Tier List
this is all 100% my opinion, but also the kinda thing that I've done on basically every LS forum. I think this time it's a little more interesting because of how few heroes there's going to be on launch.
So, here's how it works.
- List is entirely based on MAINING the hero, not potential as a swap/mule. There'd be way too many lists to make if I were to include those criteria.
- List is based off of what we currently know about the game, which includes: same client as in the beta, every non-premium up to Striker, no evolution, and everyone having to restart.
- List is entirely my opinion
Here we go.
SS tier: Broken or ridiculously overpowered - I truly believe there to be no genuinely broken heroes available at launch, so I'm both including but leaving blank the SS tier so that people are aware that S doesn't necessarily mean broken/ridiculously overpowered, just that they're considerably better.
S tier: Extremely strong advantage - Necromancer, Card Magician, Cyborg, Nangin
A tier: Strong advantage - Staff Master, Destroyer, Hwarang, Vampire, Devil, Arcanist, Galaxy
B tier: Very good, slight advantage - Samurai, Fencer, Gladiator, Puppeteer, Monkey King, Rockstar, D'Artagnan, Graffiti Artist, Desperado, Dokkaebi, Dragon Rider, Succubus, Monk, Demon Thief, Maid, Slasher, Dragon Slayer
C tier: Average - Cowboy, Fire Mage, Berserker, Robin, Shadow Assassin, Justice Defender, Tao Warrior, Desert Blader, Heavy Crasher, Running Back, Hawkeye, Unicorn Lancer, Chieftain, Werewolf, Muay Thai, Gatotkaka, Witch, V-Mechanic, King Arthur, Zhao Yun, Barbarian, Anubis, Skadi, Earth Mage, Titan
D tier: Below average - Cyber Medic, Crazy Sapper, Space Trooper, Boxer, Shaman, Smile Joker, Tiger, Death Knight, Devil Ranger, Iljimae, Sorcerer, Wind Mage, Forcer, Project K, Flash, Psychic
F tier: Truly unmainable - Iron Knight, Captain Hook, Ice Mage, Infantryman, Viking, Kage Ninja, Musketeer, Taekwon Master, Treasure Hunter, Grim Reaper, Lightning Mage, Templar, Mafia, Gumiho
Will not rank due to potential lag sensitivity - Pro Wrestler, Capoeira, Phantom, Lucifer (this was a tossup, but I do think that whether or not his passive grab works reliably WOULD significantly change his rank), Michael, Peter Pan, Space Warden, Striker
Again, this is 100% my opinion and nobody else's. Please comment and tell me how wrong I am!
Comments
Puppeteer lacks mobility (he will have trouble chasing down and hitting faster, evasive enemies) and loses his weapon skill when knocked down which I think makes it average or below average.
Mafia can be mained to an extent and lacks mobility like puppeteer, but he has better use in sudden death and has the right tools to maintain spacing with hold D and dashing away to reload. I would actually put mafia above Puppeteer.
Cyborg suffers up close. He has slow basics that cannot be jump canceled and are susceptible to deflects. No i-frames when going into arsenal mode and he also cannot block or turn so he is very vulnerable if an enemy gets close. The unique aspect Cyborg has going for it, is that his gauge recharges as long as he is not currently using it. Few characters have that quality. Werewolf, Dragon Rider, Witch, and Dark Sith are some other examples. In short, if you stay in cyborg's face, he can't do anything. His weapon skill is slow so if they throw it out as a panic button, you have time to react and punish.
Psychic is definitely B-C tier. It has very safe attacks and a great spacing tool with the hold D that leads to a full combo
Iljime is very mobile and the airdash kick is very safe when blocked and offers great knock back on hit. B or C tier.
Shadow Assassin is B-Tier if you can master the tech behind the half and hold D cancels.
