Ranking them all - Wii Version

[Yaggleberry Finn]

Okay, nothing like an entirely subjective thread to generate some discussion!!

I'm going to rank the currently released Skylanders from top to bottom and would love to hear what the rest of you think. Almost every character has some bad matchups, but overall this is where I think they rank in PLAYER VS PLAYER. Some characters have two legitimate paths, in which case I will consider each build as a separate character. I'm ignoring variants, such as Dark Spyro or Legendaries since there is little variance in terms of gameplay abilities. I also need to point out that I only have access to the Wii version and am ranking them on that console. It's disappointing that they are actually different. Poor Drill Sergeant suffers here, but Eruptor benefits greatly!

------------ elite / broken ----------------
1. Drobot (lasers)
2. Terrafin (burrowing)
3. Stealth Elf (knives)

---- I see a break here - upper tier -------
Hex (bone shield)
Slam Bam (punches)
Dino-Rang (boomerangs)
Sonic Boom (babies)
Sonic Boom (echolocation)
Wrecking Ball (force field)
Prism Break (prism drop)
Voodood (axe combos)
Spyro (fire)
Spyro (charge)
Gill Grunt (unlimited water)
Eruptor (eruption)
Bash (roll)
Ignitor (swords)
Ignitor (soul flame)
Whirlwind (lightning clouds)

------- another break here - lower tier ----------
Trigger Happy (pots of gold)
Flameslinger (arrows)
Boomer (bombs)
Stump Smash (stump fists)
Chop Chop (shield)
Ghost Roaster (skull charge)
Zap (slime trails)
Drill Sergeant (Charge)

I admit that some in the upper tier could be rearranged. I feel pretty good about the placement of Hex and Slam Bam. Overall I'm pretty happy with that ranking of the lower tier.

Let the disagreeing begin!

[Tashiji]

Here's how I would rank them. Not saying I'm right or you're wrong, of course. We're all just here to establish consensus.

1. Stealth Elf (knives)
2. Drobot (lasers)
3. Cynder (lightning)
4. Terrafin (burrowing)

---- Agree on a break here -------
5. Prism break (prism drop)
6. Ignitor (flame soul)
7. Dino Rang (boomerangs)
8. Slam Bam (punches)
9. Bash (both)
10. Voodood (axe)
11. Hex (bone shield)

---- For me, another break here---
12. Double Trouble (channeler)
13. Eruptor (eruption)
14. Spyro (charge)
15. Whirlwind (lightning clouds)
16. Drill Sergeant (charge)
17. Gill Grunt (water)
18. Sonic Boom (both)
19. Wrecking Ball (force field)
20. Stump Smash (nutcrafter)

--- Another break ---
21. Flameslinger (elementalist)
22. Spyro (fire)
23. Ignitor (swords)
24. Ghost Roaster (charge)
25. Boomer (bombs)
26. Zap (slime)

--- Final break ---
27. Chop Chop (shield)
26. Trigger Happy (gold)

My biggest difference from your list is flame soul Ignitor, who I still believe is vastly superior to sword Ignitor, and one of the game's best PVPers.

I still like Drill Sergeant more than you do, too. Again, not saying I'm right or you're wrong, but he's always more difficult to knock off in our tournaments than anything about his abilities would suggest.

I put Stealth Elf at the top because she has less hard counters than any other character.

Sonic Boom and Bash, for me, do about equally well regardless of what build they're on. To the point where I find the two interchangeable in PVP. Spyro, on the other hand, really seems a lot better as a charger to me. Flame Spyros always die off early in our tournaments.

Trigger Happy can't win a match, here. His abilities aren't bad, it's just that playing him is like handicapping yourself 1/3 of standard Skylander HP.

And I really don't like Chop Chop, but then, I say that all the time. XD

[Yaggleberry Finn]

I wasn't putting Prism Break that high because if a strong melee character can get within close range then he's toast. Slam Bam, I'm looking at you. In our (admittedly limited) testing, Slam Bam beat everyone except for Hex. My son was playing as Slam Bam and I couldn't consistently beat him with anyone else in that tier.

Why do you rank Wrecking Ball so low? He's invincible when he's in that force field and hits do 61 damage (I think... don't have the book in front of me).

I agree Trigger Happy is severely hurt by his 400 hit points, but I would take him over Zap... he would certainly take Zap head-to-head. Even Ghost Roaster is pretty limited in the damage he can do compared to TH. I don't think he belongs in his own cellar category. As far as Chop Chop goes, I agree that he is incredibly limited in the offensive department. However, he has a stun ability which is nice and he can (eventually) unleash 75 damage bursts out of his shield. The only real problem I have with him is that sometimes it can be difficult to keep his shield up. I don't know what's going on with that.

