With the Talents Update, 99 Nights in the Forest added four new classes and rebalanced the overall meta. Some old favorites stayed strong, while others slipped down the rankings thanks to new mechanics. Here’s the full tier list breakdown.
S Tier – The Best of the Best
These classes are dominant thanks to their strong abilities, great scaling, or permanent bonuses.
Pyromaniac → Flamethrower for cooking and damage, plus move speed scaling with burning enemies. Fuel is rare, but the class is still very powerful.
Alien → Comes with a ray gun, great night visibility, and strong upgrades with recharge speed and sprint boosts.
Brawler → Tanky melee powerhouse with bonus HP, regen, and damage. Great value for money and scales well.
Cyborg → Alien armor + laser cannon = top-tier power. Consistently one of the best all-around picks.
Big Game Hunter (NEW) → Rifle start, pelts for permanent stat boosts, and mammoth tusks for infinite health scaling. Easily one of the strongest classes in the game.
A Tier – Very Strong Picks
Solid classes that excel in certain roles but aren’t quite as universally dominant as S tier.
Assassin → Fast and deadly with katana + throwing knives. Crit potential at higher levels.
Poison Master → Poison is extremely effective, making this class reliably strong.
B Tier – Useful, but Situational
Good in the right hands or the right setup, but not must-picks.
Base Defender → Great for squads with defense blueprints, but weak for solo play.
Blacksmith → Handy early with better crafting, but usefulness drops off later.
Lumberjack → Early game log farming power. Great start, but less impactful later.
Ranger → Decent early-game weapon class.
Scavenger → Extra inventory space, faster chest openings, and bonus scrap. Versatile utility.
C Tier – Mid Tier
Decent, but with notable weaknesses or limited impact.
Berserker → Auto-revive and bonus damage at low HP are useful, but situational.
Support (NEW) → Can shine in coordinated squads but sacrifices personal strength for team benefit.
Gambler (NEW) → High-risk, high-reward chest mechanic. Fun, but inconsistent.
Medic → Standard healing support. Solid, but nothing game-changing.
D Tier – Weak or Outclassed
These classes are overshadowed by better options.
Camper → Early-game utility, but falls off quickly.
Cook → Outclassed by the new Chef.
Farmer → Provides food, but Chef now does it better.
Hunter → Bear traps aren’t impactful enough to matter.
F Tier – Avoid These
Little to no usefulness compared to alternatives.
Decorator → Considered outright useless.
Support (solo use) → Actively detrimental if not used in a team setup.
Special Mentions (New Classes)
Chef (NEW) → Strong cooking buffs and recipes. A straight upgrade over Cook/Farmer in team play. (Ranked B–A depending on group comp.)
Big Game Hunter (NEW) → Top-tier thanks to scaling health and rifle. (Ranked S.)
Gambler (NEW) → Risky, but can pay off. (Ranked C.)
Support (NEW) → Only shines with good teamwork. Otherwise weak. (Ranked D/C.)
The Talents Update reshaped the meta by introducing classes that scale permanently (Big Game Hunter) and utility-heavy roles (Chef, Support). The top meta is now dominated by Cyborg, Brawler, Alien, Pyromaniac, and Big Game Hunter, while weaker early-game classes like Farmer, Cook, and Decorator have slipped to the bottom.