Tier Lists

Counter: Side tier list of best characters (and mechs)

Counter: Side tier list of best characters (and mechs)

Your one-stop guide to investing in the best characters for Counter:side Global

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Updated on May 9, 2023 - checked for new characters

Counter: Side is a futuristic sci-fi gacha RPG with gameplay that can be categorized as 2D side scrolling tower defense mixed with elements of Clash Royale. You assemble a deck of 8 units, each assigned with a deployment cost and march into the battlefield. To address the dilemma of picking the right characters, we have decided to create a Counter: Side tier list.

The main distinction that Counter: Side is known for is the introduction of a ban system to its PvP mode to keep the game’s PvP balance healthy (This system earned it an award for Best Competitive 2021 on Google Play). For fans of story-centric RPGs, fret not as Counter: Side has an enticing plot with dark undertones with its colourful cast of characters with fleshed out personalities.

It is no coincidence that Counter:Side’s name sounds too similar to the hit FPS Counter-Strike. Unlike other gacha RPGs whose cast of characters is made up of humans, a unique highlight in Counter:Side is the inclusion of infantry units as well as war vehicles (including Titanfall-esque robots) as playable characters. They are not limited to a small number, but a whole faction exists. For fans of mobile gacha games or military enthusiasts, this will be a breath of fresh air when the genre mostly offers waifus or husbandos. There’s more to the characters themselves as a majority of them have a niche and are bound to be useful in some way (barring a few really bad apples, like PZH Mobile Gun.)

Global Counter: Side tier list

With that out of the way. In anticipation of the official Global version release, we have created a tier list that ranks each character. This tier list will factor in the benefit-cost ratio of each character, along with a short justification on why we think they deserve the ranking. We will also group the tier list into PvP and PvE as we observed some characters are absolutely stellar in PvE and vice versanger Close, Ra. We will also only take the dastardly hard endgame content into consideration, including Guild coop, Delic Dungeons, Shadow Hall and Raids. This tier list will be maintained on a regular basis with new character releases or balance patches.

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Basic terminology to note

Units are divided into several classes, including the main classes of Striker, Ranger, Sniper, and Defender. There are exceptions for some units as they are classified as one of the extra classes of Siege, Tower and Support. Type advantage-disadvantage applies here with Striker > Ranger > Defender > Sniper in a cyclical manner (with Sniper in turn effective against Striker). The extra classes, however, are neutral against other classes. The delegation doesn’t stop there, units are further grouped into three factions namely Counter, Soldier and Mech, with Counter being the dominant class. As usual, the golden rule applies here, S tier are some of the best units that you must bring along to stand a chance in PvP as they are the most impactful bunch in the metagame. Even in PvE scenarios these units make them a cakewalk. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have the N tier units that are useless in any scenario and scrapped for currency,

Original article by Anderson Han, updated by Artur Novichenko
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1
Mech Tier List (PvE)

Mech faction primarily relies on their high bulk or high firepower to compensate for their lack of ultimate skills or special skills. Currently, mech faction is at its lowest low

S tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Tower

Sigma

Her passive skill : Sigma Protocol is her shining forte - greatly supports the team by negating their type weakness affinity, for instance, your Defender will take reduced damage from a Ranger despite the supereffective type advantage. In the meantime, your Defender units will deal 60% more damage against the unit class that naturally resists it. Among her arsenal, her special skill is also noteworthy as it set her up as a battery, capable of regenerating deployment cost to allow you to deploy units at a much faster rate. Last but not least, her ultimate skill of dropping a powerful defender unit called : Machine God Daddy with amazing knockback capabilities serve as a great meat shield against enemy waves.

