Overview
This is a tier list of castle crashers. This tier might help you with picking a character(This guide also has some character reccomendations at the bottom too). I will summarize what’s good and bad about each character and have readers figure why I categorized a certain character in a certain rank. So…let’s get started.
S RANK
#1: Industrialist/Fencer
(Updated from #3 to #1)
Advantages: Magic Splash is really useful for taking out heavy enemies (like most bosses,cicadas,Beefies,and Fishmen)
No Disadvantages
The Industrialist is my #1 main character. I just really love his and the Fencer’s splash attack, It rapidly damages heavy enemies, and it stays out longer than other splash attacks, So you can try using it like a bear trap. A good thing about these two is that they don’t have any disadvantages. The only “Disadvantage” would be that they’re not like Red Knight and Blue Knight where their magic can do special things. But that would be a comparison, and not a reason why the Industrialist and Fencer are bad, but why Blue Knight and Red Knight make a better choice for a character. In insane mode, Industrialist and Fencer can go through insane mode in SONIC SPEED! I ranked these two number 1 because of the huge fun factor with them. Well, personally I think that everything fast paced is huge fun, and getting through bosses and hearing that damage sound effect with Their Magic Splash is just delightful. I recommend beating Insane mode with one of these guys so you’ll have someone to be a substitute for your boss battles, Especially the sons of a ♥♥♥♥♥ Corn Boss, Medusa, Ice King, Painter, Mecha Cyclops, and the Second Phase of the Wizard.
#2: Red Knight
Advantages: Has good crowd control, Magic Splash can Stunlock against regular enemies;
Disadvantages: Tied with gray knight for the weakest XXXY combo.
The best thing about Red Knight is his Magic Splash. It will deal lots and lots of damage when you hold it. Also, the enemies in this game have very stupid AI, Most of the time they will just walk into your Magic Splash. But, if an enemy walks in the middle of the splash, there’s a good chance it will still survive. This is why you want to deal damage with the splash from beginning to end. But then again, it’s hard to do that. With Red Knight’s crowd control,there’s things you’ve got to worry about. What if there’s an enemy that doesn’t walk into the splash and instead walks behind me? What if there’s an enemy that’s outside the splash about to shoot a magic projectile at me? This is basically why I said “Good Crowd Control”. His crowd control is deadly/damaging, but things can go wrong. In an Arena fight, He is very OP. In order to survive his Magic Splash (Depending on That Red Knight’s Magic Limit), you will need to use a potion.
I hope these guys aren’t too shocked about this…
But, as you can see,he is number 2. He’s #2 because, unlike Blue Knight who has Best everything, Red Knight has Best DAMAGING Magic Splash, Good crowd control, good juggling, But a bad XXXY combo. If you end the combo at the “Y”, the enemy will just suck up the attack and hit you. It’s only this, and that most people just don’t really strategize with Red Knight. All they think about is “MWAHAHA! IMA SHOCK YOU,MOTHAF**KA!!!!!” and here’s a tip: You cannot always rely on his magic splash. Do not forget that once you use all of your magic,you must wait for it to recharge. But, this is not much of a problem though,since you can always resort to juggling enemies which Red Knight is really good at.
#3: Blue Knight
(Updated from #1 to #3)
Advantage: Has the best crowd control and the best XXXY combo, All magic freezes, has great strategy, Disadvantages are no big deal, and his magic splash is very fast for it’s style
Disadvantages: Magic costs a lot
The best thing about Blue Knight is his ability to Freeze enemies. He can leave enemies defenseless, and…HE CAN FREEZE!!! Freezing enemies with Blue Knight is really fun and easy. It’s such a useful attack as well. His crowd control is the best in this game, He can easily avoid/escape crowds with his Downward Air Magic Projectile, It’s more of his splash attack,but in the air. It’s actually Much more safer to do it in the air, as doing it on the ground might screw you over.
That’s just cold…
A bad thing I’m going to say about most characters though is that certain splash attack style where it has something to do with things falling from the sky. These types of Magic Splashes are very slow, and are the worst for a character have. In my opinion,I just believe that the creators just couldn’t think of magic attacks for these characters, so they just give them a basic as f**k magic moveset. Anyways, I brought this up because, Blue Knight has this For a Magic splash-BUT!!! It comes down very fast, so you won’t worry about any delay. Blue Knight also has the best XXXY combo. You can infinite with it just by pressing XXXY,XXXY,XXXY… You can pull this off on a group of enemies that are right in front of you. A simpler infinite would be Holding the Magic button and repeatedly pressing XB,XB,XB,XB… But you can only do this on ONE enemy.
(Caution: I recommend doing this if you are confident in button inputs. Messing up these combos is like messing up a 10 hit combo in Tekken.)
