Gajeel is a difficult character to scale, but he is still strong. I wanted to make a post to appreciate and raise awareness regarding Gajeel. Over the last few years, he hasn't received the spotlight or the credit he deserves; yet, even without extensive development, he has notable feats that generally indicate a high power level. For instance, he fought base Natsu during the Aldoron arc and withstood some of Natsu's dual-element attacks. Although Brandish had boosted his size, he still managed to hold his own against the giant Aldoron Dragon Form, and in the current arc, he was able to defeat Zero in his base form. Of course, his defeat by God Serena still needs to be addressed, and while I generally dislike scaling a character up without proper evidence or combat feats, the fandom needs to realize that it isn't just the main team that grows stronger. I really hope that, given his presence in the current arc, Gajeel finally demonstrates feats worthy of one of the guild's strongest characters.

Feel free to rank the spells used by a character of your choice. Use the template below:

Basic Level:

Intermediate Level:

Advanced Level:

Ultimate:

----‐-----------------------------------------------------

Mirajane:

Basic Level: Transformation Magic, Sleep Magic, Satan Soul

Intermediate Level: Satan Soul Halphas, Satan Soul Sitri

Advanced Level: Satan Soul Mirajane Seilah

Ultimate: Satan Soul Mirajane Alegria!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Gray:

Basic Level: Base Ice Make: Lance, Freeze, Hammer, General molding

Intermediate Level: Ice Make Shield, Ice Demon Zero Bow of annihilation, Unlimited: One Sided Chaotic Dance

Advanced Level: Devil Slayer

Ultimate: Ice Make Flames, Freeze Air, Glittering Ice, Ice Shell

----------------------‐--------------------------------------

Lucy:

Basic Level: Summon Celestial Spirits, Forced Gate Closure

Intermediate: Simultaneous double invocation, Star Dress

Advanced Level: Urano Metria, Summon: Celestial Spirit King, Simultaneous triple invocation

Ultimate: Star Dress Mix, Gottfried, Summon: Mercphobia, Fairy Sphere

------------------------------------------------------

Erza:

Basic Level: Telekinesis magic, Weapon-equipping magic, Magic for equipping elemental armor and boosting physical attributes

Intermediate Level: Heaven Wheel Armor, Adamantine Shield

Advanced Level: Clear Heart Clothing, Fairy Armor, Enchantment, Dragon Slayer Sword, Seven-Star Armor

Ultimate: Sword of Fire and Ice enchantment, Enchantment (Fairy Armor: Meteor), Nakagami Armor,Enchantment: Dragon Slayer Armor

-------------------‐-----------------------------------------------------

Cana:

Basic Level: Shuriken Cards, Fortune-telling and location magic

Intermediate Level: Elemental card magic

Advanced Level: Explosive Cards, Card Dimension

Ultimate: Fairy Glitter!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feel free to change the order if you disagree with anything, and add more characters.

Both in the current arc

Was this Hiro Mashima's planned foreshadowing for his fans?

Well, I’m relatively new to Reddit; I joined specifically to have higher-level discussions about character power levels. I won't deny that I really like Lucy—along with Erza, Gajeel, Gray, Brandish, and Mira; she’s likely one of my favorite characters. Even so, I’ve made an effort to debate impartially, even when my opinion might have clashed with fans who—at the time—probably wanted to see their own favorite character come out on top in a specific matchup.

But getting back to the topic: Hiro Mashima published an *omake* (bonus chapter) dealing with bullying and haters, using Lucy as the central figure to address the issue. He incorporated arguments that many people use—or have used—against her. To be completely honest, I didn't even realize she was a target of hate; she’s a well-developed character with a likable personality and creative powers. What stands out, though, is how he addresses these haters—mocking and ridiculing them by portraying them as terrible people—while clearly standing by his main character, since he knows exactly how he created her.

Speaking more broadly than just about Lucy: I honestly don't mind characters getting power-ups, even if they seem completely random. After all, anyone who has followed Mashima for a while knows that things like that—for better or worse—are bound to happen.

Which living mages currently have the most potential to become stronger if they weren't restricted by Hiro Mashima's narrative or writing?

My thoughts (the mages aren't listed in any specific order):

Gray: He has already become very strong, an ice user with a vast arsenal of abilities. Currently, he can freeze the air; I think the next step would be for him to freeze time—that would be immensely OP.

Laxus: An electricity/lightning user and one of the strongest characters in the FT verse. I think he could have spells that create electric animals or creatures; not to mention that electricity is usually associated with speed, so he could have techniques based on that.

Lucy: Now capable of summoning anything—without relying solely on Celestial Spirits—she could amass dragons or any other unknown creature, provided she can produce a key.

Erza: Like Lucy, the narrative places no limits on her; thanks to her armor and enchantments, she can always grow stronger and gain new abilities due to her immense versatility.

Wendy: Basically the *deus ex machina* who solves plot issues; she is always able to innovate with high-level enchantments that can do anything.

