, including burst output. S1 deals significant damage and applies Burning Ambition, which is a "buff" that may be dispelled by herself or someone else for big damage. S2 and force strikes may dispel, which works in conjunction with S1 for high damage.	None.
	Chrom	A	N/A	Extremely high burst damage with full stack S2. S1 is very weak, but serves to build up Flames of Awakening stacks. S2 deals the highest damage in the entire game after fully building up Flames of Awakening buffs and Skill Reservoir.	Use S2 only when Flames of Awakening and Skill Reservoir are both are Level 3.
	Mikoto	A-	N/A	Time has certainly treated Mikoto well; after almost two years, Mikoto still provides respectable DPS output, and is the highest DPS non-limited Flame blade adventurer in the game; any higher, and you'll be looking at which is a zodiac adventurer, only available when a zodiac showcase is around. Having also pretty much guarantees that he will be usable for every quest without worrying about potential issues with mistakes in High Midgardsormr's Trial. High damage output owing to standard attacks, Attack Rate, and a very high critical rate.	Works best with Gala Mars, followed by Arctos if Gala Mars is not available. A viable user for stun cheesing in Volk's Wrath, if using Arctos.
	Naveed	A-	C	High damage output. S1 deals significant damage, and dispels enemy buffs.	A Combo Time chain co-ability is recommended to maintain buff uptime that comes from his Slayer's Flurry Strength ability. Very weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Student Maribelle	A-	N/A	High damage output, especially during break state. Requires moving into close range to use S2. A different adventurer will have to provide burn.	Full HP condition is required for her to function optimally.
	Gala Mym	A-	N/A	Extremely high damage output after full dragon ramp. Extremely high damage output while in dragon form, especially during break state. Overrides the equipped dragon's shapeshifted form with her own, which is almost always better. provides additional Shapeshift Prep, and has a wide attack range. starts relatively weak initially but hits significantly harder after a shapeshift, and is a ranged attack. co-ability ensures a baseline amount of buff strength available.	Effects tied to the equipped dragon's skill will not take effect, however all abilities will still function. Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. Dragon ramp kits usually work best in raids, arena content, wave content (defensive battles), and Agito Uprising. Works best if the weakest DPS adventurer (usually a healer) carries Shapeshift Prep. Works best with dragon haste chain co-abilities.
	Emma	A-	N/A	Specialized Flame-element buffer. Long animations on both of her skills put her in potential danger in high-intensity situations. Can provide defense and shield buffs where necessary with .	Gala Mars improves skill uptime and provides decent damage output in dragon form. If Gala Mars is not available, most Flame dragons, Pop-Star Siren and Leviathan are suitable, however do not use Konohana Sakuya as she has no innate damage skills.
	Nadine	A-	N/A	Burn-inflicting lance DPS with that also dispels. High damage ceiling, but somewhat inconsistent performance caused by proximity requirements for optimal damage with Snappy Selfie and 's random nature of getting Trendsetting Photographer.	None.
	Xania	B	B	High, if outclassed damage output. Both S1 and S2 inflict burn. Easy to play.	None.
	Gala Sarisse	B	N/A	High, if outclassed damage output provided combo is being maintained. S1 deals significant damage after building up buffs. S2 occasionally provides strength buffs. Fairly easy to play with Combo Time chain co-ability.	A Combo Time chain co-ability is recommended to maintain buff uptime and combo chains to ensure high self-buff and Energy output.

