Besides the relatively useless basic Kirito, every player gets a randomized pull for a secondary character during the tutorial missions. I was lucky enough to get a 4 star Philia on my first try, but there are even better characters (and many worse ones) that are possible to acquire in the random shuffle.
Below we cover the ranked tiers of character possibilities to give you an idea of the power level for your specific party. Everybody seems to want Asuna in the nightie, but there are easily characters that pack more of a punch, even if they offer less eye candy. Considering the makeup of the source anime and console games, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the female side of the cast tends to win out on the power level.
When rolling for a new party member either at the beginning of the game or by Scouting, keep in mind that special event versions of characters are typically better than their standard counterparts. For instance, the Christmas version of Asuna (which sadly most English speaking players missed out on the first time around) is an all around better character than the standard Sword Art Online version of Asuna.
Since it’s a good bet new characters and alternate versions of existing characters will be released in future special events, always keep that basic rule of thumb in mind.
Xmas Renditions Are The Way To Go!
For those who are totally new to the game - or want to know how to re-roll better Scout picks after the tutorial - check out our Sword Art Online Memory Defrag beginner’s guide here.
Sword Art Online Memory Defrag Character Tiers
Memory Defrag characters are ranked in commonly accepted tiers from S (the best you always want) down to AA, A, etc. all the way to C (playable, but not at all maximized for achieving the best rank in any given quest). If you get a C, you should consider re-rolling.
Although stats and special attacks play a role, it’s worth noting this list is somewhat subjective – if you spend a lot of time unlocking a lower tier character’s abilities, get a higher star version, or need a character with a specific weapon type to counter a certain breed of monster, even lower-tier characters are worthwhile.
Essentially, these rankings should be used as guidelines for deciding whether you want to go about the annoying re-rolling process, but don’t let these tier lists be a deterrent to just diving in and playing. You can potentially get through the game and succeed with any character, and there comes a point where it’s time to stop re-rolling and start exploring the Sword Art Online world already!
S Rank Characters
Christmas Asuna Windy Asuna Christmas Silica Christmas Yuuki Windy Yuuki
AA Rank Characters
Fiery Asuna Christmas Kirito Christmas Philia Earth Yuuki Halloween Yuuki
A Rank Characters
Alfheim Asuna Earth Lisbeth Earth Leafa Base Seven Base Silica Earth Silica Fiery Sinon Christmas Strea Base Yuuki
B Rank Characters
Base Asuna Fiery Klein Alfheim Online Leafa Christmas Leafa Windy Lisbeth Dual Wield Kirito Alfheim Online Kirito Base Philia Base Rain Alfheim Online Silica Base Sumeragi Base Strea Fiery Strea
C Rank Characters
Base Agil Base Lisbeth Alfheim Online Sinon Gun Gale Online Sinon
Got a different take on the SAO Memory Defrag characters and think any of them deserve a higher or lower ranking? Let us know in the comments section below!
Have fun gaining new Sword Art Online characters!
