Chaos Zero: Nightmare drops you into a world that thrives on chaos, both literally and mechanically. Every combatant feels distinct — from the cold precision of Stella Familia’s soldiers to the fiery impulsiveness of Terrascion’s warriors. But when you strip away the story flavor, what really matters is this: who actually carries your runs, who keeps your team alive, and who just… looks good on the loading screen.
After testing, rerolling, and spending far too many hours theorycrafting builds, here’s how the current 5★ and 4★ cast stack up. This Chaos Zero Nightmare Tier List focuses on real impact: power, flexibility, synergy, and how well each unit performs without needing perfect RNG or rare cards.
Chaos Zero Nightmare Tier List – Best 5 Star Characters
S RANK – The Unquestioned Titans
These are the units that make the game easier just by existing on your roster. Every one of them can define a run on their own — even in less-than-ideal setups.
Khalipe
Faction: Stella Familia | Class: Vanguard | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Instinct
Khalipe doesn’t just survive — she dominates by never dying. Her entire identity revolves around her Vulture mechanics, which let her retain and re-trigger her AoE shield strikes in a loop that borders on unfair once it gets going. You don’t babysit Khalipe — you build around her durability.
What makes her terrifying isn’t raw damage, it’s inevitability. Every turn she’s cycling shields, attacking for free, and shrugging off punishment that would erase most teams. By turn six or seven, she feels more like a raid boss than a unit you control.
She’s the face of consistency in Chaos Zero, and that’s why she’s sitting confidently at the top of S-tier.
Mei Lin
Faction: Terrascion | Class: Striker | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Passion
Mei Lin embodies the word momentum. She thrives in fights where every strike matters, and once her Ember mechanic gets rolling, enemies start melting like wax. What makes her so fun is the pacing — you start small, building your ember stacks, then suddenly unleash a chain of hits that feels cinematic.
She rewards players who like rhythm and precision. Mei Lin isn’t about brute force — she’s about timing. In the hands of someone who understands break windows and crit setups, she becomes an unstoppable flame that defines entire boss fights.
If you enjoy characters who punish enemies for even existing too long, Mei Lin will feel like home.
Nia
Faction: Terrascion | Class: Controller | Rarity: ★★★★ | Attunement: Instinct
Don’t let her rarity fool you — Nia plays like a 5-star trapped in a 4-star’s body. She’s not a flashy unit; she’s the glue that holds your entire strategy together. Her ability to stabilize draws, recycle cards, and enhance team tempo makes her the perfect backbone for any comp.
The best part about Nia is that she doesn’t need attention. She simply makes your better units better. Your high-cost cards line up faster, your turns feel smoother, and she quietly ensures everything goes according to plan.
She’s proof that control doesn’t have to mean boring — it can mean powerful, deliberate, and steady.
Cassius
Faction: Peltion | Class: Controller | Rarity: ★★★★ | Attunement: Instinct
Cassius feels like the smartest person in the room — and his kit plays exactly like that. He manipulates draw order, reshuffles, and rewrites the rhythm of your runs. Where most controllers just stall or shield, Cassius curates the perfect hand every turn.
He’s easily one of the most satisfying characters to use when you understand his flow. Once you build a loop that feeds itself — drawing, refreshing, discarding, redrawing — it feels like your team is operating on pure inevitability.
If you enjoy solving the puzzle rather than brute-forcing it, Cassius will be your favorite 4★ in the game.
Selena
Faction: Stella Familia | Class: Ranger | Rarity: ★★★★ | Attunement: Passion
Selena isn’t about hitting once — she’s about hitting again. Her Mark mechanic is genius: every attack you or your allies make becomes her cue to follow up. Watching her chain reactions go off feels like setting off fireworks in the middle of a fight.
She’s smooth, elegant, and deceptively brutal. You’ll rarely see her topping damage meters in a single turn, but over the course of a fight, she quietly shreds everything. She’s not loud — she’s lethal.
Selena’s S-rank spot is for players who love synergy — people who understand that power isn’t always in how hard you hit, but how often.
Kayron
Faction: Wanderer | Class: Psionic | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Void
Kayron’s not here to steal the spotlight — he’s here to control it. A psionic fighter balanced between burst and utility, he excels in creating openings for his team. His strength lies in adaptability; he can pivot between DPS and control without losing value.
