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Tier list: Difference between revisions
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In ''Melee'''s early history as a competitive fighter, numerous debates stemmed from the viabilities of {{SSBM|Marth}} and his clone, {{SSBM|Roy}}; opponents of the tier list generally used Roy as an example of how tiers were irrelevant, claiming that Roy's prowess in competitive ''Melee'' was equal to that of Marth. Ultimately, Marth has since been accepted as the far superior fighter, primarily due to the differing metagame statuses of both characters. Marth boasts considerable creativity in how he can combo, inflict damage, KO, and edgeguard opponents, owing to a safe approach from the distant [[sweet spot]] on Falchion, his down aerial spike, and a number of powerful finishers that can KO even if they are non-tippered; Roy, however, struggles to perform as well as Marth in these regards, as he has few viable finishers outside of his forward smash, the placement of the Sword of Seals's sweetspot prevents him from comboing or approaching as safely as Marth, and his off-stage game is considered among the worst in ''Melee'' due to his weak aerials and high falling speed. ''Melee''{{'}}s tier list has historically recognised these differences, with Marth frequently ranking as one of ''Melee''{{'}}s most potent fighters, while Roy has failed to rise out of the low tiers. | In ''Melee'''s early history as a competitive fighter, numerous debates stemmed from the viabilities of {{SSBM|Marth}} and his clone, {{SSBM|Roy}}; opponents of the tier list generally used Roy as an example of how tiers were irrelevant, claiming that Roy's prowess in competitive ''Melee'' was equal to that of Marth. Ultimately, Marth has since been accepted as the far superior fighter, primarily due to the differing metagame statuses of both characters. Marth boasts considerable creativity in how he can combo, inflict damage, KO, and edgeguard opponents, owing to a safe approach from the distant [[sweet spot]] on Falchion, his down aerial spike, and a number of powerful finishers that can KO even if they are non-tippered; Roy, however, struggles to perform as well as Marth in these regards, as he has few viable finishers outside of his forward smash, the placement of the Sword of Seals's sweetspot prevents him from comboing or approaching as safely as Marth, and his off-stage game is considered among the worst in ''Melee'' due to his weak aerials and high falling speed. ''Melee''{{'}}s tier list has historically recognised these differences, with Marth frequently ranking as one of ''Melee''{{'}}s most potent fighters, while Roy has failed to rise out of the low tiers. | ||
Outside of an individual character's inherent characteristics, responses to a character's metagame can lead to differing tier list placings. In ''Smash 64'''s first tier list, {{SSB|Ness}} was considered the third-best character in the game, due to his powerful [[double jump cancel]] combo potential; later analysis, however, found that despite the potentially high power of his DJC combos, his short range prevented him from easily taking advantage of this. Later tier lists thus ranked Ness considerably lower from his third-place finish, with the current ''Smash 64'' tier list ranking him as tenth in a pool of twelve characters, owing to his low range, difficulty in winning the [[neutral game]] and poor recovery. Conversely, Jigglypuff in ''Melee'' initially started off as a mid-tiered character in the metagame, as it had some powerful attacks, but a slow, unwieldy ground game. Top professional player {{Sm|Mango}}, however, demonstrated that Jigglypuff's air game was among the most powerful in ''Melee'', and he also demonstrated that Jigglypuff had surprisingly powerful combo and pressure games, beyond what most smashers had previously seen or expected. Mango and later Jigglypuff main {{Sm|Hungrybox}} began to take top placings at tournaments with Jigglypuff, with the duo collectively demonstrating how deep Jigglypuff's own metagame was, resulting in it jumping to the top tiers in ''Melee'', including a third-place finish on the tenth tier list and a | Outside of an individual character's inherent characteristics, responses to a character's metagame can lead to differing tier list placings. In ''Smash 64'''s first tier list, {{SSB|Ness}} was considered the third-best character in the game, due to his powerful [[double jump cancel]] combo potential; later analysis, however, found that despite the potentially high power of his DJC combos, his short range prevented him from easily taking advantage of this. Later tier lists thus ranked Ness considerably lower from his third-place finish, with the current ''Smash 64'' tier list ranking him as tenth in a pool of twelve characters, owing to his low range, difficulty in winning the [[neutral game]] and poor recovery. Conversely, Jigglypuff in ''Melee'' initially started off as a mid-tiered character in the metagame, as it had some powerful attacks, but a slow, unwieldy ground game. Top professional player {{Sm|Mango}}, however, demonstrated that Jigglypuff's air game was among the most powerful in ''Melee'', and he also demonstrated that Jigglypuff had surprisingly powerful combo and pressure games, beyond what most smashers had previously seen or expected. Mango and later Jigglypuff main {{Sm|Hungrybox}} began to take top placings at tournaments with Jigglypuff, with the duo collectively demonstrating how deep Jigglypuff's own metagame was, resulting in it jumping to the top tiers in ''Melee'', including a third-place finish on the tenth tier list and a return to this position in the modern metagame on the current tier list. | ||
