Competitive tier list for Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortals
 
 

Intro

After a very long time of waiting and working, the time has finally come. The competitive tier list for Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortals took a lot of effort to create, so I hope I met everyone’s expectations. Yes, I’m aware that Mastermind has a tier list of his own, but after talking to him, we agreed that this tier list can coexist with his. This took a long time to create, so I hope you take our opinions to heart.
 
 
Wait, OUR opinions? Yeah, you heard it right. I might consider myself one of the better players of this game, but I don’t see myself as a top level genius. As a result, this guide is the result of a collaboration with many different above-average and top players respectfully. With that said, massive thank you to the following users listed below. This wouldn’t have been possible without them taking time out of their day to lend their opinions and help construct the list. Finally, with enough chit chat out of the way, let’s get the ball rolling and start discussing the tier list!
 
 
Steam/Discord Users that helped in the making of the guide, besides Ketchup (myself):
 
 
Gift Card
 
Jellybean
 
Jrquic1
 
BossBruteGaming
 
SDB
 
Joy Joy Lucky
 
Impaster Men
 
 
 

Maze Escape (Part 1)

This list is designated for every Mortal and Monster’s overall performance in the game mode, Maze Escape.
 
 

 
 
Mortals
 
 
Bierce (A): Bierce being a Support Mortal grants her good overall stats, but what makes her truly shine is her ability to heal herself back to full HP at any time thanks to her Ult. This makes her notoriously hard to kill for many Monsters if the Bierce player is competent thanks to that plus her high HP overall. Being fast also makes her a good shard collector for the gamemode, and her fast attack speed and okay damage in combination to this makes her able to extend fights for long periods of time, being able to fend off Monsters if she needs to. However, what makes her the lowest on High Tier is the fact is that she’s a Support Mortal who hogs all the support to herself, making her a “self-support” character. Helping Hand does heal teammates, but only by 25% which usually doesn’t really make much of a difference if Bierce isn’t using her heavy attack on them to stack more healing. Helping Hand also doesn’t help other Support classes, meaning they don’t get to benefit from Bierce unless they’re the target of heavy heal slap spam. Primal Fear is able to cancel Helping Hand, leaving Bierce pretty much helpless should she be in the low-mid range of HP. Finally, there are a few prominent Monsters with Ults that are able to outdamage her rate of healing, such as Malak, Brute, Dread Ducky, and Robbie if she doesn’t deal with the clones, meaning Helping Hand isn’t a complete solution to every single problem, even if it usually is in most cases. Overall, Bierce is a solid Mortal on her own, but her lack of actual reliable support and vulnerability to many relevant Monsters holds her back.
 
 
Detective Evans (B): Detective Evans has Freeze Flash…that’s literally all he’s good for. Everything about him besides that Ult is completely average. Without Freeze Flash at the ready, Evans is a very easy target for the Monster players to go after and kill, since he has average damage output and speed thanks to being a Balanced class, as well as lacking anything special to help him besides Freeze Flash. The reason he’s in Mid Tier after all that slander is because of just how useful Freeze Flash is. The most optimal use of it is to use it to interrupt Monster Ults and use their 5 second stun to your advantage by using the opportunity to flee. However, if the Monster is stunned and on low health, it’s a good idea to finish them off in order to take them out of the game for a bit, allowing unopposed shard collection AND their Ult is reset by the time they respawn. Overall, Detective Evans is a good character, but he is largely carried by Freeze Flash’s utility, and is not very good without it.
 
 
Doug Houser (C): To put it bluntly, Doug Houser is not at all a bad Mortal to use. He’s designed for beginners, so he’s naturally easy to play. However, he has more depth than it might seem at first. While he cannot defend himself well, he is able to play the role as a distraction well, as he can keep the Monster player busy while everyone else is collecting shards. If he gets low on health, he can simply dip with Escape Plan and give himself time to heal up. He can do this especially well after the Portal opens; targeting Doug when the portal’s open is a big mistake since Escape Plan lets him automatically escape if the portal’s open, meaning he can simply just farm items until he gets his autowin button ready if he’s the only one left. That said, he isn’t good at fighting, so finding ways to maneuver around Monsters is important if you aim to keep them busy. If Trap and/or Boss Time is active, Escape Plan prior to the portal opening can potentially backfire on him, as the RNG nature of the Ult can send him right into a trap or a boss, forcing him to take damage or just die instantly. Overall, Doug’s not horrible, but he is severely outclassed by the vast majority of Mortals who can do his job better.
 
 
Glowstick Vince (A): Glowstick Vince is the textbook example of what a Power Mortal should be. In our holy trinity of Power Mortals, Vince is the most defensive one out of the three, as he has respectable strength and an absolutely amazing “get off me” tool in the form of You’ll See. Granted, he’s really slow, so he isn’t good at shard collecting and running from the Monster player, which forces him to rely on You’ll See and his own fighting strength in order to threaten the Monster away from him. On top of this, You’ll See is only stopped by stuns and Ducky Surprise, so unless the Monster brought Primal Fear, snuck a banana on him, or he got sniped by the notorious ducky, caution must be taken when fighting him and immediately disengage if he pops You’ll See out. Overall, while he’s the worst of the Power Mortals at the moment, you should still take Vince seriously, as he can cause a lot of problems for the Monster player if they choose to engage against him.
 
 
Nikson (C): Nikson is a very polarizing character. His primary strength is how quickly he can gather shards thanks to Shard Hack stealing 20% of them, often at the very start of a new wave to get the most use of it. This means he is able to get the shard requirement filled very quickly if left unchecked. However…that’s where the good ends. Nikson is outsped by the majority of Monsters in the game and he has very poor fighting skills due to Shard Hack taking up the Ult slot and having no other special qualities on his attacks. He is very easy to kill as a result of this. He is also item reliant as a result of this as well, especially since out of all the Motals in the game, he has the hardest time escaping due to his offensive pressure just being so bad. This means you need to be really good at this game to overcome Nikson’s weaknesses and get the most out of him, as he has a lot going against him. He’s good while the shard count is still present, but once the portal opens, he becomes a liability and the team should help him escape to lessen the chances of loosing due to Nikson being camped.
 
