1. Where do the princesses that aren't given a rank (but are still rankers) fall in your opinion, and why? How do the deceased, sealed, or otherwise missing princesses compare in your opinion to the ones alive?
My opinion on the Princesses' strength has risen up a bit after reading SIU's latest blogpost (Season 3 Chapter 95; the chapter on which Prime White was defeated by Baam and Co):
"This Nest Arc is... I think of this arc as... one where it progresses a bit more bit by bit for the sake of the conflict with the main forces...
Each wall has different enemies and different forces at play, Baam needs to level up quicker, and as the person that has to make that progression happen, this arc hurts my head, as well as make things difficult for my mentally and physically in a lot of ways.
However, if I don't do this, I do wonder if I will be able to cover the 10 Families or the Princesses of Zahard... so this is a difficult question."
Baam, even prior to absorbing most of White's power, was already notably stronger than the latter (he himself noted this and judging by Baam's performance against him, it's clear he was noticeably above his level too). This was without using the 1st Thorn Ignition/Stab (quite the big boost considering his fight against Data Zahard), the 2nd Thorn Ignition/Stab and the Black March. With all of those, and adding the Crown after absorbing most of Prime White's power, it should be fairly clear that the current Baam should stand on a whole another level from Corps Commander Tier fighters like Kallavan, Yas or Prime White if he gets really serious. Yet, it doesn't seem like he's close to the top yet. The story should still have a long way to go and, at least to my understanding of that blogpost, SIU said he had to make Baam this strong in order to continue and fully explore the Ten Great Families and the Princesses of Zahard. Otherwise, he wasn't sure to be able to cover them.
This IMO suggests that the 13 Month Princesses (for the very least them) should at the bare minimum be on a comparable field to Corps Commanders, if not outright above. It wouldn't make any sense if SIU had to make Baam this strong to continue to explore weaker characters.
This aligns well with the Princesses' hype of boasting physical stats above Rankers (without Shinsu Reinforcement) as Regulars, or them having bodies tens of thousands of times tougher than conventional people according to Data Z. Or Princesses from the Great Families becoming the central power of their family once they're fully-fledged. Or the Army bowing to one that possesses a Month and believing they'll protect them from the dangers. The Princess addict
@Cinera probably has all the blogposts/statements of what I said. Even when Hansung was reported of the brutal slaughter of the survival game at the 2nd Floor, the first candidates that came through his mind for this result were an Irregular and a Princess of Zahard.
That being said and IMO:
- #1 - #2: Adori Zahard and Eurasia Enne Zahard: These two are clearly at the very top. It's unknown who is stronger, but I would put my money on Adori currently. Enne was sealed at 482 years old, while Adori should be over 5000. That's a huge age gap that she has over Enne. She's had much more time to get stronger, while Enne has been rotting on the seal. Honestly, it would be pretty underwhelming for Adori if she couldn't surpass Enne under these conditions. Still, since there's no solid evidence due to lack of feats, those two stand at the very top, with the #1 of the two being debatable.
As for their level, Enne's strength was acknowledged by the Family Heads. Considering CC Tier fighters are considered insignificant souls, or literally nothing in some cases in comparison to the Gods of the Tower, there should very likely be an extremely massive gap between them and the Top Princesses.
- #3. Arie Horn Zahard: Currently missing, but is said to be the very first Princess of Zahard so she should have a clear edge when it comes to age in comparison to the other Princesses. Assuming her potential is comparable to Hagipherione's, then she should be a monster currently (if she still exists). If her potential isn't on the same level as Hagipherione, she could be lower. This spot is assuming that the potential of both Princesses is similar, which might or might not be the case.
- #4. Arie Hagipherione Zahard: Ranked #36 and one of the very few people along with Urek to pass Arie Hon's special test as a Regular. Regardless of the specifics of the test, she should be an absolute monster. Considering how she's being reserved for later on the game, she should also be much stronger than Corps Commanders IMO, at least the ones we've seen so far.
- #5. Khun Maschenny Zahard: Oh boi, Cinera first read everything I say before quoting this (I know you will quote it, I've debated too much with you regarding Masch to not know it lmao). Maschenny is a tricky character to rank. She couldn't do much to Jinsung with Tres Cuernos despite saying that she "really tried" with that last attack (though her intentions were very far away from having a serious fight with him) . That being said, the same applies to Jinsung. She couldn't do much to her. His Red World was easily stopped by a Lightning Barrier of her. The Shinsu Piercer uppercut disorientated her a bit but she was still able to dodge the almost instantaneous next strike from quite an unfavourable position. It didn't seem to do any noticeable damage to her. SIU also said that both Maschenny and Jinsung were fighting half-heartedly and Kallavan called her one of the Highest Rankers along with him. Based on all of this, a fast and conservative conclusion would be that she's around the Corps Commander Tier.
