Octopath Traveler: CotC Tier List - August 2024 | Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent (CotC) (2024)

Hello, dear travelers. Having the opportunity to update this tier list is a pleasure. Many of you will get new characters thanks to all the free pulls we got from the 2nd anniversary. Also, many of you will be visiting Orsterra for the first time. With this work + our Reroll Guide, I hope we can bring some light to everyone; from the ones who will have new travelers in their group and want to know how good they can be, to you, who just finished your first guidance.

Disclaimer

This work will have updates so that the most recent travelers added to the banners are always present. In addition to that, we will be able to revalue travelers according to their usefulness in new content.

First, I would like to clarify that this list is based on my opinion and analysis regarding the strengths and weaknesses of each of these characters. Also, I added the information I gathered by researching what other veterans who have had many adventures in Orsterra think about 5* travelers.

The general idea of this work will be to give a guideline that allows you to assess which travelers are a priority to obtain, to train first, and to consider when facing your greatest challenges.

The available travelers vary from server to server, however, taking into account this work based on the Global server, for newer servers like SEA it will be useful to know the value of travelers at a specific moment to plan efficient use of resources.

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent 5★ Travelers Tier List

August 2024 Changes

Tier S+: Alaune EX, Bargello, Canary, Ditrania, Elrica, Hannit EX, Sazantos, Signa, Sonia, and Tatloch added.

Tier S: Eltrix, Hammy, Leon, Nepthis, Nivelle, Oersted, Solon, and O. Odio added. Fiore EX and Roland moved down from Tier S+.

Tier A: Levina, and Ogen added. Alaune moved down from Tier S. Molu, Varkyn, and Viola moved up from Tier B.

Tier B: Nina-Lanna, S. Odio, Sertet, and Streibough added. Hayes, Lianna, and Lumis EX moved down from Tier A. Dorothea, Gilderoy, Glossom, Hasumi, Serenoa, and Sofia moved up from Tier C.

Tier C: Gertrude and Yukes moved down from Tier B. Harley, Heathcote, Nicola, and Nona moved up from Tier D.

Tier D: Lemaire added.

December 2023 Changes

Tier S+: Primrose EX, Rinyuu, and Roland added.

Tier S: Frederica, Sarisa, and Zenia added. Lynette moved up from tier A.

Tier A: Aedelgard, Lumis EX, Millard EX added. Primrose and Z'aanta moved up from tier B.

Tier B: Cecily, and Yukes, added. Fiore and Varkyn moved up from tier C. Tikilen moved up from tier D.

Tier C: Tressa EX and Serenoa added.

Tier D: No changes.

Ratings by Categories

Each of the travelers has obtained a rank of 1 to 5 stars in 8 particular areas:

• Physical Damage: This category includes the Physical ATK, active and passive skills relative to physical damage (self), and all damage from a weapon. Critical damage is taken into consideration.

• Elemental Damage: Consider Elemental ATK, active and passive skills relative to elemental damage (self), and all damage from elemental ATK.

• Tanking: This category takes into account HP, Physical and Elemental DEF, passive and active skills that increase survivability, as well as those that allow you to attract aggro from enemies.

• Healing: Considers healing ability to allies, including removing debuffs, and reviving travelers fallen in battle.

• Buffing and Supporting: How good the traveler is applying buffs to allies thus improving their abilities as well as the ability to support during battle. This includes giving SP and BP to allies.

• Debuffing: The traveler can apply debuffs to enemies, weakening them by any means, or otherwise impairing their abilities in battle.

• Shield Breaking: The grade in this section falls on how good the traveler's skills are allowing breaking shield points, either by multiple hits, burning, direct reduction, etc.

• Damage Coverage: Consider different damage types the character can deal to enemies.

The sum of these ranks places the travelers in the tier list rankings. Travelers are not divided by job, which implies that regardless of their role, the sum of ranks represents their ability and versatility in general and non-specific terms.

Travelers are in alphabetical order in their respective tiers.

All units are considered as A4, Lv 100.

Tier Explanations

Tier S+: Travelers in this tier are above the rest in their respective fields. No other traveler can perform the work of any of these characters better than they would. They are travelers that even though more characters appear in new banners they will be relevant for a long period. Having them in your party in almost any battle is a good idea.

Tier S: The characters in this tier are currently very relevant for the most difficult battles. Also, their skill kit makes them very versatile and unique. You can have them in your group for almost any content including endgame, their participation in your party will make a noticeable difference.

Tier A: Travelers who perform their work solidly. However, unlike the higher tier, they are somewhat less versatile and usually required for more specific occasions or when we do not have any travelers from the S+/S tiers and we need a replacement.

Tier B: Travelers in this tier can excel in a particular area, even with a 5* rating, making them very useful at specific times. It will be rare for them to have more than one area in which they excel.

Tier C: They are usually useful at the beginning of our adventures. As we gather a larger group of travelers they begin to fall into the shadow of travelers from the higher tiers. Like those in tier B, they can be remarkable in one area, but in this case, they have at least one area in which they are weak.

