Omega Strikers, the 3v3 sports-based battler, has a lot of different characters. To be more specific, there are 11 characters total, each with their own unique abilities and optimal builds. But, which characters work best in which roles, and why?
The game "technically" only has two Roles, a Forward and a Goalie, but each of these Roles has what are basically "sub-roles" within them, depending on the character. So, let's take a look at all "three" of these Roles in Omega Strikers, which characters fit them the best, and why.
Updated June 13th, 2023 by Jacob Buchalter: Omega Strikers has gone through a lot of changes in the time these recommendations first came out. The game is fully released now, has a couple of new characters, and features a lot of revamped mechanics. So, with that in mind, let's comb through all the roles and characters once again to discuss which ones fit each role the most comfortably.​​​
3 Goalie Recommendations
First up let's talk about the Goalie-type characters. These are the characters that are at their best when they're guarding the Goal Arc against any Core shots.
Typically, they have abilities (and all kinds of Gear) that place barriers, buff teammates, debuff enemies, or just simply affect a wide area. And, these abilities are much better at stopping the Core than sending it the other way.
Asher: The Unbreakable Wall
Next up is Asher, the buffest of them all in Omega Strikers. Asher actually works pretty well as a Forward, but everything about her kit and design screams "Defender" and it's truly where she does her best work.
When an Asher player knows what they're doing, it's basically impossible to get a Core through unless the enemy goes around her entirely thanks to her Arc Beam and Pathsplitter. And, even though she moves slowly, Breakthrough lets her get to the Core quickly in an emergency. She can bully (though it is tough to do consistently), become a wall to stop the Core, and is frustrating to play against when she's in the goal box.
Dubu: The Endearing Defender
Likely the most "iconic" character of Omega Strikers so far since he's basically the adorable mascot character, Dubu's silhouette is pretty much what anyone first thinks of when they're told to imagine a big burly Goalie.
This giant hamster-like person can block off wide areas of the arena with Tofu Fortress, cover allies from afar with Bamboozle, and even change the tempo of a round entirely by stopping the Core with Somerassault. Like Asher, Dubu is a decent enough Forward, but he's almost always played in a Goalie role. On top of all this, Dubu is one of the only characters to basically remain the exact same in terms of rankings between the beta, Omega Striker's full release, and the patches that have come since then.
Atlas: The Steadfast Protector
Poor Atlas, this character was so beloved in the beta but has since lost a lot of his popularity, though there are still some dedicated fans who have become scarily good with Atlas. But for most people. he's just too slow to play. Everyone got a bit of a movement speed nerf between the betas and the full release, but Atlas is one of the only characters where that slowness is felt in almost everything he does.
Additionally, because Bruisers and hard-bullying Team Comps aren't quite as prevalent as they used to be, the need for a KO-Countering/Healer character (AKA Atlas) has also fallen. He's a character that truly dedicated players can excel in with pure skill or a ton of practice, but it feels like his skill 'ceiling' is much lower than a good majority of the other characters.
Rasmus: A Technical Menace
It seems like the Omega Striker devs at Odyssey Interactive have really started emphasizing technical kits and creating characters that take a bit of work to learn rather than ones players can just pick up and succeed with since both Rune and Rasmus are so mechanically complex. Rasmus is basically a speedy Roadhog from Overwatch as he's able to speed himself up, has some AoE abilities, and can even pull opponents using his Death Touch Ultimate.
Rasmus is also one of the rare few characters where the actual map and field modifiers can vastly change how good he does. For example, if there's any sort of 'death zone' or pit on the map, Rasmus can use this as a way to instantly kill opponents by using Death Touch to yank them into it. He's just another character that requires a lot of precision and skill to make them truly shine.
Kai: The Natural Superstar
Kai, one of the poster children of Omega Strikers, being here on the Goalie side of the recommendations is likely not something that players were expecting. But, as the game has been played more and more, people have discovered that Kai is actually at his best defending the goal.
His Blazing Pace allows him to catch up to an out-of-reach Core, his Barrage gives him a cushion on receiving fast-moving shots, and a well-aimed Giga Blast can completely turn the momentum away from his goal and onto the enemies. The only change to Kai from the beta to the current state of the game in mid-2023 (at the time of writing this) is that his Haste is a bit better. Other than that, he's basically the exact same as he always was.
