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Tier List
April 24, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Refreshed Overview and disclaimer for the April 23 China open beta and added post-CN-launch meta notes covering standard-banner selector priority, free-character placement, and Aurelia's confirmed A-Class Psyche kit
This tier list ranks all confirmed launch-roster characters in Neverness to Everness by their overall effectiveness in combat, team utility, and Esper Cycle Passive value. Rankings reflect beta-test impressions from the Containment Test and Co-Ex Test, refined against community consensus and early post-launch play from the Mainland China open beta that went live on April 23, 2026.
Important: the global release is April 29, 2026. The Mainland China version launched six days earlier on April 23, 2026, and CN-side tier placements inform the post-launch meta notes at the bottom of this page. Rankings above were fixed before the global launch and will be revised again once the English-side meta has had its own bedding-in period. Expect balance patches, new characters, and new content to shift placements through the first few months of live service.
Tier | Description |
|---|---|
S Tier | Top-performing characters with exceptional kits, strong Esper Cycle Passives, and high value in multiple team compositions |
A Tier | Strong characters that perform well in their intended role and offer meaningful team contributions |
B Tier | Solid characters that fulfill their role competently but may lack the standout qualities of higher tiers |
Tier | Character | Element | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
S | Best main DPS in the game. Follow-up attacks trigger automatically when teammates hit enemies, giving her exceptional sustained output. Anchors Charge teams as the primary carry with high critical damage scaling. | ||
S | Highest boss DPS potential in the roster through his Power Words mechanic and Execution finisher. However, his kit demands careful HP management and precise combo timing, making him one of the hardest characters to play well. | ||
A | Can rival S-rank DPS characters when fully set up. His Sunya summon applies Incantation DoT while his shield keeps the team safe, letting him function as both a damage dealer and support simultaneously. | ||
A | DPS and healing hybrid who attacks from range while restoring party HP. The dual-role compression frees a team slot that would otherwise go to a dedicated healer. | ||
A | Hyper-mobile DPS with Blade Wings. Stacks Express Delivery Power for enhanced damage and benefits enormously from Stain's 50% Lakshana vulnerability. Also serves as the roster's primary energy battery. | ||
A | Off-field sustained DPS through Chaos constructs. Irreplaceable in Discord teams due to her stacking Break capacity reduction passive. | ||
A | Fast dual-blade melee DPS with wind manipulation for multi-target damage. Despite being A-Class, her Esper Cycle Passive that doubles Blossom projectiles makes her arguably the best support unit for Charge teams. | ||
A | Shadow manipulation provides persistent off-field Lakshana damage. Reduces enemy Lakshana resistance, synergizing with Stain. Core member of the ETD-4 team. |
Tier | Character | Element | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
S | The only full healer in the game. Her damage redirection mechanic creates a unique offense-through-defense loop. Essential for all hard content including Discord and Stain teams as the primary Psyche option. Increases team max HP by 10%. | ||
S | Premier support character using time manipulation. Provides healing through Non-Closed Timepiece (3% of Hotori's Max HP per tick) and replays teammate attacks for additional damage. The go-to support for Charge teams. | ||
S | Strongest team-wide ATK buffer (15% of her base ATK for 20 seconds). Her Esper Cycle Passive applies random debuffs on Scorch triggers, adding crowd control and utility to any Scorch-focused team. Fights alongside companion Kiroumaru. | ||
A | Budget Psyche support and alternative to Fadia. Provides team buffs and Psyche element coverage for Nova and Stain reactions. Available for free through pre-registration. | ||
A | Secondary healer who provides area healing zones. Requires teammates to stay within range, making him stronger in stationary fights. Budget Cosmos support option. | ||
A | Provides teamwide shields through Evil's Bane and 20% DEF increase. His Temperance Esper Cycle Passive transfers Scorch between enemies, making him universally useful in Scorch compositions. |
Several characters provide specialized utility that does not fit neatly into DPS or support categories. Their value depends heavily on the content and team composition.
Character | Utility Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Energy Battery | Generates energy for the team, accelerating skill and ultimate rotations. Pairs with Main DPS characters to ensure their ultimates cycle as often as possible. | |
Time Freeze CC | Time manipulation provides crowd control through attack replays and team healing. Locks down groups of enemies while supporting teammates. | |
Dodge DPS / Break | Specializes in breaking boss stagger bars and provides Chaos element application for Scorch and Discord teams. Valuable for boss-focused content where breaking the stagger gauge is the primary strategy. | |
Flexible Starter | Free protagonist with reliable Cosmos application. Can trigger instant Esper Cycle meter charges. Competent but outperformed by specialized characters. |
Tier | Characters |
|---|---|
S | |
A | |
B |
Aurelia's placement is provisional. Her element and kit have not been fully revealed, so she is ranked B Tier pending her first content update. Chiz and Esper Zero are functional but outperformed by specialized alternatives in their roles.