However, is that really the case? As one of the 13 Month Princesses (one of the strongest according to Asensio), the most talented Regular Khun by far to get to the Hidden Floor, someone who helped to apprehend Eurasia Enne Zahard along with other Rankers and Princesses and survived to tell the tale (despite a lot of people dying), someone who could survive Data Zahard's Lecalicus and whose durability and speed got praised by him, is it really sure that this is where she caps at max currently? I personally don't think so, even more so if you consider SIU's latest blogpost about making Baam this strong to keep exploring the Princesses and the 10 Great Families.
Although feat-wise there's nothing that clearly proves this for now for her current version, I reckon that once we see Maschenny fighting with everything she has she'll likely dwarf the likes of Kallavan, Yas or Prime White. It's also possible she could be comparable or on the same general level as Hagipherione. There's not really a strong reason for me to put her clearly below Hagi either so spots #4 to #5 could be interchangeable or tied in a similar fashion to Enne/Adori.
- #6. Garam Zahard: Killed one of her sisters (another 13 Month Princess) that went berserk with two months and could pin down Evan (who's comparable to Yuri according to old info from SIU) with her bare Shinsu pressure. This strongly suggests that even among the Month Princesses, she likely shouldn't be on the weaker side (then again, it's not as if we know much about the others). I'd put her around the Corps Commander Tier for now, maybe a bit above even (but that's the max I'm giving her). Honestly, prior to the latest blogpost, I was skeptical about her even being on the CC Tier, but after reading that and balancing all the hype the Princesses have (along with the amazing feat of her pinning down Evan with her pressure), I've changed my mind a bit for now.
- #7 - #11: An Zahard, Alphid Zahard, Anaak Zahard (?), Yuram Zahard (?), Heice Zahard: An and Alphid are 13 Month Princesses. Anaak was one of those, so she should have also been pretty powerful. IIRC she was killed by one of her sisters and RED. Heice refused a Month (meaning that she definitely has the talent to hold one) and is rumoured to have participated at the capture of Eurasia Enne Zahard. They aren't ordered and tbh, it's also not confirmed that Garam is above all of those. The reason I'm doing it is because she has the feat of killing another 13 Month Princesse like Yuram, so I give her the benefit of the doubt over the others for now. As for their strength it should depend on how old they're, but they're probably around the Corps Commander realm as well (though if Anaak and Yuram died young they probably weren't that strong).
- #12: Pondo Zahard: Survived Enne along with Maschenny, unlike Rebecca and Yunie. Although we don't know the specifics of the fight, I give her the benefit of the doubt over the other Princesses that died. She wasn't gifted a Month and there's nothing that implies she refused it, which means I have no reason to place her above a matured 13 Month Princess so far.
- #13 - #14: Rebecca Pon Zahard and Yunnie Zahard: Both died facing Enne. Dunno who's stronger.
- #15. Ha Yuri Zahard: The most talented Ha, but she's still a baby, extremely far from realizing her optimal potential. I think all the Princessses above her are much more matured and that's why I believe them to be stronger currently. Far weaker than Corps Commanders and significantly beneath entry Top 300 too IMO.
I don't think I'm missing any Ranker Princess. Of course, a huge part of this ranking is speculative and could change a lot with future showings. Yuri is almost guaranteed to be much higher than this in the future.
2. Where do you think the 'baby' princesses end up when fully matured, and why? (Include Yuri even though she's ranked, that's pretty much understood to be a temp stop as she's rapidly rising)
I think there are a multiple levels to the Princesses if they end up living tens of thousands of years and the optimal conditions meet
- Tier 1. Top 13 Month Princesses: Enne/Adori = Top 20. Talent/strength recognised by the FHs (at least for Enne). They should be bottomlessly stronger than Corps Commanders when fully matured (they should already be massively stronger and they're fairly young, especially Enne). I honestly believe it's not far-fetched to say Enne's potential could be a lot higher than even Adori's, depending on how do you think 482 year old Enne compares to 5000+ year old Adori, so there could potentially be a Tier 0 for her. Still, since there's no solid evidence so far that one is clearly better than the other, I'm putting both Princesses at the same tier.
