Definitive and Absolute Power Tier List.

[Makoeyes987]

Also, I'm not sure if I would call Jecht, even without his Sin enhancements, nothing special! Yes, compared to the planet busting villains he may be, but by themselves, or measured against the heroes? Even back during FFX before I had Dissidia as an example, I figured Jecht's strength was nothing less than brutal. If we put him in the hero bracket for shits and giggles, he'd be nothing less than the middle, I'd say, and even that's underestimation.

How do you figure that? All we know is that he's a helluva blitzball player, and once cut a shoopuff while drunk. I'm sure he's strong but I'd say he's probably as strong as....Auron, as a human.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

How do you figure that? All we know is that he's a helluva blitzball player, and once cut a shoopuff while drunk. I'm sure he's strong but I'd say he's probably as strong as....Auron, as a human.

I think he's stronger than Tidus, I believe, or at the very least, tied. I dunno, I suppose Final Fantasy X doesn't really have planet busting DBZ level humans as part of its setting and narrative. I can accept this (and in a way it's actually refreshing).

 

[Makoeyes987]

I think he's stronger than Tidus, I believe, or at the very least, tied. I dunno, I suppose Final Fantasy X doesn't really have planet busting DBZ level humans as part of its setting and narrative. I can accept this (and in a way it's actually refreshing).

Well I'd say Jecht is physically stronger, while Tidus is faster.

And I guess you forgot about Seymour, and Tidus's gravity defying jumps and Blitzball moves in the opening and other CG movies

Tidus is not strong per se, but he's clearly superhuman in terms of how high he can jump, and his acrobatics.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Well I'd say Jecht is physically stronger, while Tidus is faster.

Most definitely, I can agree to that.

And I guess you forgot about Seymour, and Tidus's gravity defying jumps and Blitzball moves in the opening and other CG movies

Tidus is not strong per se, but he's clearly superhuman in terms of how high he can jump, and his acrobatics.

I'm not saying that everybody in FFX is a bunch of normal dudes. After all, it is a fantasy game. However, like I said before, planet busting powers (within humans, anyway) just isn't a part of it's thematic setting. Not to take anything away from Tidus and company, though.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I'm not saying that everybody in FFX is a bunch of normal dudes. After all, it is a fantasy game. However, like I said before, planet busting powers (within humans, anyway) just isn't a part of it's thematic setting. Not to take anything away from Tidus and company, though.

Right. They leave that shit to the giant floating space whales that float in the sky and tear up all the towns and cities

 

[DrakeClawfang]

1. Terra – An Human/Esper hybrid, with enormous magical potential. She was able to incinerate 50 magitek soldiers in 3 minutes.

I agree with this. Furthermore, Espers were magical demi-gods, a handful of Espers (less than a dozen that we see) kept the Empire powered with Magitek for two decades, and an equally small number of Espers are able to destroy Vector. As a half-breed with them, Terra is certainly the strongest human or demi-human creature in the series. Her magical power is further augmented by her usage of Magicite, which could possibly have enhanced her powers to even beyond normal Espers.

For the villains, let's go with Dissidia's line-up.

Garland is just a normal knight, sure he becomes Chaos, but I don't count that.

Emperor has the ability to summon demons and all that. But otherwise is a standard mage. Not impressed.

CoD is the personification of the Void, she's an ancient, eternal and powerful entity. She's definitely powerful, but doesn't striek me as some all-powerful deity. I dunno, I haven't played FF3 so I guess I'm just uninformed.

Golbez is a standard mage, he's badass but nothing too impressive here.

Exdeath is a mage, standard warlock. He can control the Void to an extent, but ultimately it swallows him, so obviously he never gained full control over it. He destroyed towns, but they came back.

Kefka was a God. He absorbed the power of three Gods and several Espers, and destroyed the world as it was known. He also has the power to create beings of magical energy to fight for him, and standard high-powered magical attacks.

Sephiroth was almost a God. He also has standard magical powers, and can survive death to an extent. He can craft monsters and other beings out of spirit energy, but has to do so through another medium (Jenova), and his ability to do so seems limited.

