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Tier list: Difference between revisions

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Tier list (view source)

Revision as of 22:28, May 9, 2016

19 bytes removed ,  8 years ago
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Undid edit by Dots: Bayonetta has been successful at regionals, not nationals.
m (→‎Controversy over the existence of tiers: Its only been 3 months but Bayonetta has indeed been successful in tournaments since her release even.)
m (Undid edit by Dots: Bayonetta has been successful at regionals, not nationals.)
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It is a common opinion among some players (mostly new ones) that all the characters in the series are equal. These players believe that the inherent strengths and weaknesses of characters balance them out, thus eliminating the need for tiers. However, the consensus of competitive players, and knowledgeable but non-competitive players, is that tiers do exist. They argue that it would be almost impossible for developers to balance a game of unlike characters, because the differing properties of each character produce a large number of variables that cannot successfully be monitored and modified for the purpose of perfect balance. Thus, developers may not be able to foresee top level strategies, and even deliberate efforts will not perfectly balance a game at a professional level. Furthermore, the developers did not solely intend for games in the ''Smash'' series to be played at high competitive levels under tournament rulesets, which are what tiers are based off of, and their idea of balancing may have been different from that of other competitive games.  
It is a common opinion among some players (mostly new ones) that all the characters in the series are equal. These players believe that the inherent strengths and weaknesses of characters balance them out, thus eliminating the need for tiers. However, the consensus of competitive players, and knowledgeable but non-competitive players, is that tiers do exist. They argue that it would be almost impossible for developers to balance a game of unlike characters, because the differing properties of each character produce a large number of variables that cannot successfully be monitored and modified for the purpose of perfect balance. Thus, developers may not be able to foresee top level strategies, and even deliberate efforts will not perfectly balance a game at a professional level. Furthermore, the developers did not solely intend for games in the ''Smash'' series to be played at high competitive levels under tournament rulesets, which are what tiers are based off of, and their idea of balancing may have been different from that of other competitive games.  


Years of results from tournaments also support the existence of tiers: national tournament winners of ''Smash 64'' would commonly be using {{SSB|Pikachu}} and/or {{SSB|Kirby}}; winners of ''Melee'' nationals have most commonly used {{SSBM|Marth}}, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Falco}}, and/or {{SSBM|Sheik}}; winners of ''Brawl'' nationals have most commonly used {{SSBB|Meta Knight}}, {{SSBB|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBB|Olimar}}, {{SSBB|Snake}}, {{SSBB|Diddy Kong}}, and/or {{SSBB|Falco}}; and winners of ''Smash 4'' nationals have most commonly used {{SSB4|Sheik}}, {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} {{SSB4|Bayonetta}} and/or {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}}. [[Power rankings]] for the games have also demonstrated that the best ''Smash'' players generally use high-tiered characters. The top 25 players on the [[SSBPD]] for ''Melee'' was almost entirely composed of smashers who used top- or high-tier characters; the sole two exceptions were {{Sm|Shroomed}}, who used {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}} (then considered a middle tier character), and {{Sm|Axe}}, who used {{SSBM|Pikachu}} (then considered a low-mid tier character), and even these two players had top-tiered secondaries, with the former using {{SSBM|Sheik}} and {{SSBM|Marth}} and the latter using Fox and Falco. The later [[2013 SSBM Player Rankings]] and [[2014 SSBM Player Rankings]] showcased a similar trend to the SSBPD, with the top 25 players on both rankings primarily featuring smashers dedicated to top-tiered characters. Collectively between the two lists' top 25 places, only four players used characters not found in ''Melee'''s S tier: the aforementioned Axe and Shroomed, as well as {{Sm|Plup}} and {{Sm|aMSa}}, the latter two of whom were added in the 2014 rankings.
Years of results from tournaments also support the existence of tiers: national tournament winners of ''Smash 64'' would commonly be using {{SSB|Pikachu}} and/or {{SSB|Kirby}}; winners of ''Melee'' nationals have most commonly used {{SSBM|Marth}}, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Falco}}, and/or {{SSBM|Sheik}}; winners of ''Brawl'' nationals have most commonly used {{SSBB|Meta Knight}}, {{SSBB|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBB|Olimar}}, {{SSBB|Snake}}, {{SSBB|Diddy Kong}}, and/or {{SSBB|Falco}}; and winners of ''Smash 4'' nationals have most commonly used {{SSB4|Sheik}}, {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} and/or {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}}. [[Power rankings]] for the games have also demonstrated that the best ''Smash'' players generally use high-tiered characters. The top 25 players on the [[SSBPD]] for ''Melee'' was almost entirely composed of smashers who used top- or high-tier characters; the sole two exceptions were {{Sm|Shroomed}}, who used {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}} (then considered a middle tier character), and {{Sm|Axe}}, who used {{SSBM|Pikachu}} (then considered a low-mid tier character), and even these two players had top-tiered secondaries, with the former using {{SSBM|Sheik}} and {{SSBM|Marth}} and the latter using Fox and Falco. The later [[2013 SSBM Player Rankings]] and [[2014 SSBM Player Rankings]] showcased a similar trend to the SSBPD, with the top 25 players on both rankings primarily featuring smashers dedicated to top-tiered characters. Collectively between the two lists' top 25 places, only four players used characters not found in ''Melee'''s S tier: the aforementioned Axe and Shroomed, as well as {{Sm|Plup}} and {{Sm|aMSa}}, the latter two of whom were added in the 2014 rankings.


