Tier lists aren't precise in any game, but when a new player comes into the game and they see a million operators with a million skills each, they become overwhelmed. Which character should they level up? Which character should they pull for? Which characters are the best? People, understandably, don't want to waste their time and resources in a character that is going to get outshined or that is generally not very useful. Tier lists, although flawed, are meant as a "beginner guide" for new players. Not to mention that Arknights is actually a very balanced game, you can pass the game's hardest stages with three stars, making tier lists kinda useless in the long run, so they exist more for fun than for actual functionality.

Yii is a sniper class operator which specializes in throwing shade

The lore expands, also who needs archetypes when u have guards smh

People: Why are you using Frostleaf?! Me: Look, I needed someone with two block and an actual attack stat for a single map and at the time it was between her and Shaw.

Can't wait for that one guy who uses Ange as a Medic to show up.

yii's lore is like an onion, it has layers

We can all agree though that the Skorak and Jumpy tier list is the one and only good tier list on KZfaq for Arknights.

Vanguards? Generate deployment points? *sad Yato noises*

True most of the Guard Operators are disgustingly OP

Every tier list is wrong, Skadi should be SSS *This message is sponsored by the skadi enjoyers gang*

This man will go on thesaurus and find synonyms of "bizzare" and "adventure", you do you yii

"Generalist operators are not used much in high risk CCs" This aged horribly with Chenalter and kalsit huh.

Seeing your channel grow is so amazing! I’m excited for your unique content

Hm, I had thoughts about this, but I could not articulate them clearly, thank you very much for your video.

Wow yii is such a great arknights youtuber i love him so much he is my favorite arknights content creator he is so cool and funny

I started with a pretty nice allround composition at the beginning with some 4stars. 2 Tanks/2 Snipers + Shirayuki/1 Caster 1 AoE Caster/2 DP vanguards 1 DPS vanguard/1 aoe healer 1 single target healer/1 duel guard, 1 range guard (1 arts guard would have been nice). And that's enough to clear most content. Now I'm at the point where I am actively looking out for nieches like specialists, supporter, Helidrops etc. to be able to do more specific challenge mode stages and so on. Its also more fun to play some fun strategy instead of Tank Heal Caster Brrrrrrr.

a great video to send to the next poor soul i rope into this game a few weeks after they start. covers an important topic lots of vets ignore that new people have trouble getting, thanks!

Every single Operator is bad, because they can't do everything right!

Pretty happy you are almost to 1k subs in just two weeks from 500,you deserve the subscribers you get from your well made videos

tierlists are garbage except Arkthighs tierlist

Good video, also, the CC music slaps.

*generally* I think that thinking in the character archetypes is the way to go, but understanding the intricacies of each ops kit is super important and should ultimately be what people focus on in the long run. For example, I think it would be fair to compare Blaze and Popukars kits and decide that generally blaze is better. but that ignores the fact that due to blazes skill 2 relying on her being a "set and forget" op and her higher cost, in certain situations you may want to use popukar instead because she has a lower cost and can be removed from the field far safer than blaze can.

Finally someone who understands, much respect fellow dokutah

Tier lists IMO here are more so rankings as a generalist than niche and specific usage. I think that's the most important thing for anyone utilizing them in this game, since niche operators will shine, as you said, in the right situations.

yii is my comfort youtuber with his skits

I am very late to this, but that tier list at the start, where they put Mousse, Scene, and Podenco at SSS, i thinki know what that tierlist is about and i wholeheartedy agree to it.

cross class comparisons can make *some* sense for specialists, like jaye skill 2 and enmity operators

I love these skits with Amiya

Would it be a fair comparison to say the difference between eyja and other casters is greater than between exusiai and other snipers therefore eyja has higher priority since you can get away with greythroat for example. You can definitely give an entire class like support guards, chain casters and whatever Tsukinogi is lower priority.

