Beyblade X parts analysis

 Hello community,

I am back, and this time, I have with me some Beyblade X parts analysis. With Beyblade X being so new and the points being different than the original Beyblade Metal series or HMS series, I thought this might be a perfect time to do analysis.

As per my good friend WBO Dan, X is a lot of fun but it also takes player control out in a strange way. You can be winning but then due to no fault of your own, a lucky hit can push the opponent bey to the rail and cause that bey to use the Xtreme dash and burst you or KO you. I feel that sentiment is very common so I thought maybe it would be worth to break down the parts and analyze them. Keep in mind that while I agree somewhat with the sentiment, there are some ways whereby you can control your fate. 

Blades:

1. Hells Scythe: The "jack of all trades but master of none" blade. It has decent attack and usually shines in counter attack due to its good weight distribution. Due to its versatility (for both attack and defensive combos) I would say this is a must have blade for competitive Beyblade X. 

2. Knight Shield: Another "jack of all trades" type blade, it is only second to Hells Scythe in versatility. It is very well rounded (haha....see what I did there?) that is very strong when it comes to defense but also can used as counter-attack against attack types. Its only weakness is that unlike Hells Scythe, it has very little to offer against stamina type blades such as Wizard Arrow. It is a very safe pick overall and thus is a great blade to have. 

3. Dran Sword: The ultimate attack blade, it can easily be the best blade when its new. However it wears down fast due to its aggressive design and then its performance dramatically decreases. Even when worn though, it is a great blade that can be used for counter attack because of its high recoil and weight. Due to its heavy weight, the weight distribution is not ideal and it is more prone to losing balance which is something that players need to be careful about.

4. Wizard Arrow: A very good stamina blade with its outward weight distribution, it is best suited with passive bits. This is because while it can be used with aggressive bits, its low weight makes its attacks a bit lackluster. However, for niche stamina uses, it is a great blade to have. 

5. Knight Lance: A weaker version of Hells Scythe, it is a great counter attack blade. Its only weakness is that it has gaps between the ratchet and the blade itself which increase the probability of bursting. However, barring that small issue, its a great blade that can be used for counter attack. It can also be used an attack blade, but from my experience it is better suited for counter attack.

6. Dranzer Spiral: A very light blade which is a replica from a era gone by, Dranzer spiral is a blade that is not recommended for competitive use. While some players have used it and won a few matches, it is a blade that is overshadowed by every other blade available in X so far. Its too light for attack and relies on a very amazing launch to win. Its too light to save itself from attacks so it loses stamina very quickly. It is best used by people who have an emotional attachment to Bakuten Shoot Beyblade. 

7. Shark Edge: A very aggressive blade that has the ability to KO pretty much anything. Its only weakness is that due to its high recoil, it also loses stamina. It is a glass cannon and can be only used as attack. Along with Dran Sword, this is a fantastic attack blade and is extremely good in the hands of a well experienced beyblader. 

S Tier: Hells Scythe, Dran Sword (mint condition)

A Tier: Knight Lance, Knight Shield, Wizard Arrow

B tier: Dran Sword (worn), Shark Edge

C tier: Dranzer Spiral

Discussion: A lot of you would be surprised as to why I have kept Shark Edge so low in the tier list. That is an excellent question. This is because Shark Edge is a blade that requires a very high skill level. It also has high recoil which kills its stamina. Keeping all these into account, I would place Shark Edge in the B tier because of the very high risks involved. Hells Scythe and Dran Sword (mint condition) are perhaps the easiest to use because Dran Sword has great recoil and weight and can reliably KO pretty much every Beyblade while Hells Scythe has the highest stamina and attack combo. Due to its high stamina-attack combo, Hells Scythe is very popularly used even in defensive combos like Japanese Hells Scythe Ball combo or the Hells Scythe Needle "Siracha" combo. 

Knight Lance is a pretty good counter attack blade which is held back by its gaps. However due to it being able to go well with 3 or 4 sided ratchets, its a very reliable counter attack blade. Knight Shield on the other hand is a very stable defensive blade. It does not have the same stamina as Wizard Arrow and loses to stamina matchups, however its low recoil due to round shape vs Wizard Arrow makes it a little bit more defensively consistent blade.

Wizard Arrow is in an interesting spot. It is currently in A tier for me but I can understand if people put it in B tier. It is lightweight but has outward weight distribution which greatly assists it when it comes to stamina combos. Since stamina is a safe pick, it goes very well with most passive bits like Ball, Needle and High Needle. Its not completely round so it does have a little bit of recoil but that recoil benefits it because it allows the other blade to hit Wizard Arrow and move it farther so it can keep its stamina rather than just take attacks and wear down its speed. 

Dran Sword when worn loses its recoil but its weight can be used to make some counter attack combos. However since its heavy, it also works against it as it can lose balance much more earlier than a lot of other counter attack combos. 

