The ranks for the first season were established before many of the character had seen any use, so they had to be estimated by the character biographies alone. Now that the authors have shown their conceptions of their characters in actions,I do agree the ranks need some adjustment.
I agree with Phoenix. They don't have to follow the silly toyline. Rhinox should probably be 9. Rattrap should be 8, and Orcariner should be promoted as well to 7 or 8. Dinobot, Whitegrazer, Valkyrie at 7. Feralnight, Frilla, Icebreaker, Saber-Fang, Airazor, Tigatron, Ironclaw at 6. Cheetor and Wintersong at 5. Aurora at 4. Just my thoughts on that judging by characters' progressions in our game.
I agree with most of this, but I'm not sure about a few things. And while OOP and Naitokage being in agreement does make a majority vote, I feel should at least state my opinions.
Icebreaker, Saber-Fang: 6
I can see this for Icebreaker, thinking about the kind of character he's meant to be- supporting other soldiers on the field, acting rashly at times, etc. But he has become medic, engineer, survival expert, character-crisis-control and very effective warrior. Whether we could have predicted it or not, he is now the pinnacle of versatility for the Maximals. 6 doesn't feel right if we start handing that rank to Dinobot as well.
Saber-Fang was a former general, and that seems like it should impact her rank. But- and I don't mean this as an attack on Night Hunter's writing of her- there hasn't been that much in-game evidence of her former life. Generals tend to be elite military strategists, and possibly (I suppose not always) also particularly impressive in combat (at least impressive compared to members of their armies).
I understand Saber Fang's condition would get in the way of a lot of this. And I also know it can be hard, as a writer, to assert one's own character as being as good in the affairs of war as a general, especially when we as the group of players are paying careful attention to character balance.
So the way she is written is fine. However, so long as Saber Fang continues to run off away from the Maximals or to transform in battle and have to be neutralized (or if she were to transform and injure any of the Maximals), she at best, accomplishes a soldier's work, and at worst becomes a liability to the team- as she herself often bemoans, internally or externally.
6 could be fine. I'm kinda wondering about 5, though. I'd actually like to hear Night Hunter's opinion on this- what she thinks her character's rank should be.
Wintersong at 5. It's logical, given that she is often off on her own. But she's participated in more missions, I think, than Airazor or possible even Tigatron have, so her solitude doesn't seem to be effecting the team that much.
As for her admittedly getting beat up a lot... In-story, yes, that would point towards a lower rank. But I think it also ought to be considered that for as many fights she loses, she is incredibly persistent in throwing herself into the fray. Taking the opponent's shots- and attention- isn't glamorous of course, but there is something to be said for its strategic value. I prefer a 6 for her, but again, I can understand a 5.
Out-of-story, by the way, I think Wintersong gets hit as often as she does because Wintersong (the author I mean) is humble enough to let her character take the shots and allow other characters to look cool because they're pounding an opponent.
Going by the same logic of "battle willingness", Cheetor being a rank 6 also makes sense to me. Truth be told, I believe when I was first coming up with ranks, I based my conception of them on the fact that Cheetor was rank 6 on the toy bios (and Optimus was rank 10). 6, to me, has meant "semi-reliable, willing soldier."
Obviously, ranks are subjective. And there is, as has been mentioned, a discrepancy between toy-bio ranks and apparent-show-effectiveness. So again, if majority opinion is different than mine, I will defer to the majority's judgment.
Also, if we're going to specify rank 7 or 8 for Orcariner, I'm still feeling 7 would be better. I mean no offense to Alak. But we're going to say now that Rattrap is rank 8 (which I agree with), and he was an original member of the crew, and, as was mentioned, the one Optimus chose to lead the Maximals when he was abducted. I don't think Orcariner's quite there yet.
It helps to organize it like this to see what should be done more clearly. 