I am happy to make any corrections if more accurate information is discovered. If you have any comments, you can either post here or e-mail me at: [email protected]
All of the screenshots in this post were taken by me.
1. INTRODUCTION
Dispatch is a new game which is a partnership between AdHoc Studios (founded by developers who worked at Telltale Games) and Critical Role (Dispatch shares a comedic style similar to Critical Role's shows and many of the voice actors lend their talents to the game). Dispatch is more of an interactive animated movie where your choices lead to several potential paths. There is a game element where you dispatch superheroes to resolve calls but the emphasis is on the interactive movie.
This guide includes my tier lists and analysis for both heroes and powers, as well as a discussion of which hero you should cut and which hero you should recruit.
Please note that these assessments are directed at an experienced player who has already played the game before or a min/maxer who is likely using a walkthrough guide. The expectation is that there aren't going to be a lot of call failures, and so powers involving healing, having injuries, and call requirements are less useful.
If you're a new player, are expecting a lot of call failures, or are intentionally trying to unlock failure-related achievements (Fool's Luck, Phoenixes Down) then healing, injury-related, and reconnaissance powers may be more valuable.
Last of all, I don't put too much stock into the stat distribution of a given hero. Right now the optimal strategy is to focus on synergy partners, so what is more important is having two synergistic heroes who complement each other. There is plenty of flexibility regarding how you develop a particular hero.
In my Dispatch: Stats, Skill Points, Rank, & XP Guide, I discuss how most heroes start with 12 stat points and have the ability to get 9 more skill points through XP. Since the minimum for a stat is 1, the initial allocation is just spreading the 7 remaining points among the 5 stats. Thus with 9 skill points, you can develop heroes in whatever direction you want.
If you find this guide helpful, you may also want to check out my Dispatch: Optimized Hero Builds guide for detailed suggestions on developing your heroes.
2. HERO TIER LIST
(Blonde Blazer isn't included because it wouldn't be a fair comparison).
S-Tier
Coupe
Prism
A-Tier
Flambae
B-Tier
Punch Up
Malevola
C-Tier
Golem
Invisigal
D-Tier
Sonar
F-Tier
Waterboy
Phenomaman
3. HERO ANALYSIS
S-Tier
Coupe: I think Coupe is the best hero in the game (other than Blonde Blazer) because she can fly and she's got great powers. Her revealed En Pointe power consistently provides a +1 bonus to either Combat or Mobility and she has two excellent options for her unlocked power. Of the two, Pirouette is definitely the best since being able to reattempt a failed call offers a valuable safety net and lets you take calculated risks. En L'air is solid - it means you can always count on a large Combat or Mobility bonus, but it isn't at the level that Pirouette is. Coupe's initial stat allocation focuses on Combat, Intellect, and Mobility. Her synergy partner is Punch Up, so most players tend to have Coupe focus on Intellect and Mobility though you have the freedom to try something different.
Prism: Prism's revealed Doppelganger Illusion essentially turns an empty slot into a stat bonus. This allows Prism and her synergy partner Flambae to complete most calls on their own. Upgrading her with the Perfect Copy power increases the stats of the illusion but is often overkill. However, Long Range Illusion is amazing because the extra time is an invaluable buffer to making sure you can get the right hero on a call. Prism's initial stats are focused on Combat and Charisma with a tiny bit of Intellect. Prism and Flambae are actually the most stable and consistent pair in the game. Most players tend to have Prism focus on Charisma and Intellect.
A-Tier
Flambae: Flambae flies and has several decent "Win More" powers that build up nicely if you can succeed on calls but can be problematic if you fail calls. But if you consistently pair him up with his synergy partner Prism, between their synergy bonus and her doppelganger illusions, you should not be failing many (or any) calls. Flambae's initial stat allocation is focused on Combat and Mobility, with a tiny bit of Vigor and Charisma. Flambae's powers focus on boosting Combat and Mobility. If you go with a Supernova build, you can skip putting skill points into Combat and Mobility entirely - I would suggest focusing primarily on Vigor. If you decide to opt for Comet, then you may want to put a few points into Combat/Mobility but still concentrate on Vigor.
B-Tier
Punch Up: Two of Punch Up's powers (Hard Head and Harder Head) are "Lose Less" and center around being injured, which means you likely already failed a call. Thus they aren't that great if you're experienced enough that you are rarely failing calls. For new players, it does mean you can take greater risks with Punch Up since he can't be downed and it doesn't disadvantage you if he is injured. The best thing about Punch Up is easily his unlocked Squeeze In power. For calls with only 1 or 2 slots, Punch Up can turn a toss-up success scenario into a guaranteed win! Punch Up's initial stats are focused on Vigor, Combat, and Charisma, which are a great complement to his synergy partner Coupe.
