Acecraft Tier List (October 2025) Best Pilots

Choosing the right pilot in Acecraft can make or break your gameplay experience. Each pilot brings unique abilities, ultimates, and playstyles that dramatically affect your performance against bosses, mobs, and projectile-heavy encounters. Based on comprehensive analysis of the latest meta and community consensus, Tom, Elsa, Jerry, and Joey stand as the undisputed S-Tier pilots that dominate both early-game progression and end-game content.

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Acecraft Pilot Tier List Overview

Tier	Pilots	Rarity	Key Strengths
S Tier	Tom, Elsa, Jerry, Joey	S-Rarity	Ultimate DPS, Invincibility, AoE Clear
A Tier	Amelia, Scott, Charlie, Botto	A-Rarity	Solid DPS, Elemental Utility, Early Game Viable
B Tier	Ekko, Ryan	A-Rarity	Situational Use, Niche Applications
C Tier	Ironarm	A-Rarity	Limited Viability, High Skill Requirement

This tier list reflects the current meta as of October 2025, incorporating the latest balance changes and community feedback from top players across multiple platforms.

S-Tier Pilots: The Meta-Defining Champions

Tom (Cyclone Crusher) - The Jack of All Trades

Ranking Justification: Tom stands as arguably the most versatile pilot in Acecraft, offering exceptional performance across all game modes and content types.

Key Abilities:

• Ultimate: Pulls trash toward the screen, dealing massive AoE damage to all enemies
• Main Cannon: Fires marble balls that explode on impact, creating secondary AoE damage
• Stunt & Passive: Both provide additional AoE damage through screen-clearing effects
• Special Feature: Ultimate grants extended invincibility periods, making him clutch for difficult boss encounters

Why Tom is S-Tier: Tom excels in both single-target DPS and AoE clearing, making him the perfect choice for players who want one pilot that can handle every situation. His invincibility ultimate provides crucial survivability during intense bullet hell segments, while his explosive basic attacks ensure consistent damage output. According to ProGameGuides, Tom is "the jack-of-all-trades and arguably the best pilot in ACECRAFT right now" due to his insane single-target DPS combined with excellent AoE capabilities.

Best Use Cases:

• Boss rushes where survivability is crucial
• Stages with mixed mob and boss encounters
• Players who prefer a balanced, all-around playstyle
• End-game content where versatility matters most

Elsa (Solaris Sharpshot) - The Boss Destroyer

Ranking Justification: Elsa specializes in obliterating bosses with unprecedented burst damage, making her the go-to choice for players struggling with difficult boss encounters.

Key Abilities:

• Ultimate: Grants massive DPS boost for short durations, enabling boss melting potential
• Stunt: Boosts pink projectile absorption and enhances DPS
• Passive: Provides projectile penetration and sustained damage increases
• Special Feature: Excels at absorbing and redirecting enemy projectiles

Why Elsa is S-Tier: Elsa's kit is specifically designed to maximize damage output against high-value targets. Her ultimate transforms her into a boss-killing machine, while her projectile absorption abilities provide both offensive and defensive benefits. PocketGamer describes her ultimate as firing "two machine guns that shoot fire projectiles, perfect for decimating the boss's health," making her "fairly straightforward and super easy to play with and have fun."

Best Use Cases:

• Boss-focused stages and encounters
• Players who enjoy high-risk, high-reward playstyles
• Content where burst damage is prioritized over sustained DPS
• Situations requiring projectile management and absorption

Jerry (Sandstorm Sharpshot) - The AoE Specialist

Ranking Justification: Jerry dominates crowd control scenarios with his exceptional AoE damage and frequent ultimate usage.

Key Abilities:

• Ultimate: Grants invulnerability while dropping 6 bombs for massive AoE damage
• Main Cannon: Fires two projectiles instead of one, with upgrade potential
• Stunt: Throws pies after absorbing pink enemy shots
• Passive: Generates fruit projectiles based on absorbed pink projectiles
• Special Feature: Can spam ultimate thanks to passive/stunt synergy

Why Jerry is S-Tier: Jerry's combination of AoE damage, invincibility frames, and ultimate spam potential makes him invaluable for mob-heavy stages and survival scenarios. His ability to consistently trigger ultimate while maintaining invulnerability creates windows of relative safety in otherwise chaotic bullet hell environments. ProGameGuides notes that Jerry "has very good DPS, Invincibility, and AoE on his Ultimate, and his Passive/Stunt allows him to spam his Ultimate."

