Racket Rivals turns badminton into a three-part loadout problem. Your racket sets your core stats, your spirit defines your most important ability, and your awakening adds a once-per-round swing in tempo. Getting those three pieces right matters more than anything else.
Racket Rivals racket tier list (December 2025)
Rackets are stat sticks. Each one rolls values for Movement, Dash, Jump, Power, Speed, Reach, and Spin, with higher rarities pushing those stats much further. Right now, the meta leans heavily toward rackets that combine strong Power and Speed with either great Dash or Jump.
| Tier | Rackets |
|---|---|
| S | Infernis Smash, Soul Smash, Divine Spin, Dragon’s Breath, Fire Spin |
| A | Arcana Edge, Saber Spin, Shadow I |
| B | Crystal Edge, Danger String, Violet Strike |
| C | Nova Core, Plasma Flex |
| D | Pink Whirl, Vanta Edge, Glide Pro |
S-tier rackets: what makes them strong
| Racket | Rarity | Notable stats | Why it’s S-tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infernis Smash | Mythical | High Jump and Power, solid Speed, low Reach | Explosive vertical play for spikes and blocks, with enough Power to finish rallies. |
| Soul Smash | Divine | Strong Movement, very high Dash and Power | One of the best offensive rackets in the game, ideal for aggressive spikers and chase-down plays. |
| Divine Spin | Divine (Limited) | Great Jump and Spin, good Dash and Reach | Built for curve-heavy players who want to control rallies with tricky angles and high vertical coverage. |
| Dragon’s Breath | Divine | Very high Speed and Dash, good Reach | Trading some Power for pure tempo; ideal for rushing balls and punishing slow reactions. |
| Fire Spin | Legendary | Balanced Power and Speed, decent Movement | Reliable all-rounder that performs well in both attack and defense without any glaring holes. |
How to choose among S-tier rackets:
- Pick Soul Smash or Infernis Smash if you want raw spiking power.
- Pick Dragon’s Breath if you value getting to the ball quickly over maximum damage per hit.
- Pick Divine Spin if you consistently use Spin and curves to score instead of brute-force hits.
- Pick Fire Spin if you want one racket that does everything reasonably well.
A–D tier rackets: still usable, but more conditional
A-tier rackets like Arcana Edge, Saber Spin, and Shadow I are the realistic ceiling for most players who don’t own Divine or Mythical gear. They offer strong stat spreads with at least one standout area (for example, Arcana Edge’s movement plus reach, or Saber Spin’s dash).
B-tier rackets — Crystal Edge, Danger String, Violet Strike — are functional but require more skill and better positioning to keep up. You can win with them, but they will lose stat races against S-tier options.
C- and D-tier rackets are early-game tools. Nova Core and Plasma Flex have extreme Movement but weak Power and Speed, which holds them back once opponents start hitting harder. Pink Whirl, Vanta Edge, and Glide Pro sit at the bottom: their low stat ceilings mean you replace them as soon as you can.
Racket Rivals spirit tier list
Spirits are your signature active abilities. They decide whether you can save impossible shots, stall time, or force mistakes. Right now, control and utility dominate.
| Tier | Spirits |
|---|---|
| S | Jin, Gazo, Gomu |
| A | Kyoki, Hinari |
| B | Senshu |
| C | Gojin |
S-tier spirits
Gomu freezes the ball in place from anywhere on the court. That single effect does two things: it rescues shots that would be impossible to reach, and it lets you completely reset a rally on your terms. Used well, it functions as both a panic button and a setup tool.
Jin pulls the ball toward you and sets it up for a clean return. That makes it a strong counterpart to aggressive rackets like Soul Smash: you drag a loose ball into position, then spike it straight down. It also works defensively, yanking awkward hits into a safer zone.
Gazo slows down time for a brief window. The ball is easier to read, movement and positioning become more forgiving, and your team can stabilize against heavy pressure or time a coordinated spike more easily. In close games, that extra breathing room is often enough to flip a rally.
A- and B-tier spirits
Kyoki throws a smoke orb that blinds opponents on hit. It’s disruptive rather than outright dominant, since experienced players can still track the ball from context, but in 1v1s and disorganized lobbies it can create free points if you line it up just before a spike.
Hinari lights the ball on fire. While the ball is burning, the enemy team can’t safely touch it unless they use a set to extinguish it first. If their set is on cooldown, Hinari essentially serves a free scoring window.
Senshu drops a defensive zone that automatically repels or sets balls that enter it. It covers space near the net especially well: let the sphere handle the initial contact, then reposition for a follow-up spike into gaps.
Lower-tier spirits
Gojin grants temporary invisibility and a speed boost. It can be mildly confusing in 1v1 scenarios, but it loses value in 2v2 and 3v3, where other players still have enough visual information to block reliably. It trails behind the raw utility of the higher-tier options.