Malevola: Malevola's revealed Life Trade power can be a godsend in healing injured heroes if you are consistently failing calls but if you are rarely getting injured then it doesn't have much of an impact. Newer players may appreciate the call requirements revealed by Life Trade Visions but experienced players won't need it. Portal Ritual provides a small decrease in travel time once per shift. Malevola is well-rounded with no 1's in her initial stat allocation and a slight focus on Combat and Charisma. That stat flexibility is helpful because her synergy partner is Sonar, whose stats constantly switch. She can also adapt well if you end up giving her a different synergy partner instead.
C-Tier
Golem: Golem's revealed Diamond in the Rough power is only occasionally useful. Newer players may appreciate Golem's Spread Thin power since it means he can solo a 4-slot call but experienced players with highly optimized synergy pairs probably won't need it. On paper, Found Himself sounds like it should be strong since you should be able to auto-succeed one call per shift but a lot of the time I never needed it and it's a bit of a hassle adding another layer of micromanagement. Golem's initial stats are focused on Vigor, Combat, and Charisma, which is a reasonable complement to his synergy partner Invisigal.
Invisigal: Invisigal has a good revealed power, Lone Wolf, which is helpful in the early game. However, in the long run you really want to develop synergy partner pairs, which means you won't be using Lone Wolf as much. Both of her unlocked powers are just mediocre. Due to the level cap and the fact that there is plenty of XP in the game, Wolf Pack may give you an early game boost but has no lasting impact. And experienced players won't need the intel revealed from Ear to the Ground. Invisigal also has 1 less stat point than normal. Her initial stat allocation is focused on Combat, Mobility, and Vigor, with a little bit of Intellect. To complement Golem, many players develop her skills along Mobility and Intellect.
D-Tier
Sonar: While Sonar's innate Instinct is intended to give him versatility, due to how the Dispatch game is structured (really rewarding synergy pairs, fixed call stats instead of randomness), Instinct just ends up making him unreliable. Being able to reattempt calls with Talk Shit is great, but it only triggers half the time compared to Coupe's Pirouette which works all the time. Being able to fly is nice but it only happens half the time, compared to Flambae and Coupe who can fly all the time. Bat Shit shares some similarities to Punch Up's Hard Head but once again it only works half the time due to Sonar's changing forms. If the game encouraged a lot of solo missions or pairing up with different heroes all the time, then Instinct wouldn't be so bad. But with the paramount importance of synergy pairs, Instinct makes it hard for Malevola to compensate for Sonar's fluctuating weaknesses.
F-Tier
Waterboy: Waterboy's revealed Eager Sponge power is a liability that can cause you to fail a call because Waterboy forces himself into a call when you have heroes who are a better fit. You also can't control when Eager Sponge triggers and if you want to use it, it means not assigning him on earlier calls. Holy Water Spit can be really useful if your heroes are consistently getting injured but if that doesn't happen much then it's not as helpful (other than the fact that it neutralizes Eager Sponge). Furthermore, Waterboy has 4 less stat points than normal. He always starts at Rank 1 with very low stats but it does mean you can develop him in any direction that you need. The one good thing about his low stats is that he can usually be added to a call with a failure threshold.
Phenomaman: At first glance, Phenomaman appears amazing - he starts at Rank 12 and has more total stat points (focusing on Combat, Vigor, and Mobility) than the average hero can ever achieve. Plus, he flies and barely needs to rest! That may all be true but being Easily Depressed means he is extremely unreliable. If another call fails or is missed, Phenomaman becomes depressed and will leave any call he is currently assigned to. That can lead to a cascading failure since another call will fail and the other members of his team may then get injured. Phenomaman is a "Win More or Lose More" hero. If you are constantly succeeding on calls you probably won't notice how debilitating his depression is. But even with highly min/maxed teams, you may still fail an occasional call near the end of the game and Phenomaman will then cause you to lose even more. Last of all, because his stats are fixed, his synergy partner may not always be a good fit.
Caveats:
If there was no level cap then Invisigal would be S-Tier due solely to Wolf Pack.
If you're getting injured a lot and need healing, I'd move Malevola to A-Tier and Waterboy to B-Tier. Punch Up would also go to A-Tier.
If there were an endless dispatch mode with no regular healing, then Malevola, Waterboy, and Punch Up would all be S-Tier. I'd move Sonar to C-Tier.
If call requirements were dynamic and random, then Malevola would be A-Tier and Golem and Invisigal would be B-Tier.
