Tier List Preface
Explorers!
We are extremely excited to start the new year with the updated Tier List for 1.11! Before we share anything, we need to thank all those involved in the tier list.
So before we get into the list itself, let me first thank by name all of the wonderful people who took part in this list.
From GamePress: Bart, Castal, Chrispychris27, CincyD99, CopperKiwi87, DadJokes, Dr.Reebecca, DQK, Ethan, Ghastpixel16, Kelociraptor, MNBrian, OrigamiRobot, Piere87, Praisebigboy, The AquaDemon
From our GP Discord: MyPnn
From Apex Predators: Idgt902 and Practicekat
And our celebrity squad of PokefodderYT and Matt from the JWA Field Guide App.
We truly wouldn't be able to do the tier list for the community without all of the people involved. We don't always 100% agree on everything (like #Daryxfortyrant), but we try to bring in a diverse group of people that will give the best analysis of the dinos and where they should fall. So let's get to it!
Method to the Madness
Many people want to know how the tier list gets started so here is a look at our process:
First, we assemble a team (kind of like the Avengers) and send out a survey to see where people think a particular dino should fall. This survey is done prior to any sim results being released so the results are based on experience with the creatures in the arena and any friendly battles we do (and trust us, we do a lot!). Then we compile the results and if there is any dino that had less than 65% of the group agreeing on the tier it goes on the "contested list". That's when the real fun begins. Imagine 20 people in a closed channel on discord trying to discuss whether or not Mammotherium should be Tyrant. Both sides of the argument make their case and we do one more vote to determine the ultimate placement.
Some of the dinos on the list are only in that specific tier because they lost or won by 1 vote so just because it isn't where you might think it should have been, doesn't mean there aren't other people that agree with you! We tried to make it as democratic as a process as possible.
Our tier list is based on strictly even levels disregarding boosts. This is an important piece of information because eventually you will hit lesser and lesser returns on your creatures with boosts, and a tier list can help you figure out what to keep working on and what you should have abandoned long ago because it hits a ceiling that makes it a liability. Our tier list is meant to help you -- all things being equal -- find the very best creatures and hopefully the best investments for your boosts.
This also means rarity is not taken into consideration when discussing the tier list. Spawns change. Arena exclusives become not so exclusive. And now sanctuaries even opens up a new world of possibilities for people to attain DNA that was previously impossible to get outside of featured dinosaurs or incubators.
Our tier list is based on discussion and matchups. We run hundreds of friendly battles on our own, determining what is working and what isn't. We have a comprehensive combat simulator created by the JWA Field Guide that helps us see how every single creature stacks up against every single other creature and we run every 1v1 matchup 4000 times.
But this is not a simulation tier list. If it were, we'd have it ready for you on patch day. This is a tier list that 20+ wonderfully talented and intelligent individuals have discussed ad-nauseum to get to the bottom of each creature, using ALL information at our disposal (friendly battles, simulation results, our own arena experiences, etc).
The Votes
While we did get new dinos this patch, there weren't a lot of other changes to current creatures. So like the last patch, we didn't vote on every dino like usual. Instead, we voted on those that got stat changes or move changes (like swap in savagery) or were directly affected by the changes to the regenerations and run mechanics. We also included any new creatures. We still had the opportunity to discuss other dinos, but we focused on the survey dinos first. As we did last time, we would like to share what those votes were for each creature. The table below shows the creature and what the majority voted for. For example, only 50% of those surveyed thought Dracoceratops should stay in High Apex. These are the initial votes so placements did change as the discussions took place and additional dinos were brought to the table later as well.
Dinosaur | Majority Vote Percentage | Majority Vote |
---|---|---|
Ardentismaxima | 92.9% | Stay in Tyrant |
Indoraptor Gen 2 | 100% | Stay in Tyrant |
Mammotherium | 42% | Tyrant |
Dracoceratops | 50% | Stay in High Apex |
Alloraptor | 57.1% | Mid Apex |
Bajatnodon | 42.9% | Mid Apex |
Edmontoguanodon | 71.4% | Stay in Mid Apex |
Monolorhino | 35.7% | Low Apex |
Paramoloch | 92.9% | Stay in Low Apex |
Woolly Mammoth | 42.9% | Low Apex |
Bajadasaurus | 42.9% | High Alpha |
Dracorex Gen 2 | 64.3% | Stay in High Alpha |
Erlikogamma | 42.9% | High Alpha |
Scaphotator | 50% | High Alpha |
Woolly Rhino | 35.7% | High Alpha |
Megaloceros | 64.3% | Low Alpha |
Most Discussed Creatures
There were a few creatures that came up early, often, and repeatedly. A few of the most hotly contested creatures were Phorusaura, Thoradolosaur, Monolorhino, Bajatonodon, and Stygidaryx
Phorusaura wasn't in the initial votes as you can see, but it was brought up after initial discussions and the case was made for Tyrant. This might surprise some people but the combination of speed and back to back rampage moves (Instant Rampage, and Rampage and Run) allows this creature to deal out a lot of damage without taking any at all. It has a swap in stun move, but it's often best used to bring out against a faster creature that is within Instant Rampage range. It can revenge kill that creature and then Rampage and Run out of there before it takes any damage at all usually. And then come back and do it again. The versatility of it can really allow it to shine on a team.
So let's talk about Thor. This one probably gets the award for most discussed. The person that brought it up for discussion had to practically write an entire article to convince us of the placement. And where is that? Well, we aren't going to spoil the surprise, but let's just say we have that article ready to publish to defend our decision. Scroll down to the images below though to see where Thor ended up.
Monolorhino was a new creature that was initially voted pretty low. Being that the Rhino DNA needed to fuse it is so elusive we were pretty disappointed in the low stats this unique got. Ultimately we agreed that even though it has a low attack stat, it does have immunity and versatility that can work on many teams. We didn't think it was low enough to belong in High Alpha, but the discussion to at least keep it at Low Apex went around in many circles. We eventually settled on that placement, but agree that this new unique dino could use some love in the future.
Finally, there were many discussions around Bajatonodon and Stygidaryx. It started with a movement to raise Daryx but Baja was brought in to the discussion as well as their playstyles are very similar (working best in a team that supports swappers). Daryx stayed in Low Apex but the case to move it up was passionate and almost convincing. Baja is a new creature that looking at it has a great kit, but at the end of the day both of these creatures suffer from low damage and their reliance on swap-in and swap-out moves that are hurt by so many dinos with immunity and defense shattering moves. If there is ever a shift in the meta, however, these 2 creatures definitely have a chance to shine we think.
Honestly this was a very tough tier list to put together and there were many more discussions other than those listed above. Grypolyth made a surprise appearance in Tyrant and Mammotherium was pretty much unanimously voted Tyrant after discussions. We will be sure to follow up with more information and articles regarding these placements and plan on releasing some simulation results as well to back up some of our decisions. But we feel really good about where we ended up this time!
Where We Go From Here
We are still working on updating our Tier List page on the website, but we will make sure to have that done as soon as possible and will link that here when we do so. In the mean time, make sure to check out all the official images below for the full list.
We will also be spending a good amount of time creating articles for how to counter the Tyrant tier dinosaurs by creating updated guides that incorporate the battle sim results (some of which are fascinating). And of course, we love hearing from the community (via discord or social media) and will set up another community tier list as well to let you all vote and see where you place these very same dinos.
All in all, this was quite a feat and we're excited to share it with you! What are your thoughts? Do you agree with the placements? Join our discord to chat more!