- Tier 2. High 13 Month Princesses: Peak Yuri/Peak Maschenny/Peak Hagipherione/Horn = Higher end of Top 50 probably. Yuri was called the most talented person in the Ha Family (besides Yurin who should be considered a higher existence than just merely a person, nobody else so far has a clear case, this should include even the Ha Twins whom I reckon to be in the higher end of Top 50). Maschenny stood on a whole another realm of power compared to Asensio, who's currently one of the faction leaders of the Khun Family. Hagipherione and Horn are mostly unknown, but I think both should be comparable to Yuri and maybe Maschenny. On another level from Corps Commanders.
- Tier 3. Average 13 Month Princesses: Garam/An/Alphid/Heice/Yuram/Anaak = Probably Top 100 if they aren't already (the ones alive). It's hard to quantify using ranks since they're not only determied by strength. I also think that the gap between CC Tier fighters and Top 50s is going to be massive, extremely exponential (just like Top 300 were said to stand on a whole another level from the Rankers below minus exceptions, I believe SIU is going to do something similar with the Top 50 considering Baam's growth rate and how strong is he at this point of the story). I think those Princesses could end up significantly above Corps Commanders at their peak, but not Top 50 material.
Really strong non 13 Month Princesses like maybe Pondo could still get to the CC realm or perhaps more if they live long enough. As for the average non 13 Month Princesses, I believe they'd mostly be beneath Corps Commanders and around Top 200/entry Top 300.
3. Why do you think Adori is so freakishly-high in her rank? Enne makes a bit of sense, seeing as she's full 100% irregular bloodline with the Z-shot to boost. But why Adori, who doesn't have such an obvious heritage as far as we know? Some say she's just a fluke, I think she's a female clone along the lines of the princes, or has a double Z dose of blood. Or something.
I think there are multiple options:
- 1. Genetic lottery: Adori's heritage is not that exceptional compared to her overall power level but she ended up being freakishly strong due to random luck with the genes. I think this one is not very likely.
- 2. She's closely related to Zahard: She has golden hair like Zahard, so it's not impossible at all that she's related to him in some way. Maybe she's a clone made with his genes, or maybe she recieved a much greater portion of Z's power compared to the other Princesses, or maybe she's his daughter somehow (this one would require a lot of explaining since as far as we know Z can't have children).
4. Bonus: Where do you think fully-matured PRINCES should rank? Karaka is, like Yuri, rising fast. He's a 'baby' slayer. That is to say he's not going to end up anywhere near the roughly 500-1000 he's at now. The 'Captain' is likely a clone (a very old one... hinting that the prince program is very, very old) of sorts as well (I think he's Luslec, maybe a blue-hole, whatever) and clearly very competent if not extremely powerful to boot. Wangnan... ah, Wangnan. What can be said about him that hasn't already been said? He's obviously the runt of the RLD, weak, frail, and a loser. BUT, the fact that he's destined for more (evidenced by his recent luck acquiring a huge hack sword and more importantly SIU pointedly saying he has a lot in store for him) and seemingly cannot be killed hints that there's more to meet the eye with him. Ugly-duckling syndrome powerwise or something (no matter how unlikable or boring he currently is). I digress.
Where do the princes, of which there may be 2 or 3 (if not more unseen) rank in comparison to the princesses? And how many are there? We know there are 2 rings. But that doesn't mean there were only 2 clones. The inclusion of the Captain indicates cloning has a long history, and many iterations may have been attempted (shout out to anyone watching Foundation, or having read it), failed or successful we don't know.
The most talented person in the Ha Family suggested that if she were to spare Karaka at the LS, he'd come back as her worst enemy. At the same time, SIU highlighted his potential along with Yuri's, so while I think he would be beneath Peak Yuri most likely, he'd still be a force to be reckoned with. He'd probably register in the Top 50.
As for Wangnan and the Boss, I have absolutely no clue at all. Wangnan so far has been an absolute scrub for Regular standards, but it's clear he's destined for something huge. As for the Boss, he's an absolute mystery so far.
I think there's going to be just 3 Princes. SIU has made Zahard be strongly related with the number 3. The symbol with 3 eyes, the 3 orders, ranked #3, the 3 Lords, 3 forms of Lecalicus... Not a strong argument I know, but it ties pretty well with the number of Princes we know of so far.
