Top 10 Best Servants in Fate/Grand Order
As of the writing of this list description, the English release of Fate/Grand Order, an online free-to-play role-playing game based on Fate/stay night visual novel game and franchise by Type-Moon, has been released since June 25 of 2017. I downloaded the game on my smartphone right on its launch day, and from there on, I've been having quite a lot of fun battling enemies in quests by commanding Servants in a mission to save humanity's future.That said, I feel obligated to make an entire main list detailing the best Servants you can get in Fate/Grand Order. After making several sub lists of the best Servants based on their ranks and classes, this list's ordering of what I believe to be the best Servants in the game will be based on information from wikis and articles, my personal experience with the Servants, and what others have said about the Servants. If you're an FGO player like me, feel free to vote and add more Servants to this list if you would like. Thanks and enjoy viewing this list.
Until Merlin becomes available on the NA servers, this is pretty much everyone's ideal Caster-class Servant to go to. Waver is well-deserving of that 5-star status when it comes to buffing and debuffing. His skills can help boost his allies' stats while simultaneously helping to build up NP points. His skills can buff his team, and his Noble Phantasm can seriously debuff enemies by a large margin.
If you ever see any friend having him up for support, go for it! It'll benefit you in the long run. Now, if I can just roll for him... Hopefully, when the Fate/Accel Zero Order event comes to North America, I'll be able to roll for him at a higher rate.
Man, I really wish I had more luck rolling for Gilgamesh in NA's recently ended 66,666 likes campaign! Anyway, while I saw in an article that he wasn't exactly the best Archer in the game on the Japanese server (most likely being exceeded by Ishtar), there is no denying that the King of Heroes' power is incredible in its own merit.
His NP stat is EX-rank, and his Noble Phantasm, Enuma Elish, is without a doubt devastatingly powerful. Given it not only deals massive damage, but can also deal bonus damage to Servants especially weak to the Noble Phantasm like Artoria Pendragon herself. Adding on, he can rack up quite a lot of Critical Stars essential for dealing out critical hits on enemies.
Man, it goes without saying that Gilgamesh's versatility is excellent. However, getting a gem like him is easier said than done. Not only is his drop rate low due to his 5-star status, but he's also a Limited Servant, meaning he only appears in limited summoning campaigns on rare occasions. If you managed or do manage to roll him, thank the Lord you have an OP Servant like him on your team.
Thank God I have a friend who has a completely ascended Jeanne d'Arc (with an increased level cap thanks to the use of a Holy Grail). While she doesn't deal the most damage when it comes to 5-star Servants like herself, she has other viable uses in battle that will inevitably aid in helping your team's survivability.
Her three Arts cards are able to help her gain NP points quickly. So, once you reach a Fatal or Grand Battle of some sort, her Noble Phantasm will come in handy. While it does stun her for one turn in the process, it will grant your team invincibility, boost their defense, and have them recover HP every turn for a certain amount of time.
Not to mention that as a Ruler-class Servant, she resists damage from every Servant class excluding ones like the Berserker class (though, using a Buster Card with her on the third card on a Berserker-class enemy can really deal some massive damage). Overall, Jeanne is a vital Servant you'll want to either roll for yourself or have her assist you as support from a friend due to her necessity to the team's endurance.
She isn't available on the NA server yet, but since her usefulness in battle is so notable, I just had to include the swimsuit version of everyone's favorite Blue Saber! Instead of the knightly getup, this Artoria comes in swimsuit form, complete with a water gun as her main weapon!
Aside from the swimsuit gimmick, this Artoria is most notable for having an incredible NP gain. Combine that with her Noble Phantasm being able to rack up NP based on total damage dealt after using up the NP gauge, along with utilizing the essential Craft Essences and support Servants to help fill her NP gauge as well, and you'll be finding yourself spamming her Noble Phantasm on almost every turn! Everyone on the NA server is definitely going to be saving up for her, myself included.
Almost any beginner tips article will recommend that when rerolling for a good Servant in the Tutorial Summon, Heracles is the best starter Servant to go for. While I didn't exactly reroll since I actually got two 4-star Servants (Marie Antoinette and Carmilla) in the Tutorial Summon, I was wise enough to choose Heracles for free in the Master Recruitment campaign for the NA server.
Being a Berserker-class Servant, Heracles will be your ideal damage buster for the first few chapters of the game. While he is a glass cannon thanks to his Berserker class making him deal double damage to all main Servant classes and take double damage from all main Servant classes, the key to utilizing such a glass cannon is to make sure you have the right Craft Essences and support Servants necessary in keeping him alive. Because trust me, his Noble Phantasm can deal tons of damage, so he's pretty handy in boss fights.