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, tiers do not exist and tier lists are unnecessary. To support 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. They also argue that the tier list cannot be true because it continuously changes. The problem with the former argument, is that while higher tiered characters do see more usage, even the lowest ranked characters have professionals dedicated to using them, such as {{Sm|Taj}} and {{Sm|Triple R}} in ''Melee'' and {{Sm|Vermanubis}} and {{Sm|Boss}} in ''Brawl''. These professionals put in as much effort and time, if not more, as the players of higher tiered characters to develop their characters' metagames, and continually discover [[advanced technique]]s of theirs. Despite this, barring a breakthrough discovery, the playerbase of lower tiered characters has routinely performed worse in tournaments than that of higher tiered characters, with even the best player of a lower tiered character very rarely ever placing high enough to win money in national tournaments without strong top-tiered secondaries. Additionally, while rare, there have been cases of a player dropping their main character for a higher tier character, and then performing even better in tournaments, such as {{Sm|Vinnie}}, who became one of the best players in the United States when he started using the Ice Climbers instead of {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}}. He has since seen much better results in the tournament scene, even on an international scale; Vinnie was later ranked as the 9th best ''Brawl'' player in the world in 2014. 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 and new strategies previously unknown are discovered; while an individual tier list may not stay accurate forever, as explained in the previous paragraph, it does not discredit 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, tiers do not exist and tier lists are unnecessary. To support 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. They also argue that the tier list cannot be true because it continuously changes. The problem with the former argument, is that while higher tiered characters do see more usage, even the lowest ranked characters have professionals dedicated to using them, such as {{Sm|Taj}} and {{Sm|Triple R}} in ''Melee'' and {{Sm|Vermanubis}} and {{Sm|Boss}} in ''Brawl''. These professionals put in as much effort and time, if not more, as the players of higher tiered characters to develop their characters' metagames, and continually discover [[advanced technique]]s of theirs. Despite this, barring a breakthrough discovery, the playerbase of lower tiered characters has routinely performed worse in tournaments than that of higher tiered characters, with even the best player of a lower tiered character very rarely ever placing high enough to win money in national tournaments without strong top-tiered secondaries. Additionally, while rare, there have been cases of a player dropping their main character for a higher tier character, and then performing even better in tournaments, such as {{Sm|Vinnie}}, who became one of the best players in the United States when he started using the Ice Climbers instead of {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}}. He has since seen much better results in the tournament scene, even on an international scale; Vinnie was later ranked as the 9th best ''Brawl'' player in the world in 2014. 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 and new strategies previously unknown are discovered; while an individual tier list may not stay accurate forever, as explained in the previous paragraph, it does not discredit the existence of tiers.
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