NieR Reincarnation has recently been released, giving players a brand new RPG experience combining immersive storytelling and worldbuilding with the standard gacha flair that we’ve grown to know and love. As a result, while the game will be familiar for gamers that have already spent tons of time in other gacha games, it also gives us a pleasant surprise with its awesome story. In fact, more often than not, we found ourselves coming back and booting up the game not just to grind and complete daily missions, but to see what happens next in the story. And if a mobile game manages to enrapture us with its plot, then it must be doing something right, right?

In any case, amazing story aside, NieR Reincarnation is still a gacha game at its root. Most of its gameplay is centered around participating in real-time battles to complete tasks and missions, in order to receive enough resources to unlock character via the gacha summoning system. All the characters in this game have their own stats and skills, with some being better than others. However, the best characters, as usual, are often the hardest to obtain, considering that there’s a very low chance of getting them from standard summonings.

Nevertheless, despite these hardships, NieR Reincarnation is a game that definitely favors rerolling and gives players lots of resources to accommodate early pulling, for players who absolutely want to summon the best characters from the beginning. However, in a game with over 50 characters at launch, how do you know which ones are good, and which ones to skip? Well, in this tier list for NieR Reincarnation, we’re going to tell you exactly which characters to aim for in this gacha RPG, and which ones to skip, especially if you’re rerolling.

If you’re looking for the best characters in NieR Reincarnation, then you’ve come to the right place. Read on!

S Tier

The characters that are must-haves fall into this tier. Whether they shine due to their offensive potential, their utility, or their sturdiness, the characters in this category are the best in NieR Reincarnation. If you’re rerolling in this game, you should aim to unlock at least two of these champions from the very start:

2B

The iconic android and protagonist of NieR: Automata makes an appearance in NieR Reincarnation in a crossover event at the game’s launch. 2B is an excellent and speedy DPS character that can increase her speed even further with self buffs. This character shines due to the fact that her character gauge can charge faster than normal, letting her use her character skill much earlier than the others. This means that, potentially, 2B can eliminate a few enemies even before they have the chance to act.

A2

Another NieR: Automata protagonist that makes an appearance in NieR Reincarnation in the crossover event. A2 shines for her sheer damage potential, which is bolstered significantly due to the fact that she can increase her critical rate considerably. Her self buffs make her deal critical damage often enough that it can essentially double her firepower at no additional cost. A2, however, is quite fragile and doesn’t have much HP. Nevertheless, due to her high damage, she can easily and quickly destroy enemies, therefore reducing the damage they deal, since dead enemies can do no harm.

A Tier

While not necessarily inferior to the S tier characters, the heroes in this category often require assistance in order to unleash their maximum potential, and can’t quite deal with enemies on their own, unlike the characters in the previous tier. Nevertheless, you’d do well to unlock at least one of these if you get the chance as they will definitely complement the stronger units nicely.

9S

The third and last character from the NieR: Automata crossover event, who also happens to be another one of its protagonists. In contrast with the other two, 9S isn’t quite as strong, but has lots of HP and defense to withstand lots of attacks. 9S’ strength, however, comes from the fact that his skills can add nicely to any combo chain. And though he can’t do much damage on his own, he can set up combos to increase the damage of other characters immensely. This fact is further demonstrated by a buff that 9S can bestow, which increases the damage done by consecutive attacks, further increasing his support potential.

Fio

If you can’t get 9S from the gacha, and instead have Fio, keep her on standby—though she’s not as useful in terms of damage-boosting potential, Fio is a great support that also happens to be quite tanky, just like 9S. 

Gayle

Though she’s definitely up there in terms of raw attack damage and agility, she’s not as strong as A2. Furthermore, while she can easily dish out tons of damage herself, her character skill is actually a buff that can further boost the party’s attack. This support skill, coupled with the fact that her high agility doesn’t lend itself for combo play, make Gayle a good addition to any team, but one that might be replaced by any of the attackers in the S tier if possible.

B Tier

Though the characters in this tier are definitely not bad, you could do much better, and you might want to replace them ASAP.

Argo

This character doesn’t particularly excel in any area. His stats are right down the middle of the road and nothing to write home about. However, Argo wields spears as his preferred weapon, which makes him quite good at developing the combo meter. Other than that, you would do well to swap him out at the earliest convenience.

F66x

This character is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of effectiveness. Though her healing skills will definitely come in handy if you’re struggling against a particular challenge, the meta in NieR Reincarnation is focused more on offense as the best defense. In this sense, even though F66x could help you, the fact that you’d need to use her means that your other team members might be quite lackluster, and you’d be better off rerolling for better units. Nevertheless, don’t underestimate the utility of a healer—if you already have a few good characters, and manage to unlock F66x, keep her around and upgraded as your go-to support for the tougher battles.

Of course, the characters mentioned on this list are just seven out of over fifty units that are available in NieR Reincarnation at the moment of launching. Regardless, if you check out what each of these characters have to offer, you can get an idea of what the meta in this game is all about, and create your own strategies. 

The game is still young, so you might even be able to establish a new meta as it evolves! And with that being said, let us know your picks for best characters in NieR Reincarnation in the comments below!