Well, since Gilgamesh is a Limited Servant and hasn't appeared in another summoning campaign since the 66,666 likes campaign in the NA server, aside from Atalanta, if you want an Archer-class Servant in the 4-star or 5-star range, EMIYA is your best bet.
While he and Gilgamesh don't compare to Ishtar, EMIYA is basically a versatile, all-around Archer. He can apply defense for three turns while evading for one turn, increase Critical Star drop rate, and enhance his card performances. Through ascensions, interlude completions, and maxing out skills, EMIYA's power can be fully utilized. Like Heracles, EMIYA is also considered to be a good starter Servant. Be on the lookout for him when doing a Saint Quartz summon.
Think Elizabeth Bathory is the best Lancer-class Servant in the NA server so far? Think again. Until we get Scathach, Cu Chulainn is quite possibly the best Lancer-class Servant out of any Lancer so far. In terms of endurance, he can last longer than any other Servant. For one, he can use his second skill to apply defense for three turns and evade... FOR THREE HITS! That's right. Not three turns. Three HITS.
If you can manage to last until the end of the skill's cooldown and/or max out the skill's level, you can essentially be untouchable for the entire battle! And even if you get hit three times, applying Guts to him with his first skill will be insurance that he will revive one time. Not to mention his third skill can remove debuffs and restore HP, further ensuring he stays on the battlefield for as long as possible. Don't underestimate a 3-star like Cu Chulainn. Some have even come to question themselves as to why he isn't a 4-star when he's quite on par with the power of one.
One of the best supports in the game. While his third skill is mostly limited to Buster servants, his other skills and NP make him extremely useful even outside of supporting Buster servants.
Without a doubt, Merlin is a necessity in the meta game when it comes to being a game-breaker. To reiterate from the last time I talked about him, he's Waver turned up to eleven in terms of supporting your party.
His first skill adds a 20% NP charge and a 20% increase in attack for your team. His second skill grants invincibility to your entire party, increases your party's star generation rates, and decreases your enemies' chances of delivering critical attacks with a moderate cooldown. His third skill gives your team a 50% Buster up, 3000 Max HP increase, and a 100% critical damage bonus for three turns.
In addition, one of his passive skills includes generating 5% NP per turn. At NP1 for Garden of Avalon, he provides 1000 healing, a 5% NP charge, and 5 critical stars to the party per turn for five turns. With all the statistics of a nerfed playable version of the NPC Merlin in Babylonia, Merlin is truly a game-breaker and worth seeking after when he's first released for the Solomon Chapter Release event in the NA server.
It goes without saying that she and her true vanilla counterpart are exact opposite parallels. While vanilla Jeanne isn't a huge damage-dealer but can be quite a durable tank with her Ruler class and high HP stat, Jalter is quite the glass cannon. She has some of the lowest HP out of any Servant in the game but has remarkably the highest attack stat to deal the highest damage output against enemies.
She'll easily go hand-in-hand with Buster-based support teams like parties with Merlin in them. So, chances are if you're not saving up for Okita or Scathach right now, you should save up for Jalter when she comes around to the NA server.
Medea may not be the most damage-dealing Caster in the game, but she certainly is powerful on the front lines, especially as a 3-star. Consider her first skill, which can charge your NP gauge by a high amount. Even when the skill is at level 1, it can fill your NP gauge by 80%. That's more NP generated than even Zhuge Liang's first skill at max level, which only generates 50%.
This brings us to her Noble Phantasm. It won't exactly deal a lot of damage, but if your enemy has a ton of buffs, leave it to Rule Breaker to remove all those buffs single-handedly! Honorable mentions go to her ability to restore her own HP and help remove debuffs on an ally and increase their NP generation rate.
The Newcomers
He is a god, no, a king. No, he is the god-king that resides on Earth, an absolute pharaoh with the might of the gods. Look upon my works and be in despair, oh lightless one. It is time the sun descended here - Ramesseum Tentyris.
I love this character and cannot wait until he comes out on the NA server. I'm saving up for him as my favorite Rider!
Ozy is a great SSR Rider due to his strong single-target NP and useful team support. He's also the only servant in the game who can use Imperial Privilege properly.
Ever since summoning him, he's become one of my most reliable Servants. What I like most about Karna in terms of gameplay is that while he is very good, he's not broken like Gilgamesh or Zhuge Liang where all you need is to tap a button and you win. He does require some thinking to use him properly, but that's what makes him so fun at the same time. All he needs is an animation update, and he'll be even more golden.
