"Special Cats are unlocked throughout each playthrough by completing certain missions, or after meeting specific requirements. Most Special Cats need to be purchased with Cat Food, which is obtained as a Daily Bonus and can be purchased with actual currency."
- The Battle Cats Miraheze Wiki
This ranking does NOT use the same methodology that’s used throughout this document for ubers. The standard and balance is drastically different than ubers due to them being extremely easy to acquire.
It’s also worth saying that the letter grades for this tier list is not proportional to the uber lists. A unit ranking C tier on this list does NOT mean they rank C tier on the uber list, these cats are being distributed in a vacuum.
The general idea of this tier list is that Purchasable Specials will be ranked by their usefulness across the late-post game rather than earlier parts. This is because Purchasable Specials have a high necessity for talents, making them prime for later game usage rather than content within early-mid game. Most of the Purchasable Specials are also useless without fully maxed talents (since their stat talents grant an 80% increase).
Purchasable Specials are evaluated at their absolute max of level 50 with max talents. Investment costs are not accounted for.
Combos are accounted for. However, uber rare combos will not be accounted since Battle Cats is designed specifically to be played uberless. This is particularily important to note for Sumo, who has extremely good uber Rare combos which would've placed him easily at #1 if not for this factor.
S: Zombie, Mr.
A: Sumo, Kung-Fu, Box Cats
B: Boogie, Ninja
C: Dom, Bondage
D: Samurai
E: Actress
F: Skirt, Panties
The latest ranking video I uploaded to YouTube for these cats. The tier list above is the most accurate and recent ranking.
A fast and cheap meatshield with dodge against Red and Dark. Notable as a primary meatshield for Poultrio.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Ninja_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A beefy meatshield with high HP and speed, identical in usage to Manic Eraser except with superior HP and added immunities. Slightly costly.
A melee attacker with a weak slow against Traited and very poor stats. Has a 4 slot attack combo including Sumo but is outclassed by stronger attack setups.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Samurai_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A melee attacker with strong against Red and Zombie, but has extremely poor stats. Powerful for being a part of the 2 best non-uber cat combos in the game.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Zombie_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A rusher with high speed, strong damage, and rebounds. Deals massive damage to Dark
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Cats_in_a_Box_(Special_Cat)
A cheap 75c meatshield identical in usage to Cat, but is slightly slower. Has surge immunity to cement itself as a primary tool in anti-surge combat.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Boogie_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A melee tank with strong against and dodge to tank Reds. Is somewhat expensive and slow, outclassed by Roe in most situations but is notable for Poultrio and Hannya stages.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Bondage_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A mid-ranged attacker with high DPS, rapid attacks, and good bulk. Spams wave attacks across the field for lots of control and sniping. Has poor survivability and expensive cost.
A mid-ranged attacker with extreme damage per hit and occasional surges for backline sniping. Notable for all round high stats and being one of the best 4 crown anti-wave units.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A spammable mid-ranged attacker with decent stats all round. Notable for anti-surge usage against Kappy stages, but has become outclassed by Li'l King Dragon in the modern meta.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Actress_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A mid-ranged attacker with extremely poor stats. Primarily used to break starred Alien barriers but is outclassed by Li'l Gross.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Skirt_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A mid-ranged support with extremely poor stats. Wields slow against Metal being equal in performance to Cyclone drop cats.
https://battlecats.miraheze.org/wiki/Panties_Cat_(Special_Cat)
A rusher with rapid attacks but low stats overall. Can be used to push Zombies with his knockback. Powerful for being a part of the best non-uber combo in the game.
"Why is Zombie and Mr. all the way at S above everyone else? They're just for combos and aren't usable as units"
Zombie and Mr. get significantly more mileage than any other purchasable special because of their combos, and it isn't even close. The sheer power of research combos absolutely outweighs the utility of the lower placements as units since Research combos directly contribute to the viability of units like Ramen, Courier, and Rock who is arguably the strongest unit in the game because of both Mr. and Zombie cat.
"Why isn't Riceball at #1 regardless of uber combos? He is straight up a better Manic Eraser"
This is only true if you're also accounting for a maxed cashback or cost down dojo orb which is not included in evaluation due to their rarity. At 300 cost, Riceball is less efficient than Manic Eraser. Riceball offers 97.2 HP per 1c opposed to Manic Eraser's 170.3 HP per 1c, making Manic Eraser 75.21% more efficient in defense. The tradeoff is that Riceball has immunities, but in nearly every general scenario it's actually Manic Eraser who outclasses Riceball which is also why I recommend using him over Riceball when crafting your own general/ perfect lineups.
