NTE Neverness to Everness Characters Tier List

Tiers are not ordered

This Tier List represents deep analysis of the characters who have been released and established for quite some time. But offers preliminary analysis for characters who have just come out, until further testing is concluded. It's prone to constant updates with every version, with characters going up and down the tiers depending on their most recent performance.

NTE is still early in v1.1, and the META has started to take early shape, but it's nowhere near mature and established after more limited characters release over several version updates. In 1.1, Beyond the Rail brings two more floors with higher difficulty, which have potential to flip the META over its head. We are keeping all characters on watchlist to examine their performance against very high level content.

As for methodology, we don't have a strict baseline. We try to evaluate flexibility, top-end strength, best-case-scenario, AoE, single-target, etc. Every character can be valuable in different ways, and our tier list aims to evaluate as many criteria as possible.

Lastly, everyone, including us, understands that a tier list 3-6 months from now will look completely different. Some characters that provide utility may have better long term value, while DPS characters often become less valuable over time. However, getting a strong DPS early on provides a greater immediate boost to your account's power, so these criteria can often be at odds.

S-Tier

Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa plays as DoT main carry or DPS support for teams on the lower half of the Esper Circle. She has a playstyle that can switch between ranged and melee modes, and can copy an enemy attack skill to use as her own.

Early evaluation from CN server shows that Lacrimosa deserves an S tier placement. She's a good character on her own, but she also brings out the best out of other standard characters, such as Baicang and Sakiri, and even A-Class characters such as Adler. She solidifies DoT playstyle, Scorch teams, and Discord teams.

Hotori

Hotori is the second limited character in NTE, and doubles as a support and Burst DPS. Her time stop means she does all her DPS in zero seconds on the timer, and with endgame mode being timed stages, time stop is invaluable. She records allies skills or support skills, and replicates them during the time stop. So Hotori fits the top of the META, with predicted high value in the long term. Even if her damage becomes smaller in comparison, no one will deal said damage faster than her zero seconds rotation.

Nanally

Nanally is the first Limited Character in NTE, and proved to be a top DPS at launch, and her potential grew even more after Hotori release. Blossom team currently resides at the top, and Nanally kit synergizes perfectly with Blossom. That, in addition to her Hyper Carry team - which outputs one of the highest DPS - guarantees her top position on the tier list.

Zero

At version 1.1, players have already unlocked more than three Awakening for the Main Character (Zero), which boosts their usability, DPS, and value. And with their skill filling Esper Meter instantly, they enable all reaction teams on the top half of the Esper Circle. Their value doubled with Hotori release, as Hotori replicates their skill to refill Esper Meter twice per rotation. The duo effectively triples the reactions the team triggers.

Jiuyuan

Jiuyuan has proven herself as the most flexible character at launch, fitting almost every team. Thanks to her easy grouping for AOE stages, her low field time, her ability to double Blossom buds, and synergy with top DPS characters. All of that comes at A0, then her value grows even more with the healing Awakening that can be unlocked with one dupe. Which will likely come naturally as players do free pulls on the standard banner.

Chiz

Players gets Chiz and her signature Arc for free, and over time, all her Awakenings will be unlocked. Chiz at A0 is very competitive, and performs slightly lower than top META. But as a free unit with several Awakenings and more dupes of her Arc unlocked over time, Chiz will overtake or equal them. Especially with her Awakening reducing the RNG factor in her kit.  She’s a stable (S) tier for now.

A-Tier

Sakiri

Sakiri is very flexible, has a gathering ability with the hold version of her skill, provides a team-wide ATK buff, and has access to a fantastic Hexed reaction that increases team DPS. But her hold skill can be interrupted mid animation, and her Esper Meter builds slowly, so she triggers Hexed fewer times than expected. 

In reality, Sakiri is top tier in the Scorch team, where she buffs Baicang's DPS immensely, and generally a very good buffer for other teams. But her value is slightly behind S Tier characters. With one dupe, you can allocate Sakiri’s A4 to double her buff power, which brings her back to (S) Tier

Daffodill

With Beyond the Rail endgame mode requiring two teams, Daffodill’s value immediately jumps quite high. She’s the only Chaos character choice if you don't have Lacrimosa, so three whole reactions are locked behind acquiring Daffodill (Nova, Scorch, and Discord). Daffodill can easily fill as DPS or sub-DPS in the second team, especially against the half with Bosses. Her break efficiency results in more breaks on Bosses, and faster clears and more CC. 

A fantastic unit which would get even more highlight if a break support character releases, or S-Class Psyche DPS. With Awakenings, Daffodill can climb higher in Tiers, but she needs multiple Awakenings, which is not an easy feat.