Tier D: The abilities of these travelers are often below average. While they may have some niche function, almost any role they perform can be done better by travelers from the higher tier.

Tier S+

A2

Few are the characters that can cover 3 or more types of damage. A2 has skills that allow her to deal with an absurd amount of Axe, Dagger, and Sword damage.

She certainly doesn't have any elemental property attacks. Nevertheless, a PATK of 439 (+50), the highest among thieves more than makes up for it until we get Kainé, who can reach 573 on level 120.

The main reason she's in the highest tier is a characteristic it shares with Therion. Both can use their skills twice. 3* Passive "Animus Might": In Berserk Mode, damaging abilities are used again in a row (the follow-up attack will not consume SP). This lets A2 hit like a truck.

If that were not enough, having skills that hit 3 times without the need to boost them, combined with her passive, makes A2 able to hit 6 times with any of these three weapon types, making her an excellent shield breaker. Finally, her ultimate, in addition to a large amount of damage, inflicts 15% Def Down for 2 turns, which means one of the most powerful debuffs to this stat.

Alaune EX

Infinite BP regen. Alaune EX is one of those must-have travelers in any group.

Invigorating Prayers (3★) makes Alaune EX the best BP backpack battery in the game. This skill raises the BP recovery of all allies by 1. This effect persists as long as Alaune can keep this skill active. Certainly, this sucks high amounts of SP, however, an SP Fan is more than enough to maintain Invigorating Prayers running.

Her E.Atk is high enough to let her fulfill an Ice DPS role when needed and Tomorrow's Hope is a great ultimate in any battle letting us auto revive all our allies.

Even nowadays in Japan, no other traveler can do what Alaune EX does.

Bargello

Where do I start? Bargello is an amazing traveler with many good skills while having one of the best if not the best A4 accessory in the game.

Perseverante is his main damage skill. It consumes tons of SP, even from other travelers. However, in break rotations, it hits hard. Otherwise, other skills like Astuto can do the job.

Give the Signal buffs P.Atk and M.Atk of the entire front row + dagger and wind damage. However, the best part of this skill is how it raises 30,000 to the damage cap. If we combine this with Cuff of the Family, his A4 accessory that also raises 100,000, any of our damage dealers can hit harder than ever.

Debilitate reduces one enemy Def. and M.Def by 20%, and his ultimate For the Family let us use all our allies' ultimate one more time. Both skills make Bargello useful in any team.

Right now Bargello is the best dagger DPS in Global. However, 3 travelers compete for the top spot in JP beside Bargello. Also, Castti's EX Skill power-creep Bargello. Despite this, Bargello is still good in JP and has a granted place in dagger comps.

Canary

Canary is one of the most buffed travelers when translated from Japan to Global.

Her passive, Thief Wrath unleashes Pursuit that hits with dagger damage as many times as her Thief's Evasion count. With its buff, this skill has a cap of six times lowering shield points even when not striking weak points.

This makes Canary the best shield-breaking traveler in the game breaking 7 shields minimum every time she attacks.

Thief's Heist is a great ultimate letting Canary act first, hit six times, impart her with Thief's Evasion, and raise the potency of all allies by 50%. This makes her one of the two travelers who can increase the potency of other group members besides Solon. Her ult is a priority if you don't have Solon.

Beautiful Thief's Earring is an amazing accessory. This is the only accessory that can reduce P.Def when breaking an enemy besides Yang Long's Monk's Gaiters. Earring gives -15% and Gaiter -10%. Pairing both would be an amazing -25% P.Def; an amazing passive for any attacker.

Ditrania

Hitting six times with Light and Dark makes Diatrania the best elemental attacker for those elements in the game

Her passive, Infinite Wisdom is what makes this possible. When using an elemental skill, she gains effects based on the element; Infinite Light if we hit with light, and Infinite Dark if we hit with Dark. This would make her AoE attacks Dimming Shine and Fallen Baleful Star hit six times instead of three.

Her nukes also hit hard. However, comparing Ditrania with Elrica, another Light and Dark attacker is hard. We know that warriors and P.Atk are favored in CotC, however, some other elemental attackers would arrive, and Ditrania would be part of any Light and Dark team even if you can build a full Light/Dark P.Atk team.

Elrica

Since her release in Japan on Jan 1, 2023, Elrica has been one of the most anticipated characters in Global history.

We got her banner on Apr 23, 2024, and I'm sure every player broke their piggy bank to pull for Elrica. We question when pulling for a traveler because many can be outclassed over time. However, this is not Elrica's case. Even nowadays she is a top 3 warrior still being used in Japan.

Royal Tenacity lets Elrica gain tenacity points when using battle skills which enhance the effects of some skills. Thanks to this, she can potentially hit 10 times making her a great nuker and a breaker and the first traveler capable of hitting 10 times in Global.

