Table of Contents
Welcome to our weekly edition of The Bazaar State of the Meta series! This is an attempt at giving a global picture of the current state of The Bazaar metagame.
Patch 2.5.0 on May 21, 2025
Quickly after I wrote this piece, Tempo announced patch 2.5.0. Naturally, it will take me a bit of time to write another piece, so we'll cover this new metagame next week. Until then, here are some takes I had reading the patch notes, and how I feel it will impact the current metagame:
- All heroes getting an extra 50 health will make Ammo builds weaker early on, and Regen, Poison ones slightly better as they get extra time to build a larger stack. This should play to Mak and Pygmalien's strenghts, while Vanessa's Aquatic build should also benefit from this.
- Our ability to rush to level 10 is now decreased, with less of Mountain Pass, no more XP on Tiny Furry Monster and Elite Monsters granting a lot less experience as well. Now, the global emphasis probably should be on Gold to keep progressing our build and aiming to loot items or skills from Monsters rather than picking Elites for the experience gain.
Overall, this should be the most impactful change in this patch, as it should impact our entire way to progress during a run.
- Peacewrought is a second slower, and we don't get the Chunk of Lead anymore, which helped with finding a target to destroy. Now, we will likely need to build a strong economy in order to scale our Peacewrought, but once upgraded, the gold we receive should help mitigate the investment required to scale it.
Combined with the experience change, Mak feels like it should focus on Gold much more than it did in past.
- Most builds for Mak will get slightly worse with increased cooldown to Shard of Obsidian or Barbed Claws or the big change to Staff of the Moose. However, the buffs to Test Subject Alpha, Recycling Bin and Vial Launcher should open new avenues to explore.
- Vanessa got buffed with this patch. Nothing crazy but Mr. Richadson gaining the Aquatic type makes it much more viable in a lot of builds, while Waterwheel looks strong once again.
- Pygmalien got most of its core items nerfed in this patch, with Jabalian Drum and Giant Ice Club impacted on top of Haladie or Ring King Gauntlets. Yet, the hero gained an intriguing Atlast Stone we could find early on and scale, while Snowmobile should be incredibly much faster now that it charges whenever we Haste rather than when it was the target.
- Dooley looks slightly improved with this patch, Plasma Rifle in particular. The buffs to three Cores and Kinetic Cannon could also open some interesting loops in the late game.
Last, the multiple buffs to shield items are nice, but I'm afraid there will still be too much poison around for them to thrive.
Season 2 Metagame Overview & Hero Rankings
Entering this second season, Tempo gave a big boost to the Regen mechanic, which pushed Mak and Pygmalien in particular. After a few hot fixes to smooth the rough edges, Pygmalien had lost most of its ability to build an insane amount of Regen, leaving Mak to be the most improved character.
On the back of an extra 50 health to start a run, a few new skills to collect, and a nicely designed expansion I must say, the alchemist feels like a very well-rounded character at the moment. The other three aren't that far behind, but Mak is the only one which feels solid over the course of an entire run.
On the other side of the spectrum, Dooley has to be regarded as the most limited character at the moment. The robot still feels like a great pick to farm silver victories, but the nerf to Power Drill has greatly impacted its ability to close the deal once in the last few days.
Peacewrought has emerged as a fantastic item for Mak, able to represent a worthy direction almost on its own. If you have the economy to sacrifice items routinely, and pick up a strong enchantment once at level 10, you have a good build already. This addition has come on top of already solid strategies for the alchemist, making the hero quite flexible when it comes to available builds.
Overall, Mak has a lot of items worthy to build around once you unlock its expansion, meaning one can end up creating weird mixes that don't work so well in the end. Yet, if you are able to push a specific synergy to its limit, be it poison, slow or regen, Mak then feels like the best hero in The Bazaar currently.
While the hot fixes basically returned Pygmalien to where he was before Season 2, the ranking change feels most impactful with this particular hero. Indeed, Pygmalien shines in the late game, once it managed to assemble a cohesive build around Jabalian Drum or surround Cold Room, sometimes just scale its health or a specific item.
Without that punishment of losing ranks when you force a build and miss, Pygmalien can now be played with a risky mindset, and shoot for 10 wins without that sword of Damocles above its head.
As more people unlocked her second expansion through the course of last season, Vanessa began picking up momentum. Unfortunately, with its new Tortuga quickly nerfed in Season 2, the ball has stopped rolling.
I don't think Vanessa is particularly bad at any point in a run, but she isn't the best at anything either. Dooley feels superior early on once it picked up its core, Mak has a better scaling ability, and Pygmalien is stronger in the late portion of a run.
Then, Vanessa feels like that balance character at the moment, in a game rewarding us for doing unbalanced things in order to go all the way.
Depending on your approach to The Bazaar, you could rank Dooley from second to fourth. Indeed, I believe the robot is the best character to reliably achieve 7 wins with if you simply focus on supporting your Core as much as possible. However, once we get past that point, Dooley starts to lose momentum quickly, and feels unable to rival Mak or Pygmalien.
For anyone looking to grind the ranks quickly, Dooley could be a fine pick. Just turbo your way to seven wins, and then retire your run.
Best Starting Kit
I still have not seen many people pick or recommend picking the economy starting kit, and I wouldn't choose it myself. Indeed, being able to beat Elite monsters is the best way to build up economy, something a strong skill or enchanted item will help you achieve. Then, it still feels like there are only two choices to start a run in Season 2, although the pick is much more debatable now.
As far as I'm concerned, I like to pick the Gold Skill with Vanessa, as any damage boost is great to carry us through the early days. The other way around, I keep picking the enchanted item with Dooley due to plenty of picks feeling like solid contributions to speed run to seven wins.
