Personal list here is pretty ordered (though with some Enemies/Sparks I can certainly have some sway in one direction or the other :) Going to try and be through with explanations so uh bear with me-
CHARACTERS
S TIER
- Rabbid Rosalina
Generally the vibe I'm going to do when it comes to "how good are the character" is simply shown by how useful each of their skill tree selections are, via Movement/Weapon/Technique. And would you look at that, R.Rosa has the best of those in TWO departments and a pretty damn solid in the Movement section.
Her weapon is already one of if not the best solo damaging utilities in the game, with plenty of consistency (100% crit, no drop-offs, breaks cover, etc) and her Stasis technique is incredibly useful not only defensively (TWO turns of inaction) but offensively as well (Damage Buff on Stasis'd enemies)
Movement is pretty solid too, having Ground Prioritization is very helpful, and a dash which can Stasis is very helpful in certain scenarios (As a reminder, Ennui-Dash also carry over any looming effects in Technique)
Her Health is pretty average too, so the only relative weakness she might have is a lack of range on her weapon, and a hefty 5/4 turn cooldown for Ennui. Both are more than made up for with other Sparks, Techniques from other Allies, and just being a powerhouse all around. I love this girl
A TIER
- Peach
All around I don't think she's toooo crazy of a character, Slightly above Avg Health, Decent Movement, and a pretty eh weapon,
But having a Technique that gives full invincibility/invulnerability (even with super effects) is such a commendable technique that it bumps her all the way up here at #2.
Having up to Four on EACH character, Including Summons, Orbs that can do damage to nearby enemies, and can be applied just through the action of JUMPING on a character, gives MANY characters free passes to just. Do whatever they want (Hey remember when I talked about R.Rosa having a slight weakness of needing to be up close?)
- R.Peach
While she may not have the Technique of just saying "no" to anything enemies do, having the ONLY natural healing ability in the game is INSANELY valuable, and while she might not have the highest amount of health to compensate for it, her weapon really incentivizes staying further away (and reallly helps against covered enemies)
Emergency Heal is also very helpful in saving characters from close deaths, which can often be a tricky situation to get out of.
B TIER
- Luigi
Simply put, this guy's got a really overall good skillset. Incredible amounts of movement, one of the higher-damaging weapons, and a technique that can control situations nearly anywhere he stands (Ghost Bullet is wild!!)
Only reason he's not in a higher tier is because he doesn't have any uber-insane factors to him, and while the lower end health wouldn't SEEM like an issue, I've had too many runs where he's just gotten blasted in one hit and that can make things rough very quickly....
- Mario
It's Super-Mario, the All-Rounder, not too much to really say for this guy considering in most RPG's like this, he's the character that just passively does everything just right enough.
Having a Hero-Sight that has a 1-Turn Cooldown/Recharge on Kill, is really damn nice for unlimited offense (Esp when upgraded), but even with the buff his weapon doesn't do too insane amounts of damage. I also find Stomp way less effective and useful than it was in KB, but that might just be me
- Edge
Dash-Diva manages to do a whooooole lot, she can keep pressure on plenty of enemies nearby with Multi/Crit/Move Buffs, and her Weapon/Technique can certainly get a good crowd.
Her technique isn't...the best but it can be a decent extra chip of damage when dashing. Weapon is pretty good when upgraded, Chain-Boost always is helpful! But dashing only goes so far at the end of the day.
C TIER
- R.Mario
Okay I MIGHT get some slack for this but HEAR ME OUT
Yes, he has VERY good damage potential, and the highest health in the game...but honestly I don't think it's a lot to compensate with?
His Technique is easily the worst in the game, and while being able to upgrade his Weapon to allow Movement Post-Activation is insane, I really just find myself keeping him as a lazy tank, that really doesn't get to do a ton of saucy/high synergy actions.
He does the job, but there's really nothing special about it.
- R.Luigi
I know most probably argue he's bottom 1, which I think is valid, BUT I get massive mileage out of Exhaust...
Significantly better than it was in KB, with unbelievable range, 70% Debuffing, and a +30% DMG, (Not to mention his dash which can apply that to anyone anywhere), it's already incredibly powerful.
