Destiny Rising‘s launch roster consists of a wide cast of characters but they’re not all equally powerful. Our tier list separates the best from the worst, ranking each based on how they perform in both PvE and PvP, so you don’t end up wasting those hard-earned resources on weaker Lightbearers.
Unlike Destiny 2, NetEase’s mobile spinoff ties weapon loadouts and abilities to specific characters, similar to other popular gacha games like Genshin Impact. That being the case, you’ll want to invest upgrade materials obtained from in-game activities, limited-time events, and promo codes on the best of the best.
Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. From testing every Lightbearer currently available in Destiny Rising across numerous activities, we’ve settled on the following tier list to help you determine who to focus on.
Destiny Rising tier list: Best characters ranked
Best for PvE & PvP
Tier | PvE | PvP |
|---|---|---|
S | Estela, Tan-2, Jolder | Ning Fei, Gwynn |
A | Umeko, Gwynn, Ning Fei, Wolf | Tan-2, Wolf, Attal, Jolder |
B | Attal, Kabr, Finnala, Xuan Wei | Estela, Umeko, Finnala |
C | Ikora | Ikora, Kabr, Kuan Wei |
Our tiers explained
- S: The best
- A: Very good
- B: There might be situations where these can perform well
- C: Best to avoid unless you find yourself drawn to them
Meta analysis
Lightbearers with versatile loadouts have quickly emerged as the cream of the crop in Destiny Rising’s PvE activities. Any character with access to offensive and support capabilities should therefore be your priority, as, while they’re primarily rulers of the PvE sandbox, they can still hold their own in PvP.
As the ranks descend, you’ll notice an obvious recurring theme: characters become far less desirable the more rigid their playstyle is. Outside of abilities and Super options, weapons are extremely important in gauging a Lightbearer’s usefulness.
Unlike Destiny 2, Primary and Power weapon options are locked to their respective character – Tan-2 can only use Scout and Sniper Rifles, respectively, for example – so with all those variables in mind, here’s the lowdown on Destiny Rising’s current hierarchy.
Related
Updated September 20, 2025, to add Estela and Umeko after testing.
S-Tier
Tan-2
- Rarity: Mythic (5-star)
- Element: Solar
- Role: Long-ranged support
- Weapons: Scout Rifle & Sniper Rifle
- Best use: PvE
- Best ability: Blessing of Dusk/Dawn
One of four currently available Mythic-rarity characters, Tan-2 is an extremely powerful Lightbearer, thanks to his ability to build into a DPS or support-focused role with Twilight Shift. Depending on whether he’s in Duskstar or Dawnstar mode dictates whether his other ability damages opponents or heals allies.
Likewise, this stance-swapping extends to Tan-2’s Super, Blessing of Dusk/Dawn, which provides supercharged healing or enhances damage to any ally standing in its radius.
The only con to this excellent kit is Tan-2’s inability to effectively deal with close-quarters enemies if his abilities are on cooldown, although this is only really an issue in PvP.
Estela
- Rarity: Mythic (5-star)
- Element: Solar
- Role: Mid-range offense
- Weapons: Pulse Rifle & Machine Gun
- Best use: PvE
- Best ability: Bewitched Illusion
As expected of her Mythic rarity, Estela has risen straight to the top of the pack in Destiny Rising’s meta. While she has a favorable weapon loadout in Pulse Rifles and Machine Guns, Estela is very much an ability-based DPS.
A summoner archetype through and through, this Warlock’s game plan is all about using her weapons to generate as many Corruption stacks as possible and then spending them on buffing the damage and effects of her dragon-like summons.
Played correctly, Estela can churn out more damage than any other Lightbearer, especially in prolonged engagements. The only caveat to this power is that her damage is backloaded and requires some setup, making her not as efficient in short firefights.
Jolder
- Rarity: Mythic (5-star)
- Element: Void
- Role: Close-range defender
- Weapons: Submachine Gun & Sword
- Best use: PvE
- Best ability: Barrier of Starlight
Like Tan-2, Jolder excels at providing party support while also being able to dish out respectable damage. Barrier of Starlight, essentially Titans’ Ward of Dawn shield from Destiny 2, but better, provides overshields to herself and teammates, blocks enemy projectiles, and allows everyone inside to shoot through its dome-shaped barrier.
