Season 37 has completely flipped the script. We're seeing S-tier powerhouses like Mechanic (with that insane 200% decoding boost), Dream Witch (perfect 35/35 rating), and Breaking Wheel absolutely dominating ranked matches. The new scoring system rewards teams that get 3+ survivors out (+9 points), while chair saves are 10-15% faster and healing got nerfed hard. Translation? Solo carries are dead – it's all about team coordination now.
What Makes Season 37 Different
How We Actually Rank These Characters
Look, I've been covering Identity V meta shifts for years, and Season 37's ranking system is probably the most comprehensive we've seen. We're using a 35-point scale across five key areas: decoding speed, kiting ability (you need at least 60 seconds to even qualify), rescue potential, healing output, and stunning capability.
S+ tier? That's reserved for the absolute monsters – characters hitting perfect 35/35 scores who consistently wreck in ranked. The tournament data from June 7-8, 2025 IJL Summer (featuring teams like AXIZ WAVE and ZETA DIVISION) really drove this home. Dream Witch's multi-follower chaos and Sculptor's sculpture combos were just... chef's kiss.
Here's the thing though – we're not just looking at individual performance anymore. Season 39's scoring changes mean getting 3+ survivors out nets you +9 points, while draws give you nothing and losses cost you -8. That's a massive shift toward team play.
The New Meta Reality
Season 37 isn't messing around with these balance changes. Chair saves are 10-15% faster across the board. Healing efficiency? Dropped from 250% to 165%, plus another 5-10% nerf on top of that.
What does this mean in practice? Solo sustainability is basically dead. Characters who can support the entire team are now gold.
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The regional differences in tournament bans are fascinating too. Asian servers are banning rescue specialists left and right, while global servers are targeting decoders. Dream Witch and Mechanic? They're getting banned so consistently it's almost predictable.
What Each Tier Actually Means
S-Tier (35/35): These are your meta-warping monsters. They excel everywhere, have minimal weaknesses, and provide value no matter what your team looks like.
A-Tier (28-33/35): Solid, dependable picks. They'll perform well in most situations, though they might need some skill investment.
B-Tier (20-27/35): Situational powerhouses. Great in specific scenarios or team comps.
C-Tier (Below 20/35): Characters with significant limitations that need very specific conditions to shine.
S-Tier Survivors: The Meta Rulers
The Absolute Best
Mechanic is sitting pretty at the top of S-tier, and honestly? It's not even close. Her robot gives you 200% decoding speed while making you completely immune to hunter interference.
Smart positioning means you can keep ciphers running even when your team's getting chased across the map.
Pro tip: Run Mechanical Mastery and Knee Jerk Reflex for that sweet 20-30% vault speed boost after window interactions.
Priestess is pure map control through portal magic. Good portal placement can make entire sections of the map unreachable for hunters. Bad placement? Well, you just gave the hunter a shortcut to your team. The skill ceiling is high, but the payoff is incredible when paired with Mechanic's remote decoding.
Seer brings map-wide protection through his owls. Those burst hunters giving you trouble? Not anymore. His intel gathering is unmatched, letting your team play aggressively with confidence.
Antiquarian controls the tempo of every engagement. That Mechanical Flute knockback can interrupt hunter abilities, create rescue windows, and protect cipher progress. Master her positioning, and you're essentially dictating when fights happen.
Persona Builds That Actually Work
36 Build is your rescue optimization setup. Borrowed Time and Tide Turner for anti-camping strategies.
You'll need 40 persona points, but prioritize Borrowed Time first for that 50% health boost and speed during final cipher. Tide Turner's 20-second post-rescue invincibility is game-changing.
39 Build focuses on early kiting with Borrowed Time and Knee Jerk Reflex combos. That 20-30% vault speed for 3 seconds (40-second cooldown) can save your life on window-heavy maps. Weber's Law adds base movement speed while Herd Behavior reveals hunter locations after escapes.
