Tier list: Difference between revisions

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|[[Captain Falcon (SSB)|Captain Falcon]]
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|[[Samus Aran (SSB)|Samus]]
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Revision as of 22:36, March 3, 2008

SSBM tier list
Top tier
Fox
Falco
High tier
Sheik
Marth
Peach
Middle tier
Captain Falcon
Ice Climbers
Samus
Dr. Mario
Jigglypuff
Mario
Ganondorf
Low tier
Link
Luigi
Donkey Kong
Roy
Young Link
Pikachu
Bottom tier
Yoshi
Zelda
Mr. Game and Watch
Ness
Bowser
Kirby
Pichu
Mewtwo
SSB tier list
Top tier
Pikachu
Kirby
Ness
High tier
Fox
Captain Falcon
Middle tier
Jigglypuff
Mario
Yoshi
Low tier
Donkey Kong
Luigi
Bottom tier
Link
Samus

A tier list is a ranking of each character's metagame, based on 1-on-1 battles with tournament settings.

SSB tier list

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

Current SSBM tier list

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

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.

The unanimous consensus of competitive players, however, 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, of course, is subject to change at any time: the metagame shifts largely, changing the tier list throughout the years. Anti-tiers use this point to argue that the tier list can't 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 meta-game.

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 meta-game from the tournament level.

See also

External Links