The safest September 2026 answer is no longer “pick Fediel and ignore everyone else.” Ver. 2.0.5 directly changed the magic-orb interaction that drove much of her launch-window SS-tier reputation. She is still a strong manual character, but the old low-level Enhanced Combo Finishers loop is no longer a valid reason to rank her alone above the roster. For most players, the better first investments are characters that combine reliable uptime, survivability, party value, and a playstyle you can reproduce in Chaos++ rather than a single patch-sensitive damage trick.
This tier list is therefore role-based and post-2.0.5. Cygames does not publish an official character ranking. The tiers below are editorial recommendations built from current patch behavior, the expansion's systems, a September 1 external roster ranking, and community discussion after the Fediel/Gallanza fixes. They are meant to answer “who is worth building first?” rather than pretend every boss, player and AI party produces the same ordering.
Quick September 2026 tier list
| Tier | Strong starting picks | Why they are here |
|---|---|---|
| S | Sandalphon, Cagliostro, Charlotta, Lancelot, Maglielle, Narmaya, Vaseraga, Zeta | Strong mix of damage uptime, survivability, support or stable endgame value across different roles. |
| A | Beatrix, Captain, Eugen, Eustace, Fediel, Fraux, Gallanza, Io, Percival, Rackam, Seofon, Siegfried, Tweyen | Excellent mains or specialists, but more dependent on execution, matchup, party role or a narrower game plan. |
| B / specialist | Id, Katalina, Vane, Yodarha and other comfort picks that shine in the right hands | Fully viable, but less universally efficient as a first investment than the groups above. |
| C / niche | Ferry, Ghandagoza, Rosetta in broad all-purpose rankings | Not unusable; simply less attractive when the question is where to spend scarce resources first. |
This structure is deliberately close to the current external consensus rather than the July launch hype. Pocket Tactics' list updated September 1 places Sandalphon alone at SS, puts Cagliostro, Charlotta, Lancelot, Maglielle, Narmaya, Vaseraga and Zeta in S, and places all six new Endless Ragnarok characters except Maglielle in A. That is not an official truth table, but it is a useful current cross-check after the 2.0.5 balance change.
The biggest change: Fediel is no longer a launch-bug tier by herself
Fediel's July reputation needs a timestamp. Early community discussion often placed her alone at the top because player-controlled orb spam produced extremely high damage even at a low Enhanced Combo Finishers level. Players in those same discussions were already expecting that behavior to be changed.
Cygames did exactly that in Ver. 2.0.5 on August 28. The patch:
- reduced the maximum Enhanced Combo Finishers level from 10 to 5;
- reduced magic-orb attack power while Enhanced Combo Finishers is not active;
- increased the value of raising the effect level so the intended progression matters more;
- kept damage at the new maximum roughly comparable to the previous maximum.
That is an important distinction. Fediel was not simply deleted from the meta. The patch removed the incentive to sit at a low effect level and repeatedly exploit the old orb behavior. Community reaction after the patch generally described the adjustment as fair and still expected her to remain strong, but no longer for the exact reason that made July tier lists so extreme.
Current recommendation: treat Fediel as a high-value A-tier manual investment if you like her actual loop. Do not spend resources because a July video labels her “undisputed SS” using behavior that 2.0.5 explicitly targeted.
For the current mechanic, use the Fediel guide rather than a launch rotation.
S tier: the best low-regret investments
Sandalphon
Sandalphon remains the most common top-end all-round recommendation in current broad rankings. His value is not tied to a newly discovered 2.0.5 exploit, which makes him a safer long-term investment than a character whose ranking depends on one interaction. If you already play him comfortably, there is little reason to drop him merely because Endless Ragnarok added six new faces.
Cagliostro and Maglielle: premium party value
Cagliostro and Maglielle belong near the top when party contribution matters. A damage-only dummy ranking can undersell healing, protection, recovery and support that prevent a Chaos++ run from collapsing. Maglielle is especially relevant to the expansion because she combines active offense with support-oriented value rather than acting like a passive healer slot.
Neither character is mandatory. If your group already survives comfortably, another damage specialist may shorten clears more. But when progression is inconsistent, support that preserves the whole party can be worth more than a higher theoretical personal number.
Charlotta, Lancelot, Narmaya, Vaseraga and Zeta
These are strong examples of characters whose value comes from repeatable mechanics rather than launch-only novelty. Their exact order changes with player skill and encounter shape, but they remain attractive because experienced players can convert mobility, uptime, defensive tools or practiced melee timing into consistent performance.
Zeta is particularly useful as a returning main: if you already know her aerial rhythm, starting Endless Ragnarok on a familiar character lets you learn new bosses and Master Traits without learning a new control scheme at the same time. See the Zeta guide if that is your situation.
