Complete Destiny Rising Characters Tier List [PVP & PVE]

The best characters in Destiny Rising depend on both the power of their unique abilities and passives, as well as on their weapon selection. As characters can access limited weapon categories, weapon accessibility has an impact on rankings, especially for PVP. Here's my PVE and PVE Destiny Rising characters tier list.

Destiny Rising PVE Guardians Tier List

Before we dive into this Destiny Rising PVE tier list, note that there are no trash heroes in Destiny Rising, and all can be good depending on your playstyle. That said, some are designed to be mechanically better for important PVE roles, such as AOE and boss killer damage, or defense/sustain.

Others who don't specialize in these roles can be great supports, but in Destiny, DPS is usually king. That's why Ning Fei is currently slightly underpowered, and I don't recommend going for him until he gets a buff. That said, let's dive into the first part of our Destiny Rising characters tier list— PVE ranking of all guardians.

S-Tier PVE

S-Tier Characters	Why S-Tier/Pros & Cons
Tan-2 5-Star Standard Mythic	+ Tan-2 has a lot of incredibly powerful tools like Well of Radiance and Phosphorus + His ascension passives are some of the best in Destiny Rising and you can get crazy strong from further Light Crystal damage boosts + Team damage buff + One of the best boss killers with his Sniper and Scout rifles - Lacks a bit of AOE damage - His DPS playstyle clashes with this healing super which usually isn't worth it and is better supplemented with his skills
Jolder 5-Star Standard Mythic	+ Jolder's kit makes her one of the tankiest characters in the game without sacrificing speed and damage + Protects herself well and protects the team with the super + Stacks incredible damage boosts with Mayhem's Star + Overall, a powerful mix of tanking, support, and damage just by taking damage - Her sword can limit your shooting capabilities against certain bosses if you don't have the Partridge Sky exotic
Maru 5-Star Standard Mythic	+ Best defense and artillery style offense hybrid in the game + Put up Abyss Engulf when you know lots of attacks are coming from a boss, and watch yourself become unkillable + Great end-game scaling and has access to more elements - Slightly less RAW damage than some S and A-Tiers, but still great sustained DPS with tanking options
Estela 5-Star Limited Mythic	+ Some of the best AOE damage in the game with the dragon summon + Playing around your ultimate is a must because it's the strongest DPS ultimate in the game + Becomes a monster with Bad Juju for super duration or Gallows for sustained DPS - Currently doesn't stack much damage buffs and lacks reliable healing so she's on the verge of A-Tier due to her bad scaling

Related: Destiny Rising Beginner's Guide - Banners, Weapons & More

A-Tier PVE

A-Tier Characters	Why A-Tier/Pros & Cons
Wolf 4-Star	+ The same way Stela is on the verge of A-Tier, Wolf is on the verge of S-Tier because he's easy to get while having great scaling and respectable damage + Great AOE damage with Super and with grenade launchers and rifles are good for sustained single-target DPS + Boosts all of his moves with his stacking damage buff - More of a jack-of-all-trades in terms of AOE and single-target than being OP in either
Gwynn 5-Star Limited Mythic	+ Gwynn has great damage potential and safe mobility + Lots of healing and self-sustain to keep you going + Between her heals and mobility moves Gwynn is one of the safest heroes to play if you learn her playstyle - Better suited for PVP due to her mobility, healing, and refund passives - The shotgun can be both a weakness that gets you killed in close range or a strength if you learn how to play with it to proc Soul fragments quickly and get a free Soul Reap
Umeko 4-Star	+ In addition to Tano, this is an excellent boss killer alternative since Umeko has access to Sniper Rifles + Lots of great damage options, damage multipliers, and enemy debuffs + Dealing damage recharges her kit so that you can keep dealing more and debuffing more - Lacks good AOE damage
Xuan Wei 4-Star	+ Great AOE damage with his kit and close-range damage with the Shotguns + A quick stacking damage multiplier + Great ability and gadget uptime as well as decent crowd control effects - Struggles with range and can die quickly in close range end-game if you don't know how to play with Shotguns