I get your point but then again, not everyone is Cesith, Nekogitsune or God forbid, Silvergun and the other low-star veterans and tryhards I think tier list in Arknights exists since certain 6 stars like Mostima (and the upcoming Passenger) and 5 stars operators that considered to be too niche in their specialties (akin to Swire, Tsukinogi, Aosta, etc exists, which underperforms unless if it's carried by multiple amount of setups of other rare operators which not everyone gets, unless you're really take waifu/husbando or worse, whale simping factors into account which nullifies not just the META, but also the talk about skills in general simply for Neuron activation to exists But at least Arknights powercreeping hasn't come as quick as other gacha games, even Genshin Impact gets to do chara releases' powercreeping faster than Arknights'

I agree with this video. If you asked any player "Who is better? Nearl or Gummy?" Everyone would say Nearl, on account of her being a 5*. However in my experience, while Nearl is better at keeping enemies at bay and tanking hits, if you need a healer and no range tiles are available, Gummy can save your ass since she heals constantly with her S1 and not just at 50% or lower health. Thats just my experience though. But it shows how everyone has their time and place. However I do wanna say I like should you pull? Videos (in particular FrostByte's) because I use them to asses if the operators in the banner are something I'd be interested in. Its more entertaining than going into a wiki article and you can get second opinions.

Thanks, I was about to drop the game because i've been stuck at "4-7" for 3 weeks Guess ill pay more attention to archetypes and try once again Edit: i still suck at this game

Damn you grow so fast dude

The whole talk about guards make me think of my Squad. It's mostly defenders and snipers.

Guardknights rot the brain? Fool, I've long since become corrupted by Sniperknights, bringing 5 of these per map is a staple of mine.

There are three things make everyone fall into Tier List trap: 1st: Reading tier list is a must-have for newbie, every single new players will read at least 1 or 2 Tier List, because they are overwheml by the large number of choices, although through time, they will get use to every single operators, the habit of reading Tier List is still there. 2nd: Tier List has undeniable uses: A Goof Tier List will explain why they rate A or B so by reading them, newbie improves their knowledge about the game and understand the game mechanic (For Example, for a newbie, skill Uptime seems weird or some buff that seem strong like Tomimi is turned out weak and impractical) 3rd: Tier List gives players comfortable cover back, so as they keep pulling more and more operators, more and more operators need to be raised, and more importantly, THE DIFFICULTY of Stages is SKY-ROCKET, which means: Players feel like if they raise a weak operator, they CAN'T finish a stage, which made them feel a pressure of leveling strong operators in order to progress. I think the main psychology side of Tier List falls into the 3rd reason: the Scare of CAN'T complete a stage made players keep SEARCHING for STRONGER, OPier Operators.

all these beef and I don't have a big grill to hold all the roast

comparing Surtr and Thorns is like comparing Long Term DPS Damage to Short Term High Burst Damage.

So when the summer comes down, I see a problem of the soul.

I love your videos

5:52 i feel personally attacked

Frost's video is now what you watch to learn should you pull or naw Cuz every banner is a yes

finally Amiya pog at the end

One day, I will master Excel. Part of that journey will be mapping out things like this in a spreadsheet and formatting it for my personal use. This will take time, so I'll start this weekend if I remember.

i looked at the tier list you showed at the beginning of the video and, i may only be a beginner but...... why is my precious Beehunter so low ?? she can dodge ennemies ! i love her ! she's in every team composition of mine !

Thanks for this video, really. One of the things that really annoys me is people completely dismissing an operator because they aren't "as good" as another unit. But this game is great because every unit is good, with their own niche. Various niches can overlap, but that just makes life easier for people who don't have specific units. Also your analysis probably explains why Frostbyte has to say "yes" in every single "should you pull" video. Though there's a certain infamous upcoming 6 star where I wonder if we'll finally see a "no" haha ...... It is ironic this video is from the same guy who called Archetto trash lol

the teir list helps players determine what operators to build... players are able to focus on operators that preform on special niches when they have the "general" foundation. When people are comparing saria to hoshi, they are looking at who to pull for because of limited resources.

Own to own playstyle,as long as you’re happy

I wish this video was out like a year ago

i have all 3 guard at m3 but didn't use them much. why? it too ez.

I think you're forgetting something super important, arknights is a gacha game. Arknights has a limited amount of pulling resources, a limited number of gacah currency. Unless they're a giga-massive whale, then you can't just get every operator one wants. Tier lists, and should you pull videos, both list out the strengths and weaknesses of the operator and their general use. Let's take your Hoshiguma vs Saria scenario, who would be-generally-more used? Saria because she is more useful in more scenarios. So, the tier list puts her above Hoshiguma as a way to signify you should pull Saria over Hoshiguma. Saria is more useful in more situations and would be better worth the limited amount of orundum we have. Same with "should you pull" videos.

