For what it’s worth, here’s one man’s complete list of the top bots to promote (both for Spark Run and weekly event purposes). Note that I’m assuming that each bot is fully upgraded to level 15 (or overpowered), and equipped with all the important accessories (exploding rounds, acid/incendiary/EMP rounds, extra damage, extra defense, faster reload, faster weapon cooldown, faster fire rate, etc.):
1) Blaster: He’s the undisputed best, in my opinion, and the only reason I’d hesitate to do everything you can to acquire him, upgrade him to level 15 and fully promote him, is because I’m afraid he’s going to get nerfed at some point. His only weakness is Boss Pig – you can still defeat him easily, but he’s not great at taking out the missiles.
2) Hound: I actually haven’t used him much yet, but in my limited experience doing so, he seems like a better version of Ratchet, who I also love. Good against all types of targets, except a little slow to kill flying pigs in the Spark Run. Fantastic on missile day, and against Boss Pig and Unicron.
3) Ratchet: See my comments on Hound above.
4) Ultimate Megatron: Even though he was nerfed, when equipped with his Armada and Flail accessories, he really doesn’t have any weaknesses. He can destroy every type of target (but a little slow to destroy WMTs), he has good armor, and he moves slowly enough to do well on missile day and against Unicron. He’s a bit hard to use against Boss Pig, but with practice you can still survive that battle, and get plenty of points in doing so.
5) Energon Grimlock: I wish he was slower, like his cousins! He loses some points for that reason on missile day, and against Boss Pig. It’s also sometimes hard to destroy every target on the screen with him, because he goes too fast. This is especially true when trying to evade falling monoliths. But his weapon is one of the strongest in the game, and he doesn’t have trouble with any sort of target.
6) Dead End: Pretty much the same comments as for Energon Grimlock above. I rank EG higher because he can regenerate his health.
7) Nemesis Prime / Nautica / Energon Nautica: These bots are all pretty similar in terms of their strengths/weaknesses, except I think NP has better armor than the other two. But they’re all great at destroying blocks and most types of pigs. Not so much against flying pigs or WMTs though. Those weaknesses make them a little worse for the Spark Run, but I find them all to be great for weekly events, when you don’t have a highly promoted bot on the bonus squad.
10) Grey Slam Grimlock: A really good all-purpose bot. His weapon isn’t as strong as his Energon cousin, but he’s more versatile because he’s slower.
11) Energon Lockdown: Really powerful weapon, especially when equipped with his Explosive Rounds accessory. He runs too fast though, and his armor isn’t great.
12) Energon Starscream: Almost identical to Energon Lockdown.
13) Goldbite Grimlock: The only reason I don’t have him higher is because he’s the second bot on the Variant Versions squad. If that wasn’t a factor, I might have him as high as #4 overall. But it doesn’t make sense to promote two bots on the same squad until you’ve got one promoted bot on most other squads first.
14) Chromia/Sideswipe: Pretty good for mass block destruction, but weak against flying pigs, WMTs, Boss Pig, and Unicron. Also not great on missile day.
16) Epic Optimus: Similar to Goldbite Grimlock, I’d have him higher on my list if not for a better bot on his own squad (in this case Nemesis Prime).
17) Dark Megatron: Ditto, as I prefer Grey Slam Grimlock on the Leaders squad. I have him quite a bit lower than his Ultimate cousin, because his Acid and Extra Gravity accessories both go on his head, so you can’t use them at the same time like you can with UM.
18) Lockdown: A solid all around bot, but second best on his own squad. Explosive and Acid rounds are a good combo here.
19) Thundercracker: Explosive rounds make him a very good offensive option.
20) Soundwave/Soundblaster: Both very good on offense, but both pale in comparison to Blaster.
22) Optimus Prime: Again, explosive rounds are a must. He’s kind of worthless without them, but pretty solid with them. Distant #2 to Ratchet on his own squad.
23) Wheeljack / Barricade / Rodimus: Whatever. They’re all fine. Each is arguably the best bot on his squad, so worth promoting at some point, but it’s going to be a long time before I get to actually doing so!
26) Energon Windblade: #2 on the Energized squad, and not terrible on offense, so I suppose I may promote her some day.
27+) The rest. I can’t recommend promoting any of the remaining bots at the moment.
