Megabonk character tier list: control for clears, Fox for kill pushes

Direct answer: for learning and first clears, start with the unlocked character you can control while maintaining damage uptime. For a high-kill experiment, start with Fox, then Dicehead: the public build page records 177 Fox runs and 158 Dicehead runs on 1.0.65. Those are historical run counts, not proof that either character is universally strongest on 1.0.69.

Methodology: Current official context comes from the 1.0.69 H A T S announcement. Character counts come only from the public build page labeled 1.0.65. Run frequency is not a win rate, rating, mechanical explanation, or current ranking. The labels below are editorial goal tiers, and extreme top-kill values are excluded because one outlier does not prove reproducibility.

Learning and first clears

Editorial tier, 1.0.69 context	Starting recommendation	Best use case	Evidence boundary
Start here	Your most familiar unlocked character	Learning movement, coverage, boss cues, and recovery without adding a second execution problem	Editorial recommendation; no sourced current data supports naming one universal easiest character
Test next	Another unlocked character whose damage pattern stays active during your normal route	Separating a character-control problem from a build-choice problem after the first route feels repeatable	Editorial recommendation based on controllability, not a hidden character ranking
Delay	A character chosen only because of an old top-kill screenshot	Avoiding a high-burden route before you can explain why a clear failed	Historical outliers are not proof of beginner fit or current strength

This tier answers a learning question, not a damage-ceiling question. Editorial recommendation: use the character that leaves enough attention to read the arena and diagnose choices. If two characters feel equally controllable, test each with the same first-clear rules and keep the one that preserves damage uptime more consistently.

High-kill evidence

Editorial evidence tier, historical 1.0.65 data	Character	Recorded runs	Use case and limit
First historical test	Fox	177	The largest recorded run sample on the cited page and the clearest starting hypothesis for a high-kill route; not a current win-rate claim
Second historical test	Dicehead	158	A substantial second sample for comparison; the official Dicehead multi-level passive fix belongs to the announcement’s earlier 1.0.64 chronology, not a new 1.0.69 buff
Smaller-sample experiments	CL4NK, Vlad, Roberto	23, 23, 22	Useful only after a player has a reason to test one; these much smaller samples do not support a universal placement

Fox is the strongest starting recommendation by historical sample size, not a universal S-tier verdict. Dicehead is the next evidence-backed comparison. Community high-kill reports can help explain routing and survival decisions, but they remain individual experiences rather than official character mechanics.

How to use the tiers

1. Choose the goal. A first clear values controllability; a high-kill attempt values a reproducible scaling plan.
2. Check the evidence label. The character counts above stop at the public 1.0.65 build data, while official context is 1.0.69.
3. Test a failure mode, not a reputation. Record whether the run lost damage uptime, coverage, movement space, or late scaling.
4. Promote only within your goal. A character can become your best first-clear option without proving a global ranking.

Use the beginner route to test a controllable first clear. Use the 300K kills route when Fox or another character is being evaluated for sustained kill pace.