If the shift never ended (and thus once per shift powers didn't replenish), I'd downgrade Prism to A-Tier.
If call volume was increased and you really needed to triage and likely fail/miss some calls, then Malevola, Waterboy, Golem, Invisigal, and Sonar would all rate much higher. And Phenomaman would be even worse than F-Tier.
4. POWER TIER LIST
My classification is based on the following methodology:
S-Tier powers are incredibly versatile and are safety nets that give you more flexibility and allow you to take risks or overextend yourself.
A-Tier powers are consistently powerful and helpful.
B-Tier powers are usually or occasionally helpful.
C-Tier powers are conditional. While they won't hurt you, there are many situations where they aren't helpful either.
D-Tier powers are generally net negative. You can usually work around them but they are more of a hindrance than a benefit.
F-Tier powers are actively bad and consistently put calls at risk.
S-Tier
Coupe - Pirouette
Prism - Long Range Illusion
Punch Up - Squeeze In
A-Tier
Coupe - En L'air
Flambae - Flybae
Phenomaman - Fly-Nomenal
Phenomaman - Phenomenal Motivation
Prism - Doppelganger Illusion
Coupe - A la Seconde
Flambae - Supernova
Sonar - Talk Shit
B-Tier
Sonar - Strong Back
Invisigal - Lone Wolf
Coupe - En Pointe
Prism - Perfect Copy
Flambae - On Fire
Flambae - Comet
Sonar - Bat Shit
Golem - Spread Thin
Golem - Found Himself
C-Tier
Waterboy - Holy Water Spit
Malevola - Life Trade
Malevola - Portal Ritual
Malevola - Life Trade Visions
Invisigal - Wolf Pack
Invisigal - Ear to the Ground
Punch Up - Harder Head
Punch Up - Hard Head
D-Tier
Golem - Diamond in the Rough
Sonar - Instinct
Phenomanan - Heavily Medicated
Waterboy - Eager Super Sponge
F-Tier
Waterboy - Eager Sponge
Phenomaman - Easily Depressed
5. POWER ANALYSIS
S-Tier
Coupe - Pirouette: Gives you a reroll every call. In the early and mid-game (before you have reached max synergy between Coupe and Punch Up) it can help ensure the success of the call. In the late game, Coupe and Punch Up should be able to auto-succeed most calls. However, it can be invaluable in failure threshold calls where you can't put too many heroes on the call. It also means Coupe has a good chance of solo'ing calls even if she doesn't have all the requisite stats.
Prism - Long Range Illusion: Even though this only triggers once per shift, the safety net it provides means you don't need to play conservatively by keeping too many heroes in reserve. The extra seconds that it buys also lets you wait and assign the right hero for the call instead of someone subpar because they are the only hero available.
Punch Up - Squeeze In: There will be plenty of calls where 1, 2, or even 3 heroes have a decent chance of succeeding on the call but there's still a reasonable chance of failure. However, being able to add Punch Up as an additional hero lets you guarantee success. This is easily the best feature that Punch Up has available!
A-Tier
Coupe - En L'air, Flambae - Flybae, & Phenomaman - Fly-Nomenal: Once Coupe and Flambae complete Flight School, they always fly to and from calls. Phenomaman starts with the ability to fly. That means the call is completed more quickly and they finish recovering faster than their colleagues who walked.
Phenomaman - Phenomenal Motivation: Speeds up resting time for Phenomaman's teammates. Choosing this implies that Phenomaman is still vulnerable to depression, which means that it is risky each time you use him.
Prism - Doppelganger Illusion: This turns an empty slot into a modest stat bonus as long as Prism is part of a team. It's great in the early game and still decent in the end game to get a few more points to reach the "10" threshold.
Coupe - A la Seconde: Always gives Coupe a large (+3) bonus to Combat which can often be traded for a +3 bonus to Mobility instead. Just be careful on calls with automatic failures if your Combat is too high!
Flambae - Supernova: High risk, high reward. This is a powerful "win more" ability that is spectacular as long as you always succeed on calls, which is doable if you keep Flambae paired with Prism. If you go with Supernova, you may want to plan Flambae's skill development around it.
Sonar - Talk Shit: Rerolls are always good but Sonar's Talk Shit only works in hybrid form so it triggers only half the time compared to Coupe's Pirouette which always works.
B-Tier
Sonar - Strong Back: Flight is always good but whereas Coupe and Flybae's flight is always active, Sonar's flight only works while he is transformed. He is able to carry non-flying teammates, however.