129 Build is maximum kiting potential. Flywheel Effect's 0.5-second dash immunity combined with Borrowed Time and Knee Jerk Reflex. Prospector mains swear by this – it boosts win rates 15-20% on larger maps through those crucial 60+ second kites.
S-Tier Hunters: The Apex Predators
The Monsters of Season 37
Dream Witch earned that perfect 35/35 rating through pure chaos creation. Her follower system lets her pressure multiple areas simultaneously, forcing survivors into impossible decisions.
You can't decode safely when she's controlling half the map.
Professional players have turned follower positioning into an art form. The complexity is staggering – and that's exactly why she's banned so often in tournaments.
Breaking Wheel is sitting at S+ status (35/35) for good reason. That Execution Wheel gives 80% speed boost, control immunity, and instant pallet destruction. The Brother Spike system? It's like having environmental traps that create unavoidable damage scenarios.
Sculptor maintains a 34/35 rating through sheer versatility. Wisdom sculptures for horizontal attacks, Agility for vertical strikes, Nobility for homing disruption. Hieroglyphic Graveyard adds top-down area control. She adapts to any map, any situation.
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Geisha rounds out S-tier at 33/35 through butterfly teleportation that's practically instant. Recent buffs allowing mid-air butterfly use eliminated most traditional kiting strategies. She's just too fast now.
Advanced Techniques That Matter
Dream Witch's follower management isn't just about spawning them everywhere. You need to understand survivor patterns, rotate followers strategically, and sometimes despawn them to confuse survivor intel. It's psychological warfare.
Breaking Wheel's Brother Spike placement requires intimate map knowledge. Spikes at pallet locations create unavoidable damage while radius zones force predictable movement patterns. That 80% speed boost means pallets aren't safe anymore.
Sculptor's sculpture timing is everything. Wisdom dominates open areas, Agility rules multi-level environments, Nobility provides consistency against experienced kiters who think they can outplay you.
A-Tier: The Reliable Workhorses
Survivors You Can Count On
Mercenary tanks damage like nobody's business. Three hits for 60+ second kites while maintaining mobility? Yes, please. That 30% chair time extension creates crucial rescue windows for coordinated teams.
Forward delivers consistent stuns through rugby mechanics. Sure, there's a decoding debuff, but dedicated decoders can offset that. He peaks on smaller maps where movement patterns are predictable.
Prospector controls chase dynamics through magnetic manipulation. Repulsion, attraction, stunning – he's got answers for mobile hunters like Geisha who think they can just teleport to victory.
Hunters That Get the Job Done
Axe Boy sits at 28/35 through Peaceful Pines versatility. Restful Roads for speed or Resentful Souls for chase enhancement. High mobility, consistent pressure, though he lacks the game-changing abilities of S-tier picks.
The Disciple achieves 26/35 through cat abilities. Swoop cling, Intimidate for action disabling, Paralysis Area for 2-hit eliminations. Teleportation to clung survivors provides chase consistency, but stun vulnerability limits effectiveness.
Naiad scores 30/35 with water-based area control. Humidity buildup for enhanced damage, Surging Tides for range compensation. Solid area denial.
Bloody Queen reaches 33/35 with mirror abilities that rival Geisha's disruption potential. Longer recharge times limit sustained pressure, but proper execution approaches top-tier effectiveness.
B-Tier: When Situations Align
Niche But Effective
Female Dancer provides team utility through music box debuffs and buffs. Requires specific team compositions built around temporary advantage windows – coordination is everything.
Barmaid offers damage protection through drink mixing, though serving restrictions and decoding penalties limit impact. Great for rescue-heavy compositions where temporary immunity matters.
Grave Keeper enables rescues and debuff removal through shovel mechanics. That 15% decoding penalty hurts, but debuff removal can be clutch in the right situations.
