Summary
- Like other Kingdom Hearts games, Dream Drop Distance has a good variety of keyblades for players to make use of.
- Unbound Keyblade has higher stats than Ultimate Weapon and a unique design, making it the top tier Keyblade in Dream Drop Distance. End of Pain has the highest Magic stat and a great design, making it one of the best Keyblades in the game.
- On the weaker end is Sweet Dreams, which is challenging to unlock and lacks standout stats, making it the least impressive Keyblade in the late game.
Prior to the long-awaited release of Kingdom Hearts 3, it was Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS that kept the franchise alive for diehard fans. The game brought many unique features to the series, and of course, it also brought many new Keyblades. Some of these Keyblades are the best that any Kingdom Hearts game has seen thus far.
Like with previous Kingdom Hearts Keyblade tier lists, this one will factor both utility and design into each Keyblade's placement. Utility does tend to be a bigger factor, though, since a cool design ultimately won't help players beat Armored Ventus.
S Tier
Unbound: This Keyblade has the rare honor of upending the Ultima Weapon as the highest Keyblade on any tier list. It has extremely impressive stats with 18 in Strength and 14 in Magic. That Magic stat is slightly lower than Ultima's, which may make Unbound less preferential for players who want the best Magic build possible, but Unbound is still solid with a unique design and higher Shift percentage.
Ultima Weapon: The Keyblade to end all Keyblades, and the only one that appears in every Kingdom Hearts game besides the Kingdom Key, is for once not holding the very top spot above all else in a game. That's because, while the Ultima Weapon does once again host a fantastic design that is familiar while somehow still shifting somewhat with each game, its stats are actually not quite as impressive as Unbound's. It's still one of the best in the game, though, and acquiring it in Dream Drop Distance doesn't require finding a laundry list of obscure items for once.
A Tier
End of Pain: This Keyblade takes the top of A Tier for having the highest Magic stat of any Keyblade in the game besides the Ultima Weapon. All of its other stats are comparable with the other late-game Keyblades as well, and its design is one of the best in all of DDD.
Divewing: This is probably the easiest of all the sidequest Keyblades to unlock, which is what gives it a higher ranking despite not necessarily having the impressive stats of other late-game Keyblades. It does have impressively high Magic, along with enough Crit and Reach to make this a formidable weapon for any heavy Magic user. Its design is wonderfully unique, as well.
Counterpoint: This is the most powerful Keyblade players will earn by playing through the worlds of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. It has one of the highest Magic stats in the game, along with impressive Strength, Crit, and Reach. The design is beautifully vibrant, if not a bit impractical for a weapon in Kingdom Hearts, and it's really only outclassed by Keyblades the player has to earn via means besides playing the story.
B Tier
Sweet Dreams: This Keyblade winds up feeling like the least impressive of every one that can be unlocked through various sidequests. The others mostly all have a uniquely high stat that makes them admirable, whereas Sweet Dreams has nothing particularly standout for the late game on top of being particularly challenging to unlock.
Knockout Punch: The player's second trip to Traverse Town will yield one of the most powerful Keyblades obtainable by playing through the story in Dream Drop Distance. It has a knockout design along with a great Strength stat and long reach. Its main detriment is the fact that Counterpoint comes soon after and outclasses it in nearly every aspect.
Ocean's Rage: This is the Keyblade Riku receives after completing the Prankster's Paradise world. It has a pretty low Crit stat, and its design is strangely derivative of Mysterious Abyss from Kingdom Hearts 2, but it has good Strength and a very impressive Magic stat for when it's received. Overall, it's one of the only Keyblades that comes as part of a contrasting set in this game that feels confusingly better than its counterpart.
Guardian Bell and Dual Disc: These Keyblades work in contrast with each other as the two players can earn after completing either of the first two worlds after Traverse Town. Guardian Bell has more of an emphasis on its Magic stat and Dual Disc is more focused on Strength. Both have better stats, reach, and designs than all the Keyblades that come before, which make them essentials for players moving on to the mid-game, but they will ultimately be replaced by the Keyblades that come later.
C Tier
All For One: This Keyblade's high Crit stat may be the only thing keeping it out of D Tier, as its other stats are mostly on part with or weaker than other Keyblades the player has likely already unlocked by the time they reach Country of the Musketeers world in Dream Drop Distance, making All For One feel mostly obsolete the moment it's unlocked.
Ferris Gear: This is the Keyblade that Sora receives after completing the Prankster's Paradise world in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. It feels a bit strange to give two different Keyblades to the two different playable protagonists from a single world and yet have one feel notably weaker. Ferris Gear winds up doing exactly that with the same Strength, and yet lower Magic and Shift stats along with a shorter range than its counterpart, Ocean's Rage. It has a more colorful and original design, but the difference between Sora and Riku's combat when both are equipped can certainly be felt.
Skull Noise: This is the first Keyblade that players will unlock after finishing the starter level Traverse Town before setting off into the rest of the game. It has marginally better stats than the two Keyblades at the lowest tier, but it will ultimately be replaced after finishing future worlds. A somewhat dull design isn't helping Skull Noise out much, either, especially when so many of the other Keyblade designs in Dream Drop Distance are so exciting.
D Tier
Way to the Dawn and Kingdom Key: These Keyblades are the two that Riku and Sora start the game with, respectively. They're both essentially the same with some minor differences like Way to the Dawn having a longer reach where the Kingdom Key has a higher Crit stat. Riku's starting Keyblade, naturally, has more of an "edge" factor to its design whereas Sora's obviously has that classic Kingdom Hearts look. They're both fine Keyblades, but almost certainly won't be what players use to fight Armored Ventus at the end of Dream Drop Distance.