Trails Into Reverie: 10 Best Characters, Ranked

The Trails series of games from The Legend of Heroes franchise features one of the longest running stories in gaming history. With the launch of Trails Into Reverie in the west, it has now reached eleven games in the saga. Each title is a continuation of the narrative, and it built into an epic conclusion in Trails of Cold Steel IV.

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As players launch into Falcom’s Trails Into Reverie, a bridge between the previous arcs into the new ones, they will have to make difficult decisions about which of the 50 playable characters they want in their party. Fortunately, most of these choices are endgame questions, but it is worth looking at the 10 best characters to use in Trails Into Reverie.

10 Arios MacClain

What Arios lacks in link skills he makes up for in brute strength. While he sadly only has a link attack as his bond grows with his allies, Arios is still a viable character with which to construct a powerful party. He is similar in style and strength to Rean, but his power output is one of the greatest in the game. His speed is higher than average, and his S-Craft annihilates enemies.

MacClaine is also blessed with a relatively cheap impede craft. Impede will prevent enemies from casting spells for their turn and can be life saving in a sketchy boss fight. This S-Rank bracer may just add the extra punch a party needs to down the next troublesome opponent.

9 Swin

One of the newest characters in the Trails series, Swin and his partner Nadia find themselves traveling with the mysterious C. Swin makes this list because of his increased ability to inflict critical hits. With every attack, Swin has an opportunity to mark his enemy. If an enemy is marked, the next attack Swin inflicts upon them becomes a guaranteed critical hit (assuming he does not miss).

Critical hits help build up BP, which allow the use of Orders, or allow the team to initiate follow up or team attacks when the next critical hit occurs. With Swin, that could be very often.

8 Emma Millstein

Emma storms in on this list for her usefulness as both a healer and magic wielder. With her Hexen clan witch powers, Emma is really only second to Vita and her grandmother, Rose. In battle, she utilizes her orbal staff to sling orbal attacks at enemies, but her true strength lies in her magical prowess and high MP. Emma’s S-Craft, Palace of Eregion, is also a super effective defensive craft. If Emma’s CP is maxed out at 200, she will cast absolute reflect on the party while restoring CP to each member.

Absolute reflect will bounce back damage of any kind to the enemy, regardless of creature, boss, or attack type. In a pinch, Emma’s S-Craft will save the party from wiping, or she can turn the tide of battle in a moment, allowing her comrades to go on the offense with little worry of taking damage. Some enemies also take reduced physical damage, making an orbal weapon wielder a solid part of any team.

7 Lloyd Bannings

Lloyd Bannings is the leader of the SSS and one of the three main protagonists. After being grievously wounded by Rufus Albarea during the EDF’s occupation of Crossbell, Lloyd recovers with the intention of liberating his home turf. Players will become very familiar with Lloyd, as they will have him in their party at almost every point during his route.

He has limited range, but he packs a heavy punch, dealing a solid amount of damage with his typical melee. He also has a solid affinity for magic, and his S-Craft is a useful AoE powerhouse that can wipe a small circle of enemies off the battlefield.

6 Joshua Bright

Adopted son of Cassius Bright and love interest of Estelle, Joshua is useful once he joins the group toward the end of the game. Not only does Joshua boast high evasion and speed attributes, which allows him to attack more often and increase his counter opportunities, but he also features one of the most useful Orders. This allows Joshua to be useful even if he is not part of the combat party.

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Joshua’s Order heals the active party for 10% of their health while decreasing turn delay. Using this opens up the team to unleash a spree of attacks on an enemy before that enemy has a chance to retaliate.

5 Elie MacDowell

Elie may deserve a place higher on this list. A member of the Special Support Section and love interest of Lloyd, Elie features a skillset that involves blasting enemies with a hefty magnum-style pistol. Her ranged attack keeps her out of the majority of incoming damage, and she also boasts a solid affinity for magic (both attack and healing magic).

What makes Elie a must for every party is her S-Craft, Aura Rain, that completely heals every party member while also removing any negative status effects inflicted upon them. It also resurrects any fallen party members, topping off one of the best S-Crafts in the game. Save up her CP for pivotal moments in boss fights, and she will keep the team healthy and fighting.

4 Kurt Vander

Characters with high evasion win battles. Kurt, much like Joshua, dual wields swords and boasts a significant evasion attribute. Paired with evasion boosting accessories, Kurt becomes virtually untouchable.

In most cases, he can guarantee up to a 50% dodge rate; this not only keeps Kurt alive on the battlefield but provides ample opportunities for dodge counters and storing BP. Kurt’s S-Craft and base attack will not knock anyone dead, but his agility is something to be envious of.

3 Musse Egret

Rean’s mysterious and brilliant student, Musse Egret, has been one of the franchise’s best characters since Trails of Cold Steel III. Musse strikes from a distance, using her orbal rifle to fire magic infused shells at enemies. She is terrific for battling enemies who negate a majority of physical damage, as her magic shells pierce the armored foes.

Still, Musse’s range gives her plenty of space to avoid taking damage. She also has one of the highest affinities for magical abilities, meaning the team can rely on her for heavy healing. There are not too many characters with the ability to power heal, but Musse is one of the few and an excellent addition to any combat scenario.

2 Rean Schwarzer

Rean Schwarzer has been a powerhouse since his days as a Thors Military Academy student. The catalyst for the great war, Rean and his ogre power, mixed with his mastery of the eight leaves one blade sword style, combine to create some of the best damage output in the game. Rean’s S-Craft is extremely powerful, dealing devastating and often fatal damage to most regular enemies and striking chunks of the stagger bar of bosses.

It is highly advised to keep his Force master quartz, as it will eventually allow him to build up large amounts of CP each turn and 20 CP per enemy he kills. This means he can almost always keep his S-Craft charged and ready when sweeping clear regular enemies. This hastens most regular battles, but it also allows Rean to interrupt attack flow from bosses.

1 Estelle Bright

Rean and Estelle could function as interchangeable parts in this list. They are both extremely powerful melee users whose damage output can wipe enemies with ease. Estelle nudges Rean out of the number one spot because her S-Craft, Wheel of Time, deals significant damage to one target. She is one of the few characters to have an S-Craft that does not function as an AoE attack, but the amount of damage she can deal to any single enemy, including bosses, is a huge boon.

Estelle does not join the overall group until the last quarter of the game, but she instantly slots into any party. The end of Trails Into Reverie features some massive boss battles in rapid succession, and Estelle’s focused attacks help the party emerge victorious. Additionally, many of the boss battles she partakes in requires dropping an opponent’s health to a certain level, and her Wheel of Time attack is the perfect strike to do so.

Next: Trails Into Reverie: Tips & Tricks For Beginners