===The character's [[matchup]] spread=== | ===The character's [[matchup]] spread=== | ||
A character's [[matchup]] spread analyses how well they can perform against other characters in the game. In general, higher-tiered characters have more matchups that are in their favour compared to lower-tiered characters, with matchups against higher-tiered characters having more weight behind them than matchups with lower-tiered characters. In ''Brawl'', for instance, {{SSBB|King Dedede}} has among the best matchup spread against characters that are lower than him on the current tier list (12th), and this matchup spread is actually among the best in the game in this regard; however, he is also countered by many characters that are higher-tiered than him, leading to his current placement on the tier list despite his favourable matchups. | A character's [[matchup]] spread analyses how well they can perform against other characters in the game. In general, higher-tiered characters have more matchups that are in their favour compared to lower-tiered characters, with matchups against higher-tiered characters having more weight behind them than matchups with lower-tiered characters. In ''Brawl'', for instance, {{SSBB|King Dedede}} has among the best matchup spread against characters that are lower than him on the current tier list (12th), and this matchup spread is actually among the best in the game in this regard; however, he is also countered by many characters that are higher-tiered than him, leading to his current placement on the tier list despite his favourable matchups. As a consequence, King Dedede has been considered potentially non-viable as a solo main character in the current ''Brawl'' metagame, due to his poor matchups against Meta Knight and the {{SSBB|Ice Climbers}}, the top two characters on the tier list. | ||
A matchup against a single character is generally not enough to significantly change a character's tier standing. In ''Brawl'', for example, {{SSBB|Toon Link}}, who ranks 13th, boasts a slightly favorable matchup against the Ice Climbers, who rank 2nd, owing to his ability to potentially avoid the duo's powerful [[chain grab]]s as a result of his various projectiles and disjointed [[hitbox]]es; despite this, Toon Link ranks 13th out of a pool of 38 characters on the tier list, due to having an unfavourable matchup against almost every other character that ranks higher than him. | A matchup against a single character is generally not enough to significantly change a character's tier standing. In ''Brawl'', for example, {{SSBB|Toon Link}}, who ranks 13th, boasts a slightly favorable matchup against the Ice Climbers, who rank 2nd, owing to his ability to potentially avoid the duo's powerful [[chain grab]]s as a result of his various projectiles and disjointed [[hitbox]]es; despite this, Toon Link ranks 13th out of a pool of 38 characters on the tier list, due to having an unfavourable matchup against almost every other character that ranks higher than him. Conversely, in ''Melee'', {{SSBM|Peach}} possesses an incredibly unfavorable matchup against {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, owing to Peach's extreme disadvantage in the [[combo]] game and inability to effectively fight from behind, due to Jigglypuff's ability to disengage from interactions with no risk. Unlike ''Brawl'' Toon Link, this matchup has had noticeable consequences on Peach's viability; due to Jigglypuff's growing presence in the metagame, she has declined slightly, and is seen as a shaky choice for a solo main. However, this is still not enough to single-handedly make Peach unviable overall, as she is still ranked 7th on the current tier list in the high tier. | ||
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===The character's tournament results=== | ===The character's tournament results=== | ||
In general, higher tournament results for characters yields 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 four 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 both the [[SSBMRank]], [[SSBBRank]], 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. | In general, higher tournament results for characters yields 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 four 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 both the [[SSBMRank]], [[SSBBRank]], 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. Solo Peach's tournament victories have all come when Armada avoided Hungrybox in the bracket. | ''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. Solo Peach's tournament victories have all come when Armada avoided Hungrybox in the bracket. Sheik, despite being considered top tier for much of the game's competitive lifespan, has never won a major tournament as a solo main, 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 (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. | ||
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 | 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 is only ranked at the lower end 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 | 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, {{Sm|Salem}}'s surprise victory at {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}} in ''Brawl'', [[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 ''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. | ||
==''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' tier list== | ==''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' tier list== | ||