My character reviews.

[Credge]

I'm going to be going in order that the characters appear on the character select screen, from left to right, and giving my opinions on the characters, both as recruits and as starting characters. My opinion is based entirely on the 12 floor run with the escape pod as it's my favorite pod to use and I feel it's the best representaion of game balance. I will, however, chime in with a quick thought if I think the character is a strong choice for a particular pod. My opinions are also based on the Easy mode. I'm not including the character from the crystal pack or the dog because I have not played them yet.

Max - I honestly don't like this character. He's obviously ok at everything and, with items, he can do most roles fine, but I can do everything he does, better, with other characters. I don't like to start with him because his jack-of-all-trades style doesn't really do well in the beginning. I feel he's stronger later on, but only because he can fill an empty role in a pinch.

Sara - I believe she's the fastest character in the game, making her a very strong runner and door opener. She is perfect for helping defend multiple paths. She is, however, an incredibly weak character early on and, I feel, one of the worst characters to start with. Plus points for being a melee Samus Aran.

Gork - Slow and strong. He's a very solid choice for any run. At level 3 he gets Soylent Green and, compared to the other characters that get it, he has the damage and health to actually use it. While I don't use him often, I have a 100% success rate with him on Easy. I feel he loses his strength on later levels when it's more about being able to cover a wide area. However, if you set him up with defensive modules, he's nearly unkillable. As a quick aside, he is perfect for the Armory pod.

Nurse Deena - If I don't pick her at the start of a run, I will get her if it's within the first 6 floors, and I will keep her either to the end, or until I find a better support (Nanor, for example). She does learn operate, and, although her wit isn't very good, items can make her a decent support character in the late game. There are better late game choices, and I will often dump her for other characters after level 8. The heal she has really shines early on and she's a must for the Informary pod.

Opbot - I don't know why, but I really like this character. He's an awful fighter, and not a very strong early game pick, however, he gets operate very early (level 3!) and he has a very high wit. His Recycling passive also allows him to be very effective early game for getting industry, especially because enemies don't tend to be super strong at that point. He also gets the Paramedic skill that Nurse Deena does, and this allows him to give a little support to a team even if he's on the other side of the map generating resources for you.

Hikensha - I've played with her a (very) small number of times and I couldn't really get her to click. It could be that I rarely have the need for a middle of the road character when I do get her. She does generate 2-3 science a turn for you, which is rather nice. She can operate, which is nice as well. I do think I need to use her more, but I feel she requires a ton of setup to be useful.

Troe - I like this character. He's very fast, has a good amount of health, hits hard, and has 'ok' defense. He's a very strong door opener and runner as he can actually dish out damage when he arrives at his destination. He's an Chimera Keeper or Hurna Rider killer. I will gladly take this guy at any point in the game. He's a pure killer and a great fit with Gork in the Armory pod.

Golgy - I don't feel this character is any good until level 7 when she gets Crawler. Crawler is such a strong skill that, if I can get her in a run I will just for the skill. It's great for dealing damage to a wave of enemies without being hurt. And, if you time it correctly with pauses and a little bit of movement, you can use the science skill reload to keep her perpetually doing damage to enemies while taking no damage. Other than that, there are better characters.

Skroig - Skroig has some of the best abilities in the game. As such, this character is perfect as a support for opening doors or helping hold off areas that tend to spawn massive waves of enemies. Red Plume, Last Supper, and Soylent Green are great to have. While there are better characters to get at the start, if you find Skroig in the dungeon, it's hard to say no.

Rakya - If you're planning on using a bunch of minor modules, she's perfect to take. At level 1 she gets repair. At 2, all minor modules in the room she is in get 50% increased attack power. And, at level 3, she gets operate. Later, she gets The Optimazator which increased the cooldown of modules. She's perfect as a solo defender in a choke point. She is a very strong starting character. One of my favorites.

Ken - I want to like this character, and he's an obvious choice for the Armory pod, but I just can't really get use out of him. I understand his playstyle and how he's supposed to be played, but he always seems to eat up all of my food trying to stay alive. I tend to use him as a solo chokepoint defender if he's on my team. He's not a bad choice, but I do believe there are better for the role he fills.

Lady Joleri - Another character I want to like but can't really get the feel for. An obvious door opener and runner, but Dust Thirst is such a major dealbreaker that I just don't want this characte around past the first few floors. If I do choose her early on, I will keep her at level 1 until I find a replacement.

Warden Mormish - I really like the way this character looks. He has a number of ways to play, each of them being effective. He's great in a group and great alone while operating. His support skills are just super-strong. I feel he's a top tier character, capable of working in any group. One of my favorites.

Elise - Another one of my favorite characters. My absolute favorite for defending a chokepoint. Although she can't wear any armor, she has an insanely high natural defense growth. She also can equip two utility items, and that's just nuts. She also starts with Dust Cells and eventuall gets Operate. Her wit isn't the best, but if you're going to be using a choke point defender (you probably will), why not pick up some extra resources? Those two utility slots can get her to very high wit levels as well.

