A Mostly Accurate Merc Tierlist

(hawkeyeguy99) #1

This list is compiled based on personal opinion, preference, some from what I’ve read in the forums, and general game knowledge. I’m ranking them all in the same group, so there is a bit of bias as to what class I think is the best. Let me know what you think should change!

Bottom Tier

These are mercs you probably should leave behind if you’re trying to be competitive. They have their benefits and some are outright fun to play, but if you’re trying to win it’d be best to pick someone else.

  1. Phantom
    He’s a ton of fun but let’s be honest, his only ability is awful in any match where people know what they are doing. His only advantage is when things get crazy people aren’t looking for him, but otherwise he’s been really weak since his nerf and hardly has any utility in a competitive team.

  2. Rhino
    Rhino is such a niche character that I have to put him low. He’s got decent crowd control and when paired with an aura station he’s pretty annoying, but overall he’s not much more than a bullet sponge at the moment. His minigun is only really effective at short ranges and anyone who’s organized won’t have trouble getting him gone quickly because he’s so slow.

  3. Aimee
    I know she gets some love from the snipers, but of the 3 available she’s by far the worst. Her camera has limited vision and her crippling effect does help a bit, but overall not enough to really take her out of the bottom of the pack. Her low health doesn’t help anything either.

(WARNING: Unpopular Opinion Incoming)

  1. Nader
    Her grenade launcher is a fine addition to the game and is great for clearing house on some indoor maps. Unfortunately it falls short of other grenade like abilities in the game already. Also her martyrdom ability is straight up useless after you start playing with anyone above level 7. It only takes dying to that twice to realize that you just shoot a downed Nader instead of finishing her off manually. Couple that with a lack of any ammo giving abilities and she sits down in bottom tier for now.

  2. Stoker
    Another attack merc that just falls short of the other options available, Stoker is a very niche guy. His Molotov even after being fixed is not up to snuff with other abilities in its ability to kill or damage and is therefore relegated to area denial. The best use for it really is to keep people from defusing, but since the fire can be dispersed with explosives it still is lackluster at even that. His best attribute is his ammo station which is decent, but still not as good as an ammo pack.

B Listers

Not great and not bad. These mercs are the ones that don’t necessarily excell at anything but aren’t an awful choice if you’re looking for a change of pace.

  1. Kira
    Kira sits in the B lister section due to her utility in killing. Her weapon choices are definitely top tier and is probably the single best user of the katana out there. (suck it Phantom) However she drops beneath other mercs due to her laser doing minimal damage to objectives such as the EV and generators as well as having a very small AOE making it rather easy to avoid. It also doesn’t help that she has the ammo station instead of ammo packs.

  2. Bushwhacker
    It pains me to place Bushy this low on the list. He’s my favorite engineer and I play him pretty much exclusively over the other two, but he is just the worst of them. He has the best primary weapon selection of the three but his turret is so under-powered compared to Proxy’s mines or Fletcher’s stickies that he falls behind both of them.

  3. Vasilli
    Vasilli is this low due to his low utility in a competitive team. Don’t get me wrong, a good Vasilli can make or break a match, but a good player of another merc could do more. Spotting is his best feature with a team that works together. Highlighting enemies for your teammates to take out is a fantastic ability but unfortunately because it’s his only one, he ends up in the B list.

  4. Proxy
    Proxy is probably the second most annoying merc behind only Thunder. She ends up here due to her insane mines. Easy and cheap multikills with just a little map knowledge is all she takes. However due to her weak weapon kit and abysmal health, she stays low-mid pack.

  5. Thunder
    The most annoying merc of all time ladies and gentlemen. I know some people may disagree at his usefulness, but he’s really only good at killing at some crowd control. His slow speed and lack of ammo don’t help either.

  6. Aura
    She doesn’t have a good weapon choice, her health is abysmal, but dat healing station tho! Aura can do massive amounts of team healing as long as her team is smart enough to stand around her station. Unfortunately her low health and the fact that her med station can be destroyed pretty easily places her among the weakest of the medics.

