There are a variety of playable characters to choose from in Granblue Fantasy: Relink. Though you’ll need to keep the Captain in your arsenal for the main storyline, who you recruit to fill out your team is entirely up to you.
Players can choose from the original, core crew of the Grandcypher early on, with just four party members allowed at a time. Once you begin earning Crewmate Cards in Granblue Fantasy: Relink, you can recruit additional playable characters. With so many exciting options, how can you ever choose which characters you want to use? Not to worry, we’re breaking down the best playable characters in Granblue Fantasy: Relink to help you pick.
Related: Granblue Fantasy: Relink Complete Guide
Original Crew Members in Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Ranked
Up until you earn your first Crewmate Card in Granblue Fantasy: Relink, you can choose between the handful of characters who factor into the main story as members of the Grandcypher crew. These are also the characters you’ll get to know best throughout the story since they will have dialogue in and out of combat regardless of whether they’re in your current party.
Because they get the most story mode screen time, plus more background through Fate Episodes, it’s only fair to rank them on their terms and let the additional recruitable crewmates have their own character tier list. In terms of combat efficacy, keep in mind that these characters are only as strong as the Mastery Points you invest in them and the weapons you give them.
1. Katalina
A knight with some impressively sculpted armor, Katalina’s affection for her young charge Lyria is a clear driving force for her throughout the story. She is impressive in combat, particularly if you spend the points to level up her defensive abilities and weapons. Katalina excels at taking damage for the team while dealing out plenty to enemies as well.
Katalina speaks her mind and has a singular focus on protecting Lyria and the rest of the crew in Granblue Fantasy: Relink, making her a bit of a mother figure on the Grandcypher. She’s a must-have in my personal party lineup and a fun character to get to know throughout the game, too.
2. Io
As the primary healer and spellcaster available to you early in the game, Io is an essential party member in my book. Io has an arsenal of elemental spells at her disposal as you spend mastery points to unlock them, so she’s not bad in a fight, either.
Story-wise, Io has a spunky, youthful energy and doesn’t shy away from girly things like makeup. We love to see it.
3. Rackam
A man and his ship are the love story that never quits, and Rackam’s main personality trait is his relationship to the Grandcypher. His go-to weapon in Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a gun, and his fire-type ranged attacks make him a powerful addition to your party, especially early on. He also has plenty of powerful self-buffs to truly make him a formidable damage-dealer.
He may not be the most interesting character, but he sure does pack a punch when you need some deadly ranged attacks.
4. Captain / Player Character (Gran / Djeeta)
The Captain is the main character you’ll play during the story since you’ve got to have them in your party. That said, this character suffers from being the avatar for the player, and their personality isn’t super developed.
In combat, they’re pretty powerful with melee moves, but I struggled a bit with the lack of ranged options. Even so, I put a lot of my mastery points into this character since I knew they’d be with me in combat for the long haul, making them pretty formidable in a fight.
5. Rosetta
Rosetta is a bit of a mystery in Granblue Fantasy: Relink, with not much to go on from her info card or her interactions with the rest of the crew. She’s sharp like the roses she uses in combat, planting them around the battleground as she casts her spells.
Rosetta can be useful in combat, but she doesn’t bring much to the table that you can’t get through other crewmates in your party, so I ditched her early on in favor of other characters that sparked my interest.
6. Eugen
This guy is a veteran soldier with an eye patch, and that’s about all we’ve got to go on initially. He totes a huge gun and is another solid option for ranged fighting. He has plenty to say during combat regardless of whether he’s in your party, but in terms of character traits, there’s nothing much that stands out about him.
Other characters make for better-ranged fighters, so Eugen is solidly low on our list of combat crewmates.
7. Lyria
One of two Grandcypher crewmates in Granblue Fantasy: Relink who can’t join the fight is Lyria, a young girl with the ability to take primal beasts. Lyria is mild and naive with a kind heart and a strong connection to the Captain thanks to their lifelink.
She factors heavily into the plot in ways that also mean we don’t spend as much time with her as other crewmates. Between this an her non-combat role, she’s pretty low on our list.
8. Vyrn
Some players probably love Vyrn’s wisecracking, childlike role as the comic relief of the party. Some players are not me. Vyrn is also not a playable character but you’ll get to know him plenty from his dialogue in and out of combat.
Vyrn is a tiny dragon friend of the Captain who never stops talking and who also doesn’t join in with combat. He’s part narrator and part navigation system, but to me, he’s also pretty darn annoying.
Recruitable Crewmates in Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Ranked
Once you progress in Granblue Fantasy: Relink and meet Rolan, you’ll start to earn Crewmate Cards that let you recruit additional members to your party. These characters come to play mainly in combat and don’t really join in when it comes to main story moments, which still center on the Grandcypher crew.
