71,164
edits
Tier list: Difference between revisions
m
→Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tier list
| (8 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
<!-- Please discuss all edits you wish to make to this page on the talk page before making them, with the sole exception of an official update of the tier list by the Back Room. -->{{ArticleIcons|series=y|competitive=y|featured=y|protected=highrisk}} | <!-- Please discuss all edits you wish to make to this page on the talk page before making them, with the sole exception of an official update of the tier list by the Back Room. --> | ||
{{ArticleIcons|series=y|competitive=y|featured=y|protected=highrisk}} | |||
In gaming, a '''tier list''' is a list that ranks all [[character]]s in a game based on the strength of their fighting abilities, as well as their potential to win matches under [[tournament legal|tournament]] conditions, assuming players are of equal skill. Tier lists are most commonly made for fighting games that are played at a high [[competitive]] level, though games with large character pools, such as the {{uv|Pokémon}} series, can also have their [[bulbapedia:Tiers|own tier lists]]. | In gaming, a '''tier list''' is a list that ranks all [[character]]s in a game based on the strength of their fighting abilities, as well as their potential to win matches under [[tournament legal|tournament]] conditions, assuming players are of equal skill. Tier lists are most commonly made for fighting games that are played at a high [[competitive]] level, though games with large character pools, such as the {{uv|Pokémon}} series, can also have their [[bulbapedia:Tiers|own tier lists]]. | ||
| Line 27: | Line 29: | ||
===The character's tournament results=== | ===The character's tournament results=== | ||
In general, higher tournament results for characters | In general, higher tournament results for characters yield higher tier placings, as winning major tournaments implies that a character has more tools to compete, and thus, a deeper metagame. The top characters in all five tier lists have all maintained large playerbases and excellent results in tournaments, while characters directly below them also generally perform well or have large playerbases. Top-tiered characters are also most often used by the game's top players; the top players on the [[SSBMRank]], [[SSBBRank]], [[Panda Global Rankings]], [[LumiRank]], and other [[power ranking]]s are most often seen using top-tiered and high-tiered characters. Characters towards the bottom of the tier list, however, generally have smaller playerbases and poorer results, with some low-tiered characters lacking any notable representation in tournaments; {{SSBM|Pichu}}, for instance, currently has very few notable players that exclusively main it, and has never finished in the top 96 of any high-level ''Melee'' tournament. | ||
''Smash Bros.'' characters are often placed into different groups of "viability", which rates their potential and empirical ability to perform in tournaments. At the top of this grouping are characters considered to be able to consistently win major tournaments. In ''Melee'', this list generally includes four characters: {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSBM|Marth}}, and {{SSBM|Falco}}, all of whom have been able to consistently able to win large tournaments against a variety of opponents. Below these four are the characters who are considered to have the potential to win a major, but have one or more especially problematic matchups which makes this much more difficult. This grouping includes {{SSBM|Sheik}}, {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Peach}}, {{SSBM|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBM|Pikachu}}, {{SSBM|Yoshi}}, and {{SSBM|Samus}} (the lower end of this list is subject to significant debate). It is acknowledged that a player winning a major with one of these characters is usually the result of a favorable bracket or a player using [[counterpick]] characters against their most troublesome matchups. For example, although Peach saw large amounts of tournament success under {{Sm|Armada}}, he switched to his secondary characters when facing {{Sm|Hungrybox}}'s Jigglypuff, against whom he was unable to take a single game off of as Peach. Most of solo Peach's tournament victories have come when Armada avoided Hungrybox in the bracket. Sheik, despite being considered top tier for much of the game's competitive lifespan, had never won a major tournament as a solo main until {{Trn|GENESIS 9}} in 2023, as Sheik players, such as {{Sm|Mew2King}} and {{Sm|Plup}}, have always switched to counterpick characters against certain matchups and players, such as Jigglypuff. Conversely, although Pikachu has won a major earlier (when {{Sm|Axe}} placed first at {{Trn|Smash Summit 8}}), Pikachu still remains lower-tiered than Sheik, as Pikachu's matchup spread against the other top tiers is considered worse than Sheik's. Sheik has had more sustained top 8 success, while Axe's tournament results have been less consistent. | ''Smash