Mirajane: Demons rank right behind dragons in terms of importance and feats within Fairy Tail. Depending on how the universe's lore expands, she could grow stronger by gaining powerful new forms.

Meredy: Her magic is very strong and useful; I think her Sensory Link could evolve into a version even stronger than Kyouka's abilities.

Jellal: Celestial body magic—stars and the universe are vast concepts. He ought to have many more abilities involving planetary characteristics and elements; that would be really cool and unique.

Obviously all the members are close to each other and trust one another, but I'd like to know who you think each member's closest relationships are.

My opinion:

Natsu:

- Happy/Lucy

- Gray

- Erza

- Wendy

- Carla

--------------

Lucy:

- Natsu

- Happy

- Gray

- Wendy

- Erza

- Carla

------------

Gray:

- Erza

- Lucy

- Natsu

- Happy

- Wendy

- Carla

------------

Erza:

- Wendy

- Gray

- Natsu

- Lucy

- Happy

- Carla

--------------

Wendy:

- Carla

- Erza

- Lucy

- Natsu

- Happy

- Gray

------------

Happy:

- Natsu

- Lucy

- Carla

- Gray

- Wendy

- Erza

--------------

Carla:

- Wendy

- Happy

- Lucy

- Erza

- Natsu/Gray

Tier list based on the characters from the Grand Magic Games arc.

- Dragons, guild masters, and characters without feats are excluded.

- I did my best to try and rank them by strength, but some characters are practically relative and extremely close in power, making classification more difficult.

NOW THE LIST:

SSS: Future Rogue

SS: Laxus, Jura, Jellal

S: Erza, Kagura, Minerva, Mirajane

A: Natsu [Base+Dual Element], Ultear, Gajeel [Dual Element], Cana [FG], Freed, Sting [END GMG arc], Rogue [END GMG arc], Erik [Cobra], Ichiya, Gray, Rufus, Orga

B: Elfman, Lyon, Bacchus, Lucy, Juvia, Yukino, Sherria, Wendy, Meredy

C: Ren, Miliana, Bickslow, PhanterLily, Evergreen

D: Eve, Flare, Yuka, Arania, Levy, Toby, Hibiki, Lisanna

E: Jenny

---

Additional Comments:

Natsu: Despite being the main protagonist, I think he shouldn't belong to the "S" tier yet, considering Minerva easily blocked his dual element mode even when he was in a rage.

Freed: I think he's a very underrated character in the community. In the "Battle of Fairy Tail and Tenrou Island" arcs, he's portrayed as a high-level character, holding his own against Mirajane for a while, and being a well-rounded fighter with versatile magic.

Sting and Rogue: I'm aware that Natsu defeated both Sting and Rogue together during the tournament qualifiers. However, in the final part, Minerva states that both (especially Sting) have become much stronger than they were.

Ichiya: Yes, he's a comedic character. However, he's shown and referred to as a high-level character. Capable of single-handedly creating the one-shot Bacchus and 4 Puppy mage

Cana: I wasn't sure exactly how to classify her Fairy Glitter, although it's a recitation spell, it's considerably fast and its damage scales above a Jura attack and possibly even Laxus's. Furthermore, Cana has some resources at her disposal, such as shuriken cards and elemental cards.

Miliana: This character has two main differences. In the manga, she possesses a technique that nullifies the opponent's magic; even Natsu, in the "Tower of Paradise" arc, had difficulty breaking it. In the anime, they expand the type of magic she uses, giving her a greater variety of attacks. In that sense, I don't think one thing cancels out the other. While in the manga her team fight (Lyon and Yuka vs. Kagura and Miliana) occurs off-screen, in the anime she is shown as a skilled hand-to-hand combatant with good speed.

Bickslow: In the anime-exclusive arc "Key to the Starry Sky," which is indeed canon, Bickslow is shown to possess a power level close to Wendy's. Therefore, I was careful not to increase their power level too much, and I also increased Wendy's power level due to her receiving the Second Origin buff. While not a very significant change, Bickslow is canonically stronger than Evergreen.

For better viewing

- This tier list respects character progression and the passage of time.

- Yes, the characters are ranked by ordered strength respectively , although there are many criteria involved and it's difficult to rank characters who are practically equal in power level.

Additional comments: - Jellal: In my previous tier, and in popular opinion, he probably should have been lower, but I decided to raise him due to his performance against Acnologia in the Alvarez arc. It would be inconsistent to equate him with God Serena, who was killed via speed blitz.

Juvia: With her increased power due to her emotions, she performed excellently against Anchor; however, I placed her where she is because it was a fight that explored the compatibility of magic and her having Gray's assistance. For me, it's still uncertain how she would perform against other mages without these advantageous/counterfeit factors.

Ignia: This is a personal opinion, and it always generates differing opinions. When Ignia fused with Faris, he defeated a more updated version of Natsu, even easily overcoming an attack that killed Acnologia in the past (rainbow flames). I think it's fair to give him the benefit of the doubt and share the tier with Acnologia.

