Beyblade Burst Competitive Tier List By Part (Drivers)

Hey everyone!

I recently decided to take it upon myself to create a competitive tier list by part for BST. All of the data used for this table was taken from the winning combinations used in events I have hosted between July of last year to today.

These threads will serve to explain how and why each part is in the position that it is in on the tier list, and a brief rundown of the different combos and uses that each part has. My hope is that new players can utilize this thread to make informed decisions about combo choices before tournaments. 

Let's jump into the Drivers:
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S-Tier:

High Xtend+':
This Driver is very similar in function to it's predecessor Xtend+, however this adds some height to the driver which allows it to be used on DB/BU discs without scraping. Stamina mode is the primary use, which is fantastic in both same and opposite-spin, and the Defense mode and Attack mode are both excellent for opposite-spin. All around this is an excellent driver for stamina and equalization and there aren't many things in the meta that can deal with it aside from well played attack types and some BDr combos. It is, without question, the most dominant driver in BDrless currently, and one of the most dominant even with BDr in play.

Bearing Drift/MBD :
Hands-down the top driver in the format and nearly impossible to beat. Bearing Drift and MBD are without a shadow of a doubt the leaders of the format, and so much so that they are the among the only drivers that are currently allowed to be banned in Ranked events. It is a slightly less flat version of drift with a bearing inside that allows it more stability and much better same-spin capability. Any beyblade is made better by throwing a BDr on it. It's great for any and all stamina types and even pretty solid as a defense type. The only surefire ways to beat it are by knocking it out with an attack type, which is a difficult trick to pull off, or outspinning it with an opposite-spin equalizing stamina type, and its probably going to have to be on Drift.

A-Tier:

Xplosion/Xp':
Xplosion is a very curious case, as on release and long after, there weren't many uses found for it. It has everything it needs to be a good attack type driver, but it seemingly had an issue of losing control quickly and throwing itself out of the stadium. 
Turns out, you just can't launch it like a normal attack driver.
Xplosion has a few very important applications in the meta, now that we have figured out how to use it effectively. Whether it be LAD Guilty or Anti-Attack Burst, a little bit of launch strategy makes this thing an absolute powerhouse.
In opposite-spin attack matchups, it will almost always outspin something like Xtreme' or Quick'. Not only that, but Xplosion is so good at equalizing, it actually can equalize and win against opposite spin BDr and HXT+' combos.

Xtreme'/Metal Xtreme/Quick':
Xtreme and Quick are a bit different but they are used in the same way. They are both rubber flat attack drivers and they are both used at an angle to create a flower pattern. They are commonly considered to be the strongest available attack drivers as they move the fastest around the stadium thanks to the grippy rubber tip on them. The only downside being that flat rubber tips tend to cause the bey to slow down and stop before the opponent if they don't manage to get the K.O. early in the match. Due to this risk they do require an incredible amount of skill and practice to use, and they also tend to wear down pretty quickly, which does tend to make them less aggressive and as such, less useful.

Drift/MDr:
Drift and MDr are the premier opposite-spin stamina drivers in Burst. They are often used on Burst, World, Vanish, and other opposite-spin equalizers. They do require a bit of skill and practice to launch effectively, but they are so good at equalizing that they, along with BDr and MBD the only other parts in the format that are currently allowed to be banned from ranked events. If used properly, they are also some of the best counters for BDr and MBD combos in the opposite spin-direction.

B-Tier:

Xceed'+Z:
See Xplosion/Xp' above. Very much the same idea. Xceed'+Z will effectively do the same thing for both LAD Guilty and Anti-Attack Burst, but it is a bit less aggressive, and has a bit more LAD. So it's less likely to get a knockout with Xc'+Z but it is much more likely to win via equalization.

Bearing'/Bearing:
Before the release of BDr and BMb, Bearing' might have been considered the top stamina driver. It was and is still used quite heavily, as it is the original same-spin freespinning driver. It works in opposite-spin as well, however in both spin directions it does have a higher tendency to tip than BDr, and it sits lower than most other stamina drivers in the format, so it often causes the bey it's on to get forced down into the stadium to scrape. 

