Ultimate Blue Archive Tier List -Expert (March 2026) Guide

Sensei! Welcome to the most comprehensive Blue Archive tier list you’ll find anywhere online. As someone who’s spent countless hours testing every student in both PvE and PvP content, I’m excited to share my expert rankings that will help you build the ultimate team composition. Whether you’re a new player just starting your journey or a veteran Sensei looking to optimize your roster, this guide has everything you need to dominate Kivotos.
In this ultimate Blue Archive tier list, I’ll break down every student by their role, explain exactly why they rank where they do, and provide you with the insider knowledge you need to make informed decisions about who to invest in. We’ll cover everything from SS-tier game-changers to situational picks, plus I’ll share the team compositions that are currently dominating the meta.
Quick Reference: Blue Archive Tier List Overview (March 2026)
| Tier | Description | Key Characters | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| SS-Tier | Game-changing meta definers | Himari, Iori, Koharu, Ako | All content, raids, PvP |
| S-Tier | Excellent all-around performers | Haruna, Tsubaki, Shun, Mika | Most content, specific team roles |
| A-Tier | Strong with proper setup | Hibiki, Yuuka, Akane, Serina | Situational use, budget options |
| B-Tier | Decent but needs support | Chise, Mashiro, Aru | Early game, specific scenarios |
| C-Tier | Limited utility | Airi, Chinatsu, Hoshino | Very niche situations |
Blue Archive Tier List: Complete Student Rankings (2026)
SS-Tier – The Meta-Defining Elite
These students aren’t just good—they’re game-changers that can single-handedly carry teams through the most challenging content. If you’re lucky enough to pull any of these, prioritize building them immediately.
Akeboshi Himari (Support – Mystic)
Why She’s SS-Tier: Himari is the undisputed queen of Blue Archive’s meta, providing unparalleled attack buffs and resource management that makes every team better. Her ability to funnel massive critical chance and critical damage buffs into your main damage dealer creates the “hypercarry” compositions that dominate high-score raids.
Best Uses:
- Total Assault raids (especially against bosses like Perorodzilla)
- PvP teams where burst damage is crucial
- Any content where you need consistent, high-damage output
Key Stats:
- Attack: 268
- Defense: 109
- Cost: 3 (extremely efficient)
Pro Tip: Himari’s buffs scale with the target’s stats, making her even more powerful when paired with already-strong damage dealers like Iori or Mika.
Tsurugi Iori (Attacker – Piercing)
Why She’s SS-Tier: Iori delivers some of the highest single-target damage in the game, making her invaluable against raid bosses and high-priority targets. Her “Total Arrest” EX skill costs only 3 but delivers devastating damage, making her incredibly cost-efficient for accelerating team skill cycles.
Best Uses:
- Raid bosses (Binah, Kaiten FX Mk.0)
- Credit farming and resource missions
- Any content with Heavy Armor enemies
Key Stats:
- Attack: 391
- Defense: 20
- Cost: 3 (optimal efficiency)
Pro Tip: Iori’s piercing damage makes her essential against Heavy Armor enemies, which are common in late-game content. Pair her with a tank like Tsubaki for maximum effectiveness.
Koharu (Healer – Explosive)
Why She’s SS-Tier: Koharu revolutionizes team-building by combining healing and damage in one package. Her “Holy Grenade” EX skill heals allies while dealing explosive AoE damage, essentially giving you an extra damage dealer slot in teams that would normally need a dedicated healer.
Best Uses:
- Endurance fights and raids with persistent damage
- Teams where you need both healing and damage output
- Hieronymus raids where constant healing is essential
Key Stats:
- Attack: 254
- Defense: 24
- Role: Hybrid healer/damage dealer
Pro Tip: Koharu frees up precious Special slots for meta-defining buffers like Himari and Ako, making her essential for optimized team compositions.
Amau Ako (Support – Explosive)
Why She’s SS-Tier: Ako is the backbone of Blue Archive’s hypercarry meta, providing massive critical chance and critical damage buffs that transform good damage dealers into boss-melting monsters. Her 3-cost EX skill makes her incredibly efficient, and her passive team-wide crit damage buff is the cherry on top.
Best Uses:
- High-score raid clears
- Teams built around single-target burst damage
- Any content where maximizing DPS is crucial
Key Stats:
- Cost: 3 (perfect for skill cycling)
- Role: Critical damage buffer
- Impact: Team-wide damage amplification
Pro Tip: While Ako’s personal damage is negligible, her impact on team DPS is unmatched. She’s the force multiplier that makes top-tier damage dealers truly shine.
S-Tier – Excellent All-Around Performers
These students are strong choices that work well in most team compositions and can carry you through almost all content with proper support.
