Kernel Hearts Character Tier List
Demo-informed ranks for four MAHOU units — not a day-one law.
A Kernel Hearts tier list in the week before launch is a mood board with homework. Four units, a two-floor demo, and an August rebalance that already moved mementos, relics, and enemy counts. If someone posts an S-tier screenshot from March, ignore it.
This page ranks kits as they play in public demo knowledge, not chip SKUs. For how to spend 256KB, use chips and builds. For verbs, use combat. For bios, use the players hub.
Current demo band (solo, Folktale Fields)
S — Spika. Once unlocked, she is the kit that makes the game feel like the trailer. Katana strings, Sangetsu for approach, Higanbana i-frames for clumps. Melee players who bounce off Fernet stay for her. Page: Spika.
A — Fernet. Default, captain, stacking Koka, Raiquen for air, block. Lowest learning tax. Highest “I can always do something.” She is A because she is complete, not because she is weak. Page: Fernet.
A- — Laika. Greatsword Damocles plus Blades and Blood Pillar. Huge when you play her tempo, punishing when you whiff. Shielded targets and planted AoE are her S moments; Pixip chases are not. Page: Laika.
TBD — Dolce. Fourth unit, important enough for a Steam announcement, not documented like the other three. She is unranked on purpose. Lab her, then argue. Page: Dolce.
These bands assume you pressed the spells. A Fernet who never recasts Koka is not an A-tier unit. A Spika who never uses Higanbana is a worse Fernet.
Co-op ranking is a team sheet
Four-player climbs change the list:
- Fernet becomes more valuable as an anchor (pets hold space).
- Spika stays the carry.
- Laika wants a flyer-delete partner.
- Dolce is flex until her job is known.
A stack without an add plan still wipes. Read co-op. Do not bring four S-tier melee mains into a caster exam and call the list wrong.
What we refuse to rank yet
- Individual relics and mementos. August already retuned them. A “best relic” from a March VOD is archaeology.
- Exact chip KB values. Not published as a stable table.
- Late Heavens and the god. Demo is two floors; full game is about seven.
- Controller vs keyboard advantage. Use what you can dodge on. Controls.
How to use this list without becoming a coward
Play Fernet until you clear the B-Cho Ringleader without panic. Unlock Spika. Try Laika if selectable. Then main the one whose miss windows you accept. Tier lists do not dodge for you.
If Spika is locked, Fernet is S for you. A locked S-tier is a poster.
Launch-week rule
On September 17, this page should be rebuilt from live kits, not from demo memory. Watch Updates. If a patch notes file says hemokinesis or Koka stacking changed, the bands above are void.
Until then, the only dishonest list is one that prints Dolce as D-tier without a command list.
Related
Getting Started for the hour-one path. Transformation if your rank is really “I only win in true form.” System requirements if your “tier” is actually 20 FPS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers before you climb the Tower of Babel.
Who is the best character in Kernel Hearts?
Will this tier list change at launch?
Yes. The full climb is longer, economy scales harder, and day-one patches will move numbers. Treat this as a demo compass.
Is Fernet low tier?
No. She is the designed tutorial kit with stacked pet DPS. People who call her low tier usually skipped Koka.
Where is the weapon or relic tier list?
Not here. Relics were rebalanced in August 2026 and reset every run. Character kits persist. Rank those first.