Three units define the current Memoria meta: a burst DPS with zero rotation downtime, a support who converts defensive stats into team-wide damage, and a healer who prevents one-shot mechanics entirely. Everything else competes for fourth slot—or niche coverage. This tier list ranks all playable options by clear speed, abyss viability, and team flexibility across patch cycles.
S-Tier: The Three Non-Negotiables
Why does the burst DPS with zero downtime outrank every other damage dealer?
Veyra, the Hollow Edge executes full combos without animation canceling. Her elemental skill resets on critical hits, and her burst refunds 40% energy on kill.
She fits any team needing frontloaded damage. No constellation required for core loop—C0 completes her kit. C2 adds comfort; C6 removes energy constraints entirely.
- Best artifact main stat: Crit DMG circlet, ATK% sands, elemental DMG goblet
- Sub stat priority: Crit rate to 70% → Crit DMG → Energy recharge to 120%
- Weapon F2P: Forgeable 4-star "Ironthorn" at R5 outperforms most 5-star options below R2
- Weapon whale: Signature "Edge of Absence" enables C6-level rotations at C0
She suits aggressive players who hate downtime. The downside: zero defensive utility. Dies to telegraphed one-shots if you dodge late.
How does a support convert defense into team damage without breaking balance?
Kael, the Bastard Metric scales buff potency off his DEF stat—a rarity that lets him stack survivability and output simultaneously. His elemental burst grants 35% of his DEF as flat ATK to all party members for 12 seconds.
At C0, he needs 2,800 DEF to match traditional ATK buffers. At C4, that threshold drops to 2,200. The real power spike: his skill generates shield particles on taking damage, not dealing it. This enables "face-tank" rotations where DPS characters ignore i-frames entirely.
| Investment Level | DEF Target | Bonus ATK Granted | Team Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| F2P (C0, 4-star weapon) | 2,800 | 980 | Buffer + emergency shield |
| Mid (C2, event weapon) | 2,500 | 1,125 | Buffer + primary shielder |
| Whale (C6, signature) | 3,500 | 1,750 | Buffer + shielder + sub-DPS |
Kael requires specific team construction. He does nothing for teams already using Bennett-style flat ATK buffers—those overwrite his conversion. He shines in DEF-scaling or HP-scaling DPS compositions.
Which healer prevents one-shot mechanics that ignore shields entirely?
Sera, the Undying Chorus introduces "death denial"—a buff that consumes itself instead of letting HP drop below 1. This bypasses shield-piercing damage, corrosion, and percentage-based HP drains.
The mechanic has a 90-second cooldown per character. In practice, this means one "free" mistake per rotation cycle. For abyss floor 12 where enemies deal 15K+ per hit, this translates to hours of reset prevention.
Her healing scales off max HP, but her burst regenerates based on missing HP. Low-health characters heal faster—a reverse-urgency system that rewards risky play.
She fits players who prioritize consistency over speedruns. Speedrunners replace her with shield-only teams that kill before damage occurs. Everyone else needs her.
A-Tier: Excellent But Conditional
What limits the multi-element enabler from S-tier status?
Torvald, the Reaction Engine applies two elements simultaneously, enabling reactions impossible for single-element units. His limitation: he cannot trigger his own reactions. He requires a second applicator with matching or faster timing.
This creates a "symmetry problem." If your second applicator has slower application, Torvald wastes stacks. If faster, he becomes redundant. Only specific frame-perfect rotations extract full value.
He dominates in co-op where two players coordinate elements. Solo, he's A-tier ceiling, B-tier floor.
Why does the HP-to-damage converter struggle in current abyss cycles?
Mira, the Blood Bargain converts HP to damage at 1:1.5 ratio. Historically S-tier when abyss favored burst windows. Current patch introduced "HP lock" mechanics—enemies that prevent healing for 8 seconds after dealing damage.
Mira kills herself. Literally. Her optimal rotation drops her to 15% HP for maximum conversion, then she cannot heal during lock. Skilled players time invulnerability frames. Everyone else uses Sera to death-deny, which consumes Sera's 90-second cooldown on a rotation basis.
She remains A-tier for players with frame-perfect dodging. Drops to C-tier otherwise. This variance is why she's not S—meta viability requires consistency across skill levels.
Is the energy battery obsolete after recent system changes?
Finn, the Perpetual Motion generates flat energy particles regardless of field time. Pre-patch 3.5, this was mandatory for most teams. Post-patch, the "energy recharge" main stat buffed from 50% to 65% efficiency, and weapon passives now generate particles on elemental skill hits.
Finn's niche shrank but didn't vanish. He still enables non-elemental-skill-reliant DPS units—typically burst-focused characters who spend 2 seconds on-field. He's also the only energy source that works during "silence" debuffs in specific abyss chambers.