She has two stances, Warrior and Monarch. One is more aggressive and the other more defensive. This gives Elrica flexibility letting her function as an off-support unit. Building tenacity is hard, nevertheless, Elrica arrived to stay at the top for a long time.

Hannit EX

It looks like when a traveler gets an EX-dancer job they become top tier. Hannit EX is an amazing evasion tank and a debuffer.

Phoenix Prance makes her the only traveler capable of AoE debuffing all stats. This makes her extremely good in battles with multiple enemies.

Hannit EX can taunt all foes with Enticing Elegy lowering their P.Atk and E.Atk by 15%. She doesn't have a high defense, however, her passive Evasive Form grants her a 50% chance of dodging. That's a lot.

If we combine these skills with her fan DPS capabilities, Hannit EX will have a place in many groups and battles for a long time. She is still a great traveler in JP. Also, she is a general pull unit; this makes Hannit EX accessible, which lets new travelers upgrade their teams easily.

Primrose EX

One of the last two travelers to arrive is also one of the best inclusions your group could have. Well, the reality is that Primrose is already an old acquaintance, but the way its EX version provides utility makes it enter the highest tier without question.

She can debuff the attack and elemental attack of enemies and increase it to our front row. Likewise, you can apply debuffs to defense and elemental defense buffing these stats. This makes it the most complete buffer and debuffer currently with the ability to be useful in any group and encounter.

If that were not enough, she can also increase the speed of our front row. Thanks to Shower of Roses, granting Entire Front Row automatic HP regeneration, and filling the Ultimate gauge by 20% at the same time. (Reaches All Allies at Max Boost).

This speed increase is enough for the fastest travelers to outspeed the fastest enemies. Her ultimate, Shower of Primroses is also amazing, making the entire front row stronger by raising physical and elemental attacks, applying HP Regen (which stacks) enabling a large amount of passive healing at the end of the turn, and filling the front row's Ultimate bar by 50 %, which is incredibly helpful.

Richard

Richard is a great character when dealing sword damage to enemies. Nevertheless, Richard's amazing buffing and debuffing capabilities make him a formidable traveler.

Thanks to Torrent Formation he can impart the entire front row with Phys. Atk. Up 20% and rise Sword and Spear damage by 20% (2-5 turns). This is one of the more powerful buffs in the game for boosting our damage.

His A King's Pride passive will increase an additional 15% to the front row's Physical attack, sword, and spear damage while he is at full HP. And that's not all, his ultimate deals a lot of damage while applying the same buff as A King's Pride. This means buffs in his active skills, passive, and ultimate, which makes him an incredible ally when setting up nukes against strong enemies.

If we add to this that he also can apply speed and ATK debuffs, Richard is undoubtedly one of the best travelers in CotC.

Rinyuu

The best support cleric. Period. The global server waited for this traveler for a long time. Let's hope SEA doesn't have to wait that long. Available globally since October, Rinyuu is here to stay.

We can define it as one of the best backpack travelers in the game. Thanks to his two passive abilities, Rinyuu grants SP recovery to his paired ally and reduces the SP consumption of the entire front row by 10% simply by being in the back row.

Gracious Prayer and Crusader's Prayer are fantastic skills. Both make Rinyuu go into "praying mode". This means that if Rinyuu performs any action, runs out of SP, or is knocked out of combat, the skill will stop having an effect, but as long as this does not happen she can give all allies HP regen, Phys. Def, Elem. Def., Phys. Atk., and Elem. Atk buffs (+ some status immunities).

Rinyuu is the ultimate support unit for travelers like EX Fiore, she fits any party well and can deliver when needed.

Sazantos

Sazantos is one of the top three warriors and the best Fire warrior in Orsterra. It's hard to compete on a Warrior meta. However, even with great warriors such as Elrica or O. Odio, Sazantos stands firm as the best choice when we want to exploit fire weaknesses; this is even true in Japan.

Most of his attacks hit with a sword but also cover Fire and Light weaknesses, which makes him a must against enemies weak to these elements. Against multiple enemies, he can use Mass Sacred Blaze Slash for a 6-hit AoE that hits Sword, Fire, and Light weaknesses at once. This makes Sazantos better than Elrica in certain situations. Elrica can hit 10 times against a single target.

His support skills are amazing for a DPS. Sacred Blaze Shield is the more notorious one, letting us raise the P.Def and E.Def of our front row by 15% + Granting a complete block of some elemental attacks countering with Light damage for each traveler.

Sacred Blade Legacy is a great ultimate skill. You can use Sacred Blaze Might buffing all our team, and debuffing all our enemies while fully charging the ultimate. Then if you use the ultimate you will charge 5 BP to all our group including Sazantos. You can do a lot with this. For short battles, this would make Sazantos a BP battery enough not to need a dedicated traveler for the role.

Signa

Debuffers such as Signa are not that common. When speaking about warriors, we have many choices to cover our needs. Having a traveler like Signa in our group gives us some advantages that are impossible to get otherwise.

