Tier list: Difference between revisions

In gaming, a '''tier list''' is a list that ranks all [[character]]s in a game based on the strength of their fighting abilities, as well as their potential to win matches under [[tournament legal|tournament]] conditions, assuming players are of equal skill. Tier lists are most commonly made for fighting games that are played at a high [[competitive]] level, though games with large character pools, such as the {{uv|Pokémon}} series, can also have their [[bulbapedia:Tiers|own tier lists]].

===The character's tournament results===

''Smash Bros.'' characters are often placed into different groups of "viability", which rates their potential and empirical ability to perform in tournaments. At the top of this grouping are characters considered to be able to consistently win major tournaments. In ''Melee'', this list generally includes four characters: {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSBM|Marth}}, and {{SSBM|Falco}}, all of whom have been able to consistently able to win large tournaments against a variety of opponents. Below these four are the characters who are considered to have the potential to win a major, but have one or more especially problematic matchups which makes this much more difficult. This grouping includes {{SSBM|Sheik}}, {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Peach}}, {{SSBM|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBM|Pikachu}}, {{SSBM|Yoshi}}, and {{SSBM|Samus}} (the lower end of this list is subject to significant debate). It is acknowledged that a player winning a major with one of these characters is usually the result of a favorable bracket or a player using [[counterpick]] characters against their most troublesome matchups. For example, although Peach saw large amounts of tournament success under {{Sm|Armada}}, he switched to his secondary characters when facing {{Sm|Hungrybox}}'s Jigglypuff, against whom he was unable to take a single game off of as Peach. Most of solo Peach's tournament victories have come when Armada avoided Hungrybox in the bracket. Sheik, despite being considered top tier for much of the game's competitive lifespan, had never won a major tournament as a solo main until {{Trn|GENESIS 9}} in 2023, as Sheik players, such as {{Sm|Mew2King}} and {{Sm|Plup}}, have always switched to counterpick characters against certain matchups and players, such as Jigglypuff. Conversely, although Pikachu has won a major earlier (when {{Sm|Axe}} placed first at {{Trn|Smash Summit 8}}), Pikachu still remains lower-tiered than Sheik, as Pikachu's matchup spread against the other top tiers is considered worse than Sheik's. Sheik has had more sustained top 8 success, while Axe's tournament results have been less consistent.

Furthermore, an increase in results for a character can lead to a higher tier standing, as improvements to results can be attributed to metagame changes either in the entirety of the metagame or for an individual character. Characters such as {{SSBM|Pikachu}} and {{SSBM|Yoshi}} in ''Melee'' or {{SSBB|Ike}} and {{SSBB|Sonic}} in ''Brawl'' saw improvements in tier standing due to players discovering new techniques or applications for the character, yielding deeper individual metagames that could stand up in the general metagame; Ike players such as {{Sm|San}}, for instance, demonstrated that the character had a surprisingly powerful aerial game, alongside an extremely powerful and flexible [[jab]] that demonstrated Ike's neutral game was not as slow or unsafe as previously thought.  

==''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' tier list==

{{for|the Japanese ''Brawl'' tier list|Japanese tier list}}

{{for|the post-''Brawl'' community tier list|Post-Brawl community tier list}}

{{BrawlTiers}}

{{for|a list of all ''Smash 4'' tier lists|List of SSB4 tier lists}}

<!---Please do not insert any speculation, nor tier list from other sources other than the Smash Back Room into this section.--->

{{SSB4Tiers}}

==''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' tier list==

{{for|a list of all ''Ultimate'' tier lists|List of SSBU tier lists}}

{{UltimateTiers}}

==Existence of tiers==

It is a common opinion among new or casual players of a fighting game that all the characters in the series are equal and have the same amount of potential. 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 spectators is that tiers do exist. In reality, it would be almost impossible for developers to balance a game of unique characters, because the differing properties of each character produce a large number of variables that cannot be constantly monitored and modified on the spot for the purpose of perfect balance. Thus, developers may not be able to foresee top level strategies before their game's release date, and even deliberate efforts (i.e. updates to ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'') will not perfectly balance a game at a professional level. Furthermore, [[Masahiro Sakurai]] did not solely intend for the ''Smash'' games to be played at high competitive levels under tournament rulesets, which are what tiers are based off of, and his idea of balancing may have been different from that of other competitive games.  

[[Power rankings]] have suggested that the best ''Smash'' players generally use high-tiered characters, with only a handful of outliers; even then, for example, {{Sm|Plup}}, who mained {{SSBM|Samus}}, eventually switched to a higher-tiered character in {{SSBM|Sheik}}, and was ranked higher than in [[2014 SSBMRank|the previous rankings]], while {{Sm|Axe}}, despite continuing to use his lower-tiered main {{SSBM|Pikachu}}, has picked up one or several top tier secondary characters. In ''Melee'', {{Sm|Armada}}, despite being considered the best player in the world for much of ''Melee''{{'}}s history, had to pick up a stronger character in {{SSBM|Fox}} in order to overcome his {{SSBM|Peach}}'s matchup issues against other top players like {{Sm|Hungrybox}} and {{Sm|Leffen}}. For ''Brawl'', {{Sm|Vinnie}} switched from {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}} to the {{SSBB|Ice Climbers}} and immediately saw better results, eventually being ranked 9th in the [[2014 SSBBRank]], and a large amount of the players on said power rankings have a secondary or pocket {{SSBB|Meta Knight}} if they do not main him. Despite being touted as the best {{SSB4|Bowser Jr.}} player in the world, {{Sm|Tweek}} dropped him in favor of {{SSB4|Cloud}}, who he perceived to be a better choice in becoming the best ''Smash 4'' player, and following the switch, he would become one of the best ''Smash 4'' players in the world, eventually being considered the second best on the [[PGR v5|fifth PGR]]. There was also a noticeable trend of players picking up {{SSB4|Bayonetta}} and performing far better than they ever did with their prior main, up to the top level at majors, with some of the most standout examples being {{Sm|Salem}}, {{Sm|Captain Zack}}, {{Sm|Mistake}}, and {{Sm|Lima}}. Generally, after patch [[1.1.5]], a multitude of both Cloud and Bayonetta mains emerged.