B-tier characters shine when map layouts and hunter patterns align with their specific strengths. Know when to pick them, and they can outperform higher-tier alternatives.
C-Tier: The Struggling Characters
Why They're Falling Behind
Lawyer reveals hunter locations but lacks solo impact. Team-dependent in a meta that rewards coordination, but his utility diminishes in solo queue where communication breaks down.
Gardener offers chair dismantling and extended kiting. Great for beginners learning mechanics, but lacks game-changing potential for higher-level play.
C-tier characters suffer from outdated designs that haven't adapted to current meta demands. As player skill improves, their limitations become glaring.
How Season 37 Changed Everything
The Balance Shake-Up
Those Season 39 updates hit different. 10-15% faster chair saves combined with healing nerfs from 250% to 165% efficiency? That's a fundamental shift away from healing specialists toward utility providers.
The scoring changes are the real kicker though. +9 for 3+ escapes versus 0 for draws and -8 for losses means teams prioritize coordinated escapes over individual survival. Character selection reflects this completely.
New Strategies Taking Over
Aggressive cipher rushing with Mechanic's 200% decoding paired with Priestess portal mobility is dominating competitive play. Teams can complete ciphers under pressure, forcing hunters into reactive gameplay.
Coordinated rescue timing using faster chair saves and Tide Turner's 20-second invincibility creates new rescue windows. Precise execution minimizes hunter counterplay while maximizing escape opportunities.
What the Pros Are Actually Doing
Tournament Insights
The numbers don't lie. Dream Witch appears in 75% of hunter selections, Mechanic in 80% of survivor compositions. Regional ban patterns vary – Asian tournaments target rescue specialists while global competitions focus on decoder bans.
Win rate analysis from June 2025 IJL Summer confirms S-tier dominance. S-tier picks achieve 65% higher escape rates compared to lower-tier compositions. The gap is massive.
Professional players prioritize team coordination over individual skill expression. Complex characters like Dream Witch and Sculptor are favored for adaptability and game-changing potential.
Making This Work for You
Ranked Strategy That Actually Matters
Don't just chase tier rankings. Character selection should match your skill level and team needs. S-tier characters require significant practice investment – A-tier picks might give you better results while you're developing.
Role specialization beats tier chasing every time. Master 2-3 characters within your preferred role rather than attempting all S-tier characters at mediocre levels.
Counter-Picking Intelligence
Hunter counter-picking means understanding opponent preferences. Dream Witch counters decoder-heavy compositions, Breaking Wheel excels against mobile survivors.
For survivors, Prospector's magnetic abilities counter mobile hunters while Seer's protection neutralizes burst damage specialists.
Standard team composition? Decoder (Mechanic), rescuer (Mercenary), support (Seer), utility (Priestess). Comprehensive coverage with maximum synergy.
Your Questions Answered
What actually makes a character S-tier in Season 37? Perfect 35/35 ratings across all metrics – decoding, 60+ second kiting, rescue capability, healing, and stunning utility. Consistent value regardless of team composition.
How often do these tier lists change? Every 2-3 months following major patches. Season 37 reflects faster chair saves, healing nerfs, and scoring modifications favoring team coordination.
Should beginners follow tier lists religiously? Focus on fundamentals over rankings. Doctor, Coordinator, and Mechanic provide better learning experiences than complex S-tier picks requiring advanced techniques.
Which persona builds work best for top characters? 36 Build for 90% rescue success rates, 39 Build for 20-30% vault speed enhancement, 129 Build for 60+ second kites with 15-20% win rate improvements.
How do map changes affect rankings? Large maps favor mobility (Dream Witch, Priestess), small maps benefit precision (Breaking Wheel, Forward), medium maps showcase versatility (Sculptor).
What are Season 37's biggest changes? Team coordination emphasis through faster chair saves (10-15%), reduced healing (165% from 250%), and scoring rewarding 3+ escapes (+9 points). Solo-focused characters are struggling while utility providers dominate.