The Ultimate Destiny Rising Tier List: Who’s Worth Your Light (And Who Isn’t) September 4, 2025

Here’s the thing that gets me fired up about Destiny Rising – every single character feels distinct. We’re not talking about slight stat variations here. We’re talking about fundamentally different playstyles that can make or break your experience. Some Lightbearers are absolute game-changers who’ll carry you through the toughest content, while others… well, let’s just say they’re better left as collection pieces.

I’ve tested every single character across PvE campaigns, PvP matches, and endgame content. Some made me feel like a space-magic god, others made me question my life choices. The rankings below reflect real performance, not just theoretical potential.

The S-Tier Gods: These Are Your New Best Friends

Tan-2: The Swiss Army Knife of Destruction

Holy moly, where do I even start with Tan-2? This Solar support isn’t just good – he’s absolutely broken in the best possible way. His Twilight Shift mechanic lets you flip between Duskstar and Dawnstar modes, essentially giving you two characters in one. Need to melt a boss? Switch to Dusk mode and watch health bars evaporate. Team getting overwhelmed? Pop into Dawn mode and become everyone’s favorite healer.

But here’s what really gets me excited – his Blessing of Dusk/Dawn ultimate is pure chaos incarnate. Drop that glowing zone of destruction and watch your entire fireteam become unstoppable killing machines. The damage buff is insane, and in Dawn mode, the healing keeps everyone alive through situations that should absolutely murder them.

The only time Tan-2 struggles is when some shotgun-wielding maniac gets in his face, but honestly? That’s what teammates are for.

Wolf: The Starter That Never Gets Benched

I know what you’re thinking – “The default character can’t possibly be top-tier.” Wrong. So incredibly wrong. Wolf might be your starting Lightbearer, but don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s weak. This guy is the definition of reliability wrapped in Solar-powered destruction.

His weapon combo of Auto Rifles and Grenade Launchers gives him incredible versatility. Mid-range? He’s got you covered. Need to clear a room of adds? Grenade Launcher says hello. But the real magic happens with Wolf’s Strike – an ability that resets its cooldown on every kill. In the right hands, this turns Wolf into an endless chain of executions that never stops being satisfying.

Sure, he’s squishier than a Guardian without their Ghost, but pair him with a support character and you’ve got a recipe for beautiful, explosive chaos.

Jolder: The Immovable Object

Every team needs that one person who just refuses to die, and Jolder fills that role perfectly. Her Barrier of Starlight isn’t just defensive – it’s offensive defense. Picture Ward of Dawn from Destiny 2, but better. You can shoot through it while enemies can’t, and it hands out overshields like candy at Halloween.

What really sets Jolder apart is her Rage mechanic. The more damage she takes, the harder she hits back. It’s like the game is rewarding her for being stubborn, and I absolutely love it. Her SMG and Sword combo means she’s most dangerous up close, which plays perfectly into her tank role.

A-Tier Powerhouses: Solid Choices That Won’t Disappoint

Gwynn: The Close-Combat Queen

Gwynn brings something unique to the table with her dual-wield Sidearms – the only character who can pull off this particular brand of mid-range mayhem. Pair that with Shotguns as her Power weapon, and you’ve got a Lightbearer who absolutely dominates in close to mid-range encounters.

Her Void Dance ability provides crucial healing to offset her aggressive playstyle, while Soul Harvest and Soul Assault give her the burst damage needed to delete priority targets. She’s not quite S-tier because she struggles at long range, but in the right situations, she’s absolutely lethal.

Xuan Wei: The PvP Nightmare

If you want to make other players hate their life choices, Xuan Wei is your guy. His Mighty Tether is basically Scorpion’s “Get over here!” but with space magic, and it’s exactly as terrifying as it sounds. Pull unsuspecting players into shotgun range and watch them panic.

In PvE, he’s more situational, but in PvP? He’s pure psychological warfare. The knockback effects from his abilities create chaos in tight spaces, and his burst damage potential is through the roof. Just be ready to position carefully – this isn’t a character for beginners.

B-Tier Situational Heroes: Good, But With Caveats

Ning Fei: The Arc Assassin

Ning Fei’s Arts of Staff super is basically Arcstrider on steroids, complete with projectile deflection and AoE lightning damage. Her mobility tools are incredible for sowing confusion in PvP, but she falls short in PvE where raw damage matters more than flashy moves.

Attal: The Budget Support

Think of Attal as Tan-2’s younger sibling who hasn’t quite figured things out yet. She can heal, she can damage, she can inflict status effects – but she can’t do any of it as well as the S-tier characters. Still solid, just not spectacular.

Kabr: The Confused Defender

Poor Kabr suffers from an identity crisis. His kit wants him to be aggressive and defensive simultaneously, which sounds cool in theory but feels awkward in practice. He’s essentially a worse version of Jolder at this point.

Finnala: The High-Risk Gambler

Finnala’s AoE damage is genuinely impressive, but her abilities increase her enmity, meaning she draws more enemy fire. Her defensive options aren’t strong enough to compensate, leaving her in this awkward middle ground.

C-Tier: The Disappointments

Ikora: The Tragic Hero

This one hurts my soul. Ikora is a legend in Destiny lore, but in Rising, she’s… not great. Her weapon loadout of Light Grenade Launchers and Rocket Launchers sounds impressive until you realize you’ll spend more time reloading than shooting. Her Nova Bomb hits hard, but the cooldown is so long you’ll forget you have it.

The Meta Breakdown: What Really Matters

After extensive testing, here’s what I’ve learned: versatility wins. The top-tier characters can adapt to multiple situations, support their team, and still dish out respectable damage. Characters that excel in one area but falter everywhere else end up being situational picks at best.

Weapon variety also plays a huge role. Characters stuck with slow, single-shot weapons struggle to maintain consistent damage output. The tier reflects not just individual ability strength, but how well everything works together as a cohesive kit.

Building Your Dream Team

The beauty of Destiny Rising’s character system is that team composition actually matters. You can’t just throw three DPS characters together and expect success. The best teams balance damage, defense, and utility.

For PvE content, I recommend building around Tan-2 or Jolder as your anchor, then filling out with complementary characters. For PvP, consider characters like Xuan Wei who excel at disrupting enemy strategies.

Final Thoughts: Choose Your Light Wisely

Remember, this tier list reflects current balance and my extensive testing experience. NetEase will undoubtedly shake things up with patches and new character releases, but for now, these rankings should guide your investment decisions.

The S-tier characters aren’t just powerful – they’re fun to play and adaptable to different situations. The lower tiers aren’t necessarily bad, but they require more specific team compositions or scenarios to truly shine.

Whether you’re a veteran Guardian or a newcomer to the Destiny universe, focus on characters that match your playstyle while remaining flexible enough to handle whatever the game throws at you. After all, the best Lightbearer is the one you enjoy playing – even if they’re not at the top of every tier list.

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