Nice

I want that amiya image

Wow my favorite yiituber

Yeah, I agree with you. Like Angelina and Suzuran, similar yet different. Suzuran is full on sp while Angelina has high dps. People can't simple just compare that Suzuran slow more or Angelina stronger

nah, you cannot stop me comparing thighs of operators from different classes

I thought there were the 4 horseman’s of guardnights Blaze, Thorns, Surtr, and Silverdaddy

Yii's strange journey is a weird way to say Yii's Bizarre Adventure

The problem with operators is alot of operators fall into the good, but if you have to ask.... category, basically they are good but you need some strategy or understanding. Whereas others like eyja are great even for those who don't want to use their brain. But the problem is when people ask for help on ops to build, most just assume the worst case and thus basically everything that isn't like surtr, eyja etc. are not recommended

Wow, fungimist boss theme. Brings juicy memories

While it might not always make sense comparing operators directly, universality is definitely something that can make an operator better than others, either by inflating their numbers (Surtr) or increasing the roles they can fulfill (Thorns). If an op can be used anywhere and can fulfill the same role as other operators, they will inherently be "better", even if they don't have the same niche or role. Saria is a prime example of this. She can simply fulfill the same role as a medic/defender pair, while only being 1 operator. Sure, there might be situations where a specialized defender and a specialized medic are necessary, but a half-baked operator who is not even gonna fulfill the base requirements that someone like Saria meets is inherently gonna be *worse,* even if they have different specialization. You can't expect, say, Matterhorn for example, to tank better than Saria even within his niche of tanking Arts damage. You can't expect an operator like Skyflare to deal more aoe Arts damage than Eyja (much less for the same DP). You can't expect Indra to deal with a single enemy 1-on-1 better than Hellagur, even if Indra has the perk of being able to receive healing from medics and the like. Comparing operators in different niches is perfectly doable if they can fulfill the same role better in every situation. In most cases this is simply gonna get you to the conclusion that, surprise surprise, higher * operators are better. Universality is the moment Thorns is a better sniper, Saria is a better medic, Weedy is a better aoe guard, Eyja is a better aoe caster etc.

Me: (got 2 epic 6*) Also me: *Can't complete SK-2*

me a collector type: i want them all anyways

The only tierlist I accept is cesith because his tierlist shows strength of operators within archetypes.

So, who is better, melantha or skadi

0:36 is Yii's waifu and husbando tier list. 😂

imagine comparing operators with different archetypes thats why i bring both in one squad

Yiiception

the true ak tier lists have all the gimmick operators at the top

Thorns, mountain and blaze were all used in high risk cc clears tho.

The true Sakdi simp knows how to use skadi in every single map

And spread love to thousands of resentments,

Comparisons work when considering situations, so the better something is at doing everything the better that character is. Specializations should also be taken into account, however. Getting one's hands on a Saria is more significant on getting one's hands on a Hoshi, because Saria can do more than Hoshi, for example. Tier lists are better for newer players to generate a good core team, while rationing resources on who to roll in banner (or buy via certificates). I think you are misunderstanding what a niche is. It's a little more specific, like, "this unit is great at dealing with exploding spiders" or "the ability to reduce debuffs on allies"

i like to rate operators based on whether or not they can solo 1-7 for trust and rock farm because it's the only content that matters :)

Tier lists serve as an easy way to determine which operators are the most valuable, assuming the tier list maker prioritizes the same thing as you (be it high difficulty content, ease of clearing main stages or whatever). Undoubtedly Surtr is going to be more useful than Tsukinogi. Tsukinogi may have situations where she's better, but Surtr is more widely applicable and is less replaceable in her roles.

I can't believe yii fucking died

literally the only reason i watch should you pull videos is to learn what the hell an operator does. could'nt care less about the opinion of said video creator, but the information is nice none the less

Hoshiguma is best girl. I have no clue if Saga is any good, but I want her. P.S Arknights is sorely lacking in people that about the game in a general sense, subbed in hopes you make more.

