CounterSide Tier List Update

PVP Tier List Update

It is time for regular PVP tier list maintenance. The primary objectives of this update are to:

• Adjust ratings for characters affected by release of a new meta-relevant operator
• Adjust ratings for characters and operators to reflect shifts in the meta
• Adjust ratings for units rated B and below to more accurately represent their performance

The CounterSide PVP tier list has been updated and changes were made to reflect the current state of PVP meta. This blog post provides some commentary on changes made to the ratings.

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Operator Commentary

Wandering Sword Lee Jisoo operator is a welcome addition to established operator metagame. Her easy Command Skill proc order and exceptional anti-frontline utility allows most teams to deal with problematic buff-reliant units (e.g. most awakened defenders).

S Tier Operators

With five exceptionally strong options to choose from, most playstyles have a synergistic option to build around. 

A Tier Operators

Olivie trails behind the best operators in the game, mostly losing to Yuppie because of Genesis Noelle Wright’s reliance on defensive utility 8 layers of shields provide.

Serina Crew

B→C

Serina was struggling to remain relevant even on the weeks with strong buffs. With Jisoo release there aren’t many reasons to play her.

SSS Tier Commentary

Zodiac of Redemption Esterossa

No changes
SSS→SSS

AEste’s durability, lack of reliance on buffs (relevant in context of new operator) and long duration revive animation allow her to keep the position of the best frontline in the game by a large margin. The margin is so large that she now remains as the only unit in SSS to help distinguish her from the rest of the game. She is actually a very playable unit on BAN 1, which is a mind-boggling achievement.

Gerard Curian

SSS→SS

Gerard Curian simply lacks damage to burn through high end defenders. Timestop change helped him with specific interactions (Kang, New Ohio S1) but hurt teams that used him to establish advantageous positioning. 

Outlander Rivet

SSS→SS

Rivet’s damage isn’t significantly higher than Laika’s even against counters. Rivet has powerful Special Skill and stun immunity but Laika can kill soldiers / mechs. They are largely interchangeable and tiering has been adjusted to represent that.

Healers

SSS→SS

Acolytes and Chinatsu remain the best healing supports in the game by quite a large margin. The main reason for this change is Awakened Seo Yoon becoming a way better unit (more on that later).

Notable ASSR Commentary

Most of the shifts to ASSR positioning are the result of new Exclusive Equipment sets. Newer sets push the boundaries by providing an unreasonable amount of stats, making them essential to the units’ performance. Underperformers without EEs continue to fall into obscurity.

Altergressive Seo Yoon

S→SS

With the release of Exclusive Equipment, ASY can get ~20% ASPD, ~40% Ranged DMG and 30% Skill Haste on top of standard Ground DMG values. This massively boosts her originally lackluster damage output and changes her from an expensive healing reflux bot into a strong and safe damage dealer that brutally punishes every healer in the game except Carmen. She can slot into many teams and is almost impossible to deal with cleanly.

Minerva Karin Wong

SS→S

AKarin remains the safest ranger in the game but her damage output is simply lacking. Best Karin teams feature her as a side wincon, easily replaceable with other options.

Tenured President Regina MacCready

A→S

Before Exclusive Equipment Regina had to choose between utility inherent to Skill Haste builds and damage output of Anti-Counter DMG Flame Relics. Now she can have both, allowing for ~70% Skill Haste and ~45% Ranged DMG builds. This makes her a much stronger wincon as her Ultimate Skill is one of the stronger abilities in the game. Character is still being explored, so Regina has potential to go to the SS tier in the future.

Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein

SS→S

Ais was released in a state so strong that for a while multiple adjustments were made to combat her. While Sniper balance patch wasn’t very successful, both ANoelle and AEste hammer her into the ground. On top of that ship bans were doubled in power, which was fatal for a unit reliant on Albion to perform. It is no longer possible to play Ais with BAN 1 Albion, further restricting her weekly viability.

Griffin Rider Christina Brecht

B→A

AChris’s fall into irrelevance has been reverted, mostly because she is a viable lead for Wandering Sword Jisoo operator. This allows her to be deployed early into the game and post Ultimate Skill Chris is still very strong.

Notable SSR Commentary

Vesca

S→SS

Vesca’s is strong even without units that enable her Enhanced Attack spam. Her personal damage is high and Unavoidable debuff is a massive damage increase for the entire team. On top of being a simple damage taken increase, Unavoidable changes many interactions, for example making knockbacks guaranteed against the enemy frontline. Essentially Vesca is comparable to Solovey, except she costs 2 times less.

Space Hound Laika

S→SS

SLaika is essentially a better Replacer Knight that targets rangers instead of snipers and costs less. Her only weakness is flying snipers and well-geared Rita Arsenico. 

Ignis Blade Sanae

A→S

Ignis Blade Sanae is a walking hitcount check. Against teams that don’t run enough cheap rangers she just wins.

Lyudmilla

B→A

After her sniper balance patch, it took a while for players to recognize Lyudmilla as a strong candidate for any team looking for a sniper. Her damage output is good and the disruptive potential of her Special / Ultimate Skills is very high. The only thing stopping Lyudmila from seeing more play is the relatively high cost.

Honorable Mentions

Awakened Amy

For some reason Amy’s ETB can drag ANoelle while Ray still has the backline counter available. This is honestly the main use case for Amy at this point.

Most SS Tier Awakened Defenders

Expensive tanks that die to Jisoo operator proc will struggle as more players obtain the operator.

Solovey

Solovey is awful, please don’t deploy this unit. 

Noelle Wright

Base Noelle is one of the strongest options for cheap snipers and is a prime candidate for uptier. She is a little slower than other cheap snipers, with most of her impact being gated behind ultimate.