Tier List (Assist)

Tier list is an approximate representation of perceived character strength in competitive play. This tier list is about assist characters in Dissidia 012 and is intended to serve as an educational piece for players unfamiliar with viable assists in the game.

For tier lists on playable characters, please refer to Tier List (Dissidia 012).

Disclaimer

The following list is written by Muggshotter and does not necessarily represent complete community consensus. It may be updated in response to player feedback to serve the goal of educating uninformed people. The exact placements for assist characters may vary depending on the player, but certain assists are known to perform well either way. While the balance of character strength may not matter at beginner levels, assist characters in Dissidia 012 can heavily impact any character's performance in competitive matches.

That being said, please exercise critical thinking when consulting tier lists; The integrity of this tier list may be determined by the reader, their trust in the creator of the list and how assist placements have been articulated.

Ranking

Top Tier
Kuja, Aerith, Jecht
High Tier
Sephiroth, Tidus, Yuna, Onion Knight
Mid Tier
Zidane, Gilgamesh, Terra, Vaan, The Emperor, Cecil
Low Tier
Ultimecia, Warrior of Light, Garland, Firion, Cloud of Darkness, Golbez, Kain, Bartz, Exdeath, Kefka, Cloud, Tifa, Laguna, Squall, Prishe, Gabranth, Lightning
Bottom Tier
Shantotto

Feral Chaos is not available as an assist character and therefore cannot be ranked in a tier list.

Top Tier

A good assist is able to provide consistent HP damage opportunities when used for their bravery attacks at the cost of one (1) assist gauge. These assists provide the most value to majority of the roster in terms of damage, combo potential and utility. Some assists that are ranked lower may provide better utility, but they are character dependent. Top tier assists provide a more universal, competitively viable experience.

Kuja

"Let me help!"

Kuja has consistently worked as one of the best assists ever since the game was first released. Both of his air braveries have great combo potential for filler hits and enders alike. Because these braveries lead to Assist Chase, players can follow up with HP attacks pretty much anywhere in a stage. That alone creates a lot of consistency for Kuja's performance as an assist. The air bravery assist Strike Energy especially is notoriously effective in many aerial situations that can happen in the game. Whether you are hit confirming with Warrior of Light's aerial Dayflash, following up with Cloud's wall rushes or whiff punishing long winded attacks such as Zidane's Shift Break out in the open, Kuja is reliable in all of these situations. The nature of Assist Chase means the player character can be far from their opponent and still get close enough to finish their combo.

Kuja assist's braveries also have good base damage which results in good EX gauge depletion on hit. And if a Ranged priority HP attack is required to safely bypass LV2 Assist Change, Kuja has that covered too in Flare Star (ground) and Force Symphony (midair).

Despite being one of the best assists, he still has weaknesses. Like many assists, Kuja's braveries are melee priority, which means a LV2 Assist Change can stagger Kuja and lock the player's assist gauge for roughly 20 seconds. He may hit hard, but he also stays out on the field for a while, which leaves him vulnerable to Assist Lock attempts if the opponent escapes when Kuja is attacking. This is especially true of his ground BRV Snatch Blow, which also has much slower startup frames. That makes it harder to use reactively for ground level wall rush extensions or as a whiff punisher. And lastly, the upward knockback on air BRV can work against you in stages with Banish Traps' at the ceiling. This is not a huge downside, considering these only exist in Ultimecia's Castle, Orphan's Cradle and the omega variants.

It is difficult to understate the effectiveness of Kuja as an assist. Even though different assists have character-specific synergy, Kuja can at least work as a serviceable replacement as a general purpose assist for basically any character. Garland, Firion, Cloud, Ultimecia and Jecht are some of the characters who utilize him to great effect, whereas characters such as The Emperor, Laguna and Tidus do not benefit from him as much.

If you are just getting started with competitive play, using Kuja as your only assist character is far from the worst choice you could make. He is that good.

Aerith

"I'm here!"

Aerith is one of the most powerful assists in the game, but for very different reasons compared to Kuja. Her bravery attacks are not direct strikes with quick startup that lead to easy combos for a lot of damage. Rather, all of Aerith's assist attacks are spells with vastly different utility. She is the only assist who can generate bravery for the player character without hitting the opponent (Cure, ground BRV). She can provide one-of-a-kind invincibility that ignores any damage dealt to the player, rather than outright avoiding it (Planet Protector, ground HP). Aerith can even cast Holy (air HP) that hits the opponent wherever they are after a lengthy casting period.