  7. Skyhammer
    Our favorite bombing run merc lands firmly mid pack. He has high utility with his airstrike being so adaptable either as a grenade or a team destroying nuke. His ammo packs are literally candy and are just icing on the cake that is Skyhammer

  8. Fletcher
    The best of the engineers is here with all of his sticky bombs. He’s just so useful in almost any situation. He’s the best engineer to push with and his damage heavy kit ensures he can defend and do damage fairly well. His primary weapon selection isn’t great, but he makes up for it with his secondaries. Easily the best engineer out there.

The A Listers

The must haves. These mercs are the best of the best and either excell or are the absolute best at what they do. If you’re playing to win, pick these.

  1. Redeye
    Redeye has the best kit of all three snipers due to his addition of a smoke grenade. It’s useful for land denial (people usually don’t push through smoke) and when coupled with his spotting goggles it becomes a 1 way mirror. His weapon selection isn’t the best for sniping, but a good player with a granduer will do insane damage from any range.

  2. Sparks
    Sparks is a hard merc to place well. She’s very niche like Stoker, but she’s so damn good at her niche it’s hard to rank her. Her revive gun is insanely useful, but her meds packs arent useful for much beyond healing herself or 1 teammate. That’s why she’s lower on this list is because of her inability to consistently heal.

  3. Arty
    “Ha HA go fuck yourself.” This boi is insane. The fact that his weapon selection is easily among the best in the game coupled with his artillery strikes makes him one powerful guy. Not to mention he has the ammo packs to keep his team and himself topped off on the go without being tied to an ammo station.

  4. Sawbonez
    Sawbones cements himself in the A lister section due to his great gun selection and the fact that his medpacks can full heal any merc insanely fast. What keeps him back however is the slowest self-heal of any medic and the fact that taking any form of damage stops the healing meaning that any healing can be negated rather easily. But, if the team member is smart enough not to run out in the open, you’ll easily keep them topped on health.

  5. Fragger
    This American stud is crazy good at his job. While he’s not the best at taking out the EV, his weapon selection is a straight powerhouse, his health is very solid near the top, his speed isn’t too slow, and his Pineapple can team wipe easily and with some game sense and good cooking can guarantee kills easily. He’s the best for dwindling enemy numbers.

  6. Phoenix
    Here we are folks, the good ol’ #1. Phoenix. Where do I start? He is just simply amazing. He has the best SMG selection in the game for primaries, no bad pistol for secondaries either. His kit is the best in the game for its adaptability and utility at the same time. Healing pulse is by far the best healing method due to it’s ability to be scaled in both amount of healing and the cool down afterwards to whatever you need. But it doesn’t stop there: it self heals about as much as it heals others, its an area heal, it doesn’t need to be picked up, it’s instant. He’s even fast and has decent health. As if this wasn’t enough he get’s a self-revive as icing on the cake. Sure, it usually doesn’t work as people try to down you anyways, but there will always be a situation where you can revive yourself with full health and get away to heal another day.

Again, these are my opinions. I personally think this ranking is fairly accurate, but I may change a thing here or there as time goes on.

(TheStrangerous) #2

Competitive and pub are 2 different realms.
Should be 2 separate lists.

EDIT: My bad, thought it was a general list.

By the way, isn’t Sawbones considered a better competitive medic than Phoenix?

(hawkeyeguy99) #3

Mostly by the community I would say that’s accurate but I disagree with the community on this. I think I go into enough reason why in my post, but I just think Phoenix’s ability is by far the best for healing especially if you have Potent Packs on. It’s just so much more adaptable and usable than Sawbonez medpacks even with how strong those medpacks are.

(Press E) #4

[quote=“TheStrangerous;c-225736”]Competitive and pub are 2 different realms.
Should be 2 separate lists.

EDIT: My bad, thought it was a general list.

By the way, isn’t Sawbones considered a better competitive medic than Phoenix?[/quote]

Honestly even then it really depends. A solo queue comp match can put you against some pretty stupid teammates, which makes a lot of mercs impractical.

Nader is generally one of my best killing mercs, surpassing Fragger for me even, but I never play her in ranked. Unless your team is organized and know what they’re doing, way too many of them blindly walk into grenades. It happens to me a lot too with kira’s laser.
You have to be careful with proxy too, because enemies can shoot your mines to kill teammates.

