Rank the Xenoblade 1 playables from favorite to least favorite

[Dragoncat]

Moving rapidly onward here! Just unlocked Valak Mountains but Cargo is having me do some sidequests first. So please don't spoil anything past that point for me. Thought it would be fun to ask everyone to rank the playables from favorite to least favorite.

1: Reyn
This fricken guy omg. Just about every time he opens his mouth I smile or chuckle, I have a soft spot for the hotheaded dorky jock boys. I swear I heard him say "suck on THIS!" in a battle once and it was epic. It wouldn't surprise me if after the conflict is over, he gets the title "Reyn the Wild" and goes down in history as Shulk's right hand man.

2: Dunban
Dapper badass, still kicking ass and taking names despite having a weak and nearly useless right arm. Not bad looking either, somewhat resembles Virion from FE Awakening only more attractive and gets a shirtless scene, which as a straight female, I admit I was kinda checking him out there.

3: Shulk
The main character and hero of the story. Blond Brit boy, clear British accent. Then again I think everybody kinda has a British accent. Can be a badass and I wouldn't want to be a mechon and piss him off, but mostly he just has a quiet, keeps to himself personality.

4: Sharla
She got bumped up a little simply because her and Reyn bicker like an old married couple and it's priceless. When she gave Juju a big hug and then slapped him, I totally understood that, I have a little brother as well and I'd probably react the same way if he ever ran off and nearly got himself killed and had to be rescued. I'd ship her with Reyn if Gadolt didn't exist.

5: Melia
The scene where she's healed and slaps Shulk made me laugh for like fifteen minutes. She's got that regal princess personality and is a strong and interesting character, but I tend to like other personality types more.

6: Riki
He's a cute little fella with some amusing lines, and omg when it was revealed that he's 40 years old with a wife and kids, caught me off guard. I don't use him much though, anything he can do, the others can do just as well.

[Water Mage]

1.Riki

2.Dunban

3.Shulk

4.Melia

5.Reyn

6.Sharla

I ranked this in terms of gameplay. Riki’s strong, and an amazing boss killer. He actually has more HP than Reyn, not a joke. He’s bulkier than Reyn. He’s also a better healer than Sharla, who really lags behind as the game goes on. Don’t fall into the pitfall of thinking that Riki is a joke character, he’s ridiculously good.

[Dragoncat]

7 minutes ago, Water Mage said:

1.Riki

2.Dunban

3.Shulk

4.Melia

5.Reyn

6.Sharla

I ranked this in terms of gameplay. Riki’s strong, and an amazing boss killer. He actually has more HP than Reyn, not a joke. He’s bulkier than Reyn. He’s also a better healer than Sharla, who really lags behind as the game goes on. Don’t fall into the pitfall of thinking that Riki is a joke character, he’s ridiculously good.

I ranked mine more in terms of personality. 

I noticed Riki's high HP, yeah, but I think he only gets one healing art? Sharla gets a whole bunch.

[Dandy Druid]

I pretty much like this whole cast tbh.

1. Melia- I like her a lot for some reason. Her design is great and I find her character intriguing.

2. Reyn cuz it's always Reyn time! He's an entertaining sidekick. I always appreciate a sidekick that's not some sort of meek kid.

3. Dunban- I love a good dodge tank. Plus he's also very interesting.

4. Shulk- I love his VA, and I feel like he's one of the rare protagonists that doesn't get on my nerves.

5. Riki, the Heropon! Probably my favorite nopon.

6. Sharla- in comparison to the others, I don't find her that interesting. But I always love a healer.

[ChickenBits]

No spoilers makes this kind of hard to explain, oh well I'm good at being vague.

1) Melia- My favourite of the bunch and I love her so much. Very strong character, good character development and was one of my mvp during my playthrough. 

2) Riki- I have a soft spot for these kind of characters and there's a lot more to Riki then just being some comedic relief. His dynamic with Melia and Ryn are always so much fun and are interesting. To top it all off he's an amazing unit. That HP stat.

3) Ryn- Like I said before, I adore these kinds of characters. Ryn's such an awesome dorky bro and Chugga's pun just solidify my love for this character. He's also the only reason why I survived the first quarter or so of the game because I had no idea of what I was doing so Shulk kept dying in battle. 

4) Shulk- A decent protagonist that actually develops nicely and is fun to use in battle later on. I don't have much to say since the three above occupy like 90% of my heart when it comes to this game. I also like previous protagonists more but that might be nostalgia.