Water

Portrait	Water Adventurer	Rank	Rank w/o MS	Rationale	Notes
	Karina	A	C	Karina is rather unremarkable early on, but a mana spiral will send her flying high, being heavy on self-sustain and able to dish out some serious amounts of skill damage with the correct supports. High damage output riding high on buffs, with scaling on the amount of total buffs active. Self-activating s with 's defense buff. gets her firing on all cylinders quickly, and can safely end short quests quickly.	Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Lily	A	C	is the only source of guaranteed freeze in the entire game, significantly improving DPS uptime in quests where the enemy is susceptible to freeze, especially in Ayaha & Otoha's Wrath and facility events. enables Crystalian Princess on Lily that buffs her standard attacks, and also makes them faster and more lenient on C5-cancels with dodge rolls or skills. It also makes successive casts of Frozen Gale cover a significantly wider area, further improving leniency. Standard attacks with Crystalian Princess also have the added benefit of Frostbitten Punisher. gets her firing on all cylinders quickly, and can safely end short quests quickly.	Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Gala Elisanne	A	N/A	High buff output and uptime with . Provides defensive support on top of buff output with . Dual-resist lets her perform well in all content without relying on wyrmprints.	Extremely cheap to build for endgame content if personal DPS from Gala Elisanne is not a concern. are most optimal, but if not available, , and perform excellently.
	Jiang Ziya	A	N/A	High healing output Water healer with burn cleanse on , as well as regen and defensive support on . Full skill prep ensures equipment flexibility, depending on content requirements.	It might be preferred to carry , , or for access to bog or Skill Damage buff zone for break damage.
	Valerio	A	N/A	Very high damage output and can provide frostbite. and provide significant buff and debuff effects to the team and enemy, and can also help make non-High Brunhilda's Trial boss fights more managable with a well-timed freeze or stun. Unusual style of normal attacks which have a high SP gain. Combo time ability makes it easier to use flurry-based wyrmprints and abilities.	Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. Has stance mechanic. Has unique combo string for normal attacks.
	Mitsuba	A	N/A	Very high damage output and can provide frostbite. Unusual style of normal attacks. Combo time ability makes it easier to use flurry-based wyrmprints and abilities, of which she has Flurry Strength as part of her kit.	Has stance mechanic. Has unique combo string for normal attacks.
	Lazry	A	N/A	Very high damage output and can provide frostbite. Can provide buffs with S2 in Low Power Mode. S2 deals damage and immediately readies S1 in High Power Mode.	Has mode mechanic affecting the type of skills. Works best with Gaibhne & Creidhne.
	Catherine	A	N/A	Has a unique style of attacking with Men in Black, Catherine's escorts; a significant amount of her DPS is from standard attacks. Also enjoys a significantly extended range compared to regular lances. buffs her standard attacks and Strength. Capable of extremely high burst damage output with . Knockback immunity with Perfect Escorts active.	Although taking external damage will remove one Perfect Escort stack, Beck and Call comes in often enough that it is not an issue in the majority of fights, and shields/dragon form can mitigate it completely. Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. If possible, use Perfect Order on vulnerable foes (bogged and/or broken), to prevent wastage.
	Xander	A-	C	Xander is rather unremarkable early on, outside of niches in content where overdrive damage is above all else, but a mana spiral will send him flying high, becoming the king of destroying mode gauges of bosses as well as being very high DPS himself. Extreme focus on force strike damage, shredding bosses' overdrive. Receptive to additional buffs, which further increase his skill damage with and .	Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. If possible, kit him with a focus on force strikes to take advantage of his overdrive-melting abilities. Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Elisanne	A-	N/A	Guaranteed availability. Extremely high buff output and uptime with . Skills have very low SP costs. has decent frame data and can be used for emergency iframes or repositioning. Partial resist (, ) - requires a wyrmprint to become fully immune to burn, and either or two Stun Res wyrmprints to become fully immune to stun.	Extremely cheap to build for endgame content if personal DPS from Elisanne is not a concern. are most optimal, but if not available, , and perform excellently.