Mak and Pygmalien aren't that obvious in my opinion. I tend to favor the Skill for Mak due to the new Regen ones feeling pretty strong early on, but an enchanted Incense, Philosopher's Stone or Barbed Claws can give a clear direction to follow.
The same logic could apply to Pygmalien, although I feel this character really wants us to be greedy with the rank change, pushing me towards picking the skill for that long run vision.
Mak Builds
| Build | Early | Late | Projected Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peacewrought | Average | Great | 7-10 | A+ |
| Self Poison | Below Average | Great | 7-10 | A |
| Magic Carpet | Average | Above Average | 4-7 | B |
While it isn't a play style I particularly enjoy, Mak shine through its versatility in terms of items you can build around. Peacewrought has emerged as the new Fixer Upper this season, giving Mak a clear direction for an entire run. Looking at many 10 wins builds, it seems Library is a great support piece, naturally driving that build away from weapons.
Apart from that new build, Mak has plenty of ways to build around other items. Magnus' Femur still is pretty good, Magic Carpet plus Runic Great Axe as well, while Poppy Field gained Barbed Claws. On top of those, the self poison build also looks like a strong build, meaning Mak has plenty of directions to explore.
Example Best Builds
Incense is more of a placeholder, indicating you want something that will help you slow things down and build your Regen in piece more than anything.
Staff of the Moose is another way to build around Peacewrought.
Pygmalien Builds
| Build | Early | Late | Projected Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jabalian Drum | Below Average | Great | 7-10 | A+ |
| Freeze | Poor | Great | 4-10 | A |
| Fit Pyg | Below Average | Good | 4-10 | B |
Pygmalien really feels like it has two great builds at the moment, as I consider 28 Hour Fitness as another Jabalian Drum to be fair. Yet, now that Pygmalien's unfortunate losing streaks don't cost us anything but tickets, forcing a build doesn't feel as punishing in Season 2. However, the winning streaks make you feel like a pro player.
It isn't my prefered way to play The Bazaar, but for those who enjoy specializing in certain builds, this is likely the hero to do so.
Example Best Builds
Fort could be Igloo or other freeze related items. Also, Globe should be in between Cold Room and Fort, obviously.
If most of your items would be over 10 gold value already, feel free to remove PenFT.
Vanessa Builds
| Build | Early | Late | Projected Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saloon Friends | Average | Great | 4-10 | B+ |
| Tortuga | Average | Good | 4-7+ | B+ |
| Mono-Weapon | Average | Good | 4-7 | B |
In this patch, Vanessa feels a bit like a school program. We all start pretty much the same way, and then pick our preferred field once in the later stages of our education. In the Bazaar, Vanessa almost always wants us to start with damage first and foremost, as a way to dominate the early days. Except when we decide to heavily invest in weapons, that start will be a mix of Friends, Aquatic and Weapon items, with several having all three traits. From there, we can build around multiple great items, be it Tortuga, Seadog's Saloon or Darkwater Anglerfish depending what we can get our hands on.
There are a few exceptions to this, like for every rule, such as the Mono-Weapon build. Yet, the way to play Vanessa looks to emphasize on flexibility at the moment, keeping our options open until an item tells us to go for a specific build.
Example Best Builds
This one isn't so simple to assemble, as Zoarcid really only clicks if we can enchant something with burn or find a skill helping us in that department. Plus, if you can't get your hands on Tortuga, Pufferfish is definately not enough with Mak and Pygmalien healing themselves for a ton.
Custom Scope is missing at the left of Submersible while the last spot is quite flexible for this build.
Dooley Builds
| Build | Early | Late | Projected Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friends | Great | Average | 7+ | B+ |
| Weaponized Core | Great | Above Average | 7+ | B |
| Ignition Core | Good | Below Average | 7- | B- |
To be fair, Dooley feels very reliant on the enchantments we get on the way in order to go all the way. Without help in the damage department, Dooley struggles to beat Mak's Regen or the other two in a race. Then, most builds will feel quite similar in their essence, aimed at charging one or multiple items. As a run progresses, you will have to incorporate disruption in order to support your regular damage, or find a way to land a big shot to counter Mak's regen.
The reason I still have Friends as the best one is the various ways we have to build that big shot, using either Bill Dozer, Bellelista or Clawrence. Plus, you can also do this build with DJ Rob0t if you picked a core that wouldn't fit this strategy.
The other upside are the new merchants introduced in season 2, offering bonuses for certain types of items (Poison, Burn…). With the friends build, we have all those items, so if one of these merchants pops up, we should have some gold ready to send their way.
For the record, I believe the weaponized core has a better shot at 10 wins, but is trickier to achieve due to having less options to work with when it comes to the weapon we buff. Plus, until we find said weapon, we don't synergize with our friends at all, meaning we embrace a greater risk of not reaching 7 wins.
Example Best Builds
Closing Words
Mak and Vanessa have more than three builds available at the moment, and feel like the most flexible heros currently. If you are free to play, and haven't unlocked Mak's expansion yet, I feel like the hero reaches a new gear with those added items, and I probably wouldn't rank it first otherwise.
As for Dooley and Pygmalien, they are quite opposite heros at the moment. Dooley aims to quickly secure 7 wins and typically will run out of gas soon after, while Pygmalien will struggle in the early days but stomp the competition if it manages to assemble the right build.
Overall, Season 2 is a lot of fun, as every character feels quite different from the other. I expect Mak to be nerfed eventually, but we can still build around landing huge blows until that happens.
If you have any questions or would be looking for coaching, feel free to reach out on Discord @den_ccg.
Good Game Everyone.