Lastly, we have Dranzer spiral. People can argue that it can be used as an attack but honestly speaking, in that same capacity....any other blade would do better. Dranzer Spiral blade cannot be used in any serious capacity and in fact, even players who really say that its a good blade haven't won any tournaments using Dranzer Spiral. Its for collection purposes only. 

Ratchets:

Ratchets in Beyblade X have been a mixed bag as more testing is still required. The 60 ratchets (3-60, 4-60) are general a bit looser than their 80 counter parts (3-80 and 4-80). This however doesn't mean much because passive bits like High Needle, Needle and Ball are prone to bursting than their more aggressive counterparts like Flat, Low Flat and Tapered. As such, further testing is required to see if beyblade height makes a significant difference in their ability to burst. 

For aggressive combos where one wants the blade to make contact and hit the other blade, 60 bits are preferred. This goes for both passive and aggressive combos. For instance, if a passive combo is a counter-attack combo which requires blades to hit each other, then 60 is preferred. If however, the passive combo is supposed to avoid combo and purely be a stamina/defensive type, 80 ratchets can be used. The sides of the bit 3 vs 4 is purely determined by weight distribution and exposed points. If a blade like Dran Sword, which has 3 sides, has 4 ratchet attached to it then it will have more exposed ratchet points and poor weight distribution resulting in lower stamina and higher probability to burst. 

Bits:

Bits are very important in Beyblade X as they, along with your launch technique, determine the behavior of your Beyblade. For instance, if you want your Beyblade to move around the stadium aggressively then  a Flat, low Flat or Tapered bit would be perfect. However, if you prefer your Beyblade to stay around the middle of the stadium then bits like Ball, High Needle and Needle would be better for you. Currently while knockouts (KOs), Xtreme finishes and burst have more points than out-spinning opponent Beyblades, blades have to also remember the probability of outcome. What does that mean exactly? Lets say Shark Edge is a very aggressive blade on aggressive bit and can easily KO and Xtreme finish every Beyblade, the probability of the opponent to rebound back into the stadium and outlasting Shark Edge might be better. If the probability of the passive bit is 70% (for example), then it might be to use that passive bit because you might collect more points before an aggressive bit has had the chance to KO your Beyblade. 

1. Ball: A fairly rounded bit that provides a smooth and large surface area. The larger surface area prevents the Beyblade from losing balance. Its smooth surface also allows the Beyblade to spin for much longer time which is why it is the best stamina tip overall currently. However, launching it really hard may cause it to behave aggressively for a while which might negate the entire purpose of the bit so be very careful of how you are launching. 

2. Needle: A very sharp bit with a very small surface area which makes it more prone to KOs. However it is truly a passive bit and with some careful choice of blades can be used as a good counter attack bit. Between the Ball and Needle, Ball generally wins on stamina though. 

3. High Needle: An advanced version of Needle, High Needle is a little bit taller and has better balance. It is a true defensive bit and in my testing, outclasses Needle for defensive abilities. However for counter attack, the results are mixed and sometimes better results can be obtained from the shorter Needle. 

4. Flat: A really good attack bit that has a little bit more stamina than Low Flat. It has low stamina so its best use is to be used with a heavy recoil or attack heavy blade than can abuse other Beyblades. 

5. Low Flat: An extremely aggressive bit, its shorter height makes it very good for upper attack Beyblade combos. It takes the rail faster and much more often than any other bit, however it has extremely low stamina. Due to it taking the rail often and being so aggressive, it is also more prone to self KOs and Xtreme finishes.

6. Tapered: The "jack-of-all-trades" but master of none bit, tapered is the Honda Accord of the Beyblade X world. It doesn't have the same aggressiveness as Flat or Low Flat, but it boasts higher stamina and thus can use its attacks more time than Flat and Low Flat which would usually exhaust their stamina in 2-3 hits. 

S tier: Ball, High Needle

A tier: Needle, Flat

B tier: Low Flat, Tapered

Discussion: Tapered is ONLY in B tier because there aren't enough blades to take advantage of it. Blades that can take advantage of that bit are better used with other bits. As such, please be advised that Tapered is very much likely going to go up in the tier list very soon. 

Low Flat is B tier due to its high probability of self-KO and very low stamina. It is definitely much better suited in the hands of a skilled beyblader as compared to Flat. Flat does most things that Low Flat can do and it does it well. It also has higher stamina so I feel overall it is much more useful than Low Flat. 

Ball is currently the BEST bit by-far due to its consistency. You can use Ball with almost ANY blade and get good results. For this reason, Ball is a MUST HAVE bit for competitive Beyblade X. High Needle is only at the top with Ball due to its consistency in defensive combinations. In my opinion, in this world of uncertainty (uncertainty of jobs, uncertainty of inflation, uncertainty of rising interest rates, uncertainty of peace), consistency is VERY VERY highly valued. This is because once we are positive of how a bit will behave, we can add blades and other parts accordingly. 

Lastly, Needle is in A tier only because it fits only counter attack combinations and is easy to KO.