"Honestly, I wouldn't dare to try to compare Operators in a vacuum, which is what most people do." _loses a Who Can Hold Their Breath the Longest contest at the pool_

The only objectively good tier list is jumpys drip tierlist

Subscribed Because he you hated surtr and I'm still Salty about her.

I am confused why when snipers sniping enemies is right, but when defenders defending enemies is wrong...

honestly soo fucking true i got soo much shit for saying i prefer silence over shining because of her global healing and when i tried to argue about why and make actual good points i got warned because i was the 1 at fault

Inconsistent translations: *Annellatio*

So, if I'm getting what you're saying, in summary... don't?

I was baited with Passenger compared to Amiya and for some reason I laughed. I mean I played this game for mostly husbus and waifus, them being meta is just a bonus. Looking at Passenger archetype and it's such a sad one to see many people mocking him for being underwhelmed compared to another operators especially *6, which is, mostly funny, because they were comparing him to Surtr, or even Thorns, when their class not even same. He's at least better than Leizi, as having same archetype, he provides better with slow and wider area. His job is not doing the DPS, he's more likely your support at front rear and let the DPS behind him did last job. Although I'm very sceptical about HG would consider to buff him, I don't mind if he would have one. After all, this game is not always as DPS check, but on how Doctor's plan for their operators to execute their missions. Anyway, good videos. Don't mind to watch more of your vids starting for now

So in conclusion just upgraded everyone to max???

wow yii is such a great arknights youtuber i love him so much he is my favorite arknights content creator he is so cool and funny

My brain when playing arknights:hahahaha pooopy poopy stinky

That’s why I generally regard surtyr as my oh sh*t operator, she’s my last resort, because of the fact it can make clearing the game easy.

The fact that i play the game as F2PAIN for 1 years i do have more than 5m lmd 😅

OK YII BUT TELL ME IS HUNG GOOD PLEASE I NEED U TO TELL ME HUNG IS GOOD

"wow yii is such a great arknights youtuber i love him so much he is my favorite arknights content creator he is so cool and funny" if you read the description

And thats why i keep telling my "friends" about using tier lists is dumb, specially when every unit is different, and has different mechanics around them, they say: wuu Provence/Andrena bad cuz they ignore enemies with their respective skills,, just use SilverAsh and go BRRR, and im like; what? They have completely different niches, both complement each other, and both of them are focused in massive single target damage, if one doesnt kill the enemy, the other will surely finish him, their skills are completely oposite from heach other, and they have way less CD between uses than the Silver Ash third skill, and i don't know, maybe you just want an enemy to fall in a concrete position, then you don't need the AOE of SA, maybe the enemy is a kamikaze unit and the place where one unit manages to kill it isnt favorable for the fight, or you wanna move the enemies around and play with the true damage from units like Nightmare or Weedy (very fun combo to play with), i remember bringing Silver Ash ONLY for his faster redeployment to the entire team and go around with fast redeply units, or similar ones like Skadi or even Yato. There is no bad unit, maybe im not a big brain user, and yes, i know i often just smash my way through with Blaze, Eyja and Ifrit, with Suzuran debuff on top of that, but that doesnt mean i just use those units and call it a day, there are unlimited ways of beating every stage, limiting yourself to only one is stupid, and saying that everything else besides the meta units is usless/bad its stupid, there is no such thing as trash units (except popukar and catapult, because they ducked my recruitment pulls to get yellow certificates to get Astesia, so yeah, duck those two). And yes, i have used "guides" in the past to finish some events, because i couldnt manage to make my team work (Frostleaf, Nightmare, Gummy, Deepcolor and many other "bad" operators"), even with that i used those as a refference to make my teams work in the end, so yeah, just play with whatever you want, there was this guy running a no pull run of the game and he manages to pull such high lvl plays that its just amazing.

Wut where am I?

Imagine people saying surtr is very op but when it comes to drone stage, they went to youtube just to find how to beat stages with low leveled snipers

Guard have: Sniper: thorns Caster: silverash Defender: specter Duelist:surtr Now just need slow guard and healing guard

I mean, I could use my 6* to easily clear most stages in a moments notice, but where is the fun in that?

The only accurate comparison in this game is: Eyja makes every caster in the game shit unless their names are ceobe and Ifrit One is better at niche situations, the other is just so different that any comparisons just won't fit