Striker

Ifrit

-

Striker

Awakened Horizon

-

Striker

Triana Titan

-

Ranger

Tarrasque

-

Striker

Coldcase Horizon

-

A tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Striker

Woodpecker

Great in Shadow Palace and Challenge modes, generally versatile as it is moderately bulky for a 2 cost unit that can be easily redeployed. Hidden potential to be used to counter-rush Sigma or any other Tower units as it acts as a siege unit that goes to enemy base when no enemy ground units are present

Defender

Horizon

-

Ranger

Janus

-

Sniper

Grendel

-

B tier

Class

Name

Striker

Titan

Ranger

Sparrow

Sniper

-

Defender

Mors, Overflow

Extra

-

C tier

Class

Name

Striker

ATL-Lincoln

Ranger

Arachne, ATF-35 Thunderbolt

Sniper

Buzzard

Defender

Hound, Evolved One 

Extra

Goliath, Tactical Transporter

N tier

Class

Name

Striker

Chariot, MA1 HMMWV, ATL-1 Lincoln

Ranger

ZSU Shilka, ATB-1B Spear, Black Tail

Sniper

Reaper, HM MRLS, Estaque

Defender

-

Extra

ACH-4 Clan, Tactical Truck Deuce-and-a-half, Balisada, Rhino, Glitch, Ballista, ATAC-130 Gunship, PZH Mobile Gun 

2
Mech Tier List (PvP)

Mech faction primarily relies on their high bulk or high firepower to compensate for their lack of ultimate skills or special skills. Currently mech faction is at its lowest low


S tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Tower

Sigma

Her passive skill : Sigma Protocol is highly valued for the same reasons stated in the PvE section above. Among her arsenal, her special skill is also noteworthy as it set her up as a battery, capable of regenerating deployment cost to allow you to deploy units at a much faster rate. Last but not least, her ultimate skill of dropping a powerful defender unit called : Machine God Daddy with amazing knockback capabilities (though easily shred by strong ranger units) make her the best support any PvP team will welcome as an addition.

Striker

Ifrit

-

Striker

Awakened Horizon

-

Striker

Triana Titan

-

Defender

Horizon

-

Sniper

Grendel

-

Defender

Evolved One

-

Striker

Coldcase Horizon

-

A tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Striker

Woodpecker

Moderately bulky air unit with a cheap cost. Can be constantly redeployed and is a good check against teams emphasizing on rush. Fun fact, we also discovered its amazing potent in bugging tower units stationed far behind in the enemies' base

Defender

Mors

-

Defender

Overflow

-

Striker

Glitch

-

B tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Striker

-

Ranger

ATF-35 Thunderbolt, Sparrow, Tarrasque, Janus

Sniper

Buzzard

Defender

 

Extra

Balisada, Rhino, Goliath

C tier

Class

Name

Striker

MA1 HMWWV, Chariot, Titan, ATL-Lincoln, Titan

Ranger

Arachne

Sniper

HM MRLS, Reaper

Defender

Hound

Extra

PZH Mobile Gun, Tactical Transporter

N tier

Class

Name

Striker

ATL-1 Lincoln, MA1 HMMWV

Ranger

ZSU Shilka, ATB-1B Spear, Black Tail

Sniper

Estaque

Defender

-

Extra

Tactical Deuce-and-a-half, ACH-4 Clan, Ballista, ATAC-130 Gunship

3
Soldier Tier List (PvE)

Soldier faction primarily operate by the motto of "strength in power", while frail as an individual unit, they swarm enemies with high firepower and capable of cushioning hit counts

S tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Ranger

Admin. Rifleman

You'll need him absolutely everywhere. Has one of the highest damage output and can pretty much melt anything at a cheap cost of 2, crucial counter against many bulky defenders such as the upcoming Awakened Hilde

Striker

Admin. Sword Fighter

Very viable across all content. Can land a lot of critical hits while having high evasion, her passive skill Survival Instinct fully heals the other when the first one perished but negated if both are killed simultaneously by an AoE attack.

Defender

Admin. Shieldman

Good in Guild Coop, Shadow Palace and Danger Close. Very bulky and comes in a pair at a low cost of 2. Provides excellent protection as his passive skill Local Phase-locking Device can taunt enemies

Sniper

Curian

-

A tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Striker

Terminator

Good in Raids, Guild Coop and Danger Close, While he's no Arnold Schwarzenegger, but his Armor-Piercing Buckshot can weaken enemies by debuffing their DEF stats while in return, deal high damage, held back by a deploy cost of 4