Ultimecia is capable of destroying the space-time continuum and wiping out existence itself. She can create beings out of thought and give life to inanimate objects. She also has general destructive magical powers like Holy, Flare, Meteor, etc.

Kuja can create Monsters from Mist, has the ability to enter Trance and destroy an entire world, and can enslave Eidolons using the Invincible. He also has a lot of high-powered spells.

Jecht as Jecht is just a burly brute. As Sin, Jecht can spawn off lesser monsters from himself to fight, and is incredibly massive and destructive. The thing is the Sin-Jecht can be killed, it's the spirit of Yu Yevon that is invincible, so while Sin, Jecht can still be killed.

I'd say it's a toss-up between Kuja, Ultimecia and Kefka, with Sephiroth as a runner-up. All four (Sephiroth to lesser degrees but still there) have the ability to create monsters, manipulate matter, have the capacity for incredible destruction, have high magical skills and otherwise are all-around powerful. All four of them also destroy the world as we know it, or come pretty damn close. Kefka is a God, Sephiroth is almost a God, Kuja is a Genome bred to cause chaos, and Ultimecia has the collective of all Sorceress Powers in history. They're all strong.

However, one thing to note. Remember that Ultimecia passes her Sorceress Power on to Edea in the past. This suggests, paradoxically, that Ultimecia's own Sorceress Power, which is absorbed from other Sorceresses throughout history, includes her. Ultimecia has inherited her own power via the time loop, suggesting her powers are literally infinite because she absorbs her own power over and over forever. If you believe such a thing to be possible, that is.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Emperor has the ability to summon demons and all that. But otherwise is a standard mage. Not impressed.

He took over hell, dude!

 

[Makoeyes987]

Calling Emperor Mateus a standard mage is laughable and almost an insult. No standard mage conquers hell and heaven, and laughs at death. The guy was doing shit it took Sephiroth's entire soul and effort to achieve, as if it were nothing. The entire legion of Hell at his command, to conquer the world is nothing to laugh at. Pair that up with his incredible intelligence and manipulation and you have an extremely powerful villain.

And Garland IS Chaos. They are one and the same. He's hardly just a knight, he's a weapon of discord.

...ExDeath isn't a standard mage either. He's an amalgamation of all the evil entities sealed in the Great Forest of Moore. He's not even human. The guy merged with the Void in the end, so he's more than even that. He's nothingness incarnate. To put Kuja, a mere mistake who happened into power through his tenacity and ambition, only to discover that he still couldn't even come his own genetic failure and life span, is laughable. The Invincible isn't even his ship, so him being able to enslave Eidolons is only contingent on if Garland lets him borrow it on the weekends.

Kuja's definitely not in the top. Certainly not above certain other all powerful characters like the Cloud of Darkness, ExDeath, or Emperor Mateus. And putting him in the same league as Ultimecia is an insult to Ultimecia

 

[Cat Rage Room]

And Garland IS Chaos. They are one and the same. He's hardly just a knight, he's a weapon of discord.

You know Dissidia better than I do; Is it acceptable within the realm of the argument to consider Garland and Chaos separate entities at any time? They're one and the same, but are they like ever...separate? If that makes sense.

 

[Makoeyes987]

You know Dissidia better than I do; Is it acceptable within the realm of the argument to consider Garland and Chaos separate entities at any time? They're one and the same, but are they like ever...separate? If that makes sense.

They're separate in the sense that one is an incarnation of the other from a different time period, born when the other (e.g. Garland) was created by the Lufenians trying to control and manipulate Chaos for their own devices.

To use religion as an example...Garland is the equivalent of the...Messiah, to God. They are both the same while also somewhat different. But to try to separate the two kinda breaks the thematic connection. Garland is Chaos. For Garland, Chaos was the beginning and the one who created him and had him go through the timeloop of him turning into Chaos. For Chaos, Garland was the beginning since he ends up being reborn through him. They're inordinately connected.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Ah. Thematically, yes, they're fundamentally the same, but fighting wise, given that you fight Chaos and Garland as separate entities, we can separate them for the purpose of this topic, right?