He has lots of ground tactics, so There are many options you can do with Blue Knight. If you’re a pro at juggling and like to mix your Downward Air Magic Projectile in with The Juggle, you can’t do that with Blue Knight. I’ll tell you what big problems Blue Knight has: There is a slight gimp in his melee attacks, and His Splash Attack and Downward Air Magic Projectile Cost a lot of Magic. This is a problem for most boss fights and heavy enemies unnaffected by magic. The reason why Blue Knight is number 3 and Industrialist and Fencer are #1 is basically due to the fact that Fencer and Industrialist can get you through insane mode very fast. It requires patience when playing through insane mode with Blue Knight, and it’s just not fun with him.
A RANK
#4: Snakey/Brute
Advantage: Magic Splash Is good for damaging heavy enemies
No Disadvantage
(Updated from sharing the same spot with Cultist/Skeleton in #15 to their own spot in #4)
I looked into Snakey and Brute MUCH more, and I found out that their Magic Splash is great for heavy enemies. It’s very rapid and does lots of damage. But, Industrialist and Fencer Outclass him by how many hits their Magic Splash can do. Snakey’s does less attacks.
#5: Alien
Advantages: Magic doesn’t cost much, and Magic Splash is good for breaking up crowds and can be casted at a fast rate
Disadvantages: Limited Weapons, and his Downward Air Magic Projectile is a little hard to mix in with a juggle.
Alien is a great character. His Magic Attacks are awesome. Just look at this screenshot of how intense his Splash is
<— You see that Fencer over there? That was Alien’s Fault.
Anyway, His magic casting speed is amazing, and you can do that for such a low magic price! I believe the maximum number of times you can shoot his splash until the magic is drained is 7-9 shots. His Splash breaks up Crowds, And sometimes it can be used to launch your enemies in the air and start juggling them. Speaking of Juggle, His Downward Magic Air Projectile is somewhat hard to mix in a juggle. You know how when you shoot a DAMP and you get pushed back a little bit? Alien doesn’t get that. It’s hard to use it in a juggle because, to mix the DAMP in, the projectile needs to go under your enemy so that when he hits it, He will rise once your DAMP casting animation is done and you’ll be able to attack right away. If the projectile shoots directly at your enemy, He’ll rise while you’re still in your animation so you won’t be able to continue juggling. Also, a severely bad thing about alien is that he can’t change weapons, he has to stick with the weapon he was born with whether you like it or not.
#6: Saracen
Advantage: Using his Tornado in the air during a juggle is a good way to continue the juggle, Magic Projectile is good for spacing and launching enemies in the air for a juggle
Disadvantage: His Magic Tornado can be broken or blocked, and it moves slowly
Saracen is a great and entertaining Juggler. He can use his Magic Projectile to launch an enemy in the air and then you can juggle him. But, Here’s why I say he’s an enteraining juggler. Remember how I said that using a DAMP helps continue a juggle? Well, Saracen’s (and Bear’s) Tornado helps continue a juggle much easier and much better. Instead of having to hit a projectile under an enemy, It doesn’t matter where you hit it with the air tornado. If you’re at one of the ends of the screen, Do your YYY combo, and then right when the enemy bounces, Use your tornado, move right a little bit, and he will damage the enemy 5-6 times per second until you run out of magic. Let’s talk about his Disadvantage. I know, His Disadvantage isn’t anything to worry about, but there is something bad about it. The Tornado can be Broken, and it has a very slow movement. But here’s one thing you need to avoid doing with Saracen: NEVER EVER USE THE TORNADO TO APPROACH YOUR ENEMY! Most likely, Your enemy will throw a projectile at you. It’s not even a good attack to use once you approach your enemy either! You especially don’t want to use your tornado on enemies that throw bombs. A Tip would be to use your tornado ONLY for comboing purposes.
#7: King
Advantages: Magic Splash doesn’t cost much, he’s the only character that can heal himself with magic, his disadvantages are easy to get used to, and is a very helpful character in multiplayer
Disadvantages: Hard to defend himself against crowds, Healing to full health takes a long time, and is more of a supporting character than an offensive character.
In multiplayer games, King is like that one mage you have in your party in most RPGs. He’s the most helpful in multiplayer, and it is a great Idea to have this guy for a main character. He can heal himself and everyone who gathers around him, and if you’re doing insane mode with this guy, you won’t have to worry about who gets the Rations, just heal away! His Splash attack doesn’t cost as much magic, and He is the ONLY character that can heal himself with magic which makes him VERY special. Originally, I was going to put him as number #4 as an S Rank. Sadly though, the reason why he’s ranked #6 in A rank is because I thought about it, and there are many things wrong with him. But, these wrongs are easy to overcome, they’re not a problem. However, That first disadvantage is. This is a big problem with King. Personally, I think The most important thing in a character is how well they do against Crowds. His Magic Jump kind of helps, but just not enough. It’s still pretty risky to do it in a crowd since you’ll be in the air, and it’s dangerous to be in the air for no good reason. But the other two disadvantages are easy to overcome. It’s like cheap parents raising a kid who complains too much and later deals with it.