Ranger

Eddie Fisher

Good in Guild Coop, Shadow Palace and Danger Close. Absolutely crucial in hybrid Counter/Soldier decks as his myriad of buffs, his passives Experienced Veteran can buff the defense of Counters and Pro Mercenary can buff fellow soldiers' attack

Supporter

Ironside

ONLY GOOD IN A PURE MECH TEAM as he provide good healing coverage, otherwise he's easily a N tier unit. Also quite memeable thanks to Juan

Ranger

Investigator Kang

-

Striker

Veronica

-

Supporter

Lone Lee

-

Sniper

Warden

-

Supporter

Revenant

-

Sniper

Dorothy

-

B tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Defender

Overflow, Stronghold

Ranger

John Mason, Assault Trooper, Rivet, Special Forces Sorim, Nicole

Sniper

Jane Doe, Choi Jihoon

Extra

-

Striker

-

C tier

Class

Name

Defender

Tommy the die-hard, Shieldman

Ranger

Han Sorim, Kang Soyoung

Sniper

Adamant Sniper

Extra

Choi Ina

Striker

Glitch

N tier

Class

Name

Defender

Charlie Rockwood, Kang Minwoo

Ranger

Recoiless Gunner, Scout, Rifleman, Peacekeeper, Rifleman, UBGL Rifleman

Sniper

Stinger Gunner, Sniper, Sweeper

Extra

Brownie Moore, Mortar Team

Striker

Jessica Green, Suppressor, Hayami Kanade

4
Soldier Tier List (PvP)

Soldier faction primarily operate by the motto of "strength in power", while frail as an individual unit, they swarm enemies with high firepower and capable of cushioning hit counts

S tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Ranger

Admin. Rifleman

Absolutely monstrous damage out for a cheap cost of 2, keep him safe in the backline and watch him slice through enemy's defense like a hot knife in a butter

Ranger

Kang Soyoung

Players are recommended to acquire her from Side Story. The perfect checkmate to all squishy backline sniper/ranger units, credits to her passive skill Where's the location that can absolutely wreck havoc to most sniper units (except Hayami Sanae who's bulky enough to survive a crash),  In addition, her second passive skill Special Service Commander can provide a nice buff to ally soldiers within her vicinity 

Striker

Jane Doe

Great evasion, Great attack stats plus high tendency to land critical hits make her a crucial element in striker rush team composition that shines when used with Matador

Ranger

Investigator Kang

-

Sniper

Curian

-

Sniper

Warden

-

A tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Ranger

Assault Trooper

Cheap backdoor unit that comes in three, can pull of surprise attacks on unsuspecting backline, chip away the ship's health and cause distraction.

Defender

Admin. Shieldman

Cheap defender that can redirect enemies attack to him with passive skill Local Phase-locking Device, can also absorb a lot of valid hits

Sniper

Adamant Sniper

The diamond in the rough, she can bring a lot to the field for a low rarity unit. She remains in the backline away from harm's way while being able to deal decent damage

Supporter

Ironside

Exceptional and spammable healer thanks to cheap cost and great heal percentage. Easily an N tier when used in other teams. But as the meta progress in the future his niche of healing mechs get reduced 

Striker

Admin. Sword Fighter

A great asset to the team ass she can deal continuously high damage against enemy, her passive skill survival instinct fully heals the other when the first one perished hence adding to her survivability. However, there are nowadays a lot of AoE damage dealer that took advantage the weakness of her passive 

Ranger

Eddie Fisher

Same role in PvP as a significant buffer to hybrid Counter/Soldier teams. He function as a top tier buffer but his stats is average 

Striker

Veronica

-

Striker

Glitch

-

Supporter

Revenant

-

Sniper

Dorothy

-

Defender

Overflow

-

Ranger

Special Forces Sorim

-

Defender

Kang Minwoo

-

B tier

Class

Name

Defender

Stronghold

Ranger

John Mason, Rivet, Nicole

Sniper

Choi Jihoon

Striker

-

Extra

Choi Ina, Brownie Moore

C tier

Class

Name

Defender

-

Ranger

Han Sorim

Sniper

Stinger Gunner

Extra

Lone Lee

Striker

Hayami Kanade

N tier

Class

Name

Defender

Charlie Rockwood, Shieldman, Tommy the Die-hard

Ranger

Scout, Recoiless Gunner, Riflemen, Peacekeeper, Rifleman, UBGL Rifleman

Sniper

Stinger Gunner, Sniper, Sweeper

Striker

Terminator, Suppressor, Jessica Green

Extra

Mortar Team

5
Counter Tier List (PvE)

 