Hades [Base] and Makarov: Although Hades surpassed Makarov in the Tenrou arc, I placed them where they are precisely because of the time gap. In that same arc, Makarov manages to hold Acnologia in dragon form for a while, which I see as a pretty decent feat. Using the power scale from the Alvarez arc according to Juliet/Heine, Makarov would initially represent a greater threat than Mirajane, so there was no way to rank him lower.

NOW THE LIST:

GOD TIER+

- Acnologia [Prime Dragon Form], Ignia [+Faris]

GOD TIER:

- Natsu [Prime], Acnologia [Base Dragon Form], Ignia [Base Dragon Form], Selene [Dragon Form], Viernes [Dragon Form], Aldoron [Dragon Form], Mercphobia [Dragon Form], Zeref [FH], Igneel [Prime], Dogramag, Faris

ELITE TIER:

- Elefseria [Dragon Form], Acnologia [Base Human], Zeref [Base], Bestia, Natsu [Dual Element+Intermediate modes], Laxus, Athena, August, Irene [Dragon], Erza[Enchantments], Earthbuild [Human], Suzaku, Kirin, Gray [DS], Selene [Human], Viernes [Human], Igneel [Human], MotherGlare [Human], Anchor [Human], Wed [Dragonized], Jellal, Phoenix, Levia, Scissor Runner

HIGH SPRIGGAN:

- Larcade, Dimaria [Age Seal+God Soul], Gildarts [Alvarez Arc], Misaki, Duke Barbaroa, Haku, God Serena

MID SPRIGGAN:

- Ennie Signario [Dragonized], Erza [Base], Natsu [Emotional base buff], Animus, Brandish, Lucy [SDM+Merc Key], Gajeel [Dual Element], Mirajane [Alegria Form], Zero [+Brain], Sting [Dual Element], Sherria [3O], Luso Signario [Dragonized], Wendy [Dragon Force], Bloodman

MID-LOW SPRIGGAN:

- Juvia [Emotional Base Buff], Mavis, Natsu [Regular Base], Gray [Regular Base], Lecka [Dragonized], Deamon, Gears, Brian [Dragonized], Skullion, Kiria, Ajeel, Youko [Earthland Version], Mirajane [Satan Soul], Invel, Macbeth [Midnight], Jacob, Neinhart, Elfman [Aldoron Arm], Metro, Lucy [SD Base+Spirits]

LOW SPRIGGAN:

- Walh, Zash, Wraith, Arlock, Future Rogue, Hakune [Earthland], Mard Gear, Swan, Minerva, Doll

SAINT MAGE TIER:

- Makarov [Alvarez Arc], Erik [Cobra], Gaia, Juvia [Base], Nebaru [DF], Juliet, Heine, Draco Hyberion, Wolfhein, Jura [Alvarez Arc], Bluonote, Hades, Kagura [Alvarez Arc], Mimi [Earthland], Madmole, Sting [Base], Rogue, Warrod, Sawyer [Racer], Raaj [Dragonized], Wendy [Base], Blade, Gennai, Kotetsu, Gapri, Jiemma, Kyouka, Natsu [END Tartaros Arc], Gate, Bird

Sub Spriggan:

- Silver, Cana [FG], Fried, Tempester, Franmalth, Seilah, Ultear, Jose, Sorano [Angel]

S CLASS MAGE TIER:

- Ichiya, Lyon, Ur, Torafuzar, Lisanna, Bakael, Marin, Richard [Hoteye], Lucy [Tartaros Arc], Jackal, Layla, Yukino [Star Dress], Jerome, Mystogan, Briar, Azuma, Mary

A CLASS MAGE TIER:

- Bacchus, Orga, Ezel, Rufus, Erza [Tenrou Arc/Pre Time Skip], Erza Knightwalker, Natsu [GMG arc], Dyst, Coordinator, Meredy, Keyes, Zancrow, Nebaru [Base], Yukino [Base]

B CLASS MAGE TIER:

- Ren, Bickslow, Carbuncle, Chase, Ikaruga, Sherria [Base], Doom, Kama, Kamika, Cosmos, Ousuke, Evergreen, Max, PhanterLily [Human Form], Miliana, Eve, Lucy [GMG arc], Erigor, Rutyrose, Zoldeo, Kain Hikaru, Flare, Arania, Aria

C CLASS/SUPPORT MAGE:

- Mest, Neppa, Byro, Misfortune, Carla [Human], Yuka, Romeo, Macao, Wakaba, Vidalus, Kawasu, Yomasu, Sherry, Levy, Sai [Base], Alzack, Bisca, Hibiki, Fukuro, Warren, Laki

BOTTOM TIER:

- Jet, Droy, Toby, Reedus, Nab, Sol, Totomasu, Volcan, Bora, Vjeter, Kinana