Putting together a Neverness to Everness tier list after the global launch was honestly more confusing than I expected. The element wheel, the Arc types, the Esper Cycle reactions — there’s a lot going on, and “best DPS” doesn’t mean the same thing it does in most gachas because everything here lives or dies on team chemistry.
So I tested every single character on launch, broke them down by role, and ranked them against what I actually need them to do.
Here’s what’s inside:
- A clean tier table for every Esper currently playable
- The S+ picks I’d refuse to skip
- Honest takes on the mid-tier units everyone’s arguing about
- Free characters that punch way above their rarity
- An FAQ from the questions I kept seeing on Reddit and YouTube comments
Quick personal note before I dive in — I burned three reroll accounts chasing “the perfect start” before I realized the meta in this game is way more forgiving than people make it sound. So if you’re stressing about your first pulls, breathe. I’ll explain why further down.
Table of Contents
How I Ranked Every Esper in NTE 1.0
Tier lists in this game are weird because the same Esper can be S+ or B depending on who else is on the team. NTE rewards lanes — like running two characters whose elements chain into Scorch + Nova, which then triggers Discord, which shreds break bars. So a “weak” character can actually be glue holding a comp together.
My ranking weighs four things: raw on-field damage, team utility (buffs/shields/CC), how easy the kit is to actually pilot, and how flexible they are across content. Beyond the Rails (the rotating endgame mode) and High Risk Commission were my two main test grounds since that’s where roster gaps actually hurt.
One thing I’ll say upfront — Hotori and Lacrimosa aren’t out yet, so they sit in TBD. I’ve slotted Hotori based on her CN performance and I’ll update once she drops on May 13.
S+ Tier — The Anchors of Every Top Comp
These four are the ones I’d genuinely refuse to skip if I had the resources. They define how teams are built around them.
| Esper | Element / Arc | Role | Why They’re Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanally | Anima / Plasma | Main DPS | Highest raw damage at launch, off-field follow-ups, wall running |
| Sakiri | Incantation / Bose | Sub DPS / Buff | Team-wide ATK buff + AoE pull, irreplaceable utility |
| Chiz | Cosmos / Gas | Main DPS | Free S-rank with Grain Market burst, scales to endgame |
| Jiuyuan | Anima / Liquid | Main DPS | AoE pull + Lethal Rose Pact detonations, top boss DPS |
Nanally is doing things no other launch unit can. Her Underboss summon keeps hitting while you’re swapping characters, which means her “downtime damage” is higher than most main DPS units’ on-field damage. The wall-running gimmick is funny but actually useful for chest-hunting in Hethereau. If you only pull one limited unit in version 1.0, make it her.
Sakiri doesn’t deal the damage, but she’s the reason your DPS deals more of it. Her Devour Whole skill yanks enemies into a tight cluster and her ult slaps a 30%-of-her-base-ATK buff on the whole team for 20 seconds. I learned the hard way that you don’t realize how good she is until you try Beyond the Rails without her — the damage drop-off feels like running through molasses.
Chiz is the wildest free unit I’ve seen in a gacha launch in years. You unlock her through City Tycoon progression and you get all her Awakening copies for free as you level. Her Grain mechanic is unique — basic attacks build “Grain price,” and timing your skills at peak Grain makes her hit ridiculously hard. She’s the F2P miracle.
Jiuyuan is sometimes ranked one slot below the rest in other tier lists, but I’m keeping her at S+ because she compresses two roles. She’s both a high-damage DPS and a CC unit that pulls enemies into a kill zone. The fact that she’s on the standard banner pool means you can grab her with the 50-pull selector.
S Tier — Strong With a Catch
These three are excellent, but each comes with a real trade-off you have to plan around.
| Esper | Element / Arc | Role | Why They’re Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daffodil | Chaos / Liquid | DPS / Breaker | Only Chaos unit at launch, melts boss break bars |
| Baicang | Incantation / Bose | Main DPS | Highest damage ceiling, demanding rotation |
| Haniel | Psyche / Solid | Buff | Best A-rank in the game, free ATK buffer |
Daffodil is the boss-killer specialist. Her white-bar damage is so high that pairing her with Baicang and Haniel creates the Discord reaction setup, which passively drains break bars without you doing anything fancy. She’s also the only Chaos character on launch, so if you want to run any Discord, Scorch, or Nova lane, you basically need her or you wait. Small nerfs from CN to global, but nothing that drops her from S.