Counter faction (titular) are superhumans who gained a myriad of special and ultimate skills to fight against threat of humanity - Corrupted objects. The most versatile and dominant group of the trio

S tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Ranger

Gaeun

A must have for all content and easily acquired in the start from rerolling the beginner banner. One of the top tier ranger with formidable attack damage, range and utilities. Her special skill Double Flat can stun multiple enemies. Her Quarter Note can hamper enemies by reducing their attack speed. Lastly, her ultimate skill Prestissimo is highly impressive for dealing massive damage capable of hitting far distances. Overall, you're gimping yourself if you don't use her

Ranger

Nanahara Chifuyu

3 cost unit with impressive bulk for her class, her Cherry Blossom Slash can weaken enemies' defense and debuff with stun, all the while dealing great AoE damage. Great across all content

Supporter

Evelyn Keller

A healer/attacker hybrid provides continuous heal with Heka's Tonic and Hermes Trismegistus, with the latter skill being able to inflict decent damage. A must have for every content and used in conjunction with Claudia Nelson

Supporter

Claudia Nelson

A healer focusing on burst heal, upon deployment her Kind Faith nurses allies' health by a good chunk. Can make your team immortal in many PvE mode. Used in conjunction with Evelyn Keller

Ranger

Kyle Wong

His main utility : Strategy bulwark can drop two barricades as good defensive support. Imperative in modes such as Danger Close or Shadow Palace.

Supporter

Yang Harim

Players are recommended to reroll and get her at all costs. Good for both PvE and PvP thanks to the myriad of utilities she can provide to allies, notably the barrier skill and the high 40% skill haste to enable a lot of units (and awakened units in the future) to quickly unleash their devastating ultimate. Her ultimate skill is the bomb as it not only damage enemies and debuff them. She also buffs allies with an attack up

Ranger

Rosaria le Freide

Universally excellent in virtually all the hard PvE content. Powerhouse that excels at dealing crazy damage at a large swathe of area with her special and ultimate skill. Nice bonus is her grace period of 4 seconds upon deployment.

Defender

[*] Awakened Hilde

The first awakened unit, her main function is being an absolutely tanky wall and she excels at it (thanks to many mechanics), players can always depend on her to endure punishing attacks by tough foes in Shadow Palace, Dive and Danger Close. However, she is susceptible of going into the wrong direction by an unsuspecting enemy that appeared behind

Striker

Eins & Zwei

Their role plays out pretty much the same even in PvE, extremely cheap (2 cost) while being able to deal devastating damage and sports high bulk. Excellent across all sorts of PvE content

Sniper

Kestrel Xiao Lin

-

Striker

Abyssal Ravage Orca

-

Supporter

Awakened Shin Jia

-

Supporter

Sky Layfield

-

Striker

Near Astraea Esterosa

-

Sniper

Replacer Queen

-

Striker

Awakened Joo Shiyoon

-

Supporter

Carmen

-

Ranger

Awakened Lee Sooyeon

-

Ranger

Awakened Seo Yoon

-

Supporter

Rita Arsenico

-

Striker

Awakened Yuna Springfield

-

Ranger

Rosaria le Friede

-

Defender

Serapel

-

Defender

Awakened Jake

-

Sniper

Lyudmila

-

Defender

Breakbeat Alex

-

Defender

Hero Blossom Kaci

-

A tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Seo Yoon, Shin Jia, Frederick Doma, Christina Brecht, Lucrecia, Kim Sobin, Yamata no Orochi, Ace of Wings Lee Sooyeon, Altergressive Seo Yoon

Striker

Roy Burnett, Lin Xien, Orca, Spira, Arhat Joo Shiyoon, Solar Codex Yuna

Sniper

Karin Wong, Edel Meitner, Dash

Defender

Lee Yumi, Replacer King, Kaci Bins, Kim Hana, Levia, Type:Siegfried Hilde, Jake Stormbringer