Kid: “But dad, Healing takes too long”
Dad: “Would you rather have no healing then?”
Kid: “Mom,I don’t want to be a supporting character!”
Mom: “Do You want me to take away those healing powers then?”
B RANK
#8: Iceskimo
Advantage:Magic Splash can freeze, Magic projectile is fast, and XXXY combo is really good
No Disadvantage
(Updated from 12th place in C Rank to 7th place in B Rank)
Thanks to the comments, you guys actually made a point, One thing I forgot to mention was that his XXXY combo is just like Blue Knight’s. It can freeze, and Put your enemies in an infinite. That Aside, His Magic Projectile goes Faster than normal projectiles (Tied with Necromancer’s projectile speed), and unlike Blue Knight, you can actually do that juggle where you mix in your DAMP. Another thing about his projectile is that unlike Blue Knight’s, It has no element. So, that means element resistant enemies like Cultists are effected by Iceskimo’s Snowball. As you may know, He’s very Outclassed by Blue Knight in crowd control and Magic effects. On most Tier Lists you’ll see him on the very bottom just because of this. And I mean JUST BECAUSE OF THIS.
#9: Bear
Advantage: Using his Tornado in the air during a juggle is a good way to continue the juggle
Disadvantage: His Magic Tornado can be broken or blocked, and it moves slowly
He’s basically Saracen, but just has a projectile instead. Not much to say, since I covered most of the stuff in Saracen’s Reason. But, Saracen is better than Bear, because of Saracen’s Sand Blast.
#10: Blacksmith
Advantages: Magic Splash has very good range, He has a little bit of good Crowd control, and Magic Projectile gives Magic Damage Over Time
No Disadvantage
Blacksmith is one of those DLC characters that look and sound special,but is really not, Kind of like every DLC character on castle crashers except for King. His Magic Splash is pretty good, It’s range is extended more than the normal Magic splash, and his magic projectile gives the normal Magic Damage Over time. He doesn’t really have a Downward Air Magic Projectile, instead it’s his magic splash, but summoned from a high height. Kind of like Blue Knight’s, except it doesn’t freeze. But since he can do that, I guess he has a little bit of good crowd control.
#11: Fire Demon
Advantages:Normal Magic Damage Over Time, and XXXY combo is very damaging
No Disadvantages
Fire Demon! Apparently, he’s a better choice than Orange Knight. They’re the same thing, right? haha…WRONG!!! Both of their XXXY combos deal a great amount of damage,but take a look at Orange Knight’s Disadvantage real quick. Or actually, I’ll just tell you, Orange Knight’s Disadvantage is that His XXXY combo is gimped. It’s takes longer than normal to do his XXXY combo. Fire Demon doesn’t have that problem. In fact, he doesn’t have any problems.He’s a well rounded character that you should indeed use.
#12: Pink Knight
Advantage:Magic Projectile is pretty Powerful, Magic Splash sometimes rapidly damages enemies, Magic Splash can stun you for a bit, and Magic Splash has good range
Disadvantage: Magic Splash is Gimped, and Magic costs a lot.
So, Pink Knight. His Projectile is strong since the projectile style is a bomb, and then there’s so many damn advantages that have to do with his Magic Splash! Well, I will explain them to you! Unlike Other Splash Attacks where enemies get knocked back, His will keep enemies on the ground and make them do a piece sign for 1.3 seconds. If you’re quick enough, you can attack them while they’re defenseless. As the rainbow goes, it does some rapid damage. Not only that, but his Splash attack has great Range! A Gay thing about Pink Knight’s Magic Splash is that it’s gimped and it costs a lot of Magic. Since it has a long range and does all this neat stuff, of course it makes up for this. In fact, Pink Knight would’ve probably gotten a higher place on this tier list if his Gimp on the Magic Splash didn’t exist.
#13: Orange Knight
Advantage: Normal Magic Damage Over Time, XXXY combo is very damaging;
Disadvantage:XXXY combo is gimped
On Fire Demon’s Reason, I talked about why he’s better than Orange Knight, and I said that reason was because of his disadvantage. I will get further into that right now. His XXXY combo is damaging, but you’ll just have a better time doing the combo with Fire Demon.
C RANK
#14: Necromancer
Advantage: Magic Projectile is faster than normal magic projectiles
Disadvantage: Magic Splash is somewhat useless as it’s weaker than normal splashes.