Bros.'' characters are often placed into different groups of "viability", which rates their potential and empirical ability to perform in tournaments. At the top of this grouping are characters considered to be able to consistently win major tournaments. In ''Melee'', this list generally includes four characters: {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSBM|Marth}}, and {{SSBM|Falco}}, all of whom have been able to consistently able to win large tournaments against a variety of opponents. Below these four are the characters who are considered to have the potential to win a major, but have one or more especially problematic matchups which makes this much more difficult. This grouping includes {{SSBM|Sheik}}, {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Peach}}, {{SSBM|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBM|Pikachu}}, {{SSBM|Yoshi}}, and {{SSBM|Samus}} (the lower end of this list is subject to significant debate). It is acknowledged that a player winning a major with one of these characters is usually the result of a favorable bracket or a player using [[counterpick]] characters against their most troublesome matchups. For example, although Peach saw large amounts of tournament success under {{Sm|Armada}}, he switched to his secondary characters when facing {{Sm|Hungrybox}}'s Jigglypuff, against whom he was unable to take a single game off of as Peach. Most of solo Peach's tournament victories have come when Armada avoided Hungrybox in the bracket. Sheik, despite being considered top tier for much of the game's competitive lifespan, had never won a major tournament as a solo main until {{Trn|GENESIS 9}} in 2023, as Sheik players, such as {{Sm|Mew2King}} and {{Sm|Plup}}, have always switched to counterpick characters against certain matchups and players, such as Jigglypuff. Conversely, although Pikachu has won a major earlier (when {{Sm|Axe}} placed first at {{Trn|Smash Summit 8}}), Pikachu still remains lower-tiered than Sheik, as Pikachu's matchup spread against the other top tiers is considered worse than Sheik's. Sheik has had more sustained top 8 success, while Axe's tournament results have been less consistent. | ||
| Line 33: | Line 35: | ||
Furthermore, an increase in results for a character can lead to a higher tier standing, as improvements to results can be attributed to metagame changes either in the entirety of the metagame or for an individual character. Characters such as {{SSBM|Pikachu}} and {{SSBM|Yoshi}} in ''Melee'' or {{SSBB|Ike}} and {{SSBB|Sonic}} in ''Brawl'' saw improvements in tier standing due to players discovering new techniques or applications for the character, yielding deeper individual metagames that could stand up in the general metagame; Ike players such as {{Sm|San}}, for instance, demonstrated that the character had a surprisingly powerful aerial game, alongside an extremely powerful and flexible [[jab]] that demonstrated Ike's neutral game was not as slow or unsafe as previously thought. | Furthermore, an increase in results for a character can lead to a higher tier standing, as improvements to results can be attributed to metagame changes either in the entirety of the metagame or for an individual character. Characters such as {{SSBM|Pikachu}} and {{SSBM|Yoshi}} in ''Melee'' or {{SSBB|Ike}} and {{SSBB|Sonic}} in ''Brawl'' saw improvements in tier standing due to players discovering new techniques or applications for the character, yielding deeper individual metagames that could stand up in the general metagame; Ike players such as {{Sm|San}}, for instance, demonstrated that the character had a surprisingly powerful aerial game, alongside an extremely powerful and flexible [[jab]] that demonstrated Ike's neutral game was not as slow or unsafe as previously thought. | ||
Conversely, a drop in notable tournament results can result in a character falling on the tier list. For example, in ''Melee'', {{Sm|Shroomed}} was widely considered a top ten player in the world from 2011 to 2013 while using {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}}, who was seen as a borderline viable character, ranked 9th on the tier list during that time. However, starting in 2014, Shroomed dropped Dr. Mario in favor of Sheik, which has left Dr. Mario with a major lack of tournament results since. No other Dr. Mario player has been able to achieve remotely similar results compared to Shroomed; the next best representative in modern ''Melee'' has been {{Sm|Franz}}, who | Conversely, a drop in notable tournament results can result in a character falling on the tier list. For example, in ''Melee'', {{Sm|Shroomed}} was widely considered a top ten player in the world from 2011 to 2013 while using {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}}, who was seen as a borderline viable character, ranked 9th on the tier list during that time. However, starting in 2014, Shroomed dropped Dr. Mario in favor of Sheik, which has left Dr. Mario with a major lack of tournament results since. No other Dr. Mario player has been able to achieve remotely similar results compared to Shroomed; the next best representative in modern ''Melee'' has been {{Sm|Franz}}, who has only been ranked at the lower end or in the middle of the Top 100. As a result, Dr. Mario has since fallen on the tier list, and most top players consider him to be lower-ranked than Yoshi (even lower than his 11th ranking on the 2015 Smash Back Room tier list). However, it is unclear whether Dr. Mario is truly less tournament viable than characters like Yoshi and Pikachu, or if there are just not enough tournament results and metagame presence to generate a meaningful comparison between these characters. | ||