Best Use Cases:

• Mob-heavy stages and survival challenges
• Players who prefer area denial strategies
• Content where frequent ultimate usage is beneficial
• Situations requiring both damage and survivability

Joey (Sandstorm Sharpshot) - The Balanced Powerhouse

Ranking Justification: Joey strikes the perfect balance between single-target and AoE damage while maintaining excellent scalability throughout the game.

Key Abilities:

• Ultimate: Transforms into a massive drill that propels through enemies
• Main Cannon: Fires three forked projectiles in a cone pattern
• Stunt: Fires mini-drills at opponents
• Special Feature: Starts with triple-shot basic attacks, making early progression smooth

Why Joey is S-Tier: Joey's well-rounded kit makes him an excellent choice for players of all skill levels. His triple-shot basic attacks provide excellent early-game clearing power, while his ultimate offers substantial burst damage when needed. GameRant specifically mentions that Joey is "a great, well-rounded Pilot with powerful Stunt and Passive abilities," and many community members consider him the safest and easiest S-Tier pilot to master.

Best Use Cases:

• Players new to Acecraft or bullet hell games
• Stages requiring both mob clearing and boss damage
• Situations where consistent, reliable performance is needed
• Players who prefer straightforward, effective playstyles

A-Tier Pilots: Strong Contenders

Amelia (Cyclone Crusher) - Best A-Rarity DPS

Ranking Justification: Amelia stands as the premier A-rarity pilot, offering DPS that rivals some S-Tier characters.

Key Abilities:

• Ultimate & Stunt: Deal instant laser damage, making them easy to land
• Special Feature: Excellent single-target DPS against stationary targets
• Rarity Advantage: Much easier to obtain than S-Tier pilots

Why Amelia is A-Tier: ProGameGuides identifies Amelia as "the best A-rarity pilot in ACECRAFT, with extremely good single-target DPS, especially against stationary targets." Her instant-damage abilities remove the need for precise timing, making her very user-friendly. While she lacks the invincibility and utility of S-Tier pilots, her raw damage output makes her an excellent choice for players who haven't obtained S-Tier characters yet.

Best Use Cases:

• Early to mid-game progression
• Players without S-Tier pilots
• Boss fights where precise timing isn't required
• Situations favoring consistent, reliable damage

Scott (Sandstorm Crusher) - AoE Specialist

Ranking Justification: Scott provides the best AoE damage among A-rarity pilots, making him valuable for mob-heavy content.

Key Abilities:

• Special Feature: Extensive AoE damage capabilities
• Advantage: Easy positioning against bosses due to wide attack coverage
• Weakness: Stunt projectiles can miss against fast-moving enemies

Why Scott is A-Tier: Scott's AoE-focused kit allows players to focus more on dodging while their attacks automatically hit multiple targets. According to ProGameGuides, Scott is "the A-rarity pilot with the most AoE damage in his kit," though they note that "his Stunt projectiles can miss, especially against high-speed enemies."

Best Use Cases:

• Mob-heavy stages and survival challenges
• Players who struggle with precise aiming
• Early-game content clearing
• Situations where area coverage is more important than precision

Charlie (Nimbus Sharpshot) - Elemental Necessity

Ranking Justification: Charlie's unique Nimbus element makes him essential for Elemental Trials, despite his average boss damage.

Key Abilities:

• Special Feature: Only Nimbus element pilot in the game
• Utility: Necessary for Elemental Trials game mode
• Combat: Decent AoE damage from Stunt and Ultimate

Why Charlie is A-Tier: Charlie's value comes primarily from his elemental uniqueness rather than combat prowess. ProGameGuides states that Charlie is "the only Nimbus element pilot, so you'll need him for Elemental Trials," though they note that "his boss DPS isn't that amazing." His inclusion in A-Tier reflects his necessity for complete game content access rather than pure combat effectiveness.

