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

Meta Report – September 2024: The Awakening

Well now, let me tell you about my take on these fine Ninja heroes! I’ve seen ’em all in action, from the heat of battle to the cold light of strategy sessions.

The PVP Tier List is back!

Over the past few months, we haven’t seen any updates to the rankings, as there have been minimal shifts in the gameplay dynamics during this timeframe. Generally speaking, the competitive scene has remained quite stable due to a small group of characters and costumes consistently holding the top spots.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed some exciting shifts in our PVP strategy. Initially, Granhildr was our go-to choice for pre-emptive defense, but that’s changed now with the emergence of Morphea as a solid alternative. In high-ranking PVP battles, Morphea has demonstrated the ability to match or even surpass Granhildr’s win rates. The key advantage Morphea offers is her consistency in late-game scenarios compared to Granhildr. While Granhildr can be formidable if she survives turn 1, her Void + Comeback Idol combo isn’t common. In contrast, Morphea’s downside lies in the suboptimal formations she forces your team into, which could potentially expose you to more Area of Effect (AOE) damage due to a crowded front row.

In addition, the recently launched engraving/awakening system offers additional stat upgrades for characters at level 100. As veteran players already have an advantage in acquiring engraving and awakening materials from Devil Coins and daily Last Night rewards, this further exacerbates the power disparity between lower and higher tiers in PVP. Furthermore, while the offensive boosts from engraving/awakening roughly offset the defensive ones, it seems that tanks have become more difficult to breach due to the increased ease of reaching 90 DEF / 90 M.RES thresholds compared to before.

Upcoming collaboration characters are nearly here, making us curious about what fresh elements might disrupt the PVP scene!

How to use this tier list

Brown Dust 2 stands out due to its distinctive feature where characters possess numerous outfits, and these ensembles can be strategically combined during Player vs. Player battles. Some outfits might not shine individually, but their true potential is unlocked when paired with other outfits on the same character. Moreover, the strength of each outfit undergoes a substantial transformation with duplicates, up to level +5. As a result, it’s crucial to consider certain points while utilizing this tier list.

+5 costumes and full potential are assumed

In simpler terms, when comparing ratings, they are based on the power level at the +5 version of the character’s outfit, which is its maximum potential (if applicable). It’s important to note that a +5 costume in your collection might perform better in Player vs Player battles compared to a +0 costume from a higher tier on the rankings. Upgrades to reach full potential are roughly equivalent to 2-3 levels up of a costume.

Keep in mind that many costumes see their SP cost decreasing at level +3 and/or through possible enhancements, which significantly impacts PvP performance. If you haven’t obtained the fully-reduced SP variant of the costume, its performance may not meet the 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 – June 2024