That said, tournament results do not necessarily equate to higher or lower tier standings, nor do larger playerbases yield higher tier standings. In ''Melee'', {{SSBM|Yoshi}} has attained a large amount success at large tournaments, having appeared in the top 32 of several major international tournaments; the character's success, however, has primarily been buoyed by {{sm|aMSa}}, and as such, Yoshi only ranks 10th in a pool of 26 characters despite his incredible potential. Similarly, in ''Brawl'', {{Sm|Salem}}'s surprise victory with {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}} at [[Apex 2013]] did not move her into the top tiers. While Salem used Zero Suit Samus's [[Power Suit Piece]]s to a level that was never seen before, his victory has been attributed to a lack of matchup experience from his opponents, rather than Zero Suit Samus being one of the best characters in the game. This was supported by the fact that Salem was unable to replicate his Apex 2013 level of dominance, failing to place in the top eight of any other ''Brawl'' major before the release of ''Smash 4''. As such, Zero Suit Samus remained a high-tier character following Salem's victory, since she was still considered less competitively viable than the characters above her. | |||
It should be noted that tournament results are not necessarily the same as tournament representation or popularity. While a general rule of thumb is that high tier characters will be more common in tournaments due to players naturally wanting as many advantages as possible, exceptions to this have existed throughout the competitive history of the ''Smash'' series. Some characters that are otherwise considered low-tier may have a single powerful tool that gives them good matchups and thus are not an uncommon sight in tournaments, such as {{SSB|Donkey Kong}} in ''Smash 64'' or {{SSBU|King K. Rool}} in ''Ultimate''. Other characters have been considered high-tier, but incredibly difficult to use and not considered worth learning, leading to low tournament representation relative to their tier list position, such as [[Pikachu]] in every game except ''Smash 64''. | |||
==''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' tier list== | ==''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' tier list== | ||
| Line 64: | Line 68: | ||
==''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' tier list== | ==''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' tier list== | ||
{{for|a list of all ''Ultimate'' tier lists|List of SSBU tier lists}} | {{for|a list of all ''Ultimate'' tier lists|List of SSBU tier lists}} | ||
The following is the | The following is the most recent ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' tier list, created by [[LumiRank]], and released on February 15th, 2024.<ref>[https://twitter.com/LumiRank/status/1758177004824695106]</ref> {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} was voted as the entire team instead of individually, as were {{SSBU|Pyra}} and {{SSBU|Mythra}}. Miis were ranked, unlike the last ''SSB4'' tier list. Additionally, the following [[Echo Fighter]] pairs were voted together due to their lack of significant differences: {{SSBU|Peach}} and {{SSBU|Daisy}}, {{SSBU|Simon}} and {{SSBU|Richter}}, {{SSBU|Samus}} and {{SSBU|Dark Samus}}, and {{SSBU|Pit}} and {{SSBU|Dark Pit}}. Tiers ranged from A to E, however the tiers were not explicitly defined. | ||
The voting process for this tier list differs from those from previous games. Rather than taking an average of panelists' opinions of a character's overall ranking, panelists were asked to rate characters from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Panelists were also asked to give an ordered list of their Top 5 characters, and after panelist responses were normalized, their Top 5 would be scored from as 10.X (from 10.5 to 10.1). Each character's highest and lowest 3 responses were then removed. | The voting process for this tier list differs from those from previous games. Rather than taking an average of panelists' opinions of a character's overall ranking, panelists were asked to rate characters from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Panelists were also asked to give an ordered list of their Top 5 characters, and after panelist responses were normalized, their Top 5 would be scored from as 10.X (from 10.5 to 10.1). Each character's highest and lowest 3 responses were then removed. | ||