Brown Dust 2 Mirror Wars (PvP) Tier List

Meta Report – December 2024: The Great Rebalancing

After years of battling in the arena and countless hours spent analyzing the tactics of my foes, I must say that this collection of costumes is as diverse as the people who wear them. From the gentle Yumi dancing her snowflakes to the fierce Zenith pulling off Robin Hood escapades, each costume tells a story of its own.

Merry Christmas all!

Following the recent announcement of the rebalancing update, it’s now appropriate to revise the PVP Ranking List. The changes in this update primarily target some frequently used costumes in Player vs Player (PVP), however, the influence on the overall game dynamics, or meta, is expected to be substantial.

As a devoted admirer, I’m thrilled to share that the ultimate champions in our game right now are Killer Doll Lecliss and Demon’s Daughter Seir. Both these characters have been reimagined as formidable tank classes. The recent update has significantly lowered their SP costs to an astonishingly low 1 SP following any potential upgrades, making them even more powerful and accessible for players like us!

In a simplified sense, Lecliss and Seir can be likened to “Granhildr for offensive squads”. For just 1 SP, an attacking team essentially gains a pre-emptive taunter with colossal HP and an 85% damage reduction. What’s striking is that the taunt persists for four turns (two defense team turns). This further tilts the balance in favor of attacking teams: if the defensive team lacks a countermeasure against Lecliss, or if they are incapacitated during the first turn, it essentially spells defeat for the defending team.

Due to their effectiveness, buffer removers such as Schera are becoming more commonly used in PVP defense teams. Similarly, Beach Angel Teresse is being utilized more frequently in defense teams because of her resilient attributes that allow her to withstand opponents like Lecliss and Seir. Additionally, she can boost the attacking power of her allies, making them capable of overcoming these formidable foes.

Indeed, both Lecliss and Seir are proving useful as budget-friendly taunters within defensive lineups, yet their impact on the overall meta isn’t significant due to the fact that buff removers are already common components in offensive teams.

Instead of being solely a winner or loser, Glacia experiences both advantages and disadvantages following the rebalancing update. On the positive side, Disciplinary Committee Glacia has seen significant improvement with increased damage output and the removal of cooldown. When partnered with B.Helena, she consistently deals over 25k fixed damage per turn, making her formidable.

Among the lesser champions, Elise has undergone notable enhancements to her costumes’ resilience, while Sage Olstein now possesses the ability to strip evasion through multiple strikes, as well as weakening their Attack and Magic Attack stats. It is likely that they will see increased usage compared to their previous appearances.

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 stands out as a distinctive game due to its characters sporting numerous outfits, which become strategic assets in Player versus Player (PVP) battles. Interestingly, certain outfits may not shine on their own, but they can complement each other exceptionally well when worn by the same character. Moreover, the potency of each outfit undergoes substantial alterations with duplicates, reaching up to a +5 costume level enhancement. Consequently, it’s crucial to keep certain factors in mind while referring to 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.

Keep in mind that many costumes’ Special Point (SP) costs decrease as they level up or receive upgrades, significantly impacting their performance in Player vs Player (PVP). If you haven’t obtained the lowest SP version of the costume, it won’t function at its specified 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. 3×3 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 3×3 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 3×3 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 3×3 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 3×3 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.

2024-12-24 14:08

Brown Dust 2 Mirror Wars (PvP) Tier List – Dec 2024