 
PenPen (C): I’ve said it before, and I’m sure as hell gonna say it again: DO NOT FIGHT IF YOU’RE PLAYING AS PENPEN!!! PenPen’s primary strength is similar to Nikson’s, which is shard collecting. However, PenPen is naturally good at this thanks to being a Speed class Mortal, giving her the highest speed in the game on the Mortals side, allowing her to gather large amounts of shards very quickly. However, while she’s good at collecting shards, and a strong PenPen player can absolutely put in work, she has a ton of issues to contend with. The first of many includes that the rest of her stats apart from her speed are absolutely miserable, meaning you should not be fighting if you’re playing as her, as PenPen will be near guaranteed to lose almost every time. She also does not take Ults well from the Monsters, as every single one bar maybe Clown, Robbie, and Nurse’s Ults screw her over. She drops 50 shards upon dying, which puts a massive dent into the shard count, further reinforcing that attempting to fight back as PenPen is suicidal and can cost your team the game. Her Ult, Shooting Star, may sound good on paper, but all it’s really useful for is giving PenPen a small boost to help her in escaping the Monster should she be cornered. The stun hitbox is wonky on it, and her damage output is so low to the point where unless the Monster is dangerously close to death, stunlocking isn’t going to work. Overall, PenPen is best suited for passive playstyles. Do NOT play her if you focus on attacking or are a beginner.
 
 
 

Maze Escape (Part 2)

Prisoner Borisov (A): Prisoner Borisov is sort of a mixture between a Support and Power Mortal thanks to having Power stats and Cool Down as his Ult. In our holy trinity of Power Mortals, Borisov is the most supportive one of the three. What makes Borisov a good support character despite not being a Support class Mortal is the utility he provides with Cool Down. He can use it to slow even the fastest Monsters to a crawl, allowing himself and anyone else in the area a free chance of escape. Likewise, it also leaves the Monster wide open to getting attacked, which can be taken advantage of. However, the Monster is still able to attack, use Ults, and use items to defend themselves, which is what keeps Borisov out of S tier. Overall, a very solid Mortal for the gamemode, as he can provide a good amount of pressure to the Monster player, but not an overwhelming amount like 8-BitRyan can.
 
 
Heather Mason (S+): Let’s be real, we ALL know why Heather’s the best Mortal in the game in Maze Escape. Having solid stats, above average speed, and the absurdity of Seal of Metatron allows her to survive a lot of things she really should have no business surviving, such as Ducky Surprise. In fact, this applies to everyone else on the map, as they all get to benefit from Seal of Metatron’s buffs as well. This basically makes everyone practically unkillable and allows nearly every Mortal to overwhelm the Monster player in this state, forcing them to run away. PenPen becomes a lot harder to kill, Nikson and Doug have a better time in fights, Supports become very unkillable, and Powers become broken as hell under this effect. Long story short, the only thing holding Heather back is mediocre damage, but even this isn’t too big of an issue if the user’s good at fighting. Because she’s a Support, she also gets the heal slap…cuz why the hell not.
 
 
Cybil Bennett (C): Oh how the mighty have fallen. After the 1.5.1 update, Cybil Bennett got slammed with nerfs in the form of getting her own character class. Unfortunately, this leaves her with a lot of negative traits she once never had, such as having pitiful damage, average health, average speed, and overall iffy Ult. While she does have the range advantage and she can reliably take on Power Monsters and Dread Ducky, the rest of the Monsters are able to close in on her and kill her off easily. As a result, she’s now hard to play and is a “high risk, low reward” character, as she can put in a lot of effort, only to barely obtain results. A very far fall from her previous S+ status.
 
 
SuperHorrorBro (B): As rare as he is, SuperHorrorBro is actually a surprisingly decent character. He isn’t as “plug in and play” like many other Mortals, as he can have deceptive hitboxes and a delayed start on his heavy attack. However, he is able to deal a lot of damage if he consistently lands the tips of his scissors on his opponents, and A Thousand Cuts can be used as a finisher, and well as a “get off me” option if it lands. It also goes through walls if aimed properly, making him dangerous to engage against if a plan isn’t thought of first. Overall, a very underrated Mortal in our opinion, but he is rewarding if his skill curve is overcome.
 
 
8-BitRyan (S): Here it is…the most offensive Mortal in the entire game. In our holy trinity of Power Mortals, 8-BitRyan is the most offensive-based one, as well as the most dangerous one to go along with it. He might be slow in collecting shards, but that is pretty much his only weakness, as he is very oppressive towards Monster players. Having some of the most generous hitboxes in the game is great, especially for a Power class, but what really makes him threatening is 8-Bit Beatdown. It’s basically Ducky Surprise 2.0, but it only takes 50% of health and applies weakness to the victim, causing their damage output to decrease by 30% for 3 seconds. Being a Power class makes him already dicey to engage against, but having an Ult that removes 50% of HP and adds a damage decrease on top of it makes 8-BitRyan a very dangerous Mortal to fight, the better option being to just leave him be unless there’s no other options. This is reinforced further by the fact he barely drops any shards, which makes killing him not worth the pain. As a result of these, we agreed these traits and 8-BitRyan’s very oppressive nature make him an S Tier Mortal and the second best option in Maze Escape, just behind Heather Mason.
 
 
Dawko (C): Dawko used to be a niche, but overall good alternative to Heather on less chaotic maps since immunity to light and heavy hits via Darkest Desire is really good. Having Support stats are also a good trait to have as well. What holds him back is two things, both involving Darkest Desire. The first is that Ults, bosses, and traps still affect them, meaning caution is recommended even with the Ult up. The second, and most glaring weakness, is that Darkest Desire affects the Monster now too, making it more favorable to the Monster since apart from 8-BitRyan and SuperHorrorBro (and Cybil if you count the 10% damage from Incapacitate), every Mortal lacks damaging Ults, while nearly every Monster has an Ult that does damage. This makes no sense from a balancing standpoint, and it ruined Dawko as a character unless the Monster is Reaper Nurse, Fiend, or Nurse, as they’re the only Monsters that lack true damaging Ults. Overall, Dawko is naturally strong mainly due to stats, but Darkest Desire is near useless on Maze Escape from a Mortal standpoint.
 