Ah, it seems a visitor has already submitted quite possibly one of the most popular 5-star Lancer-class Servants next to Scathach. Alright, my fellow Karna fan, how about I give him a good ol' analysis to see why he's one of the best Servants in FGO?
Okay, to start off, his skill set is quite versatile. He can reduce an enemy's debuff resistance for 1 turn and prevent them from using their NP for 1 turn as well, simultaneously increase his own Buster card performance and NP strength for 1 turn, and gain 25% NP charge while also increasing his critical star generation rate and critical damage for 3 turns. Not bad, to say the least! Plus, his Noble Phantasm, Vasavi Shakti, is an AoE attack, so he's pretty efficient at dealing with Archer hordes and such when you're farming in a quest filled with them. Add in the fact that the Noble Phantasm can deal extra damage to Divine enemies as well! For those playing, you might want to consider rolling for this guy in case you have no luck getting Scathach.
Ah, Mash. Everyone's starting Shielder Servant. I never go into battle without her. Whether it's the main quests, free quests, interludes, or event quests, she's always there. As a Shielder-Servant, she is neither weak nor strong against any main class, including the Berserker class. In addition, the Demi-Servant is able to boost her team's defense and grant invincibility and NP gain to one ally.
While she isn't as strong now as she is on the JP server, keep in mind that as the story progresses with each new chapter released, she will definitely grow stronger and become one of the best Servants in the game, period. Even to the point of going from 3-star to 4-star status, might I add! Even while Okeanos is awaiting release for the NA server, she will always be of vital use to the team whether it be on the front lines or in a support role.
I would put Jack the Ripper on this list since she's considerably one of the best Assassin-class Servants in the game, if not the best. But since Hassan has a lower rarity and therefore a higher chance to drop, I'll put him in this spot in place of Jack for now.
While Assassins are probably the weakest class in terms of damage dealt, they certainly come in handy when it comes to generating those Critical Stars needed to dish out critical hits for extra damage. So, until Jack the Ripper does come out on the NA server, Cursed Arm Hassan is the best you can get right now for an Assassin-class Servant. He obviously won't deal too much damage, but he's key to getting the most Critical stars possible.
In addition, his Noble Phantasm has a high chance of inflicting instant death on a single enemy even when not maxed out. It'll be worth maxing out his Noble Phantasm by summoning enough cards of him if you want to increase the chance further.
It's now official, my Masters. Our boy Cu Alter is getting a rate-up this Friday. So, as usual, let's go over everyone's favorite king doggo. Now, it goes without saying that Cu Alter is essentially Cu Lancer turned Berserker. Where Cu Lancer excels at endurance, Cu Alter also excels in that area.
One distinct difference Cu Alter has in terms of his skills is his first skill. It decreases all enemies' attack and critical attack chances for three turns. In contrast, Cu Lancer has a third skill that removes debuffs and restores HP for himself. The rest of the two skills are fairly similar between them, with a few minor differences. Both of them have an Evade skill, but Cu Alter's lasts for only two hits while Cu Lancer's lasts for three whole hits. As for their Guts skill, it functions exactly the same for both of them as a one-time revival status that lasts for five turns.
Regardless of their rarities, both Cu Chulainn incarnations are very durable. But in Cu Alter's case, he's exceptionally adept at dealing massive damage, especially with his Noble Phantasm, Curruid Coinchenn. It activates attack and defense buffs first for one turn before turning the entire screen into a glorious gorefest. Man, I'm so tempted to roll for him even though I want Jeanne Alter the most! Maybe a YOLO roll?
Well, Masters, the day of reckoning is almost upon us. First, it's rolling for the guaranteed SSR paid Saint Quartz Summon gacha. And then, from there on out, I'm going full-on whale mode for Shishou.
Massive ST damage with stun is indispensable against solo boss servants.
I just learned from Not A Whale that Aniplex USA recently announced that Fate/Grand Order is holding a Thanksgiving banner as an NA exclusive event for the NA server. So I was really excited when I heard that not only is the Scathach banner going to be held, but that the New Year Guaranteed SSR Summon was being combined with the Thanksgiving banner as well! I'm so hyped up for this!
Anyways, let's go over Scathach. I wouldn't say she's as durable as her pupil Cu Chulainn, but her skill set and class advantage, along with her Noble Phantasm's effects, truly make her the most useful and versatile Lancer-class Servant to get in the game. She's incredibly useful against Servants with the Divine trait, so expect to be able to curb stomp Archers like Gilgamesh and Arjuna later on in the game.
