Table of Contents
Meta Report - December 2024: The Great Rebalancing
Merry Christmas all!
With the latest rebalancing update announcement, it's also time for an update to the PVP Tier List. This rebalancing update only affects a few costumes that are popular in PVP, but the impact on the meta will be significant.
The biggest winners are Killer Doll Lecliss and Demon's Daughter Seir. Both of them are taunt tanks. The rebalancing update reduces their SP costs to only 1 SP after potential upgrades.
This makes Lecliss and Seir almost like "Granhildr for attack teams". E.g. with Lecliss, for only 1 SP an attacking team effectively get a pre-emptive taunter that has massive HP and 85% damage reduction. What's more, the taunt lasts for 4 turns (2 defense team turns). This makes the battle even more skewed towards attacking teams: if the defending team doesn't have an answer to Lecliss, or if their way of dealing with Lecliss is knocked out on Turn 1, it's game over for the defending team.
As a result, buff removers like Schera seem to be increasing in popularity in PVP defense teams. Beach Angel Teresse is also seeing more defense team play, as she has good survivability due to her tanky stats, and can buff your allies to have enough damage to overcome Lecliss or Seir.
Of course, Lecliss and Seir are also being used effectively as cheap taunters in defense teams, but that does not affect meta builds so much because buff removers are already staples in most attack teams.
On the other hand, Glacia is both a winner and loser from the rebalancing update. On the winning side, Disciplinary Committee Glacia received a serious boost, gaining both better damage and removed cooldown. She is terrifying when paired with B.Helena, reliably dealing 25k+ fixed damage every turn. On the losing side, Alice Glacia is now the least attractive taunting tank of the "big 3" because she costs 3 SP (instead of 1 SP like Lecliss and Glacia). Moving forward, it seems that Glacia's main role will be as a tough fixed damage machine gun rather than as a taunting tank.
Other minor winners include Elise, who has received significant damage improvements on both her costumes, and Sage Olstein, who can now remove evasion with multi-hits in addition to crippling ATK/M.ATK stats. These will probably see more play than they did before.
For those who want the full list of balance changes, click below.
Balance changes details (click to expand)
How to use this tier list
Brown Dust 2 is a unique game because each character has multiple costumes, which are used together in PVP. Some costumes are not great on their own, but better when paired with other costumes on the same character. Further, the power level of each costume changes significantly with duplicates (up to +5 costume level). Therefore, there are some important things to note when using this tier list.
+5 costumes and full potential are assumed
All of the ratings compare power levels at the +5 version of the costume with full potential (where applicable). You should know that a +5 costume on your roster may be better in PVP than a +0 costume from a higher tier in the tier list. Full potential upgrades are usually worth around 2-3 costume levels.
Note also that for a lot of costumes, SP cost reduces at with costume levels and/or with potential upgrades, which makes a big difference in PVP. If you don't have the fully reduced SP version of the costume, it will not perform at the stated tier level.
Attack tier and defense tier
Each costume is rated based on how good it is for attack teams and defense teams.
Ratings explained
Tier ratings are given on the following basis:
- S: The best at what they do.
- A: Better than average.
- B: Average, but not bad.
- C: Worse than average.
- D: Not recommended.