To use the example you brought up, let's say Jesus was walking down Jerusalem, and Emperor Tiberius challenges him to a boxing match, and God goes "Hey dawg uh you need some help I can rain judgment upon him like it's nothin', son" and Jesus is like "NAW DAD I GOT THIS"

 

[Makoeyes987]

Ah. Thematically, yes, they're fundamentally the same, but fighting wise, given that you fight Chaos and Garland as separate entities, we can separate them for the purpose of this topic, right?

True, but it's quite literally Garland and Chaos fighting themselves

It'd be like fighting a baby version of yourself or a version of yourself 20 years in the future.

To use the example you brought up, let's say Jesus was walking down Jerusalem, and Emperor Tiberius challenges him to a boxing match, and God goes "Hey dawg uh you need some help I can rain judgment upon him like it's nothin', son" and Jesus is like "NAW DAD I GOT THIS"

LOLOL

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Also, in the discussion, consider Garland's human form, not his incarnation as Chaos.

Agreed. Otherwise, take him off the list altogether.

He did beat Sephiroth, you know. Not kill him, but he did beat him.

I would consider it more that they fought until both stopped fighting. More of a standstill than anything.

Which, yes, still means that he's a tough fucker. XD

Well I'd say Jecht is physically stronger, while Tidus is faster.

Dissidia left me with the feeling that Tidus is the fastest of the heroes period. He not only has that ridiculous performance in the opening FMV, but he was the only one to make a move toward Chaos at the beginning of Shade Impulse before he and the others were telekinetically sat on their asses.


As for my list, I'll do one with the villains in terms of their normal powers and then one with their respective power-ups:

(Normal villain list)
1. Cloud of Darkness - Either a representative or embodiment of the Void. Presumably able to destroy the entire universe if given time, as she was the one "schem[ing] the world's return to the Void" in Dissidia. Probably one of the most powerful entities in existence period
2. Exdeath - Powerful warlock with inherent ability to use the Void. Strong fucker
3. Garland - Presumably extremely powerful given that he defeated summons and Omega. Also known to have some control over the Void
4. Ultimecia - Can freeze moments in time and create powerful living beings out of inanimate objects as well as others' thoughts. Able to bend GFs to her will, and posseses vast magical powers in general
5. Sephiroth - Has an unrivaled will on his world and possesses the powers of JENOVA (shapeshifting, separation and reassembly of body, telekinesis, telepathy, astral projections, ability to phase own physical matter through solid objects, various magical spells and energy projection). Need I say more?
6. Emperor Mateus - Some mysterious mage dude who seems fairly powerful. Like Sephiroth, has a powerful will that allowed him to subvert the natural order of life and death
7. Kuja - Respectable magical ability. Can go toe-to-toe with Eidolons like Bahamut without fear, even taking a blast from him pretty much full-on without suffering more than a small gash
8. Kefka - Able to make Espers his bitches. Impressive magical display
9. Golbez - Decent enough mage
10. Jecht - More or less a normal human


Explanations-
I put Cloud of Darkness first because I tend to think that the villains with a connection to the Void are the most powerful -- and in her case, she's either its representative or an incarnation of it. As such, she's probably also immune to being eaten by it like Exdeath. So that allows her to edge the other two out.

Exdeath over Garland because Exdeath uses energy projection and magic. In terms of their affinity with the Void, who the hell knows who's got the other beat there. Exdeath's the only one we see tapping into it whenever he feels like it, though.

I put Ultimecia above Sephiroth because what we see from her is more impressive to me. In raw magical power, they may be even, but I just feel like Ulti's got him.

I put Mateus above most of the other "mage class" villains because he was able to defy nature with will alone and conquer Heaven and Hell thereby. He outranks Kuja if only because of that, and Kefka if only because he was already emperor, whereas Kefka was a really powerful flunky.

