This exists because I've been asked by new players/friends a few times "is X character good" "should I pull for/build Y character". Every tier list I found on major websites is ridiculously bad, made by people who don't play the game. This guide aims to demonstrate which characters are especially worth spending Pyroxene for, or farming up in Hardmode/shops.
This is not completely perfect or targeted at any one piece of content. It's meant to be a more vague, broad idea of what kind of characters are particularly worth (or not worth) spending pyro, farming for, or building with mats. OP and S tiers are particularly strong pulls/worthwhile investments. Lowest tiers are stuff you'll completely ignore and replace with better characters.
If you want to make a case for a character moving to a different tier, politely do so in the comments, there's definitely room for change, don't be a ♥♥♥♥. See notes at the end.

For more general new player game advice check this guide, which I found to be pretty much entirely good/accurate advice:
https://test1.login.steam.hlxgame.cc/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3515914634

For more resources, check this page (various databases, planners, resources, ratings for specific students on specific raids, etc):
https://bluearchive.wiki/wiki/Community_guides_and_resources

Blue Archive JP Banner History: https://bluearchive.wiki/wiki/Banner_List
( We're ~6 months behind JP. Feel free to CTRL+F and search the current banner we're on to see what's coming next. Plan ahead to make sure you have 200 rolls for the character you want, to be safe. )

August 8, 2025:
> Updated the image tier-list which had fallen behind a bit.
> Both Hanae/Serina (Christmas) moved to B tier.
> Cherino (Hot Spring) to B tier. Mistakenly thought her skill cost 10 like Hifumi's - it's not that bad.
> Neru (School Uniform) to S. She might go to OP later, but since she doesn't have the raw burst of Mika and needs some setup, I'm not sure if she deserves it yet.
> The new Trinity Swimsuits are still up in the air. They certainly seem great overall though ( Mika being a new cracked ST-purple DPS and Seia being 'striker Kisaki' )

(May be slightly outdated compared to the text list, it's updated less frequently.)
(Also, Sometimes Steam breaks the image and you can't view full size, dunno why.)


OP Tier: Hanako (Swimsuit) , Mika , Hina (Dress) , Himari , Kisaki , Shiroko (Swimsuit) , Shiroko (Terror) , Hoshino (Swimsuit) , Fuuka (New Year) , Ako , Yuuka (Track) , Nozomi , Hoshino (Battle) , Rio , Seia , Hare (Camp) , Wakamo

S Tier: Kokona , Mari (Idol) , Ui , Iori , Shun , Aru , Tsubaki , Koharu , Mutsuki (New Year) , Iroha , Nagisa , Kayoko (New Year) , Ui (Swimsuit) , Makoto , Momoi , Kikyou , Hikari , Aru (Dress) , Kotama , Neru (School Uniform)

A+ Tier: Izuna (Swimsuit) , Ako (Dress), Cherino, Serina , Hibiki , Hina , Haruna , Kanna (Swimsuit) , Mutsuki , Neru , Junko , Maki , Hina (Swimsuit) , Natsu , Atsuko , Ayane (Swimsuit) , Shizuko (Swimsuit) , Kazusa , Noa , Mine , Yuzu (Maid) , Toki , Minori , Shigure (Hot Spring) , Nodoka (Hot Spring) , Yuuka (Pajama), Noa (Pajama) , Saori (Part-timer) , Aoba , Satsuki