5) Dunban- The cool mentor of the group who's a total badass. I'm really running out of reasons here.

6) Sharla- I'm not sure why but I just didn't care about her, the friendship she built with Melia was nice and all but I hold no affection for this character. Let's just say I'm neutral since there is a character that I dislike a lot.

[Dragoncat]

16 minutes ago, Dandy Druid said:

I pretty much like this whole cast tbh.

1. Melia- I like her a lot for some reason. Her design is great and I find her character intriguing.

2. Reyn cuz it's always Reyn time! He's an entertaining sidekick. I always appreciate a sidekick that's not some sort of meek kid.

3. Dunban- I love a good dodge tank. Plus he's also very interesting.

4. Shulk- I love his VA, and I feel like he's one of the rare protagonists that doesn't get on my nerves.

5. Riki, the Heropon! Probably my favorite nopon.

6. Sharla- in comparison to the others, I don't find her that interesting. But I always love a healer.

YES. Reyn time, baby! xD Such an idiot at times (the booby trap in High Entia Tomb says hi) but a lovable idiot and does redeem himself for opening mouth and inserting foot when he gives Shulk that come to Jesus meeting in the Ether Mine. Also apparently he has arachnophobia lol. Always amusing to have a big strong dude with a fear of something normally much smaller than he is. The arachno queen was the exception, not the rule. Most spiders are small.

I admit that Sharla by herself isn't really interesting or memorable. She needs that dialogue with Reyn, like when she tells him he stinks in Makna Forest or tells him not to embarrass her at the dinner and Dunban's like "I second that". The former is like, my favorite interaction between them. Also I swear he was looking at her chest when he first met her at the refugee camp and she kinda got in his face asking about Colony 6. Cargo doesn't think he was, but I do.

Shulk does have a good VA, but I like the sound of Dunban more for some reason.

[DisobeyedCargo]

I'm gonna say this now 

 

EVERYONE REFER TO AYABLE CHARACTER #7 AS 7!!

 

heres my list

7. Sharla. Never use her so not much attachment 

6. Reyn He's funny and has many memorable quotes

5. Riki. He's Riki, need I say more

4. Shulk. Introverted nerd, like me!

3. Seven. Spoilers spoilers spoil spoil

2. Dunban. You can't hate this guy

1. Melia Antiqua. A deep and complex character who stays strong despite all she goes through. 

Edited February 10, 2018 by DisobeyedCargo

[Dragoncat]

10 minutes ago, DisobeyedCargo said:

I'm gonna say this now 

 

EVERYONE REFER TO AYABLE CHARACTER #7 AS 7!!

 

heres my list

7. Sharla. Never use her so not much attachment 

6. Reyn He's funny and has many memorable quotes

5. Riki. He's Riki, need I say more

4. Shulk. Introverted nerd, like me!

3. Seven. Spoilers spoilers spoil spoil

2. Dunban. You can't hate this guy

1. Melia Antiqua. A deep and complex character who stays strong despite all she goes through. 

I think I MIGHT know who #7 is but shiittttttt I thought there was six playables? Max at a time...

Shulk kinda is a nerdy boy. Definitely introverted, but never thought of "nerd" being a descriptor for him. I guess he's a nerd because of his weapon research and developing? Idk I'm overthinking the definition of "nerd".

[god_ewan]

1. Shulk - He is a great main character in terms of the story. And for gameplay you really can't go wrong with having him in the party, he can do massive damage and he is necessary for fighting mechon. Just keep the aggro off him.

2. Dunban - In the story Dunban is great. He has some really great lines and I love his relationship with Shulk and Reyn. As for gameplay he makes a great agility tank and damage dealer. And his talent art is great in chain attacks.

3. Riki - I like him in the story as a comic relief character, but he does show a lot of wisdom too. In gameplay Riki can do it all, tank, heal, and deal damage with his damage over time arts. I love playing as him.

4. Melia - In the story she makes great nobility. She cares deeply for her people and is devoted on becoming a great ruler. She goes through some very hard times and always becomes stronger from them. In gameplay she can deal a lot of ether damage and is perfect for taking on ether enemies and bosses. Keep aggro off her though.

