Class Tier List - the best to the worst.

[Honorable_D]

This is NOT my list. The original, by Stormquake and with ability overviews, can be found here: http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/stormquakes-character-tier-list-v-1-0-1.32804/
-----
Tier 1: Huntress and Mercenary

1.1(Best): Huntress
It took me quite a few games to understand how the Huntress is supposed to work, but after getting the hang of her I realized she is a force of destruction that is unrivaled in this game. With ridiculous mobility, the ability to shoot behind her while moving, Huntress had an easy ride to the top Tier 1.

+Pros+
-Amazing kiting
-Short cooldowns
-A pseudo-homing ability that can go through walls
-Ability to shoot forwards and backwards
-Great attack speed and damage
-Not very item reliant
-Makes the final boss a joke
+Cons+
-Very low base health
-No invincibility frames
-Z has travel time
-Hard to control direction of fire when surrounded by enemies

1.2: Mercenary
Merc takes his spot as the 2nd best character and best melee character on this list. He is pretty much made of mobility and abilities that give him dodge frames. This paired which his incredible single target and AoE damage output is what has earned him the other spot in Tier 1.

+Pros+
-More invincibility/dodging frames than any other character in the game
-Great getaway abilities
-High multi-target and single-target damage
-Short/Manageable cooldowns
+Cons+
-Short range Z with only moderate damage
-Completely melee; requires great risk to play
-Dies easily if cooldowns are up
-Item reliant later on
-----
Tier 2: Acrid and Engineer

2.1: Acrid
Acrid may not have any invincibility frames, but its obscene amount of damage and ability to easily cluster♥♥♥♥ large groups of enemies are things that its certainly one of the best at.

+Pros+
-The highest mob/area damage potential in the game
-Standard attack with a high damage DoT
-Short cooldown penetrating ranged stun
-Can absolutely abuse lifesteal
+Cons+
-No invincibility frames
-Single target standard attack
-A very long cooldown on its only mobility move

2.2: Engineer
The Engineer is the king of area control, utilizing mines and summonable turrets to deal damage and distract enemies whilst dealing damage from a distance with his other abilities. While lacking invincibility frames, he has the highest health of any ranged character, deals obscene amounts of damage, and can provide easy cover for himself.

Pros & Cons:
+Pros+
-Absurd damage and area control
-Summons that take away aggro
-A full homing attack that ignores walls
-Not very item reliant
+Cons+
-No mobility or invincibility moves
-Z and C have lengthy pause times
-Very vulnerable if turrets are dead/unavailable
-----
Tier 3: Commando & Miner

3.1: Commando
The starting class for Risk of Rain, Commando features an easy to learn ability kit, combining mobility, short cooldowns, and damage to help ease people into the game. It only makes sense that as the base character, he'd be rather balanced and end up right in the middle of the tier list.

+Pros+
-Mobile and easy to learn
-Very fast fire rate; great for on-hit effects
-Short cooldowns
+Cons+
-Low damage
-Weak to flanks

3.2: Miner
The Miner is a rather eccentric fellow, having the only full mobility moveset in the game. He zips and bounds around the map, swinging his twin pickaxes and avoiding most damage. However, his tricky moveset and long-ish cooldowns serve as balancing points for his other traits.

+Pros+
-Crazy high mobility
-Large amounts of area damage
-Strong melee attack without enemy hit limit
+Cons+
-Reliant on long cooldown abilities
-Very unforgiving despite high mobility
-----
Tier 4: Enforcer & Bandit

4.1: Enforcer
My kawaii shotgun sensei. The Enforcer is a heavy class that, unlike most of the characters in Risk of Rain, is focused on immobilizing himself. Featuring an ability that halts all movement to provide "complete" protection from one side whilst increasing rate of fire, along with abilities focused on keeping enemies away. However, inconsistencies in blocking and having long cooldowns has put Enforcer in an unfavorable tier.
Ability Overview:

+Pros+
-Great damage protection
-Piercing, high damage shots
-Able to control large groups of enemies
+Cons+
-Very slow; long cooldowns
-Misusing C will often get you killed
-Shield stance has inconsistencies with certain things
-Shield Bash sometimes makes enemies stay behind you

4.2: Bandit
A speedy and sneaky class, the Bandit features high damage base attacks that fire alarmingly fast as well as a short cooldown area explosion, stealth that boosts speed and comes along with a stun, and a powerful blast that, if used to kill an enemy, will reset all cooldowns. Despite all this, the incredibly unforgiving playstyle of the Bandit once he reaches the later areas of the game has caused him to be in the lower tiers of this list.

+Pros+
-High DPS Z
-Very strong shot that can reset cooldowns
-Lengthy dodging time with built in stun and speed boost
+Cons+
-Very vulnerable if V fails
-Ridiculously unforgiving in later levels
-Lack of safe area damage
-Bad at controlling mobs without endangering self
-----
Tier 5: Han-D and Sniper

5.1: Han-D
Our friendly robot janitor, Han-D, is a powerful and tanky, yet slow attacking character. Though he can speed out his attacks and even comes equipped with a method of healing, there are many areas where Han-D falls short of the other classes, ending up with him in the bottom tier.