Extra

Nanahara Chinatsu, Maria Antonov, Maestra Nequitia, Arius Esquede, Singularity Shin Jia

B tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Nayuka Minato, Joo Shiyoon, Ministra, Awakened Maria, Blue Blood Elizabeth, Biblide, Kim Hana

Striker

Esterosa de Chevalier, Cindy Looper, Hilde, Joo Shiyoung, Awakened Yoo Mina, Ella, Clareth, Alex, Liona, Yen Xing Lanchester, Serina Crew, Fenrir Yoo Mina

Sniper

Xiao Lin, Hayami Sanae, Sylvia Lena Cooper, Amy Firstwing, Lucid, Arti Lana, Awakened Amy

Defender

Dominic King Reginald, Mone, Carlota, Awakened Na Yubin, Six Wings Na Yubin

Extra

Lee Jisoo, Regina MacCready, Purple Mist Laura, Nest Keeper Xiao Linc, Machine Collector, Six Wings Lee Jisoo 

C tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Cathy Wade, Elizabeth Pendragon, Na Yubin (young), Lee Yuri, Expert Merc Yoo Mina

Striker

Jake Walker, Lee Sooyeon, Ingrid Johanna, Replacer Bishop, Dracasia

Sniper

Best Streamer Miya, Agent Eujin, Lycoris

Defender

Ryan Ferrier, Irie Alford, Fione Lowell, Best Mascot Irie

Extra

Gabriel, Lumi, [*] Awakened Lee Jisoo, Lulu, Dark Seven Sylvia, Raphaela Juri, Lara Jaeger

N tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Yang Hansol, Yoo Mina, Yuna Springfield, Thaddeus Morgan, Bomi, Cho Hojin

Striker

Nina Anderson, Zena Bird, Park Hyunsoo, Oh Saerom, Ingrid Johana, Liv Allen, Eujin, Amy Strickland, Frederick Yuma, Naielle Bluesteel

Sniper

Maya Hunt, Kim Chowon, Miya, Jaina Kropel, Shena

Defender

Choi Gangsan, Lee Dafoe, Kim Chulsoo, Hirose Aki, Benedict Constantine, Ogami Masaki, Fiona Lowell, Replacer Knight

Extra

Shin Somi, Lee Minseo, Laura Beatrix, Lee Jin, Mika ★ Star, Lily, Harab, Gremory, Edith Twins, Shim Somi, Gambler

6
Counter Tier List (PvP)

Counter faction (titular) are superhumans who gained a myriad of special and ultimate skills to fight against the threat of humanity - Corrupted objects. The most versatile and dominant group of the trio

S tier

Class

Name

Analysis

Ranger

Gaeun

A universal staple in any team and very dominant in PvP for the same reasons stated in PvE section. Even in KR and SEA players often opt to ban her

Ranger

Kyle Wong

Summon 2 barricades periodically to support allies defensively, his barricades can direct the enemies attack away from your frail backline units

Ranger

Nanahara Chifuyu

Absolutely stellar for the same reasons stated in PvE section. A good opener that can seriously debuff enemies with defense down to make your allies easier to take them down

Supporter

Evelyn Keller

A healer/attacker hybrid provides continuous heal with Heka's Tonic and Hermes Trismegistus, with the latter skill being able to inflict decent damage. A universal staple in any team and the go-to pick for a healer

Supporter

Claudia Nelson

Good burst healer that players can redeploy to take advantage of her heal upon entry gimmick. She's the secondary choice to be used whenever Evelyn is banned

Striker

Eins & Zwei

Twin trouble! First battle pass character introduced. Their ultimate skill renders them invincible while sucking up any unfortunate enemies into their scuffle, rendering them immobile. Being a 2 in 1 unit makes them very sturdy while being capable of dishing out area-wide damage. At an astonishingly cheap cost of 2, they can do so much with a functioning skill set and is a nightmarish opener

Defender

Awakened Hilde

At an exorbitant cost of 6, she has the highest bulk and excels at tanking literally everything! Right now she runs amok in ranked PvP. Use Administration riflemen to shut her down, backdoor units can similarly bait her into dashing toward the wrong direction with her special skill