Invisigal - Lone Wolf: This is like a weaker version of flight. Invisigal's travel time and call completion time are reduced, which means she will recover more quickly, but this only happens if she completes a call alone.
Coupe - En Pointe: Gives a small (+1) bonus to Combat or Mobility on a lot of calls. Just be careful on calls with automatic failures if your Combat is too high!
Prism - Perfect Copy: This isn't bad but the reality is that Flambae + Prism + a normal Doppelganger Illusion should be able to autosucceed on most calls anyway. The extra half stats from Perfect Copy are usually overkill. But the full stats can be useful if Prism ends up paired with someone who doesn't complement her as well.
Flambae - On Fire: Gives you stackable Combat and Mobility bonuses as long as you keep winning.
Flambae - Comet: Reduces travel time and call completion as long as you keep winning. High risk, high reward because Flambae risks becoming downed if he fails a call.
Sonar - Bat Shit: I think reduced rest time is the more useful part. Being immune to injuries can be helpful if you are doing poorly and it allows you to take more risks. But since this only applies while Sonar is in Mega Bat form, you have to carefully keep track of when it is in effect.
Golem - Spread Thin: Can be useful to help Golem solo calls but most of the time you will want to pair Golem up with his synergy partner (Invisigal) and they should be able to succeed on most calls. While the effect is somewhat similar to Prism's Doppelganger Illusion the numerical benefit tends to be a bit smaller.
Golem - Found Himself: Lets you respec Golem, but only once per shift. This can be useful for newer players who make poor skill allocation decisions, experienced players who want to experiment with different builds, or if you want to quickly unlock the Min Max achievement. The best use is to get optimized stats to complete a call with a failure threshold by getting just below the failure point. However, even when I chose this power, I rarely ended up using it.
C-Tier
Waterboy - Holy Water Spit & Malevola - Life Trade: These powers are great if you are getting injured by failing a lot of calls or if you are having trouble with the mini-boss in the final episode. However, if you are an experienced player who is never or rarely failing calls, then the healing is not needed.
Malevola - Portal Ritual: The portal only triggers once a shift and reduces travel time. However, this is only triggered by healing an injured hero, which may not be common if you are an experienced player. Plus, you have limited control over when this ability is used - it could be wasted on an easy call that is close to headquarters when you have plenty of heroes available.
Malevola - Life Trade Visions: Provides detailed information on a call's requirements. However, experienced players may already know what a call needs (or can reference a walkthrough) plus highly optimized synergy pairs should be able to complete most calls regardless of the requirements.
Invisigal - Wolf Pack: There is plenty of XP in the game and the level cap means that you may be maxing your heroes in Episodes 5 or 6. So while Wolf Pack may give you a small boost in the early game, there is no real long-term benefit.
Invisigal - Ear to the Ground: Similar to Malevola's Life Trade Visions. Great for first-time players but useless to veteran players.
Punch Up - Harder Head & Hard Head: These "lose less" abilities are dependent on Punch Up getting injured, which normally means you are already failing calls. It's generally better to not fail any calls to begin with but they do allow you to take riskier chances with Punch Up.
D-Tier
Golem - Diamond in the Rough: Most of the time there won't be a noticeable effect - either the slot doesn't have an icon or the random stat doesn't help and so you have to rearrange your heroes to avoid the penalty. Sometimes you are forced to put Golem in a non-ideal slot so you get a small penalty. On rare occasions, the random stat is exactly what you need. I generally find the net effect to be slightly negative but manageable.
Sonar - Instinct: Constantly shifting stats make Sonar unreliable and makes it harder for his synergy partner Malevola to cover for his weaknesses. It also means that his unlocked power only works half the time.
Phenomanan - Heavily Medicated: While this avoids the debilitating depressive state, Phenomaman no longer flies, takes more time resting, and more importantly, there's the opportunity cost of using up a training opportunity. Since there are a limited number of training sessions, giving Phenomaman this power means that another of your heroes will not get to unlock one of their powers.
Waterboy - Eager Super Sponge: While you get a higher stat bonus, this ability is still too unpredictable. Waterboy may force himself on a call when it is better to use other heroes instead. And if you do want to benefit from Eager Super Sponge it means actively not using him so that he does assign himself.
F-Tier
Waterboy - Eager Sponge: Waterboy assigning himself to a call that he is poorly suited for can result in failing that call. It doesn't help that Waterboy has subpar stats.
Phenomaman - Easily Depressed: While the minimal rest time is great, depression is a major liability. If another call fails or is missed, then Phenomaman will leave the call that he is currently on - that risks failing a second call and his teammates may then get injured due to the failure.
Caveats:
If there was no level cap than Invisigal's Wolf Pack would be S-Tier.