Haruna (Attacker – Mystic)
Why She’s S-Tier: Haruna delivers powerful burst damage that’s particularly effective against Heavy Armor enemies. She excels in both PvE content and Total Assault fights, making her a versatile pick for almost any situation.
Best Uses:
- PvE stages with Heavy Armor enemies
- Total Assault fights
- General-purpose damage dealing
Key Strengths:
- High burst damage potential
- Effective against common enemy types
- Good synergy with most buffers
Kasuga Tsubaki (Tank – Piercing)
Why She’s S-Tier: Tsubaki is the ultimate early and mid-game tank, providing incredible survivability through her taunt ability, self-healing, and high evasion. She creates the perfect foundation for teams by keeping enemies focused on her while your damage dealers work safely.
Best Uses:
- Early and mid-game progression
- Teams that need a reliable frontline
- Any content where survivability is crucial
Key Strengths:
- Excellent survivability tools
- Self-sufficient with healing
- Great for learning game mechanics
Misono Mika (Attacker – Explosive)
Why She’s S-Tier: Mika is Blue Archive’s premier single-target destroyer, with an EX skill that scales damage based on the enemy’s current HP. What makes her truly special is her guaranteed critical hit passive, removing the need for luck or extra setup.
Best Uses:
- Boss fights with high HP pools
- Opening rotations in raids
- Situations where consistent burst damage is needed
Key Strengths:
- Guaranteed critical hits
- HP-scaled damage (perfect for boss openers)
- No additional setup required
Shun (Attacker – Mystic)
Why She’s S-Tier: Shun offers a unique mix of damage and energy regeneration that makes her invaluable in PvP compositions. Her ability to accelerate skill cycles while dealing solid damage makes her a versatile pick for many team setups.
Best Uses:
- PvP battles
- Teams that need skill acceleration
- Burst damage compositions
Key Strengths:
- Energy regeneration utility
- Solid damage output
- Good synergy with burst compositions
A-Tier – Strong but Situational Picks
These students perform well but may require specific team setups or excel in particular situations. They’re solid choices but not as universally valuable as higher-tier picks.
Hibiki (Attacker – Mystic)
Why She’s A-Tier: Hibiki provides excellent area-of-effect damage, making her great for clearing groups of enemies in PvE content. While she lacks the single-target firepower of S-tier attackers, she excels at wave clearing.
Best Uses:
- PvE stages with multiple enemies
- Wave clearing scenarios
- Early to mid-game progression
Yuuka (Tank – Explosive)
Why She’s A-Tier: Yuuka offers solid survivability and defensive skills to protect teammates. While not as durable as Tsubaki, she’s a reliable tank option for most general content.
Best Uses:
- General tanking needs
- PvE stages
- Teams that need defensive support
Akane (Support – Explosive)
Why She’s A-Tier: Akane applies defense debuffs to enemies, increasing the team’s overall damage output. She’s particularly effective against high-defense enemies like raid bosses.
Best Uses:
- Raid boss fights
- Teams facing high-defense enemies
- Situations where damage amplification is needed
Serika (Attacker – Explosive)
Why She’s A-Tier: Serika is a simple but effective damage dealer with consistent output. While she lacks the utility of higher-tier attackers, she’s a reliable choice for early-game damage dealing.
Best Uses:
- Early-game progression
- Consistent damage output
- Budget team compositions
B-Tier – Decent but Needs Support
These students can be useful but generally require strong team synergy or specific situations to shine. They’re often outclassed by higher-tier options but can still find niches.
Chise (Attacker – Mystic)
Why She’s B-Tier: Chise offers decent AoE damage but lacks the raw power of top-tier attackers. She can be effective in PvE content but struggles in high-end challenges.
Best Uses:
- PvE wave clearing
- Early-game damage dealing
- Situations where AoE is valued over single-target
Mashiro (Support – Mystic)
Why She’s B-Tier: Mashiro provides healing and support, though weaker compared to Koharu. She can work in support-focused teams but is generally outclassed by better options.
Best Uses:
- Budget healing support
- Early-game team compositions
- Situations where basic healing is needed
Rikuhachima Aru (Attacker – Explosive)
Why She’s B-Tier: Aru is an AoE specialist who can clear waves effectively but falls off in late-game content that favors burst damage. She’s excellent early but gets replaced by stronger options.
Best Uses:
- Early-game wave clearing
- Light Armor enemy stages
- Learning game mechanics
C-Tier – Limited Utility
These students struggle to compete with stronger options and have very specific, limited use cases. Generally avoid investing in them unless you have a very specific reason.
Airi (Attacker – Explosive)
Why She’s C-Tier: Airi has lower damage output compared to other attackers, making her less effective in most situations. She’s primarily an early-game filler unit.
