Imperial Knights party tier list

This list ranks battle value in Imperial Knights’ four-slot parties. Availability still comes first: if a name is locked to Route 3, they are not S on your Route 1 file. Pair this with party members (join/leave) and combat (why heals beat swords).

S

Lysithea. Water priest. Heal, Mina Heal, Dispel, Weapon Bless. Mud Poison, Cardinal, Sati, and the final shade nuke are all heal checks. Route 1 joins her for free in the grove. When she leaves after the catacombs, hire her before the next dungeon. If gold is tight, skip a cosmetic weapon, not her fee. Japanese charts that say “just Mina Heal every turn” are not joking.

Diana Ashley. Mandatory slot, thrust kit, Ether Knight spike. S because the file ends if she is unusable — binds, empty Repair Kits, or a missing sleep-null card on the healer that lets a shade nuke chain into her death. Build around her; do not replace her. Page: Diana.

A

Tear Lamley. Highest personal damage on Route 1 until Diana’s ritual, then a second lightning. A instead of S because she leaves at the exact moment you want burst for the late game, and because she does not heal. Keep her when gold allows. Page: Tear.

Ellis (Route 3). Frontier attacker who you also find as a map event. On her route she is A because the mines and elf woods expect her timing. On Route 1 she is a side-quest flag, not a rank.

Tania (Route 2). A on facility maps, including the control-swap stealth. Elsewhere she is a hire with a kit that may not match Svalt or castle basement needs. Do not force her into a Route 1 Sati try unless you like the extra flag.

B

Lea. Perfect for Protea’s cluster, then a cheap body. If she still holds your holy mace after the catacombs, that is on you.

Named male mercenaries. Armor-break immunity is real value on costume-spam bosses. Damage is average. They eat gold. Bring one to the cardinal if Lysithea is already in and you keep getting bound, not as a personality pick.

Ariel / Pan. Job specialists. Tournament and lighthouse flags care whether they stand in the party. They are B as combatants, S as checklist tools. See walkthrough extras and the completion checklist.

C

Random low-level hires when you already have Lysithea, Diana, and a damage dealer. They exist so you are never forced to walk a dungeon as a duo. They are not a build.

Route modifiers

• Route 1: S = Lysithea + Diana. Everything else is luxury.
• Route 2: Tania’s maps temporarily outrank Tear. Bio Worm is a timer; a fourth sword does not beat the delayed breath, a faster kill does.
• Route 3: Ellis up, church kit down unless you hired Lysithea from NG+ board.
• NG+: Previous S-ranks become board options. That is the actual balance patch.

Example Route 1 bosses

Alraune. Diana + Lysithea is enough. Extra bodies are insurance. Cardinal. Lysithea required in spirit even if you theoretically replace her with a bag of potions. You will not like that experiment. Mud Poison. Lysithea + Poison Rings + anyone who can still act after agility down. Tear is nice, not required. Sati. Lysithea is the rank. Two attackers (Diana + Tear or hire) to shorten the 80% spike clock. Final boss. Sleep-null on Lysithea. Diana as Ether Knight. Fourth slot is “whoever holds dark resist or extra heals.”

Gold priority versus ranks

1. Repair Kits and Poison Rings (combat).
2. Lysithea’s hire fee.
3. Status-null cards.
4. Tear’s hire fee.
5. Pretty weapons.

If you reverse that list you will write a forum post about how the game is unfair. It is usually the shopping list.

What we are not ranking

Robert, Luna, Sting, Butts, Sati, Norakura — not party members. Cards — other page. Ether Knight as a class — that guide, not a row here. Diana with and without the class is still one person.

Revisit this list when DLC extra bind modes make costume-sponges more attractive. Until then, hire the priest.