// CHARACTER SELECT — META RANKING

// ROSTER BRIEFING

Blood Dungeon features 9 unique playable characters, each with distinct movement mechanics, starting weapons and passive traits. This tier list ranks them based on three criteria: survival potential (how consistently they reach high waves), weapon scaling (how well their auto-attacks scale with upgrades), and ease of use (how forgiving they are for new players).

Gun Man is the most consistent character in the game. His starting pistol fires rapidly and benefits from every damage and fire-rate upgrade, making him scale perfectly into late waves. The double jump provides essential vertical mobility in every arena. Blade Dancer trades range for unmatched area damage — her spinning blade destroys clustered enemies and her dash i-frames let her escape tight situations.

A-tier characters are powerful but have specific limitations. Fire Mage excels at crowd control but struggles with fast, spread-out enemies. Shadow Runner deals enormous damage but requires precise positioning. Berserker is the most forgiving with his large health pool and life steal, but his slow movement can get him trapped in late-wave bullet patterns.

B-tier characters have clear strengths but notable weaknesses. Ice Warden can lock down groups but lacks damage. Lightning Monk is exhilarating when chains proc but suffers in sparse waves. Plague Doctor is a boss-killing specialist whose poison ramps beautifully over long runs but feels weak early.

Jester is the game's wildcard. His weapon changes randomly every wave, meaning success depends heavily on RNG. He's incredibly fun for challenge runs and can produce spectacular moments, but for consistent high scores, the more reliable characters above him are better picks. Perfect for players who want unpredictability.