The big cherry on top however, would be her air bravery - Seal Evil. This is a Ranged Low attack with relatively slow startup that freezes the opponent in place once it hits. It does not inflict bravery damage or EX gauge depletion, but the utility from this is uniquely powerful. Characters who can initiate Chase can set up inescapable combos where the player absorbs all floating EX Force on the field and then follow up with an attack of their choice. It does not require a wall, which is great for chase inducing attacks such as Cecil's Sacred Cross, Cloud's Double Cut and Tifa's Moonsault Kick. This also has the added benefit of larger window for reacting appropriately; It is much easier to react to an attack that the player could finish themselves than it is to react quickly to an attack partway through the initial hits.

Since Seal Evil is Ranged priority and Chase cannot be escaped from with Assist Change, this allows offensive players to safely start assist combos without risking their assist gauge getting locked. This is a boon for situations where both players are sitting with 2 full assist bars.

The nature of Seal Evil as a relatively long lasting attack also means it can be used to devastating effect in combos. Sometimes referred to as a "double Aerith combo", by calling Aerith against just before an HP attack connects, Seal Evil can trap the opponent again for a second time . This is not a concept every character can take advantage of effectively, but Zidane is infamous for synergizing with Aerith in this way; He can land up to four HP attacks in a single combo and deal a huge amount of damage with high base bravery builds.

These are all fantastic strengths for Aerith assist to have and she has earned her reputation as one of the best assists in the game. However, this still comes at a cost; The lack of EX depletion on hit requires more investment in builds and combo structure to cause similiar setbacks as with other assists. And more importantly, Aerith does not work effectively as a whiff punisher which can be detrimental when looking for openings.

Aerith is the kind of assist that lets characters create unique openings on hit that they normally wouldn't get, but this assumes that the character can hit the opponent in the first place. She can brute force an interaction if the player is willing to spend both assist bars, though this can be challenging to capitalize on.

Similiar to Kuja, Aerith can power up most characters on the roster even when she is not the strongest choice. Attacks that initiate Chase are common and her most used BRV assist bypasses LV2 Assist Change. Being safe, reliable and effective at enabling a lot of damage are traits many assists sorely lack. Some may argue Aerith is strong enough to warrant a ban in competition, but she has remained a top class assist for years.

Jecht

"You want the ace for relief?"

Jecht might not always be in the conversation for the single best assist in the game, but he is a powerful assist all the same. Fast startup for both of his air braveries is rare in this game, which is great for combo and punishment purposes. His long combos provide amazing holding potential for setups, which is fantastic for characters like Lightning, Vaan and Golbez. The aerial Jecht Stream BRV assist in particular is powerful here; It is useful for filler hits, providing enough time for simple HP combo enders and Starfall loops with The Emperor.

Jecht assist's weak points are perhaps a bit more pronounced compared to Kuja and Aerith, though they are pretty straightforward. No Ranged priority attacks means Jecht is always vulnerable to getting staggered by LV2 Assist Change and the long combo animations make him easy pickings for an Assist Lock hit. Jecht does not normally induce Assist Chase, which ultimately hurts conversions in larger, open-ended stages. And when wall rush is not available, players often have to finish their combo early at the cost of some bravery damage. Interim hits for ground BRV Jecht Rush assist are also often impractical if not impossible, so he's not an ideal assist for someone like Garland who thrives with Bardiche fillers.

Despite this, Jecht assist works reliably for a lot of characters. At a basic level, the timing for landing an HP attack is very generous. If there is floor below Jecht, he can guarantee a wall rush at most heights. Characters who can fight close to the ground are in a good position to take advantage of Jecht's best aspects without much compromise and the EX depletion on hit is still good. Jecht Blade HP on the ground is good for occasionally occupying more space, but the aerial Triumphant Grasp HP's diagonal downward angle leaves something to be desired. Whether or not he deserves to be ranked next to Kuja and Aerith depends on what a player values, but even as more niche assists have found their place in the meta, Jecht still very much has strengths that are unique to him.

High Tier

High tier assists are competent assists, typically possessing a good air bravery for combos in addition to utility that's differently executed from top tier assists. What makes these assists a bit weaker by comparison is that they don't have the same level of efficiency and consistency as top tier assists, which they don't always make up for. This is where character specific synergies begin to show up more, which have allowed high tier assists to flourish in competition. Not perfect assists or universally applicable, but good.

Sephiroth

"It's just a whim."

