Sub Abilities in Bizarre Lineage function as a secondary skill layer on top of your Stand. They don't replace your Stand — they supplement it with three active skills and one passive, giving you more combo routes, sustain, or ranged pressure depending on which one you equip. Choosing the right Sub Ability matters just as much as rolling a strong Stand, especially once you start pushing into PvP and late-game PvE content.
Quick answer: Vampire is the strongest overall Sub Ability right now thanks to its lifesteal, crowd control, and passive HP regeneration, though The Ripple is a close competitor if you prioritize raw stun damage and combo potential.
Bizarre Lineage Sub Abilities tier list
| Tier | Sub Ability |
|---|---|
| S | Vampire |
| A | The Ripple (Hamon) |
| B | Half-Human Half-Machine (Cyborg) |
| D | Human (default) |
Rankings here reflect performance across both PvP duels and PvE boss fights. There is genuine debate between Vampire and The Ripple for the top spot — some players who focus heavily on combo-oriented PvP builds prefer The Ripple's stun chains, while Vampire's survivability gives it the edge in longer engagements and solo content. Both are strong enough that your playstyle should be the deciding factor.
Vampire — S tier
Vampire is the most complete Sub Ability in Bizarre Lineage. Every part of its kit feeds into staying alive while dealing respectable damage. The passive alone is significant: Vampires have constant HP regeneration (+0.02 HP at all times), and when the red Blood Meter fills up, High-Speed Regeneration kicks in for an additional +0.04 HP recovery. You are genuinely difficult to kill with this running.
The three active skills cover crowd control, lifesteal, and lockdown. Leeching Terror grabs an opponent, drains their blood, and heals you simultaneously — it functions as a short CC, a damage tool, and a sustain ability all in one move. Flash Freeze is a multi-stage combo that launches the target with an uppercut, freezes them mid-air, then slams them into the ground with a stun. It creates strong positional advantage and is arguably the best crowd control ability among all Sub Abilities. Space Ripper Stingy Eyes fires twin eye beams that briefly stun on hit and apply burn damage, giving you a ranged poke option.
The main downside is that Vampire's raw damage output is slightly lower than The Ripple's. More importantly, both The Ripple and Cyborg deal bonus damage to Vampires by design, which means you'll take extra punishment from anyone running those Sub Abilities. In practice, the sustain advantage usually outweighs this soft counter, but it's worth knowing about.
The Ripple (Hamon) — A tier
The Ripple trades survivability for devastating stun-based combos and high burst damage. Every ability in this kit applies crowd control of some kind, and all three deal bonus damage to Vampires — making it a natural counter pick in the current meta where Vampire is so popular.
Sunlight Yellow Overdrive is a close-range barrage that stuns and opens a vulnerability window, amplifying your follow-up damage. Sendo Ripple Overdrive sends a fast-traveling shockwave along the ground that stuns enemies on contact, working as both a combo starter and extender from range. Scarlet Overdrive channels Hamon energy into a dash punch that ragdolls the target and pulls them toward you while applying a vulnerability debuff. Chaining these together can delete opponents before they get a chance to react.
The passive grants slight passive regeneration, but nothing close to Vampire's sustain. The Ripple's weakness is that it has no real defensive utility — no lifesteal, no significant healing, no damage reduction. In longer fights or against multiple enemies, you'll feel the lack of survivability. The kit also feels somewhat specialized around countering Vampires, which is powerful right now, but could become niche if new Sub Abilities are added later.
Half-Human Half-Machine (Cyborg) — B tier
Cyborg offers a 15% defense boost as its passive, which reduces incoming damage across the board. The active skills lean toward ranged pressure. Machine Gun fires rapid projectile damage from the torso with brief stuns on each bullet impact. Missile Volley launches missiles in a straight line that detonate on impact for AoE damage and a brief stun. Ultraviolet Radiation Apparatus grabs a target and blasts them with sustained ultraviolet damage, also dealing bonus damage to Vampires.
The ranged abilities work well as finishers and supplement melee-oriented Stands that lack poke options. The problem is that both Missile Volley and Machine Gun are heavily telegraphed, making them relatively easy to dodge in PvP. The moveset doesn't combo as fluidly with Stand abilities compared to Vampire or The Ripple. Cyborg is reliable and functional, but it feels underwhelming next to the top two options.
Human — D tier
Human is the default Sub Ability. It provides passive health regeneration during extended PvE farming, but the regeneration rate is too slow to matter in any PvP scenario. There's no active skill set attached. You should replace Human with any of the three unlockable Sub Abilities as soon as possible.
How to unlock each Sub Ability
Each Sub Ability requires completing a specific questline tied to an NPC trainer. You cannot simply purchase them — you need to find the right NPC, start their quest, and finish the objectives to gain access to the full moveset.
Vampire requires a Vampire Mask item, which you can buy from the shop or find in chests. Use the mask while you don't already have Vampire equipped, then head to Dio's Chapel and speak with the Elder Vampire NPC. He'll give you a quest that unlocks the full Vampire skill set upon completion. The Elder Vampire is located near Bus Station 18 — enter the gate, turn left toward the cave before the big castle, go through the cave, and head right to the chapel.
The Ripple starts at Bus Stop 13. Look for the Ancient Ghost NPC near the sunflowers. Interacting with him triggers the Ripple questline. Complete his objectives to unlock all three Ripple abilities and the passive. Night Vampires, which you'll need to defeat for part of the quest, spawn at night near Bus Stop 1 (behind the trees past the Rengatei coffee shop) and near the George NPC at Bus Station 11.
Half-Human Half-Machine begins at Bus Stop 3. Speak with Rudol von Stroheim, who is located behind the stone wall dojo near the Karate Sensei NPC. Complete his objectives to unlock the Cyborg abilities and the defense passive.
Sub Abilities vs. Fighting Styles
Bizarre Lineage also has Fighting Styles (Karate, Boxing, Kendo), which are separate from Sub Abilities. You can equip one Sub Ability and one Fighting Style at the same time — they stack. However, you cannot equip two Sub Abilities or two Fighting Styles simultaneously. Sub Abilities modify your dash visuals and grant a passive plus three active skills, while Fighting Styles change your M1 and M2 attacks and also provide three active skills.
Sub Abilities do not remove or replace your Stand. Everything layers together: Stand abilities, Sub Ability skills, and Fighting Style moves all coexist in your loadout. The developers have also stated that fully Standless builds using only Sub Abilities or Fighting Styles are intended to be viable.
What about Spin?
The Spin Sub Ability appeared during early testing but is not currently available in the game. No official release date has been confirmed for its return. When it does get added in a future update, it will likely come with its own NPC questline and moveset.
For most players, Vampire is the safest pick — the combination of Leeching Terror's lifesteal, Flash Freeze's lockdown, and constant passive regeneration makes it effective in virtually every situation. If you're confident in your combo execution and want to maximize burst damage in PvP, The Ripple is a legitimate alternative that rewards aggressive play. Cyborg fills a niche for ranged supplementation but doesn't match the top two in overall impact. Whichever Sub Ability you choose, pairing it with a strong Stand like White Snake, C-Moon, or Weather Report will give you the tools to handle both PvE grinding and player fights effectively.