[Tashiji]

Prism Break does have a weakness to any melee who can crack his defenses, and also that blasted Ignitor weakness that plagues all keep-away characters. However, he still has very few hard counters. Slam Bam, Stealth Elf, Cynder, and Ignitor are the only ones who regularly knock him out in our tournaments, although Voodood will take him out sometimes as well. The reason I ranked him so highly is just how dominant he is over the characters outside of that short list of weaknesses. He mops the floor with them, and it's never even close. The other characters in that tier give the opposition more of a fighting chance.

I do love Slam Bam, though. He's pretty amazing as a battler, and the more I play him, the more I like him. He falters somewhat against characters who are better up close than he is, but that's a limited list. Weak to Cynder, as well.

I don't think Wrecking Ball is bad at all. He might fluctuate a little within the tier I put him in based on preference, but I also don't have any trouble beating him with the characters I put higher, so that's why he is where he is.

As for Zap... I can't explain it, but he can somehow score a few wins with us if all he does is play keep-away. I can't imagine him losing to Trigger Happy, because it hasn't happened like that for us yet. The HP is a big reason, but Trig is also very easy to charge, and has no dash move to quickly bring himself out of slime trails, so he's more or less always being damaged versus a well-played Zap.

Chop Chop's random shield faltering is exactly why he's at the bottom of my list. It just defeats the purpose of using a defense-based character when their "impervious" defense is anything but. He occasionally will eke out a victory, but it's usually due to flukes and things like that rather than a genuinely good matchup where he has an innate advantage. I don't think there are any of those...

[Yaggleberry Finn]

Ok, we had some more play testing last night and made another fun discovery. First, the discovery: tail swipe Bash is a melee BEAST! I really am recognizing the need to personally try out every path for every character. For some reason I just didn't think this could be as good as the rolling bash, but I think it's quite a bit better. He's still able to roll (although not as fast) but does sick melee damage. And while the charged up tail bash is hard to time, it still does 240 damage if it hits! You've got to be kidding me! Given the type advantage, he can almost defeat Trigger Happy in ONE HIT. (Yes, TH is at the bottom of the PVP barrel, but that's still crazy.)

Bash went toe-to-toe with Drobot last night and won his share of matches. A skilled Drobot player might be able to win nearly all of these matches, but they're going to be close due to that type advantage. Bash also was consistently beating Slam Bam, who has become a dominant force in our household. Today I am going to try Bash against Stealth Elf and see what happens. Either way, he has FIRMLY planted himself in the top tier.

After more playing (and more frustration from my son) I do agree wholeheartedly with the problem of Chop Chop's shield. It's not easy for a ten-year-old to swallow when he thinks he has the shield up and it doesn't stay there. And Zap won a match or two last night that I didn't expect him to. You've said before that you think speed is the most important attribute for a Skylander, and this is definitely what keeps Zap going. I'm torn somewhat on the balance between speed and damage output. It sure helps to have both! But some characters (Eruptor, for example) can be crippled by their lack of speed even if they can put the hurt on someone. That's probably what defines the top tier: they have both.

(Still haven't found a Cynder to test, but you guys definitely have me eager to try her out!)

[Tashiji]

Fully agree about Granite Dragon. He's one of the best-kept secrets in Skylanders, and really only worse than Pulver Dragon in a select few fights, while he shores up several of Bash's main weaknesses; especially Dino Rang, who still gives him an uphill battle, but it's not a foregone conclusion. The charged tail is definitely hard to hit, but it's certainly a deterrent to characters who for some reason think rushing Bash is a good idea. The 80-damage tail swipe puts him in a league of his own, and even though it doesn't combo... it doesn't have to. It's one of the best attacks in the game.

While you're trying builds, I really can't recommend Flame Soul Ignitor highly enough. He changes the way PVP is played, and when a keep-away character is on a roll, he's the best hard counter in the game for that. His up-close mortar defenses are formidable as well. Overall, one of my top favorite characters in all of Skylanders.

As for Zap... I know, right?! There's nothing about him statistically that says he should be racking up wins, but he proves a surprisingly hard fight for a number of characters. Nowhere near top-tier, but outperforms his own numbers somehow.

Also, I fully agree. Speed might be dominant, but speed plus power is what the game's true titans are made of. ... Except Prism Break, who kind of has neither, but strangely remains nearly impossible for most characters to beat.

[doubletrouble]

Just looked through this, and noticed that tashiji didn't post Stump Smash or Flameslinger in his list. Just curious if that was intentional or a mistake.

[Tashiji]

Definitely a mistake. I'll edit. Thanks!