Sephiroth assist is often overshadowed by Kuja for their similiar combo structure and damage output, but without the Ranged priority HPs to make up the difference in safety against LV2 Assist Change. Both Kuja and Sephiroth have hard hitting multi-hit braveries which lead to Assist Chase. What Sephiroth assist does differently is that his braveries send the opponent flying with aggressive pushback at a diagonal angle, instead of directly upwards. This means some characters can struggle to connect their HP attacks after teleporting with Assist Chase, because of inadequate tracking and speed. HP linkers such as Warrior of Light and Onion Knight don't have a problem with this, so it should be no surprise that Sephiroth assist is often seen with those characters. The multi-hits also help a lot with knockback cancels, it's just good synergy all around for this subsection of characters.

But even when the knockback issue can be offset by using an HP attack during the assist instead of at the end, it raises another question; What does Sephiroth assist do differently in a way that matters?

Perhaps the most distinct perk for him is his ground bravery, Reaper. Where Kuja's ground bravery is slow on startup, Sephiroth's Reaper outclasses it with ease while still providing great potential for filler attacks. That gives Sephiroth a clear edge in an otherwise losing battle; Grounded whiff punishes are faster and reacting successfully after a ground wall rush is considerably easier. The damage output is still respectable and he stays out for a shorter period of time compared to Kuja during Snatch Blow.

It would not be a stretch to call Sephiroth assist a "budget Kuja assist". He is a good, serviceable assist for many characters but their mileage may vary more on average. The situationally better frame data helps him, but this might not be enough to justify picking him over Kuja.

Tidus

"I'll help!"

Tidus assist is fairly well rounded, albeit somewhat asymmetrical. His air bravery assist Hop Step is amazing for whiff punishes and hitting The Emperor out of his Dreary Cell HP safely. That already is a rare trait in an assist, but it's also among the safest assists on hit against LV1 Assist Change. The HP attacks have a fair bit of tracking which helps in the rare instances they are needed. To top this off, Sonic Buster is one of the two assist ground braveries in the game that can end with a grounded wall rush. The startup on it rivals that of Kuja's Snatch Blow and filler hits are borderline impossible, but the combo potential afterwards is through the roof.

Tidus has slight, but notable shortcomings in multiple areas. His own damage output and EX depletion is lower than that of Sephiroth, Kuja or Jecht. Although Hop Step assist is good for punishes and combos (it has Assist Chase!), the hit stun is short. That's bad news for characters with long base bravery recovery and no BRV > HP links or players looking to capitalize on trades.

With top tier assists already making a strong case for themselves, Tidus needs something to distinguish himself. He doesn't work universally as effectively as Kuja or Jecht, nor does he enable outlandish damage output for everyone. Hop Step may be difficult to LV2 Assist Change against when the opponent has a lot of pressure put on them, but it, just like other Tidus' attacks are still melee priority. Tidus is not immune to LV2 Change stagger, Instead, his strength lies in the braveries' utility for punishment and ground combos. Coincidentally, Jecht benefits from both of these things and a wall-less Jecht Beam combo route. Other characters such as Cloud, Squall and Zidane may find success with diminishing returns.

The Tidus assist overview has a more in-depth look at his toolkit, but overall, Tidus doesn't usually outclass other top assists or break even with them in a single area. What he has is quite good, but Hop Step's relative safety can only take so far.

Yuna

"I'll try!"

If relying on air bravery is not a problem, Yuna has a unique advantage to support the player; Heavenly Strike air bravery is Ranged Low priority, which means she won't get staggered by LV2 Assist Change. This is great for encouraging meter usage from the opponent and the downward knockback lends well to grounded followups. Her air HP Diamond Dust also retains its fast startup, which makes it one of the better HP assists for whiff punish purposes, complete with Assist Chase on hit.

Squall is known to have exceptionally strong meter depletion with Yuna assist thanks to using Aerial Circle and third hit of Heavenly Strike in tandem for multiple HP hits. Laguna's grounded gameplan also benefits greatly from this one assist attack with Ricochet Shot conversions and aerial wall rushes. This is a more laser focused specialty compared to other assists shown so far, but it is effective with the right characters. Exdeath has better whiff punishment with Yuna and Warrior of Light has functional combo game with her. The nature of Heavenly Strike as a short 3-hit combo with ground level wall rush means Yuna has mediocre holding potential that relies on ground for maximum potential. And unfortunately for Yuna, opponents who LV1 Assist Change right after the second hit can comfortably Assist Lock her if given room to do so.

Similiarly her ground bravery Meteor Strike has even worse combo potential, relying on a wall rush to enable followups. The Hellfire HP is good when used by Yuna as the primary character, but the space it occupies can be harder to justify when it's locked behind two full assist bars.

Much of Yuna's success hinges on how well her air bravery is utilized, but even that has conditions for many characters. If they can meet them, she can work really well. But otherwise, different assists can provide a lot more on average.

Onion Knight

"I'll help."

