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 of 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 arises periodically over the existence of tiers, most notably during the "tier wars" at GameFAQs and Smashboards. Some smashers, called "anti-tiers," argue that every character can be played equally well. In support of this argument, they claim the tier list creates a cycle in which players choose only higher-tiered characters, and thus only those characters develop an advanced metagame, thereby reinforcing the tier list.
The general consensus of competitive players is that tiers do exist. They argue that it would be almost impossible to balance a game of unlike characters; without specific redesign, characters would have the tendency to fall into tiers by dint of their myriad variables (differing attack power, running speed, etc.). Furthermore, the developers cannot foresee top-level strategies, and thus even their deliberate efforts could fail to balance the game at a professional level. Years of empirical results support this conclusion as well; national tournament-winners of Melee almost always use Marth, Fox, Falco, or Sheik, though anti-tiers typically attribute this success to the preferences of a few skilled players rather than the abilities of the characters themselves.
The list itself is subject to change. Optimal strategies for each character shift over time, changing the metagame and the tier list. Anti-tiers use this point to argue that the tier list cannot be true if it changes. Pro-tiers respond by pointing out that it may be true for a particular, static metagame, and that this argument doesn't weigh against the existence of tiers themselves, but merely against a particular metagame.
Tiers exist at all levels of play, though the rankings are highly changed from casual play to competitive play, due to different strategies and a different metagame from the tournament level.