B-Tier PVE

B-Tier Characters	Why B-Tier/Pros & Cons
Ning Fei 5-Star Standard Mythic	+ Rapid-fire crossbows can dish out quite decent single-target damage + Decent shields and protection - Needs a buff because his AOE damage is really lacking in terms of both burst and sustained DPS
Finnala 4-Star	+ Can be a decent skirmisher character who brawls in melee and then pulls back + Can do decent damage and disruption in melee + Sustains with Ember stacks - Simply lacks damage for the higher tiers - Doesn't have as much sustain as a melee-focused character should
Ikora 4-Star	+ Quite decent burst damage with Nova Bomb and Void Satellites + Great for skirmish short battles where you have time to recharge cooldowns in between + Rocket Launchers can be quite good for AOE - While her burst damage is great, she has long cooldowns that shut her sustained DPS way down

C-Tier PVE

C-Tier Characters	Why C-Tier/Pros & Cons
Kabr 4-Star	+ Has decent CC with blinds + If you can time your defensive abilities, you can get a lot of support value for your team - Not as tanky as Jolder and higher-tier melees - Low uptime on his defensive abilities - His kit doesn't synergize well with his weapon selection
Attal 4-Star	+ Attal starts really well on paper with flexible affinities, passive health regen, and support capabilities + Has quick recharge rates with charges on her abilities to spam + Decent ultimate for buffing and support - Horrible damage and bad/underpowered weapon types

Destiny Rising Character Tier List - Best PVP Guardians

When it comes to the best PVP characters in Destiny Rising, it's mostly about weapon selection here. Some weapon categories, like the Pulse Rifles, Scout Rifles, and Sniper Rifles, are drastically more powerful in PVP due to their range.

That's why you'll notice that S-Tier heroes usually have access to those or to sustain/mobility options that are much more powerful in PVP. Usually, melee-focused heroes are a bit awkward to play here and require much more skill to compensate.

S-Tier PVP

S-Tier Characters	Why S-Tier?
Estela 5-Star Limited Mythic	• That Dragon super deals massive damage and will stack up kills in PVP if you use it right • Plus, you get access to Pulse Rifles, which are incredibly good, safe range DPS for PVP
Gwynn 5-Star Limited Mythic	• Gwynn's entire kit is made for PVP with tons of damage, mobility, and HP sustain • Shotguns aren't the best unless you can safely get close, but sidearms are good poke before you close in
Tan-2 5-Star Standard Mythic	• You get access to both Scout Rifles and Sniper Rifles, which are the strongest PVP weapons in the game if you know how to aim • His kit also remains great for PVP except for his super
Ikora 4-Star	• Ikora is the complete opposite for PVP since her massive burst damage can insta-kill players if you combo it with weapons • Who cares about sustained DPS when players have much less HP than bosses
Umeko 4-Star	• The same weapon selection as Tan for long range assassinations while staying safe

A-Tier PVP

A-Tier Characters	Why A-Tier?
Attal 4-Star	• While Fusion weapons are a bit underpowered for PVE, they work fine for PVP • Attal's support-like kit works much better in PVP than in PVE
Kabr 4-Star	• Has access to Pulse Rifles, which are incredibly good for PVP • Those low-up-time defensive abilities are much better for PVP than PVE
Wolf 4-Star	• Great mobility with Wolf and his damage carries over well to PVP with the Auto Rifle • Grenade Launcher deals amazing damage, and you can shoot them from safe positions and angles to avoid getting shot at

B-Tier PVP

B-Tier Characters	Why B-Tier?
Jolder 5-Star Standard Mythic	• Her tankiness and great damage remain but it's not as oppressive as in PVE
Maru 5-Star Standard Mythic	• You still do great artillery long-range damage • That said, your absorb is a bit more predictable in PVP, and players can just bait it out
Ning Fei 5-Star Standard Mythic	• Overall, his rankings don't change much, and he's decent overall • If you learn how to aim crossbows well, they can do good damage in PVP

C-Tier PVP

C-Tier Characters	Why C-Tier?
Finnala 4-Star	• Your reliance on melee effects for sustain can hurt you here, where you can't reach your enemies as reliably as in PVP
Xuan Wei 4-Star	• Massive damage if you can get close, but you need to play smart to close the gap otherwise, you get outranged by Snipers, Pulse, and Scout Rifles

Destiny Rising Characters Tier List FAQ

That's it for our PVP and PVE Destiny Rising characters tier list. Check out our Destiny Rising codes for free goodies.