• [2018/06/22]
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Revised Painwheel Tier List

Who's worse, GI Jazz or Firefly?

  • GI Jazz

    Votes: 64 76.2%
  • Firefly

    Votes: 20 23.8%

  • Total voters
    84

theLoneskull

Active Member
Joined
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Messages
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Introducing Painwheel
Painwheel is a "glass cannon" type fighter, able to do enormous amounts of damage very quickly. She has the highest attack in the game, but also the lowest hp. Her abilities further enforce her purpose as an offensive fighter, with most of her SAs and/or moves inflicting bleed or armor break while also granting herself enrage. These effects don't last too long though, so Painwheel players must play as constant aggressors while also being careful to keep her out of harm's way in order to maximize the impact of her damage with these effects. Any mistake with Painwheel is too much.

Character Ability: Flight Risk
- Swipe up twice and Painwheel will take flight! While flying, Painwheel will EVADE some attacks and can rain death from above!


1. Fly Trap
Rarity: Diamond
Element: Wind

Atk (lvl 60): 16,743
Hp (lvl 60): 48k
FS (lvl 60): 25.3k
SA: Little Prop of Horrors
- Deal 25% bonus damage for each defeated Fighter, teammate or opponent
- Gain 5 stacks of regen after defeating an opponent


On paper Fly Trap seems like a worse Buzzkill. Being honest, I was under that impression for a while as well. But after a while, I looked over her more and would honestly say she's better. For a start, Fly Trap has 2.4k more atk than Buzzkill, which is an enormous difference. She has the highest attack in the game for crying out loud. However, one could argue that Fly Trap has to kill someone or lose a teammate to make SA1 work whereas Buzzkill only needs to get them low. That is true, except Buzzkill will only end up with 500 atk points more than Fly Trap after enrage. But once Fly Trap secures a kill, her atk goes up to 20.8k. Fly Trap's superior base stats cancel out BK's easier damage boosting. Fly Trap also comes with 5 stacks of regen, which, especially when combined with grudge, provide an absolutely amazing safety net in case you do get caught. She's above Buzzkill and Neuromancer because of her much higher damage stat combined with a SA that makes her great for just sweeping through teams. Something worth noting; because of her base stats and her SA1 not being dependent on tangible effects, she's great at clearing through fighters that counter debuffs such as ICU Valentines, Dream Band and the infamous Splitting Image.

2. Neuromancer
Rarity: Diamond
Element: Dark
Atk (lvl 60): 14,554
Hp (lvl 60): 53.3k
FS (lvl 60): 23.9k
SA: Psyche Out
- Drain 10% blockbuster meter for each non-blockbuster hit blocked by the opponent
- 15% of damage dealt from a blockbuster is also suffered by the opponent's teammates


Immediately, Neuromancer sounds broken. The AI loves blocking and Neuromancer not only reduces the opponents' BB meter, but the meter fills up her BBs. She can spam BBs, most notably her BB3, the unblockable one. She has pretty solid attack as well (6th highest in the game). She, like Fly Trap, can counter debuff punishers such as ICU Valentines and the dreaded Splitting Image due to not relying on any statuses. Her spammable BBs and the elemental advantage in the case of Splitting Image make her great for this. For me at least, it was hard deciding between Neuromancer and Fly Trap as no.1. Her lower attack and the fact she can't bring it up to absolutely ridiculous like Fly Trap was the only reason I put her in 2nd place. 2nd place isn't bad, especially considering both diamond Painwheels are solid offensive fighters.

3. Buzzkill
Rarity: Gold
Element: Wind
Atk (at lvl 60): 14,343
Hp (at lvl 60): 41.2k
FS (at lvl 60): 21.7k
SA: Hemorrhage
- 10% chance on hit to inflict heavy bleed for 10 seconds
- Gain a permanent enrage when an opponent's health drops below 25%


Buzzkill is the definition of a glass cannon and is one of the more straightfoward fighters in the game. She's a team sweeper and she does rather well at it. 7th highest base atk in the game, heavy bleed and perma enrage stacks. All really solid for team sweeping. She does have her downsides though. Her damage boost is a tangible buff that can be prevented, though defensive fighters usually aren't able to. Likewise, heavy bleed is also a tanigble debuff that can be prevented. This part of the issue is more noticeable as anti bleed is much more prevalent in the later stages of the game. Immunity granted by defensive support such as SG or immunity granted by defensive SAs like Dream Band's slow down BK's sweeping. ICU and Bloodbath also slow her down as they convert the bleed into regen (heavy regen for ICU) and keep themselves alive longer. Long story short, she's below Neuromancer cause she can't just spam her BB3 and below Fly Trap because her SA is entirely dependent on tangible effects where Fly Trap's is not. Make no mistake though. Buzzkill is really solid and definitely a great fighter to invest in.

