Tier list

In gaming, a tier list is a list that ranks all characters in order of their potential to win under tournament conditions, assuming equal skill on the part of each player, based on analysis of the metagame, among other factors. Tier lists are commonly made for fighting games that are played on the high competitive level, such as Mortal Kombat 9. Some games that aren't fighting games, but have large character sets, such as the Pokémon series, can also have their own tier lists.

The metagame of each game in the Super Smash Bros. series encompasses all the 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. The most widely accepted tier lists in the English-speaking community are those produced by the Smash Back Room.

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, Peach holds an advantageous matchup against Ice Climbers, but suffers from matchups poorer than the Ice Climbers' against nearly every other character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While she can be considered a counter to the Ice Climbers, Peach is still ranked lower than the Ice Climbers on the tier list (due to poorer overall matchups, among other reasons). Thus, if two players at the top of the known metagame played a match with Peach and the Ice Climbers, 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 64 Back Room. The numbers below the characters was their average ranking during the voting for the tier list. It is current as of September 20, 2011. [1]

Super Smash Bros. Tier List #4
S		A			B		C
1	2	3	4	5	6-7		8	9	10	11	12

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 tenth Smash Back Room Super Smash Bros. Melee NTSC tier list. It is current as of December 31, 2010. [2]

Super Smash Bros. Melee Tier List #13
S				A			B+				B-
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13

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

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 seventh Super Smash Bros. Brawl tier list produced by the Smash Back Room. It is current as of April 28, 2012. [3]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #8
		SS		S	A+		A-
		1		2	3	4	5	6	7

		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

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

		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

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 argument in favor of the existence of tiers, see Semicolon's Treatise on the Existence of Tiers.

It is a common misconception among new players, and even a few experienced players, that all the characters in the series are equal. It is thought amongst them that the strengths and weaknesses of characters balances them out. However, the consensus of most 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. Years of empirical results also support the existence of tiers: top tournament smashers of SSB primarily use Pikachu; national tournament winners of Melee most commonly using Jigglypuff, Fox, Falco, and/or Sheik; and winners of Brawl nationals most commonly use Meta Knight, Ice Climbers, Olimar, Snake, Diddy Kong, and/or Falco. Additionally, the top 25 players on the SSBPD for Melee is composed almost entirely of players who main top- or high-tiered characters, with the two exceptions being Shroomed and Axe (both of whom second top-tier characters). In response to the fact that the tier list changes, pro-tiers state that the anti-tiers' argument does not weigh against the existence of tiers, because the tier list must change as the metagame changes.

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.

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Tier list

Contents

SSB tier list

Melee tier list

Brawl tier list

Controversy over the existence of tiers

See also

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