PLAY: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1047699970/ Now edited with the help of @Jimjam177 and @Efferbot. Individual tiers are also ordered (left > right). S+ tier: Outstanding. Fits on all teams. Mogs the rest of the cast (all other characters must justify their deployment through strong synergies. Meanwhile, the S+ tier sits on any team it wants). S tier: Amazing. Similar to the tier above, except requires a little more planning and teamwork. A tier: Good. Requires strong team support, but can go toe-to-toe with any team comp in most cases. No glaring insufficiencies. B: Decent. Mostly outclassed by the tiers above. Subtle insufficiencies that make you wish you were using a better character, but not bad by any means. C: Mid. Workable, but outright outclassed. Really hard to justify use, unless you are deliberately trying to handicap yourself as a fun challenge. D: Bad. Really no reason to ever use. Assumptions: 1) The entire cast is unlocked, and all comparisons are made at level 60 (max). 2) Blind matchups are assumed. Yeah, some characters perform better if you know the enemy comp and you cherry-pick a team that has a favorable element. To avoid this kind of bias, we will assess combat under the assumption that your team has to face every possible matchup (not just the favorable ones). 3) Independence ranks higher. A character that can perform strong on any team is more versatile and centralizing than a character who falls apart without specific teammates. Exceptions made if the specific interdependence is so tight that the team becomes functionally invincible. 4) Characters are judged as part of the player team, not the enemy team. This is because some characters are really annoying and oppressive to face as enemies (usually due to poor matchup), but when you try using them, they are suddenly underwhelming (because they are not universally consistent). Here is a comprehensive list of all "invincible" teams I've found. Meaning, these cores can literally take on the entire game without ever losing (as long as you keep your level up and time your skills correctly). Characters listed in order of F1, F2, B1, B2. Favored weapon assumed unless stated otherwise: 1) Mint, XiaLi (Capture Drone), QieYu, Xier Comments: No three-stars required! Battle sequence (first two turns): ADAA,DADD. Adapt in real-time to blow away enemy shields with XiaLi. 2) Liu, Karter (SanXing Pass), Nariko, YingLong Comments: Yes, Nariko in the 3rd slot is odd but very effective because she improves longevity and guarantees shield removal. There is no trade-off for this, since Liu + YingLong brings enough firepower to solo all 4 enemies - YingLong just wants time to charge up her special and a guaranteed clean hit (no enemy shields). So Liu + 2 walls + YingLong actually performs better than Liu + wall + DPS + YingLong. The reason Nariko isn't in front is because we want buff-removal precisely before YingLong has her turn. Liu also prefers the very front, to get the most value out of her skill. Karter is mandatory for F2 slot. Battle sequence: DAAA,DAAD*. If enemy shields after Karter moves, use Nariko's skill instead of YingLong. *At the end of turn 2, you can willingly hold back from using YingLong's skill if her regular attack is about to kill the enemy's front-liner. This allows her to use her skill on turn 3 on a healthier opponent. 3) Lims, Ming (Hydro Blade), Jayce, Cotton Comments: Dual tank slows the pace significantly. Expect battles to take much longer. However, this is necessary to charge up Cotton. Battle sequence (first 4 turns): DAAD,DAAD,DAAD,AADD. 4) Mint, Karter (SanXing Pass), Liu, Xuan (Dual Katana) Comments: Yes, Liu works in the back as well. She's OP. Battle sequence (if enemy Xier, Yuan, or QieYu in 3rd slot): DADA,AADA. Otherwise: DAAD,AADD. Teams I previously thought were invincible, until they got rekt: 1) Lims, Mint, QieYu, Cotton. Successfully repped this core for the first 35ish levels, until I unlocked rarer characters like Karter and Liu which changed up enemy comps and made my team unviable sob. 2) Lims, Karter, Aki, Yinglong. Completely out-gunned by "Routine Challenge V1.3" Level 60 phase 2. By Darren, of all people. Sob. 3) Liu, Karter, Xiwen, Yinglong. Very close to perfect team, but walled by "Average Day at Class 4B" random battle VS Chen+Ming+Soda enemy core. Substituting Xiwen for Nariko yields better results.