 
 

Maze Escape (Part 3)

Monsters
 
 
Murder Monkey (D): Unfortunately, Murder Monkey isn’t exactly what we call “good” in this gamemode. The reason for this is because while Slicer Dicer and Murder Monkey in general has the potential to be an absolute menace, this is not the case, as he has a lot of weaknesses. The most minor of them is his tall frame, meaning he is an easy target to hit. The second one is how heavily exploitable Slicer Dicer is, as it can be evaded easily on maps not called “Monkey Business,” due to the hitboxes on it being wonky and not covering the sides of Murder Monkey, allowing Mortals to weave around it. Finally, Murder Monkey’s hitboxes on his light and heavy attack are really janky, meaning it is difficult to consistently hit and kill his targets unless he’s right on top of them. Overall, Murder Monkey doesn’t hold a strong presence in Maze Escape, but at least Slicer Dicer does damage and provides a speed boost, making it better than Fear Cuts Deep, making Murder Monkey superior to Nurse at least.
 
 
Agatha (A+): Ah yes, the bratty child that most players despise. Being a Speed Monster, she already outruns every Mortal in the game besides PenPen, who she ties with. She has no special properties on her attacks, but what makes her a threat is her Ult, Hello Friend!. This move is hated by the community and for good reason, as it allows her to play hit-and-run extremely well, killing off anyone as soon as they reach 100 HP or less. However, what keeps her out of Top Tier is that she is incredibly frail, meaning she can die quickly. Her own notoriety works against her as well, which means players can sometimes actively hunt her down solely to get rid of her before Hello Friend! is ready. Finally, she is somewhat reliant on Hello Friend!, as her damage output, frailty, and vulnerability to many prominent Ults can give her plenty of hard times without it. Overall, one side debated S, another debated A, so we came to an agreement and make her A+, her frailty, reliance on Hello Friend!, vulnerability to many prominent Ults to neuter Hello Friend!, and notoriety working against her keeping her out of Top Tier, even though she’s so close to making it.
 
 
Gold Watcher (B): Gold Watcher is seen as almost identical to Malak. However, what makes him the worse option is the fact that Golden Demise isn’t as good at killing as Eye of Suffering is, making Malak a more consistent option. However, Gold Watcher isn’t completely outclassed, as his footsteps are quieter than Malak’s and he has more range than Malak thanks to the axes he swings. Granted, it isn’t much range, but it is still above average. On top of this, his overall hitboxes are much more generous than Malak’s meaning he can hit his targets easier than him. Overall, the two characters are near interchangeable, but Malak having a more consistent Ult is what makes him superior to Gold Watcher. Both are still viable choices, however.
 
 
Dread Ducky (A): Unlike Shard Mayhem, where Dread Ducky is absolutely absurd, it is still very powerful in Maze Escape, but is held back thanks to the overall meta lowering its effectiveness a touch. Having a long range light hit means it can peck at Mortals from a distance and a decent heavy attack for close range makes it very strong. However, the prominence of Mortals such as 8-BitRyan, Prisoner Borisov, Detective Evans, and especially Heather Mason all give Dread Ducky a harder time than in Shard Mayhem. Overall, Dread Ducky is very strong, especially with Ducky Surprise, but he does have counterplay available, unlike in Shard Mayhem. That and Mortals such as Bierce and Cybil have a much better time against it if it lacks Ducky Surprise.
 
 
Clown Gremlin (B): The former king of the gamemode, Clown Gremlin is Mid Tier for a reason: he is very RNG reliant. While his long ranged heavy attack already makes him powerful on his own, the nature of Clown Patrol determines how viable he actually is; the clones themselves are easily dealt with in 2 heavy hits, but if they all gang up on their target by spawning close to each other, it is easy to squad wipe the entire Mortal team. Combine this with the fact that many prominent Mortals have ways to deal with the clones (Vince with You’ll See, Heather with Seal of Metatron, Bierce with Helping Hand, etc.) means Clown Gremlin has a good shot at success, but also has a good shot at failing if Clown Patrol RNG isn’t on his side. Due to this, we agreed he’s around Mid Tier status since there’s luck in play when using him, as many Mortals are able to reasonably fight him if the clones aren’t being useful.
 
 
Reaper Nurse (S): Ever since the Halloween Update dropped, Reaper Nurse has proved herself to be an oppressive Monster in Maze Escape since day 1. The best way to describe her is “she’s Fiend on crack,” as she has plenty of traits that exceeds the ethereal Monster’s talents. The first is that she is a Speed Monster with Clown Gremlin’s heavy attack. This already makes her a nuisance since she can use it frequently and from a distance. Her fluid movement also make it easy to weave around attacks, making her a very slippery character to fight against. But what really makes her oppressive is these traits combined with Vaccination Time, as her ability to be difficult to keep track of, as well as increased speed and damage makes her very difficult to deal with in combat. Vaccination Time is also helpful for aiding her ambushes and traversing the map unnoticed. As a result of all these traits and that Vaccination Time is one of the best and versatile Ults in the game allow her to overcome her frailty and narrow hitbox issues and make her one of the most unpredictable Monsters in the game. Because of this, we agreed that Reaper Nurse is the best Maze Escape Monster, as these all allow her to give Supports and even on occasion, POWER classes a hard time to play against. She has counters such as Borisov and SuperHorrorBro, but they are few and far between, and those two are the more consistent ones.
 
 
 

Maze Escape (Part 4)

Malak (A): He and Gold Watcher share competition on which one’s the better one. The general consensus is that while Malak lacks the additional range Gold Watcher has on basic attacks and Golden Demise, he makes up for it by Eye of Suffering being a lot more dangerous. This means Malak has a slightly harder time catching Mortals, but if someone’s in his vicinity when Eye of Suffering is ready, that Mortal is pretty much dead, as it does so much damage, even threatening Supports while Seal of Metatron is up. This kind of Ult combined with being branded as a Power class makes him very risky to engage against without proper prep in Maze Escape, and in our eyes, worthy of High Tier.
 