Kuja outranks Kefka because -- though Kefka was able to kill Espers -- this bastard was willing to fight Bahamut and let the dragon get off several shots. Was also able to create creatures out of stagnant Lifestream energy.



(Powered-up villain list; Garland is excluded from this list because his power up is Chaos -- obviously the top contender)
1. Ultimecia - Possessed God-like powers and was absorbing the entire universe into herself, becoming a singular existence
2. Cloud of Darkness and Neo Exdeath - Pretty much the same entity. Ranks up here for the reasons Cloud of Darkness was at the top of the previous list
3. Sephiroth (Advent Children) - Defied his world's Lifestream and bent the spirit of a planet to his will -- and was then going to use it as a cosmic gondola. Presumably possessed all the powers from before, but even more energy. He had become a god-like being (lowercase "g," unlike Ultimecia)
4. Kefka - Like Sephiroth, became a god-like being able to bend his world to his will. Possessed vast magical power
5. Jecht (as Braska's Final Aeon, summoned by Braska) - Able to beat Sin. No more need be said
6. Jecht (as Sin) - Able to scar the surface of a planet in an instant, and presumably split it open given time. Vast magical power
7. Kuja - Decimated the surface of a planet in moments and destroyed a number of large structures in the process. Presumably could have made Alexander his bitch at this point
8. Emperor Mateus - Reasonably powerful demonic/angelic being who ruled both realms of the afterlife
9. Jecht (as Braska's Final Aeon, sans Braska) - A summon
10. Golbez - Decent enough mage


Explanations-
I ranked Ultimecia above the Cloud of Darkness and Neo Exdeath here because we actually saw her destroying the universe, and seemingly at an alarming rate. Furthermore, she wasn't just destroying it -- she was absorbing it and making it all bend to her will.

Even without finishing her goal, she already outclassed the others.

Sephiroth outranks Kefka if only because Sephiroth was known to be able to extend his influence to dominate more planets. As far as we know, Kefka was only able to be the god of one.

Jecht -- as Braska's Final Aeon, and summoned by Braska -- outranks Sin if only because we know he won that fight. He ranks again farther down the list sans Braska because a final aeon's extra power to defeat Sin is provided by its powerful bond with its summoner.

For instance, Anima sans Seymour is powerful. Anima with Seymour could defeat Sin.

I ranked Kuja over Braska's Final Aeon (sans Braska) because we already know that Kuja should have been able to defeat summons at that point -- he even abandoned his quest for a powerful Eidolon once he realized the power he could gain through Trance.

As for Mateus outranking this version of Jecht, that's more a hunch. It seems like having the power to conquer Heaven or Hell would at least be on par with the power to conquer a single summon.

Finally, Golbez is at the bottom of the list below the regular version of Braska's Final Aeon because Golbez used a summon at one point in FFIV rather than relying on his own power -- so summons are presumably more powerful than him. He was also thwarted by a summoner at that same part of the story, who -- using a summon -- defeated his own and nearly killed him.

 

[OWA-2]

Why in those power tier lists for heroes and villains, every place I go I see Chaos being mentioned, but not Cosmos?

If Chaos is the strongest villain, Cosmos is the strongest heroine.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I agree with most of your list Tres, except the power up one. I think you undercut Emperor Mateus a bit too much there. Mateus below Kefka, Jecht, and Kuja just doesn't quite sit right with me. I..could maybe understand Kefka, but Jecht and Kuja? I tilt my head at that one.

@OWA-2

Cosmos is a goddess of creation. We don't really see her fight at all. She seems more aligned with protection, creations, and more supportive roles than all out destruction and aggression like Chaos. And even if she were capable of fighting, we have no indication or idea of what she could do, since we see nothing of her. The most she did was sacrifice herself so that the heroes could keep on fighting for her.

 

[DrakeClawfang]

Kuja's definitely not in the top. Certainly not above certain other all powerful characters like the Cloud of Darkness, ExDeath, or Emperor Mateus. And putting him in the same league as Ultimecia is an insult to Ultimecia

Why not? He's able to create beings from mist, control Eidolons, destroy a planet. He takes a Mega Flare to the face and all it does is cut him.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Why not? He's able to create beings from mist, control Eidolons, destroy a planet. He takes a Mega Flare to the face and all it does is cut him.