Her passives Diminishing Guard and Diminishing Might lowers P.Def and E.Def of all foes by 5% while Signa is in the front or back row respectively. 5% is not that much, however, this helps us get more status-effect icons which helps us maximize other Signa's skills.

Thanks to this, Sacred Blaze Ode: Flurry can hit with Fan six times, and Sacred Blade Ode: Round can hit with Light and Fire six times, making Signa a good breaker for these weaknesses.

Her Ultimate, Debilitating Oratorio makes Signa the best debuffer in the game. A 20% debuff to P.Atk, P.Def, E.Atk, and E.Def AoE for 3 turns is huge. Even now, there's no replacement for this ultimate in JP.

Sonia

Sonia is an AoE breaker specialist. With her passive Swift Stance, she gains an effect that activates skills twice. This enables her to potentially AoE break enemies' shields six times regardless of the weakness.

Blustering Break is the skill for doing this. It deals elemental Wind damage to all foes 2 times lowering shield points even when not striking weak points. The attack count becomes 3 at Max Boost.

Most of her dagger attacks also exploit Wind's weaknesses and hit hard. However, her E.Atk is quite high for a Thief, which helps us when we want to use Blustering Break.

Against single-enemy fights, Storm Spike is amazing for breaking shields. This skill hits with a dagger 4 times at max boost exploiting Wind weakness, which transforms to 8 thanks to Swift Stance.

She is also useful when switching to the back row. With SP Restoration on Switch to Back she restores the SP of the entire front row. Finally, she is a centerpiece on dagger comps; she can debuff not only P.Atk and E.Atk but also Dagger Res.

Tatloch

We already discussed how good A2 is because she can hit with Axe, Dagger, and Sword skills. Tatloch has many good Fan and Wind attacks, but also can Summon Maa'fa; this attack deals Sword damage to all foes also exploiting Polearm and Axe weaknesses, which is fantastic for a single skill. With all these, Tatloch can cover five different damage types.

Her passive Lifesnatcher lets her absorb 5% of damage dealt as HP and receive 1 Life Point when attacking. The Lady of Grace's Delight is Tatloch's ultimate and aside from dealing Fan damage 8 times to random enemies + inflicting poison, she receives 3 Life points. With these life points, she boosts the Empress' Elation, her other passive, letting Tatloch buff the front row P. Atk and E. Atk + granting HP and SP recovery making her a fantastic support.

Tatloch also introduces Enchant, a new status that gives the target a chance of being unable to act. Combining Tatloch with a traveler that can Charm gives you a high chance of nullifying targets.

With high HP and P. Atk for a Dancer, she is a physical DPS character but her kit makes her very versatile. Having Tatloch in almost any fight is a good idea.

Therion

Speaking of A2, I also explained why Therion and A2 share honors in the highest tier. His 3* passive is tremendously powerful. Divine Feat: When using Boost MAX on an ability, that ability is used a second time in a row.

This transforms Therion into a battering ram capable of maxing out the damage cap without much trouble. If we add to this that he has the highest speed stat in CotC, we undoubtedly have a character that hits like a truck at the speed of a racing car.

It's a great option for daily farming. He's able to sustain himself by recovering HP and SP on his own, and he's also excellent at breaking shields, even if the enemies are not weak to its cover. Therion is a traveler who's useful in our group today and in the long term.

Tier S

Alfyn

One of my favorite travelers. The pomegranate boy.

His most important skill is Pomegranate Panacea: Restore BP of Entire Front Row (amount: 1-4 based on Boost Lv.), but delay actions during turn. *Can be used 2 times per battle.

Thanks to this snack Alfyn abilitates many other travelers letting us set up many of the most powerful turns against difficult enemies. He also works as an off-healer by having the ability to give HP regeneration to the front row. All this without forgetting that his capabilities as a breaker for Axe and Ice coverage, and his durability in battle are above average.

A traveler who undoubtedly enables many of the most valuable strategies for hard content in CotC. "The strongest attackers in this game reach their maximum potential thanks to a pomegranate."

Auguste

His very peculiar kit of skills is what makes Auguste stand out. He has good coverage and can deal dagger, tome, and dark damage. Also, Auguste can self-sustain his BP when attacking with a dagger or tome thanks to his passive Unbridled Passion that changes and improves some of his skills.

Auguste also can lower dagger resist, which makes him great with A2, Therion, and dagger teams. While we haven't mentioned the accessories we get from Awakening IV a traveler, the Playwright's Quill is certainly formidable allowing a traveler to start the battle with a full ultimate bar.

In the long term, Auguste can be substituted for newer travelers in his role, he is still useful doing a good job when needed. A solid character overall.

Cyrus

Cyrus is in some way a traveler that presents certain parallels with A2. Just as A2 has ample coverage in terms of physical damage, Cyrus is currently the character with the highest coverage for elemental damage in CotC. This is thanks to how he's capable of dealing Fire, Ice, and Lightning damage (+Tome).