 
The Brute (A): The Brute is a hulking magma monster that has a strong presence in Maze Escape, and this is because while he has good, but not great hitboxes on his light and heavy hit, he makes up for it with Magma Charge. Compared to Eye of Suffering and Golden Demise, Magma Charge is essential the best Power Ult at the moment, as what holds Malak and Gold Watcher back are their low speeds. Magma Charge fixes the speed problem, allowing Brute to outrun every Mortal character in the game that isn’t PenPen with Shooting Star active. On top of this, basically getting hit by this is a death sentence for Mortals since it does 75 damage normally, then 25 damage per second for 3 seconds afterwards, totalling to 150 damage. However, there is one thing that keeps Brute back from complete annihilation: he is the most vulnerable to bananas. The banana item is usually useless in most cases, but Brute can’t do anything about them if there’s one in his way, as it will cancel Magma Charge if he steps on it. As a result, maps like Monkey Business and Elementary Evil are good for him normally, but if Trap Time (MB) or the banana items are placed in the corridors, he has no choice but to back off. Overall, very strong place in Maze Escape, but banana vulnerability and similar weaknesses to Slicer Dicer hold him back.
 
 
The Fiend (A): Being a Speed Monster is already good since he doesn’t have to ambush anyone bar PenPen, but having a displacing ability on his heavy attack, as well as being able to move silently is another. In the right hands, Fiend is an absolute threat in Maze Escape since not many are able to hear him coming unless he’s being noisy. Not only that, but his Ult, Mind Pull, allows him to be the best abuser of Trap Time and Boss Time, being able to manipulate them to how he sees fit by dragging Mortals into them purposefully. Mind Pull’s versatility is also a plus, since he can make use of bananas and other items to help him better abuse whoever got dragged to him. Unfortunately, what holds him back is that he is one of the most susceptible Monsters to chip damage, as he lacks a free escape like Reaper Nurse, or go half-assed like Agatha because the Ult can finish the job. Medkits also don’t show very often for Speed classes, compounding this issue. He also struggles with Power classes the most out of the Speedies, meaning he must be very careful around them. As a result, he is hard to play, but is very rewarding to those willing to master him.
 
 
Silent Hill Nurse (D): Oh dear…Nurse is atrocious in Maze Escape, to the point of being worse than Murder Monkey. While being able to just barely outpace Supports, having acceptable damage, high health, and the ability to buff damage to yourself and nerf the damage and attack speed of Mortals are absolutely good traits…that’s about where the good ends. The problem with Nurse is the fact that nearly all Mortals have ways to completely neuter Fear Cuts Deep. Not only that, but her hitboxes are incredibly janked as well, meaning she can have a hard time landing her attacks, ESPECIALLY if the host has potato connection. Overall, please steer clear of Nurse if you know what’s best for you. Unless you’re Gift Card and can pull it off, Nurse is not worth the effort in Maze Escape.
 
 
Robbie (A): Unlike Nurse, Robbie is incredibly strong in Maze Escape. While he seems very generic at first, and being easy to kill normally, if Rabbit Rampage is up, you better get the hell away from him. Rabbit Rampage is what makes Robbie very strong in this mode, as the clones he spawns all stick together and outrun more than half the Mortal roster, only being slower than PenPen and the Supports. As a result, most Mortals just kinda die if Robbie successfully lands a hit on them while Rabbit Rampage is up, as the clones can swarm and easily kill them in return. Power classes not named Vince hate this Ult as well, mainly because of their slow attack speed making it hard to remove the clones. Vince is the only exception, as You’ll See allows him to have the clones turn on Robbie via redirected damage. Overall, Robbie is a very strong pick in this mode, and is seen by pros to be superior to Clown Gremlin.
 
 
 

Maze Escape (Final)

Lucky (A): The leader of the Joy Joy Gang, Lucky proves himself to be a very strong Monster in Maze Escape. There are multiple reasons for this, the first being that he has incredibly generous hitboxes on his attacks, letting him land them without much trouble. Another perk is that he is really quiet in the movement department, so it’s hard to hear him coming. Finally, Bunny Barrage is a variation of 8-Bit Beatdown on a Balanced Monster, but it only does 96 damage in total. However, the stun lasts long enough to deal a heavy attack to increase the total damage to 156 damage, making him very good at depleting large amounts of health very quickly if he lands Bunny Barrage. However, he is able to be played around with reaction time if you have the gear to protect yourself, as it isn’t instantaneous. He is also banana prone since being stunned by them wastes Bunny Barrage and cancels the effects. This is extremely exploitable if he’s near, as he has no way to remove them while the Ult’s up. Overall, Lucky is a powerful Monster, but he does have his weaknesses.
 
 
Hangry (A+): Dear God, Hangry is an absolute MONSTER in Maze Escape. Just getting it out of the way, the only reason he’s not in S at the moment is because of his low speed being a hindrance and not being the best on certain maps. Now that the weaknesses are out of the way, what makes Hangry such a threat? The answer involves his Ult, Rib Crusher. Hangry can use this to deal 120 instantaneously, meaning he can shred health bars very fast if he’s within range. More importantly, if he lands a heavy hit first, then uses Rib Crusher, he can do an absurd 200 damage in 2 seconds. This means he pretty much deletes everything in front and around him that isn’t a fully healthy Power Mortal, as they’ll live on 40 health. however, Hangry does outspeed them, so he can finish the job easily if the Ult didn’t disorient the Hangry player very much. Oh yeah, he’s also really quiet and has generous hitboxes, and Rib Crusher can go through walls. Overall, while he lacks range like Gold Watcher and Malak, or speed like Brute, Hangry’s gameplan of just pulverizing whatever’s in front of him makes him a ridiculously high threat in Maze Escape, and straight up S tier in maps like Deadly Decadence.
 
 
Penny (D-): I’m sorry to say this Smacknpie, but Penny is just not worth the trouble in Maze Escape. Penny at first glance shows a lot of promise, as she outruns the vast majority of Mortals and can attack from a stupidly far distance. She also has 400 health, making her extremely difficult to kill. However, defensive play is all Penny has. When used offensively, Penny’s damage output is miserable, even by Monster standards, as she does even less than the Speed Monsters by a notable amount. Her eggs travel slowly and are easily dodged as a result of this. The eggs also cannot break bananas, meaning she’s forced to use her delayed light hit twice in order to get past them, giving Mortals time to run from her. On top of this, a ton of Mortals’ Ult completely invalidate her, and her own Ult, Power of Love, barely increases her damage to compensate. It also doesn’t fix her banana problem. Overall, Penny kinda needs damage buffs and the ability to break bananas in one hit to be worth the trouble even if you do manage to aim correctly with her. She’s absurd on the defensive, but she’s easily the worst offensive Monster in the game, being even worse than Murder Monkey and Nurse.
 