	Xainfried	A-	C	Xainfried starts out comparatively weak; however, once his mana spiral is unlocked, he becomes a potent hybrid DPS-support adventurer. While he doesn't excel in either, he does make a compelling case of being a jack-of-all-trades in the Water element. prevents him from being inflicted with HP-to-1 burn in High Brunhilda's Trial. The main problem Xainfried has is that , who is a story adventurer, exists. She provides extremely high buff uptime, and even after equipping a wyrmprint such as , Elisanne will still effectively out-DPS Xainfried, and it's pretty likely that you will obtain other more capable DPS units at some point, making Xainfried's case weaker as time goes on. High damage output and can provide frostbite. S2 provides dragon gauge and teamwide buffs.	An option is to ignore his S1 and focus on S2 only, focusing on the support aspect of Xainfried's kit. Works best if the weakest DPS adventurer (usually a healer) carries Shapeshift Prep. Works best with dragon haste chain co-abilities. Weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Celliera	A-	B	Good damage output with frostbite access. Has to contend with a somewhat awkward Last Offense passive (which can only be reliably triggered with a large hit) and a self-damaging S2 (that thankfully is both very mild and easily mitigated after a force strike in a pinch).	Unlocking Celliera's mana spiral increases DPS, grants full burn resistance, and enables access to frostbite, but increases kit complexity. Potentially unsuitable to use 100% HP wyrmprints due to S2 chip damage. Middling before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Hunter Sarisse	A-	N/A	Very high damage output, especially towards Overdrive gauge. Respectable break damage. Does not provide any afflictions by herself in Ayaha & Otoha's Wrath. Damage output may vary depending on enemy size and quantity.	Extremely favors Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons due to low amounts of skill damage - avoid using Skill Damage dragons on Hunter Sarisse! Plays in a FS-spam style. Requires a Combo Time chain co-ability to be able to make use of her own Combo = Energy chain co-ability, as well as any flurry-based wyrmprints and chain co-abilities.
	Pipple	A-	N/A	High damage output. Energy and defense up spam machine. Gains power as Energy is stocked, and is powerful when Energized. It is possible to run 4 Pipples in High Brunhilda's Trial to clear it without worrying much about damage.	Extremely favors Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons due to lack of damaging skills - avoid using Skill Damage dragons on Pipple! Try to avoid using damaging skills while energized; if not possible, rebuild it as soon as possible.
	Fjorm	A-	B	Extremely high frostbite uptime, and also inflicts freeze. Extremely high damage output if counter is used properly in the appropriate content. Becomes comparatively worse in longer fights as short duration buffs wear off.	Weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Nurse Aeleen	A-	N/A	Stun relief healer with high healing output and some supportive benefits. Stun relief frequency noticeably lower than burn relief from or due to 's higher SP cost.	A burn relief skill such as Jiang Ziya's or Thaniel's is strongly recommended for content that inflicts burn with severe damage, such as High Brunhilda's Trial or Ayaha & Otoha's Wrath.
	Summer Celliera	A-	N/A	High frequency bog with . grants significant supportive benefits to nearby allies, though may be awkward to use due to its range requirement. Receptive to defense buffs which increases her strength with .	Effectiveness in High Brunhilda's Trial and The Mercurial Gauntlet is reduced due to high bog resistance, as they prefer targeted bog timing shortly before break, instead of bog spam.
	Summer Julietta	A-	N/A	High frequency bog with . grants significant supportive benefits to nearby allies, though may be awkward to use due to its range requirement. makes her require careful burn healing in High Brunhilda's Trial.	Effectiveness in High Brunhilda's Trial and The Mercurial Gauntlet is reduced due to high bog resistance, as they prefer targeted bog timing shortly before break, instead of bog spam.
	Tiki	A-	N/A	Very high dragon form damage, with generous hitboxes on both dragon skills. Can maintain dragon form indefinitely with optimal attacking. Unable to benefit from a significant amount of dragon-related facilities and abilities due to being functionally a dragondrive. Loses access to shared skills and weapon skills while in dragon form, further limiting her potential compared to standard adventurers.	Extremely weak in human form. Technically, a dragondrive unit with some benefits from standard dragon form. Immunity to all knockback and afflictions, and instantly breaks shields, similar to standard dragon forms, and to a lesser extent, a flat 50% damage reduction. Only Dragon Haste and Shapeshift Prep dragon abilities work on Tiki due to it being functionally a dragondrive. Works best if the weakest DPS adventurer (usually a healer) carries . Works best with dragon haste chain co-abilities.
	Yurius	A-	N/A	High damage output, however technically reliant on a different unit inflicting frostbite if he does not wish to exit dragondrive to inflict frostbite himself.	Dragondrive unit.
	Eugene	A-	N/A	Hybrid DPS/support that spends most of the time buffing his teammates with , which have a very large buff area, and a fairly quick cooldown, as well as additional buff effects beyond regular strength. Extremely high burst damage with , especially if it was also energized and inspired, that requires reaching Phase III of Signature Tactics to obtain a Check buff. This buff can be stored twice, so it is possible to unload two Checkmates in a row on a vulnerable enemy, on top of shared skills.	Prefers Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons. If possible, use Checkmate on vulnerable foes (bogged and/or broken), unless Check counter is already at 2 and you're about to use Phase III Signature Tactics, to prevent wastage.