Cyrus isn't higher in the tier because he doesn't contribute much outside damage, but what more can we ask for an elemental nuker? Some travelers are considered "The best Ice attacker", "The best Wind attacker", etc., but Cyrus is "The best scholar", period.

His EATK is the highest in CotC, making him the best traveler when speaking of raw damage from Ice and Lightning (and even Tome). His multi-hit skills allow him to bypass the hit damage cap with ease. In addition, he is a great farmer thanks to his powerful AoE skills.

Although in the long run in JP, certain travelers who have not yet reached our lands can replace Cyrus when a lot of specialization is required, Cyrus will remain in force for a long time.

Eltrix

Eltrix is my commander! ⚓ Another one of my favorite characters in CotC.

When Eltrix has full HP her capabilities are formidable thanks to his skills: Prestige of the Stormy Seas, Summon Gakko, Summon Wappa, and Darkmoon. This allows Eltrix to increase Phys. Atk and Elem. Atk of the entire front row, in addition to reducing the SP cost of their skills, being self-sustaining in terms of BPs.

She can also serve as a breaker without the need to hit enemy weaknesses, which is very valuable coming from a warrior traveler. All this added to having a sword nuke that exploits Dark weakness.

The barrier provided by his second passive, Summon Ivri, is HUGE. Certainly, the requirement requires a playstyle taking this passive into account every turn, but the effort is worth it. This helps you get the most out of the skills mentioned in the previous point during complicated battles. Take Command allows Eltrix in times when maintaining the barrier is difficult.

Being able to hit enemies weak to the dark element with sword attacks Shadowy Seaslash, and Darkmoon is valuable. This is something that makes her unique. She requires some support for the damage to be relevant, but it makes a difference in crucial moments.

Frederica

Roland and Frederica from the Triangle Strategy collaboration received buffs when they reached the global server due to their low popularity and efficiency on the Japanese server.

This is notable since Frederica is the most powerful fire attacker in Orsterra. The damage dealt by Eruption or Sunfall is tremendous. Also, she is the only traveler capable of directly increasing the fire damage of other allies thanks to her skill Enchanting Spice.

If we add to this the effect of his passive Magic Ablaze, which increases the E.Atk of the entire front row, if a burning enemy is present, we have in Frederica an erupting volcano that also empowers many group builds that undoubtedly appreciate having her for company.

Fiore Ex

This EX variant is undoubtedly here to stay. The proof is that even in the JP version of CotC where the content is ahead, Fiore EX is still one of the best tanks.

The reason is that she can redirect all attacks with a single target back to herself, which makes our healers' job much easier. This complements it very well with her ability to negate attacks directed towards her, counterattacking with fan damage and inflicting burning on the enemy (which translates to zero damage).

Having Fiore EX in your party in any endgame battle increases your chances of survival exponentially. Also, her fan physical damage is quite high, and while she competes with Herminia, we will prefer Fiore EX on certain occasions.

Herminia

Probably the best of the 3 characters in the "Champions" banner. Auguste certainly has an attractive kit, but in Herminia's case, her role is somewhat more specific as a breaker, she does this job excellently and with ample coverage.

She features three 4 hit attacks for her three damage types: Bow, Fan, and Light. Her ATK stat is high, 2nd highest among hunters, only behind Kersjes.

She maintains a longevity similar to that of Auguste. That is to say, in the long run, she can be replaced at certain specific moments, a traveler with such wide coverage and multi-hit skills for each damage type will always be useful and good to have in almost every fight.

Lars

Lars is a physical damage nuker capable of dealing tremendous damage with his single target, random target, and AoE sword skills.

He has one of the highest ATK stats in CotC, including all jobs (he's second only to Olberic and Kersjes). Additionally, he shares with Z'aanta the characteristic of having a 5-hit non-boosted attack, making him an excellent breaker.

His participation in various cups such as Yan Long, Glossom, Varkyn, and Yuunie (all weak to swords) makes him incredibly useful for these matchups where we can get new travelers and thus increase our roster.

An added plus is that he is a good addition to wind-focused teams thanks to his skill Gleaming Gale reduces the resistance of all enemies to that element by 10%.

It's hard to place warriors in the highest tiers unless they're extraordinarily versatile or relevant as there are so many. Nevertheless, reaching Tier S means they are solid enough to stay the least in the current meta for a moderate time.

Leon

Leon is always compared to Roland. I get why, however, Leon has many upsides when we think about him as a support DPS.

With Snake Fangs, Leon can lower enemies' Polearm and Staff resistances, Ramming Thrust he reduces P.Def and E.Def, and Fierce Thrust lets Leon reduce P. Atk and E. Atk. Sea Serpent's Spear, Leon's ultimate can raise the BP recovery of our front row by 1 for two turns besides doing great damage. If that's not enough, Vanguard Elem. Res. Boost raises the elemental resistance of the entire front row by 20% passively. This increases the survivability of our group by a big margin moving forward.