Phantom can actually be really useful in ranked if you know how to use him, especially in maps like underground. Being able to EMP an enemy’s medstation camp that no one else can get to, disable a mine at the top of the stairs, or stop Fletcher from using his stickies can be amazingly helpful. Although I still hope SD buffs him to make him more effective.

I also think you need to consider the other side of the coin with low health mercs; they’re fast. If you know how to dodge, a fast aura can be even more useful than a slow fragger.

(OwynTyler) #5

Redeye could be in A list.

  • there is no countering for Kiras laser on an armed C4
(GatoCommodore) #6

[quote=“Owyn;c-225740”]Redeye could be in A list.

  • there is no countering for Kiras laser on an armed C4[/quote]

theres also no counter for stoker molotov on an armed C4
theres also no counter for arty dropping on an armed C4
theres also no counter for nader area denial effect

whats your point?

(ImSploosh) #7

[quote=“GatoCommodore;c-225749”][quote=“Owyn;c-225740”]Redeye could be in A list.

  • there is no countering for Kiras laser on an armed C4[/quote]

theres also no counter for stoker molotov on an armed C4
theres also no counter for arty dropping on an armed C4
theres also no counter for nader area denial effect

whats your point?[/quote]

Stoker’s molotov can be countered by explosives or smoke and when thrown on C4, generally both of those are being chucked around like crazy so it quickly dissipates. Arty’s airstrikes don’t stay on like Kira’s laser.

As for Nader… Pineapple juggler? :smiley:

(GatoCommodore) #8

[quote=“ImSploosh;c-225750”][quote=“GatoCommodore;c-225749”][quote=“Owyn;c-225740”]Redeye could be in A list.

  • there is no countering for Kiras laser on an armed C4[/quote]

theres also no counter for stoker molotov on an armed C4
theres also no counter for arty dropping on an armed C4
theres also no counter for nader area denial effect

whats your point?[/quote]

Stoker’s molotov can be countered by explosives or smoke and when thrown on C4, generally both of those are being chucked around like crazy so it quickly dissipates. Arty’s airstrikes don’t stay on like Kira’s laser.

As for Nader… Pineapple juggler? :D[/quote]

oh right i just remember they already fixed that stoker molotov snuff effect.

i mostly used arty airstrike as an area denial tool by delivering it on a certain time period just to make people be aware of my presence that i can drop arty anytime so they need to kill me or make me busy before they defuse or plant.

pinaple juggler is too conditional :smiley:

(ThunderZsolt) #9

I’d say your list is pretty accurate, as far as general usefulness goes. Maybe I’d put Fletcher in the ‘A’ tier, because you need him on every map on attacker side, and he is also useful on defender side.

However, I don’t really get one thing: you’ve put Proxy in ‘B’ tier despite her being map dependant and easy to counter, while Nader is bottom tier, although she is less situational - for example her weapons are better at range.
Her nades only suck if you try to use them for killing. Those are best used for area denial (she can hold some areas on Undergroung by herself against a team of 5) and destroying generators (especially the one that powers the barricade on Bridge).

Vassili is also map dependant, so I agree that he is only B tier, but the enemy team can’t even approach the delivering area on Chapel or trainyard as long as he is alive. With no explosive jumping/teleporting abilities the only counter to recons supposed to be poor Phantom, but that is sadly the other way around.

(ostmustis) #10

Im not sure if I should pick lol or disagree

(Eox) #11

I don’t agree with that list at all.