Best Use Cases:

• Elemental Trials game mode
• Players needing to unlock all game content
• Mob clearing situations
• Early-game progression before obtaining S-Tier pilots

Botto (New Pilot) - Fresh Addition

Ranking Justification: Recently added in version 1.3.83, Botto shows promise but requires more community testing for definitive ranking.

Key Abilities:

• Status: New pilot with limited community data
• Potential: Early indications suggest A-Tier viability
• Consideration: Still being evaluated by the community

Why Botto is A-Tier: As the newest addition to the Acecraft roster, Botto represents the game's evolving meta. PocketGamer includes Botto in A-Tier, suggesting solid performance, though the community is still discovering optimal strategies and use cases for this pilot.

Best Use Cases:

• Players wanting to experiment with new content
• Situations where unique abilities might provide advantages
• Future meta developments as the pilot is better understood

B & C-Tier Pilots: Situational Choices

Ekko (Solaris Sharpshot) - Map-Wide Utility

Ranking Justification: Ekko offers unique map-wide ultimate capabilities but lacks consistent damage output.

Key Abilities:

• Ultimate: Deals damage to all enemies on the map while clearing projectiles
• Stunt: Transforms shots into tracking flames
• Weakness: Overall low value compared to other pilots

Why Ekko is B-Tier: While Ekko's map-wide ultimate and projectile clearing sound useful on paper, ProGameGuides notes that "his abilities don't really provide much value, and compared to most other pilots, he is pretty mediocre." His inclusion in B-Tier reflects his situational usefulness rather than consistent performance.

Best Use Cases:

• Stages with overwhelming projectile density
• Situations requiring map-wide damage
• Specific challenge runs with unique constraints

Ryan (Sandstorm Sharpshot) - Single-Target Specialist

Ranking Justification: Ryan offers decent single-target damage but suffers from an underwhelming ultimate.

Key Abilities:

• Strength: Solid boss DPS from single-target stunt
• Weakness: Subpar ultimate damage and mechanics
• Limitation: Outperformed by other A-rarity pilots

Why Ryan is B-Tier: Ryan's kit is hampered by an ineffective ultimate that prevents him from reaching higher tiers. ProGameGuides explains that while "Ryan has pretty solid boss DPS because of his single-target Stunt," his "Ultimate is subpar both in terms of DMG and his mechanics, making Ryan an overall underwhelming pick."

Best Use Cases:

• Boss fights where other pilots aren't available
• Players who prefer single-target focus
• Specific team compositions requiring his particular damage type

Ironarm (Cyclone Vanguard) - High Risk, Low Reward

Ranking Justification: Ironarm's melee-focused playstyle and poor scaling make him the least viable pilot in the current meta.

Key Abilities:

• Ultimate: Grants invincibility with decent damage
• Weakness: Melee-focused stunt requires risky positioning
• Limitation: Poor AoE basic attack scaling

Why Ironarm is C-Tier: Ironarm represents the bottom of the current meta due to his high-risk, low-reward playstyle. ProGameGuides states that while "Ironarm's Ultimate grants him Invincibility, and he deals decent damage," his "Stunt procs melee attacks, forcing you to go into enemies to DPS them" and his "AoE basic attack just doesn't deal enough single-target DPS."

Best Use Cases:

• Challenge runs with self-imposed restrictions
• Players specifically enjoying melee-style gameplay
• Situations where invincibility is the primary concern

Ranking Methodology and Meta Analysis

Evaluation Criteria

Our tier list is based on comprehensive analysis using the following criteria:

1. Overall Performance Across Game Modes

• Boss rush effectiveness
• Mob clearing efficiency
• Survival challenge viability
• Elemental Trials performance

2. Investment Value

• Early-game usefulness
• Late-game scalability
• Resource efficiency
• Rarity vs. performance ratio

3. Community Consensus

• High-level player preferences
• Tournament usage statistics
• Reddit and Discord community feedback
• Content creator recommendations

4. Mechanical Strengths

• DPS output consistency
• Ultimate effectiveness
• Survivability features
• Ease of use and skill ceiling

Meta Context for October 2025

The current Acecraft meta emphasizes versatility and survivability, with pilots who can handle multiple scenarios ranking highest. The game's bullet hell nature makes invincibility abilities particularly valuable, explaining why Tom and Jerry's ultimates are so highly regarded. Additionally, the community has shifted toward pilots who offer both single-target and AoE capabilities, as most end-game content requires proficiency in both areas.