Character	Costume	Attack tier	Defense Tier	Comments
Alec	Destruction	B	B	Alec has very high pure damage which ignores all DEF, M.RES and damage reduction skills, but low HP stats. Takes out almost anything that’s not energy guard buffed (e.g. Granhildr) and not a water-type tank.
Alec	Sword Breaker	A	B	Alec has very high pure damage which ignores all DEF, M.RES and damage reduction skills, but low HP stats. Takes out almost anything that’s not energy guard buffed (e.g. Granhildr) and not a water-type tank.
Anastasia	Fire Graffiti	A	A	High damage and deep reach once her potential upgrade is unlocked. Requires buffs or late-game gearing to perform well, as she needs to crit reliably to access her crit damage bonus.
Anastasia	Gentle Maid	B	B	High damage and good AOE. Requires buffs or late-game gearing to perform well, as she needs to crit reliably to access her crit damage bonus.
Andrew	Specialist	B	B	Quite tanky with his evasion skill and is able to taunt. Useful in lower rank attack teams (turtle strategy) and defense teams, but drops off in higher ranks in favor of 5-star tanks.
Andrew	Loyal Butler	D	D	Low damage, SP drain is nice but not good value.
Angelica	The Fallen	A	B	High damage but heavily reliant on crits and crit damage. Reasonably tanky stats.
Angelica	Pool Party	B	B	High damage but heavily reliant on crits and crit damage. Reasonably tanky stats. High cost makes her difficult to play on Turn 1.
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.
Arines	Priest of Vitality	B	C	The only 3-star to be rated in this tier list. +70%/+80% ATK and +30% crit rate is pretty strong for lower rank PVP, and almost makes up for her very low stats. For high rank PVP though, H.Lathel is better for his lower cost and higher stats, and there are higher value plays for 2 SP.
Bernie	Righteous Raider Girl	D	D	Not good value for cost, and not recommended
Celia	Masquerade Bunny	B	B	Masquerade Bunny now provides Celia with access to reasonable AOE damage for a reasonable cost of 3 SP. Damage is on the low side, but it is a cheap 3×3 AOE attack.
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 and skip targeting. At +5, Energy Guard can meaningfully improve survival, especially when paired with B.Helena’s buff.
Dalvi	Summer Vacation	B	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 as a follow up to Anti-dystopia Diana, but not good on her own.
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, is no longer so dominant but still one of the best.
Eclipse	Dimension Witch	1	A	Solid damage, especially once potential upgrades are unlocked. Best paired with Nightmare Bunny.
Eclipse	Beach Vacation	A	1	Very high damage with a very long cooldown. Great as a second or third costume for Eclipse, though not as good for opening as the other two costumes.
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	A	A	Useful plus-shaped AOE with skip targeting. Low base attack stats, but she makes up for it with DEF and M.RES shred.
Elise	Code Name O	B	C	Base damage is on the low side (even with potential upgrades), but skip targeting can be disruptive and SP charge is welcome.
Eris	Esteemed Adventurer	A	A	Very high damage and good range. Chain stack limitation is rarely a problem in PVP.
Eris	Your Very Own Cat	C	B	High single target damage, but too high cost for the impact.
Glacia	Alice	1	1	Best magic tank when equipped with exclusive gear. Now has access to great follow up attack with Disciplinary Committee Glacia.
Glacia	Disciplinary Committee	A	A	Damage is on the low side due to Glacia’s low offensive stats, but it’s still a very good fixed damage attack for a low cost, esp when paired with B Helena
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	A	A	Low SP cost and DEF shred makes B-Rank Gray a reliable killer, and ideal for sniping backrow targets with his skip targeting. 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	C	Really needs potential to be playable in PVP. Low damage against physical units, but with his wide AOE, in the current NB.Eclipse dominant meta there is some chance of hitting a magic opponent for high burn damage.
Gray	Sharpshooter	B	B	Really needs potential to be playable in PVP. Low initial damage with conditional bonus. Unreliable in PVP unless you can accurately predict your opponent’s formation.
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	Top Idol Helena is a viable turtle opener or followup to B-Helena. For 1 SP, she improves the survivability of all your units and boosts your SP for the next turn.
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	White Reaper has very high pure damage which ignores all DEF, M.RES and damage reduction skills. Vertical 2-tile AOE is a useful range in PVP.
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 and good range, SP cost reduced to 2 with potential upgrades.
Justia	Knight of Blood	A	A	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). A strong opener for turtle formations.
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 in favor of White Cat Rou.
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	B	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	Very high damage and deep reach for 2 SP (with potential SP reduction). Versatile follow up options with other Lathel costumes. 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. Although he can be used on Turn 1 as a tank breaker, in most cases the better use is as a finisher following H.Lathel.