Feats of mid-level sorcery using stagnant spirit energy isn't that impressive compared to other villains. Kuja could *not* control Eidolons. The Invincible could. That's Garland's airship, or rather, the Terran's airship. That's not Kuja's innate ability.

And Kuja did not destroy a planet. He destroyed the structures and buildings of Terra in his Trance form tantrum, but that is not literally destroying an entire planet. Him using his trance induced Ultima to destroy a bunch of buildings and shit from a dead civilization isn't that impressive. He's tough but he's not anything close to all powerful. He's still very much mortal and vulnerable.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

If nothing else, he gets props as being one of the only villains not to get outright killed by the protagonists.

 

[Makoeyes987]

If nothing else, he gets props as being one of the only villains not to get outright killed by the protagonists.

Yeah, he just got 'stop moving' like a shitty wind up doll.

Totally cooler. Especially after he took the piss on those poor Black Mages and promised to fix them, as long as they served him.

Karma's a bitch.

 

[OWA-2]

@OWA-2

Cosmos is a goddess of creation. We don't really see her fight at all. She seems more aligned with protection, creations, and more supportive roles than all out destruction and aggression like Chaos. And even if she were capable of fighting, we have no indication or idea of what she could do, since we see nothing of her. The most she did was sacrifice herself so that the heroes could keep on fighting for her.

Hmmm... Cosmos summoned heroes from different worlds while she was in a weakened state. Just a small portion of her power(the Crystals) was able to prevent the heroes from being erased from existence. And in the end, Chaos couldn't kill her either(secret ending).
And there are great chances that the only reason for the heroes being able to stand against Chaos for more than a second, is because of the Crystals'(Cosmos') power.

Not forgeting the most important point... Cosmos and Chaos are opposite forces with the same power.
We don't see Chaos doing much during Dissidia either, but we know he is the strongest villain because he is the friggin God of Discord! The same for Cosmos being the strongest hero because she is the friggin Goddess of Harmony!
We don't need feats from them to know they are the most powerful forces in the FF-verse(excluding Shinryuu). The same way we don't need feats from the One Above All to know he is the strongest entity in the Marvel-verse. Those people simply are the strongest characters of their respective universes, and that's that.

 

[Cannon_Fodder]

TresDias raises an interesting point for the villains: What form do we consider them? Every FF villain under the sun (minus Golbez and CoD) changes form at one point or another, usually making them much stronger. Do we want to make two villain tier lists for powered and unpowered, or just pick one form for each and use that? I personally think two tier lists is too confusing for the purpose of this thread, but that's up to the TC I guess.

That said, in my experience of FF, I agree with TresDias' 'unpowered' list, it seems to hit the nail on the head quite well. Does anybody have any issues with that list?

 

[Makoeyes987]

Hmmm... Cosmos summoned heroes from different worlds while she was in a weakened state. Just a small portion of her power(the Crystals) was able to prevent the heroes from being erased from existence. And in the end, Chaos couldn't kill her either(secret ending).
And there are great chances that the only reason for the heroes being able to stand against Chaos for more than a second, is because of the Crystals'(Cosmos') power.

All those acts stem from the same theme of protection, creation, and life. She endures because life will always endure. As long as there's destruction, there will always be creation. Harmony and discord. We don't ever see her going on the offensive. Merely protecting what little bit of life is left.

Not forgeting the most important point... Cosmos and Chaos are opposite forces with the same power.

Exactly, which really wouldn't make sense to have her act destructively in the first place. Chaos destroys and kills. Cosmos gives life and creates. At most I could see her maybe...sealing or restraining. But as a being of creation, it just seems kinda contradictory for her to do the actions of the god of destruction.

We don't see Chaos doing much during Dissidia either, but we know he is the strongest villain because he is the friggin God of Discord! The same for Cosmos being the strongest hero because she is the friggin Goddess of Harmony!

