Changes: Tier list

Revision as of 23:49, 2 September 2008

A tier list is a ranking of each character's metagame, based on tournament settings. It is an indicator of how each character is expected to perform, under tournament settings, in relation to the rest of the cast. Thus, tiers measure the potential of each character based on all currently known techniques and strategies that have been shown to be useful in tournaments. Tier lists are common in fighting games as well as many other competitive games involving a large selection of characters.

The tier list does not say anything about any single matchup. For example, if two players are equally matched in skill, and one uses Fox and the other uses Pichu, the tier list alone can not be used to predict the outcome of the match accurately. This is because the tier list looks at a character's overall potential and effectiveness, and individual matchups can be soft or hard counters that affect but do not entirely determine a character's ranking. For instance, in the aforementioned example, if the Fox vs. Pichu matchup was dramatically tipped in Pichu's favor, but Pichu suffered from poor matchups against every other character in the game, it would mean that Pichu beats Fox, but Pichu is still worse than Fox.

SSB tier list

This list is cited from a GameFAQs post and generally reflects the sentiments of top-level SSB players.

SSB Tiers
Top	High	Middle	Low	Bottom
1. Pikachu 2. Kirby 3. Ness	4. Fox 5. Captain Falcon	6. Jigglypuff 7. Mario 8. Yoshi	9. Donkey Kong 10. Luigi	11. Samus 12. Link

SSBM tier list

This is the current Smash Back Room NTSC tier list, the eighth since its inception. It is current as of 7/10/2006, but it is subject to change at any time.

SSBM Tiers
Top	High	Middle	Low	Bottom
1. Fox 2. Falco	3. Sheik 4. Marth 5. Peach	6. Captain Falcon 7. Ice Climbers 8. Samus 9. Dr. Mario 10. Jigglypuff 11. Mario 12. Ganondorf	13. Link 14. Luigi 15. Donkey Kong 16. Roy 17. Young Link 18. Pikachu	19. Yoshi 20. Zelda 21. Mr. Game and Watch 22. Ness 23. Bowser 24. Kirby 25. Pichu 26. Mewtwo

SSBB tier list

Here is the SBR tier list of Brawl posted on September 01, 2008. (v1.0)[1]

SSBB Tiers
Top	High	Middle	Low
1. Meta Knight 2. Snake 3. King Dedede 4. Mr. Game & Watch 5. Falco 6. R.O.B.	7. Marth 8. Wario 9. Lucario 10. Donkey Kong 11. Diddy Kong 12. Pikachu 13. Ice Climbers 14. Kirby 15. Pit 16. Wolf	17. Toon Link 18. Olimar 19. Fox 20. Zelda 21. Zero Suit Samus 22. Bowser 23. Luigi 24. Peach 25. Ike 26. Sheik	27. Lucas 28. Ness 29. Mario 30. Pokémon Trainer 31. Samus 32. Yoshi 33. Sonic 34. Jigglypuff 35. Ganondorf 36. Link 37. Captain Falcon

Controversy of 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 that 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. It has also led to an anti-tier slogan known as "Tiers R 4 Queers".

The unanimous 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 and Sheik.

The list itself is subject to change at any time. Optimal strategies for each character shift largely over time, changing the tier list as well. 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.

External links

@@ Line 137: / Line 137: @@
 == Controversy of 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 that 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. It has also led to an anti-tier slogan known as "Tiers are For Queers".
+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 that 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. It has also led to an anti-tier slogan known as "Tiers R 4 Queers".
 The unanimous 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]] and [[Sheik]].