Ready to find the strongest Shikai and Bankai to crush your opponents in TYPE://SOUL? Whether you’re aiming for lightning-fast combos with your Shikai or overwhelming power with your Bankai, choosing the right abilities can make or break your fight.
In this updated tier list, we break down all the Shikai and Bankai forms separately, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, and ideal playstyles. Some Shikai shine on their own, while others hide powerful Bankai that can turn the tide. Knowing which combos fit your style, whether it’s aggressive rushdowns or tactical crowd control, is the key to climbing the ranks.
Dive in, and let’s find your perfect match!
The Best SHIKAI & BANKAI Tier List (Updated)
In Type Soul, Shikai is your base power-up as a Shinigami (Soul Reaper), usually faster, with solid combos and reliable guard breaks. Bankai, on the other hand, is the big, flashy evolution with devastating moves, crowd control, and game-changing effects. But here’s the catch: sometimes a strong Shikai can have a lackluster Bankai, leaving you hanging when you switch. Meanwhile, a weak or underrated Shikai might hide a hidden Bankai gem that turns the tide of battle.
That’s why this tier list covers both forms separately, so you can pick the best combo that fits your playstyle, whether you want fast aggression or hard-hitting crowd control.
Best SHIKAI Tier List (Soul Reaper)
| Tier | Shikai | Summary & Notes |
|---|---|---|
| S Tier | Duality | Top-tier guard breaks, aggressive form swapping with Black/White forms, three guard breaks on Black side, great with Air Haka or Speed Kendo builds. |
| Benehime | Versatile, tons of true combos, quick cooldowns, close-range slash and ladder trap stuns, strong shield mechanic, great with Speed/Kendo builds. | |
| Theatre | Powerful counters that can’t be blocked or parried, near-instant activation, strong mix-ups, excellent on Keo Srido and Speed Kendo builds. | |
| Shinso | M1 range grows with hits, fast attacks, true or near-true counter, ragdolls on mixups, works great with Shikai Stasis weapons, supports many true combos. | |
| Water | Steals Ray on hit, oppressive in long fights, solid true combos and pressure, combos well with Floating Strikes and Rising Swallow, strong on Speed and decent on Kendo builds. | |
| Weight | Insanely broken passive stacking; purple aura causes full second kneel stun for true combos, fast moves with hyper armor, reduced cooldowns, possibly best Shikai right now. | |
| Creation | Highest skill ceiling, frame 1 hyper armor stun, many true combos and mixups, aggressive pressure, can bait parries, very oppressive once mastered. | |
| A Tier | Flower | Passive aura expands, recast moves explode marks, fast guard break X, strong combo potential with multiple swords on max, flashy visuals. |
| Ice | Timeless pick, high posture damage, counter-heavy, freezes enemies for follow-ups, good stun and true combos, short cooldowns. | |
| Blood | Mixed opinion, long wind-up on Z, minor healing, good setup moves but inconsistent, frame 1 C move is frustrating, decent but situational. | |
| Ink | Damage reduction passive, guard breaks with pressure, large C move hitbox, cancels enemy moves, good synergy with Shikai Stasis weapons and Rapier/Long Sword. | |
| Judgment | Summons six gals for stun/knockdown, slowing shockwave counter with teleport follow-up, combos well, underrated but powerful, tech to chain counters. | |
| B Tier | Kyoka | (Not described in detail, included as B tier based on original list.) |
| Snow | Once oppressive, now nerfed: weaker counters, longer wind-up, lower heal, higher cooldowns, situational viability with Air Haka. | |
| Assimilation | Heavy nerfs to absorb stacks and damage, main damage now on ragdoll X move, reduced stun duration and axe kick effectiveness, still viable but weaker. | |
| Suzumebachi | Decent grab with good posture damage, slow and telegraphed moves, best paired with Air Haka or Speed Kendo, overall average. | |
| Zangetsu | Straightforward guard breaks and posture damage, decent ragdolls, some parryable moves, solid but no gimmicks. | |
| Fire | Aggressive, burn damage over time, good ragdolls, combo extender, strong on Haka builds, simple but effective. | |