If you're getting injured a lot and need healing, then Malevola's Life Trade, Waterboy's Holy Water Spit, and Punch-Up's Harder Head would be A-Tier while Punch-Up's Hard Head would be B-Tier.
If there were an endless dispatch mode with no regular healing, then Malevola's Life Trade, Waterboy's Holy Water Spit, and Punch-Up's Harder Head would be S-Tier while Punch-Up's Hard Head would be A-Tier.
If call requirements were dynamic and random, then Golem's Spread Thin and Found Himself abilities would be A-Tier and Malevola's Life Trade Visions and Invisigal's Ear to the Ground would be at least B-Tier.
If the shift never ended (and thus once per shift powers didn't replenish), I'd downgrade Prism's Long Range Illusion to C-Tier. Malevola's Portal Ritual would remain in C-Tier but drop to the bottom of the C-Tier rankings.
If call volume was increased and you really needed to triage and likely fail/miss some calls, then Malevola's , Waterboy's, Golem's, Invisigal's, and Sonar's powers would rate higher. And Phenomaman's Easily Depressed would be even worse than F-Tier.
6. WHICH HERO TO CUT
Early on in the game, you will be forced to choose between two fixed heroes, one of which will be cut from your team and one of who you will keep.
If you ask them, it's a choice between someone who defecates in the parking lot (Sonar) and someone who steals toilet paper (Coupe).
From a strategic point of view, Coupe is easily the stronger hero who you should keep. Coupe always flies and her reattempt power is always active, whereas Sonar's flight and reattempt power are effective only half the time. Plus Coupe has reliable stats compared to Sonar's constantly shifting ones. For entertainment purposes, the scene of cutting Sonar is funnier and Sonar is a more amusing villain.
I think the main reasons to keep Sonar are situational or story-related. New players may see that Sonar is the only initial hero strong in Intellect (whereas veteran players will realize they need to build up several Intellect heroes early on). Some players may feel like they have already committed to Sonar by sending him to Flight School or Power Training. Story-wise, Blonde Blazer does mention that Coupe still seems rather evil. And if you look at their wrap sheets, Sonar's crimes are less serious than Coupe's. Sonar is a comedic pervert who went to Harvard while Coupe is an ex-assassin. And of course if you want to unlock all of the Steam achievements you will have to cut both characters at some point.
Overall:
7. WHICH HERO TO RECRUIT
Midway through the game you have the choice between adding either Phenomaman or Waterboy to your team. The other will become available only at the end of the game.
Both Phenomaman and Waterboy are heavily flawed characters that you have to carefully manage.
On paper, Phenomaman seems like the obvious choice. He comes fully ranked up and is in fact at a higher rank than most heroes can reach, resulting in lots of stat points. He can fly and barely needs to rest. He also has a lot of funny dialogues while on the team. His biggest drawback is that he is prone to depression. If any call fails or is missed, Phenomaman will be depressed for 45 seconds, which means he will abandon any other call he is currently on which could lead to failing a different call (and the teammates he abandoned could get injured). Since Phenomaman is already at his maximum rank, his stats are fixed so he lacks flexibility. This can be a problem if his new synergy partner (Punch Up or Malevola) doesn't complement him well. Last of all, since he is already at maximum rank he doesn't gain any XP so any XP he would otherwise gain is wasted.
Waterboy is very underwhelming. He starts at Rank 1 and actually has significantly fewer stat points than other heroes have at Rank 1. His Eager Sponge power means that he may assign himself to calls even if he is a poor choice for them, which can result in failing that call. Despite all that, there are some advantages to choosing him. You have complete control over his stat development, which lets you shape him in a way to complement his synergy partner (Punch Up or Malevola). His subpar stats can be advantageous when trying to complete calls with a failure threshold. If your heroes are regularly getting injured, then Holy Water Spit can be invaluable. And choosing him early lets him gain XP which would otherwise get wasted on Phenomaman. It might be better to get Rank 1 Waterboy early and level him up so in the final episode you then get Phenomaman. The alternative is to get Phenomaman first but then you will have a Rank 1 Waterboy in the final episode.
In summary:
Neither is a great choice but I lean slightly towards taking Waterboy because you then have the opportunity to level him up over the next several chapters. Choosing Phenomaman provides a short-term advantage (since he has amazing stats for that point in the game) but you will have a harder endgame due to Waterboy being Rank 1. Choosing Waterboy means that the mid-game will be a little more challenging since he is so weak but the endgame will be easier because Waterboy will be leveled up by then and you'll get the fully ranked up Phenomaman at the end.