Wind

Portrait	Wind Adventurer	Rank	Rank w/o MS	Rationale	Notes
	Hawk	A	D	Similar to Ezelith, Hawk starts out extremely weak; however, once his mana spiral is unlocked, he becomes the highest DPS Wind has to offer, as well as providing a source of stun. pigeonholes him to playing mostly in Ciella's Wrath for unexperienced players, though, as the lack of bog resistance makes him a risky choice in High Mercury's Trial, even with the existence of the triple-Hawk speedrun comp, due to the very low tolerance for getting damaged in the first place. Extremely high burst damage output, especially during break state. Provides access to poison and stun, and can combine punisher and enhanced skill damage on afflicted foes. Somewhat awkward to play - poison and stun are only inflicted by enhanced alternate FS, and S2 P1 does not come often. Higher damage ceiling than Louise, though has a higher complexity, and riskier to play in content that can inflict the bog affliction.	Works best with Vayu. In the Hawk speedrun comp, 3 Hawks, or a combination of Hawks and equivalent DPS adventurer(s), and a buffer (usually Tobias or Noelle) or in some cases a supportive role adventurer (e.g. Sylas, Akasha in expert Ciella's Wrath) are utilized to clear quests quickly. Very weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Louise	A	C	Extremely high constant damage output. Reliable, on-demand poison with . can provide a very high amount of damage especially at high HP. Is receptive to defense buffs, and has boosted damage versus enemies in overdrive state. Easier to play than Hawk, with preventing any control or survivability issues in all content.	Works best with Vayu. Don't use Arrow Shower if you've received damage and haven't received healing. This property makes her more suitable in teams with strong sources of healing, such as a healer, or a Freyja carrier. Weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Lowen	A	A-	Defensive support healer. provides bog cleanse. provides regen, defense up, and can raise HP, which improves survivability, though it does have fairly high SP costs. Full skill prep permits him equipment flexibility. Using Winds, Heal Us! grants him a Dispel Strike effect, permitting him to remove buffs on enemies.	Use 's shared skill to add an additional regen+defense buff skill. In content where healing output is demanding, or are preferred. In content where defense buff frequency is desired, Freyja or are preferred. Otherwise, he may opt to use or to improve DPS via strength buffs or bog access.
	Lin You	A	B	Very high constant damage output. Critical rate and combo-focused kit enhances damage. Generous S1 hitbox for defensive battles, arenas, and Ciella's Wrath. S1 may inflict sleep, which can be used to extend periods of "free DPS" against susceptible foes. Combo Time in personal ability enables her to make full use of flurry-based wyrmprints and chain co-abilities.	Works best with Vayu, Long Long or Ariel. Try to perform a 2-in-1 combo: use S2 when S1 is also filled, S1, then attack in such a way that you can S1 again before the S2 buff expires. If either: Akasha is in the team; using Ariel as the equipped dragon; a Skill Haste co-ability (e.g. from Hawk in solo team) or buff (e.g. from Sylas) are available, it is possible to execute a 3-in-1 due to the boosted SP gain. With sufficiently high SP gains and high attack uptime, it is possible to have S2 ready before Heaven's Breath expires, resulting in ludicrous uptime. Somewhat middling before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Sylas	A	C	High damage output. Reliable source of poison and can reduce enemy's strength by 30%. Potent, if randomized buffs - able to provide strength up, defense up, and HP up. Combined, they can drastically enhance a team's survivability and damage output. Skill haste buff ensures that other team members can perform more effectively - damage dealers hit more often, buffers buff more frequently, and healers have their skills ready in a shorter notice. Occasionally provides affliction relief, which can help save the occasional bogged teammate.	Works best with Ariel. Pairs well with Akasha to provide defensive buffs (in both raising defenses and HP), as well as affliction relief, which Akasha does not provide on her own, as well as complementing Akasha's S2 SP charge zone to speed up SP gains further. Weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Noelle	A	N/A	High buff uptime. Easier to use than Tobias, though has lower defenses. S2 can be used to safely provide iframes for most enemy attacks.	Works best with Ariel or Freyja.
	Tobias	A	N/A	High buff uptime. Buffs stronger than Noelle, though more awkward to use. S2 is always available for iframe purposes, and alt S2 may be used to inflict poison, which is useful to maintain poison uptime.	When S2 is used, Tobias becomes immobile, and you need to use S2 again to get out of it. Be mindful of getting animation-locked while an unavoidable attack is incoming. Works best with Freyja.
	Gala Leif	A	N/A	Very high personal DPS output. Debuffs enemies' strength and defense for an extended amount of time, and also provides access to poison. Can switch to buffing his own defense massively in a pinch.	Works best with Vayu or Ariel. Has a unique combo string starting from 6 hits. Use Striking Stance to rack up combo and when you need to use S1. Once you've reached a combo count of 15, stay in Shielding Stance as much as possible as it has higher DPS output in general, dipping out only when you drop combo or when you need to use S1.
	Ranzal	A-	D	Guaranteed availability. DPS axe with a more supportive role than Lin You, providing poison, dispel, and defensive support. High S1 damage that also removes enemy buffs, making Expert Ciella's Wrath runs smoother if the fight drags on. A rare source of renewable life shield, that does not harm Ranzal himself. Also provides defense up.	Very weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Melody	A-	C	The original wind blade buffbot. Provides a higher personal DPS than Tobias and Noelle in exchange for a lower buff ratio. Also inflicts poison.	Works best with Ariel. Weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Victor	A-	N/A	High, if somewhat inconsistent DPS output, with a relatively poor support kit. In addition to inflicting bleeding, a very powerful damage-over-time debuff, S1 can apply defensive buffs to the whole team. Phase 2 gives Water Res 3%, which may or may not be helpful depending on the quest. Phase 3 grants a 20% HP shield, which is relatively worthless. S2 provides knockback immunity, which helps with DPS uptime if you get hit by attacks.	Knockback immunity also disable natural iframes when you are knocked up or down by an attack. Sometimes this may result in an attack "double-tapping", taking more damage than intended. This situation usually occurs in High Mercury's Trial, where many of the attacks linger on after the first hit. Works best with Vayu.
	Akasha	A-	N/A	Offensive support healer. provides regen healing which provides gradual but very high healing output. creates a buff zone that gradually recharges SP of skills of everyone within it. This can be used to either augment SP gain from attacking enemies, making sure skills are available faster, or used to provide SP gain where gaining SP is otherwise impossible (e.g. downtime during forced mechanics or avoidance) Full skill prep permits her equipment flexibility.	Pairs well with Sylas due to access to defensive buffs and even more skill haste. Use 's , 's , and/or 's shared skill(s) to add more healing, and possibly defense buffs or bog cleanse. A Buff Time wyrmprint, Buff Time co-ability, and/or Force Charge wyrmprint may further help with meeting healing checks. In content where healing output is demanding, or are preferred. Otherwise, she may opt to use , or to improve DPS via personal DPS, strength buffs or bog access.
	Valentine's Melody	A-	N/A	Hybrid support adventurer that provides both personal DPS and debuffs to the enemy. Good poison uptime, and her kit enhances damage output while poisoned. S1 creates a large debuff zone that reduces defense by 15%. Some pre-planning with regard to position and facing might be needed in Ciella's Wrath, though less than what Wedding Elisanne needs, due to a more generous debuff zone size and shape. S2 inflicts poison on top of dealing large amounts of damage.	Works best with Ariel.
	Maribelle	B	N/A	Maribelle starts off extremely strong, and can be used to end certain shorter boss fights extremely quickly due to her innate . However, once you summon , which is a 4 support adventurer that can achieve higher effective DPS than Maribelle, Maribelle becomes a bench-warmer outside of very short quests and certain solo compositions, waiting for a mana spiral. If nothing else, at least will make her at least compatible with standard compositions in High Mercury's Trial. High, if outclassed, damage output. Unreliable source of defense down. 100% skill prep lets her end certain very short quests safely.	None.