A tier: excellent characters with a clearer condition
Beatrix and Eustace
Both are easy to recommend because each costs only one normal Crewmate Card and offers a distinct first experiment. Eustace is the safer default when you want ranged pressure and more space to read an unfamiliar boss. Beatrix is the better choice when you actively enjoy committed melee and want to manage her offensive/defensive rhythm.
Neither needs to be promoted to S just to justify the card. The real advantage is low unlock friction combined with a playstyle that may immediately fit your hands.
Fraux and Gallanza
Fraux and Gallanza can be excellent when their specific strengths match the content, but they are not the obvious universal answer for a new account. Fraux's value is easier to justify when you specifically want her as a manual main rather than paying two cards for collection. Gallanza offers a heavy frontline style, but Ver. 2.0.5 also removed the unintended SBA activation that some earlier demonstrations used.
That Gallanza change is a bug fix, not proof that the character is bad. It simply means any ranking that counted the free early SBA as normal tech must be discarded.
Siegfried and Percival for dependable party shells
Siegfried and Percival remain useful when you value stable damage and a sturdier party structure. Community testing has often highlighted them for AI or low-maintenance party slots because they can contribute without requiring the same manual trick that makes a character shine on a training dummy.
If you plan to use AI companions, test them separately from your manual tier assumptions. A character who is S-tier in your hands can be mediocre under AI control if their strongest loop requires precise player decisions.
Manual main, support and AI are different tier lists
One of the biggest mistakes in Relink ranking discussions is asking for a single “best character” and then applying that answer to every slot.
Best manual-main shortlist
For a player-controlled main, prioritize characters you can keep active through real boss patterns. Good starting candidates include Sandalphon, Charlotta, Narmaya, Zeta, Beatrix, Eustace, Fediel and Fraux, depending on whether you prefer range, melee commitment or a more technical loop.
Fediel remains in this conversation after 2.0.5; she simply no longer gets a special tier because of the old orb behavior.
Best support shortlist
Start with Cagliostro or Maglielle when the party needs recovery, safety or broader utility. Support value rises dramatically when it turns a failed Chaos++ phase into a repeatable clear.
AI / CPU shortlist
For AI teammates, favor consistency over a manual ceiling. Percival and Siegfried are sensible first tests, while a built ranged/support character may outperform them in a specific party. Run several clears and compare actual quest time and deaths instead of relying on MVP labels alone; MVP can reward more than raw damage.
Full Assist / low-input play
Eustace remains an appealing experiment for players prioritizing range and low-input consistency. Treat this as an accessibility/playstyle recommendation, not proof that he is the highest DPS character.
How Master Traits change the ranking question
Endless Ragnarok adds Master Traits to level-100 characters after Fatebreaker progression. Those traits create new offensive, support and defensive choices, so a half-built character and a mature endgame character can feel dramatically different.
Ver. 2.0.5 also changed the resource environment by increasing the MSP cap from 999,999 to 9,999,999 and raising rewards for several Chaos++ and Defy Infinity quests. It is now easier to test and develop multiple Master Trait projects without organizing your entire farm around the old storage cap.
That makes a tier list more useful as an investment shortlist than as a permanent label. Pick two or three candidates, bring their progression to a comparable point, then test them on the content you actually farm.
A practical test before moving a character up or down
Use the same quest and comparable gear baseline for at least three attempts. Track:
- whether the character survives without excessive recovery;
- how much time is lost when the boss moves or becomes untargetable;
- whether the character can exploit break, Link Time and other real burst windows;
- whether the party still has the utility it needs;
- whether the result depends on a mechanic the latest patch removed or changed.
A character that produces a larger training-room number but loses half its uptime on your target boss is not automatically the better farming main.
What should you build first?
If you have no established favorite, a low-regret sequence is:
- use a familiar S/A-tier returning character while learning Endless Ragnarok;
- spend one normal Crewmate Card on Eustace or Beatrix if you want to test a new recruit immediately;
- let Gallanza/Maglielle and Fraux/Fediel progress through their intended unlock routes unless you specifically want an early shortcut;
- build one support/AI shell rather than spreading resources across the whole roster;
- revisit the ranking after you unlock meaningful Master Trait progression.
The character unlock-order guide covers the card-spending decision separately, while the character roster gives the official six-character unlock rules without tier-list opinion.
Bottom line
After Ver. 2.0.5, do not use a July tier list that puts Fediel alone in SS because of low-level orb spam. That interaction was the explicit target of her August 28 adjustment. She remains strong, but current broad rankings place her alongside other high-value A-tier choices rather than alone above the game.
For the safest long-term investments, start with proven S-tier all-rounders and support options such as Sandalphon, Cagliostro, Charlotta, Lancelot, Maglielle, Narmaya, Vaseraga and Zeta, then choose A-tier specialists according to the role you actually need. The best character for your account is the one whose current, legal 2.0.5 loop you can reproduce in the quests you are trying to clear.
