Esper Ranks

Overview

Characters in Neverness to Everness are called Espers, and each one is assigned a rarity rank: S-Class, A-Class, or B-Class. Rank primarily indicates how rare a character is to obtain and loosely correlates with overall power level. S-Class characters are the rarest and generally the most powerful, while A-Class and B-Class characters are more accessible through gacha pulls and in-game progression.

However, rarity is not destiny. NTE's design philosophy places significant value on team synergy and elemental reactions. A well-built team of A-Class characters with strong Esper Cycle synergy can outperform a team of S-Class characters with poor reaction coverage. Rank matters, but it is not the only factor.

S-Class Characters

S-Class Espers are the highest-rarity characters. They have the strongest base stats, access to the most impactful kit abilities, and typically define the top of the meta. The following table lists all confirmed S-Class characters.

A-Class Characters

A-Class Espers are strong, versatile characters that are significantly easier to obtain than S-Class. They fill important roles in team compositions and some are considered among the best options for their specific niche. The following table lists confirmed A-Class characters.

B-Class Characters

B-Class characters are the most common Espers. They are obtained frequently through gacha pulls and serve as early-game roster fillers. While B-Class characters have lower base stats and simpler kits compared to their higher-rarity counterparts, they can still contribute to team compositions, especially for players who are just getting started.

Specific B-Class character details have not been fully revealed as of the latest available information. These characters are expected to cover a range of elements and weapon types to give new players a baseline team for each reaction lane.

How to Obtain Characters

The primary method for obtaining new Espers is through the Scarborough Fair gacha. S-Class characters have an overall consolidated rate of 1.88% (accounting for soft pity), with hard pity guaranteeing one at 90 pulls. A-Class characters are guaranteed every 10 pulls. Because there is no 50/50 system on limited banners, any S-Class pull from a limited banner will always be the featured character.

Some characters are available for free without relying on gacha luck at all:

• Esper Zero (the player character) is obtained at the very start of the game. Both the male and female versions share the same Cosmos element and Sword weapon type.

• Haniel is given to all players as a pre-registration reward. This Psyche-element A-Class character provides an immediate support option.

• Chiz is unlockable by reaching City Tycoon level 18. As an S-Class Cosmos character with a Yokai Hammer, Chiz is a valuable free addition to any roster.

Rank vs. Power

While S-Class characters generally have higher stat ceilings and more complex kits, the relationship between rank and actual combat effectiveness is not as simple as "higher rank equals better."

A strong example is Adler, an A-Class Incantation character. Despite being a lower rarity than many of his S-Class peers, Adler is widely considered one of the most universally useful characters in the game. His Cane Sword and Sunyas weapon provides a flexible kit that fits into many team compositions, and his Esper Cycle Passive offers meaningful off-field utility. In specific team setups, Adler can outperform S-Class options who lack the same synergy.

The takeaway is clear: team synergy and Esper Cycle reactions matter as much as, if not more than, individual character rarity. A team built around a strong reaction lane with well-matched elements will outperform a team of random S-Class characters with no reaction synergy. Check the Team Building Guide for detailed composition recommendations.

Duplicate Characters

Pulling a character you already own converts the duplicate into Warp Pieces. These pieces can be spent in the shop on additional pulls, standard banner characters, or other resources. While duplicates may unlock constellation-style upgrades in the future (based on datamined references), the current confirmed system simply converts them into exchangeable currency.

For a full list of characters with detailed profiles, see the individual character pages linked in the tables above. For information on weapons and their interaction with character builds, see Arcs and Weapons.

S-Class Launch Roster

The launch version of the game ships with eleven confirmed S-Class Espers available on the standard and limited banners. The table below lists each launch S-Class Esper, their Attribute element, and their signature Arc weapon. Roles are based on pre-launch beta testing and player tier list discussion across community resources such as Prydwen, Icy Veins, and Game8, and are subject to change as the live game balances.

Esper Zero ships in both a male and a female variant that share the same kit, attribute, and weapon, so team building treats them as one character. Chiz is the only S-Class Esper confirmed as a free unlock at launch, given out through the City Tycoon progression reward track rather than the gacha pool. All other S-Class Espers must be obtained through Scarborough Fair banners or the standard banner.

A-Class Launch Roster

The launch A-Class roster is smaller than the S-Class pool, but every A-Class Esper fills a distinct combat or utility niche. Adler in particular is widely regarded in pre-launch tier list threads as one of the strongest all-purpose Espers in the launch lineup, and is commonly recommended as a cornerstone pick regardless of which S-Class Esper a player reaches for.

Haniel is guaranteed to every player through the pre-registration milestone reward, which means any new account can build a Psyche-element support slot from day one without touching the gacha. This makes Haniel a reliable baseline for opening week teams alongside the free protagonist pick.

Attributes and Elements

Every Esper is tied to exactly one of six attributes, which the game uses both as a damage element and as the input for Esper Cycle reactions. The six launch attributes are Chaos, Cosmos, Psyche, Anima, Lakshana, and Incantation. Attribute is permanent and cannot be changed after the Esper is obtained.

When building a team, it is generally more productive to pick Espers by attribute coverage than by raw rank. Two A-Class Espers whose attributes trigger a strong reaction can outdamage two S-Class Espers who share the same attribute and fail to trigger anything. The Characters and Espers Guide and the per-attribute roster pages go into more detail on which pairings generate which reactions.

Gacha Pull Rates

The Scarborough Fair banner system separates rates by rank. Rank directly determines how likely a pull is to surface a given Esper, and the rates have been confirmed through multiple community resources reporting from the closed beta periods.

The defining feature of the launch system is that limited banners do not run a 50/50 coin flip. When a player hits their S-Class pull on a featured banner, that pull is always the rate-up Esper. There is no losing a pity to an off-rate character. See the No 50/50 System page for a full explanation of why this is a significant departure from other gacha RPGs in the same genre.

Pity is tracked separately per banner type in the launch build, so spending 80 pulls on a limited banner does not carry progress onto the standard banner or onto a later limited banner of a different type. Plan spend accordingly and keep an eye on the Reroll Guide if starting a new account.

Awakening and Progression

Rank sets the ceiling of an Esper, but the actual in-combat power comes from three parallel upgrade tracks. All three are shared by S-Class and A-Class Espers alike, although the cost curves scale with rank.

Account progression also gates how far an Esper can actually grow. The Hunter Level system caps individual Esper levels behind the player's Bureau rank, so rushing a single character past the soft cap is not possible without first pushing the account forward through story and daily content.

Free and Unlockable Espers

Three Espers are guaranteed to every player at launch without spending a pull. A fresh account can build a functional three-slot team immediately, then supplement it with gacha results as they come in.

A standing S-Rank Selector ticket has also been confirmed as a post-launch milestone reward in pre-release marketing, letting players choose one additional S-Class from a fixed pool once the relevant account condition is met. Combined with the free characters above, most accounts should be able to assemble a complete four-Esper rotation without relying on luck. See the Free Characters Guide for the full claim checklist.

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