The Mirror Wars (PVP) Tier List - September 2024
| Character | Costume | Attack tier | Defense Tier | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alec | Destruction | B | A | Very high pure damage, but more expensive and less consistent than WR.Justia. Elemental typing means he is strong against Lecliss, but weak against Morphea and Glacia. | |
| Alec | Sword Breaker | A | A | Very high pure damage, but less consistent than Justia, and the weird AOE limits placement options. Elemental typing means he is strong against Lecliss, but weak against Morphea and Glacia. | |
| Anastasia | Fire Graffiti | B | A | Recent balance changes give her very good crit damage with good AOE, but she's unlikely to be consistent in PVP until physical teams get better access to cheap crit rate buffs. | |
| Anastasia | Gentle Maid | B | B+ | Recent balance changes give her very good crit damage with good AOE, but she's unlikely to be consistent in PVP until physical teams get better access to cheap crit rate buffs. | |
| Andrew | Specialist | C | C | Quite tanky with his evasion skill and is able to taunt. Useful in lower rank PVP, but drops off in higher ranks in favor of 5-star tanks. | |
| Andrew | Loyal Butler | D | D | Low damage, not good value. | |
| Angelica | The Fallen | B | C | Good cost and reasonably tanky, but cannot kill energy guarded enemies geared to 90% M.RES (e.g. Granhildr). | |
| Angelica | Pool Party | C | C | Difficult to play consistently as she is heavily reliant on crits and crit damage, but also has high cost. Reasonably tanky stats. | |
| Angelica | Neon Savior | C | C | High SP cost, low initial damage with moderate burn damage. Only recommended as a backup to Angelica's other two costumes. | |
| Bernie | Righteous Raider Girl | D | D | Not good value for cost, and not recommended | |
| Celia | Masquerade Bunny | C | C | Low damage is not good value for SP cost. 3x3 AOE for 3 SP was decent value when she was first released, but there are better options now for 3 SP. | |
| Celia | Descendant of the Great Witch | C | C | Low damage is not good value for SP cost | |
| Celia | The Curse | C | C | Low damage is not good value for SP cost | |
| Dalvi | Bright Moon | A | A | High magic damage, better than usual base crit damage, with a useful vertical AOE. At +5, Energy Guard can meaningfully improve survival, especially when paired with B.Helena's buff. | |
| Dalvi | Summer Vacation | C | B | Big AOE but high SP cost and poor synergy with Bright Moon. | |
| Diana | Anti-dystopia | A | B | 1 SP cost is cheap, very strong energy guards if her M.ATK is buffed. Range limitations can be overcome with potential. Despite being very strong, she is let down by a lack of follow up options (Adventurer Diana is weak in PVP). | |
| Diana | Adventurer of the Unknown | D | D | Useable only as a follow up to Anti-dystopia Diana for the crit buff, but otherwise not a good option. | |
| Eclipse | Nightmare Bunny | 1 | 1 | High damage, massive range, SP drain, and enough M.RES shred to overcome most units that build for high M.RES. Was once the single most dominant costume in PVP. No longer so dominant, but still one of the best. | |
| Eclipse | Dimension Witch | 1 | A | Very good damage for 2 SP, especially once potential upgrades are unlocked. Can take out Granhildr if buffed with B.Helena and Zenith. | |
| Eclipse | Beach Vacation | A | 1 | Very high damage with a very long cooldown. Great as a second or third costume for Eclipse, but not good as an opening move. | |
| Eleaneer | Magic Bow | 0 | 1 | Only one of two buff removers that cost 2 SP, the other being Pool Party Schera (limited). Her low SP cost buff removal and high damage makes her one of the best Granhildr counters. | |
| Eleaneer | B-Rank Idol | A | A | B-Rank Idol is a high cost silencer with good damage, but usually used as a secondary to Magic Bow Eleaneer. | |
| Elise | Lovely Lady | B | A | Useful plus-shaped AOE with DEF/M.RES shred. Recent balance changes gave her a damage buff, but her base ATK is still on the low side. Decent counter to Lecliss thanks to the elemental advantage. | |