Onion Knight assist is similiar to Tidus in that he has different utility for both braveries and a serviceable air HP for a bit of space control in a pinch (Chase). The ground bravery Blizzard is a Ranged Low priority combo move with upward Assist Chase ender, which is very good for bypassing LV2 Assist Change and tacking on damage. Conversely, Turbo-Hit is a lightning fast melee priority attack that aggressively pursues the opponent with a chance for wall rush at the end. This is not easily converted to HP damage without good prior positioning or knockback cancel timing, so once again your mileage may vary.

Kain and Jecht have good wall carry and filler hits to take advantage of Onion Knight assist. Cloud may have to use chase to get the most out of this assist, but really, any character with good ground wall rush potential and decent dash speed could stand to benefit here. Onion Knight's air whiff punishes are awkward due to the distance he travels on hit, but on the plus side, he can also hit opponents escaping with LV1 Assist Change before they can defend again. It won't always steal matches, but it is arguably preferable to being easily locked after Assist Change every time. The tracking on Blizzard bravery is nothing to write home about, but Onion Knight does spawn a bit further away from the opponent, which can be used to interrupt grounded opponents more safely.

Overall then, Onion Knight assist is a rather unique mix of ground and aerial traits that are not seen with other competitive assists that often. He won't necessarily do more damage than Kuja or create consistent openings through whiff punishes like Jecht, but he occupies a spot somewhere in between. Ranged Low priority for one assist bar is great to have, even if this one is limited to grounded opponents. If your character cannot take advantage of it, Onion Knight does not have much to make up for it.

Mid Tier

This is where assist viability begins to gradually fall off. Assists in this category still possess unique strengths, but they also have more shortcomings overall. The amount of viable synergies fluctuates a lot, with most of them having average performance in many scenarios. That's not to say they are unusable; Mid tier assists can still whiff punish, enable combos and bypass LV2 Assist Change, but their effectiveness is more situational or simply weaker compared to previously listed top 7 assists.

Zidane

"Just leave it to me!"

Zidane assist is a good example of having a functional moveset that's frequently outclassed. His ground bravery Rumble Rush has good holding potential and leads to Assist Chase, but the startup is slow, the animation is long and the damage is only average. Vortex has a distinct upward trajectory from startup all the way to the wall rush finisher. But much like Onion Knight, the distance travelled and reliance on wall rush make it less effective as a raw whiff punisher or a combo extender. His HPs are not top class either, but Free Energy is one of the faster single hit HP attacks in the game that also provides Assist Chase. That makes it pretty good for punishing long winded attacks from a distance, though it is expensive to use.

Thanks to his ground bravery, Zidane assist can synergize well with a bunch of characters for combo purposes. His air bravery isn't the worst for someone like Jecht either. But luckily for Final Fantasy IX fans, Zidane works rather well with Kuja's air combos, which is a notable niche synergy for him. The total distance travelled with Vortex can still reduce Kuja's damage potential to Ultima HP, so large stages are not always in their best interest.

Gilgamesh

"Let me give you a hand!"

Gilgamesh can be likened to Yuna assist in that his combo structure is very similiar. Aerial bravery Tsubamegaeshi is a brief multi-hit combo that sends the opponent towards the ground. Ground bravery Cross Slash holds the opponent a bit longer than Meteor Strike before sending them away. The big differences boil down to lack of Ranged priority on Gilgamesh's moves and his unique gimmick on drawing random weapons; Gilgamesh has a 50 % chance to draw either all Excalibur or Excalipoor. This means Gilgamesh will either do double damage and EX depletion, or do 1 damage per hit and generate EX for the opponent.

Without the safety against LV2 Assist Change, bolstered meter depletion or otherwise notable strengths for combos and punishment, Gilgamesh is a functional assist that can do more bravery damage than Yuna, but without her special utility. Death Claw HP has good lateral range and Hurricane is fast as an HP, but using two assist bars for assist is very expensive and often better used on LV2 Assist Change.

Terra

"I'll fight too!"

Terra assist is all Ranged and Unblockable priority, which means she is practically immune to LV2 Assist Change. The downside is that her assists aren't very easy to combo into (Graviga) or follow up on (Blizzara). But characters such as Squall or Jecht can still benefit from her. Graviga can be used effectively in ground combos and chase sequences close to floors, but Terra needs protection while she is casting it. The maximum vertical reach is also somewhat short, covering roughly half of Order's Sanctuary or slightly less. The damage potential is noteworthy if you are willing to spend another assist bar, as Terra can be called again before comboing off of the first Graviga. This is how Aerith's double Seal Evil combos work as well, the difference is that the player must call Terra when they are on the ground instead. Being tied to the ground in this is way is detrimental in the long run, but it does work.

