Introduction
Are you having issues choosing a suit? Same! So I usually decide to base it on aesthetics and apparent functionality of the most important foundation of bipedal movement: toes.
Tier List
Without a further fanfare, here is the tier list:
I will give a better picture and explain more below on the choices in Hangar order. Honorable mentions of some alternate skins that change the outcome for the better will also be mentioned below.
For those who may not know the exosuits by their toes:
- S: Roadblock, Krieger
- A: Vigilant
- B: Barrage, Witchdoctor
- C: Deadeye, Nimbus (Mine skin), Nimbus
- D: Murasame, Barrage, Witchdoctor, Witchdoctor
- F: Skywave
Explanations
Deadeye is the most basic frame, even down to its toes. With three toes and a backing heel, Deadeye’s toes are pretty aesthetic and functional.
They aren’t great, but they aren’t bad, neither. A solid C-tier for the all-arounder exosuit.
Zephyr’s toes are… Lacking. It has two toes with a heel. It may be functional for running forward, but I would imagine balance could become an issue if pushed backward and not in a good position to take the brunt of the force, which might explain why Zephyr tends to get thrown around a lot.
Zephyr’s toes definitely leave a lot to be desired. I place this firmly in the D-tier.
Barrage doesn’t quite have toes. It has more of a horseshoe, though the horseshoe shape does seem to split symmetrically in the front, technically giving toes. I can’t imagine these are quite functional, as the design of the horseshoe could catch onto debris in the field for the times the pilot may need to backpedal.
Not my current cup of tea, but it has toes. Placed firmly in D-tier as a result.
Special mention goes to the swimsuit skins for Barrage. It has a more human-like foot with toes attached to a large. The template of the human foot is well-tested for 3.4 million years[www.nature.com], and though kind of plain as far as exosuits go, is extremely functional. The sole on the bottom of the foot may look flashy, but it also likely spreads the weight outward, much like snowshoes may do, so moist ground and snow may not let the feet sink too much.
The swimsuit skin variant of the toes bumps this up to a solid B-tier. If the toes were more pronounced, this would easily be an A-tier.
Vigilant’s toes are small and sharp, and backed by a very pointy heel. The heel itself could quite easily sink into moist ground, but otherwise a super functional, lethal, and quite adorable set of toes.
I place it firmly in A-tier.
With four chonky toes and a very large heel, Roadblock has a set of toes that truly looks like it can hold back a horde of raptors.
Super functional, and very pronounced toes. This is a solid S-tier.
With only three toes and a solid heel backing them up, it’s toes look like they are fit for the weapon platform that is the Krieger exosuit. The toes are long and arched, and look like they can indeed take a punishment.
With these considerations, Krieger is S-tier behind Roadblock.
I am not sure how to describe the Murasame’s split-toe design, but they do not look like they are able to withstand as much punishment as the exosuit can usually take. Admittedly most of that punishment should be taken by the sword. The heel looks wide enough to avoid sinking into moist ground.
These toes, unfortunately, are not aesthetically pleasing, though they do seem to be functional in line with its speed, like the other ninja-like exosuit, Zephyr.
Though Murasme may be the strongest tank with the right pilot and team, this is a disappointing D-tier.
The Witchdoctor exosuit has two toes and a floating heel. If you’re on the spectrum, like myself, you might feel a sort of kinship to this exosuit, especially if you got talked at as a child about how you walk on your tiptoes (what can I say? It feels better!).
While there is no heel to sink into moist ground, that means the entire weight of the exosuit is on two toes. That means, unfortunately, if we remove the bias here, this is definitely a low D-tier.
The Stego Helm skin for Witchdoctor is proof aesthetics can enhance a lot. The spike coupled with its color may not be super functional in the grand scheme of things, but definitely propels this to B-tier.
These aren’t toes. F-tier.
Unfortunately, the Nimbus exosuit’s toes are overshadowed by the big honkin’ metatarsal guard. However, we can see kind of a couple of toes. While normally not quite funcitonal, the toes are backed by a disk for skating, so likely are used for braking at high speeds. The advantage of a disk is being pushed back should ensure that nothing is caught on the disk, and once balance is regained, sliding back is possible.
With these considerations, this is C-tier.
An honorable mention goes to the Mine skin for the Nimbus exosuit. The Mine skin is quite aesthetically pleasing, but still retains the functionality of the original exosuit.
It’s not enough to bump it up an entire tier, but this is a higher C-tier than the original exosuit. With more toe definition, this could easily become B-tier.