 
 

Shard Mayhem (Part 1)

This list is designated for every Monster’s overall performance in the game mode, Shard Mayhem.
 
 

 
 
Murder Monkey (D): If Murder Monkey has it bad in Maze Escape, what makes you think it’ll be better in a mode focused on offensive characters and higher stats overall? Everything that makes Monkey bad in Maze Escape is made even worse here for those reasons. Doesn’t really need to be talked about, really. He can work, but dear lord you must be very good at this game to do so. If you can dedicate time to win with Murder Monkey, your time and skill can be spent elsewhere on a better character.
 
 
Agatha (S): In Maze Escape, Agatha came just short of Top Tier primarily since many common meta Mortals have ways to counteract Hello Friend!. In Shard Mayhem, there are no such countermeasures, meaning Agatha is 100% a Top Tier here. Her frailty and notoriety problems haven’t left her, but the mode focuses more on collecting shards than fighting, meaning Agatha isn’t required to engage in this mode unless she wants to try her luck or prep for Hello Friend! abuse. The prominence of Power Monsters and Dread Ducky, as well as getting completely steamrolled by Reaper Nurse and often being targeted on sight by everyone in the server thanks to her notoriety keeps her out of broken territory, but in this gamemode, Agatha’s talents are far better overall, and she is deserving of Top Tier rank. If left unchecked, Agatha can easily win games, but she must remain cautious of those eager to test her, as many WILL do.
 
 
Gold Watcher (B): Just like in Maze Escape, having more range and more generous hitboxes makes him superior to Malak without factoring Ults. If Ults do get factored in, then Malak is superior because Eye of Suffering is more consistent at killing than Golden Demise. However, thanks to the mode being focused on shard collecting and PvP, and Gold Watcher being a Power class, he can absolutely perform well if one knows what they’re doing. It’s just Malak and especially Brute tend to do his job better and as a result, win more often.
 
 
Dread Ducky (S): It’s sad when the Mortals are able to fend off Dread Ducky better than the Monsters can. Dread Ducky is an extremely strong Monster in Shard Mayhem due to nearly every Monster having an offensive Ult that is unable to help prevent Ducky Surprise. As a result of this, Dread Ducky is a top PvP Monster since engaging one is risking autodeath every single time. Being able to outrange Powers with light hits, murder most Speeds with heavy hits, and Ducky Surprise everything in sight makes Dread Ducky obnoxious to play agains if you aren’t a Power Monster or a Ranged Monstert, and easily one of the strongest Monsters in Shard Mayhem, even more than Reaper Nurse and Agatha. The nerfs to Ducky Suprise in the Joy Joy Patch (1.6.2) makes it so he cannot one shot the Power characters from full health anymore, meaning they can be potential counterplay options if they aren’t weakened first. On top of this, the addition of Hangry to the game gives him a hard counter thanks to his heavy hit + Rib Crusher combo crippling the poor ducky.
 
 
Clown Gremlin (B): Clown Gremlin having a ranged heavy attack is definitely a plus in an offensive-based meta, and being small is also beneficial in this regard. However, Clown Gremlin is held back for the same reasons as in Maze Escape; the clones are easily killed and spread out, meaning Clown Patrol is useless unless the clones all grouped together and attacked all at once. He can perform well in combat if used properly, but having an inconsistent Ult and lacking a true way to defend himself without spamming heavy attacks makes Clown Gremlin usable, but nothing special in Shard Mayhem.
 
 
Reaper Nurse (S): Oh boy, here we go. Just like in Maze Escape, Reaper Nurse has a ton going for her in Shard Mayhem. The most obvious of these is her speed, allowing her to collect shards quickly, being the fastest collector under Vaccination Time. Having Clown Gremlin’s heavy attack is also massively useful for a Speed character, as it allows her to poke her opponents without being in their attack range. Having fluid movements also makes her a pain to hit at times if she’s constantly swerving and dodging. To put a bow on her, Vaccination Time is one of the best Ults in the gamemode because it keeps her hidden and provides her a speed and attack increase to help her perform her duties; collecting shards and killing players. It is important to understand just how versatile and overall powerful Vaccination Time is, as it allows Reaper Nurse to play unpredictably, as she can do things like change positions of attack to confuse players, stay motionless to put players into a false sense of security, use it without the opponent knowing for a surprise attack, collect shards even faster, and even escape when she’s about to die. Being a Speed Monster designed for combat, she is essentially Fiend on crack in terms of offensive prowess, as her flexibility with Vaccination Time and longer range on her heavy attack allows her to even pose a threat to the Powers and even be one of, if not, the only reliable check to Dread Ducky. Overall, Reaper Nurse is an absolute beast in Shard Mayhem as well. The only reason she’s below Agatha is because Agatha’s been out since launch and Reaper Nurse has only been out a week, meaning we don’t know everything about Reaper Nurse. Oh yeah, she also steamrolls Agatha as well, just thought I’d mention that.
 
 
 

Shard Mayhem (Part 2)

Malak (A): Being a PvP centered mode, it’s no surprise Malak is ranked high here, as being a Power class with one of the most devastating Ults in the game backing him up makes him no slouch in combat. This means Malak is a big threat should he be in the match, as he can easily snatch up soul shards by killing anyone he ambushes. However, just like Gold Watcher, the lack of immediate speed and being poor at collecting shards without engaging in PvP holds back Malak severely. He also gets mauled by Dread Ducky and can be threatened by Reaper Nurse, two very common Monsters in the mode. Overall, Malak is a strong pick, but must be handled with care because of how often you’ll be fighting.
 
 
The Brute (A): Likely the second best Power Monster in Shard Mayhem at the moment. Brute may not have the range that Malak has, but he makes up for it by being able to fix his speed problem with Magma Charge. The Ult also has just as much devastation as Eye of Suffering since he can outrun everyone on the Monster side except Reaper Nurse with Vaccination Time up and deals immense damage if it hits, meaning a Brute that hasn’t died in a while should be avoided at all costs unless you have a banana, Invincibility, or Primal Fear to stop Magma Charge. However, the lack of range and having average hitboxes does hold Brute back from being a Top Tier Monster, meaning he must be on top of his targets in order to consistently hurt them. Overall, being able to fix his speed problem while doing immense damage at the same time allows this Power Monster to surpass Malak in performance, but Malak does have advantages that Brute cannot replicate.
 