  • Fletcher is the meta engineer. Most players will pick him when objectives have to be dealt with due to the simple reason that he’s way more versatile than the others. Bushwhacker’s turret won’t work that well against people who know the maps and the most common turret position, and Proxy has too few HPs to be viable in competition with a defense oriented ability that enemies can turn against you or your teammates. The annoying mine + shot combo won’t save her either since she needs to be close. Also, shotguns do poorly in competition against people who can actually aim.
  • Nader is used in multiple situations in competitions. Taking down the generator on Bridge is one of them. She’s not in the meta, but she remains a fairly common, map dependant pick.
  • Thunder isn’t really a common ban in competition because the flashbang is annoying. He’s banned because he’s considered absurdly overpowered. 170 hp and an almost unavoidable ability is where it’s at. You just can’t avoid a 0.9s fuse attack thrown right at you. Extra irritating with wonky hit detection blinding effect and access to Stark AR is the icing on the cake. No matter against who you play : in a real competition, everyone agrees to ban Thunder.
  • Phoenix isn’t as good as Sawbonez when it comes about competition. He’s an excellent merc for beginners and a decent medic, but still won’t outclass Sawbonez due to multiple critical flaws. The self revive is situational as hell, he can be taken down in a single hit by PDP and Sticky Bombs, and he’s objectively worse at pocketing Fragger.
  • I wouldn’t put Skyhammer below Arty. Skyhammer’s airstrike marker can be used indoors, which can give him a small edge in a some situations.

In the end, I’d put the tier list in a scale ranking from 1 to 8.

8-7 : Broken Tier.
6-5 : High tier.
4-3 : Mid tier.
2-1 : Low tier.

Broken tier represent common bans in competition : tiers 8 to 7.
Tier 8 mercs are just almost always banned. Tier 7 mercs are also common ban targets, but picked strategically. Tier 7 merc aren’t especially mercs who can win a match by themselves, but they can turn a match into living hell depending of who is using them.
Top tier are the most common picks and lesser ban targets : tiers 6 to 5.
Tier 6 is represent the two mercs who are the backbone of the team (Sawbonez and Fragger). Tier 5 represent other extremely common picks who are slightly more map/side dependant.
Middle tier are map dependant or less common picks : tier 4 to 3. Tier 4 is centered around mercs that are heavily map dependant, or “ban” dependant in Vassili’s case. Tier 3 is mostly about mercs who can do the job, but rarely used to to the popularirty of the mercs available in tier 6.
Low tier are either outshined or overall rarely used mercs : tiers 2 to 1. Rhino is tier 2 due to being a rare pick. Picking a Rhino might happen, but it’s very unlikely and extremely situational. I also put Proxy tier 2 after hesitating with tier 1 since her fast speed could be handy in some very specific stuation. She’s the fastest engineer after all. I also put Aimee tier 2, but honestly she would probably be slightly better in Tier 3. Tier 1 mercs are those you basically don’t want to use in competition due to either sheer lack of utility in a competitive environment. Hello Phantom.

  • 8 : Thunder.
  • 7 : Sparks, RedEye.
  • 6 : Fragger, Sawbonez.
  • 5 : Fletcher, Aura, Arty, Skyhammer.
  • 4 : Nader, Vassili, Kira.
  • 3 : Phoenix, Bushwhacker, Stoker.
  • 2 : Rhino, Proxy, Aimee.
  • 1 : Phantom.

Anyway, like any tier list, better take this with a grain of salt. Skill means much more than a simple ranking.

(ostmustis) #12

1: thunder and all the snippers
2: burst rifle, sparks and fletcher (if you need an engi)
3-5: the rest

(yenku) #13

@Eox what’s Stoker tier in your opinion ? 4 ? maybe 3 ? thx

(Szakalot) #14

@ostmustis summed it up.

(Dieu-Sama) #15

I’m a gold-agent Rhino main => I fuck your horribly flawed ranking

Much Love XOXOXO <3

(Eox) #16

Oops. I’m going to edit that asap.

I put Stoker in tier 3 right now due to his recent buff. He might switch to tier 2, 4 or stay where he current is depending if people find a situation where he can be very useful. I don’t have enough info so far.

(watsyurdeal) #17

[quote=“Eox;c-225782”]

  • 8 : Thunder.
  • 7 : Sparks, RedEye.
  • 6 : Fragger, Sawbonez.
  • 5 : Fletcher, Aura, Arty, Skyhammer.
  • 4 : Nader, Vassili, Kira.
  • 3 : Phoenix, Bushwhacker, Stoker.
  • 2 : Rhino, Proxy, Aimee.
  • 1 : Phantom.

Anyway, like any tier list, better take this with a grain of salt. Skill means much more than a simple ranking.[/quote]

What puts Red Eye in that category? His weapons? His abilities? I’m a little confused here.