In addition, her Noble Phantasm is quite notably a very powerful single-target attack, especially against Archers. And even if it may not OHKO an enemy, Gae Bolg Alternative has an almost guaranteed stun effect as if the overcharge effect of insta-kill wasn't enough. Definitely consider pulling her on the Thanksgiving banner!
F2P players and whales alike, if you're looking to roll for a worthwhile Limited Servant other than the temporarily limited Tamamo no Mae, save up for Okita! Okita Souji is a godsend when it comes to dropping Critical stars. With just a QQABB deck, by utilizing skills like Weak Constitution and Eye of the Mind (False), expect to both drop a high amount of Critical stars and dish out massive critical attacks with Sakura Saber on a frequent basis.
In addition, her Noble Phantasm also ignores enemy defense buffs when used, making it a useful single-target NP. Just couple it with some Quick card performance buffs, including her Reduced Earth skill, and you're guaranteed to make Okita-san have her Great Victory!
Has anyone become a mother yet? Kudos to those who still had enough Saint Quartz (or went into Whale Mode) to summon Jack the Ripper after the salt that was the Thanksgiving campaign featuring Scathach. Alright, time for analysis. She's exceptionally the best Assassin-class Servant in the game. At the very least, she's an expert at gaining tons of critical stars and dealing MASSIVE critical damage against enemies. And that's not all. Her Noble Phantasm pretty much ignores the target's defense buffs and increases damage against female enemies. Trust me, there's going to be a LOT of female bosses in the later parts of the game.
If you manage to roll Jack when London is released, expect fighting Medb in E Pluribum Unus to be a cinch. As for her skill set, it's fairly decent. Her first skill gives her Evade for one turn while simultaneously increasing Quick card effectiveness. Her second skill removes enemy buffs and decreases Critical Strength for one enemy. Her third skill restores an ally's HP by a small amount in return for a relatively fast cooldown.
If you can't get her during the Christmas campaign in the NA server right now, better have your hopes up that you get her in the next guaranteed SSR paid Saint Quartz Summon for New Year's.
I literally did everything I could just to create a catalyst for Minamoto no Yorimitsu, and here I am with Mama Raikou not home with me at Chaldea. I spent 240 Saint Quartz and 5 Summon Tickets and did not even get an Ibaraki Douji. Gacha salt aside, while I may not be able to get Mama Raikou in the Onigashima event, I'll definitely be looking out for her on later banners like the Onigashima rerun, Shimosa Chapter Release, Setsubun, etc.
Once I save up for Merlin and hopefully get him, I'll be sacrificing my chances at the Summer 2018 rerun and the Fate/Extra CCC summoning campaigns just to get one of the best AoE SSR Berserkers in the game. She is great for farming, great for wave clearing, and great for boss rush waves. Why is that? Because of her high hit-count Noble Phantasm. Sprinkle that with her other high hit-count attacks and her skill set that should cover just about every niche for dealing as much damage as possible, and this Mama Bear will deal massive damage.
Also, want to know why that voice sounds familiar? Because Mama Asuna is a big mama now. I'll get you someday, Mama Raikou...
Well, Masters, it appears that in my guaranteed SSR paid Saint Quartz Summon, I managed to pull Casko from the gacha. To be honest, I'm happy but not all that happy at the same time. On the pro side, I'm just glad I didn't get another Altera copy since Altera already spooked me in my pulls for Okita. And the fact that everyone pretty much considers Tamamo to be top-tier waifu material is a plus.
On the con side, I'm sad I didn't get the SSRs I wanted like Okita, Jeanne, or Waver. Plus, my party setup is mostly Buster-oriented, and Tamamo no Mae is more fit for an Arts-oriented team. Hopefully, I can muster up some good Art-oriented Servants in the future so they'll go well with her in future gameplay.
Masters, if you managed to pull Merlin, definitely consider saving up for Miyamoto Musashi when the next New Year banner rolls around. While I already have two SSR Saber-class Servants, both of them are mostly only useful for farming with their AoE Noble Phantasm.
On the other hand, Miyamoto Musashi's Noble Phantasm is ST, meaning if you pair her up with a Merlin or two, expect her to deal some major damage now that the era of the Buster meta has begun. I was thinking about rolling for Scathach since I missed her the first time I tried rolling for her, but I guess I'll have to put her as a second priority. Until Scathach-Skadi rolls around and revives the Quick meta, Miyamoto Musashi comes first for me.
It's the moment all you Mordred fans have been waiting for! The Knight of Treachery is finally out! So now for a bit of commentary on her gameplay and skill set.