 
The Fiend (B): Fiend has a lot going for him in this mode, but also a fair bit going against him. Being an offensive Speed Monster means he is designed to fight others, which Mind Pull reinforces. Being fast also helps him keep his shard count high even without fighting, meaning he can play passively if the player so desires to. However, it takes away from his combat-oriented purpose, as the goal is to use the pull effect of the heavy attack in tandem with items and Mind Pull together to let him have an edge in fights, especially if Trap/Boss Time is up. However, he IS a Speed class, meaning he cannot afford to take repeated hits since he won’t get the chance to heal very much. Having so much geared towards offense means he struggles in disadvantage if he doesn’t choose to run, as many prominent Monsters such as the Powers, Agatha, and Dread Ducky are able to give him a hard time if they have the upper hand. This is especially true with Reaper Nurse and Brute, as those two absolutely hard counter Fiend thanks to their own traits. Being one shot by Hangry’s notorious heavy attack + Rib Crusher combo means Fiend can get severely vibe checked by a very angry pig if that gets dragged over with Mind Pull. Overall, not as good as in Maze Escape, but do not let that fool you; Fiend can easily win games in the right hands. It’s just he’s sort of a win hard, lose hard kind of character overall.
 
 
Silent Hill Nurse (C): Listen, Nurse may still be an iffy pick overall, but at least she’s viable in this gamemode compared to her disastrous Maze Escape performance. Her high health and above average speed allows her to gather shards quickly and she’s surprisingly good in combat if wielded with a deft hand. The issue with Nurse is that she is very reliant on Fear Cuts Deep to secure kills, and while Fear Cuts Deep is leagues stronger against Monsters as opposed to Mortals, she still needs to be wary of Ults, as it does not affect Ult damage. Fear Cuts Deep is also useful against Reaper Nurse, as the debuff arrows can reveal her position and somewhat neuter her attack increase from Vaccination Time, granting Nurse one of the better matchups against that Monster in particular. Overall, she relies heavily on Fear Cuts Deep and her janked attacking hitboxes haven’t left her, but she is definitely a usable character in this mode, her weaknesses being enough to hold her back considerably, however.
 
 
Robbie (A): Robbie may seem like a worse Clown Gremlin at first, but he is much better than the clown for one simple reason: he hard counters all the Power Monsters. That may not seem useful at first, but because of how prominent the four tend to be and how effective they are, having an Ult where all the clones are together 24/7 for a minute allows him to shred them quite effectively. Meanwhile Clown Gremlin’s clones are all spread out and he has to pray on RNG that most of them target the person he wants, whereas Robbie can choose. The downside to this is that Robbie has less map control than Clown Gremlin does, but being able to have control over the clones and who they target is worth the payoff. Granted, Robbie is a vulnerable Monster on his own, but he does have generous hitboxes at the very least, so he can fight decently on his own despite not having anything else special. Overall, Robbie is an underrated Monster in Shard Mayhem, as his ability to seriously dent/outright kill the Power classes and fight consistently because of generous hitboxes are especially notable for a Balanced Monster, being granted the lowest spot on High Tier as a result.
 
 
 

Shard Mayhem (Final)

Lucky (A): Just like in Maze Escape, Lucky remains powerful for all the same reasons in Shard Mayhem. 156 damage is still a hefty chunk toward Monsters, which can heavily skew many matchups to his favor. His ability to use Bunny Barrage as a speed increase allows him to flee from encounters he cannot win in or use it to collect shards a little better for 5 seconds, although that’s considered pushing it. Overall, thanks to generous hitboxes and the crippling ability of Bunny Barrage, Lucky remains a powerful option in Shard Mayhem.
 
 
Hangry (S): Thanks to the heavy hit + Rib Crusher combo putting a huge dent into Monsters as well, Hangry is a huge threat in Shard Mayhem. An especially notable trait he has here is that he deletes the Speed classes in an instant, which is incredibly key since two of his fellow S Tiers are Reaper Nurse and shard queen Agatha. Being able to cancel their life subscriptions instantly makes him already good, but since it severely cripples the Balanced and Support Monsters as well, Hangry can have no trouble weakening first, then sit on everyone in the game. The only Monsters that stand a reasonable chance against the Notorious P.I.G are the other Power classes since their Ults are able to shred him quickly. While his speed’s a problem on maps like Stranger Sewers, if he gets the means to catch up to someone, that player is most likely gonna get clapped since Hangry’s initial damage potential is insanely high. Overall, for these reasons, we have agreed that Hangry is the strongest Monster in Shard Mayhem in the PvP side, as most Monsters are at his mercy if he has Rib Crusher ready and he’s in range, especially the Speeds.
 
 
Penny (C): Penny is certainly better here than in Maze Escape, and if she chooses not to fight and simple collect shards, Penny is a very strong choice. However, the reason she’s in C is because of her very poor offensive potential. Basically, she has to get shard leader and maintain it the entire game through shard collecting, as her poor damage makes her unable to take back the lead if she isn’t targetting an extremely crippled opponent. All her issues return here as well. Overall, Penny’s usable, but only passively. Even Murder Monkey and Nurse are better at fighting than she is.
 
 
 

Soul Collection (Part 1)

This list is designated for every Mortal’s overall performance in the game mode, Soul Collection. Murder Monkey makes a guest appearance here, but his placement doesn’t count. He still bad here.
 
 

 
 
Bierce (S+): Bierce is absurd in Soul Collection…that’s the end of the explanation. Seriously, think about it: if the Monsters already struggle to kill Bierce thanks to Helping Hand healing her all the way back up, what makes you think the less offensive Mortal class will do any better? On top of this, this is not a team game, so her weakness of being a Support that doesn’t know how to support is nonexistent in this gamemode. On top of that, because Mortals are generally more defensive, literally no one can kill her reliably except 8-BitRyan and maybe Detective Evans since their stuns can disable Helping Hand. As a result, apart from iffy damage output, Bierce is just about perfect here. No further explaining needed.
 
 
Detective Evans (B): Detective Evans isn’t exactly bad in this mode, but he isn’t exactly good either. His primary use is to stun Mortals in order to kill them much easier. While Freeze Flash is still a very useful tool for him in this gamemode, he tends to come up just short of kills if he’s against a healthy opponent. As a result of this plus the lack of other notable attributes, Evans is usable, but inconsistent in this gamemode, unfortunately.
 
