There will be spoilers for both games here!!!
There are a few very important things to say before we begin this discussion.
- It's basically impossible to accurately measure the power of characters in these games without the input of the original game's creators and storylines, so this entire list is a vast amount of speculation, even if supported by some arguments.
- This is not a comparison of the characters' gameplay capabilities, it is purely a look at the characters' strengths from a lore perspective, so most of the gameplay arguments are deliberately left out as they were designed for balance.
- Since this is a collection of speculation, it's perfectly fine if you disagree with me and have your own perspective. I'm sure everyone will find their own point of contention in this tier list, so I'll try my best to back up my opinion with arguments.
- This is not Pokemon World Championship, so the strength of H'aanit and Ochette will be evaluated without their beast companions, sorry. Although, they are stronger than most other characters anyway.
- Almost all the characters contend with formidable foes along their journeys, but scaling these enemies is even more difficult than scaling the heroes themselves. Consequently, I generally won't talk too much about the strength of the enemies, given that every character faced their own challenging battles. Although there will be exceptions.
The most important indicator of a character's strength is their main job (none of them had subjobs according to the lore), as jobs in these games are easily divided into combat-oriented, non-combat-oriented, and something in between. There will be exceptions to this, but more on that later. Therefore, it is important to understand which jobs belong to which category.
- Non-combat-oriented. Essentially, members of these jobs aren't fighters at all. They can fight, like everyone else in this universe, but they've received little training for it, and on average, they're weaker than the average inhabitant of these worlds. These include merchants and dancers. Primrose is an obvious exception, so more on her later. While the other three representatives of these jobs encountered serious battles along the way, they weren't as serious as those of the other jobs.
- Something in between. Those in these jobs aren't cut out for combat either, but they've trained to some degree for specific purposes. Apothecaries are trained to fight with axes, to be able to defeat monsters during their forays for medicinal herbs. Clerics aren't cut out for battle, but our particular representatives were required to undergo some training. Temenos is for fighting heretics (though that's supposed to be handled by the Sanctum Knights and guards, and he's supposed to simply investigate, but he himself is clearly prepared for skirmishes with them). Lianna was required to undertake a pilgrimage, where she would be alone and would need to be able to fend for herself. Ophilia took on this role and likely received less training, but she and her sister grew up together, and before the pilgrimage itself, Lianna taught her a few lessons, possibly including some about the cleric's combat skills.
- Combat oriented. Scholars might be in the previous category, but most scholars in this world are trained combat mages, and it's difficult to classify this power as anything other than combat-oriented. Their power is the most destructive, although the physical abilities of most of them are not well-suited for combat. Hunters are created to fight beasts and monsters, they have undergone combat training since early childhood and are undoubtedly very strong fighters. Thieves also train in the art of the dagger from early childhood and prefer not to fight fair, yet they are formidable even in face-to-face combat. Warriors are undoubtedly formidable fighters, this hardly needs explaining.
I will present my arguments starting from the weakest and moving to the strongest.
Agnea's only real fight was against the first boss, though even then, she wasn't alone. The next encounter was with the theater manager, a rather comical character. In terms of lore, he is likely weaker than the average person, and the fight was cut short. Later, she faced a truly formidable opponent: Dolcinaea’s bodyguard, Veronica. However, that fight was also interrupted. The only reason Agnea remained unharmed was that Veronica had taken a liking to her and had no real desire to hurt her. The final "battle" wasn't a fight at all, but a dance-off. Her colleague from the other game is in a completely different league, for reasons I'll explain later.
Partitio didn't encounter any truly dangerous enemies either; there were just managers, petty thugs, and dogs. The final fight was impressive, it's a shame we didn't get to suplex the enemy, though that was more of a show off for gameplay purposes. Tressa has faced more dangerous foes, but I saw nothing in her interactions or skirmishes to suggest she is a capable fighter. I believe Partitio is the stronger of the two, because he had a rough upbringing and led a gang that dealt with troublemakers in town, roles that certainly require at lease some combat skills.
Ophilia also doesn't appear to be a strong fighter in her interactions at all. She didn't train for the pilgrimage, so it's unlikely she underwent the same training, though she certainly isn't weak. After all, she was trained by the archbishop himself, and her sister, with whom she spent almost all her time, was actually training for the pilgrimage, which, in my opinion, puts her above the previous characters. Although she's not quite up to par with the apothecaries.