Luna: The Chaotic Rocketeer
Last up for the Goalie recommendations is the crazed-yet-adorable explosives fanatic archetype character named Luna. And, it's a shame how much worse she's become as a Goalie since the days of the Omega Strikers beta stage. Previously, due to her Eject Button training, Luna could defend the goal and then quickly fire across the field to push the Core into the opposing Goal (or alternatively use it to defend the Goal from mid-field). Now, with the removal of the Training system and the general reduction to move speed overall, she's just a lot worse unless she gets the right Awakenings and Gear offered to her.
This doesn't make her 'bad' in any sense, she still has a lot of options with Eject Button, her missiles, and so on, but the nerfs in combination with her already small Strike hitbox make her a difficult character to learn at first.
2 Forward Recommendations
Now let's talk about the other 'in-game labeled role' in Omega Strikers, Forwards. Forwards are the ones out there running around the arena trying to get Goals.
They push back enemies, use abilities to circumvent the Goalie, and get all up in the enemy's face to force the Core through. So, here are the characters that do the best job securing Goals, controlling the arena, using up every bit of power their Gear provides, and just being absolute terrors to deal with.
Octavia: Soundly Overpowered
Octavia is one-half of the Demon Musician sister duo, who are apparently nice demons, at least in comparison to how demons are depicted in other media. Also, Octavia is one of the strongest characters in the game at the moment, hands down. Even after the May 17th nerf to both her and Vyce, Octavia is still so fast compared to all the other characters. Her Flow State makes her almost impossible to keep up with if used properly and all of her other abilities just facilitate that 'dribbling by myself' playstyle.
While many of the other forwards in the game are good because they have the tools to deal with opponents getting close, Octavia doesn't even need to worry about that as all of her tools make it so that other players really can't get close in the first place. This is absolutely a character that Omega Strikers players have been obsessed with and are burning all their Affinity Tokens on.
Vyce: A Rockstar In Every Category
For the second of the two demonic newcomers, Vyce is honestly comparable to her top-of-the-tier-list sister in just about every way, she just has different tools to do a similar job. While Octavia is built to sort of play the game on her own if needed and outrun all her competition, Vyce has a varied offense-focused tool kit that allows her to respond to just about any situation.
Her primary has great range and can double-tap the Core, her secondary is great at bullying others across the field or just teleporting ahead of the competition, and her Ultimate is honestly still a bit too strong. All in all, she has a lot in common with Ai.Mi where both characters have answers for just about every situation, but Vyce is somehow also great at KO'ing other players on top of all this. Plus, both Vyce and her sister just undoubtedly have better musical themes than anyone else in the game to date.
Ai.Mi: AI-Generated Mayhem
One of the newer characters added to the game (at the time of writing this) Ai.Mi is truly versatile and a terrifying character in the right hands. She's also terrifying simply due to the fact that she's an AI who gained sentience and decided to use this new awareness to play games, but this description also works to describe her mechanics. Her field coverage thanks to her Cyber Swipe ability is some of the best in the game.
Additionally, her other ability, Glitch Pop, and her Ultimate known as Firewall Sentry allow her to attack the Core from anywhere, even if her physical character model isn't the one doing the hitting. Like Juno, Ai.Mi can be bullied relatively easily by other characters, but because she's so much faster and maneuverable than everyone else (save for Octavia) that it can feel almost impossible to pin her down.
Zentaro: The Edge-Lord Supreme
Zentaro, another one of the newer characters, is very similar to the other newer characters like Rune and Rasmus in that he's highly technical. Players have to be constantly aware of how close they are to ten strikes with his Slashing Strike, their path for Iai Rush, and their positioning for Slice and Dice. His kit makes him seem like more of a Bruiser than a straight-up Foward, but more often than not Zentaro players go for the Core and just happen to bully other players along the way.
Again, it's a character that is completely dependent on how well the player understands and adjusts to his mechanics, so his overall 'ranking' is a bit more up to individual interpretation.
Juliette: The Eager Rookie
Even more so than Kai or Dubu, Juliette is basically the poster child of Omega Strikers. And, as such, she's sort of the "baseline" character that players are meant to try out first before moving on to characters that more fit their individual preferences. But, a lot of people don't feel the need to 'move on' as Juliette is such a solid character overall.
As a Forward, Juliette can be suffocating in her offense by combining Flying Phoenix with Flame Flurry. But, she can also play very defensively thanks to having a lot of speed and coverage of the arena. Additionally, Juliette hasn't changed much since the beta days of Omega Strikers, but a lot of other characters have become a bit worse, so she's even more comparably strong than she was previously thanks to the Awakening system.