 
Doug Houser (C): Doug Houser may sound usable in this gamemode because of Escape Plan letting him teleport to other shard locations, he really isn’t worth it in most cases. This is because of the same issues that plague him in Maze Escape; Escape Plan is RNG at its finest, and it can even screw him over in some cases. He also isn’t able to defend himself well as a result of this as well. Overall, Doug at least has more speed, and as a result, isn’t Vince tier, but he’s probably the worst Mortal that isn’t him. Speaking of Vince…
 
 
Glowstick Vince (D): Unlike Maze Escape, where Glowstick Vince is a top Mortal in the mode, he is THE worst one in Soul Collection. This is largely because of his speed being really bad and not having a way to compensate for it. His strength is able to kill most Mortals should they choose to engage against him…but why would they? He’s a Power class, of course he’s going to be a risky fight. You’ll See also negatively effects him here as well, as it encourages Mortals to stay away from him even more. Borisov has Cool Down, 8-BitRyan can cripple Mortals reliably, Vince can’t really do a lot unless the Mortal players are greedy around him. Overall, he is severely outclassed by all the other characters in this mode, and using his isn’t recommended unless you want a challenge (or you’re Jellybean).
 
 
Nikson (A): Despite no longer being able to completely hog all the shards in the match like he used to, Nikson is still a very strong pick in Soul Collection, Shard Hack still being the reason why. The mode revolves around collecting as many shards as possible, and Nikson is absolutely good at doing that thanks to that Ult. However, he isn’t an instant win, as 20% isn’t a lot normally, and his self defense issue hasn’t left him either. Thanks to everyone having lower stats, Nikson is able to fight significantly better, but thanks to all the self buffs and debuffs flying around, he can still struggle at times, meaning Nikson still requires skill to play effectively. Overall, solid pick if you can master him, and he will frequently win games if left unattended.
 
 
PenPen (A): PenPen remains as a high risk, high reward character in this mode like she is in Maze Escape. Unlike that mode, however, she can actually attempt to fight some of the weaker Mortals if she really wants to, as the lower stats everything has makes fights more manageable, although still somewhat not recommended for PenPen. However, she is EXCELLENT at gathering shards, which is her primary strength anyway, and an uncontested PenPen can easily win the game since she’s the fastest thing in a match. Unfortunately, she can have a decent chance of losing as well thanks to her frailty and massive shard loss every death. Overall, PenPen is a lot stronger here than in Maze Escape, but the player should still play passively if they’re serious about winning the game.
 
 
Prisoner Borisov (A): Prisoner Borisov may seem like a bad choice at first, but he is actually a very solid Mortal in this gamemode since he’s the only character with speed control. For a Power class, this is an absolutely amazing trait, as it allows him to catch up to and finish off the large majority of the roster, allowing him to catch up to shard counts easily by lowering everyone else’s. He hard counters a ton of Mortals in this gamemode as a result of this, even potentially giving Bierce a hard time. Granted, his low speed can hold him down and potentially cost him games, which is why he isn’t Top Tier, but overall, Borisov is a very underrated, yet very potent Mortal in this game mode, easily the best Power class in the shard focused mode.
 
 
Heather Mason (S): Heather may only be supporting herself in this gamemode, but that doesn’t matter as much as the rest of her traits in comparison. Being bulky and fast is the reason Supports tend to be very strong in this mode, as it allows them to collect shards quickly without being crippled by literally any attack. What keeps Heather back, however is that Seal of Metatron just doesn’t compare to Bierce’s Helping Hand. Seal of Metatron is still obnoxiously good, and can make her unkillable in most cases, but Bierce has more generous hitboxes plus the ability to restore all of her health. Overall, Heather is an extremely good pick in Soul Collection as she is in Maze Escape, but Bierce tends to perform better on average thanks to having a ton of opportunities to heal, whereas Heather only takes reduced damage, which can still potentially still screw her over if she’s low on health when used. She would easily be an S+ Mortal if it wasn’t for Bierce outclassing her in this mode.
 
 
 

Soul Collection (Part 2)

Cybil Bennett (B): 1.5.1 Cybil remains a good Mortal to use in this mode. Despite her damage nerf, she still has absurd range and is slightly faster than Balanced classes. This makes her good at chipping players and playing from a distance like her Ranged class suggests. Her real utility is Incapacitate, and it allows her to basically invalidate characters like Borisov, Evans, and Nikson since they are all basically Ult reliant. However, her vulnerability to Supports and Speed classes (which are very common here) can give her a hard time since they can close the distance on her. Her low damage is also problematic as well since she can come up short of kills. Overall, Cybil is quite good in this gamemode primarily to lower stats, but still has to be mindful of her weaknesses.
 
 
SuperHorrorBro (C): SuperHorrorBro is a somewhat underwhelming character in Soul Collection for reasons similar to Doug; he lacks tools to help him out effectively. In this case, SuperHorrorBro lacks RNG and has ranged heavy attack, which make him better than Doug at the very least, but A Thousand Cuts doesn’t really help him out all that much in a Mortal only meta unless it’s against a Murder Monkey. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its uses at times, it’s just not as efficient as many other Ults in this mode are. As a result, SuperHorrorBro sorta takes an L on this mode, as his traits aren’t suited well for it.
 
 
8-BitRyan (B): In Maze Escape, 8-BitRyan is an absolute monster against the Monster players. However, this is nowhere near the case in Soul Collection, as many of Ryan’s advantages are diminished. The fact that he doesn’t get shards from securing kills and he is among the slowest Mortals in the game already puts him in a bad position, and while his ability to kill and 8-Bit Beatdown still being very good in this mode, it is far more inconsistent since basically every relevant Mortal except Borisov can outrun him, making him unable to kill even with 8-Bit Beatdown unless the opponent is near half health or he has the speed boost item. Overall, 8-BitRyan isn’t horrible, but he lacks consistency compared to his Maze Escape counterpart, and Borisov tends to do his job much more reliably as a result.
 