Dragon Rider is heavily reliant on its gauge. Without the dragon, it's not that great. When riding the dragon, its options don't get much better besides the free armor. Compared to werewolf, I think their spots should be swapped; but Dragon Rider is definitely not better than Werewolf. Werewolf has a built-in guard break in wolf form and when you land it, his gauge replenishes a little and he can stay in werewolf form even longer. Werewolf's dash attack in human form is one hit that stuns, compared to Dragon Rider's dash attack which requires the second hit to land to stun.
Project K is trash lol. Slow, deflectable basics that can't be jump cancelled and the hold D can be unreliable on standing enemies. Sometimes they can block the second hit.
Earth Mage is also trash as a main unless you're doing the solo infinite with the dash attack. I'd argue Wind Mage is better because of the wep skill i-frames and range on the undeflectable basics.
Maid's gimmick in the hold D falls apart when the opponent has a double jump. In KLS, the sweep leads to a knockdown so there's that to look forward to possibly.
That's all I got to say/argue placement wise for the conditions set since the list is assuming main hero potential without evolutions.
Puppeteer is slept on. Lack of mobility isn’t the end of the world for a hero with as many tools as he has. You can get pounced on every round and still win because one knockdown can turn each round around quickly
Mafia has less mobility than Puppeteer and literally no offensive firepower. Are you joking? He doesn’t even have ranged pressure anymore compared to other heroes and is left wide open with nothing but a garbage dash when you’re out of bullets
I agree that Cyborg suffers up close, but considering this is a “how good are they when mained” tier list, most people maining him will know how to create space and only engage with passive available. Plus, Cyborg with no passive is still better than literally any C and below tier hero, and people GENUINELY like to pretend like everyone and their mother wasn’t using him for like a year straight when he first came out in Z8; the heroes being released at Papaya launch are going to heavily favor a Cyborg meta
For someone who uses the word “trash” so often, it’s crazy you think Psychic is any good. We’re both thinking of the hero with the tonfas, right? He had literally nothing besides one really bad range attack and a dumb short, low-ceiling combo that did almost no damage. No mobility either
Iljimae does no damage. It really annoys me how many people wanna act like he’s a good hero but never use him. Seriously. I don’t know a single Iljimae main in the ENTIRE history of NALS who was actually good at some point. They all either had a fast, high-leveled Iljimae and pretended to mail it but swapped a lot, or lost every single time you watched them play and complained about spam/skills/whatever else. Crap crap hero, has some potential as a swap main with the mobility but does literally no damage as a full-time main. The mobility is honestly the only thing that keeps him from being F imo, but even with the mobility he has as much practical use as a main as most F tier heroes do, so
Shadow Assassin was meta for a short period when his reform came early in WeMade before it should have, since better heroes have come out nobody’s used him. I agree that the poison CAN be good, but more as a swap thing; as a main, doesn’t do nearly enough damage, doesn’t have enough safe attacks, and has almost no mobility
I’d agree with Dragon Rider being situationally worse than Werewolf, but Werewolf is WAY too much of a situational hero. The dash attack is an all or nothing kind of deal; you either land it, or you get punished for using it. Beyond that, what else does he have? Against ANY opponent worth their weight, your wolf form will last a good 5 seconds because of how quick you’ll get targeted and pounded on. At least with Dragon Rider, you have some protection even if you get targeted.
Project K I entirely agree with and will actually admit I meant to put him in D, the way I made this list had me make a few mistakes that I corrected afterwards and this was one that I forgot to. Also forgot to add Destroyer entirely lol
Earth Mage has a bit of potential that’s slept on, enough that I think he’s at least average (way better kit than Wind Mage imo), but I won’t argue if you think he’s trash, his potential is kinda subjective
Ever think about the fact that Maid isn’t JUST hold D or bust? You can’t say a hero sucks because of their “gimmick” when gimmicks aren’t meant to be inherently good. Expand your horizons a bit, Maid is literally the most slept on hero in this entire roster with how many other tools they have
8 legitimate disagreements out of 91, I’d say I did pretty good. Granted it seems like you really don’t like heroes that depend on their passive, which is fine, just doesn’t make for good informational discussion considering these heroes are way better than you think they are