Ikakku or Kenpachi?

X-Zero13

My thoughts on this: I'd say replace Zabi Renji with Kenny. Their stats and skill dmg are about the same, but: you can upgrade Kenny (and Ikakku too, ofc) to red to double their base stats and growth rates, so Kenny has more potential (stat wise) than Zabi Renji.
OR you could be extremely patient and wait for lv 110 and replace Zabi Renji with Uryu. He's pretty much the 2nd best tavern damage dealer for pve, after Ikakku (fully modded and with otherwise same build and gear, they fight pretty much on the same level).

I don't know how hard you're aiming for ex-frags and ex-skills, but: Ikkaku is naturally a partner suited for PVE. His ex-skill tho is very good for PVP; maybe not as strong, but attacks all enemies, reduces their fury a little and increases own fury more than his normal skill. The ex-frags spent to get his ex-skill would also give him a VERY notable stat boost, and since u can always switch between ex-skill and normal skill, he makes for a great partner for both PVP AND PVE if u get his ex-skill.
Also, since he's only a lv 80 tavern partner, he only needs ex-lvl 30 to unlock his ex-skill. that would need ~6k ex-frags, which u can get in ~3 months, if you can afford the silver for daily maximum use of soul cultivation (the "10x" options) and if you go for the 1k ex-frag reward when the bar is full (filling the bar needs ~1 month; the frags u get over time from filling the bar once is ~1k, so 2k ex-frags per month possible).

So yeah, I'd say Ikakku is POTENTIALLY one of the best partners, low-VIPS and VIP0 can get if you do it right.

Btw: tavern Byakuya works vice-versa; he's normally a partner fpr PVP, but his ex-skill is suited for PVE

X-Zero13

Ellisande replied at 2016-5-19 13:59
Can't stand Ikkaku, both in game and in the manga/anime. He's also portrayed as being only lieutenan ...

How far are you with the manga/anime? If you feel that he is only on lieutenant level then you can't be that far, I think...(I don't wanna give spoilers unless you want)