| Berserk | Classic noob stomper, hyper armor when low HP, AoE buffs, two X variants, telegraphed C move, decent but punishable, requires finesse. | |
| Lightning | Nerfed main combos, fast X move to close distance, ignores block on C, decent damage, less oppressive than before, still usable. | |
| C Tier | Ash | Low damage and stun, weak combos, no high-rank presence, manageable in fights, more of a beginner pick. |
| Confusion | Complex clone mechanics, teleport mixups, cooldown resets on counters, niche and rarely used, awkward true combos, requires effort. | |
| Poison | Decent damage-over-time, blink mobility, invisibility on charge-ups, but underwhelming overall and outclassed by other options. | |
| Wind | Fun but skill dependent, ranged guard break with Flying Hurricane accessory, fast C move for combos, needs skill to be effective, not a guaranteed win. | |
| D Tier | Shadow | Long-time bad Shikai, no true combos anymore, practically unusable in any build, immediate reroll recommended. |
Best BANKAI Tier List (Soul Reaper)
| Tier | Bankai | Summary / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| S | Snow | High damage, hyper armor, eyeframes, AoE control, ragdolls, great in multi-target fights. |
| Kyoka | Broken in 1v1, free 33% damage boost, health swap, unpunishable AoE, great combos and stuns. | |
| Duality | Fast ranged attacks, eyeframes on key moves, big AoE, unpunishable guard breaks, and smooth combos. | |
| Benehime | True stun, solid heals, roots enemies, great crowd control, strong healing and utility. | |
| Flower | Annoying domain with sword swarms, AoE empowered moves, hit stun, bleed effect, strong in multi-fights. | |
| Ink | Stun-heavy, combo potential, domain utility cutting enemy ray regen, strong in team fights and 1v1s. | |
| Shinso | Tons of true combos, high damage, hyper armor, auto-execute below 15%, strong team and solo moves. | |
| Zangetsu | Hyper armor, guard breaks, huge AoE, unparryable combos, great multi-enemy control. | |
| Berserk | Hyper armor rushes, cripples, guard breaks, limit breaker stacks, stun cancels, very strong and tanky. | |
| Creation | Unique teleport gap closer, huge hit stun, hyper armor slashes with stun, insane combo potential. | |
| A | Assimilation | High damage absorption, huge burst potential, strong utility with self-destruct, great scaling. |
| Theatre | High damage from T and G moves, lacks variants on Z, X, C, but still solid damage output. | |
| Water | AoE whirlpools, ray steal, invincibility team move, great control, strong against low ray regen meta. | |
| Weight | Great T and G moves, strong damage, recently buffed passive confirms combos well. | |
| Suzembachi | Hyper armor, crippling slow, high damage, annoying combos, some buggy AoE rockets. | |
| Ice | Freezing stacks, AoE freeze, ice clones, good combo potential, strong control with freezes. | |
| Blood | M1 combos with ability usage, ragdolls, healing, i-frames on G, strong crowd control and sustain. | |
| B | Confusion | HP save orb, teleport, solid auto-target G move, strong sustain in duels, not great in boss fights. |
| Judgement | Decent damage, six hammer recast for chip damage, reliable but not outstanding. | |
| Fire | Burning effects, zombies summon, decent AoE damage, combo extenders. | |
| Wind | Tornado pull and stun, hollow green explosion, decent damage, good combo potential but not top tier. | |
| Lightning | Steals enemy speed on M1, chains attacks in groups, auto-tracking high posture G move, situational. | |
| C | Ash | Large AoE stun, knockback tornado, lacks damage buffs, mainly combo extender, underwhelming overall. |
| Poison | Stationary, vulnerable while charging G move, predictable, okay damage but not viable in fights. | |
| Shadow | Domain with damage persistence gimmick, modest damage and blind effect, survivability niche only. |
Wrap-Up
Ready to dominate the battlefield with the best combos, setups, and abilities? Use this tier list as your go-to reference for building your ideal Soul Reaper in Type Soul. Next up, if you want the full rundown on the new Hellverse Questline in the latest Type Soul update, check out our complete guide, it covers every quest, boss fight, location, puzzle solution, and all the tips you’ll need to see it through to the end.
