Tier list
Template:FA-article In gaming, a tier list is a list that ranks each character in order of potential under tournament conditions, based on analysis of the metagame. Tier lists are commonly made for competitive fighting games, as well as strategy games that involve a selection of usable characters, such as Pokémon. The metagame of each game in the Smash series encompasses all currently known techniques and strategies that have proven useful during tournament matches, thus, the tier list for each game ranks and measures the expected competitive performance of every character, based upon analysis of these techniques and strategies.
Individual matchups affect, but do not ultimately determine characters' tier list rankings. Often, a particular character will carry a supposed advantage over another character who ranks higher on the tier list — such a matchup is known as a counter. For example, suppose Pichu held an advantageous matchup against Fox but suffered from matchups poorer than Fox's against every other character in Melee. While it would be considered a counter to Fox, Pichu would still be ranked lower than Fox on the tier list. Thus, if two players at the top of the known metagame played a match with Fox and Pichu, the tier list alone could not predict the outcome of the match. Furthermore, tier lists do not rank characters relative to the numerical average of their matchup scores.
SSB tier list
The following is the Super Smash Bros. tier list produced by the SmashBoards community. It is current as of September 28 2009. [1]
| Super Smash Bros. Tier List #4 | |||||||||||
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| S | A | B | C | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6-7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
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| 1.10 | 2.18 | 3.42 | 3.75 | 4.85 | 6.46 | 6.49 | 9.28 | 9.49 | 10.02 | 10.33 | 11.67 |
Melee tier list
The following is the ninth Smash Back Room Super Smash Bros. Melee NTSC tier list. It is current as of October 14 2008.
| Super Smash Bros. Melee Tier List #13 | |||||||||||||
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| S | A | B+ | B- | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
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| 1.68 | 2.36 | 3.18 | 3.56 | 4.66 | 5.82 | 6.84 | 8.74 | 9.62 | 9.69 | 10.11 | 12.23 | 12.61 | |
| C+ | C- | D | F | ||||||||||
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | |
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| 14.83 | 15.53 | 16.42 | 17.31 | 17.66 | 17.95 | 20.22 | 21.63 | 22.07 | 22.78 | 23.49 | 24.26 | 25.74 | |
Brawl tier list
The following is the fourth Super Smash Bros. Brawl tier list. It is current as of February 26 2010. [2]
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #8 | |||||||||||
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| SS | S | A+ | A- | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |||||
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| 1.000 | 2.344 | 3.375 | 3.750 | 5.813 | 5.844 | 6.375 | |||||
| B | C+ | C | C- | ||||||||
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
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| 8.000 | 8.656 | 9.844 | 11.656 | 12.531 | 13.094 | 14.438 | 15.219 | 15.844 | 16.563 | 18.031 | 18.500 |
| D | |||||||||||
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | ||||
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| 20.750 | 21.281 | 21.844 | 22.625 | - | 24.063 | 24.406 | 25.938 | ||||
| E | F | ||||||||||
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | |
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| 27.688 | 27.781 | 28.094 | 30.344 | 31.406 | 31.938 | 33.219 | 34.000 | 34.813 | 35.375 | 36.844 | |
Controversy over the Existence of Tiers
For a comprehensive detailing of the arguments in favor of the existence of tiers, see Semicolon's Treatise on the Existence of Tiers.
Controversy periodically arises over the existence of tiers, most notably during the "tier wars" on GameFAQs and Smashboards. Some smashers, called "anti-tiers," argue that every character can be played equally well and that therefore, tier lists do not exist. In support of this argument, they claim that the presentation of a tier list creates a cycle in which players see the list, and choose only higher-tiered characters to compete with, which causes only those characters develop an advanced metagame, thereby reinforcing the high tiered characters' positions on the tier list. They also argue that the tier list cannot be true because it continuously changes.
The general consensus of competitive players is that tiers do exist. They believe that it would be almost impossible for developers to balance a game of unlike characters, because the differing properties of each character produce a huge number of variables that cannot successfully be monitored and modified for the purpose of balance. Thus, developers cannot foresee top-level strategies, and even deliberate efforts will not balance a game at a professional level. Furthermore, the developers did not intend for games in the Smash series to be played competitively, and the conditions under which they are played in tournaments are different to those under which they expect the game to be played. For example, in Brawl, each character's Final Smash is factored into their supposed balance as a fighter, but Final Smashes are banned in tournaments. Years of empirical results also support the existence of tiers; national tournament winners of Melee most commonly use Marth, Fox, Falco, or Sheik. Regarding the fact that the tier list changes, pro-tiers respond by stating that the anti-tiers' argument regarding this does not weigh against the existence of tiers, because the tier list must change as the metagame changes.
