The Tales series has always been as much about developing a great cast of characters as it has been about taking the player on an epic journey. Tales of Arise is no exception with its diverse cast of characters, all of which offer something unique in combat.
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Given each character's value in a fight, there is never a bad choice when it comes to picking a team. All the warriors in Tales of Arise have their good and bad points and that contributes to what makes this JRPG so well balanced for all styles of players. However, taking into account each fighter's stats and abilities, here are the strongest in a fight.
Updated December 16, 2021 by Michael Llewellyn: As the deserved winner in the best RPG category at the 2021 Game Awards, Tales of Arise is finally giving the series the mainstream attention it's always deserved. With potential remasters of older games on the way, and what is arguably one of the best games in the series, there's never been a better time to dive into Tales of Arise.
The game has a great cast of characters, with each one offering unique abilities for the player to use in order to exploit the enemy's weaknesses. There is no bad member of the team but there are definitely stronger players on the battlefield that the player will want to use, especially when fighting against more powerful opponents.
6 Law
- Weapon: Gauntlets
- Fighter Type: A martial artist and close-range melee fighter
The martial artist, Law is the son of Zephyr, one of the first characters that Alphen encounters in the game and the leader of the Renan resistance group known as the Crimson Crows. He's a close friend of Rinwell and looks up to Alphen because of his fighting ability and sees him as a friendly rival. The brash and headstrong fighter will rush into battle with little thought for his safety and this is reflected in his fighting style.
As a close-range fighter, Law’s DPS has the strongest base physical and penetration attacks in the game. He does make a decent lead fighter with a solid support party behind him but his lack of defensive skills against elemental and physical attacks make him vulnerable. In addition, his need for getting into close-range combat makes him a character that will need a lot of health support.
On the plus side, he does have strong penetration stats. This means he's great at damaging armored enemies and he has some healing abilities to compensate for his weak defense. His best ability is the Awakening perk as this can increase the strength of his attacks significantly. The downside to this perk, however, is the length of time it takes to cast it without getting interrupted by an attack.
5 Dohalim
- Weapon: Extendable Rod/Staff
- Fighter Type: All-round fighter with mid-range reach and provides healing support
Dohalim is the Lord of Elde Menancia but far from being a ruler with an iron fist he abolished slavery and ensured that Dahnan and Renan races were equals in his kingdom. Dohalim is a noble fighter and is wise far beyond his years, but just like the younger party members of the group, he has a journey of growth and self-discovery.
Dohalim is an all-around fighter that can provide support for the party and even fight at long and close range. He has the Negative Gate Arte which is excellent at crowd controlling a team of enemies by forcing them into a small group. The Rod Extension perk will allow him to attack multiple enemies at once.
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Unfortunately, even though he’s a good all-rounder, he doesn’t excel at any one thing either. His healing Artes will only target one party member at a time. Furthermore, his DPS is much lower than Law and Alphen's so don’t expect him to be breaking down his opponents outside of using the Rod Extension.
4 Rinwell
- Weapon: Book
- Fighter Type: The magic caster
Despite being a Dahnan, Rinwell can cast Astral Artes with various elemental abilities. At first, Rinwell appears to have many secrets and works quite hard at keeping her feelings away from the other group members. She has a friendship with Law and a heated relationship with Shionne thanks to their differences regarding hierarchy and slavery. Thanks to her past experiences with the Renans and the suffering her people have endured under their ule she also mistrusts Dohalim.
Rinwell is the natural magic caster in Tales of Arise and is better suited as a supporting character. She has impressive Astral Artes when cast from long range. Rinwell’s base Elemental Damage output is the best in the game and the Magic Charging perk boosts her DPS significantly. She does, however, can cast silence against Artes-casting monsters and use their powers against them. This can be a game-changer in some more high-level fights.
Unfortunately, keeping Rinwell in the fight can be something of a chore as, like Law, she’s vulnerable on the battlefield. The time it takes to cast some of her spells means that she remains stationary until one of her Artes is cast. As a result, her attacks will often get interrupted by close-range and charging foes. If Rinwell tries to cast the same spell twice within a four-hit combo she will be penalized and her damage output will be lessened.
3 Shionne
- Weapon: Rifle
- Fighter Type: Long-Range Fighter and Healing Support
The stubborn and determined Shionne can seem cold and heartless in her quest to topple the five Renan Lords of Dahna but there's more to her than meets the eye. She's far more caring than she would have others believe and her emotional barriers, as well as her prejudices, drop as the story progresses.
As one of the two main protagonists in Tales of Arise, Shionne is the first party member to join Alphen on his journey. Offensively, she is best suited as a long-range fighter thanks to her rifle-based weapons. Her damage output can be weak compared to the other characters. However, she’s very good at creating her distance when controlled by the AI, taking down enemies with diminishing health.
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Shionne’s real strength comes from her being the best healer on the team. Unlike Dohalim, she can heal single or multiple party members at once on the battlefield. Furthermore, she can cast Resurrection on downed team members mid-battle, making her invaluable to the group.
2 Kisara
- Weapon: Shield and Mace
- Fighter Type: Tank and defensive support
Proud and efficient Kisara is the powerhouse on the battlefield and becomes something of a mother figure to the party. The Captain of the Guard shares Dohalim's dream of equality between the Renans and Dahnans. Kisara is also no stranger to slavery herself as before Dohalim's rule she was, like all Dahnans in Elde Menancia, a slave to his predecessor. As a result, she brings a balanced viewpoint when it comes to many disagreements between the younger party members.
In RPG terms Kisara is the tank of the party. She deals heavy attacks with her shield for major damage and has good mid-range attacks that are dealt with using her hammer. Furthermore, she is capable of defending and attacking at the same time, making her the best defensive and offensive character in the game.
She's a little slower than the other characters but Kisara works well as a player-controlled fighter thanks to her counterattacks. Additionally, The Guard Ignition perk will boost the effectiveness of her own Artes if the player times a block correctly. Kisara’s Boost Attack is capable of stopping charging monsters in their tracks. As soon as she joins the party she should remain a permanent fixture on the team going forward.
1 Alphen
- Weapon: Sword and the Blazing Sword
- Fighter Type: All-round sword fighter with good close and medium-range attacks. Powerful fight-ending Boost attacks
Alphen is the main protagonist of Tales of Arise and the first playable character in the game. He's a Dahnan whose face is partially covered by an iron mask and suffers from amnesia. A good leader and level-headed, Alphen still struggles against the rage he feels towards the Renans for everything he endured as a slave. He is also unable to feel pain and this allows him to wield the Blazing sword. However, despite being impervious to pain, his body and health can still fail him in battle.
Unfortunately, Alphen doesn’t offer many tools in the way of being a supporting character but he more than makes up for this as the best offensive fighter in the game. His Boost Attacks use the Blazing Sword and are the most powerful in the game.
Unfortunately, as Shione states during a skit in the game “it’s a double-edged sword in every sense”. Even though Alphen doesn’t feel pain the sword burns him and drains his HP. Used correctly, however, it can turn the tide of a battle in an instant by interrupting enemy attacks or putting them down straight away. In addition, his non-perk combos are easy to execute making Alphen perfect for defending his spell-casting teammates.
Tales of Arise is available now on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.
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