Well we see him kill Cosmos, and you actually fight him, and he's one of the hardest and most broken fighters in the game.

We don't need feats from them to know they are the most powerful forces in the FF-verse(excluding Shinryuu). The same way we don't need feats from the One Above All to know he is the strongest entity in the Marvel-verse. Those people simply are the strongest characters of their respective universes, and that's that.

Well Cosmos maybe strong in terms of power and creation, but she doesn't fight. I don't think she wants to. Why else do we never see her ever directly oppose Chaos?

 

[Makoeyes987]

TresDias raises an interesting point for the villains: What form do we consider them? Every FF villain under the sun (minus Golbez and CoD) changes form at one point or another, usually making them much stronger. Do we want to make two villain tier lists for powered and unpowered, or just pick one form for each and use that? I personally think two tier lists is too confusing for the purpose of this thread, but that's up to the TC I guess.

That said, in my experience of FF, I agree with TresDias' 'unpowered' list, it seems to hit the nail on the head quite well. Does anybody have any issues with that list?

MOG's original post said the villains/heroes were at their best, so I was looking at their final, ultimate transformation where they were at their strongest.

And no, I don't have a problem with the unpowered up list, but since we're looking at the villains at their strongest, I have a problem with the other one, which is more important

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I agree with most of your list Tres, except the power up one. I think you undercut Emperor Mateus a bit too much there. Mateus below Kefka, Jecht, and Kuja just doesn't quite sit right with me. I..could maybe understand Kefka, but Jecht and Kuja? I tilt my head at that one.

As Sin or Braska's Final Aeon summoned by Braska, Jecht is able to do some destruction on a really massive scale, and in a short period of time. Sure, Mateus had some power over demons as the King of Hell and over the dead once he became the King of Heaven, but it wasn't enough to shoo away the warriors who came after and defeated him in Soul of Rebirth.

For that matter, if Mateus had power over spirits, what do we say of Sin, who literally ate spirit energy for breakfast and used it as a weapon?

I don't doubt Mateus gained a lot of power as well, and it's true he was only defeated by either party after they had Ultima, but even so, his more spectacular feats are related to his willpower, I think.

And taking Dissidia into consideration, Jecht fought and killed Mateus there.

As for Kuja ... I see your point. They should be switched then. While both have some degree of control over spirits, Mateus outranks Kuja if only because he had the power to defy his death -- even if only the one time. XD

How's the list look now?:

1. Ultimecia - Possessed God-like powers and was absorbing the entire universe into herself, becoming a singular existence
2. Cloud of Darkness and Neo Exdeath - Pretty much the same entity. Ranks up here for the reasons Cloud of Darkness was at the top of the previous list
3. Sephiroth (Advent Children) - Defied his world's Lifestream and bent the spirit of a planet to his will -- and was then going to use it as a cosmic gondola. Presumably possessed all the powers from before, but even more energy. He had become a god-like being (lowercase "g," unlike Ultimecia)
4. Kefka - Like Sephiroth, became a god-like being able to bend his world to his will. Possessed vast magical power
5. Jecht (as Braska's Final Aeon, summoned by Braska) - Able to beat Sin. No more need be said
6. Jecht (as Sin) - Able to scar the surface of a planet in an instant, and presumably split it open given time. Vast magical power
7. Emperor Mateus - Reasonably powerful demonic/angelic being who defied death and ruled both realms of the afterlife
8. Kuja - Decimated the surface of a planet in moments and destroyed a number of large structures in the process. Presumably could have made Alexander his bitch at this point
9. Jecht (as Braska's Final Aeon, sans Braska) - A summon
10. Golbez - Decent enough mage

And no, I don't have a problem with the unpowered up list, but since we're looking at the villains at their strongest, I have a problem with the other one, which is more important

Sorry. XD I just think it's important to have a list of both since there's been so many times that I've seen statements like "Kuja decimated a planet with his power, while Kefka had to use the statues to do that."

Well Cosmos maybe strong in terms of power and creation, but she doesn't fight. I don't think she wants to. Why else do we never see her ever directly oppose Chaos?