| Elise | Code Name O | A | A | Good damage for cost post balance changes, but base ATK is on the low side. Can be used on Turn 1 attack, but in defense mainly used as a secondary costume to Lovely Lady. | |
| Elpis | Hand of Salvation | C | C | A poor substitute for B.Helena. Decent damage boost for magic teams, but the 2 SP cost is hefty. | |
| Eris | Esteemed Adventurer | A | A | Very high damage and good range. Chain stack limitation is rarely a problem in PVP (as long as Eris attacks first). | |
| Eris | Your Very Own Cat | C | B | High damage on the main target, but too high cost for the impact. Only useable as a followup to EA.Eris. | |
| Glacia | Alice | A | A | One of the best magic tanks, but at 3 SP she's now the most expensive taunting tank after recent balance changes to Lecliss and Seir. Is also weak in the Venaka matchup. | |
| Glacia | Disciplinary Committee | 1 | 1 | With the recent balance changes, she is a very strong attacker with pure damage, for only 2 SP. Easily deals over 10k pure damage unbuffed. | |
| Granhildr | Comeback Idol | C | 0 | The only taunt that can pre-emptively activate at the start of battle. Much of the metagame revolves around her existence. Used mainly in defense teams. | |
| Granhildr | The Void | C | 1 | Powerful if placed correctly, but not always consistent. Unlike Comeback Idol, Void does not protect your team, and requires some luck to get hit by someone who isn't a buff remover. | |
| Gray | B-Rank Manager | 1 | A | Low SP cost and DEF shred makes B-Rank Gray a reliable killer. Wind-element is also a favorable typing in the current meta given that there are water tanks but no fire tanks. | |
| Gray | Pool Party | B | B | Despite the high SP cost, it's decent value for the plus-shaped AOE and high damage. Wind-element is also a favorable typing in the current meta given that there are water tanks but no fire tanks. | |
| Gray | Vanguard | C | B | Really needs potential to be playable in PVP, but even then it's not great. Low damage against physical units, but with his wide AOE, there is a reasonable chance of hitting a magic opponent for bonus burn damage. | |
| Gray | Sharpshooter | B | C | Really needs potential to be playable in PVP, but even then it's not great. Cost is good, damage is reasonable but can be hit and miss. | |
| Helena | B-Rank Idol | 1 | A | Great magic supporter and crit buffer, but needs +5 and SP reduction from potential. Note that crit rate buff doubles from 25% to 50% at +5, allowing for "guaranteed crit" gear builds. | |
| Helena | Top Idol | A | A | Mainly purpose is as a followup to B-Helena. For 1 SP, she improves the survivability of all your units and boosts your SP for the next turn. | |
| Hikage | Kind Ruthlessness | B | B | Damage is good, but a single target attack for 3 SP is not good value in PVP. | |
| Jayden | Beautiful Girl Devotee | D | D | Not good value for cost, and not recommended | |
| Jayden | Manga Research Club | D | D | Not good value for cost, and not recommended | |
| Justia | White Reaper | 1 | 1 | Very high fixed damage, low cost and no elemental weakness. Vertical 2-tile AOE is a useful range in PVP. A good counter to Lecliss, especially when buffed. | |
| Justia | Blood Glutton | 0 | 1 | Blood Glutton's rework makes her a formidable choice in PVP. She deals relatively low fixed damage, but in a wide 3x3 AOE and for only 2 SP. Great for clearing non-tanks, can clear tanks if buffed. | |
| Justia | Kendo Club | 1 | 1 | High fixed damage, good range and low cost, with no elemental weakness. | |
| Justia | Knight of Blood | A | 1 | High fixed damage and good range with potential upgrade. However, the higher 3 SP cost makes it less suitable for Turn 1 play compared to other skills. | |
| Justia | Pool Party | 1 | A | Since the rework, Pool Party Justia has become much more powerful (evasion > energy guard). Turns Justia into a huge threat if she survives the next turn. | |
| Kry | Violent Student | A | B | Violent Student Kry has one of the best knockbacks in the game, and is a very strong opener for only 1 SP. Has good odds of lethal if the knockback connects, and also helps set up the board for vertical AOE attackers. Also has a pretty good followup on Turn 2 with Marauder Kry. Drops off in higher tier PVP due to low stats. | |