For players starting fresh and looking to reroll for the strongest possible start, the following characters offer the most value across multiple team compositions:
Character | Recommendation |
|---|---|
The strongest confirmed melee DPS with high sustained output and critical damage scaling. She anchors Charge teams as the primary carry. | |
Provides the strongest team-wide ATK buff (15% of her base ATK) and versatile Scorch synergies. She fits in any Incantation team and enables Discord compositions. | |
Irreplaceable in Discord teams due to her stacking Break cap reduction passive. If you plan to focus on boss content, Lacrimosa is essential. | |
The best healer and support who provides essential Cosmos element coverage. She slots into Charge teams naturally. | |
Highest damage ceiling but hardest to play. Recommended only for experienced players comfortable with HP management mechanics. |
Element | S-Class | A-Class | Primary Reactions |
|---|---|---|---|
Blossom, Remora, Charge | |||
Blossom, Hexed, Charge | |||
Hexed, Scorch, Discord | |||
None confirmed | Scorch, Nova, Discord | ||
Nova, Stain, Discord | |||
Stain, Remora, Charge |
The pre-launch meta centers on two main strategies: Charge teams (Cosmos + Anima + Lakshana) for sustained fights with high ultimate uptime, and Discord teams (Incantation + Chaos + Psyche) for boss encounters where break meter depletion is critical. Stain teams offer a simpler but effective burst-damage alternative.
As new characters are released after launch, the meta will evolve. Elements with fewer options (Chaos currently has no A-Class characters, Psyche has only one S-Class) may see significant tier shifts as new additions fill those gaps. This tier list will be updated regularly as the game's meta develops post-launch.
Aurelia is an A-Class character and the first post-launch addition to the roster. She was previously known as Mitsuki during beta testing. As an ex-band member, she brings a unique creative background to the team. Her element and full kit details are pending the first content update, but she has been confirmed as an A-Class unit available shortly after launch.
The Mainland China open beta for NTE went live on April 23, 2026, six days ahead of the global April 29, 2026 launch. The notes below consolidate early post-launch observations from the 1.0 content patch that the global rollout also ships with. They update, but do not replace, the higher sections of this page. Positions marked as changed here should be treated as the current read; positions not listed below are unchanged from the pre-launch ranking above.
Nanally holds her S-tier DPS placement and is widely treated as the strongest main-damage unit through the first banner rotation. Her automatic follow-up attack, multi-hit normal combo, lightning-chain strikes, and the Underboss ultimate all perform as described in her character page, and the aerial pull on her ultimate clears ordinary mob groups without requiring her team to build around break. Players who rolled her on her launch banner should expect to keep her as their anchor DPS through the 1.0 version window.
The Free S-Rank Selector that unlocks after 50 standard-banner rolls without an S-Class drop lets the player pick from the six permanent S-Class starters on the standard board: Jiuyuan (Anima), Baicang (Incantation), Sakiri (Incantation), Daffodil (Chaos), Fadia (Psyche), and Hathor (Lakshana). The ranking below reflects early post-launch play and is intended for new accounts with no other S-Class character pulled yet:
Priority | Character | Role Filled | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ranged DPS and self-heal | Role-compressed damage and sustain in a single slot. Her DoT application followed by a detonation window covers both boss-window damage and mob-clearing pulls, and her self-healing removes the need for a dedicated healer in early-game teams. The single most universally useful permanent-pool pick for an F2P roster. | |
2 | Team ATK amplifier | Provides the strongest team-wide ATK buff in the launch roster (15 percent of her base ATK for 20 seconds) and her Esper Cycle Passive applies random debuffs on Scorch triggers. An excellent second pick if the player plans to pull any Incantation main-DPS (launch Nanally excepted) or if they want a universally useful support option. | |
3 | Boss-window single-target DPS | Pure single-target damage ceiling. Best used on extended boss encounters where his HP-management mechanic has time to compound. The skill floor is high enough that newer players are usually better served taking Jiuyuan or Sakiri first and revisiting Baicang in a later selector cycle once the Power Word combo rhythm is comfortable. | |
Situational | Daffodil, Fadia, Hathor | Role-specific | All three are strong picks when they fill a missing role in the roster. Daffodil is the go-to for Chaos break coverage on boss stagger bars, Fadia is the single S-Class full healer and essential for hard Discord and Stain content, and Hathor serves as the roster's primary energy battery for teams that need faster ultimate rotations. They rank lower only because the three picks above fill immediate universal needs regardless of team composition. |
Chiz should be treated as a functional main DPS rather than a filler unit. The post-launch view of the City Tycoon Level 18 unlock track is that the full Awakening pipeline is reachable in-game without ever pulling on her, which effectively places a maxed-out S-Class DPS on every F2P roster. Her B-tier placement in the pre-launch ranking above reflects uncertainty about her scaling, not a ceiling on her output. Players willing to invest in the City Tycoon track can expect her to carry early-game content at the same practical level as the paid S-Class DPS options.
Aurelia is confirmed as an A-Class Psyche character and is distributed free through the launch check-in login event, with 12 Solid Dice and a Stellar Veil Arc bundled into the same campaign. Her provisional B-tier placement higher on this page predates the on-stream reveal of her kit and should be read as outdated pending a post-launch pass through her full ranking. She is not expected to displace the S-tier Psyche option at full kit, but she is a serviceable pick for players who have not yet rolled a Psyche character at launch.