Recent balance changes have slightly buffed A-rarity pilots to make early-game progression more accessible, but S-Tier pilots still maintain significant advantages that justify the investment required to obtain them.

Pro Tips and Strategies

Maximizing S-Tier Pilot Performance

Tom Optimization Strategies:

• Time your ultimate to coincide with boss damage phases for maximum effectiveness
• Position to maximize marble ball explosion overlap on grouped enemies
• Use invincibility frames to bypass difficult bullet patterns
• Pair with equipment that enhances AoE damage for better clear speeds

Elsa Boss-Killing Techniques:

• Save ultimate for boss vulnerability phases
• Focus on absorbing pink projectiles to maximize damage output
• Use projectile penetration to hit multiple bosses or boss parts simultaneously
• Combine with damage-boosting equipment for explosive burst potential

Jerry AoE Domination:

• Build around ultimate spam with cooldown reduction equipment
• Use invincibility periods to reposition safely during intense bullet hell segments
• Maximize pink projectile absorption to enhance both stunt and passive effectiveness
• Prioritize stages with high mob density for maximum value

Joey Balanced Approach:

• Leverage triple-shot basic attacks for early-stage dominance
• Use drill ultimate for both damage and movement through bullet patterns
• Maintain medium distance to optimize cone-shot effectiveness
• Focus on consistent performance rather than flashy plays

Equipment and Synergy Considerations

Best Equipment Types by Pilot:

• Tom: AoE damage boosters, explosion radius enhancers
• Elsa: Single-target damage amplifiers, projectile absorption boosters
• Jerry: Ultimate cooldown reducers, invincibility duration extenders
• Joey: Basic damage enhancers, multi-shot effectiveness boosters

Team Composition Tips:

• Balance elemental types for Elemental Trials coverage
• Include at least one pilot with strong mob-clearing capabilities
• Ensure boss damage coverage across your pilot roster
• Consider playstyle variety to handle different content types

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Pilot Selection Errors

1. Overlooking Rarity Efficiency Many players focus exclusively on obtaining S-Tier pilots while neglecting the fact that well-equipped A-Tier pilots like Amelia can outperform poorly-equipped S-Tier alternatives. Invest in equipment for your best available pilots regardless of rarity.

2. Ignoring Elemental Requirements Failing to develop a Nimbus element pilot (Charlie) can lock you out of Elemental Trials content. Even if Charlie isn't your primary damage dealer, having him available is essential for complete game access.

3. Misunderstanding Pilot Roles Each pilot excels in specific situations. Using Jerry for single-target boss fights or Elsa for mob clearing represents inefficient pilot selection. Match pilots to content type for optimal results.

Gameplay Misconceptions

1. Ultimate Timing Many players waste powerful ultimates like Elsa's damage boost or Tom's invincibility on low-threat situations. Save these abilities for critical moments where they can turn the tide of battle.

2. Positioning Neglect Pilots like Tom and Joey require specific positioning to maximize effectiveness. Standing too close or too far from targets can significantly reduce damage output and survival chances.

3. Equipment Mismatch Equipping AoE-focused gear on single-target specialists like Elsa, or vice versa, substantially reduces pilot effectiveness. Match equipment to pilot strengths and intended use cases.