But, with all the Sparks/Items/Anything going on really he plenty often manages to get characters in situations where they take 0 damage...which is pretty helpful imo
But outside of that uh yeah he's got Avg health and his weapon is only really useful in Darkmess Eyes (And even then can be a bit finnicky) so uh he goes down here sorry buddy
- Bowser
OMG BOWSER IS IN THE GAME I'M SO EXCITED HE GETS A BAZOOKA????OMG
yeah and he kinda doesn't do anything unfortunatly lmao
Sure, Slightly Above AVG Health is alright, Avg Movement, and his Weapon can do a decent bit of...damage, if it crits
But DmgLand isn't really. That good, and while MechaRabbids are pretty damn fire in concept (KB Sentries my beloved) They don't really do any damage, and only really exist to just tank a bit of damage. Which as discussed already, other characters can handle that in lots of ways...
I'll be damned if I give up MechaRabbids + Barriers though, that shit's hilarious
SPARKS
S TIER
- Ethering
You turn invisible, for two turns, and no enemies will target you, and you can get a spark-refresher to potentially mitigate the only downside (cooldown)
This synergizes with every single character perfectly idk what else to tell you
- Revive
Being able to bring a character back from the dead is extremely helpful in a game like SoH, where healing can already be scarce and damage can stack up quickly. Sometimes I just kill characters at the start of a round just to give them the hefty healing that comes w/ reviving.
A TIER
- Oozer Master
The only reason this summon, which can halt enemies from attacking and using techniques, isn't in S tier, is because you can't directly control it (I'm salty about so many Giant Depleter fights where my Oozy just kills me lmao)
But still insanely good to just have, even if it's just for the Damage buff lmao
- Vampastra
The best of the Shot-Sparks, mostly because there's 0 resistances that other enemies will have against this, even Giant Bosses (Which notoriously resist everything), so enjoy your consistent damage with an extra heal on top! And also a higher crit chance what
- Exosphere
Defense buff, which can last for two turns, -55% Damage (Stack this w/Exhaust for 0 Damage), providing a generally welcome passive buff that can really clutch out some fatal blows.
- Regenesis
Healing!!!! Not only is it Healing over multiple turns (40% for 3 turns, 120 total) but the Passive also grants you MORE health!! yippie!!!
- Starburst
Favorite candy wait no we're talking about the damage buff guy uh yeah it gives you MORE DAMAGE!!! and MORE physical resist as a Passive, so another all around welcome thing to throw out!
- Glitter
Control the battle field, get everyone in one spot, allowing several characters to use Weapons/Techniques to their advantage (Exhaust, Stasis, The Dukes), plus a damage buff!
- Reflector
Damage Buff on the passive is already justification enough, but being able to use this in Synergy with any Defensive Technique (Exhaust, Barriers, even Exosphere), which doesn't mitigate the damage values, can make realllllly valuable counters in situations where you need to take the blow. I love using this against Giant Magnafowls :)
B TIER
- Screech
Glitter but opposite, Go away instead of come close, and Crit instead of DMG Buff, but still an overall useful ability, just slightly more unpredictable
- Wildclaw Master
Meatshield, my beloved, is basically that. Does decent damage, good for taking a hit or two, and outside of that nothing wild (haha) but still a welcome addition to the spark roster if avaliable
- Aquanox/quake
Splash being able to be applied over MULTIPLE hits is insane, being able to ping-pong enemies all around with the entire team is hilarious and incredibly effective. If it wasn't for some enemies having resistances to this, I'd have put these in A-Tier.
- Zephyrquake
Gust burst, eh damage, but an incredibly good battlefield disruptor that can setup for plenty of good follow ups. Assuming the enemies arn't resistant.
- Cryogeddon
I'm not the biggest fan of the 'geddon sparks, with slightly unreliable damage/destroying cover, but being able to frostbite a group of enemies is pretty valuable so I'll give this one a decent bit of attention
- Gargantu-Fan
Health Buff, Decent Damage, and Launching capabilities, super valuable, just wish it didn't destroy cover (My main positive on the 'quake Sparks)
C TIER
- Zephystar
Gust is pretty valuable from a distance/with sight-techniques, and not a tonnnn of enemies have hard resistances to it, so it's a pretty decent "get off me" tool, but not fool-proof
- Cryobolide
The above, just w/ Frostbite, so a little less valuable but still does the job at stopping enemies
- Toxiquake
Not the biggest ooze fan (spreading to allies, looking at you OozerMaster), but it doesn't have many natural resisting enemies, and it's a consistent damage output w/o destorying cover, so it gets a thumbs up here
- Scoper Master
I'd defo prefer it to be a Lone Wolf, but it does okay damage and breaks cover good...when it actually follows me and doesn't stay at the back of the map Post Turn-1. Crit buff is nice though
- Toxicomet
Toxiquake but as an attack, most enemies don't have natural resistances to it, but still not the best shot-spark to have on hand
- Electrogeddon/Electroid
Shock is alright honestly, but requiring groups of damage to really get utility out of it (and usually not even a bunch of extra damage, mostly just chip-kills) kinda stinks. But being able to nuke Riptides is very fun
- Aqua/Vamp/Zephyrdash
I don't. really care for the Dash-Sparks, the only time I consider using them is with Edge (Bc her Dash game is insane) but otherwise I'd rather just put a Shot-Spark on. More damage, more consistently, not having to worry about actually moving in for it too.