Evolution':
Evolution' is still a pretty common pick for people using Guilty and Ultimate. It sits higher than Xtreme' and Quick' so many prefer those on Guilty, but Evolution' does have mildly higher stamina, and as such can get some late game KO's that you won't see as often on the other rubber drivers. Evolution' being higher does make it riskier for Attack vs. Attack matchups, as it gets uppered easier.

Moment:
Moment is widely considered to be the go-to defense driver in Burst, and that has a lot to do with the fact that it's actually an excellent stamina driver too. It is used often on Wind combos with Spread' and usually one of the heavier cores like Xcalibur or Perseus, to keep it anchored to the stadium.

Xtreme/Quick:
See Xtreme'/Quick' above.
These are down here instead of up there because the ones up there have better burst resistance. Otherwise, these are the same driver.

Mobius:
An excellent driver for opposite-spin equalization, with some niche use in attack combos. The most common combos with Mobius currently are on Vanish, Burst, and Astral. It tends to fling itself around the ridge until it slows down, then heads for the center to slow down the opponent. Should only be used in opposite-spin matchups for stamina, does not work in same-spin at all. 
For attack, this driver see's occasional play on Guilty, Ultimate, and Xiphoid. Because it flings around the stadium so quickly, some players have been able to angle launch it so that it will go to the middle first, then if it succeeds in knocking the opponent to the ridge, it will continue a flurry of attacks from the outside of the stadium that will usually throw the opponent flying out. If it fails to throw the opponent out, it will go back to it's roots of equalizing with opposite-spin, and dying to same-spin.

Bearing Mobius:
Bearing Mobius and Mobius have the same relationship as Bearing Drift and Drift. BMb has a slightly less flat freespinning plate on the bottom, as opposed to Mobius' flat plate, but it has a bearing that allows it to be more useful in same-spin matchups as well as opposite-spin. Bearing Mobius will work well in most places that BDr will, but it seems to do best on left-spin blades like Vanish and Burst.

Zone'+Z:
Zone'+Z is an excellent opposite-spin stamina driver, and is very underrated. It is mid-height, very stable, and has great balance and low center of gravity that keeps it grounded to the stadium. Works great against opposite-spin attack and opposite-spin stamina, but unfortunately dies to opposite-spin Drift due to height disadvantage, and anything Same-spin.

C-Tier:

Never/MNv:
Never and Metal Never are great low-height stamina drivers. They are reliable in same and opposite spin, but unfortunately they just don't really hold up against BDr and HXt+'. They also get tossed out by attack pretty easily, so you wouldn't want to be staring Guilty in the face while piloting this driver.

Keep':
Keep' finds itself in this tier with a few other defense drivers, and the truth is, it's because defense isn't widely used in Burst competitive. There are a few defense and anti-attack combos that see some niche play, but its not common enough for something like Keep' to show up in the top 4 more than once or twice a season.

Jolt'/Hunter':
These are alternatives to Quick' and Xtreme'. Both feature slightly harder rubber than the prior, and both are a bit lower, which gives them a higher scrape risk, and makes them much worse at maintaining a flower pattern. That being said, Hunter' does seem to have mildly better stamina than Xtreme', however not enough to make it as viable as something like Xplosion.

Moment'
Moment really got the short straw when it came to dash variants. Moment is an excellent driver, and most of the variations of it in terms of mold are actually quite good, even on the lower end. Unfortuantely for Moment', a high percentage of them have an issue caused by the mold that makes the freespinning parts seize up at certain angles. Part of what makes Moment good as a defense driver is the ability to win equalizing matchups against Guilty, specifically LAD Guilty. Unfortunately, most Moment' can't seem to scrape out the win in those matchups. You're better off with a yellow or orange Moment thana Moment' unfortunately.