Light

Portrait	Light Adventurer	Rank	Rank w/o MS	Rationale	Notes
	Mitsuhide	A	N/A	High DPS output focused on combo and combo-enhanced damage. Also provides paralysis and can increase damage against paralyzed foes. Combo Time chain co-ability supports her combo-based kit, and enables easier use of flurry-based abilities on wyrmprints.	A high combo count enhances S2 damage. Less reliant on paralysis than Fleur.
	Hunter Vanessa	A	N/A	High DPS output, with a balance of standard, skill, and Force Strike damage. Charging force strikes reduce oncoming damage, and connected hits reduce enemy defense. Significant overdrive gauge damage. Can inflict paralysis, and self chain co-ability buffs own strength on proccing paralysis. Enjoys a significantly higher critical rate against enemies with reduced defense. S2 can be used to significantly reduce damage taken and if successful, translates into a very strong 30% strength buff that lasts for 90 seconds.	Plays closer to standard adventurers than most other Monster Hunter collab adventurers, and hence Skill Damage and regular attacks are still of high value. Unlike standard lances, do not roll after releasing a charged FS too early, as it'll cancel the entire attack. Wait for it to launch first. A Combo Time chain co-ability is highly recommended if you intend to use flurry-based wyrmprint abilities on Hunter Vanessa, as charging FS is liable to drop combo. During overdrive, it is viable to start FS spamming instead of attacking as normal to increase overdrive gauge damage.
	Gala Luca	A	N/A	High DPS output focusing on critical rate and critical damage synergy.	Prefers Critical Damage external abilities over Critical Rate due to high innate critical rate. Works better with more unique buffs. A Combo Time chain co-ability is highly recommended to improve Flurry Devastation uptime and enable flurry-based wyrmprint abilities.
	Peony	A	N/A	Hybrid DPS-buffer adventurer providing a variety of offensive and defensive buffs. Also provides paralysis uptime and has enhanced damage against paralyzed foes. Force strikes may be used to buff the entire team and instantly fill 40% of skill gauge of other teammates after using S2.	The primary co-ability effectively only functions on Light adventurers and dragons, and has zero benefit for all other adventurers and dragons.
	Hildegarde	A-	N/A	Hildegarde provides you two heals, and although 's shield is relatively useless, it does still provide a regen heal, on top of the standard burst heal that also cleanses curse. Curse is one of the most debilitating afflictions in the entire game, as it effectively disables your adventurer from doing anything useful. Carrying both curse cleanse and pretty much makes her the go-to anti-curse adventurer, and in fact, if you don't have , Hildegarde is the only other acceptable option for bringing off-element or off-resist adventurers to content that inflicts curse. She does face strong competition from , who is a story adventurer, once the latter's mana spiral is unlocked; trading shields for defense up and larger levels of healing is a pretty good trade for the investment. Only source of curse cleanse, enabling off-element adventurers in content that inflicts curse. Respectable healing output. Comparatively useless shield on S2.	None.
	Halloween Elisanne (Mana Spiral)	A-	A-	High amounts of personal DPS from attacks and skill damage with , with additional mild support from . One of the best chain co-abilities for teamwide DPS in the Light element. Occasionally inflicts paralysis. Kit is designed around high damage output with additional shared skills and high amounts of mode gauge damage against enemies in overdrive state.	Halloween Elisanne with mana spiral leans further to personal DPS by using all skills available, compared to unspiraled Halloween Elisanne.
	Halloween Elisanne	A-	N/A	Hybrid DPS/buffer that can also provide the occasional healing, courtesy of , which also has a very high frequency due to its low SP cost. One of the best chain co-abilities for teamwide DPS in the Light element. Not reliant on paralysis. Poor frame data on her skills hold her back in terms of personal DPS.	Unspiraled Halloween Elisanne commits to the hybrid DPS/support role, and usually prefers spamming Sacred Maiden above all else outside of break.
	Fleur	A-	N/A	High DPS output with little healing output as a bonus. Slightly tricky playstyle where she would want to S2 into S1 after using S1 for instant burst damage.	Second S1 will not fill completely before S2 under normal circumstances. Don't waste the S2 by using it at this point; instead, keep attacking until S1 is ready, then S2 into S1. This property makes her not suitable for use as AI. Very paralysis-reliant, and hence not too suited for Mercurial Gauntlet.
	Alfonse	A-	B	High DPS output with some self sustain and provides paralysis. Last Burst temporarily increases own strength when Alfonse reaches low HP for the first time. Awkward conditions to increase S2's power which scales with low HP - it is contradictory to his own native abilities and his ideal wyrmprint, Spirit of the Season, which expects to be at high or full HP.	Somewhat middling before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Gala Prince	A-	N/A	All-around support adventurer with a dragon-focused kit. Can immediately gain enough Shapeshift Prep to shapeshift immediately upon taking sufficient damage to reach the 30% HP threshold. This enables access to very high dragon damage, or extremely potent healing and buffs. provides a Strength buff zone which is fairly large-sized, however has a short duration and a pitiful damage output. High overdrive gauge damage courtesy of the sword weapon class.	For an offensive support role, works best. For a defensive support role, works best. Very long skill downtime for . To mitigate this, and/or may be used for and (which meshes well with sword FS playstyle).
	Dragonyule Malora	A-	N/A	High DPS output with access to defense down and increased damage against foes with weakened defense. Low overdrive gauge damage makes her a worse pick in fights where overdrive damage is important, e.g. High Zodiark's Trial, even though she carries Overdrive Punisher.	Her own chain co-ability is completely useless to herself without a suitable dragon, as the only way to activate it as Dragonyule Malora is to shapeshift as Corsaint Phoenix and use the dragon's skill.
	Chitose	A-	N/A	Full-time ranged strength buffer. Comparatively worse buff uptime than most other buffers except Emma, due to the lack of innate Buff Time ability or skill haste dragon.	None.
	Sharena	A-	N/A	High DPS lance that can provide paralysis uptime and a weak defense down. Somewhat similar to Hunter Vanessa kit-wise, but without a Force Strike build. Supreme Last Devastation guarantees critical hits for 10 seconds after Sharena reaches low HP.	Effectiveness against paralysis-resistant foes is reduced.
	Radiant Xuan Zang	A-	N/A	One of the highest DPS adventurers in the Light element. Can reduce an enemy's paralysis resistance with her enhanced force strike. is somewhat problematic in High Zodiark's Trial, and requires curse cleanse from or a MUB .	Effectiveness against paralysis-resistant foes is reduced despite the paralysis resistance reduction effect.
	Zhu Bajie	A-	N/A	DPS that works better as his HP is reduced, with ways to ensure that he stays at low HP - both reduces his HP to the threshold required, and also prevents healing, to guarantee a period of enhanced DPS, and will also proc his built-in ability. may stun susceptible foes for "free DPS". Force Strike prevents knockback while being charged up, though its damage isn't anything to write home about.	None.
	Sha Wujing	A-	N/A	Hybrid DPS/support that primarily decreases the defense of enemies with , though has a significant chunk of personal damage with . and quickly increase Sha Wujing's personal DPS after he has used skills, and especially against damaged foes.	None.
	Julietta	C	N/A	Julietta is overly defensive, and has one of the lowest DPS, to boot. Her pretty much makes her good for facility events and not much else at the moment. Low damage output and an extremely defensive kit.	None.