Baicang has the highest theoretical damage in the game — but his Power Word casts cost him HP, and his ult has an execute threshold so you have to save it for the kill. I tried maining him for two days and got bodied because I kept whiffing the timing. Once it clicks though, he’s monstrous. Not a beginner pick.
Haniel is the textbook OP A-rank. You get her free from pre-registration with extra Awakening copies, and her entire kit is built around buffing your team’s ATK. Slot her into a Nova team with any Chaos or Lakshana DPS and she just makes everyone hit harder. No strings.
A Tier — Solid Workhorses That Earn Their Spot
These four aren’t going to carry runs by themselves, but every one of them slots into real comps that work.
| Esper | Element / Arc | Role | Why They’re Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adler | Incantation / Bose | Sub DPS / Shield | Free shields + DoTs, debuff applier |
| Esper Zero | Cosmos / Solid | DPS / All-rounder | Free MC, instant Esper Cycle, self-heal |
| Hathor | Lakshana / Plasma | Sub DPS | Strong burst + Remora trigger |
| Fadia | Psyche / Bose | Survival | Damage redirection, late-game scaler |
Adler is “press button, get value.” His shield uptime is around 75%, he applies a debuff that reduces enemy Esper resistance, and he stacks DoTs on top. He’s currently the only source of his specific debuff, which is wild for a free A-rank. He’s basically a discount Fadia for accounts that didn’t pull her.
Esper Zero is the protagonist and they grow stronger as you progress through the story (you get Awakenings naturally). Their Instant Cycle skill lets you trigger Esper Cycle reactions on demand instead of waiting for the meter, which makes rotation timing way smoother. Pairing Zero at C3 with Nanally is one of the strongest cores in 1.0.
Hathor is a courier with a hammer who hits hard but feels less essential than the S+ supports. She’s great in Remora teams and provides solid Lakshana damage, but she doesn’t define a comp the way Sakiri or Daffodil do.
Fadia is in a strange spot right now — early game she feels mediocre because content is too easy for her defensive utility to matter. But once you hit Beyond the Rails on higher difficulties, her damage redirection genuinely saves runs. She’s an account-scaler.
B Tier — Bench Warmers (For Now)
I want to be fair here — none of these are “trash.” They just don’t have a clear team where they’re the best option.
| Esper | Element / Arc | Role | Why They’re Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mint | Anima / Liquid | DPS | Lacks utility, outclassed by Nanally |
| Aurelia | Psyche / Plasma | AoE DPS | Awkward against aggressive boss patterns |
| Edgar | Cosmos / Liquid | Survival | Niche pick, situational only |
| Skia | Lakshana / Gas | DPS | Solid kit but no standout role |
Mint is the friend who tries hard but keeps getting outpaced. She’s free from the story and totally usable for the early campaign, but she falls off once you have actual S-rank options. Don’t dump resources into her past the early game.
Aurelia has decent damage on paper but bosses in this game move a lot, and her windup gets interrupted constantly. She works in AoE mob clears though, so she’s fine for farm content.
Edgar is the kind of unit you build only if you have a specific Liquid Cosmos team in mind. For most players, you’ll never run him.
Skia is what I call “perfectly fine.” She has no glaring weaknesses but no standout strengths either. If you pull her dupes, fine, but don’t reroll for her.
TBD — The Banner Watch List
| Esper | Banner Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hotori | May 13 – June 3, 2026 | S-class Cosmos burst DPS + team damage boost |
| Lacrimosa | Version 1.1 (TBA) | Beta DPS with Chaos/Liquid kit, likely Daffodil pair |
Hotori looks really strong on paper based on the CN data — burst damage plus a team-wide damage amp baked into her kit is the kind of design that usually places top-tier. I’m holding pulls for her unless I hit Nanally early.
Lacrimosa is even more of a wildcard. She got drip-marketed which usually means a confirmed banner, but her kit might shift between beta and live like Daffodil’s did.
The Free Picks That Carry New Accounts
Here’s the part nobody mentions enough — NTE gives you a lot for free. Your launch roster is honestly playable without spending anything:
- Esper Zero (your MC) — handed to you in the prologue
- Mint — story unlock right after the prologue
- Adler — story unlock through early progression
- Haniel — pre-reg reward with extra Awakenings
- Chiz — unlocks at City Tycoon Level 18 with all dupes free
That last one is the kicker. Most gacha games dangle a single A-rank as their “free unit.” NTE just hands you a fully-Awakened S-rank DPS for grinding the city builder content. I genuinely don’t know how this got past someone’s monetization spreadsheet, but I’m not complaining.
