Final Fantasy Resonance character tier list: all 8 party members ranked

For the first two chapters of Final Fantasy Resonance a tier list is a bit academic, because the party picks itself. Rain and Lasswell start with you, Fina arrives in Chapter 1 and Lid in Chapter 2, and that fills all four slots. The real choosing begins when Nichol turns up in Chapter 3, and it gets harder with every new arrival after him.

Character tier list

I ranked on two things: how much a party misses a character when they’re gone, and how much setup they need before they pay off. All eight can carry you through the story, so B tier only means a little more homework.

S tier characters

Rain

Rain is the one to build first. He starts with the party’s best Strength at 35 and 200 HP, and Provoke at level 6 drags every enemy onto him for three turns, which is what lets him tank for everyone else. Unity at level 17 makes your whole party act before the enemies on the next turn, and Protectga at 22 hardens everybody’s physical defence.

His own attacks are Fire, and Infinity Drive hits 50 percent harder against a staggered target. Later in the story he gets The Power Within, which lifts every attribute by 25 percent for the battle. Nobody else owns a buff that wide.

Nichol

On paper Nichol looks soft. He has 20 Strength, 15 Stamina and no healing at all. What he has is Tactic: Fluid Warfare at level 19, which gives him an extra action after every Formation skill for three turns, and the Formations are where the party’s power comes from. Assail adds 30 percent stagger power, Charge adds 30 percent crit rate, Bulwark raises both defences and Regroup (level 34) raises both attacks.

At level 30 he learns Mirroring Prism, which lets every party member perform their chosen action twice. Equip Firion’s Arms Akimbo on top of Fluid Warfare and he’s taking four actions a turn.

A tier characters

Sakura

Magic damage is Sakura’s whole job, and she starts with 40 Magic and picks up as many as 9 more each level between levels 24 and 32. Eternal Veil is available from the start and puts a barrier on the whole party that cancels the next hit anyone takes, so I’d keep it for an attack you can see coming. Concentrate at level 39 doubles her magic attack and her Speed, and she needs the Speed, because 5 makes her the slowest person in the party.

The price is fragility. She has 150 HP and 15 Stamina, which is why she wants Rain standing in front of her. She also only joins in Chapter 5, so you get her for the last four chapters.

Archwitch Fina

Archwitch Fina trades the healing for Dark magic and debuffs. Witching Hour, which she learns at level 6, raises all her attributes by 50 percent but blocks any healing she’d get from white magic, and you can switch it off again whenever you like. Queenly Whip can lower an enemy’s attack and magic, Deshell drops their magic defence, and Dystopia hits every enemy and grows 10 percent stronger each time you use it in a row.

Meteor arrives at level 55 and Ultima at 61. She has 18 Stamina and 15 Spirit, so I’d always keep her behind a Rain who is using Provoke.

Lasswell

Speed is Lasswell’s thing. He starts at 11, with Nichol just behind on 10. His basic attack hits twice, Hone Senses at level 5 adds 40 percent damage and 20 percent crit rate for five turns, and Null Moon makes the target easier to stagger for three turns. Transient Rite lands twelve Ice strikes on every enemy and does 50 percent more to the staggered ones.

He sits in A because Rain does the same job and tanks on top of it. That’s a small complaint about a very good fighter.

B tier characters

Fina

Healing belongs to Fina, because nobody else in the party learns it on their own. She picks up Cure, Cura and Curaga, then Raise at level 23 and Arise at 53. Radiant Restoration at level 25 revives every fallen ally and restores their HP, and Reraise at 59 brings a downed ally back automatically. She also starts with the party’s best Spirit at 35, and her Light attacks scale with Sanctity, so they hit harder than her 15 Magic would suggest.

She lands in B because healing can be borrowed through Visions, and Nichol and Archwitch Fina take over her other jobs later. Early on I’d keep her in the party without a second thought. Once you’re happy handing the healing to a Vision, her slot is free.

Jake

Jake hits harder than anyone. He starts with 30 Strength and gains up to 8 a level, so by level 32 his base Strength is 238, against Lasswell’s 203 and Rain’s 190. Joins in Chapter 4.

His kit runs on Luck. Coin Toss gives you 5 Luck on heads and 2 on tails. Gamble Shot at level 19 throws eight guaranteed critical hits, and each one is more likely to connect the more Luck you hold. Glücksschmied at level 30 scales with the Luck you’ve stored and then resets it, and Energized Assault at 37 needs 9 Luck and adds 50 percent physical damage without costing an action. All of that takes turns to build, and a short fight can end before he pays you back.

Lid

Lid is the one who asks for the most homework. Her hammer is fine and her Earth magic is fine, and the interesting part is Mechabo. Overclock raises the damage and stagger power of Mechabo skills by 150 percent, and Overclock Zero pushes that to 300 percent. After three Mechabo skills it has to cool down for two turns. Mechamog Scan costs 55 MP and puts a random weakness on an enemy, which is great when it lands on the element your party already has. Mechabo Escape always gets you out of a battle.

Her Mechabo gets stronger through its side quests, and finishing them is also how you earn the Mechabo Mania trophy, so they’re worth doing even if she isn’t in your main party.

Best party combinations

Rain and Nichol are in every one of them. In the steady party I open with Provoke on Rain and Formation: Charge from Nichol, then Hone Senses on Lasswell, and Fina stays free to heal. That stacks Charge’s 30 percent crit rate with Hone Senses’ extra 20 percent, which suits Lasswell’s double hits nicely.

The fast burst party has no healer, because Witching Hour blocks Archwitch Fina’s healing and Sakura and Rain have none to give. Rain’s Provoke and Sakura’s Eternal Veil have to carry the defending, and if either one fails the fight goes wrong fast. It’s great fun when it works.

Who to level first

Rain first, then Nichol, since they’re in every party above. Nichol’s best skills sit at levels 19 and 30, so those are the numbers to aim for. After that, level whoever your next party needs. The dialogue choices and each character’s sub quest add permanent stats on top, so none of that levelling is wasted.