Zeal
Zeal finds itself in a very similar situation to Keep'
Moment handles itself better in Opposite-Spin, being able to equalize with LAD Guilty is very necessary, and Zeal has a very difficult time with this feat. It's a great option if you don't have Moment, but otherwise, it won't see much play.

Unite'
Same situation as Zeal and Keep' but with maybe a bit more potential. Better for Same-spin defense, and still can handle opposite-spin defense. See Zankye's video about Chain Unite'

D-Tier:

Hold':
Great driver, but most DB/BUR Combos are just too heavy for it. It loses a lot of its aggressive nature when there's too much weight sitting on it.

High Wave':
Has it's applications in Same-Spin, but just isn't as good as some other easier-to-obtain options.

Destroy':
See Hold' above. Same exact issue. Can't maintain it's pattern when there's so much weight on top of it. Still viable on Guilty, but so is everything because it's Guilty. Keep Destroy' in GT.

E-Tier:
EVERYTHING ELSE

Happy Blading!
I don't know why you think most Moment' seize up, this is the first I'm hearing of it and isn't anything I've witnessed or heard of before. Back when it was new I heard quite the opposite actually, with quite a few people claiming it was far smoother spinning yet still as stable as the better molds of Moment, so this actually seems rather backwards. Are you sure you and your friends just didn't get unlucky or something here?

I don't think Keep(') is all that good. I've actually seen it lose in LAD to Xtreme' combos, something which Unite' doesn't suffer from. Only real use for Keep(') is same spin defense, which is niche on top of being niche. Just not worth it over Unite(') honestly.

Similarly, High Wave' is a lot better than you'd think. There's not many options that can easily throw down with Bearing Drift in same spin, but this is probably the best. It just loves smacking opponents into the ground from above, its only issue is its lack of LAD and relatively middling KO resistance.

Metal Never also for some reason seems to have better stability and stronger spin times, and particularly good or lucky molds can actually beat Bearing Drift sometimes. It's a bit mold dependent though.

Most Moment' don't seize up like you're describing. I have no idea where this is coming from, because my own data from around that time rather firmly disagrees and sees Moment' as a straight upgrade for burst resistance, while also merging the high stamina of early Moment molds with the higher stability and LAD of later Moment molds. I did hear of this from some original Moment molds, are you sure you didn't get these two mixed up?

Metal Never is oddly more stable and sturdy than regular Never, with just a little more stamina and LAD to it. In the Midwest one blader managed to repeatedly defeat Bearing Drift in opposite spin with it, though this isn't usually so commonplace. Think its biggest issue is that it's a little on the short side and tends to get pressed into the floor a little too easily.

Keep' is just... eh. Unite' isn't that much less KO resistant and doesn't frequently lose to Xtreme' in opposite spin, which Keep totally can do. I'd actually argue this is still too high, it's only really decent in same spin defense which is niche on top of being niche. Zeal is this but strictly better too, and by a lot more.

Zone'+Z is a strange conundrum, since its best attributes are pure Defense and Burst Attack. That's right, it for some reason can help you get more bursts. Octa was similar, this is pretty much Octa but not mediocre. The Hasbro +Z chip, which is purely plastic, pretty much makes it into a second copy of High Xtend+' instead, with the same great LAD but more stamina and control at the cost of losing some of that Defense and Burst power. It's kind of funny how dissimilar the two chips are, but this is a thing you can legally do so I figured I'd bring it up because +HasZ is legitimately a great Stamina driver in the way TT's +Z isn't.

High Wave' is also better than you're giving it credit for. Few things easily outspin Bearing Drift in same spin, and most of those alternatives are people running older drivers like Gyro/Yielding/e.t.c. that Bearing Drift doesn't do as well against. High Wave' is likely the best of these sorts of drivers, and though relegated to same spin at its best is likely the hardest one to outspin in the same direction entirely. It's really a lot more underrated than it should be (and way too low on this list), but people aren't willing to take the same spin risk often enough to make the most of it.