4. Freaky Friday

Rarity: Silver
Element: Dark
Atk (lvl 60): 12,327
Hp (lvl 60): 35.2k
FS (lvl 60): 18.6k
SA: Lady Killer
- Critical hits inflict bleed and death mark for 5 seconds each
- Gain haste for 10 seconds and 5 stacks of precision when defeating an opponent with a single hit that deals at least 10% hp

This is one that I haven't seen talked about too much. On paper, Rusty should be higher because she can convert buffs into bleeds. That is true, but Freaky Friday has 3,149 more atk than Rusty, which is huge. Her SA2 was the decider for me. BBs such as Hatred Install or Fracture Reaper or specials such as Pinion Dash do immense damage and compliment her SA. Precision is a powerful buff as well since defensive SAs don't activate when precision is used to land a hit. And she has 5 stacks of them. Using them well is crucial though, since you don't want to waste them on smaller hits that won't kill or at least take chunks out of the opponent. If you land a kill with precision, then just rinse and repeat with the next opponent. Yes she's punished by enemy Painwheels since you need crit rate for SA1, but you're not going to use her against them cause precision doesn't bypass MAs. She's above Rusty because her much higher attack means she's not too dependent on the bleed stacking she'll probably be doing. Not to mention Freaky's bleed stacking is more reliable.

5. Blood Drive
Rarity: Silver
Element: Fire

Atk (lvl 60): 10,695
Hp (lvl 60): 39.1k
FS (lvl 60): 17.6k
SA: Transfusion
- 5% chance on hit to inflict bleed on yourself and heavy bleed on the opponent for 10 seconds
- When using a blockbuster, remove all bleeds and gain enrage for 10 seconds per bleed removed

Yet again, Blood Drive has seen changes. This time, her SA2 removes the bleed she inflicts on herself and then gives her the enrage. This change is great for her because it means she won't bleed herself out anymore. Yeah, she still inflicts bleed on herself, but she won't bleed out long if you have a blockbuster on standby. I'm not sure if i'm getting this right or not, but if she has multiple bleeds on her when she uses a BB, all those bleeds become enrages. This damage stacking is pretty nice and when combined with the accuracy stat, she has a higher chance of activating her SA. She is still below the other 4 Painwheels because her ability is still semi-suicidal and 5% is even worse than Rusty's 10%. That being said, her enrages give her an option to deal some decent damage, something Rusty doesn't have, which is why Blood Drive is above her.

6. Rusty
Rarity: Bronze

Element: Light
Atk (at lvl 60): 9,178
Hp (at lvl 60): 33.6k
FS (at lvl 60): 15.1k
SA: Bleed For Me
- 10% chance on hit to inflict bleed for 3 seconds
- Also convert 3 of the enemy's buffs into bleed

Rusty may only be bronze, but she's a real pain. On paper she doesn't seem too crazy especially since 10% seems like a fairly low chance (can be negated by moves such as Death Crawl. But notice that her SA's description says she converts enemy buffs into bleed. This makes her amazing at getting around pesky buffs such as armor, regen or final stand. Even immunity can be converted as long as its not permanent. There are 2 important reasons she's not higher. 1) bronze stats. Her atk is on the lower side and this ties into the second reason: anti bleed. Fighters who gain buffs when they suffer a debuff (in this case bleed) like Bloodbath or an ICU Valentine hard counter Rusty, as her base damage alone will not be enough for her to take them down. Fighters such as Splitting Image also present a challenge, as the buffs they gain are permanent, meaning they can't be converted. In SI's case, she also heals herself and outpaces Rusty's damage. She's entirely dependent on her bleeds, keeping her out of a higher spot, but her ability to convert non-permanenet buffs into bleeds allows her to melt through hp when it works, keeping her from being lower.
Side note: buffs without timers such as precision or Fly Trap's regen stacks, when converted, cause semi-perma bleeds. They will bleed until they tag out and come back in, at which point the bleed is gone.