Best Uses:
- Very early-game progression
- Filler unit when no better options are available
Chinatsu (Support – Mystic)
Why She’s C-Tier: Chinatsu has minimal support capabilities, limiting her usefulness in harder fights. She’s outclassed by virtually every other support option.
Best Uses:
- Niche support situations
- Very specific team compositions
Hoshino (Tank – Explosive)
Why She’s C-Tier: Hoshino lacks the defensive tools needed to serve as a reliable tank in high-level content. She might work in early PvE but becomes obsolete quickly.
Best Uses:
- Early PvE stages
- Learning tank mechanics
Team Composition Guide
Building the right team is just as important as having high-tier students. Here are some proven team compositions that work well in March 2026:
Hypercarry Composition (Raids)
- Damage Dealer: Iori or Mika
- Buffer: Himari and Ako
- Tank/Support: Tsubaki or Koharu
This composition focuses on maximizing single-target damage for raid bosses, with Himari and Ako providing massive buffs to your main damage dealer.
AoE Clear Composition (PvE)
- AoE Damage: Hibiki or Aru
- Support: Akane (defense debuff)
- Healer: Koharu
- Tank: Yuuka or Tsubaki
Perfect for clearing waves of enemies in PvE content, with emphasis on area damage and survivability.
Balanced Composition (All-Around)
- Damage: Haruna or Shun
- Support: Himari
- Healer: Koharu
- Tank: Tsubaki
A well-rounded team that can handle most content types with good damage, support, healing, and tanking capabilities.
Reroll Guide: Getting the Best Start
If you’re just starting out, rerolling can give you a huge advantage by securing SS-tier students early. Here’s how to reroll efficiently:
Step-by-Step Reroll Process
- Launch Blue Archive and log in with a guest account
- Play through the tutorial to get your free summons
- Complete the first mission
- Claim the rewards through your mailbox
- Spend your free currency on the gacha banners to summon characters
If you’re happy with your pulls, continue the game! If not, follow these steps to reroll:
- Tap the menu button in the top-right corner of the screen
- Click account
- Hit ‘reset’
- Type in ‘Blue Archive’
Reroll Target Students
Prioritize getting these SS-tier students during reroll:
- Himari (best support buffer)
- Iori (top damage dealer)
- Koharu (hybrid healer/damage)
- Ako (critical damage buffer)
How to Get More Characters?
Once you’ve used your starting resources, you’ll need to earn more Pyroxene to summon additional characters. Here are the best ways to get more students:
Free Methods
- Complete daily missions and events
- Participate in Total Assault raids
- Clear story content and challenges
- Claim login bonuses and event rewards
- Complete achievement objectives
Paid Methods
- Purchase Pyroxene packages
- Buy monthly passes for consistent income
- Take advantage of limited-time bundles
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is the Blue Archive meta updated?
The Blue Archive meta typically shifts with major updates, which usually happen every 4-6 weeks. New character releases and balance patches can dramatically change tier placements, so it’s important to stay current with the latest updates. I recommend checking back monthly for the most up-to-date rankings.
Are lower-tier characters ever viable?
Yes! While SS and S-tier characters generally offer the best performance, B and C-tier characters can still be viable in specific situations. Some lower-tier students excel at particular game modes or against specific enemy types. The key is understanding their strengths and building teams around their unique abilities.
Which students should I prioritize upgrading?
Focus your resources on SS-tier students first, particularly Himari, Iori, Koharu, and Ako. These characters provide the most significant impact and will carry you through the majority of content. After securing your core SS-tier team, you can branch out to S-tier students that complement your playstyle.
How important is student synergy?
Student synergy is crucial in Blue Archive. The best teams aren’t just collections of high-tier students—they’re carefully crafted compositions where each member enhances the others. Pay attention to damage types, buff/debuff interactions, and cost management when building your teams.
Should I focus on PvE or PvP content?
For most players, PvE should be your primary focus as it offers the most consistent progression and resource generation. However, PvP provides valuable rewards and can help you understand team composition at a deeper level. A balanced approach that prioritizes PvE while participating in PvP events is usually optimal.
Conclusion
This Blue Archive tier list for March 2026 should give you everything you need to build powerful teams and dominate all aspects of the game. Remember that while tier lists provide excellent guidance, the best team is ultimately one that you enjoy playing and fits your personal playstyle.
The meta is always evolving, so make sure to bookmark this page and check back regularly for updates. With the right students and team compositions, you’ll be well on your way to becoming the top Sensei in Kivotos!
For more gaming guides and tier lists, check out our Blue Archive Reroll Guide or explore our other mobile game guides for expert tips on your favorite games.
