VAMPIR/Class picker
Tell the picker what you will spend most of your time on, whether you plan to spend money, and if you care about range. It sorts the five classes using our two tier lists and keeps every card on screen, so you can see why a class rose or fell instead of getting one name back.
Two things are worth weighing first. A class change later costs 2,000 Diamonds plus Proofs for each Legendary weapon or Bloodshape you convert, so the first pick should be the class you want at level 60, not the one that levels fastest. And the developers have announced a class balance pass for November that lifts weak skills toward the average, so the classes low on these lists today, Grim Reaper above all, may not stay there.
Sorted by our PvE list. Viper and Bloodstained farm safely on their own; Carnage hits bosses hard but runs thin on long fights; Grim Reaper only leads on short boss fights.
1
MagicPvE SPvP AThe best all-round free pick
Pick it if you want one class for everything as a free player. Its area damage farms packs fastest, Venom Shield keeps it alive in clan fights, and it is the first choice for big group PvP.
Skip it if you mainly duel. One on one and in 5v5 Arena it sits near the bottom of the five.
Viper: skills, Bloodshapes and tiers →
2
MeleePvE SPvP AA safe free start
Pick it if you want the class that rarely dies. At equal power it survives higher-level monsters than the others, clears story bosses on its own, and on Naricanje Valley's season floor 30 it is the most stable of the five.
Skip it if kill speed is what you want: it reaches high zones but clears them slowly, and Viper or Carnage farm faster.
Bloodstained: skills, Bloodshapes and tiers →
3MeleePvE APvP SHard going early without spending
Pick it if PvP is the point. It is the strongest duellist, it can cleanse every debuff with Absolute Liberation, and Absorbing Touch's attack steal is why 5v5 Arena teams want one.
Skip it as a free starter. It struggles early without spending, and below high investment Viper hunts better.
Akasha: skills, Bloodshapes and tiers →
4
RangedPvE SPvP AA common story pick for new players
Pick it if you like fighting from 8.5 m. Sniper Bullet adds damage for every metre of distance, so it farms fast and hits bosses hard, and it is a common first pick for the story.
Skip it if you plan to leave it hunting unattended for hours or to fight one on one. It is the least sturdy of the five on long fights and loses most duels to a dash or teleport.
Carnage: skills, Bloodshapes and tiers →
5MeleePvE BPvP AWeak free farming
Pick it if you like short, heavy boss fights and one-on-one PvP. Shadow Infiltration's Death Mark deals 60% of the damage taken inside it again, and Grim Reaper posts the highest damage on Naricanje Valley's season floor 30.
Skip it as your only character. It farms the slowest of the five, so it works best as a second character kept for PvP.
Grim Reaper: skills, Bloodshapes and tiers →The first question sets the order: the PvE pick follows our PvE tier list, and the two PvP picks follow the PvP list, split into one-on-one fights and big group fights because the classes swap places between them. Saying you play free moves the two classes that farm safely without spending up one place and the two that need gear to come online down one. Choosing melee or ranged greys out the other kind without hiding it, so you can still read why it fell. The tier list has the full reasoning for every placement.