7. Raw Nerv
Rarity: Gold
Element: Dark
Atk (at lvl 60): 12,480
Hp (at lvl 60): 45.7k
FS (at lvl 60): 20.5k
SA: Death's Door
- Gain permanent enrage and haste when your health drops below 50%
- Inflict permanent death mark when your health drops below 25%


Raw Nerv's SA is one that was once pretty much impossible to utilize since you had to basically be dead for it. With the reintroduction of MAs and her SA1 letting her keep more hp, it's easier to actually do something with it. The permanent haste is probably the better of the 2 buffs, as it speeds up building BB meter for more damage. Her buffs are pretty decent, which keeps her above the remaining Painwheels, But she's still as low as she is because her SA is still pretty bad. It's just not as bad as it once was.

9 Twisted Mettle

Rarity: Bronze
Element: Water
Atk (at lvl 60): 8,621
Hp (at lvl 60): 40.6k
FS (at lvl 60): 15.7k
SA: Cutting Edge
- When suffering a critical hit, inflict bleed for 15 seconds
- 50% chance on hit to inflict bleed for 3 seconds if opponent has bleed


Twisted Mettle is good to bring up to silver, gold is shaky and diamond is not worth it. Her damage stat is actually pretty low, especially for a Painwheel. Not surprising seeing as she's a bronze but still. At first it seems like she'd be unable to use her SA without getting hit, but moves like Death Crawl and Cruel Lily, which inflict bleed, can be used to proc her SA2. Anti bleed is kind of common and when this combines with low base stats (because she's a bronze), its hard to argue that she doesn't deserve to be this low. With that being said, when you are able to bleed, you'll probably be melting through hp pretty quick. This does save her from timing out, something the bottom 3 Painwheels can't seem to avoid. Not much else to say here so let's move on.

9. Firefly
Rarity: Gold
Element: Fire

Atk (at lvl 60): 10,618
Hp (at lvl 60): 50.3k
FS (at lvl 60): 19.4k
SA: Serenity
- When blocking below 50% hp, gain 8% hp per second
- Also gain 8% blockbuster meter per second


Poor Firefly. Her SA sounds good on paper. But sadly, it only seems to work while Firefly is just blocking. If she's attacked while blocking, it doesn't work. Even if it did, you will probably never get more than 5 seconds worth of hp and meter before the opponent attempts to grab you. Even if you break it, you will have to wait until you fall below 50% hp again, as a throw will reset it. She's also surprisingly good at timing herself out. On offense (which is what this is all about), she suffers from the same issue as Grim Fan: her SA doesn't do much to help her do damage. Firefly is trying to do something which Painwheel is not supposed to be doing: tank through damage, which is her primary issue. The meter gain can let her get off bigger hits like Fracture Reaper, Hatred Install or the BB3 is somewhat of a saving grace though.

10. Grim Fan
Rarity: Gold
Element: Light
Atk (at lvl 60): 12,480
Hp (at lvl 60): 45.7k
FS (at lvl 60): 20.5k
SA: Skeleton Dance
- Once per match, gain unflinching and immunity for 15 seconds when dropping below 50% health
- When Painwheel's unflinching expires, ressurect all teammates with 30% hp


Interestingly, Grim Fan has the same stats as Raw Nerv. I'm going to make this quick: Grim Fan is not a good option at all for offense. Her attack stat may be high, but it doesn't matter because her SA does nothing to help her deal more damage. Even Raw Nerv does better than her because at least she gains enrage if she survives. All Grim Fan gets is a status which allows her the chance to counter attack and a chance to revive your teammates. Which, if you're playing well, is somewhat useless. Her SA is something to fall back on if you begin to take damage on offense rather than a consistent source of revival. She only manages to stay above RA because of her massively superior base stats.

11. Rage Appropriate
Rarity: Silver
Element: Water

Atk (at lvl 60): 9,082
Hp (at lvl 60): 43.1k
FS (at lvl 60): 16.6k
SA: Thin Skinned
- Gain permanent enrage when suffering a hit that deals more than 10% max health
- Once per match, gain heavy regen AND 2 stacks of armor for 10 seconds when falling below 50% hp


Rage appropriate is just a sad fighter. 2nd lowest damage out of all the Painwheels and a mediocre SA. Not much else to say here since it's generally accepted that she stinks (although being the worst just means you're the best at being bad, so I suppose she wins there).


Credits go to SiLVeRKnight for providing me the stats and SA for Grim Fan :D
 
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Really wish I would have read this one before I levelled my Firefly so much.

Anyway, taking Rusty to gold now, but I have no idea which stats I should fo(cus) on.

