Tier list: Difference between revisions
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This is the third version of the tier list for ''Brawl''. It is current as of 5 June 2009. [http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=7537861#post7537861] | This is the third version of the tier list for ''Brawl''. It is current as of 5 June 2009. [http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=7537861#post7537861] | ||
{{Template:BrawlTiers}} | {{Template:BrawlTiers}} | ||
== Controversy of the Existence of Tiers == | |||
''For a comprehensive detailing of the arguments in favor of the existence of tiers, see [[User:Semicolon/Treatise on the Existence of Tiers|this page.]]'' | |||
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, [[Dashing|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 [[Super Smash Bros. Melee|Melee]] almost always use [[Marth]], [[Fox]], [[Falco]] and [[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. | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||