Baicang

Baicang is a fantastic standard banner DPS, with caveats. His team building around Scorch is restrictive, and his gameplay is not easy. One misclick, and his rotation becomes inferior, losing DPS potential. But aside from that, he’s a reliable carry for your second team, with a potential upgrade when Lacrimosa releases in the near future. For now, he stays at a solid (A) Tier

Hathor

We have had Hathor on our watchlist since release, and we finally decided to move her up to (A) Tier. The enemy interruption of her hold skill proved to be less severe than we anticipated, her DPS is still good, and her support value by enabling Remora and Charged is quite high. Hotori’s release sealed the deal, as Hathor fits a couple of Hotori’s top teams, with Hotori replicating her skill for more DPS and smoother rotation. 

More and more teams feature Hathor as best-in-slot. And for account progression, Hathor is still the only character who provides a free Cartridge daily from her exclusive Anomaly Furniture.

Haniel

We are placing Haniel at the same tier as Sakiri, as she plays a very similar ATK buffer support role. Haniel doesn’t have a grouping skill, but instead she gives extra ATK buffs through her skill. Being an A-Class, players can easily acquire all her Awakenings. With two dupes, Haniel gets to reduce her skill cooldown and increase their duration, effectively resulting in 100% uptime for her buffs, which is longer than buffs from A0 Sakiri. Her value is very high especially with a near one-second rotation.

Haniel is a potential candidate for (S) Rank if she finds a team that fully exploits Nova or Stain, but filling the Esper Meter on Haniel or characters of adjacent elements is not easy, Haniel’s reactions play a smaller role in most teams, so she stays in (A) Tier. But we will keep an eye out.

B-Tier

Adler

Adler was previously placed at (A) Tier, due to the combination of survivability and DPS he provides. But the current stages in Beyond the Rail in mid-game prove that DPS is king. We witnessed and practiced teams clearing stages 10 and 15 levels higher than the characters with no sustain at all. So we have to drop the Tier of sustain characters as they are deemed nice to play, but unnecessary.

The Scorch team is where Adler really shines, but Sakiri is usually the better pick for that team and all other teams. That said, Adler can still find a place in the Mono Scorch team, with Lacrimosa and Baicang.

Fadia

Fadia is without a doubt the best sustain in the game at launch. But as mentioned previously, sustain characters are not necessary in the game's current state. She provides damage reduction, and shares the damage taken by allies, and even reflects damage back at enemies. She allows a very aggressive face-tank playstyle which provides more DPS window for any hyper carry. Which is DPS gain in some situations.

But Haniel, who shares the same Psyche element, makes the decision to include Fadia debatable. So it comes down to playstyle choice, not top META recommendation. She stays at (B) Tier for now.

Mint

The poster character of NTE. Mint’s hyper carry team is on the low end of the spectrum. But the real value of Mint comes from her element, Anima. Even though the game has two S-Class Anima characters who are considered (S) Tier in all scenarios, Mint still has her place in the second team for some accounts. With Cosmos and Lakshana characters alongside Mint you can trigger Charged for massive energy generation.

Her low skill cooldown and the cooldown reset with her dodge counter helps Mint build Esper Meter faster, and trigger Blossom. That’s useful when both Jiuyuan and Nanally are busy in the other team, while you have several Cosmos characters that need a good pair. (e.g: building Chiz hyper team on one side and a full Blossom team on the other side). Anima also connects Cosmos with Incantation then Chaos elements, if you want that kind of team. 

But from a pure power perspective, Mint is still (B) Rank. Though she got better with Hotori release, it was not enough for a breakthrough.

C-Tier

Skia

Skia’s hyper carry team has the lowest DPS in the game. But his real value comes from being a budget substitute for Hathor in some of the top teams, due to his Lakshana element. His burst style doesn’t take much field time, so he brings some debuffs and CC, and doesn't hinder team rotation. He's a pseudo-defensive character with some damage and a desired element. But he's not comparable to Hathor when considering her passive alone, let alone her DPS.

He's still a good character who helps you clear content if there's no other choice, but he’s a low priority, for certain.

D-Tier

Edgar

With the reveal that sustain characters are less impactful, Edgar loses all his value, and drops to the lowest Tier possible. His kit is pure healing, and his Awakenings don’t help much. Against the toughest boss in the game (from 4-star 'Wanted' status), Edgar's healing is not enough to survive another hit. You are always better off dodging to avoid damage entirely than taking a hit and recovering only 20% of it.

His passive which frontloads the energy gain from Charged reaction would be his leverage in Hotori teams, if it didn’t have a 30-second cooldown that totally desyncs with Hotori after the first rotation. It was his salvage chance, and he missed it.

June 2, 2026

• Lacrimosa added to S Tier

May 15, 2026

• Hotori added to S Tier
• Zero S↑ , Sakiri A↓ , Hathor A↑ , Adler B↓ , Edgar D↓

April 28, 2026

• Pre-Launch Tier List Created