Who I’d Reroll For Right Now
If you’re rerolling, here’s the priority order I’d actually follow in 2026:
- Nanally on the limited banner (90-pull guaranteed, no 50/50)
- Sakiri or Daffodil from the standard 50-pull selector
- Anything else as a bonus
NTE has no 50/50 — every limited S-rank pull on a featured banner is the rate-up character. Pity also carries between banners. So even if your reroll isn’t perfect, you’re not screwed long-term.
Two things I’d push back on if you’re seeing reroll guides online: don’t bother targeting Hathor or Fadia early because their value scales late, and skip the Arc (weapon) banner entirely until you’ve got your character lineup sorted. F2P value is in characters, not weapons.
What I Got Wrong My First Week
I’m not going to pretend this list is perfect — meta will shift. Two things I already had to revise after my first runs:
I underrated Adler. I was treating him like a shield-bot, but his debuff is straight-up irreplaceable for break-focused teams right now. He’s not a B-rank value pick — he’s the spine of any Discord-adjacent team that doesn’t have Fadia.
I overrated Hathor. On paper she has high damage. In practice, she needs a setup that competes with Nanally for the on-field slot, and Nanally just wins that fight. She’s still good, but she’s not a top reroll target like some guides suggest.
The other big lesson — stop comparing this game to Genshin or Wuthering Waves. The Esper Cycle reaction system is closer to a fighting-game combo than a Genshin elemental reaction. You’re not just stacking elements; you’re sequencing them in specific orders to chain Blossom into Charge into bigger ult procs. Once that clicks, your tier list opinion changes.
FAQ
Is Nanally actually worth saving 90 pulls for?
Yes, and it’s not even close. She’s the best main DPS in 1.0, her Underboss keeps doing damage off-field while you swap, and the wall-running mobility is genuinely useful for exploration. Plus, since NTE has no 50/50, your 90 pulls guarantee her — that’s not the case in most gachas.
Should I reroll for Sakiri instead of Nanally?
Only if you really hate rerolling for limited characters. Sakiri is on the standard banner, so you can target her with the 50-pull selector after a few hours of play. Nanally is the only character you can’t get from the selector or for free, so she’s the higher-priority reroll.
Is Chiz really free? What’s the catch?
She’s genuinely free — you unlock her by raising your City Tycoon level (the city-building side mode), and you get all her Awakening copies as you progress. The “catch” is that her Grain Market mechanic has a higher skill ceiling than other DPS units, so you have to actually learn her timing. Worth it.
Can A-rank characters clear endgame content?
Haniel and Adler can absolutely keep up in their support roles — they don’t deal the most damage, but they don’t need to. A-rank DPS units like Mint and Aurelia start falling behind in High Risk Commission and Beyond the Rails on higher difficulties. So A-rank supports yes, A-rank damage dealers no.
Will Hotori dethrone Nanally as the best DPS?
Probably not as the best, but she’ll be top-tier. From CN data she’s a burst DPS with a team damage amp, which is more of a niche than Nanally’s all-rounder kit. They’ll likely both be top picks for different team archetypes rather than one replacing the other.
Is Baicang too hard for new players?
Yeah, honestly. His HP-cost mechanic on Power Words plus the execute threshold on his ult means you have to know exactly when to commit and when to hold. If you’re new to action gachas, start with Nanally or use Chiz — both are forgiving. Come back to Baicang when you’re ready to learn rotations.
Does NTE have a 50/50 like Genshin?
No. Every S-rank you pull on a limited banner is the featured character. This is one of the most player-friendly pull systems I’ve seen in a gacha launch.
What’s the best free team I can build at launch?
Esper Zero + Adler + Haniel + Chiz once you unlock her. That’s a four-Esper Cosmos/Incantation/Psyche lineup that activates real Esper Cycle reactions and clears most early-to-mid content without spending anything.
Final Thoughts on the 2026 NTE Tier List
If you only take one thing from this Neverness to Everness tier list, let it be this — pull for Nanally, grab Sakiri or Daffodil from your standard selector, and stop stressing about everything else. The roster is generous, the gacha is fair by genre standards, and the free units are stupidly strong. You’ll have a working team before you’ve even finished the first weekend.
I’ll be updating this once Hotori drops and once we get more Beyond the Rails clear data. For now, this is what I’d hand to anyone asking me where to spend their dice.
See you in Hethereau.