Also, don't forget Leon is one of the best if not the best Staff DPS in the game. His breaking skills and nuke are great, and they also exploit staff weaknesses and have multihit, reactivating the skill without SP consumption.

With this information, we could separate Leon from Roland and other polearm users labeling him as Support Polearm + Staff DPS Traveler, which let us decide easily when we can make Leon shine.

Lynette

I think I had been very harsh with a traveler who had chosen me as a companion since my first days in Orsterra. Lynette is the 5* traveler who has appeared in my pulls the most times and I value her highly.

Lynette was Tier A in some versions of this Tier List. However, I have decided to raise it during the December 2023 update one tier due to its popularity as a target when rerolling.

Her buffer qualities make her a highly sought-after traveler at the beginning of Orsterra's journeys, which allows her to fit into practically any team comp in the end game without a problem. She can easily be the first to act on your team letting her buff, debuff, or shave shields with Fire AOE skills.

Her 3* skill Masterful Cheer III and its ultimate Child of the Dance make her shine. The first skill increases the Phys. Atk, and the Elem. Atk at 20% (the highest amount possible in a skill that affects the entire front row in both characteristics). The ultimate increases these same stats + the speed, and this stacks with buffs from regular skills, making Lynette an extremely versatile dancer who will accompany many from their first days and for a long time in their battles.

Nepthi

Nepthi's Global buff was what made her a unit to pull for.

She gains 1 Cheer On point whenever she switches. With these points, she boosts all her kit heavily. Thanks to this Nepthi can hit 5 times with Cheerful Bash, an AoE Axe attack that also exploits Staff and Tome weaknesses, and 6 times with Cheerful Tamping, a single-target attack.

Is that not enough, she got Cheerful Scrapping a nuke attack that exploits the same weaknesses. Nepthi doesn't have a high P. Atk or Speed, however, she excels as a breaker and a buffer. She can give barriers, restore HP, give HP Regen, raise P. Atk, E. Atk, and crit, or even lower our enemies' Axe, Staff, and Tome resistances.

Nephi is not a must-have unit, nevertheless, she is a great nice-to-have traveler whenever you need to break Axe, Staff, and Tome shields letting her a Breaker-Buffer role for those fights.

Nivelle

Nivelle introduced Shock, a new status alignment that lowers Shield Points by 1 when taking Elem. Lightning damage.

This status will not break enemies as Combust does, however, if we use Bolts of Defiance, we could strike 5 times AoE with Lightning damage, also exploiting Fire weakness breaking 10 shields in the process if the enemy has a weakness for these elements.

Many seasoned travelers in Orsterra think Nivelle is replaceable in most situations. However, even if this is somewhat true, Nivelle is also why Lightning teams are viable. Thanks to Charged Blast we could inflict Shock for 3 turns, which makes it easy to keep Shock up the entire battle dealing high damage in the process because this skill got buffed for Global release.

His TP Skill has not yet been released in Global and buff 30% Lightning damage up to the front row. This is a game changer, nevertheless, his passive, Electric Booster that buffs the Front Row with E. Atk up by 30% when a shocked enemy is present which is good.

Nivelle is the best Lightning scholar. Lightning teams are not meta, but Nivelle makes them good. Other travelers may replace Nivelle's role, still, in the same manner, if you do have those, Nivelle is good enough to act as a shield shaver, Lightning DPS, and E. Atk buffer.

Oersted

I value Lynette highly because it's amazing for newer players; Oersted's situation is similar. It's not easy to stand in this game as a warrior. However, for many players without top-tier warriors, getting Oersted for free when we got Live-A-Live collab was a game changer.

Oersted is strong enough to carry you through the main story for quite a while. Heroic Nature makes him gain 1 Valor Point when attacking using a skill. This raises Oersted's potency by 5% per Valor Point. With a 45% max buff of this passive, Oersted hit like a truck.

Crushing Blow deals Sword damage but also exploits Staff weakness, and Thousand Cuts, and Flourish deal Sword damage and exploit Wind Weakness. Heavenly Strike is his Sword nuke that exploits Polearm's weakness, and Dragonsoul, Oersted's ultimate exploits Fire's weakness. These attacks make Oersted versatile and great for covering gaps in your group.

He can also lower enemies' P. Def, P. Atk, and Speed and have Blade Rain, an AoE 4-Hit Sword attack that makes him a good shield breaker. Overall, Oersted is an F2P great-to-have traveler if you catch Live-A-Live collabs.

O. Odio

O. Odio would be the best Dark Warrior for a while.

Most of Odio's skills deal damage to himself and our team in exchange for greater damage and buffs. If we can maintain our group HP up, we can use Absolute Hatred without fear. This skill consumes 60% of the max HP of each ally with more than 60% HP but makes an 8-Hit nuke Sword attack that exploits Dark Weakness.

