Apocalypse Strikers Tier Ratings Major Revision May 2017

Hello all, we will be doing a major revamp of the strikers' tier ratings.

Our goal is to revise the strikers' tier ratings to reflect the current PvP & PvE meta, as accurately as possible.

In the process, we will explain our rationales and the current PvP & PvE environment surrounding the revised strikers ratings.

This major revision comes after the 3rd Anniversary Major Patch 2017.


Read the previous major revision to better understand the differences in PvP meta/environment 9 months ago:

soccerspirits.freeforums.net/thread/436/apocalypse-strikers-ratings-major-revision


This time round, we've decided to be more general with the striker tier list so it will be easier to understand for the new playesr.

The current ratings are still very raw and requires much polishing.

#Feel free to feedback and share your thoughts.

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3rd Anniversary Major Patch Revision: soccerspirits.freeforums.net/thread/723/major-changes-review-soccer-spirits

Stacked Actives Striker Nerf: soccerspirits.freeforums.net/thread/602/january-update-patch-soccer-spirits

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First, we will revise the PvE striker ratings.

Our PvE ratings are mainly based on Colosseum of Despair (CoD) & Colosseum of Infinity (CoI) & it will be staying that way.

This is because there is no size fit all striker that is used to clear all Colosseum of Trials (CoT).

For other PvE content, bosses etc, most strikers are equally capable of dealing with most of them.

So our PvE striker ratings will be based on the striker capabilities with regard to CoD.


Revised New Strikers Ratings for PvE (Season 6 CoD):

For CoD, it's very straightforward. You either do:

• Instant OHKO (Below 2 mins in match)
  
  
• Serestia cheese & OHKO
  
  
• Ravian shoot/CA/shoot/CA until enemy GK is dead
  
  
• Backline tank, cast critical damage (meiran, black daisy, jacob etc), damage inflicted increase (cynthia etc) active buff & OHKO

So it's either OHKO or Ravian cheese.

For OHKO, there are 4 strikers for different enemy GKs and backlines.

It used to be only Sharr that is the lone top CoD striker. What's different now is:

• Wind Caller Unique (*New)
  
  This makes Damien and Griffith shine. 
  
  Griffith equipped with Wind Caller + reroll WW slot for ardor slot will make her equivalent to Sharr and possibly even stronger due to penetration power in passives against some GKs
  
  
• Season 6 CoD
  
  This new season of CoD was basically designed to force people to use Shanti for certain floors.
  
  Like CoD 40, 50, 60 are Presty GKs. Shanti can OHKO CoD 60 but Sharr cannot.
  
  But eventually, Damien EE and new Wind Caller unique make these 3 strikers outshine Sharr on certain floors in Season 6 CoD
  
  
• Season 4 Legendary Striker Miri
  
  Her ability to OHKO in CoD with her high penetration power and dribble increase stealing is amazing.
  
  She also has the ability to steal spirit before shooting which prevents GK block for easy OHKO.

Tier Ratings:

• Very straightforward. Sharr, Shanti, Griffith, Damien, Miri now share the same S tier rating. 
  
  Which works best? It depends on enemy GK and backline.
  
  
• Jean & Ravian also manage to grab the S rating.
  
  Jean is capable of shooting CoD 59 Jin for 16k+ damage at 20th minute.
  
  His OHKO ability is not to be doubted. But not everyone knows how to use him.
  
  While Ravian is the expensive alternative for CoD high score run when you do not have the invested players for instant OHKO

Hence, only having one of the four S rating strikers might not be enough to clear future CoD. You probably need at least 2 of them to deal with GK of different elements.


What about other strikers for PvE (CoD/CoI)?

• Giving the other strikers a tier/damage rating was a waste of time.
  
  Similarly, building any striker besides the S rating strikers is a waste of time and resources $$$.

PvE Utility

• PvE Utility
  
  Mainly refers to strikers with special skills that have a special use
  
  
• WoM William
  
  The only player in the game that can recover 80% permanent AB on attack a.k.a the infinite player
  
  Useful for CoT trials like CoT 5-3.
  
  
• Kirin
  
  The only striker in the game that can paralyze enemy backlines
  
  Mainly used for CoT trial 5-5
  
  
• Casino Ravian
  
  Initially used for clearing CoT 5-8
  
  Shoot > CA > Shoot > Repeat 6 times > Enjoy the Casino.
  
  Now also used for CoD RNG Casino enjoyment for high CoD scores when you do not have invested cards for specific floors.
  
