Solo Leveling: How Strong Are S-Rank Hunters Actually, Explained

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Summary

  • S-Rank Hunters‘ strength ultimately falls short when dealing with the world’s threats.
  • They are somewhat strong, but not comparable to national-level hunters, monarchs, and other power players.

The following contains minor spoilers for the Solo Leveling manhwa and web novel.

In the anime adaption of Solo Leveling, Sung Jinwoo aimed to surpass the strength of S-Rank hunters, which served as his primary objective. Upon reaching a comparable power level, however, these S-rank hunters appeared less impressive compared to before.

The question arises as to just how powerful are the S-rank hunters within the universe of Solo Leveling. Although we know they hold a high position in terms of strength, it is intriguing to consider their capabilities when faced with potential threats across the cosmos.

S-Rank Hunters Versus Dungeons

Power Level of Average S-Rank Hunters

In the solo leveling game for hunters, the ranking system is based on the hunter’s expected ability when dealing with dungeons. Essentially, a hunter should have enough strength to join dungeon strike teams consisting of hunters at their own level or higher. Moreover, combat-oriented hunters should be capable of defeating the boss of a tier lower than their rank in a solo dungeon run. Therefore, for instance, an A-rank hunter ought to feel confident participating in an A-rank dungeon raid and should be able to overpower a B-rank dungeon boss individually.

At higher levels, such as the S-rank, individual abilities tend to show greater differences due to their superior status. To illustrate, take hunter Chae Hae-In, who singlehandedly tackled an A-rank gate and joined the Jeju Island raid, a feat that equates to S-rank in terms of difficulty. Then there’s Ryuji Goto, an S-rank from Japan, who was described by Sung Jinwoo as surpassing the average S-rank in strength, indicating that there are distinctions in power levels even among this top tier.

Exception made for particularly tough or ill-conceived dungeons, S-class hunters typically possess the strength to overcome most ordinary gates found on Earth. Yet, due to a small number of active S-class hunters, they can’t singlehandedly ensure Earth’s safety during dungeon incursions. Instead, they often require assistance from lower-ranked hunters.

S-Rank Hunter Versus Real Threats

How S-Ranks Stack Up Against the Powerhouses in Solo Leveling

In contrast to what one might assume from their title, S-rank hunters don’t hold the highest positions of authority in the world of Solo Leveling. Instead, national-level hunters, who are believed to have power equal to a nation’s military, rank above them. These exceptional hunters are also speculated to be capable of conquering S-rank dungeons singlehandedly. There aren’t many hunters who attain such high levels of power, with Thomas Andre, Liu Zhigang, Christopher Reed, and Siddharth Bachchan being some of the few notable examples.

After national-level hunters, the individuals holding the highest power are sovereigns and monarchs. These powerful entities, established by the Supreme Being, serve to counterbalance each other’s authority. It is understood that these national-level hunters have achieved such strength due to the rulers bestowing upon them power to aid them in confronting both the monarchs and the denizens of the chaotic realm. Yet, even higher than these rulers and monarchs are the divine entities known as Itarim, believed to have created all that exists and possessing the greatest strength in the cosmos.

There are two paths to growing stronger: Mastering our skills and building a strong team.

In comparison to the beings they face, S-class hunters are relatively weak in the overall scheme. They are far from capable of defending Earth against threats from the gates or any real enemies of the world. As regular hunters cannot increase their power significantly, this often leaves S-rank hunters at a disadvantage later in the story. Essentially, they serve as a benchmark for Sung Jinwoo’s progression, and once he surpasses them, most other entities in the series outmatch them.

Solo Leveling can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Amazon.

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2025-04-19 19:44