Odio is also a great buffer. Widespread Hatred deals 50% damage of max HP to the Entire Front Row; that's a lot, however, we get in return a 20% damage buff + Dead Aim guaranteed critical hit for 2-5 turns + 1BP recovery to every affected traveler.

Sublime Dark Lord is an amazing passive. This skill lets Odio restore his own SP, recover 5BP, restore Ultimate count by 1, full Ult gauge to 100%, and raise P. Atk and damage by 15% whenever an ally is incapacitated. That's a heavy requirement, but the buff we get in return is massive letting Odio deal big damage.

You will need a traveler who can keep all your team HP up for having O. Odio in your group like Ogen, Primrose Ex, or Rinyuu. However, even if Odio requires a dedicated healer with him, he hit hard enough to justify the effort.

Ophilia

Some other characters in the S+ and S tiers can heal our allies despite not being clerics. They do the job when we need versatility. However, when the occasion demands a dedicated healer 100% to this task, Ophilia is undoubtedly the best option.

Even in the JP version, Ophilia is still considered one of the best-dedicate healers in the game. She has a large amount of SP making the task of supporting and healing our group an easy task.

She can heal with great power, grant HP regeneration, increase physical and magical defenses, and remove debuffs. Without a doubt, Ophilia has everything necessary to take care of the group. And she could not miss the ability to revive fallen allies, individually, or all the fallen if we use her ultimate Aelfric's Affection.

The icing on the cake is that thanks to one of her passives, he can automatically revive when she falls for the first time in battle. If I open up an extra slot in the S+ Tier, Ophilia would probably be the one to fill it.

Roland

As part of the collaboration with Triangle Strategy, another incredible RPG from Square Enix, Roland fills a niche role. However, in this role, no one surpasses him.

His job is to reduce the Polearm Res. of the enemies. He can do this in multiple ways thanks to his passive Master Cavalryman, Defortifying Spice and Rush, + his ultimate Four Dragons. This makes Roland incredibly effective when needed. He also has multiple debuffs to the Phys. Def. and damage increases to polearm users.

It certainly won't do the damage of Krauser or W'Ludai, but it's not far off. In addition, it is the fastest of all merchants. Roland is a fundamental piece that will make a difference when the time calls for him.

Rondo

Rondo made a lot of noise when he arrived thanks to his ultimate. Aelfric's Judgement is amazing. The sword and light damage is super powerful, but the fact that he gains a buff called Secred Flame Blessing which allows Rondo to recover 3 BP per turn for 4 turns makes him contend for the best ultimate skill in CotC.

If we add to this that he can recover HP and SP with his other skills, we can say that Rondo is an auto-sustainable warrior, capable of spamming sword and light damage, making him deserve this place in Tier S. However, we have to treat warriors carefully. Many good warriors will be arriving soon, and Rondo may start becoming replaceable in a not-so-long period.

Don't get me wrong. Rondo can deal considerable amounts of hybrid damage, and he also has a 5-hit AoE attack which undoubtedly makes him a good breaker. He is also valuable in certain compositions. His moment as one of the best warriors in CotC will depend on how quickly the travelers who compete with him for the role he plays in our group arrive.

Sarisa

Sarisa is undoubtedly one of those travelers who have surprised many by being much more useful and efficient than they might initially seem.

Flameblade Scheme is a debuff that stacks with other debuffs, reducing sword, dagger, and fire resistances. Additionally, Sarisa moves to the back row after this, allowing her three passives to come into play.

Similarly to Rinyuu it provides backpack support, granting automatic SP recovery and increased Phys Atk. to the ally in front of her. This makes Sarisa a great nuker partner.

Her Ultimate Heavenly Gift reduces five shields even if the enemy has no weakness to daggers and makes Sarisa immediately move to the back row. All this together makes Sarisa the best support thief our group can have.

Sofia EX

Using a term I mentioned earlier in this article, Sofia EX is the best wind attacker in CotC. Odette certainly comes into play and in terms of offensive capabilities both are similar.

However, Sofia EX stands out because she is very flexible and versatile. She can increase allies' stats, such as Ice and Wind resistances by 20%, and heal HP and SP thanks to her Marine Wisdom passive.

All this is in addition to being able to grant HP regeneration if necessary. Odette is an amazing traveler thanks to her dual coverage of Light and Wind. Nevertheless, if we need to focus on a wind nuker without losing versatility, Sofia EX would be my choice (and without a doubt, both travelers work wonderfully together on wind teams!)

Solon

Solon Ultimate Master Strategist is what makes him great. This ult lets Solon act first and raise the potency of an ally by 100% and grants the target a Damage Limit Up of 10,000-50,000. This makes Solon a must in many battles where the goal is to finish the encounter as fast as possible.

Primrose EX is an amazing partner for Solon. With Shower of Primroses, you can fill the Ult gauge of the front row by 50%, excluding Prim EX. This lets Solon use his ult twice which makes any DPS hits like a convoy of trucks.