Estelle: The Stunning Sniper
Again, like Kai, Estelle is meant to be a character that snipes with projectiles, meaning she's both a sniper-centric character and a character who can choose to go for sniper builds or not. But, while Kai's sniping ability makes him a great Goalie, Estelle's allows her to suddenly blow past the enemy's defense in an instant.
Most Estelle players tend to line up a Piercing Shot right after a strike to suddenly blast the Core forward with speed, and if that doesn't work they then Rose Warp to the opponent in question and try to throw off their response with Crystal Thorns. Basically, because Estelle has multiple options for 'double-tapping' the Core, she can be a real menace for many Goalies.
Era: The Empowering Enchanter
Anyone who has played more than a few matches of Omega Strikers by now has likely been destroyed by or seen an ally destroyed by Era's Special, Magic Maelstrom. This ability takes a lot of lining up, but if used correctly it often blindsides the Goalie with a Heavy hit into the back wall of the Goal for an instant Takedown.
Outside of this, the changes from the games beta phase to full release have been incredibly kind to Era, as she only gained a movement speed buff while everyone else got a movement speed nerf. Additionally, almost every single Awakening is good for her as well so she's a pretty solid character to main right now.
Juno: The Curious Explorer
Out of everyone, Juno is probably the most "Crowd Control" type of character on the roster. This adorable non-invasive space alien is all about spawning Blobs on the field that acts as landmines for the enemy team. If the Core makes contact with one of these Blobs, it'll automatically hit it back in the opposite direction.
But, if a Juno player uses their Strike right as the Blob makes contact, they can actually use Blobs to launch the Core in any direction they choose as if they were Striking it themselves. She has range, mobility, and a wide-area Special, but some players (mistakenly) tend to overestimate how well they utilize her unique gameplay elements and Juno is also pretty easily bullied by offensive Forwards like X or Drek'ar.
1 Bullies & Brawlers
Last up is a sort of 'made up' role, the Bully characters who specialize in hunting their opponents instead of the core, otherwise known as Brawlers in most other games. These are Forward characters that, more often than not, should be focused on disrupting and KO'ing enemy characters more than they should be focused on getting Goals.
While nothing in-game really categorizes these characters as anything other than Forwards or Goalies, the few characters listed below absolutely specialize in brawling more than they do scoring goals or goal-keeping. Their kits are tailor-made for building up Stagger, and they're a constant annoyance to their enemies.
Rune: The Shadowy Specialist
Rune is by far one of the more technical characters to play in Omega Strikers, as all of his abilities rely on expert execution to get the most out of them. Shadow Swap gives him mobility and the ability to make sneaky plays, Unstable Anamoly has a ton of bullying and area denial potential, and Banish is just fantastic all around.
The best Rune players can run circles around their opponents, while newer Rune players are left floundering as they're constantly mistiming their Anamolies and getting mixed up with their Shadow. So, it's absolutely a character that needs an expert hand to make shine.
X: The Eccentric Brawler
X, sadly enough, is another character that took a heavy hit to his utility with the nerfs to move speed, Brawler-type characters in general, and the removal of the Training system.
Whereas X could constantly bully the enemy team just by sticking close to them, he now has to work much more for those KOs. On top of that, X is pretty heavily dependent on his Awakening options in the Character Selection phase of a match, and a bad roll will make things challenging for him.
He can still do just as well as he used to do as a Brawler, but it really does require a skilled player and the right set of circumstances to recreate. Nowadays he's a bit more split between bullying and focusing on the Core, which also isn't a bad thing.
Drek'ar: The Intimidating Invader
Whereas X gets close to his enemies to punch them in the face, Drek'ar sneaks up on them to blast them with his shotgun. This tactical menace has a Stealth mechanic, a damage-over-time ability, and a shotgun blast that decimates enemies who get too close.
In most games, Drek'ar players have one goal in their stealth-based gameplay, keep as many of their opponents KO'd for as long as possible by baiting them to the edges of the arena and blasting them to oblivion. Now, the changes across all the updates of the game, especially the big one with the game's release, have made Drek'ar a bit less of a bully. Brawlers in general got a bit nerfed, so Drek'ar players actually need to focus a bit on scoring goals now instead of just focusing on KOs. But, with the right Awakening choices, he surprisingly can do quite a lot to get that Core where it needs to go.
Omega Strikers is available on Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, and PC.