Shadow

Portrait	Shadow Adventurer	Rank	Rank w/o MS	Rationale	Notes
	Cleo	A	B	Defensive support healer. provides paralysis cleanse. provides regen and defense up. Full skill prep permits her equipment flexibility. Using Elder Cure grants her a Dispel Strike effect, permitting her to remove buffs on enemies.	Mediocre before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Nefaria	A	D	Similar to Ezelith and Hawk, Nefaria starts out extremely weak; however, once her mana spiral is unlocked, she becomes one of the better things Shadow has to offer, providing a potent combo of damage output and DPS support with poison on and on-demand dispel once is available. The latter skill also permits Nefaria to burst down hard on susceptible foes once they're at break state due to sheer intensity of damaging skills. lets her perform well in any Shadow-advantage content, as paralysis is extremely annoying, on top of being damaging; blindness in comparison pretty much amounts to Strength Down with a fancier name. Very high damage output, especially during break state. Source of poison. On-demand single-use dispel on force strike after S2 is used.	Poison becomes unreliable if Nefaria is not at full HP. Very weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Ieyasu	A	B	Strong inflictor with his , with self-sustaining capabilities on his skill. Enjoys an extremely high critical rate and also a boosted critical damage, especially against bleeding foes. Can benefit from other teammates poisoning for him, though is still very strong without poison.	Falls off somewhat in endgame before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Veronica	A	B	Extremely high damage output, especially against poisoned foes, with . lets her perform a life steal against enemies to recover her HP, if emergency healing is desired. boosts skill damage for her permanently after she gets to low HP for the first time (which she wants to), as well as temporarily buffing other adventurers by a smaller amount. allows her to safely participate in all endgame Shadow-advantage content. lets her end quests extremely quickly, especially with multiple Veronicas.	Works best at low HP. Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Curran	A	B	Very high personal DPS output with two damaging skills, which can also take advantage of poisoned enemies with an external source of poison. Damage is significantly improved against poisoned enemies. Very simple kit which is easily optimized in normal play. allows him to safely participate in all endgame Shadow-advantage content. also lets him have a burst of power should he ever get into a low HP situation.	Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Gala Cleo	A	N/A	Hybrid DPS/support with an extremely potent mix of DPS, buffs, and debuffs. has very high burst damage output which works well in almost any combat situation, and the FS buff zone significantly increases adventurers' strength. reduce enemies' defense and can provide regen healing at Phase III. Low SP costs result in extremely high DPS and buff uptime, especially with Agito weaponry. grants immunity to all relevant afflictions for Shadow-advantage quests.	Due to buff zone stacking caps, don't run more than two Gala Cleos equipped with Agito weaponry; a different adventurer will likely provide higher DPS than a third Gala Cleo.
	Gala Alex	A	N/A	Extremely high damage output in the right hands with two damaging skills that have extremely low SP costs. This is especially true against poisoned and/or broken foes, as well as enemies with reduced defense. Can dispel enemy buffs by chaining two skills in a row. grants immunity to all relevant afflictions for Shadow-advantage quests.	Avoid emptying out her Skill Reservoir! Try to make sure that she is able to maintain a chain by ensuring that her Skill Reservoir never falls below 1. Has a unique sword combo for normal attacks. To dispel, use either of her adventurer skills only after an enemy buff is active - you cannot preload a dispel with Gala Alex unlike , , or . Be aware of possibly emptying out 's skill damage buffs if used in a long quest, as Gala Alex has a high skill usage rate, especially if you're not keeping combo, or on AI.
	Bellina	A	N/A	Very high personal DPS output that scales extremely well at low HP, and has her own method of intentionally triggering low HP. upgrades into Renegade Dragonfall while in dragondrive, which also has -style targeting behavior, perfect for dealing with Supreme Spheres in Kai Yan's Wrath: Expert and content with multiple mobs. It also becomes perpetually available while in dragondrive, enabling skill intensity as high as the gauge and player's playstyle allows. instantly reduces her HP to 30% HP, which is the required threshold for her to trigger low HP abilities. The upgraded variant, Renegade Shadowblaze, also helps her maintain the required HP threshold, and also deals extremely high damage against enemies, and is great to use when used against broken foes. Dragondrive grants her a significant increase in skill damage, standard attack damage, and defense, and she can easily maintain dragondrive with standard attacks. means that she needs to be careful around paralysis-inflicting attacks, though she can turn it into an advantage - paralysis does mean that she can very easily reach 1 HP.	Dragondrive unit.