Skyfall Slam and Shield of Starlight are excellent crowd control and defensive abilities respectively, perfectly complementing her close-quarters kit of Submachine Guns and Swords.
Ning Fei
- Rarity: Mythic (5-star)
- Element: Arc
- Role: Close-range offense
- Weapons: Submachine Gun & Auto Crossbow
- Best use: PvP
- Best ability: Sidetrick
Essentially Destiny Rising’s version of Arcstrider from Destiny 2, Ning Fei’s Arts of Staff Super mimics the latter’s Arc Staff in almost every aspect, with the added benefit of some additional AoE damage provided by Chain Lightning. As its Destiny 2 counterpart, Arts of Staff can also deflect projectiles.
Lightning Strike and Sidetrick are both fantastic utility tools that provide Ning Fei with mobility, misdirection, and damage resistance – perfect for sowing confusion in PvP.
After further testing, we’ve bumped the Hunter to S-tier as his kit has quickly become one of the best for speedrunning PvE activities due to the combination of his speed and the ability to be a quasi-tank by using clones to draw aggro from enemies.
A-Tier
Umeko
- Rarity: Legendary (4-star)
- Element: Void
- Role: Long-range support
- Weapons: Scout Rifle & Sniper Rifle
- Best use: PvE
- Best ability: Voidstep/Shadow Shuriken
Umeko’s suite of abilities are all about providing damage buffs and healing to allies while also ensuring her own survival with long-ranged combat and misdirection.
Singularity and Shadow Shuriken primarily increase the damage an opponent takes via the Shadow’s Curse debuff, but can also immobilize foes if these stacks are high enough. Whenever an enemy with the Curse is defeated, Umeko receives Shadow Energy, which can be expended to recharge Shadow Shuriken faster.
In ideal situations, then, Umeko essentially has an on-demand, party-wide damage buff. Throw in a fantastic AoE healing ability in Voidstep, which also indirectly increases Umeko’s survivability via invisibility, and you’re looking at Rising’s best A-tier Lightbearer.
The only downside preventing Umeko from reaching S-tier is her lack of damage. Unlike Tan-2, she’s unable to switch between DPS and support builds, hampering her versatility.
Gwynn
- Rarity: Mythic (5-star)
- Element: Void
- Role: Close-range offense
- Weapons: Sidearm & Shotgun
- Best use: PvE & PvP
- Best ability: Void Dance
Not quite the jack-of-all-trades as Jolder and Tan-2, Gwynn is still a potent Lightbearer that performs well in PvE and PvP. As of writing, she’s currently the only character who has access to dual-wield Sidearms, one of the best mid-range weapons available.
With Shotguns as her Power weapon, Gwynn’s power is unparalleled in mid to close-range engagements, but she struggles to remain effective at long ranges. Fortunately, Void Dance accounts for her dangerous playstyle by providing healing, while Soul Harvest and Soul Assault provide terrific burst damage on command.
Wolf
- Rarity: Legendary (4-star)
- Element: Solar
- Role: Mid-range offense
- Weapons: Auto Rifle & Grenade Launcher
- Best use: PvE & PvP
- Best ability: Wolf’s Strike
The default Lightbearer that all players start the game as, Wolf is an all-rounder able to fill most desirable roles other than support. Boasting one of the most versatile weapon loadouts in Auto Rifles and Grenade Launchers, the Hunter can dish out serious burst damage with Wolf’s Butchery and Wolf’s Flames when they’re off cooldown.
By far his biggest boon, however, is Wolf’s Strike. This ability can one-shot most standard enemies and resets its cooldown completely on kill. If you like going pure offence and value high ability uptime, Wolf’s your man.
On the flipside, Wolf has no access to any healing abilities and is quite squishy as a result. You’ll need to pair him with a support-focused Lightbearer to ensure he doesn’t fall in battle.