5. Seven - spoilers

6. Reyn - I really like him in the story as Shulk's best friend and as comic relief. Early in the story he compliments Shulk pretty well. The problem is throughout the story the spotlight is never on him except for Tephra Cave maybe. As for gameplay he is a great tank early on for Shulk and I think he plays a good role of teaching you the mechanics of the game. He can still be relevant throughout the game, but Dunban and Riki probably make for better tanks.

7. Sharla - Sharla has her own arc in the story but then in pretty irrelevant until a little bit at towards the end. In gameplay Sharla is a dedicated healer and is pretty useful when she joins, but the farther you get into the game a dedicated healer becomes obsolete. Shulk with his one healing art can carry you through the game, same with Riki.  

Edited February 10, 2018 by halvey

[Water Mage]

1 hour ago, Dragoncat said:

I ranked mine more in terms of personality. 

I noticed Riki's high HP, yeah, but I think he only gets one healing art? Sharla gets a whole bunch.

Sharla gets a whole bunch, but they aren’t very useful as the game goes on, Riki gets only one, but it’s all really needs since it heals more when the characters have debuffs. It’s useful the entire game, plus he’s much tankier than Sharla making him the more effective healer. He can also inflict pretty much every status effect in the game which is incredible. Riki truly shines at boss battles, which is ironic considering he’s a comic relief character with little relevance to the story.

[Dragoncat]

@Water Mage I see. I'll have to start using him more often then.

Poor Sharla, nobody's favorite. At least Gadolt loves her xD

[Armagon]

1. Dunban and Shulk
2. Reyn
3. Seven (is this really a spoiler anymore? Thanks Smash 4)
4. Riki
5. Melia
6. Sharla

I love them all equally though. This is just for the sake of ranking them. That being said, gameplay-wise, Sharla's my least favorite. Not because she's a healer, but because healing isn't that important in Xenoblade (at least in this game) and even if it was, Riki's You Can Do It Art is much more useful.

[DisobeyedCargo]

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

1. Dunban and Shulk
2. Reyn
3. Seven (is this really a spoiler anymore? Thanks Smash 4)
4. Riki
5. Melia
6. Sharla

I love them all equally though. This is just for the sake of ranking them. That being said, gameplay-wise, Sharla's my least favorite. Not because she's a healer, but because healing isn't that important in Xenoblade (at least in this game) and even if it was, Riki's You Can Do It Art is much more useful.

It is a spoiler if you haven't seen he trophy 

 

@Dragoncat i will not say that Sharla is useless, she is still the best healer in the group IMO. And she can damage Mechon early on with her Thunder Bullet art, but she is not great in any other role cusse of low strength and lack of any other ether attacks. Riki's You Can Do It is really all you will ever need except in some very select optional fights near the end of the game, where Sharla's healing may be wanted then. 

Riki is freaking amazing with his large amount of DPS and just how versatile he is.

 

Melia is also capable of massive DPS with a certain elemental summon she gets later on. My personnel favorite is Summon Bolt Spamming. 

[Dragoncat]

5 hours ago, Armagon said:

because healing isn't that important in Xenoblade

Then I must suck, because I need the healing like all the time.

A lot of Dunban love in the poll, he does deserve it! Not much for Monado Boy, but I'm more surprised at Reyn's placement. Come on people, REYN TIME! What a bunch of jokers! xD

Maybe I just love the hotheaded dorky boys more than most people. They make me laugh okay? Laughing is good.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Dragoncat

[TheGoodHoms]

1. Reyn- One of favorite fictional characters period. He's also really fun to play as and insanely useful to just have on your active party in general.

2. Sharla- I personally think Sharla is underrated by most people, but I can see why. Being the dedicated medic she is a must if you like defensive team comps.

3. Melia- Some one give this girl a hug please! Her computer AI is garbage so I always play as her myself on a team, but that's fine because I enjoy mage characters.

4. Shulk- A little bland as a character, but still a serviceable protagonist. Versatile in combat and invaluable against the Mechon.

5. Riki- One of the best examples of comedic relief done right. Don't use him much in combat though.

6. Dunban- He's a total badass, but to me he feels a little static. Great as both a damage dealer and a dodge tank, but I prefer straight tanks like Reyn.

Honestly though, I like all the characters so listing them is kind of redundant to me.

[Dragoncat]

Hey Sharla has a vote! You go girl!

1 hour ago, TheGoodHoms said:

Honestly though, I like all the characters so listing them is kind of redundant to me.

Just for fun. Also yes you also put Reyn at the top spot. *high fives*