Necromancer is a character where you think the advantage is good enough, But really it is not. It’s a good thing, yes, but Castle Crashers isn’t about who can shoot faster projectiles. It’s about killing enemies. His magic splash is very weak, and this won’t help you kill your enemies, so Necromance is all about patience. Which is a bad thing ._.
#15: Cultist/Skeleton
There’s nothing special about these two.
#16: Green Knight
Advantage: Magic Splash is Useful For Heavy Enemies, and Magic Does a lot of damage Over Time (Three times the normal magic damage over time)
Disadvantage: His melee attacks are gimped
WTF?! How the hell can green knight be worse than characters that have nothing special about them? Well, simply because of the stupid Gimp on all of his normal attacks. Those advantages are looking pretty good and tasty, But do you really think this can make up for that ONE DISADVANTAGE? Hell No! On Insane mode, you’ll have a difficult time when fighting a group of heavy weight regular enemies (like Stovefaces, Coneheads in Cyclop’s Cave, and Royal Guards) with him. Even though he is the only poison element character, and the only character with a Magic Damage Over Time x3, You just can’t deal with that gimp! Although, I may be overexagerating, He is a slow attacker, but a fast killer! And If you’re doing that certain juggle that I talk about where you mix in DAMPs, He can kill enemies in under 5-10 seconds. All thanks to his toxic powers!
#17: Conehead/Royal Guard
Advantages: Magic Projectile is pretty powerful
Disadvantages: Magic Splash’s style
Alright, now we’re diving into the horrible characters! Well, Conehead and Royal Guard aren’t that bad of characters, their magic projectile does awesome damage! But, If you remember what I said in Blue Knight’s summary, you know, about that certain magic splash style, the ones where stuff fall from the sky, that’s the bad magic splash, and this is why everyone who has this as a magic are on the bottom of this list.
D RANK
#18: Killer Bee Keeper
Advantage: Magic Splash is pretty Damaging for Heavy Enemies
Disadvantage: Magic Splash’s Style
I’ve played as this guy, and his magic is actually damaging for heavy enemies. The only problem is… You guessed it… His Magic Splash style… I couldn’t really decide who deserved number 17, Conehead and the Royal Guard WERE going to be 17, but bees barely beat bombs. I did that on purpose. I felt like doing an alliteration. I got bored, you know? I just need to have some-OK, WHERE AM I GOING WITH THIS?!
#19: Gray Knight
Advantage: Magic Projectile is pretty powerful
Disadvantage: Magic Splash Style, and Is tied with Red Knight for the worst XXXY combo.
(Updated from 20th place in E Rank to 19th place in D Rank)
I was being pretty harsh to Gray Knight. He’s not the worst character, His XXXY Combo has no inherent ability. But after all, his Bombs actually do forgive for his disadvantages. And he is absolutely better than Ninja and All those other characters… Losers… But When I said Bees Barely Beat Bombs… Did you know Bees beat bad XXXY combos?
E RANK
#20: Ninja
No Advantage
Disadvantage: Magic Splash is gimped
(Updated from 18th place in D Rank to 19th place in E Rank)
Hmm, No advantage,and a Disadvantage about Gimpness? You already know this character sucks. I don’t have to explain anything!
#21: Barbarian/Stoveface/Thief/Peasant/Civilian/Open-Faced Gray Knight
No Advantage
Disadvantage: Magic Splash Style
Nuff Said’. These guys are the worst characters in the game. Don’t play as them, There’s basically nothing good about them. They’re much like Hercule in Dragon Ball Z, The Magikarp in Pokemon- Well wait, they aren’t that weak… It’s not like Insane mode is impossible with these guys… You just won’t have a fun time where all you’ll be doing is the stuff everybody else can do, like spam arrows at maximum archery, Juggling, and Dive Spinning.
And that’s all folks, Thank you for reading this! You’re awesome! As promised, Here are my top reccomendations:
1) Industrialist/Fencer: Best magic splash for bosses.
2) Red Knight: Has good crowd control, and Magic Splash does alot of Damage.
3) Blue Knight: Best Crowd Control,and his magic can freeze and leave enemies defenseless.
4) Alien: Magic Cast rate is great for all situations.
5) King: Very helpful in Insane Mode, since his Magic can heal everyone.
6) Fire Demon: well-rounded, Fire Damage Over Time, and strong XXXY combo.
7) Saracen & Bear: Magic allows for different juggles and chains.
8) Pink Knight: Magic can do lots of damage, and Magic Splash is good for evading enemies
9) Snakey/Brute: Magic Splash is Instant
10) Royal Guard/Conehead: best characters with Bombs.
11)Skeleton/Cultist: only characters with no advantages and no disadvantages.
KTHXBAI.