Even so, the game provides some interesting backstory for them that helps us know a bit about what landed their role as crewmates for hire. Once you move on to post-game content, many of these recruits become essential party members in Granblue Fantasy: Relink.
1. Cagliostro
While Io makes for a good healer in the early game, Cagliostro really shines with powerful healing and buffing spells, making her a solid recruit. Several of her healing spells are Area of Effect, making them useful for your entire party, and she can debuff your enemies as well as make your team stronger.
Her alchemical skills are legendary and they’re an asset to your party, providing much-needed healing as well as buffs for you and debuffs for your enemies.
2. Ferry
A young woman with ghostly animal companions, Ferry brings a good mix of close-range and ranged combat in Granblue Fantasy: Relink. Her summoned creatures can also bypass mechanics that prevent your party from damaging enemies, giving you an edge to keep doing damage.
Seeing her ghostly friends running around the battlefield is reason enough to spend Crewmate Card on Ferry in my book, but she’s also a powerful ally to have in your arsenal due to her versatility.
3. Vane
This knight is a friend of Lancelot’s and has a complementary combat style. If you’re looking for someone who can absorb damage and protect the party, Vane fits the mold.
He deals out damage and can wield some powerful self-buffs, but it’s the Rampart abilities that really make him an asset to your team. This ability to protect your party sets him apart from other damage dealers like Katalina, earning him a solidly high spot in our character tier list for Granblue Fantasy: Relink.
4. Percival
Percival is a fire-element knight who packs an offensive punch. He makes a solid tank with quick charging abilities and powerful hits, while being able to take a good amount of damage. He also brings some helpful enemy debuffs and area of effect attacks to the table.
Personally I stick with Katalina in this role because I love a girl power party, but Percival certainly brings some solid skills to the table as an additional recruitable crewmate.
5. Charlotta
This pint-sized knight in Granblue Fantasy: Relink emphasizes bringing justice with her swift and powerful melee attacks.
She’s adept at attacking quickly and building combos and gains a power boost when successfully avoiding enemy attacks. If you like a fast character who can cover some ground or just love those halfing vibes from the Harvins, Carlotta is an asset to your party.
6. Yodarha
I won’t lie to you, the character design on this guy gives me enough of a chuckle that it just might boost his ratings. The mustache alone is worth having him around. Also, his cannon nickname is Yoda.
But joking aside, Yodarha’s a speedy melee character with an emphasis on combos, making his fighting style somewhat similar to Charlotta’s. He’s a fun character design-wise but doesn’t bring too much to the party that you can’t get out of other, more powerful recruits.
7. Lancelot
Predictably enough given his namesake, Lancelot is a knight in Granblue Fantasy: Relink. He brings powerful water elemental moves to the table, becoming ice-cold as combat goes on and increasing the damage he deals.
Lancelot is best at close range and has some good dodging abilities, but overall isn’t as compelling a party addition as some other unlockable characters.
8. Narmaya
With her complicated swordplay styles, Narmaya can be a versatile force on the battlefield. She’s certainly a fan-favorite character and can be quite formidable if you’ve got the right build for her.
In Dawnfly mode she delivers deliberate, big-damage hits at a slower place, while her Freeflutter stance emphasizes combos. The versatility comes in handy, but can also be trickier to master than some of the more straightforward play styles.
9. Zeta
Zeta’s a primal beast hunter whose preferred weapon is a spear. She launches into the air and drops down on her enemies from above, making her melee style unique from many other damage dealers you can recruit.
That said, there are other melee characters with a stronger arsenal of attacks and skills that will make better additions to your party in Granblue Fantasy: Relink.
10. Vaseraga
Vaseraga is another former primal beast hunter, and he’s a powerful damage dealer with his scythe.
Some of his skills draw from his own HP, which can be frustrating if you don’t play your cards right when using this Granblue crewmate. That said, he can also absorb damage and send it flying back at his foes, which can come in handy.
11. Ghandagoza
This guy brings martial arts fighting to the table with quick-flying fists that deal damage with skill and require some deft timing on the player’s part to really sing.
Ghandagoza works best at close range and when his rage meter fills up, making him less versatile than other characters but worthwhile especially if you love to play a monk in D&D.
12. Siegfried
Yet another knight, this guy’s got a tragic backstory that led him to exile.
Siegfried’s a greatsword-swinging melee combatant, something that can be valuable in a party – but you can get from a variety of other recruitable characters as well. Because of that, he earns the bottom spot on our Granblue Fantasy: Relink character tier list.
