How this tier list works
This tier list ranks Memories (abilities) and Essences (socket gems) by their effectiveness across multiple Travelers and difficulty levels. Rankings assume solo Nightmare play. Some Memories rank higher in co-op due to team synergies. Essences are ranked by how much they transform the Memory they are socketed into.
S tier Memories
Golden Explosion (Aurena): the single most powerful Memory in the game when paired with the right Essences. Pure Soul (Bismuth): eight missiles with elemental synergies provide exceptional clear speed. Self-Writing Story is not a Memory but a tree node that auto-casts all Memories, transforming any build into a high-output setup. World Cracker: legendary Memory with unlimited channeling damage.
A tier Memories
Flaming Whip: resets on ability cast for continuous damage. Chain Lightning: consistent area damage with no cast time. Pillar of Flame: strong damage without movement lock. Aerostorm: excellent area coverage. Ice Shield: not a damage Memory but the best defensive Memory in the game, providing shield, healing, and cold damage simultaneously.
S tier Essences
Essence of Flow: cooldown reduction on light damage, universally strong. Essence of Momentum: cooldown reduction on attacks, valuable on every Traveler. Health restore Essence: heals for percentage of damage dealt, essential on Aurena. Barrier conversion Essence: converts excess healing to barrier, transforms sustain builds. Blades-on-damage Essence: fires projectiles when you take damage, touching every aspect of defensive builds.
A tier Essences
Essence of Fever: fire enemies explode, strong for fire builds. Essence of Quicksilver: movement speed on fire damage. Essence of Vortex: maintains speed buffs permanently. Essence of Overload: sacrifices health for increased Memory damage and healing. Glacial Core: fires ice shards on healing, broken when paired with Aurena kit.
Build-defining combinations
Aurena Golden Explosion with health restore, barrier conversion, and blades-on-damage Essences is the strongest single-build combination. Bismuth Pure Soul with Diverse Topics and Self-Writing Story creates an auto-playing missile barrage. Mist with movement speed Essences and shield stacking creates an untouchable melee duelist. These combinations define the current meta and are the fastest path to clearing Nightmare difficulty.