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 strong offensive costumes.
Layla	Anvil of Creation	D	D	Not good value for cost, and not recommended
Lecliss	Android Queen	A	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	A	1	Now that she only costs 3 SP with potential, she’s an excellent physical defender on par with Alice Glacia
Levia	Track and Field Captain	C	B	Levia currently has 2 costumes with a 5 turn cooldown and 4 SP cost. Her skill costs are too high to be recommended for PVP.
Levia	Night of Jealousy	C	B	Levia currently has 2 costumes with a 5 turn cooldown and 4 SP cost. Her skill costs are too high to be recommended for PVP.
Liatris	Maid Name R	B	B	Wide 3×3 AOE is great, but damage is on the low side and it’s difficult to trigger her bonus burn damage.
Liatris	Neon Stalker	B	B	Excellent reach, but damage is on the low side. Struggles against tanks. The advantages of her reach are also overshadowed by NB.Eclipse who has far better range and also comes with SP drain.
Liatris	Rodev’s Star	C	B	Huge AOE, but very high SP cost at 5 SP (4 with potential).
Lisianne	Wandering Priest	D	D	Useless
Loen	Last Hope	C	C	5 SP is far too costly for impact
Loen	Track and Field Team Member	C	B	4 SP is too costly for impact, and her other costume Last Hope is not well suited to PVP
Lucrezia	Seductive Wings	D	D	Not good value for cost, and not recommended
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.
Morphea	Beach Vacation	B	0	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.
Nartas	Unknown Sage	C	B	High damage against physical types, but high SP cost means an “all or nothing” attack with unpredictable results.
Nebris	Laid-back Lifeguard	B	B	Good damage and good range, but no secondary costume.
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	C	C	70% damage reduction for 1 SP is nice, but there’s no guarantee you’ll hit your opponent’s strong damage dealers. Not reliable.
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 is great, but base ATK is on the low side.
Rafina	Steel Engine	C	C	Good damage multiplier and AOE, but barrier removal effect activates after damage is dealt, which is disappointing and makes the effect mostly useless. Base attack is also very low.
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, and she forces your team formation to bunch together.
Refithea	The Gluttonous	C	C	Relatively low impact buffs, and she forces your team formation to bunch together.
Roxy	Respected Master	C	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. HP is very low.
Roxy	Emerging Desire	1	B	Her cheap silence can effectively disrupt opponent strategies if it connects. Very low damage multiplier makes her difficult to deal meaningful damage, but can be paired with B.Helena to kill low M.RES units. HP is very low.
Rou	White Cat	0	0	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	B	High damage, but not a good opener due to high SP cost. Best used as a finisher to follow other Rou costumes.
Rou	Nature’s Claw	B	B	High single target damage is very good for breaking tanks. Evasion makes Rou very hard to kill.
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	A	High SP cost, but makes up for it with huge range and DEF reduction for reliable damage. Rubia has great offensive stats.
Rubia	Thorn of the Desert	B	B	Good offensive stats, decent skill damage, average SP cost.
Sacred Justia	Reclaimed Destiny	C	C	In lower rank PVP, Sacred Justia may team wipe against unsuspecting formations if paired with Zenith and Samay (0 SP). In higher rank PVP, Sacred Justia is unlikely to be as effective, and therefore cannot justify her 5 SP cost.
Samay	Kind Student	A	B	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.
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	C	C	High SP cost, but damage is too low to justify the cost.
Seir	Demon’s Daughter	A	A	Very cheap taunt with potential unlocked. 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.
Sylvia	Sword Queen	1	A	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	A	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	B	Teresse is a decent tank as she has very high base HP, tying with Lecliss for highest in the game. 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	B	2 SP is too expensive to open with, however it can be used on your second turn to greatly improve your team’s damage.
Venaka	DJ	1	1	Very powerful offensive skill with 50% M.RES shred, and one of the best magic attackers for PVP. Held back mainly by the lack of a secondary costume.
Ventana	Comeback Idol	D	C	Super 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, cost is still too high to make it effective.
Yuri	Comeback Idol	A	A	Huge physical damage (one of the highest raw numbers in the game) with reliable full row reach. Great synergy with Whitebolt. “Stealth” skill improves survivability if placed properly.
Yuri	Whitebolt	1	A	A very solid buff removal skill with great damage and reasonable SP cost. Great synergy with Comeback Idol.
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.

2024-09-11 14:40