	Grace	A	N/A	provides a massive life shield in exchange for her own HP. provides a massive defense up. Combined, enables a massive boost on safety for 3DPS comps, and also grants protection from afflictions from damaging sources. Does not actually heal teammates on her own.	Prefers HP dragons over all else. Don't use Sorrow's Requiem while having low HP. If actual healing is desired in a composition where other units do not rely on low HP, it's strongly suggested to borrow a healing shared skill such as 's .
	Forte	A	N/A	Very high personal DPS output with two damaging skills, which can also take advantage of poisoned enemies with an external source of poison. Very high dragon gauge generation with her ability that activates when she uses her adventurer skills, enabling fast ramp-up of , her own , and . allows her to safely participate in all endgame Shadow-advantage content.	Shared skills currently do not activate (a confirmed bug). Dragon ramp kits usually work best in raids, arena content, wave content (defensive battles), and The Agito Uprising. Works best if the weakest DPS adventurer (usually a healer) carries . Works best with dragon haste chain co-abilities.
	Vice	A-	D	High damamge output DPS that can also inflict poison. Enjoys increased damage against broken foes. means that he needs to be careful around paralysis-inflicting attacks, lest it cripples him.	Very weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Althemia	A-	C	High damage output DPS that can also inflict poison. Full HP requirement to maintain her innate ability. allows her to safely participate in all endgame Shadow-advantage content.	Weak before mana spiral is unlocked.
	Heinwald	A-	B	Offensive-oriented healer that deals damage to foes and grants healing with Can buff his own strength and nearby allies with , though the effect can be finicky due to the small area of effect. allows him to safely participate in all endgame Shadow-advantage content. No defensive support at all, and very weak healing compared to dedicated healers - content can be easily done with standard 3DPS (significant additional safety for the inexperienced) or 4DPS (faster clears) anyway.	Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana sprial is unlocked.
	Delphi	A-	B	Extremely high value defense down with . Extremely high poison damage, uptime, and reliability. Guaranteed skill timings due to recharging nature of his skills, though it does also mean that they don't benefit from Skill Haste. allows him to safely participate in all endgame Shadow-advantage content. Nearly non-existent burst damage.	Extremely favors Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons due to negative baseline strength - avoid using Skill Damage dragons on Delphi! Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana sprial is unlocked.
	Lathna	A-	B	Extremely high damage output with both and skills on poisoned targets. Dragon form has extremely high damage output against poisoned targets, and can help maintain poison uptime. Reliant on an external source of poison. allows her to safely participate in all endgame Shadow-advantage content.	's skill damage buffs don't work on additional hits of Lathna's Chaos Gift at the moment, and should not be used on her for the time being. Falls off somewhat at endgame before mana sprial is unlocked.
	Linnea	A-	N/A	High DPS, force strike-based adventurer, with a kit entirely about force striking and boosting it. grants Linnea a powerful force strike with varying charge levels, and charging it grants and damage reduction. Being struck while the force strike is at least partially charged will cause Linnea to unleash it instead of cancelling it entirely, improving FS leniency. means that she needs to be careful around paralysis-inflicting attacks, lest it cripples her.	Extremely favors Strength-based dragons over Skill Damage-based dragons due to very low amounts of skill damage - avoid using Skill Damage dragons on Linnea!
	Zena	A-	N/A	Extremely high damage output and hit count against large foes with , that also allows her to continue other actions while the attack is ongoing. deals some damage, and also enables Zena to perform on all teammates. Damage output is dependent on target's physical size.	's skill damage buffs don't work on Zena's Twilight Crown's damage zone at the moment, and should not be used on her for the time being.