If this is not enough, Flamelance Formation buffs Entire Front Row E. Atk, Polearm, and Fire Damage by 20%.

Solon has skills that can reduce P. Atk, E. Def, Polearm, and Fire Res, and cause all foes to combust + Flying Flamelance, an AoE 3-Hit Fire attack that exploits Polearm weakness and Piercing Flamelance, a Fire nuke that also hits Polearm with a potency of 260.

Some U10 are a priority in Orsterra, however, having Solon's U10 is one of the biggest impacts you can feel in your group when you get it.

Tithi

Although Tithi competes strongly with Eleonora and Lynette for a position in Tier S, certainly her role in the group, which is quite particular, made me choose her over Eleonora for this spot.

This dancer is an amazing support, one of the best in CotC. TT can reach the 30% cap of physical and magical attack debuff for all enemies alone. She can also hit this cap for physical and magical attack buffs for our front row. This is thanks to the fact that her skills stack.

Undoubtedly a characteristic that makes it unique and that, just like the most powerful dancers, enables very particular strategies capable of finishing off the most powerful enemies in a way that would be impossible without her.

Another reason why I put her in this position above Eleonora (for a close margin), is that it seems to me that the passage of time suits her better. In other words, despite the arrival of new travelers, TT remains more relevant for the content that will gradually arrive.

Her ultimate Thunder God's Cessation and her skill General's March give 1 BP to our front row (plus dealing damage / and buffing our party), and even if she doesn't stand out for doing a lot of damage, she is an amazing breaker thanks to her 4 and 3 multi-hit fan and lightning attacks. All this makes her seem like a great dancer and with significant longevity.

W'ludai

It might be slightly controversial to place W'ludai above Krauser. However, while Krauser has higher damage potential than W'ludai, she excels in more areas than Krauser.

Both are good breakers, and W'ludai's damage capacity with the spear is not negligible she was the most powerful user of this weapon until the arrival of Krauser. But if we talk about survivability, W'ludai is undoubtedly much better.

This girl is a little SP thirsty, but having an SP battery or her A4 accessory W'ludai's Satchel helps with this. It was a close decision for the spot in the top tiers, but without a doubt, W'ludai deserves it. Over time, swords became the meta, but when spears are necessary, having W'ludai will always come in handy.

Zenia

The best attacker specializing in the dark element arrived in October 2023. We can say it is the dark version of Hayes with certain improvements.

Black Heart Inhibitor is a powerful skill. It is a priority attack that hits four times for dark damage while also reducing E. Def of the enemy.

Speaking of A4 accessories again, Poysenbalm, Zenia's accessory is certainly one you shouldn't pass up as it lowers Elem Def. and inflicts poison when breaking an enemy. This activates Zenia's passive Knowledge of Toxicology, which buffs paired allies with Elem. Atk. Up 30% and raise Dark damage dealt by 30% when a poisoned enemy is present, making the wielder and her column ally incredibly powerful.

Zenia can efficiently reduce the shields of multiple enemies weak to darkness while empowering teams focused on Elemental Damage. This makes Zenia a great traveler for closing our Tier S.

Tier A

Alaune

Princess Alaune could easily be in the top tier. I placed Alaune higher before, but I've decided to keep the S+ and S slots for the best of the best and lower Alaune to Tier A in this update.

Without a doubt, Alaune is one of the most versatile characters in CotC. Her kit includes offensive, defensive, and support skills. And this does not imply that one of the areas is significantly worse than another. 4.5* in Elemental Damage, 4.5* in healing, and double 4* in Tanking and Shield Breaking.

3 hit Fire and Light AoE attacks, healing, and regeneration for the front row. A single revive that can be used three times. And finally, an ultimate that in addition to healing allies, increases their maximum HP by 25%. Certainly, a princess who will rescue the group on more than one occasion dealing considerable elemental damage simultaneously.

Farewell

It's been hard work, but I hope this tier list is helpful to the entire community. Presenting this list can certainly enlighten new travelers (and some not-so-new ones) about which characters will last over time or are extremely good in the present.

This added to knowing the rankings that I have given to these travelers, Let us have a better overview of who we should take in our group when facing our great challenges.

However, this does not mean lower-tier travelers cannot cast extraordinary roles at opportune moments. Gilderoy for example is a great tank, and Scarecrow works amazing as a breaker. Alaune was on Tier S before, but even if I move her to Tier A, she is versatile and can help you face great challenges. Originally the comprehensive part of the tier list would be just about Tier S+ and Tier S; however, if we continue moving some travelers down, I will expand this to all Tier A.

This is just one example of how this work of opinion + statistics can be useful, but in the end, what matters the most is traveling in the company characters that make our adventures much more memorable.

See you soon. Thank you for leaving any opinion about this Tier List in the comment section below, or on my Twitter, surely everything will help me to make the next edition of the Tier List much better.

Remember to stop at the gate often. And till then, my friend, farewell; May your travels through Orsterra be marvelous!