| Kry | Liberated Marauder | B | B | Despite being a 4-star unit, Marauder Kry deals fairly good damage, and is reliable thanks to his 50% damage reduction. Kry's main weakness is that, as a 4-star unit, his stats are capped at Lv80. Great as a follow up to Violent Student. | |
| Lathel | Homunculus | 1 | A | Best physical supporter for PVP, only costs 1 SP, so he can be easily slotted into a physical attacking team. | |
| Lathel | Lonely Survivor | A | A | High damage and deep reach for 2 SP (with potential SP reduction). However, a drawback is that you cannot buff him with H.Lathel on the same turn. | |
| Lathel | Promise of Vengeance | B | B | Very high single target damage and low SP cost, but no AOE. Ok to follow Homunculus, but not good as a main costume. | |
| Lathel | Medicinal Herb Tracker | B | B | Damage is not quite as good as POV.Lathel, but there is a small chance of catching something on his diagonal AOE. | |
| Lathel | Pool Party | B | B | Great damage potential if built for full crit damage, but a full crit damage build does not synergize well with other costumes. Cost is on the high side compared to impact. | |
| Lathel | Dark Knight | C | C | Dark Knight gives a massive Energy Guard and can turn around games if timed correctly. However in a fast meta where buff removers are ever popular, he usually is not reliable enough to justify using over one of Lathel's offensive costumes. | |
| Layla | Anvil of Creation | D | D | Not good value for cost, and not recommended | |
| Lecliss | Android Queen | 1 | 1 | One of the best physical tanks when equipped with exclusive gear. The reflect from a high level Android can win games. | |
| Lecliss | Killer Doll | 0 | 0 | Recent balance changes reduce her cost to 1 SP, making her taunt incredibly high value and great for both attack and defense teams. | |
| Levia | Track and Field Captain | C | B+ | Damage and range are very good, but 4 SP cost is high. Levia has no low-cost skills to open with. | |
| Levia | Night of Jealousy | C | B+ | Damage and range are very good, but 4 SP cost is high. Levia has no low-cost skills to open with. | |
| Levia | Overheat | C | C | Damage is not good for PVP and SP cost is high. | |
| Liatris | Maid Name R | C | C | Wide 3x3 AOE is great, but it's difficult to trigger her bonus burn damage. Without bonus damage, it's low impact for cost. | |
| Liatris | Neon Stalker | B | B | Excellent reach, but damage is on the low side. For the same cost, costumes like NB.Eclipse and DJ.Venaka have better damage and range. | |
| Liatris | Rodev's Star | C | B | Good AOE and damage over time, but the high SP cost is not justified by the immediate impact. | |
| Lisianne | Wandering Priest | D | D | Useless | |
| Loen | Last Hope | C | C | 5 SP is far too costly for impact. Loen has no low cost skills. | |
| Loen | Track and Field Team Member | C | C | 4 SP is too costly for impact. Loen has no low cost skills. | |
| Loen | Celebrity Bunny | C | C | 6 SP is far too costly for impact. Loen has no low cost skills. | |
| Lucrezia | Seductive Wings | D | D | Not good value for cost, and not recommended | |
| Luvencia | Deal Snatcher | C | B+ | Although the cost is high, the range is usually very effective and the damage is fairly reliable on the main target. Compared to Empress Rubia though, Luvencia is missing the DEF shred and followup costume options. | |
| Luvencia | Wild Dog | ||||
| Michaela | Beachside Justice | B+ | B+ | Very high damage, but 80% HP self sacrifice hurts a lot in PVP and cost is on the high side. Pair with B.Helena to mitigate HP cost. Mainly played as a secondary costume to QOS. | |
| Michaela | Queen of Signatures | 1 | A | B.Helena + Zenith + QOS Michaela takes out even 90% M.RES Granhildrs. Huge range and 2 SP cost makes her a very viable attack opener. SP drain is a relatively small downside in PVP. | |
| Morphea | Beach Vacation | C | 1 | Unique costume with the ability to pre-emptively summon clones at the start of battle. Positioning is tricky, but she can be very powerful in defense as an alternative to Granhildr. | |
| Morphea | Daydream Bunny | D | D | Too costly and slow for PVP. No reason to play this in PVP when Beach Vacation has no cooldown. | |