Blizzara on the other hand is a quick low priority wall rush attack that is fired from a distance. The hit stun isn't very long and wall rush is required for most practical combos, but the damage is serviceable when it works. Using Terra's Blizzara to trade with HP attacks can be difficult to stop once she gets going, though it is worth noting it doesn't have much tracking.

Meltdown HP stays out for a few seconds when used, which is good for pressuring the opponent in small stages. But overall Terra assist doesn't provide many strong benefits for giving up practical conversions. If the top 7 assists are out of the picture, she can have more presence in the competition.

The Emperor

"This will be costly."

The Emperor assist relies on player's positioning (ground or midair) to lay down his infamous Thunder Crest trap or aerial Mines for respectable burst damage. Just like Terra assist, The Emperor has no melee priority attacks and thus is practically immune to LV2 Assist Change. In fact, using it after getting hit by Thunder Crest will cause Assist Lock for the opponent trying to escape from it.

Comboing into Thunder Crest requires adequate holding potential for the primary character, and the Mines are rather slow on startup as well. This makes The Emperor rather difficult to work with as a conventional combo extender, but Squall and Firion can both capitalize on his traps with their (mid)ranged tools and grounded combo starters. The end result is a mix of distinct area denial and stagger-free assist combos that can deal a lot of damage when optimized. And because The Emperor's projectiles stay out even when he is gone, he can be called again for a double assist combo. This is usually reserved for grounded combos though.

Players looking for more unconventional combo game and area denial will find something to work with, assuming they operate close to the ground. The Emperor is not an assist who can create openings for the player, at least not in the way the most powerful assists can.

Cecil

"You alright?"

Cecil's most prominent strength is as an aerial combo extender. Radiant Wings bravery has good damage output and holds the opponent for a long time, so any character who benefits from grounded setups such as Cloud, Squall and The Emperor can make good use of it. The startup on Radiant Wings is on the slower side and the tracking isn't best in class, so he's not the most reliable assist for converting off of stray hits.

Other moves don't offer nearly as much value and in the case of HPs, are often too expensive. Shadow Lance is serviceable for Cecil, but not when it is used as an assist. It sends the opponent away in quick fashion, with wall rush being the primary avenue for followups. Soul Eater HP has little tracking or combo potential to justify the meter usage, while Saint's Fall travels in a fixed trajectory.

With other assists providing more utility both on the ground and in the air, Cecil assist is often outclassed even in the one aspect he excels at.

Vaan

"Someone called?"

Vaan assist has one thing going for him - His air bravery on-hand Staff is a reliable wall rush combo extender and an occasional whiff punish tool. It causes Assist Chase, just like Tidus' Hop Step. Unfortunately it is slower on startup compared to Hop Step, the base damage of Staff is similiarly low and the hit stun is not very long either. Vaan also tends to spawn further away from the opponent than what he travels with Staff, which makes midscreen conversions with pokes like Warrior of Light's Dayflash or Prishe's Raging Fists impractical, if not impossible.

The ground bravery assist on-hand Greatsword has very little combo potential. It can wall rush, so it functions something like Yuna's Meteor Strike in practice, with the exception that Vaan actively moves forward during the attack. Vaan's HPs are a bit lackluster even as assists, though Cataclysm is not terrible as a ground wall rush extender if you can call him early.

In a sense, Vaan assist is something of a one-trick pony. And that one trick isn't even best in class. A stark contrast to how he operates as a proper playable character.

Low Tier

Ultimecia

"Shall I lend a hand?"

Ultimecia assist is another mage with no physical attacks for LV2 Assist Change to stagger, but she is not suited for consistent wall rush extensions, whiff punishes or converting off of pokes halfway through. Even though grounded Knight's Axe causes Assist Chase, it is far too slow for hitting opponents after a wall rush.

Instead, Ultimecia's strength lies in the aerial charged Knight's Axe bravery. The use cases for it are far and few in between, but it is possible to use Knight's Axe as part of an inescapable Chase combo. In addition, Jecht is able to loop his Jecht Rush dodge cancel combo up to three times in total with the double assist combo method. These are powerful techniques in their own right and charged Knight's Axe high base damage (40) scales very well with Assist Critical Boost ability if it activates. But they also require a character who is able to set up these situations near a wall. It's a lot to ask for what is essentially a niche upgrade to combos. Despite being a high priority projectile with long active duration, it is fairly easy to avoid outside of combos. The HP attacks are similiarly usable in tandem with Chase, but again, they are situational and expensive to use.

References