While Bleach Brave Souls is a gacha game where players build their dream Bleach team to re-explore the franchise’s story, the gameplay rests on the backdrop of an action-adventure game. As such, players can control their characters and dish out their signature moves to wipe out waves of opponents. However, unique to the game’s character progression system are skills — or abilities they can augment and apply in combat for a wide variety of effects.
A lot of characters possess different skills, affecting the tide of combat in numerous methods. For players building their dream teams, it’s important to take into consideration just how these skills synergize with each other. Which of the game’s skills are the best?
Updated on March 14, 2023, by Rhenn Taguiam: With Part 2 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War to return in July 2023, fans of Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends are likely excited to witness the protagonist finally turn the tide of a losing battle against Yhwach. And fans eager to see this final showdown would have to wait before catching it in modernized anime glory, Bleach Brave Souls might be the game to play for gamers to get their Bleach fix. In this RPG where players build their dream team of Bleach characters, players need to pay attention to which Skills would suit their characters best - especially if they want to use Yhwach’s Sternritters and Wandenreich members as part of their squad. Some Skills of note include having shields at the start of the match, prominent shield destruction, faster cooldowns of Strong Attacks, and even an auto-counter.
15 Start Barrier
When it comes to gameplay in Bleach Brave Souls, players facing tougher challenges would want to secure defenses as early in the game’s match as possible. With Start Barrier, characters are able to create a 10-layer Barrier as soon as they begin Quests, Events, and Battles.
Given this barrier’s level of strength, it makes sense for this skill to be possessed by some of the more notable characters in the Bleach franchise. These include Toshiro Hitsugaya (6-Star, The Belief) who is encased in an ice armor, the more unhinged Kenpachi Zaraki (6-Star, SAFWY-Untold Stories), the evolved Nnoitora Gilga (6-Star, CFYOW), and even the calmer Sosuke Aizen (6-Star, TYBW).
14 Pierce Barrier
Players who got used to gameplay in the Bleach game know that facing enemies with barriers can be quite a pain, especially if they’re aiming to eliminate foes within a short span of time. This is where Pierce Barrier comes in, as this enables characters to inflict damage past enemy barriers, practically making barriers useless when facing these particular characters.
Due to the sheer level of power this skill contains, only six (6) 6-Star characters in the series possess this ability. These include some characters in the Bleach series with overpowered abilities such as Jugram Haschwalth (6-Star, TYBW), Ulquiorra Shifar (6-Star), Sado (6-Star, TYBW 2022), and Ichibe Hyosube (6-Star, TYBW). These characters, when paired with this skill, can work well as tanks and bypass most enemy defenses.
13 Marauder
Despite the existence of flashy signature attacks being translated into special moves in the Bleach game, players of Brave Souls likely want their characters to be able to pull off attacks from the comfort of their immediate capabilities. This often means building characters capable of dishing ordinary melee attacks against opponents with otherwise-amazing defense - something that Marauder can do, courtesy of its effect that allows characters to bypass Melee resistances and nullifications using their Melee attacks.
In turn, this skill is also attached to characters with a penchant for striking hard all the time - making this perfect for Brave Souls beginners. These include iterations of Ichigo Kurosaki (6-Stars Artworks, 5th Anniversary, TYBW-Ten Years Later, TYBW-2022) and his rival in strength but also the more ruthless Kenpachi Zaraki (6-Star, SAFWY).
12 Strong Attack Cooldown
As a team game possessing a real-time action premise, Brave Souls can be quite difficult to master for players who aren’t good with their combos in the Bleach game. And if they’re not keen on using their special attacks, the Strong Attack is their best bet for a decent heavy hit against the opponent. In turn, Strong Attack Cooldown is quite an ideal ability to possess, especially when it‘s able to lower the cooldown of Strong Attacks to make combos much easier to dish out - something useful in time-based combat, or for players who want to finish battles quickly.
Given the rather “ordinary” nature of this skill, around 30 6-Star characters possess this skill. Notable ones that players should get in their arsenal include Byakuya Kuchiki (6-Stars, The Lost Agent, Fierce Battle), Renji Abarai (6-Star, Fierce Battle), and Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto (6-Star, Fierce Battle).
11 Brave Battle Counter
Considering the real-time nature of battles in Brave Souls gameplay, it’s reasonable for some fans to experience difficulty engaging in combat when not used to their character’s skillsets. However, players who truly want a punishing build might want to get characters with Brave Battle Counter, which forces enemies to get counterattack damage when characters are damaged during Brave Battles. This ability easily gives players the impression of reliving some of the best Bleach battles.
Due to the rather overpowered nature of this skill, it’s natural for only three (3) characters to possess this ability. These include Kenpachi Zaraki (6-Star, SAFWY-Untold Stories), Jugram Haschwalth (6-Star, TYBW), and Ouko Yushima (6-Star). When built properly, these can become reliable tanks or even melee DPS capable of punishing enemies to oblivion with no chance for comebacks.
10 Brave Battle Temporary Invincibility
Brave Battles serve as the PVP component of Brave Souls, where players duke it out with their best builds. As such, it’s expected for players to have intense matches with meta-breaking builds. Considering this, Brave Battle Temporary Invincibility is an immensely powerful Skill to get in any team. This skill grants temporary invincibility and temporary immunity to both damage and status ailments at the beginning of combat.
While it seems game-breaking, the Skill is rare enough that only three 6-Star Characters possess it: Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto (SAFWY - Untold Stories), Jugram Haschwalth (TYBW), and Shukuro Tsukishima (CFYOW - Truths).