  
• Vann
  
  Vann has AB recovery to himself when the ball is outside the line 
  
  This means he can recovery action bar to himself via match time when ball is in mid-line or backline
  
  Useful for CoT trials like 5-10 or 5-9.

Revised New Striker Ratings for PvP

Before understanding the tier ratings, first you need to understand the current PvP meta.

Current PvP meta: Defense >>> Offense 

• High damage reduction, high critical resistance, penetration power debuffs, nerfed striker damage reflection, strong passive healing
  
  
• Even if you are running Universe Tier (U) strikers, it is still possible to end the match in draw (45 minutes).
  

Tier Ratings explained:

• Universe Tier
  
  This is the group of strikers that have no GK weakness
  
  For example, Miri is supposed to be weak against ardor GK (elemental disadvantage).
  
  But Lucian, Angela are weak, you can use Miri against ardor GKs and still do very well against them.
  
  Basically, this group of striker does well against all GKs; hence, you can just use one striker from this group and run it against all GKs.
  
  
• S Tier
  
  This group of strikers do very well against most GKs except a few specific GKs that they are disadvantaged against.
  
  For example, Leventor does well against almost all GKs except Jin/BT with Magnus.
  
  For example, Vonchi does well against almost all GKs except Presty/Glayde with Nerua/Patricia.
  
  For example, Lucid/Damien does well against almost all GKs except 5K HP Isillia with Chitose.
  
  Hence, you will need a backup striker against certain enemy GKs and backlines. 
  
  Simply put, you run 2 S tier strikers that complement and backup each other & you will be able to deal with all GKs.
  

• Kyoko, Beatrice, Hiro, Vitos are strikers of different elements but with similar design
  
  High penetration power PvP strikers with low critical rate ceiling.
  
  Hiro is the worst of the 4 since he doesn't have in-built penetration power in his passives
  
  With these strikers, you go full penetration power and try to kill enemy GK with non-crit shots.
  
  
• Stacked Active strikers (Bora, Irru, Blade, Vann, Latios, Ravian, Kirin)
  
  These strikers are the reverse from the above strikers.
  
  They have high critical rate ceiling on max active stacks but most doesn't have in-built penetration power, besides Blade.
  
  All these strikers are hit badly by the nerf.
  (http://soccerspirits.freeforums.net/thread/602/january-update-patch-soccer-spirits)
  
  Their active stacks only apply on shoot now; means their steal & ball holding damage is lowered, easily killed by enemy backlines.
  
  In addition, they are countered by Aiolos active buff removal.
  
  
• William
  
  William hits for very low damage if he doesn't crit because his 100% critical damage passive becomes useless.
  
  In the current critical resistance meta, he cannot even kill WW gk if he doesn't crit.
  
  But when he can crit, he can kill most GK either with high AB recovery or high penetration power.
  
  WoM William gives high AB recovery for many 1v1 shots against most GKs except Presty.
  
  DB William allows William to reach 100% penetration power with his own ace.
  
  But if you reroll for DB william, william loses his PvE edge as the sole 80% AB recovery player with kevin in the game.
  
  
• Long Range strikers (Jean, Furion)
  
  They do not seem to work for long matches in PvP.
  
  But for PvP instant OHKO formation, Furion OHKO can work to a certain extent. 
  
  Check out Wibl (Global Server) Furion OHKO PvP formation.
  
  It works well when you start with the ball and if you don't, he does have a backup plan for frontline also.
  
  It's not a 100% foolproof strategy but it can get you to galaxy with some losses at a minimal investment.
  
  
• Kirin
  
  Still a nightmare against most GKs except Presty
  
  Because Presty counter-paralyze Kirin
  
  This can be work-around by having 4 man front with 2 assists. 
  
  However, assists are not so effective in killing enemy backlines.
  
  Number of Presty in league is ever rising. 
  
  Hence, it somewhat affects Kirin tier in that sense when you cannot really use him well everytime you meet a Presty.
  
  

Conclusion:

Once again, the current PvP meta is the 45 minutes match meta (Defense >>> Offense).

It's not like, you run a top tier striker and you can end a PvP match before 45 minutes.

You need to focus on defense more until you can last 45 minutes confidently.

That should be the emphasis of your PvP strategy.


*Lastly, if you use the above rated strikers and feel that it does not match the tier given, there could be 3 reasons:

One is that the PvP meta has changed or that the stone build for your striker is not right OR your frontline is not the optimal frontline.

For example using a milky elaine striker frontline against Presty or Luka - Silla outdated frontlines.

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Enjoy reading and have fun !!~