We do in the opening FMV. They both come out to confront one another, and that's presumably when Chaos mortally wounds her.

Anyway, like OWA-2 said, Cosmos should be at the top of the heroes' list wherever Chaos is included since she's supposed to have been equal to Chaos pretty much forever.

That said, in my experience of FF, I agree with TresDias' 'unpowered' list, it seems to hit the nail on the head quite well.

Thank you kindly.

And in the end, Chaos couldn't kill her either(secret ending).

Well, he definitely did kill her, but she probably came back once Chaos was killed. 'Course, he would have come back too.

 

[Makoeyes987]

As Sin or Braska's Final Aeon summoned by Braska, Jecht is able to do some destruction on a really massive scale, and in a short period of time. Sure, Mateus had some power over demons as the King of Hell and over the dead once he became the King of Heaven, but it wasn't enough to shoo away the warriors who came after and defeated him in Soul of Rebirth.

For that matter, if Mateus had power over spirits, what do we say of Sin, who literally ate spirit energy for breakfast and used it as a weapon?

I don't doubt Mateus gained a lot of power as well, and it's true he was only defeated by either party after they had Ultima, but even so, his more spectacular feats are related to his willpower, I think.

And taking Dissidia into consideration, Jecht fought and killed Mateus there.

Fair enough, in terms of raw destruction I can concede to that one. But see, this is why I didn't want to consider Jecht/Sin in the first place. I used Seymour

As for Kuja ... I see your point. They should be switched then. While both have some degree of control over spirits, Mateus outranks Kuja if only because he had the power to defy his death -- even if only the one time. XD

Yeah, that's my thinking right there.

How's the list look now?:

1. Ultimecia - Possessed God-like powers and was absorbing the entire universe into herself, becoming a singular existence
2. Cloud of Darkness and Neo Exdeath - Pretty much the same entity. Ranks up here for the reasons Cloud of Darkness was at the top of the previous list
3. Sephiroth (Advent Children) - Defied his world's Lifestream and bent the spirit of a planet to his will -- and was then going to use it as a cosmic gondola. Presumably possessed all the powers from before, but even more energy. He had become a god-like being (lowercase "g," unlike Ultimecia)
4. Kefka - Like Sephiroth, became a god-like being able to bend his world to his will. Possessed vast magical power
5. Jecht (as Braska's Final Aeon, summoned by Braska) - Able to beat Sin. No more need be said
6. Jecht (as Sin) - Able to scar the surface of a planet in an instant, and presumably split it open given time. Vast magical power
7. Emperor Mateus - Reasonably powerful demonic/angelic being who defied death and ruled both realms of the afterlife
8. Kuja - Decimated the surface of a planet in moments and destroyed a number of large structures in the process. Presumably could have made Alexander his bitch at this point
9. Jecht (as Braska's Final Aeon, sans Braska) - A summon
10. Golbez - Decent enough mage

Now that one I..completely agree with. Awesome.

Sorry. XD I just think it's important to have a list of both since there's been so many times that I've seen statements like "Kuja decimated a planet with his power, while Kefka had to use the statues to do that."

I really hate that claim. For one, Kuja didn't decimate a planet at all. That's so ridiculous it hurts. If he literally blew up a planet, then Gaia itself would've been blown up too, since Terra literally is inside Gaia thanks to the failed fusion spell Garland and the Terran's enacted. Kuja merely destroyed the surface buildings and structures of Terra. Which is amazing, but not...Death Star amazing.

We do in the opening FMV. They both come out to confront one another, and that's presumably when Chaos mortally wounds her.

She doesn't fight at all. She merely appears and floats over the heroes. That's not really any action at all.

Anyway, like OWA-2 said, Cosmos should be at the top of the heroes' list wherever Chaos is included since she's supposed to have been equal to Chaos pretty much forever.

But..she's a lover not a fighter. I don't doubt she has power and stuff, but in terms of offensive combat? Not really. She seems to be the penultimate white mage, if anything.