While others need perfect combos, Kayron just works. He brings a level of reliability that’s rare in a game where randomness is constant. He doesn’t shout for attention — he quietly wins your runs for you.
Kayron sits in S not because he’s the flashiest, but because he’s the kind of unit you never regret picking.
A RANK
These units can easily feel like S-tier with the right support or build, but they require more effort or conditions to reach that level.
Magna – “The Counter Queen”
Faction: Stella Familia | Class: Vanguard | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Justice
Magna is a walking wall of ice and revenge. Her Crystallization mechanic grants her permanent scaling shields, and her counterattacks hit harder the longer the fight drags on. She’s that unit who starts slow, then turns into a nightmare midway through a boss.
The catch? She’s setup-heavy. If enemies burst early or you mismanage your shield generation, you’ll feel her weaknesses. But in sustained encounters, she’s untouchable — literally. Magna is for patient players who appreciate slow, controlled power curves.
Renoa
Faction: Terrascion | Class: Hunter | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Void
Renoa’s kit feels like controlled chaos — juggling bullets between hand and graveyard, discarding for value, and detonating huge finishers off perfectly timed plays. When you’re in sync with her rhythm, she feels like a symphony of gunfire.
She’s not easy to play — managing her bullets takes planning and foresight — but her ceiling is incredible. The longer the battle, the more you feel her efficiency snowball.
Players who enjoy finesse and setup-based payoffs will love Renoa’s depth.
Mika
Faction: Terrascion | Class: Controller | Rarity: ★★★★ | Attunement: Justice
Mika isn’t flashy. She doesn’t spike damage or break the flow — she just keeps everyone alive. Her healing scales naturally with tempo, making her one of the most dependable sustain options for longer chaos runs.
She’s the quiet type: the one you forget about until you realize you’ve gone six turns without taking fatal damage. If you enjoy building balanced teams, Mika is a must-have.
Hugo
Faction: Stella Familia | Class: Ranger | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Order
Hugo thrives on momentum. His Hunting Instinct mechanic lets him chain extra attacks whenever allies strike, making him thrive in teams with aggressive rotation. When built right, he turns every turn into a firing squad.
He’s a thrill to play — responsive, fast, kinetic — but without support, his impact can fade against tougher enemies. In the right comp though? He’s an engine of pure aggression.
Veronica
Faction: Stella Familia | Class: Ranger | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Passion
Veronica plays the long game. Her Ballista summons attack automatically at the end of turns, scaling with Reload stacks for massive end-phase damage. She’s a sub-DPS dream — low cost, reliable contribution, and incredible synergy with extra-attack teams.
If you like seeing steady damage ticks explode across the field without lifting a finger, Veronica delivers. She doesn’t always top charts, but she always pulls her weight.
B RANK
These units aren’t bad — they’re just outclassed or too reliant on synergy.
Luke (Ironrain | Hunter | ★★★★★ | Order) – Great burst, but demands specific setups.
Orlea (Holy Crusaders | Controller | ★★★★★ | Instinct) – Interesting support, but overshadowed by Cassius and Nia.
Rin (Wanderer | Striker | ★★★★★ | Void) – Stylish but lacks damage consistency.
Lucas (Ironrain | Hunter | ★★★★ | Passion) – Works well in bullet comps, weak outside of them.
Amir (Terrascion | Vanguard | ★★★★ | Order) – Strong defensively, limited outside specific teams.
Owen (Terrascion | Striker | ★★★★ | Justice) – Solid early, but struggles in late-game scaling.
TBD – The Enigma
Haru – “The Unknown Factor”
Faction: Terrascion | Class: Striker | Rarity: ★★★★★ | Attunement: Justice
Haru hasn’t had enough hands-on time yet to settle in the meta. As a Justice-attuned Striker, expectations are high — Terrascion’s melee units tend to dominate once their combos are understood. Early impressions suggest strong single-target control and high burst scaling, but until full testing is done, Haru remains the wildcard.
If history is any guide, though, she won’t stay “to be determined” for long.
The beauty of Chaos Zero: Nightmare lies in its versatility — no character is truly useless, but some simply take less effort to make shine. Khalipe defines tank play, Mei Lin owns the burst meta, and Nia and Cassius quietly run the economy of every fight.