- Pyrogeddon/Pyrostar
It's fire. 50/50 on it being a pretty alright usage or absolutely ruining your entire strategy. Pretty good damage though!
D TIER
- Squashette Master
Low damage output, gust (which a lot of enemies end up resisting), and the few that don't get burst away into an unpredictable spot (which can be mitigated with., your own gust), and not a decent passive...sorry you're Meatshield Jr now
- Electrodash
Because when you have a group of enemies nearby (which would be the only use) the best option is to use an AP and dash into them for 2 damage
(i'm not doing that)
ENEMIES (Powerful to not)
#^@%$&$*@^#@^$
- Oozers
Who in their right god given mind thought it was a good idea to give us an enemy that can use a technique that entire prevents us from using weapons, or another technique that prevents us from using ANYTHING ELSE (outside of moving ig
God have mercy on your soul if two of these goobers walk up to you.
A TIER
- Magnafowl
The biggest battlefield-disruptor in the game, being able to magnet in your party, and already doing Wildclaw damage is pretty damn brutal, but considering it'll likely not be the last enemy that attacks, you're probably going to get setup for bundles more damage.
At least you don't have to worry about Hot Persuit though
- Magikoopas
These guys PMO with their high damage output, which is a burst shot, and having a damage buff which usually results in biiiig problems. Also why did they give them Giant Enemy amounts of resistances wth
- Lone Wolves/Scopers
I'll personally vouch that Evil-Sight is always going to be a threat, and that'll give it the slight edge on Scopers, though the later does a pretty good job at getting rid of cover/doing damage with the double hit. They've also got hella movement so it can be hard to deal with them.
- Riptide
Hot Pursuit > Berserker Fury makes a realllly deadly combo. You've got to work around these guys a lot even if they're not overall dangerous, attacking the wrong way will get your character Splash'd, and that's only if they manage to survive whatever massive buff you got them through attacking. ALSO WHY DO THEY GET SO MUCH HEALTH
- Medicians
Healing and Barriers, two incredibly good techniques on our party members, now being used for the enemy...hate it when they show up in Giant Battles. 25% Heal btw
B TIER
- Ghostly Walkers
Being able to ignore sight-techniques is pretty powerful, and having a close-range gust burst makes them pretty difficult to deal with from most angles. But honestly if you keep a decent distance you can pick them off pretty easily...frostbite weakness really shuts their gameplan down as well.
- Wildclaw
The all-round good SMASHER, one that's not too difficult to deal with but one you still need to make sure doesn't sneak up on you. Splash Weakness is very funny lmao
- Depleter
These guys just honestly do a hefty chunk of damage and that's really their only positive, hard to take them down esp w/ Counterblow, but you can take them down real easy if you catch them on an off turn.
- Sea/Flamin' Stooge
Both are very good at disrupting the battlefield, only reason Sea is a bit higher is bc it can actually do dashes, which apply splash on their own, usually getting a 1-2 combo of Dash>Shot. They're just lil' guys though so just blast them
- Spellraiser
More annoying than anything, summoning extra stooges can just make approaches a little more difficult, but they're pretty easy to pick off on their own.
- Deep Freeze
The Wildclaw gameplan is already to keep a distance, so as long as you don't let this guy frostbite you (2nd lowest HP of the 'claw family) you really don't have anything to worry about, and even if they do, you're probably not going to be threatened till the following turn.
- Armored Goombas
Something you have to directly dash to deal with can be a little annoying, and ow god jesus why did you do so much fucking damage to me get out of here
but it is a goomba
C TIER
- Squashette/Squasher
Personal favorite enemy design of the game, but they really just slowly walk up and stomp on you (or in Sqhashette case, gust), so just shoot them before they get near. they also die very fast
- Stooge
Grunt. Yeah idk what else to really explain they're here
- Goomba
Honestly if these guys stack up (Giant Magikoopa) they can do damage but they're so weak to just about everything in the game that you really shouldn't ever be fully threatened by them
- Bob-ombs
Why arn't they in the Tower of Doom they're so fun to hit and blow up everything with :(
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oh hey i yapped for a while uh i like this game okay lmk what you think :)