Tier List (Dragons)

Note: also see Special Rank Considerations later on for exceptions.

Rank	Flame	Water	Wind	Light	Shadow
A
A-
B
C
D

Special Rank Considerations

• • A-: , ,
    • Slightly low skill damage emphasis with suboptimal play, and/or existing Skill Damage abilities.
  • B:
    • Low skill damage emphasis.
  • C:
    • Very low skill damage emphasis.
  • D: ,
    • Little or no skill damage.

• • A-:
    • Slightly low skill damage emphasis with suboptimal play.
  • B: ,
    • Low skill damage emphasis.
  • D: , , ,
    • Little or no skill damage.

• • A-: ,
    • These adventurers must not equip other damaging Shared Skills.

• • A-: ,
    • Maribelle requires an external source of poison.

• • A:
    • Suitable for auto expert High Mercury's Trial or Ciella's Wrath.
  • A-: , ,
    • Emphasizes higher healing bursts/ticks over frequency.

• • A-: ,
    • Sufficiently high critical rate.

• • A-:
    • Slightly low skill damage emphasis with suboptimal play.
  • D: , ,
    • Little or no skill damage.

• • A: , ,
    • Potent source of offensive and defensive buffs when used off-element on a healer.
  • D:
    • Yukata Cassandra is better off with standard strength dragons over Pop-Star Siren due to the nature of her buffs that rely on user STR.

• • A:
    • Highly emphasizes buff output.

• • A-:
    • Benefits from HP.

• • D: , ,
    • Negative baseline strength, and/or little or no skill damage.

• • A-:
    • Benefits from HP.

• • A-:
    • Benefits from HP.

• • C: ,
    • Shapeshift-kit makes using Fatalis require self-inflicting blindness from other sources.
  • D: , ,
    • Shapeshift-kit makes using Fatalis a non-starter without an external source of curse cleanse.

• • A-:
    • Benefits from HP.

• • A:
    • Benefits from HP and Skill Haste.

• • B:
    • Chaos Gift cannot take advantage of buff Skill Damage.
  • D: , ,
    • Negative baseline strength, and/or little or no skill damage.