Community Resources and Official Channels

Official Game Resources

Acecraft Official Website

• [Official Website Link]
• Features: Developer updates, patch notes, official announcements
• Value: Primary source for accurate game information and upcoming content

Acecraft Discord Server

• [Discord Invite Link]
• Features: Real-time player discussions, strategy sharing, developer Q&A sessions
• Value: Active community for immediate feedback and meta discussion

Developer Social Media

• Twitter: [@AcecraftGame]
• Features: Quick updates, community events, patch teasers
• Value: Fastest way to stay informed about game changes and events

Community Resources

Reddit Communities

• r/Acecraft: General discussion and strategy sharing
• r/AcecraftMeta: Focused on competitive play and tier list discussions
• Value: Diverse player perspectives and crowd-sourced information

Content Creator Channels

• YouTube: Various Acecraft content creators providing gameplay guides and tier list updates
• Twitch: Live gameplay demonstrations and strategy explanations
• Value: Visual learning and real-time strategy demonstrations

Game Wikis and Databases

• Acecraft Wiki: Comprehensive pilot and equipment information
• Community-driven databases: Detailed statistics and ability descriptions
• Value: Reference material for specific game mechanics and data

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best pilots in Acecraft right now?

The best pilots in Acecraft as of October 2025 are Tom, Elsa, Jerry, and Joey. These S-Tier pilots dominate the meta due to their exceptional damage output, versatile abilities, and strong performance across all game modes. Tom offers the best overall balance, Elsa excels at boss killing, Jerry dominates mob clearing, and Joey provides the most beginner-friendly experience while maintaining end-game viability.

Are S-rarity pilots significantly better than A-rarity ones?

Yes, S-rarity pilots are substantially better than A-rarity pilots in Acecraft. S-Tier pilots possess superior ultimate abilities, better scaling, and more versatile kits that make them worth the investment for end-game content. However, A-rarity pilots like Amelia and Scott can perform admirably in early to mid-game stages and are much easier to obtain and upgrade.

Which pilot is best for beginners?

Joey is widely considered the best pilot for beginners due to his straightforward playstyle, triple-shot basic attacks that make early clearing easy, and balanced performance that doesn't require complex positioning or timing. His abilities are intuitive to use, and he scales well into late-game, making him an excellent choice for players new to Acecraft or bullet hell games in general.

How often does the Acecraft meta change?

The Acecraft meta typically shifts with major balance updates, which occur approximately every 4-6 weeks. However, the core S-Tier pilots (Tom, Elsa, Jerry, Joey) have remained relatively stable due to their well-designed kits. Minor changes may affect A-Tier pilot rankings more frequently, but the top-tier meta tends to be more consistent.

What's the best way to obtain S-Tier pilots?

The most reliable methods to obtain S-Tier pilots in Acecraft include:

1. Gem Recruitment: Spending premium currency on pilot summons (low odds but guaranteed S-Tier after certain number of pulls)
2. Limited-Time Events: Participating in special events that offer S-Tier pilots as rewards
3. Navigator Pass: Progressing through the battle pass system, which often includes pilot rewards
4. Login Bonuses: Taking advantage of special promotional events that may offer pilot selectors

Should I focus on one pilot or build multiple?

It's recommended to build a balanced roster of 3-4 pilots rather than focusing exclusively on one. Different pilots excel at different content types, and having versatility ensures you can handle all game modes effectively. Prioritize obtaining and upgrading at least one S-Tier pilot, then develop complementary A-Tier pilots for elemental coverage and situational needs.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

The Acecraft pilot tier list for October 2025 clearly establishes Tom, Elsa, Jerry, and Joey as the meta-defining S-Tier choices that every player should prioritize. Their combination of high damage output, versatile abilities, and strong performance across all content types makes them invaluable investments for both casual and competitive players.

As the game continues to evolve with regular updates and balance changes, we may see shifts in the meta, particularly among A-Tier pilots. The recent addition of Botto demonstrates that the developers are actively expanding the pilot roster, which could introduce new strategic possibilities and tier list adjustments.

For players looking to maximize their Acecraft experience, focusing on obtaining and mastering the S-Tier pilots while maintaining a balanced roster for elemental coverage represents the optimal approach. Stay connected with official channels and community resources to stay informed about meta changes and new content releases.

Remember that while tier lists provide valuable guidance, personal playstyle preference and enjoyment should ultimately guide your pilot selection. The best pilot is often the one you have the most fun playing, so don't be afraid to experiment with different options as you build your Acecraft roster.