(n-x) #18

@Eox

I sure do not agree wih OP that Phoenix is number 1, but how come Kira is 4 and Phoenix is 3. Her ability is only useful outdoors and she is super squishy. Maybe Phoenix is inferiour to Sawbonez as a pocket medic, but he is at least useful in any situation and I would say superiour to Sawbonez when you have to make a push with several mercs against enemy fire.

Doesnt Sawbonez get his status just from the fact that he is part of the Fragger/Sawbonez duo? If you dont have a Fragger in your team, which happens often in not premade teams, Sawbonez immediately loses value. That being said, I would at least swap Kira with Phoenix.

(Eox) #19

[quote=“n-x;c-225803”]@Eox

I sure do not agree wih OP that Phoenix is number 1, but how come Kira is 4 and Phoenix is 3. Her ability is only useful outdoors and she is super squishy. Maybe Phoenix is inferiour to Sawbonez as a pocket medic, but he is at least useful in any situation and I would say superiour to Sawbonez when you have to make a push with several mercs against enemy fire.
[/quote]

There’s a simple reason for this : there’s a few areas where the Orbital Strike is just THAT good. Chapel’s last objective is in my opinion the best exemple, where you can wipe the enemy team fairly easly. She can also do a rampage in a few other areas, though I do not have enough experience with her to tell you more.

That’s the reason why I gave her tier 4 while Phoenix is only tier 3. Kira is situational, but when you pull her in the right situation she will be extremely useful. This is why a competitive team might be tempted to pull her out at one point, and the reason why she’s at tier 4. Phoenix is way less situational, but we have three other awesome medics as well. Sadly, few people would swap him for Sawbonez, Aura or Sparks (if she’s available). He might go rank 4 for being used in offense when Sparks is banned, but I don’t have enough info so far.

My tier list is strictly based on what I know from competitive. And by competitive, I don’t mean ranked. I mean, real competitive. Ranked is just glorified pubs. :stuck_out_tongue: But his is why Fragger and Sawbonez are tier 6. And to be honest, even without Fragger, Sawbonez is probably the most versatile medic. He lacks self sustain unlike Phoenix, but he has 110 hp. It looks like nothing but that’s one hell of an advantage. Sawbonez also tend to sustain the team with health a bit better. So no, even without Fragger, Sawbonez is far from losing value if Fragger isn’t there. He’s very combat capable, and if he can’t pocket Fragger he’ll probably pocket Nader or a Fire support… Or if something went terribly wrong he could be pocketting a Thunder. In this case I strongly advise you to pray your god. :’)

Finally don’t forget what I said at the end of my post. Don’t mind the tier list. You should be playing with what’s feeling the most comfortable for you. In the end, skill is always the most decisive factor. You can pretty much play any merc, even the so called “low tiers” : as long as the teamplay is good and your skill/gamesense is on point, you’re probably in for a good game. :wink:

(Eox) #20

[quote=“watsyurdeal;c-225802”][quote=“Eox;c-225782”]

  • 8 : Thunder.
  • 7 : Sparks, RedEye.
  • 6 : Fragger, Sawbonez.
  • 5 : Fletcher, Aura, Arty, Skyhammer.
  • 4 : Nader, Vassili, Kira.
  • 3 : Phoenix, Bushwhacker, Stoker.
  • 2 : Rhino, Proxy, Aimee.
  • 1 : Phantom.

Anyway, like any tier list, better take this with a grain of salt. Skill means much more than a simple ranking.[/quote]

What puts Red Eye in that category? His weapons? His abilities? I’m a little confused here.
[/quote]

He’s a fairly common ban in competition as far as I know. Access to PDP is where it’s at, and I swear Grandeur is actually extremely good too. Also, 120 hp and the smoke is definitely a strong tool of used right. Not anyone can truly do well with RedEye. But if you find someone who is good at it, he’s nearly unstoppable. He probably won’t be used everywhere if available (unless the guy who uses him is a maniac), but he’s definitely a common “tactical ban”.

I’m not making this up. I’m just basing myself from what I know from DB’s competitive environment.