Rival Wings Job Tier List

Paladin can be considered above its listed tier if played in a premade that has the Paladin follow around their teammates. Their supportive capabilities allow others to stay in combat much longer than they have any business to. Can also keep squishier targets like BLM/SMN safe while they endlessly pump damage in the lane. There is an inherent disadvantage to not being effective on your own, and having to rely on a good teammate while never leaving their side, but in an ideal setup, PLD could be considered a solid choice.

PLD having an invuln, alongside one it can pass to a teammate, makes it incredibly powerful on the train platform when pocketing a good teammate. Though, not having any kill pressure on its own holds it back. It does have a powerful synergy for the first train battle however, specifically with DRK. If Confiteor is used after Salted Earth to mark a clump of opponents, DRK’s Shadowbringer, a strong, spammable AoE held back only by its health cost, can be spammed with reckless abandon as long as it hits enough bodies.

Warrior’s kit almost feels like it was made for dealing with mechs. It can debuff their damage, increase their damage taken, sustain their damage, and keep up with a fleeing Cruise Chaser. On top of that, Warrior is the only job that can effectively 1v1 a Brute Justice. Most jobs only have about 5~10 seconds to fight a brute before Rocket Punch shuts them down, and that's assuming they can sustain through the hits leading up to the stun lock. Warrior can not only out sustain the Rocket Punches with Bloodwhetting, Inner Release allowing them an extra 15 seconds of immunity means that a Flying High Warrior can rip off half a Brute’s health before it can do anything to stop them. The only thing stopping Warrior from being SS tier is their damage being tied to Inner Release. Using Inner Release just for mech damage often results in fewer kills, therefore less LB gauge and fewer Inner Release’s overall.

DRK’s solo kill potential isn't bad, but it’s nothing special either. A Salted + Quietus + Shadowbringer in the middle of a lane is whatever. However, that same combo into a Laser X Sword is a triple kill. Playing off mechs, especially ones you can actively communicate with, is the basis of successful RW play. DRK just happens to enable mechs better than any other job.

This class is the ultimate DRK counter. When you have an enemy DRK barreling towards your team, nothing stops them in their tracks quite like Miracle of Nature. That alone is enough to be considered a top-tier class in RW, but their fast charging AoE LB is phenomenal for the first train as well.

Astrologian overall doesn’t have a ton for non-train objectives, but having access to an AoE root can go a long way if you can force opponents to take hits they would’ve otherwise dodged. If they stick with their team, their damage buffs are boosted to an extreme degree due to buffs being multiplicative. (For example: a Flying High teammate’s damage goes from 1.4x to 2.002x under Astrologian’s Balance card + LB, allowing for strong instant bursts.) Versus Mechs, the Astrologian’s LB can cut the damage of Brute’s punches or Oppressor missiles by up to 30% if timed right. This can outright win games if done properly.

Reaper LB has the fastest charge in the game. If your team manages to survive until it's up, the Reaper can fear multiple opponents off the platform entirely, buying your team 5~10 seconds of a numbers advantage. In certain situations, this can win the first train battle on its own.

Dancer has arguably the single most dangerous LBs for a mid train battle. A platform-wide AoE guard strip + pull + unpurifyable crowd control, only held back by the Dancer being so easily exploded when casting it. If they were to have a PLD cover them during the cast time, with a DPS or two to provide damage, there isn’t a train battle they couldn’t win.

While most players are understandably distracted by the screen covering AoE that Bahamut provides, SMNs best tech is tied to Phoenix. Phoenix’s auto attacks reduce the target's damage dealt by 50% for 5 seconds, and this is refreshable. Placing Phoenix down on top of an enemy Oppressor or Brute at your team's core can outright win/save close games by cutting their Missiles/Rocket Punch damage in half. My written prose isn’t good enough to express how game-defining this ability can be.