Chef Nanor - In my opinion, the best character in the game. His support is absolutely insane. Extenders makes healing cost 10% less. Cooking with Gas is probably the most broken skill in the game. When you get this, it's a free wave clear. In later levels, enemies enter your choke points nearly dead or with half health. If you have high science production, you can use this every wave, or multiple times a wave. He also gets Soylent Green. If you level this character up fast and early, you will get an insane amount of food from Soylent Green and Cooking with Gas. I take him whenever I can.

Mizi - She's a good version of Ken. She can clear waves by herself. She can hold chokepoints by herself. She can't equip a weapon, but she doesn't need to. She's a character that, if you're going for a food run, you need to get her to max level to really see her shine. In fact, if you're going to do a solo run, you should pick her. Very strong, but she requires proper setup to play properly. Absolutely not a character to use if you're still figuring the game out and one that requires the most time to learn to play.

Kreyang - You get Kreyang if you got the Endless Legend Founder Pack. I really like this character. He's a support character that becomes more effective when you're researching. He has an ok wit, gets operate but does not get repair. He also gets Endless Expert. He's built more for early level exploration and late level operating. What makes him unique is his activateable Winter Just Came ability which slows all enemies on the floor down by 40%. If you're playing a tower defense oriented game, this ability can make impossible waves easy. And, by the time you're reaching the later floors, the number of extra science he's gained in the game should allow you to use this every turn. It's also great for making crystal runs on rough levels.

When I get play time with the dog, I'll add her in as well.

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions, feel free to place them here. I do have a twitch channel that I play this on regularly as well as a youtube channel with a few of my early runs there.

www.twitch.tv/credge

My youtube channel is kind of a mess. I'm working on organizing it a little bit more.

[RalphRoberts]

I'd like to point out that max can be a nice starter because he starts out with a +2 science bonus, and once leveled gives dust bonuses.

[Zsrai]

Originally posted by RalphRoberts -=SyN=-:

I'd like to point out that max can be a nice starter because he starts out with a +2 science bonus, and once leveled gives dust bonuses.

This right here actually makes Max the best door opener. He can get up to Pilfer lvl 3, which is +3 Dust per room with Dust, and is the only character to even get that skill at all (Third Eye gives lvl 1).

I see that you don't have Josh 'nTello on your list. He is hands down the best Operator in the game. He gets the highest base Wit and also gets a skill called "Knowledge is Good" which gives +2/3/4 Wit to all other heroes on the FLOOR (including himself). I tend to use him as a "Back Operator" and try and have a more sturdy/offensive character, usually with lower Wit (like Elise) as a "Forward Operator" that holds chokes.

I do want to add that Recycle on OpBot is ridiculous. Unlike Soylent Green, it effects every hero in the room. If you use OpBot as a "forward Operator" at your main choke, along with some support and have your Runner go back there? All of them get the +Industry on kills. Soylent Green only effects the hero who has the skill.

[Schleem]

Like others have pointed out, Max is actually a great hero early on. If I start with Max, I power level him for pilfer. So he should be used with a team that does not need a lot of levels.

Ken is great for his huge spike dps. I generally have him in a room with two neurostuns. So he won't get hit and I can kite him back a little. A good dps hero even without his two skills. IMO he's truly one of the best choices for armory.

Hikensha is like a Ken but I would play her as a door opener. She will clear the room with no problem. Not the best for chokepoint holding though.

Other than that I would have to agree with your list.

[Credge]

Maybe I need to give Max another shot, but I've lost the last four games I've played as him for literally no reason. He just doesn't have the stats that warrant his abilities. They just aren't that strong.

I also don't have Josh 'nTello because I don't have the Crystal pack.

As for Ken, I just think there are better choices for his role, as is Hikensha. They just don't seem like they have the same oomph as the other characters.

[Zsrai]

Originally posted by Credge:

Maybe I need to give Max another shot, but I've lost the last four games I've played as him for literally no reason. He just doesn't have the stats that warrant his abilities. They just aren't that strong.

Max could have 0 stats and he'd still be awesome because of Pilfer (and early Endless Expert). I've used him as a runner with zero problems, he has a pretty decent speed AND he has Run Away. I tend to purposefully not use him now that I've beaten the game a few times because he makes collecting Dust so much easier than it would be without him.

[Credge]

Well, I don't typically have problems with dust or science in my runs, even on the later floors. Typically, I have problems with Max around floors 5-8. By "don't have problems with dust", I mean that, on floors 10-12, when dust truly matters, I do just fine by smart pre-planning of items to sell to merchants since the chances of them being a dust merchant skyrockets in the late game. In fact, I don't think I've seen a non-dust merchant past level 10, and I usually find 2 per floor. This also makes getting dust for me a non-issue for me because I tend to focus on having a character with, about, 20 wit if I'm able.

[melkathi]

On Easy Difficulty I get 1 single dust merchant on any floor every 20 games or so.
The merchant I get the most is the science one.

[Credge]

I've always had a dust merchant on the 12th floor. All I play on is Easy.

[melkathi]

I am jealous: )

[Sigred]

Most of your review is accurate for single-player; a lot of it is wrong for MP. I'm guessing you don't play MP, so no big deal.

[Credge]

I don't, and it's because it's very very buggy at the moment. I crash at the end of the first floor every single time.