A Tier: Izuna, Azusa , Akane, Hanae , Hanako , Hifumi , Eimi , Karin , Momoi (Maid) , Midori , Midori (Maid) , Kayoko , Nonomi , Wakamo (Swimsuit) , Shiroko , Serika , Yuzu , Yuuka , Azusa (Swimsuit) , Karin (Bunny) , Neru (Bunny) , Fubuki , Nonomi (Swimsuit) , Chise , Chise (Swimsuit) , Saori , Hasumi (Track), Haruna (New Year) , Kanna , Sakurako , Utaha , Haruka (New Year) , Aris (Maid) , Toki (Bunny) , Reisa , Miyu (Swimsuit) , Miyako (Swimsuit) , Saki (Swimsuit) , Koharu (Swimsuit) , Ichika , Misaka Mikoto , Yukari , Renge , Ibuki , Tsubaki (Guide) , Kazusa (Band) , Yoshimi (Band) , Airi (Band) , Kirino (Swimsuit) , Fubuki (Swimsuit) , Atsuko (Swimsuit) , Saori (Swimsuit) , Tomoe (Qipao) , Reijo , Sakurako (Idol) , Mine (Idol) , Chiaki , Karin (School Uniform) , Utuha (Cheerleader) , Sena (Swimsuit) , Juri (Part-timer) , Rei , Pina (Guide) , Nagusa , Natsu (Band) , Kikyou (Swimsuit) , Yukari (Swimsuit) , Junko (New Year) , Renge (Swimsuit) , Kotama (Camp) , Rumi , Kasumi , Meru , Momiji , Mina , Fuuka , Hoshino, Asuna (School Uniform)

B+ Tier: Shiroko (Cycling) , Chinatsu , Haruka , Tsurugi , Tsurugi (Swimsuit) , Asuna (Bunny) , Hatsune Miku , Aru (New Year) , Chinatsu (Hot Spring) , Hinata , Marina , Mari (Track) , Haruna (Track) , Kotori (Track) , Shokuhou Misaki , Eimi (Swimsuit) , Kayoko (Dress) , Akari (New Year) , Kirara , Umika , Serika (Swimsuit) , Moe (Swimsuit) , Hiyori (Swimsuit) , Izumi (New Year) , Sumire (Part-timer) , Ayane , Iori (Swimsuit) , Saten Ruiko , Kaede

B Tier: Hasumi , Kotori , Aris , Mashiro , Sumire , Mashiro (Swimsuit) , Izumi (Swimsuit) , Shun (Small) , Chihiro , Sena , Mimori , Saki , Miyako , Tsukuyo , Hiyori , Moe , Koyuki , Kaho , Hinata (Swimsuit) , Mimori (Swimsuit) , Marina (Qipao) , Maki (Camp) , Suzumi , Shigure , Serina (Christmas) , Hanae (Christmas) , Cherino (Hot Spring)

C Tier: Akari, Pina , Hare , Izumi , Saya , Mari , Kirino , Saya (Casual) , Michiru , Tomoe , Hibiki (Cheerleader) , Akane (Bunny) , Serika (New Year) , Megu

D Tier: Airi , Asuna , Juri , Shimiko , Nodoka , Shizuko , Yoshimi , Hifumi (Swimsuit) , Miyu , Misaki


NOTES:
>This generally only matters if you're pursuing high-end optional content like Raids, Scrimmage D, Joint Firing Drill tier 4, Event Challenge stages, etc, which all provide diminishing returns and you don't "have" to do them.
>Regular "Missions", Event "Quest" stages, etc. are generally pretty easy as long as you bring AoE damage that matches the enemy's armor color.
>Some Raids have very specific gimmicks that require specific characters - characters that suit these niche requirements for specific content are at least in A tier, if not A+/S
>OP tier characters are widely useful, or are otherwise universally good and you cannot go wrong with spending pyro/materials on them.
>Some characters are rated highly because they are both good /and/ easily accessible without spending pyroxene (Mission Hard mode farming, Total Assault shop, Grand Assault shop, JFD shop, PvP shop etc...)
>Some characters only earn their spot once you get their Level 20 bond gear
>Again, this game generally doesn't need a tier list for the 'primary content', so if you just want to pull your favorite characters then do that! It's more fun that way!

If you want to make a case for a character going up or down on the list, feel free to politely do so with your reasoning and I'll be happy to update the guide or discuss it with you.