| Nartas | Unknown Sage | C | C | High damage against physical types, but high SP cost means an "all or nothing" attack with unpredictable results. | |
| Nebris | Laid-back Lifeguard | B | B | All of Nebris's costumes have acceptable damage and range, but all cost 3 SP, with no special effects that would give her a competitive advantage over other characters | |
| Nebris | Labyrinth Gatekeeper | B | B | All of Nebris's costumes have acceptable damage and range, but all cost 3 SP, with no special effects that would give her a competitive advantage over other characters | |
| Nebris | New Hire | C | C | Skill damage scales with buffs, but buffs are hard to accumulate in PVP | |
| Olstein | Fiend Scholar | B+ | B+ | An effective Turn 1 disabler and tank if positioned correctly. In addition to draining SP, his skill silences units in a 3x3 AOE for 2 of your opponent's turns, which can completely shut down your opponent's strategies. | |
| Olstein | Sage of the Blue Clouds | A | B+ | Recent balance changes now make him hit 7 times instead of 1 (good for removing evasion and amplifying damage). Can be strong when paired with a tank like Lecliss to absorb weakened attacks. Tanky stats. | |
| Rafina | Code Name A | C | B | Rafina has naturally tanky stats due to high base HP. DEF reduction skill and skip AOE is great, but held back by low base ATK stats. | |
| Rafina | Game Club | B | B | Damage amplification and 3x3 AOE for 3 SP is good, but base ATK and damage is on the low side. | |
| Refithea | Pure White Blessing | C | C | Property damage and chain buffs have relatively low impact in PVP. Full team energy guard can help, but the power level is a weak substitute for RH.Rou who costs the same SP. She is also very SP hungry as she needs to re-apply her buffs every turn. | |
| Refithea | The Gluttonous | C | C | Relatively low impact buffs, and she forces your team formation to bunch together due to low range. | |
| Roxy | Respected Master | B | C | Unreasonably high SP cost makes her very difficult to use in PVP on her own, however it's good to have her as a secondary costume to Emerging Desire, and can win games if you can manage to find enough SP to activate it. HP is very low. | |
| Roxy | Emerging Desire | 1 | C | Her cheap silence can effectively disrupt opponent strategies if it connects. Very low damage multiplier makes it difficult for her to deal lethal damage, but can be paired with B.Helena to kill low M.RES units. HP is very low. | |
| Rou | White Cat | 0 | 1 | Evasion based tank. 1 SP cost, high offensive power on knockback, versatile follow up options with multiple other costumes. | |
| Rou | Red Hat | 0 | 1 | Energy guards are big and 50% crit buff allows for reliable crits. Costs only 2 SP with potential upgrades. Can be used either as a follow up to White Cat or as an opener for turtle strategy attack teams. | |
| Rou | Stray Cat | C | C | A weak costume, mainly due to the fact that Rou is very rarely geared for high ATK stats (which would not benefit any of her other costumes). Used only as a filler in the costume cycle. | |
| Rou | Nature's Claw | A | A | High single target damage is very good for breaking tanks. Evasion makes Rou very hard to kill. Use as a followup to Rou's other skills, not good as the opening move. | |
| Rubia | Maid Name C | 1 | A | Evasion for only 2 SP is very powerful. Best used on Turn 1 to improve her survivability. | |
| Rubia | Empress of the Ocean | B+ | 1 | High SP cost, but makes up for it with huge range and 45% DEF reduction for reliable damage. Especially effective in defense. | |
| Rubia | Thorn of the Desert | B | B | Good offensive stats, decent skill damage, average SP cost. | |
| Sacred Justia | Reclaimed Destiny | C | C | Outside of low rank PVP, Sacred Justia is not consistent enough to justify her 5 SP cost. | |
| Samay | Kind Student | A | C | With potential unlocked, she is the only unit to buff for 0 SP. With her base costume (Kind Liberator), Samay is also able to follow up with a decent attack on the second turn, making her a versatile unit. Held back by low stats. | |
| Samay | Kind Liberator | C | C | A decent skill that is held back by Samay's low base M.ATK stat. M.RES shred can be useful in a magic team. Best used as a followup to Kind Student Samay. | |