Current meta: bench him unless your DPS has no skill-based particle generation and your weapon lacks energy passive. Check your build first—many players run Finn out of habit, not necessity.
B-Tier: Solid for Early-Game or Specific Content
Which units excel in story content but fail abyss timers?
The exploration trio—Nia (climbing stamina reduction), Orin (swimming speed), and Pavel (resource detection)—offer zero combat scaling. They're B-tier by combat definition but remain in most rosters for open-world efficiency.
Vel, the Overload Specialist deals massive damage to shielded enemies. Current abyss has zero shielded enemies in floors 9-12. He's B-tier now, A-tier during shield-heavy rotations. Patch-dependent volatility.
What makes a healer B-tier in a game where survival matters?
Clara, the Regen Tank heals through continuous regeneration rather than burst healing. Against burst damage, characters die between ticks. Against sustained damage, she's overkill—most teams kill faster than sustained damage accumulates.
She has exactly one optimal use: multi-phase bosses with no damage windows, where fights last 3+ minutes and damage comes in predictable patterns. Currently one such boss exists, in a weekly domain with no timer. Niche defined.
C-Tier and Below: Design Failures or Power Crept
Why do launch-era DPS units fall off so hard?
Dorian, the First Flame and Elara, the Frost Origin established baseline damage numbers at game launch. Their multipliers: 200-300% on skills, 400-500% on bursts. Current S-tier: 400-600% skills, 800-1200% bursts with additional mechanics.
The gap isn't just numbers—it's mechanical density. Veyra's skill resets, Kael's DEF conversion, Sera's death denial. Dorian and Elara do damage. Only damage. In a game where enemies gained 300% HP since launch, "only damage" with 2022 multipliers fails timers.
They receive "balance adjustments" every third patch. The adjustments: +10% multipliers. Power creep outpaces corrections by 40% annually.
Which units have mechanics that actively hinder teams?
Grom, the Berserker gains ATK as HP decreases, but his AI-controlled burst (in co-op) targets nearest enemy regardless of priority. He's killed priority targets prematurely, ruining elemental aura setups, and died to AoE because he refuses to reposition.
Lina, the Mirror Mage copies last-used elemental skill. In practice: copies your healer's skill when you need damage, copies your burst when you need energy. Randomness without weighted probability.
Both are C-tier. Grom has co-op-specific utility if manually controlled. Lina has no consistent use case identified by community testing.
Meta Caveats: What Breaks This Tier List
How quickly do patches invalidate rankings?
Historical data: 2-3 patches for S-tier displacement, 1 patchemergency patches for obvious balance failures. The shortest S-tier reign: 4 weeks (Mira pre-HP-lock mechanic). Longest: 11 months (Veyra, ongoing).
Current patch introduced no new characters. Next patch adds two—one confirmed DPS, one support. The DPS uses a new "corrosion" damage type that bypasses death denial. If corrosion applies to Sera's mechanic, she drops to A-tier instantly.
Which team compositions override individual tier placement?
Triple support, one DPS (Veyra + Kael + Sera + flex) currently clears 15% faster than double DPS variants. But this requires all three S-tier units. Missing any: double DPS becomes optimal.
Elemental resonance bonuses can elevate B-tier units to A-tier within specific pairs. Example: two fire units gain +25% ATK. This makes Vel (B-tier fire) competitive with A-tier neutral units in fire-focused teams.
Always check team composition simulators before dismissing lower-tier units. Synergy > individual ranking in 40% of optimized clears.
Who Should Pull for What: Player Profiles
| Player Type | Priority Pull | Skip | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| F2P, started this month | Sera | Any DPS | Death denial prevents resets; early DPS gets replaced |
| F2P, 3+ months invested | Veyra | Kael | Have supports by now; need damage ceiling |
| Battle pass only | Kael C2 | Sera constellations | C2 Kael hits DEF threshold; Sera C0 is complete |
| Whale, speedrun focus | Veyra C6 + signature | Everyone else | C6 Veyra solos most content; others are milliseconds |
| Whale, collection | New unit every banner | Old unit constellations | Power creep favors new kits |
Final Notes: Verification and Bias
This tier list synthesizes community clear data, frame data spreadsheets, and personal testing across 200+ abyss cycles. Biases acknowledged: I main Veyra since launch; Kael testing is secondhand from guildmates.
Numbers are rounded from precise calculations. "2,800 DEF" is 2,798-2,804 in practice. Patch 3.7.2 may adjust values—check date above.
Disagree? Good. Meta evolves through argument. Post your clear times with "off-meta" builds. Data overrides theory.