 
Dawko (C): Having Support stats are already a plus for Dawko, and the fact that pretty much every Mortal aside from 8-BitRyan and SuperHorrorBro are unable to hurt him with Darkest Desire up makes him a lot stronger here than he is in Maze Escape. The problem, however, is the exact same thing that plagues him there; Darkest Desire affects opponents as well. As a result, he is the most passive of the Support Mortals since he can’t fight while his own freakin’ Ult is active, and it’s basically why he’s in Low Tier; Heather and Bierce outclass him and fighting is an important part of the mode in order to lower shard counts.
 
 
Murder Monkey (S++): ah…monke.
 
 
In all seriousness, Murder Monkey shouldn’t be on this list because of the fact you have to lose the game in order to use him, but the boys and I decided to make a funny joke and put Murder Monkey in S++ because memes.
 
 
 

Overall

This is the overall tier list. It takes into consideration everyone’s performance in all modes they’re allowed in, then their placement is determined off that. Most are self explanatory (share the same tier in both modes, results in both modes result in a middle ground in performance, etc.), but there are some worth explaining, so we’ll be discussing those.
 
 

 
 
Mortals
 
 
Bierce: She is incredibly dominant in Soul Collection, but being countered left and right by various Monsters even with Helping Hand at the ready in Maze Escape holds her back severely on the overall tier list. It also doesn’t help that Helping Hand doesn’t really help other teammates very much, making it hard to figure out when to use. In most cases, Bierce is mostly just a self-centered Support Mortal. She has generous hitboxes and is infamously challenging to kill, especially in Soul Collection. Overall, we think Bierce is deserving as High Tier Mortal, her weaknesses in Maze Escape being enough to hold her back from Top Tier status overall.
 
 
Glowstick Vince: Glowstick Vince is an incredibly powerful Mortal in Maze Escape, and he would most certainly be a High Tier overall if he wasn’t so hopelessly miserable in Soul Collection. Like the other Powers, he’s not built to collect shards, but for combat. In Maze Escape, he has to constantly fight the Monster player, making him very strong there. However, in Soul Collection, PvP isn’t always the answer, and Vince suffers because of it. Overall, still really good, just held back thanks to Soul Collection shenanigans.
 
 
Nikson: Nikson sounds great on paper, and an experienced Nikson can absolutely put in work…it’s just he has a lot of weaknesses to compensate for his biggest strength. This puts him in the dirt in Maze Escape and can even do so in Soul Collection if one isn’t careful. Granted, he’s a very good pick in Soul Collection overall, but he requires skill at the game to use effectively. Overall, we agreed Nikson is a Low Tier for the most part, as his weaknesses overall far outweigh his strengths.
 
 
PenPen: A good PenPen can easily put in a ton of work in both modes. However, the reason we agreed she’s a Low Tier is because of her weaknesses being 10x worse in Maze Escape thanks to that mode specifically having the Monster class and her shard drop rate affecting the entire team. Not to mention she can’t fight for the life of her. Overall, it’s probably best if you stick to using her in Soul Collection, as that mode is where she shines a lot brighter.
 
 
Prisoner Borisov: In our opinion, Prisoner Borisov is the better one of the two when compared to 8-BitRyan overall. This is because Borisov remains consistent in both gamemodes he’s allowed in thanks to Cool Down aiding him greatly, whereas 8-BitRyan excels in Maze Escape, but suffers greatly in Soul Collection due to his speed and inconsistency in killing.
 
 
Heather Mason: Heather is still in broken tier since she’s already that way in Maze Escape and the only reason she wasn’t in Soul Collection is because Bierce was the greater evil of the two. End of story.
 
 
Monsters
 
 
The Fiend: Fiend is overall a High Tier Monster thanks to the versatility of Mind Pull and just in general being a very strong offensive Monster despite low HP. Granted, he has his problems (little defense options, struggles against Power classes), but he is overall a very powerful character once you get around his skill curve. He has to compete against Agatha and Reaper Nurse in Shard Mayhem as well, but a skilled Fiend can still be devastating in the mode despite his mid tier status there.
 
 
Silent Hill Nurse: The only reason Nurse isn’t a Bottom Tier is because of her being a very potent character if mastered in Shard Mayhem. This is a massive IF, however, as her hitbox problems and reliance on Fear Cuts Deep makes it very difficult to play her properly in the mode, but she is surprisingly effective if you take the time to learn her. Don’t bother with Maze Escape, however. Most Mortals can shut her down completely.
 
 
Hangry: Hangry’s immense pressure thanks to Rib Crusher is enough to deter many approaches in combat. However, should he be able to land it, it can cause devastation in its wake. This is especially true if he lands a heavy hit before using it, as it can total to 200 damage. This alone is enough to flatline half the characters outright, but even more of them are left at heavy hit range and as a result, extremely crippled. Dread Ducky can perform a similar feat, but what makes Hangry even stronger is that he’s a Power class and the fact that he can do this to MORE THAN ONE PERSON thanks to Rib Crusher being an AoE attack, meaning he can flatten entire squads instantly if they gang up on him. No other Monster can perform a feat like that this quickly. This is the reason we deemed Hangry as the strongest Monster in Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortals at the moment.
 
 
Penny: Do I even need to talk here? Penny is very difficult to play, and her lackluster damage and ease of dodging her makes her the worst Monster in the game in our eyes. Even if you do take the time to learn her, she will still put up iffy results. She’s nearly unplayable in Maze Escape since the Monster’s forced to play offensive, while she has to play very passively in Shard Mayhem and maintain her advantage through shard collecting if she wishes to stand a chance. Penny has some good traits, but they are nowhere near enough to compensate for her absurd list of weaknesses.
 
 
 

Closing

Dear lord, this took a long time to make. This was made over the course of about two weeks or so since I’ve also been really busy lately. Either way, this concludes our discussion over the tier list and why we think each mortal/monster is where they are. We even took the time to put them in order instead of just slapping a tier on them and calling it a day. Again, massive thanks to the individuals listed in the Overview tab for helping with this guide.
 
 
As for when updates are made…I’ll update this guide whenever characters receive balance changes that could potentially affect their tier placing. As for new characters, I’ll give it a few days or a week after they drop before including them on the list since…yknow…new characters and all. Take care everyone, and be on the lookout for more How To: guides pretty soon now that this massive project is done 🙂
 
 

 
 
Here we come to an end for Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals Tier List Information Guide hope you enjoy it. If you think we forget something to include or we should make an update to the post let us know via comment, and we will fix it asap! Thanks and have a great day!