B-Tier
Xuan Wei
- Rarity: Legendary (4-star)
- Element: Arc
- Role: Close-range offense
- Weapons: Fusion Rifle & Shotgun
- Best use: PvP
- Best ability: Mighty Tether
Arguably the first Lightbearer on this list designed specifically with PvP in mind, Xuan Wei’s abilities make him a constant threat when up against other players, but not so much when fighting the enemies of mankind.
Mighty Tether, essentially Scorpion’s harpoon from Mortal Kombat, is one of the best PvP abilities, enabling Wei to tank opposing Lightbearers out of position for an easy follow-up kill with a Shotgun.
Fist of the Warpath is similarly disruptive, allowing Wei to knock back enemies and inflict them with an explosive debuff.
Frustratingly, though, none of Wei’s kit is particularly useful in PvE. His offense is outclassed by the likes of Wolf, and his crowd control capabilities are far less useful against AI opponents.
Kabr
- Rarity: Legendary (4-star)
- Element: Arc
- Role: Mid-range defender
- Weapons: Pulse Rifle & Machine Gun
- Best use: PvP
- Best ability: Blinding Shield
Essentially a combination of Sentinel and Striker from Destiny 2, Kabr’s kit works best when adopting an offense-focused, defensive playstyle.
Yes, that’s a contradiction, but that’s Kabr to a T. Blinding Shield and Voltaic Slam both encourage the user to get in close and personal against enemies, while Resistor Barricade – a stationary shield – and his weapons of choice, Pulse Rifle and Machine Gun, encourage a mid to long-range gameplan. As of right now, Kabr is more or less a worse Jolder.
Attal
- Rarity: Legendary (4-star)
- Element: Arc
- Role: Mid-range support
- Weapons: Hand Cannon & Linear Fusion Rifle
- Best use: PvE & PvP
- Best ability: Arc Missile
If Kabr is a worse Jolder, then the absolute best way to describe Attal is as a worse Tan-2. While she’s able to heal allies with Mint Mend, deal respectable damage with Song of Faith, and mass-inflict status effects with Arc Missile, none of these can be augmented to prioritize support or DPS like Tan-2 can.
Likewise, Hand Cannons and Linear Fusion Rifles, while both good in their own right, excel at single-target rather than AoE damage, leaving Attal to struggle in large-scale engagements when her abilities are on cooldown.
Finnala
- Rarity: Legendary (4-star)
- Element: Solar
- Role: Close-range defender
- Weapons: Auto Rifle & Sword
- Best use: PvE & PvP
- Best ability: Funerary Flames
Finnala currently sits in a weird spot. While she has some of the best AoE damage in Funerary Flames and Reaper’s Descent, their secondary effect increases her enmity, meaning she’ll often be taking more damage than her teammates.
That’s fine if she has the means of sustaining her health, but Blazing Barrier, which provides damage resistance against projectiles only and no healing, doesn’t go nearly far enough in helping her survive. If NetEase reworks Blazing Barrier to provide healing, Finnala could rocket to the top of the pile.
C-Tier
Ikora
- Rarity: Legendary (4-star)
- Element: Void
- Role: Long-range offense
- Weapons: Light Grenade Launcher & Rocket Launcher
- Best use: N/A (avoid)
- Best ability: Gravitational Collapse
A tragic placement considering her significance in the lore, Ikora is the only available Lightbearer we’d recommend steering clear of entirely. While her Super, Nova Bomb, can chunk bosses, its extremely long cooldown and focused explosion make it borderline useless for add-clear.
Likewise, Gemini Satellite is on the weaker side for a DPS ability and requires setup to be used to its full effect, leaving Gravitational Collapse, an admittedly strong crowd control tool.
Where Ikora really falls flat, however, is her poor choice of weapons. Light Grenade Launchers and Rocket Launchers have some of the slowest reload speeds of any weapons and are both single-round armaments, meaning you’ll spend more time reloading during a firefight than actually clearing rooms.
That’s a wrap on our tier list for Destiny Rising for now. As NetEase releases more characters and balance patches, we’ll be sure to update this article. Until then, Destiny fans can check out some more tier lists for Bungie’s mainline game, including the best weapons to take into PvE and PvP.