Racket Rivals awakening tier list
Awakenings are powerful, limited-use abilities that change the pace of an entire rally. Some lean into team buffs, others into terrain control or ball manipulation.
| Tier | Awakenings |
|---|---|
| S | Captain Salute, Energy Drain |
| A | Ground Slam, Hocus Pocus, Shred, Tide Wall, Wall Portals |
| B | Fake, Curve Shot |
| C | Gooey, Aimbot |
S-tier awakenings
Captain Salute plants a flag on your side of the court that boosts your team’s movement speed. In 2v2 and 3v3 matches, that effectively widens your coverage and makes both blocks and counterattacks easier. It’s simple, strong, and always relevant.
Energy Drain merges the idea of a team speed buff with an enemy slow. You gain extra tempo while the opposing side moves more sluggishly. It’s less about flashy effects and more about extending your advantage during a critical push or stabilizing when you’re under pressure.
A- and B-tier awakenings
Ground Slam drops rocks on the enemy court, slowing them down. It’s most effective in crowded formats where limiting movement across multiple players makes coordinated defense difficult.
Hocus Pocus turns a teammate invisible. In theory, that should create nasty surprise plays, particularly in 2v2 and 3v3, but the fact that charging animations are still readable limits how deceptive it really is.
Shred sits in the same band as these other strong-but-not-game-breaking options, offering additional pressure without reaching Energy Drain’s flexibility.
Wall Portals temporarily turns court walls into teleporters that send the ball to the enemy side. It rewards planning and angle knowledge more than brute force, which puts it just below the top tier for most players but still very viable in skilled hands.
Tide Wall sends a wave that speeds up your shots and slows returning shuttles. It stays relevant across all formats because ball speed manipulation is always useful, even when team sizes change.
Fake and Curve Shot both modify ball trajectories. Fake produces a decoy shuttle to confuse blocks, while Curve Shot bends the ball sharply. Both shine most in 1v1, where coverage is limited; in full-team modes, extra bodies make these tricks easier to cover.
Gooey applies a slowing, mini-stun effect when the gooed ball hits an opponent. It can dominate small formats when timed correctly, but is more situational overall than the S- and A-tier tools. Aimbot attempts to automatically choose the “best” landing spot, but in practice, sends the ball to predictable, blockable areas and is widely considered the weakest option.
Best loadouts and priorities for beginners
For new players, it’s easy to get lost chasing every banner and spin. A simple priority list keeps things manageable.
1. Lock in a reliable spirit. Aim for S-tier spirits first. Gomu, Jin, and Gazo all smooth out mistakes and give you options in bad positions. They’re forgiving and strong across every match type.
2. Pair that with a top-tier awakening. Captain Salute is the safest first pick if you enjoy team modes, while Energy Drain becomes more appealing once you’re more comfortable pushing tempo yourself.
3. Upgrade your racket as high as your luck allows. A strong racket can carry your early progress on its own, but at higher levels, it needs to sit alongside a strong spirit and awakening. S-tier rackets like Infernis Smash, Soul Smash, Divine Spin, Dragon’s Breath, and Fire Spin are the long-term goals. A-tier options like Arcana Edge or Saber Spin are more than good enough until then.
How to unlock more rackets, spirits, and awakenings
New gear comes from a few different NPCs and systems inside Racket Rivals.
Get new rackets
Step 1: Talk to the coach NPC in the lobby and choose the dialogue option that indicates you want a new racket. This opens the summoning interface.
Step 2: Select the banner you want to summon from. Banners rotate which rackets are featured, so check the lineup before you spend resources.
Step 3: Play ranked matches to earn additional equipment over time. Ranked rewards can fill gaps in your collection even if you are not targeting a specific banner.
Step 4: Visit Jack Potts when available and interact with their systems for extra chances at gear.
Step 5: Level and master different spirits. Mastery can unlock additional rackets tied to those spirits, giving you another path to high-end options.
Get more spirits and awakenings
Step 1: From the main lobby, locate the Spirit NPC and the Awakenings NPC. Each handles rolls for their respective category.
Step 2: Interact with the Spirit NPC to spend spins on new spirits. The results are random, so you may see duplicates before landing on high-tier picks like Jin or Gomu.
Step 3: Interact with the Awakenings NPC to roll for awakenings with awakening-specific spins or currency.
Step 4: Redeem active Racket Rivals codes inside the in-game Shop to pick up extra spins and Yen. Open the Shop, select the codes panel, and submit any current codes to pad out your resources.
Spins are always a gamble, so it takes time to land on the exact spirit–awakening combo you want. Focusing your early resources on the strongest tiers and pairing them with at least an A-tier racket gives you a consistent, competitive loadout while you chase those top-end banners.
