Many people want to know how the tier list gets started so here is a look at our process:

First, we assemble a team (kind of like the Avengers) and send out a survey to see where people think a particular dino should fall. This survey is done prior to any sim results being released so the results are based on experience with the creatures in the arena and any friendly battles we do (and trust us, we do a lot!). Then we compile the results and if there is any dino that had less than 65% of the group agreeing on the tier it goes on the "contested list". That's when the real fun begins. Imagine almost 30 people in a closed channel on discord trying to discuss where Thoradolodaur should be placed. Both sides of the argument make their case and we do one more vote to determine the ultimate placement. Everyone also has a veto where they can bring up a dino or appeal the placement of one already discussed.

Some of the dinos on the list are only in that specific tier because they lost or won by 1 vote so just because it isn't where you might think it should have been, doesn't mean there aren't other people that agree with you! We tried to make it as democratic as a process as possible.

Our tier list is based on strictly even levels disregarding boosts. This is an important piece of information because eventually you will hit lesser and lesser returns on your creatures with boosts, and a tier list can help you figure out what to keep working on and what you should have abandoned long ago because it hits a ceiling that makes it a liability. Our tier list is meant to help you -- all things being equal -- find the very best creatures and hopefully the best investments for your boosts.

This also means rarity is not taken into consideration when discussing the tier list. Spawns change. Arena exclusives become not so exclusive. And now sanctuaries even opens up a new world of possibilities for people to attain DNA that was previously impossible to get outside of featured dinosaurs or incubators.

Our tier list is based on discussion and matchups. We run hundreds of friendly battles on our own, determining what is working and what isn't. We have a comprehensive combat simulator created by the JWA Field Guide that helps us see how every single creature stacks up against every single other creature and we run every 1v1 matchup 4000 times.

But this is not a simulation tier list. If it were, we'd have it ready for you on patch day. This is a tier list that 25+ wonderfully talented and intelligent individuals have discussed ad-nauseum to get to the bottom of each creature, using ALL information at our disposal (friendly battles, simulation results, our own arena experiences, etc).