Supporter

Yang Harim

Her team support skills are an overkill, with +40% Skill haste, ability to heal, ability to cast barrier while simultaneously crippling enemies with debuffs. A must have and all teams run her as the primary support unit

Striker

Awakened Yoo Mina

Unlike in SEA, this version released her in a post-buff state. She deal extremely high damage upon entry (that can wipe out literally everything on the field if timed correctly). On the defensive side, her passive skill : Wolf Fangs grants her perfect evasion, which, makes her able to dodge incoming enemy hits. Comes with nice utilities of being able to inflict skill seal

Ranger

-

Seo Yoon, Awakened Lee Sooyeon, Awakened Seo Yoon, Rosaria le Friede, Lucrecia, Blue Blood Elizabeth, Lee Yuri, Altergressive Seo Yoon 

Striker

-

Abyssal Ravage Orca, Near Astraea Esterosa, Awakened Joo Shiyoon, Awakened Yuna Springfield, Spira, Yen Xing Lanchester, Ingrid Johanna, Arhat Joo Shiyoon, Fenrir Yoo Mina  

Sniper

-

Kestrel Xiao Lin, Replacer Queen, Amy Firstwing, Arti Lana, Awakened Amy 

Defender

-

Serapel, Awakened Jake, Breakbeat Alex, Replacer King, Awakened Na Yubin, Levia, Six Wings Na Yubin, Hero Blossom Kaci 

Extra

-

Carmen, Rita Arsenico, Maestra Nequitia, Purple Mist Laura, Nest Keeper Xiao Linc, Machine Collector, Dark Seven Sylvia, Raphaela Juri, Harab, Lily, Gremory, Singularity Shin Jia 

A tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Joo Shiyoon, Elizabeth Pendragon, Rosaria le Freide, Frederick Doma, Christina Brecht, Yamata no Orochi, Awakened Maria, Ace of Wings Lee Sooyeon

Striker

Ingrid Johana, Lin Xien, Ella, Alex, Replacer Bishop, Naielle Bluesteel, Solar Codex Yuna 

Sniper

Xiao Lin, Karin Wong, Lyudmila, Best Streamer Miya, Sylvia Lena Cooper 

Defender

Lee Yumi, Kaci Bins, Carlota, Type:Siegfried Hilde, Jake Stormbringer

Extra

Awakened Shin Jia, Sky Layfield, Lumi

B tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Nayuka Minato, Ministra, Biblide, Kim Hana

Striker

Hilde, Cindy Looper, Lee Sooyeon, Joo Shiyoung, Clareth, Liona, Dracasia, Esterosa de Chevalier

Sniper

Edel Meitner, Hayami Sanae, Dash, Agent Eujin, Lycoris

Defender

Dominic King Reginald, Irie Alford, Best Mascot Irie, Replacer Knight 

Extra

Awakened Lee Jisoo, Regina MacCready, Gabriel, Arius Esquede, Lulu, Six Wings Lee Jisoo, Nanahara Chinatsu, Lee Jisoo

C tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Expert Merc Yoo Mina, Yoo Mina, Kim Sobin, Shin Jia, Na Yubin

Striker

Jake Walker, Liv Allen, Frederick Yuma, Roy Burnett, Serina Crew, Orca, Eujin

Sniper

Jaina Kropel, Shena, Miya

Defender

Ryan Ferrier, Benedict Constantine, Mone

Extra

Mika ★ Star, Lee Jin, Laura Beatrix, Edith Twins, Maria Antonov

N tier

Class

Name

Ranger

Cho Hojin, Thaddeus Morgan, Yuna Springfield, Yang Hansol, Cathy Wade

Striker

Oh Saerom, Bomi, Park Hyunsoo, Amy Strickland, Zena Bird, Nina Anderson

Sniper

Kim Chowon, Maya Hunt, Lucid

Defender

Fione Lowell, Ogami Masaki, Choi Gangsan, Lee Dafoe, Kim Chulsoo

Extra

Lara Jaeger, Hirose Aki, Lee Minseo, Shim Somi, Gambler

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