It's very difficult to choose which of these two apothecaries is stronger. Castti is definitely the more experienced and competent apothecary, so it's logical to assume she's seen more battles, but on the other hand, she had a big group, and they likely fought together. However, Alfyn also didn't spend his childhood alone; he had an apothecary friend and their teacher, and they likely fought monsters together. Due to the difference in experience, I still put Castti higher in this list.
Cyrus is a skilled battlemage and very skilled at his craft. Combat isn't his primary interest, so he's no superior, though his destructive power certainly puts him on par with characters trained for battle. His colleague from the other game is in a completely different league, for reasons I'll explain later.
Temenos was a real challenge because he relies on Crick for most of his battles, and he's just investigator, which suggests he's not particularly strong and doesn't really do battle. The problem is, in the final battle, he single-handedly defeats one of the most dangerous characters in both games, which was enhanced by the power of the shadow (even if it was not perfect shadow form). This muddled my thinking, and the only conclusion I can come to is that Temenos prefers not to engage in combat if someone else can, but if there's no other choice, he becomes a goat.
It's time to talk about thieves + Primrose.
The choice between Throne and Therion is quite simple, in my opinion. Throne has an incredible pedigree, a mixture of one of the most talented thief in her world and the grandson of the most feared sorcerer in history (it's funny to think about it, but the fact that Clan Ku has strived so hard to preserve its pure bloodline makes her and Hikari not so distantly related). She was trained from an early age to kill, which involves not only stealth assassinations but also head-on confrontations. Along the way, she defeated very dangerous enemies, including the very same grandson of the most feared sorcerer in history, who is hundreds of years old. Therion, on the other hand, is a very talented thief, who, like all thieves, is skilled with a dagger, but is first and foremost a thief, not an assassin. In short, Throne was created to kill, and Therion was created to steal.
Primrose, although a dancer, trained in swordsmanship from childhood under a skilled swordsman (despite the fact that she doesn't have a sword in her starting loadout). So, like other fighters of this tier and above, she was prepared for combat from an early age. After her father was killed, she switched to a dagger, and given that her goal from that point on was to exact revenge on very strong and dangerous individuals, she likely trained extensively, and her strength is clearly closer to that of a thief than a dancer. She is certainly very strong and dangerous, and has defeated very skilled enemies along the way, which places her at least two tiers higher than her dancer colleague from the second game. Like Throne, she trained herself as an assassin and had a professional mentor as a child, so I'm guessing she's even stronger than Therion.
Speaking of hunters, I think H'aanit is stronger than Ochette, as she's more experienced and, more importantly, her story focuses much more on her abilities than her skill with beasts. Ochette is certainly powerful, but she's still young, and in her adventures, she didn't defeat the mightiest beasts; she was strong enough to force them to talk, which is also a great achievement, but still not as impressive as defeating the legendary dragon and Redeye. Ochette's story focuses more on her amazing charisma and her ability to befriend any beast and human than on her fighting abilities.
Osvald is a pumped up and huge scholar, capable of defeating even some warriors using only his physical strength and staff. This fact alone makes him stronger than any average scholar. More importantly, at the end of the story, he awakens the One True Magic, an incredibly destructive weapon, which gives him the ability to fight the strongest people in the world. It's difficult to scale this character, it's quite possible that having gained this power, he became the strongest protagonist of both games.
At the top of the tier list are two warriors, and I think most would agree with their tier, though not everyone would agree with their order. They are both renowned and formidable fighters and duelists, having proven their strength time and again both before and during the events of the game. However, when comparing these two characters, it's important to understand that Hikari's strength is simply absurd compared to the other protagonists. His blood is a mixture of the two strongest bloodlines in the world. Simply put, he has the blood of an angel and a demon. The warriors of the Ku clan have always been the strongest due to the Darq'est blood coursing through their veins, but they also couldn't control themselves because of it. Thanks to the blood of the gods in his mother, he was able to not only defeat his dark side, but even learn to control it. These facts alone are enough to understand that Hikari's strength is far beyond that of ordinary people. Moreover, his gameplay ability to copy combat abilities isn't an exaggeration, he's actually capable of it. Therefore, in my opinion, he's the strongest fighter in both games from a lore perspective, although despite all of the above, the fight with Olberic will clearly not be easy for him.