(Little correction, on Twisted Mettle you mention she's one of the better bronzes while Rusty's almost at the top of the list ;))

(Also, I had to break that word in my sentence due to a content warning, but I think it might be a mistake?)
 
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Really wish I would have read this one before I levelled my Firefly so much.

Anyway, taking Rusty to gold now, but I have no idea which stats I should fo(cus) on.

(Little correction, on Twisted Mettle you mention she's one of the better bronzes while Rusty's almost at the top of the list ;))

(Also, I had to break that word in my sentence due to a content warning, but I think it might be a mistake?)

(It's sort of general knowledge that Firefly sucks, but R.I.P)
(The content warning's probably just a mistake or something)

With Rusty, I'd prioritize attack, meter gain, and defense. Having attack and defense is good (add some hp, but don't go all out with it since her hp already sucks anyway). Meter gain is good to get back to Death Crawl sooner and just endlessly stack bleeds
 
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A description of the role Painwheel plays has now been added
 
Well, I don't know how to feel about it. I have 7.6k Buzzkill and 7.5k Twisted Mettle, and I find both of them pretty decent (well, there is no surprise why Buzzkill is decent). I don't know, I just like Twisted mettle too much, she's like my first painwheel fighter (<3 painwheel)
 
I fought a Diamond Firefly today with maxed out MA for reflecting damage. That was a real nightmare. So maybe there's some hope.

Was the user named "Dragonhearted" or something like that? Cause I've seen his diamond Firefly with the maxed MA that reflects dmg. And that's a nightmare
 
I have a question. As I said, I have 7.8 Buzzkill and 7.7 Twisted mettle and now I'm leveling up Rusty. So the question is: should I upgrade Rusty to gold or keep her in silver.
 
I have a question. As I said, I have 7.8 Buzzkill and 7.7 Twisted mettle and now I'm leveling up Rusty. So the question is: should I upgrade Rusty to gold or keep her in silver.

I think Rusty really shines as a gold, where she can face threats like AF, gold RE's, Untouchable, etc. There just aren't as many bronzes or silvers with buffs as annoying as the golds she can counter.
 
I have a question. As I said, I have 7.8 Buzzkill and 7.7 Twisted mettle and now I'm leveling up Rusty. So the question is: should I upgrade Rusty to gold or keep her in silver.

Make Rusty gold. She's seriously worth it
Continue working on the Buzzkill if possible. Nothing beats Buzzkill (as far as Painwheels go)
 
I like a lot flytrap one day i decide to see how the 5 stacks of regen works so when i found her in the prize fights i let her kill one of my fighters and god she dont die because the stacks of regen never finished i dont have a way to put a bleed or make her swap because she regen so fast.
 
Thanks for the update! It might be worth mentioning with Rusty that she turns stacks of precision into permanent bleeds (at least short of the enemy tagging out). It's made the Ms. Fortune Daily a lot easier for me since I discovered that.
 
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Thanks for the update! It might be worth mentioning with Rusty that she turns stacks of precision into permanent bleeds (at least short of the enemy tagging out). It's made the Ms. Fortune Daily a lot easier for me since I discovered that.

Oh yea. I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me
 
I like a lot flytrap one day i decide to see how the 5 stacks of regen works so when i found her in the prize fights i let her kill one of my fighters and god she dont die because the stacks of regen never finished i dont have a way to put a bleed or make her swap because she regen so fast.

Thing is, she has to kill someone first. Which is not good for a defensive Fly Trap because her health is low and she can be beaten by turtling and attacking her. Basically, don't let her kill anyone
 
Thing is, she has to kill someone first. Which is not good for a defensive Fly Trap because her health is low and she can be beaten by turtling and attacking her. Basically, don't let her kill anyone
Thats true, but for offense i think is good.
 
180BFAA7-18AE-4C0B-9745-FB6E24AD7CEE.jpeg Screenshot taken after flytrap killed one of my fighters AND squigly have preformed G5>juggle.
So if flytraps regen has a timer it should’ve shown.
Someone confirm does flytrap’s regen have a timer? Because the one I fought didn’t have a timer!
 
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View attachment 4548 Screenshot taken after flytrap killed one of my fighters AND squigly have preformed G5>juggle.
So if flytraps regen has a timer it should’ve shown.
Someone confirm does flytrap’s regen have a timer? Because the one I fought didn’t have a timer!
I for one is ready to welcome the strongest fighter