9 Ignore Brave Battle Invincibility
Despite how powerful Brave Battle Temporary Invincibility can be, it’s not entirely an end-all, be-all solution for PVP fans. In fact, with the right arsenal, some players may be able to render a team relying on this ability useless. That's where Ignore Brave Battle Invincibility comes in.
As the name implies, those with this Skill ignore the invincibility granted by the aforementioned Skill. This gives both players equal ground as soon as combat starts. Only three 6-Star Characters possess this Skill: Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto (SAFWY - Untold Stories), Kenpachi Kuruyashiki (SAFWY), and Kenpachi Zaraki (SAFWY - Untold Stories).
8 Last-Ditch Survival
In higher-level quests, it’s natural for players to run across extremely tough encounters that could incur a party wipe. This can become frustrating, especially in boss battles that players know they could clutch if they just had that “one more turn.” Thankfully, Last-Ditch Survival gives players exactly that: an opportunity to revive from a KO.
Given how potentially overpowering this Skill is, it’s understandable how only ten 6-Star Characters possess this Skill. These include the likes of Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto (SAFWY - Untold Stories), Sosuke Aizen (TYBW), and Barragan Ruizenban (CFYOW). It's no surprise that these are three of the most powerful beings in the franchise.
7 Hit Hidden Enemies
It’s natural for an exploration/adventure game like Brave Souls to have hidden enemies on the field. After all, this is a great way to surprise players who might feel overconfident with their abilities and need more enemies to spice things up. However, for the struggling player, getting surprised by hidden enemies can mean death.
Thankfully, players can bypass this annoying element through Hit Hidden Enemies. With this Skill, players can attack hidden enemies that try to get the jump on them, essentially maximizing their damage output. There are twelve 6-Star Characters who possess this quality, with Grimmjow Jaegerjaques (CFYOW - Truths), Uryu Ishida (Fierce Battle), and Sosuke Aizen (6th Anniversary Version) being some of them.
6 Nullify Ranged/Melee Resistance
It’s one thing for player characters to be powerful enough that their attacks generate enough numbers to bypass enemy defenses. However, it’s another kind of monster entirely to eliminate enemy resistances towards attacks. In Brave Souls, this comes in the form of Nullify Ranged/Melee Resistance, which are two separate Skills that characters may have.
As the names imply, Nullify Resistances can nullify attack resistances of enemies towards either ranged or melee-based damage types, depending on which version of the skill the player has. This might not seem like a big deal at first. However, players who want their damage numbers to be more precise can greatly make use of their attacks when they don’t have to worry about resistances.
5 Increase Potion Drop
For a gacha game like Brave Souls, players do have the option to not just collect characters but also vastly improve their capabilities through upgrades. In terms of stats, players can do this by acquiring Link Potions in combat. Giving a character enough Link Potions (around 750) can help strengthen their stats.
However, players only acquire around 5 to 10 potions per match. Not only that, they need potions of their favored character’s attribute to be able to upgrade them properly. The skill Increase (Attribute) Potion Drop can greatly increase the number of Link Potions dropped in combat.
4 Flurry, Bruiser
The best traits and skills in an exploration game don’t always have to deal with unleashing special attacks or special techniques. Rather, sometimes the best traits are those that allow characters to perform more than their base capacity. In Brave Souls, this comes in the form of Flurry and Bruiser.
Part of a Dual Ability, characters not only get more normal attacks in ordinary situations. They also get boosted normal attack damage. While normal attack damage isn’t a lot compared to special attacks, being able to consistently deal higher damage can make a difference not just against mobs, but even elites and bosses.
3 Guard Break
Enemies have an innate defensive quality in Brave Souls, making them tougher despite how hard the characters hit them. This encourages players to pump out more attacks to bypass these defenses and boost their damage output. Interestingly enough, those with the Guard Break Skill can bypass this element entirely.
Thanks to this skill, player characters can bypass even the natural Ranged/Melee Guards and Resistances that enemies may possess. This leaves otherwise-durable foes extremely open to fierce counters and attacks. Characters reliant on Speed and Technique such as Jushiro Ukitake (SAFWY - Untold Stories), Renji Abarai (Technique, Fierce Battle), and Uryu Ishida (TYBW) can capitalize on bypassing these resistances with their powerful attacks.
2 Sharpshooter
There’s a reason why ranged specialists are often feared in games, especially when their long-ranged attacks can decimate enemy defenses. In Brave Souls, this comes in the form of the Sharpshooter Skill. Characters who possess this Skill can nullify not just Ranged Guard, but also the Ranged Attack Resistance of opponents.
Such is the viciousness of Sharpshooter that only five 6-Star Characters possess this trait. These include Sozuke Aizen (6th Anniversary Version), Bruno Bangnyfe, Gin Ichimaru (Party Time Version), Byakuya Kuchiki (5th Anniversary Version), and Ichigo Kurosaki (Spirit Society Version).
1 Poise
Due to the action-packed nature of Brave Souls, it’s safe to assume that sometimes player characters tend to find themselves pausing when enemy attacks hit them. This isn’t just an animation fluke, but rather an actual combat element. When enemies hit player characters in Brave Souls, they stagger, essentially canceling their attacks.
This can become extremely frustrating when facing bosses and elite mobs, as players might have to reset their formations or ruin extremely crucial time-based combos. With Poise, characters essentially bypass the stagger effect. Tanks such as Kenpachi Zaraki (Power, Resurrection), Jugram Haschwalth (TYBW), and Sosuke Aizen (Party Time) benefit from Poise immensely.
Bleach Brave Souls was released in 2016 for PS4, Android, iOS, and PC.