Current tier rankings
S tier: Bismuth, Mist, and Aurena. These Travelers offer the best combination of safety, sustain, and flexible build paths for solo Nightmare. A tier: Lacerta, Nachia, and Yubar. Strong picks with clear strengths but minor positioning demands or setup costs. B tier: Vesper and Shell. Viable Travelers that ask more from your build knowledge and movement timing.
Bismuth: S tier
Bismuth earns S tier through range and recovery. She pressures enemies from safer spacing than most Travelers, and her control stabilizes rooms that start badly. The v1.3 update reduced Distorted Mind damage from 200 percent to 170 percent AD, but she still has enough safety and damage uptime to remain a top pick. Her low base durability means you cannot treat her like a tank.
Mist: S tier
Mist gives skilled players more ways out of dangerous situations. Her mobility and defensive timing scale well as difficulty rises. She is less simple than Lacerta, so she is not the cleanest first pick for every new player. Once you master her movement and defensive tools, Mist has one of the best safety ceilings in the roster.
Aurena: S tier
Aurena is the closest S-tier call. Her healing and support are excellent, and the right run can turn her life-cost kit into both sustain and damage. Few Travelers bring that much team value while still working in solo play. She spends her own health to power abilities, so a weak early build feels harsher than on safer ranged picks. She becomes even stronger when allies benefit from her support in co-op.
Lacerta, Nachia, and Yubar: A tier
Lacerta is the cleanest learning pick with ranged style and clear damage windows. Nachia provides steady pressure through summons, though v1.3 reduced Leaf Hound Armor from 40 to 20. Yubar moved into A tier after v1.3 improved Ether Influence single-target damage and Supernova mobility. He stays out of S because mistakes hurt him due to low durability.
Vesper and Shell: B tier
Vesper is durable and stronger after v1.3 buffs to Discipline and El Mercy, but he must commit closer to danger. Shell has a high damage and mobility ceiling, but his best runs lean on setup, timing, and clean movement. v1.3 raised Annihilation Stance Sword Wave damage from 340 percent to 400 percent AP. Both are viable but demand more from the player than the Travelers above them.
How tiers change in co-op
Aurena is the biggest co-op riser since her healing helps multiple players. Nachia moves up because summons keep pressure while allies cover angles. Vesper approaches A tier when teammates cover ranged threats. Bismuth remains a top damage pick, but the team should remember her poor base durability. Mist and Lacerta remain strong, though their self-sufficient tools are less unique when a full team shares pressure.