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, Ultimecia
Low Tier
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 infamously known 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?"