| Scheherazade | Lapis Witch | 1 | 1 | Schera is hands down the best buff remover, as all her costumes remove buffs and have good AOE and damage. | |
| Scheherazade | Code Name S | 1 | 1 | Schera is hands down the best buff remover, as all her costumes remove buffs and have good AOE and damage. Code Name S also silences, but more often than not her weird AOE is a hinderance rather than a help. | |
| Scheherazade | Pool Party | 0 | 1 | Only one of two buff removers that cost 2 SP, the other being Magic Bow Eleaneer. Her low SP cost buff removal makes her one of the best Granhildr counters. | |
| Scheherazade | Magic Professor | B | B+ | High SP cost, and damage is low compared to other Schera costumes. Viable as an AOE buff cleanser (e.g. against RH Rou), but not a good attack team opener. | |
| Seir | Demon's Daughter | 1 | A | New balance changes reduce her taunt cost to only 1 SP. High HP like Lecliss and Glacia, but ranks below Lecliss and Glacia due to lack of offensive skills and vulnerability to Light (Justia). | |
| Seir | B-Rank Idol | B | B | Cheap skill, but no taunt makes it unreliable. High HP like Lecliss and Glacia, but ranks below Lecliss and Glacia due to lack of offensive skills and vulnerability to Justia. | |
| Seir | New Hire | C | C | Mainly designed to stack buffs in PVE, not well suited for PVP. | |
| Sylvia | Sword Queen | A | B | One of the very few attack costumes that has 1 SP cost. High base crit and very versatile for an attacking team. Pairs well with H.Lathel to get past high DEF opponents. Weak against Lecliss. | |
| Sylvia | Admiral | A | B | Very good damage and AOE on her own, but even better when used after SQ.Sylvia (SQ.Sylvia's ATK buff improves Admiral's damage and energy guard). Energy Guard creates a good set up for Desert Flower Sylvia on the following turn. | |
| Sylvia | Desert Flower | B | B | Sylvia has very low base HP so she is not well suited to play as a tank. Not a good opener, but can be used as finisher, once your opponent's strongest skills have been exhausted. Best played following Admiral Sylvia (who gives an energy guard that improves survivability during the Desert Flower skill period). | |
| Teresse | Medical Club | C | C | Cost is too high for impact, and aura range is difficult to make use of. | |
| Teresse | Angel of Destruction | A | A | Teresse is a decent tank as she has very high base HP (same as Lecliss). Despite her strong defensive stats, she has terrible offensive stats, so the burn damage on her skill is much lower than Rou's. | |
| Teresse | Beachside Angel | B | A | Very big boost to damage, but 2 SP is too expensive to open with on an attack team. | |
| Venaka | DJ | 1 | 0 | Very powerful offensive skill with 50% M.RES shred, and one of the best magic attackers for PVP. Weak against evasion. | |
| Venaka | Wind Dancer | 1 | 1 | Great damage and AOE, but best used as a followup to DJ.Venaka (M.RES shred is usually more effective than wind damage amplification). | |
| Ventana | Comeback Idol | D | C | High SP cost is not justified for her single target damage. | |
| Ventana | Snow White | C | C | High SP cost, mediocre damage (unless opponent has taunt or concentrated fire applied). Although she works with Zenith, the cost is still too high to make it effective. | |
| Yomi | Gentle Destroyer | C | C | Too high SP cost for mediocre impact, not recommended | |
| Yokazura | Fists of Conviction | C | C | High SP cost for mediocre impact, not recommended | |
| Yumi | Dancing Snowflake | B | A | Full column range and 5 hits with burn can be fairly effective on defense. | |
| Yuri | Whitebolt | A | A | A very solid buff removal skill with great damage and reasonable SP cost. Great synergy with Comeback Idol. Although she costs more than PP.Schera and PMB.Eleaneer, the X-shape AOE can be an element of surprise. | |
| Zenith | Robin Hood | 0 | 0 | Don't be fooled by her art, she's built like a tank rather than a damage dealer. Her skill does not do much damage, but it costs 0 SP, has no cooldown, and is very good for setting up followup lethal attacks or for breaking evasion/Gran's reflect. |
