HoloCure: Best Characters Tier List

One of the sleeper hits in the increasingly crowded bullet heaven genre is also a fan game: Kay Yu’s HoloCure: Save the Fans! Packed with in-jokes and random humor, HoloCure is a months-in-the-making tribute to the virtual YouTubers at Hololive, which also happens to be a colorful half-parody of games like Vampire Survivors. Now that HoloCure has hit Steam, here’s my take on a best characters tier list for HoloCure’s 31-idol roster.

HoloCure: Best Characters Tier List

Naturally, this is subjective. I haven’t done actual scientific studies on this; I’ve just put 27 hours into the game, cleared all the stages, and played as every idol in HoloCure at least twice. Here’s my take on the best idols in HoloCure as version 0.6.1.

Any idol can be powerful with the right arsenal, especially evolved “Collab” weapons – when in doubt, take Dragon Fire – but this list evaluates them on their unique qualities. Every idol in HoloCure has one exclusive weapon, three exclusive skills, and their own particular special attack.

• SS-Tier
• S-Tier
• A-Tier
• B-Tier
• C-Tier

The Best of the Best: SS-Tier

These idols have it all: a good starting weapon, well-designed skills, and a solid game plan. They’ll take a little work to get up and running, like any other idol, but their standard kit is a game-winner. Failing that, they have at least one incredible option that makes them an easy pick for any level.

Yuzuki Choco

Nurse by itself would make Choco the best character in the game. It has a chance to turn any healing effect into an automatic critical hit against all enemies within 200 pixels of Choco. Her additional self-heals, ability to charm enemies, and critical damage boosts are just icing on the cake. Once you’ve got a decent amount of critical strike rating, Choco’s nearly untouchable.

Kureji Ollie

Ollie comes out of the box with a ridiculous number of advantages, which include a built-in revive, a massive Haste/SPD buff, and what amounts to having a second special attack via Zombie Ninjutsu. Her only real weakness is that Path of Sincerity’s a fairly bad weapon until it’s Awakened.

Ookami Mio

She’s weird but powerful. At Level 3, Mio’s Omen skill fires more often than its 20% hit chance would suggest. Not only does Omen hit like a truck in a decent radius, but it also recharges Mio’s special attack meter. With a fully-upgraded Idol Costume, Mio can turn her special attack into a normal attack. Any enemy that steps to her vanishes in a flurry of Hatosaurus fists.

Ouro Kronii

Between Kroniicopter and Perfection, Kronii gets a lot of base stats for free. Her Clock Hands also hit in two directions at once by default, her special attack can kill multiple waves per activation, and Time Bubble can buy you a lot of space when things get hectic.

Hakos Baelz

Bae has a bad rap because her weapon, Play Dice, starts off comically weak. She earns her place on S-Tier via her powerful crits and her special attack, Absolute Chaos, which turns every ranged weapon she’s got into a machine gun for 5 seconds. Bae’s the one real boss killer in HoloCure’s roster, which makes her S-Tier in my book.

The Best of What’s Left: S-Tier

These idols are really good, but they take a little more work to succeed than the SS-Tiers.

Tokino Sora

The key to Sora’s success is getting the most out of Idol Healing, which damages anything around her whenever she regains health. Stack self-healing gear on Sora, especially Full Meal, and her survival abilities directly translate into passive AoE damage.

Hoshimachi Suisei

Initially, Suisei’s just okay, but the final level on Axe Swing turns her into a powerhouse, because now it always crits. This turbocharges Suisei’s other skills, particularly Blocks Master. She’s still a melee specialist, however, so in later stages where there are more bullet hell sequences, Suisei can use some defensive abilities like a Body Pillow or the Pacifist Stamp.

Oozora Subaru

There’s a lot of HoloCure that Subaru just doesn’t have to worry about. Duck Whisper clears out everything around her every 10 seconds, one charge on Oozora Police instantly defeats any normal enemy that touches her, she’s got a revive, and her special attack can chunk bosses if she’s properly equipped. Her weak spots are a low base ATK stat, and that she needs to deliberately deplete her Police stacks to charge Optimism.

Moona Hoshikova

Crescent Moon is one of the best weapons in the game, and Moon Song can provide a lot of crowd control if you’re careful about aiming it. However, the real reason Moona’s this high is her special attack. In Moon Goddess form, you get a few seconds of massive damage that scales with any effects on Crescent Moon (i.e. Knightly Milk). Moona does have a big dead zone around herself in Moon Goddess form, though.

Ayunda Risu

Since her DLC skill is activated by grabbing coins, Risu is arguably the best character for cash farming; the faster she collects money, the more powerful she gets. Once she’s got maxed Nonstop Nuts and an Awakened weapon, Risu can fill the screen with a ricocheting nut storm. Anything that adds a chance to inflict additional damage on hit, like Focus Shades or the Bomb Stamp, is a nightmare in Risu’s hands.

Strong but Flawed: A-Tier

They’re not bad, but there’s something missing. A-Tier idols have a glaring weak spot, but are otherwise good, easy-to-use characters. Most commonly, these idols are really good at crowd control or simple survival, but can burn out in the last stretch of a stage unless you’ve planned ahead.

• Inugami Korone
• Nanashi Mumei
• AZKi
• Ninomae Ina’nis
• Takanashi Kiera
• Kobo Kaneru
• Ceres Fauna
• Sakura Miko
• Murasaki Shion
• Natsuiro Matsuri
• Minato Aqua
• Airani Iofifteen
• Pavolia Raine

Flawed But Strong: B-Tier

This is the flip side of A-Tier. These idols only have one real asset, such as a great skill or a solid weapon, but the rest of their kit isn’t much to speak of. They’ll require some work and some lucky drops to maximize their potential.

• Aki Rosenthal
• Anya Melfissa
• Yozora Mel
• Roboco-san
• Nekomata Okayu
• Akai Haato

The Misfits: C-Tier

Finally, these idols just feel like they’re in the wrong game (and I’m saying this as someone who likes Calli). You can certainly still use them, but their unique advantages either don’t matter or don’t work well, especially for HoloCure’s tougher challenges.

• Mori Calliope
• Nakiri Ayame
• Vestia Zeta
• Gawr Gura

That’s my best characters tier list for Holocure. For more, check out our guides hub for the game.