Put simply from my perspective, while she's not the best Saber in terms of gameplay (given that she's just essentially a carbon copy of Artoria Pendragon, who's unfortunately considered B-tier by most players at best), Mordred's slightly higher base attack stat and her superior skills make her quite different from her father. Basically, in exchange for the Charisma attack boost, she replaces it with her Secret of Pedigree skill. Taking into account that it simultaneously increases defense for one turn, removes all debuffs, and charges her NP gauge, I'd say this one skill alone makes her stand above Artoria in terms of versatility.
While I'd rather be content with the Altera I own right now, Mordred is still a pretty decent Saber to own. Also, her Noble Phantasm, Clarent Blood Arthur, deals extra damage to enemies with the Artoria/Arthur trait, so she'll come in handy once the Saber Wars event comes around.
As the Vengeful Demon's Prison Tower event approaches, I now present Nagit- er, I mean the Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes! Our boy Dantes has the honor of being the first Avenger-class Servant in Fate/Grand Order. Thus, he deals extra damage to Ruler-class enemies and receives reduced damage from them.
Ignoring the fact that once Merlin comes, the Quick team meta will be screwed over in favor of more Buster-oriented and Arts-oriented parties, Dantes for the time being makes for a decent Quick Star Generator. In other words, he can generate tons of Critical Stars (despite having no Luck stat!). Not to mention he has the fourth-highest attack power in the game behind Cu Alter, Sakata Kintoki, and Jeanne Alter on the JP Server as of now! Of course, I'm still holding out for Jeanne Alter, but for all you Danganronpa fans out there playing this game, I wouldn't say it's a bad deal to get your very own Nagito Komaeda expy as your first Avenger-class Servant.
My heart still longs for Jalter, but for all you diehard Nero fans, go for it. Her higher rarity and more versatile skill set are arguably a bit superior to the red Nero Claudius.
Her first skill increases one ally's NP generation rate for 3 turns. Her second skill increases one ally's attack and critical star generation rate for 3 turns. Her third skill heals an ally and increases their defense for 3 turns.
Nero Bride may not be as much of a tank as her red counterpart, but her higher attack stats make her a more powerful unit to use if you're taking on tough bosses. This ties into her single-target Noble Phantasm, which deals incredible damage to an enemy with a damage output percentage double that of red Nero's AoE Noble Phantasm. It also gives them numerous debuffs consisting of burn damage, a defense debuff, and a critical chance debuff.
Overall, Nero Bride is a pretty good SSR Servant and especially a must-have if you're looking to achieve red Nero, Nero Bride, and eventually Swimsuit Nero.
While Saber Shiki is arguably not as good as Assassin Shiki when it comes to the Instant-Kill chance with their respective Noble Phantasms, Saber Shiki is actually pretty versatile and useful in other areas aside from attack value. Her high HP value makes her an exceptional stone wall, with her Yin Yang skill variation restoring much of her HP for just a little NP loss.
She also retains the same Mystic Eyes of Death Perception skill that Assassin Shiki possesses. Her second skill, while not as good compared to her first and third one, isn't too bad for increasing attack and mental debuff resistance. But the most important aspect of her reliability is her Noble Phantasm. Yes, it's not as strong as Assassin Shiki's version, but on the bright side, not only does it ignore defense and attack all enemies on the field, but it also removes all party debuffs. To put it into simple words, Saber Shiki has high endurance as a Saber and can last long while keeping the party alive as long as possible.
With the Kara no Kyoukai Collaboration event ending in just about a few days on the NA server, let's kick up the old analysis machine. So here, we have our welfare Servant of this event, none other than Ryougi Shiki (Assassin). From an F2P perspective, I'd say welfare Shiki is the better Shiki between her and Void Shiki. As an Assassin, her passive skills are useful for both generating Critical stars and increasing Critical attack damage output gradually. In addition, her skill set is incredibly strong and probably the most important thing you'll need when grinding and clearing this event. Her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception allows her to ignore enemy invincibility, increase Arts-card performance, and reduce an enemy's Instant-Death resistance all in one turn. She also has the ever-reliant Eye of the Mind evade skill for a 1-turn evasion along with increasing Critical damage for 3 turns. And for her Yin Yang skill variant, she generates about more or less a quarter of NP in exchange for HP loss. And her defense-ignoring single-target Noble Phantasm is just what you need for making undead enemies, ghosts, and Rapunzels die instantly. Overall, a great welfare Servant for a great collaboration event and I do advise keeping her around for a long time.