Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Tier List: Best Characters Ranked for SC

If you're diving into the sprawling JRPG that is The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, you already know that choosing the right party members can make or break your playthrough — especially on higher difficulties. This Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter tier list breaks down every playable character so you can build the strongest squad possible. Whether you're tackling the grueling final dungeon or grinding through Chapter 8's monster hunts, understanding each bracer's strengths and weaknesses will save you hours of frustration.

Community reports consistently highlight a sharp divide between magic users and physical fighters as the game progresses. On Hard and Nightmare difficulties, enemy defense scales aggressively, which means your orbment setup, craft selection, and CP management matter more than ever. Let's rank every character based on their overall utility, damage output, and how well they perform from start to finish.

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S-Tier: The Absolute Best Characters in Trails in the Sky SC

These characters define the meta. If you only have room for two party members, make it these two.

Joshua is widely considered the best character across both FC and SC. His True Dual Strike delivers two hits per action, each dealing 1,000–2,000 damage even in late game. Pair that with a Gladiator Belt and a STR buff, and he shreds through bosses. His Evil Eye craft provides crucial AT Delay, making tricky fights far more manageable. The only reason he doesn't earn an S+ rank is his late arrival — you don't get him back until well into SC.

Kloe dominates the magic side of the equation. Her Aerial arts can one-shot most trash mobs for a mere 10 EP when equipped with a Gold Gem. Her S-Break is a game-changer: it fully heals the party, removes debuffs, and grants a +DEF buff. In tandem with Joshua, she can grind any boss down to zero HP through sustained Time and Water arts.

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A-Tier: Excellent Choices With Minor Flaws

These characters are incredibly strong but have one or two drawbacks that keep them from S-tier status.

Olivier is a community favorite for good reason. His mirage slot forces you into an EP4 + Silver Gem setup, giving him the deepest EP reserves of any caster. He can one-shot most trash mobs and serves as an excellent backup Earth Waller early in the game. His Sniper Shot craft offers the best single-target impede thanks to its impressive range. Player experience suggests his S-Break is underwhelming, but his consistent casting more than compensates.

Kevin earns his A-tier spot almost entirely on the strength of his S-Break. The dual-layer Earth Wall makes the final fights on Hard dramatically less stressful, buying your party time to recover or eliminate priority targets. He's essentially a "bring Kevin" safety net for late-game encounters. Unfortunately, he disappears for significant stretches of SC, limiting his availability as a permanent party member.

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B-Tier: Solid Performers With Notable Trade-offs

B-tier characters are reliable but require more investment or specific strategies to shine.

Agate shines brightest in Chapter 8, where his Wild Cry lets you chain monster hunts efficiently. Equip Joshua with a Gladiator Belt and Agate with Wild Cry, and both characters hit 200 CP rapidly — especially with CP-restoring food like tomato sandwiches. His Dragon Dive devastates enemies and is particularly useful for Shinning Pom grinding. However, abusing his crafts leaves him with extended downtime, effectively reducing your party to three active members.

Zin is a tanky physical fighter with an impressive HP pool and a self-buff that significantly boosts his damage. His Thunder God Kick can hit multiple targets, though many late-game enemies are large creatures that occupy the space of a small-sized art, reducing its multi-hit potential. Speed economy is critical in SC, and Zin's sluggishness makes him less appealing compared to faster alternatives.

Scherazard lives and dies by Heaven's Kiss. Without it, she's mediocre at best — stuck with two wind slots, middling ATS, and average speed. But Heaven's Kiss allows you to manipulate turn order, letting companions fresh off an S-Break jump back into action immediately. It also instant-casts long arts, which can turn the tide of battle. She's particularly useful in Chapter 8 for giving physical attackers the edge they need.

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C-Tier and Below: Characters You Can Skip

Not every bracer pulls their weight in SC.

Tita struggles the most of any original crew member. Her orbment is a mess with two space slots, her EP pool is tiny, and her S-Break deals pitiful damage. On the Dragon fight, she reportedly hits for 70 damage with a STR buff — embarrassingly low. She functions as a backup buffer, but Estelle does that job better while having a cleaner orbment layout.

Estelle is the game's red mage: she can do a little bit of everything but excels at nothing. Player reports indicate she's outclassed as a healer by Kloe, as a buffer by Tita (on paper), and as a physical fighter by virtually every other melee character. She's not terrible, but she's never the optimal pick.

Cassius earns the F-rank through pure narrative comedy. Despite being touted as the strongest human alive, he skips every major fight only to show up and steal the final blow. His mustache, however, is legendary.

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How Difficulty Changes the Tier List

The Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter tier list shifts depending on which difficulty you're playing. Here's how:

On Hard and Nightmare, enemy defense scaling outpaces ADF scaling, which means physical attacks become increasingly effective as you invest in STR buffs. Chain crafts also decouple slow characters like Zin and Agate from their action order, making them significantly more valuable. ATK can be buffed while ATS cannot, giving physical fighters a scaling advantage that magic users simply can't match.

However, physical attacks are prone to missing in early chapters and are limited by character movement range. Arts users maintain their dominance in the early game before physical fighters take over around the midpoint of SC.

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Optimal Team Compositions

Based on community reports and player experience, here are the strongest party setups:

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Final Tips for Building Your SC Party

1. Invest in Gladiator Belts — These accessories are de facto best-in-slot for any character you want to use S-Breaks with frequently.
2. Don't sleep on CP food — Tomato sandwiches and similar items let you sustain Wild Cry Agate and keep your CP-hungry characters in the fight.
3. Prioritize Speed quartz — In a game where turn order dictates survival, speed is king. Characters who act first control the battlefield.
4. Exploit chain crafts — They completely change how slow physical fighters perform. Zin and Agate become significantly more viable when you can chain their attacks.
5. Adapt to difficulty — What works on Normal may fail on Nightmare. Reassess your tier expectations as enemy scaling shifts the meta.

For more information on The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, check out the official Steam store page for system requirements, DLC, and community guides.

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FAQ

Is Joshua really the best character in Trails in the Sky SC? According to extensive player experience and community consensus, Joshua ranks as the top character thanks to his True Dual Strike, excellent speed, and versatile orbment setup. His only drawback is joining late in the story, but the power spike when he returns is immediately noticeable.

Does the Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter tier list change on Nightmare difficulty? Yes. On Nightmare, enemy defense scaling makes physical fighters significantly more valuable in the late game. Characters like Agate and Zin climb in relevance, while pure mages like Olivier become slightly less dominant — though Kloe remains S-tier regardless.

Should I use Tita in my party? Most community reports advise against it. Tita has the lowest HP pool, a problematic orbment with two space slots, and weak offensive output. She can serve as a backup buffer, but Estelle performs that role better while also being more versatile.

What makes Kevin's S-Break so good? Kevin's S-Break casts a dual-layer Earth Wall, which provides two full rounds of damage mitigation for the entire party. This is invaluable during the final fights on Hard and Nightmare, where bosses can wipe your team in a single turn if you're not prepared.

How important is Heaven's Kiss for Scherazard? It's everything. Without Heaven's Kiss, Scherazard is a bottom-tier character with mediocre stats and limited utility. With it, she becomes a powerful support who can manipulate turn order, refresh S-Break users, and instant-cast long arts — making her surprisingly effective despite her other shortcomings.