+Pros+
-High damage and mob control
-Self-healing and buffs
-Highest health in the entire game
+Cons+
-Slow; No dodging frames
-Reliant on killing groups of enemies; often times that isn't an option
-Stun from C keeps enemies out of Z range
-Is very bad at fighting the final boss

5.2(worst): Sniper
The Sniper is a very stylin' character, possessing the potential to deal massive damage in a single shot. Like the Enforcer, he gains maximum potential while being still, but unfortunately he lacks a shield or any good way to control enemies to make up for it. His only offensive abilities can only threaten up to a few creatures at once, and his mobility move has a rather large cooldown. For all these reasons and a few more, the Sniper has found himself at the very bottom of the tier list.

+Pros+
-Annihilates single targets
-Very high Z damage
+Cons+
-Very slow attack speed
-Has to be immobile for max damage
-Little to no mob control
-Extremely item reliant
-Lengthy cooldowns and charging times overshadow damage potential
-----

Most tended to agree with Stormquake's reasoning as I do. How do you all feel about it? And please, no bias.

[Aioli]

I pretty much agree with the exception of Han-D, I feel that he definitely should go up a few spaces, because having trouble on the last boss doesn't really matter when it is possible to just farm items until you're too silly to stop, thereby not having that be such a con for him.

[Honorable_D]

The problem with Han-D is hes basically the only character that HAS to take damage. His Hammer and punches are very slow and are melee leaving you wide open for enemies to bop you one.

W/o tons of healing/defensive items and Soldier Syrums you'll be hard-pressed to stay alive while trying to punch hordes of enemies... also Archer Bugs and Parents are a nightmare for him.

[Sturm]

I approve of this list. Seems reasonable to me, and there isn't really anything on it that I'd disagree with.

(Although the Sniper is still one of my favorite classes to play as, despite his flaws. )

[Achelon]

The sniper definitly feels rather weak on his own, question is how well he synergizes with others in co-op, I imagine co-op would kick him up a few notches.

[Honorable_D]

Originally posted by achelon:

The sniper definitly feels rather weak on his own, question is how well he synergizes with others in co-op, I imagine co-op would kick him up a few notches.

Yeah, Sniper does tons better in co-op where other players can buy him time to get off fully charged shots. Sniper does BY FAR the most damage per-shot but you rarely can get off longer than a half-bar charge when going solo.

[Leonydus]

I only have about 5 hours in and just unlocked Enforcer. I agree with the cons. Accidental C buttoning is a pain in the ass.

[Floofus]

As far as favorites go (haven't unlocked Mec or Miner yet): Bandit, Sniper, Commando, HAN-D, Huntress, Acrid, Engineer, Enforcer

I just can't get a good synergy with the last 3, need to practice more with them.

[Vahnkiljoy]

Please let's not spread this trivial opinion crap EVERYWHERE. What HE considers to be his tier list is what HE thinks, it isn't true for everyone.

[Honorable_D]

Originally posted by Vahnkiljoy:

Please let's not spread this trivial opinion crap EVERYWHERE. What HE considers to be his tier list is what HE thinks, it isn't true for everyone.

Oh c'mon, don't be hatin'. Tier lists are "fun" and can really spark a lot of conversation. If you don't like them then just ignore them. :P

[Gin]

I agree with most of this, though I feel like the enforcer should be higher, he makes up for lack of movement with the shield bash, and I've used his C to absorb stupid amounts of fire from enemies, I find it more reliable than unreliable.
I've only played around with the huntress a bit but thats all it took me to know that she is a top tier choice. Shes basically a better version of the commando.
I just beat the game with the Mercenary and he feels like the best melee class in the game. His attacks and cooldowns flow together very well.
I did not like the Miner, he did not have invicibility frames of the Mercenary to be tanking mobs and such.
Acrid can hit stupid amounts of DoT on the enemy so I agree with that.
The Engineer is really good with that attack that auto targets enemies on the screen, maybe bump him up?

EDIT: also please include stormquakes disclaimer
"*Tier list is for solo play with the intent of going to level 6 and winning."
a lot of arguments coming up in this thread have to do with some characters being good in a team.

[Drayx]

>enforcer being low tiered
>being lower than acrid

GIT GUD

[El Changuito 2021-2022]

git gud

[Bonemiser]

>2014
>still linking the same tier list

Neat.
I still think Huntress' placement is complete hogwash, but it's not far off the mark. Little is.

My biggest complaint -- same as before -- is that the tiers have arbitrary limits. Top 3 is neck and neck, and the only characters that I feel significantly lag behind them are (in order of assurity) Sniper, HAN-D, Bandit and Miner... but, I'm not about to write a verbose tier list to try and feed my position.

[Doktor Schädel]

the only think that I would switch is bandit with miner, with cooldown reset items you can have a godly mob controll I had 2 rings and an alien head, and I have better overcontrol with his movement set, since miner is melee its against some enemies really hard

[Snickles]

Thanks this was a lot of help!