RIFTSTORM Weaver Tier List — Early Access

This Weaver Tier List ranks the five announced Early Access operatives—Rook, Starling, Hertz, Botsy, and Caracal—for general three-player co-op value before RIFTSTORM’s planned August 11, 2026 Steam Early Access release. Rankings combine official kit roles, preview impressions, and extraction-lite risk from Weapon Scarring. This is theorycraft, not live win-rate data; expect tiers to move when Confiction Labs patches Lythogram, Periapt, or Weaver kits.

Tier criteria

We measure co-op utility, skill floor, ceiling in coordinated trios, solo-queue forgiveness, map dependency, and synergy with Lythograms plus Periapt paths. A Weaver that teaches good co-op habits ranks higher for week one than a high-ceiling specialist that fails without comms.

S Tier — Starling

Starling is the default damage backbone when a frontliner holds aggro. Momentum stacking, Kinetic Screen team buffs, and Sustained Salvo pierce windows scale with Threat Levels better than any other single kit. Weakness: needs positioning and reload discipline; punishable in pug groups that scatter. Pair with Hertz or Rook from Trio Comps.

A Tier — Hertz, Rook

Hertz earns A tier for solo-friendly taunt, damage reduction, Encore survivability, and health-scaling Stage Dive—ideal tank for public trios and learning extracts via How to Extract. Lower burst than Starling but stabilizes scar-prone runs.

Rook earns A tier for beginner floor: grenade, bolt stagger, mines, and Squad Synergy near allies. Not the highest DPS or tank but the best teaching Weaver for Getting Started groups. Drops slightly in specialized speed comps.

B Tier — Botsy, Caracal

Botsy jumps to S on choke maps with a dedicated frontline—Roll Call, Hideout, and Conductive Paint dominate halls. Wide arenas and pug groups that never hold ground drop him to B. Requires elemental loadout planning with Loadouts and Forge Center crafts.

Caracal offers a high skill ceiling as agile ops—mobile precision and flanking once EA kits stabilize—but demands comms, positioning, and patience while balance evolves. Strong in voice-coordinated statics from the Squad Composer; weaker when players treat him like a second Starling without learning repositioning fundamentals.

Tier summary table

Tier	Weaver	Summary
S	Starling	Co-op DPS backbone, team projectile buffs
A	Hertz	Tank, solo-forgiving, Lythogram health scaling
A	Rook	Beginner all-rounder, stagger and mines
B	Botsy	Map-dependent turret zone control
B	Caracal	Agile ops, EA kit volatility

Investment advice by tier

S/A tiers deserve early Periapt nodes and safe Forge Center primaries. B tiers deserve gambit slots until you confirm map pools and patch stability—especially Caracal precision loadouts vulnerable to Weapon Scarring.

Team context

Individual tiers differ from Team Tier List comps—Botsy plus Hertz plus Rook may outrank Caracal solo tier on paper. Always read both pages before locking a static.

Post-launch updates

Re-rank after major patches, new Weavers from the Armory Update roadmap, and Threat 3+ experimental tuning noted on Steam. Until Early Access begins, use this list to assign teaching roles, not to flame pick diversity.

New player path

Start on Rook regardless of tier angst—role comfort beats spreadsheet picks in week one. Graduate to Starling when reload timing feels natural, then experiment with Caracal or Botsy once your static agrees on comp voice rules from How to Co-op.

Map and mode modifiers

Tier shifts when mission geometry changes: Botsy rises on corridor-heavy PADDOCK Contingency layouts; Caracal may rise on open arenas if agile ops kits reward rotation. Re-evaluate after you have ten-plus clears at the same Threat tier rather than after one bad pug run.

Related pages

Pair this list with Team Tier List for comp context, Weapon Tier List for Forge spend, and individual dossiers under Weavers Hub. Use Squad Composer to log tier experiments between sessions.