As a character-based game, Destiny: Rising has a respective meta. There are characters that dominate the leaderboards, niche characters, sleeper picks, and characters that are simply not as fun to play in their current state.
Here’s our tier list of the best characters in Destiny: Rising as of Efrideet’s release.
Table of contents
Best Destiny Rising characters for PvE, ranked
| Tier | Characters |
|---|---|
| S-Tier | Ikora the Hidden, Helhest, Estela, Ning Fei, Jaren |
| A-Tier | Efrideet, Kabr the Resolute, Jolder, Umeko |
| B-Tier | Gwynn, Maru, Tan-2 |
| C-Tier | Attal, Wolf, Kabr, Rossi-11 |
| D-Tier | Xuan Wei, Ikora, Finnala |
The meta is bound to shift as the game grows and new characters are added. Some of the characters might get stronger and become more relevant depending on seasonal modifiers, too, so make sure to inspect what each of them does and check back for any meta changes.
S-Tier
S-Tier characters are the best of the best in Destiny: Rising. As long as the modifiers allow it, bringing one of them to any activity is a fantastic choice.
At the top of the meta, Helhest continues to dominate as one of the best characters, thanks to the immense amount of damage she can deal while being a support character. She also generates Heavy ammo, sustains the team, and increases everyone’s damage.
Among Void characters, Ikora, the Hidden (five-star version of regular Ikora), is the best pick. While wielding the same weapon combination as her four-star version, Ikora, the Hidden is much more powerful and fun to play. Her kit revolves around dashing to reload weapons and deal a ton of damage by spamming rockets.
For Solar, Estela may not have as much burst damage, but she has enough sustain and DPS to shine in every endgame activity. A pulse rifle and a machine gun aren’t the best for damage, but they can quickly build Corruption for Bewitched Illusions.
If you need a Solar DPS, there’s also Jaren Ward – an iconic Hunter from the Destiny lore. His kit features high Super damage, add-clear, mobility, and self-healing. Moreover, his kit can deal with both precision and spread Shinkas in high-end content.
Lastly, Ning Fei has been a staple for Calamity Ops and now Operation Cordon. His main strength is his mobility, so in any activity where you are against the clock, Ning Fei is a great option. Outside of speedrunning, his kit distracts enemies with clones on top of dealing damage, which becomes increasingly impactful in higher-end content.
A-Tier
Characters in A-Tier are all strong picks and are suitable for most activities in Destiny: Rising. They’re just not as decisively dominant as characters in S-Tier, and some of them are a bit more situational.
Efrideet is a new addition to the roster and is a damage dealer with Piercing weapons. As with every new character, it’s hard to tell her place in the meta yet. She has solid damage to be in A-Tier, but her survivability isn’t the greatest.
A character who doesn’t have many issues with survivability and is the first defensive character on the list is Jolder. She provides plenty of sustain to herself with healing and overshields. But the best part of her kit is the Super, Barrier of Starlight, which you can shoot from (Jolder’s submachine gun also constantly reloads inside the bubble for good damage).
Kabr the Resolute is also a defensive character, focused much more on utility. The Mythic version does the same thing as the Legendary Kabr, but better. With up to three barriers from Signature Abilities, another barrier from the Super, and a ton of blind from everything.
A-Tier is also a place for Umeko, a Void support character, and the best four-star in the game. She can heal herself and nearby teammates and debuff enemies with her abilities. Umeko may not deal as much ability damage, but she can remain competitive with the right weapons, like Izanagi’s Burden.
B-Tier
The B-Tier consists primarily of characters who got overshadowed by newer additions, like Gwynn and Maru. They are still good picks, but there are better alternatives for most endgame activities.
Gwynn is a close-range DPS who can dish out tons of damage with her Void Dance ability, especially when you stack six Void Spirits, while also healing you. You can then chain it into her Super that grants maximum Void Spirits and deals high damage.
Then there’s Maru – another Void damage character who can put out great damage in a challenging environment, but is falling behind Ikora, the Hidden. She also wields two grenade launchers, which may not be the best weapon combination.
Lastly, Tan-2 has been slowly losing relevance with Helhest dominating the meta. Survivability and damage increase with Blessing of Dawn/Dusk is great, but Helhest can do the same while dealing more damage.
C-Tier
Characters in C-Tier are good options while you play through the campaign and easier content. However, as you reach the endgame, try to shift towards five-star characters in higher tiers.
With the launch of Kabr the Resolute, regular Kabr fell behind. He still provides decent utility by blinding enemies and creating barriers, but the Mythic version does it better. Similarly, Rossi-11 also offers good utility in the form of crowd control, overshields, and a barrier, but slightly falls behind other characters in the category.
Attal mixes healing from her Mint Mend and Delightful Companion passive with damage from Arc Missile and Mini Missile abilities. She’s a jack of all trades, but falls behind characters like Helhest and Umeko mainly due to the damage output.
After so many new Mythic characters, Wolf also stepped down into C-Tier. While they are a surprisingly strong starting character for a gacha game, dealing respectable damage and keeping themselves alive with overshields, most five-stars can do the same, but better.
D-Tier
The remaining characters are underwhelming compared to their alternatives in higher tiers. Whether it’s the weapon loadout, overall damage, or ability kits, they need some love to perform decently.
Ikora can deal decent damage with her Nova Bomb, but her playstyle, using crowd control and a breech-loaded grenade launcher, isn’t rewarding enough. The same goes for Xuan Wei, who’s wielding a fusion rifle as a primary weapon.
Finnala is a character with the most potential on the list. She has a solid defensive kit, especially with the right Artifacts, and great weapon options. It doesn’t feel like she can provide the same level of impact as characters in higher tiers, though.
