Explanation of tier list?

[criel]

Is there a list out there that explains why each character is either very high and/or very low in the tier list? This may be common knowledge to veterans but would be very helpful for the newbies like me.

 

[.Chipmunk.]

Is there a list out there that explains why each character is either very high and/or very low in the tier list? This may be common knowledge to veterans but would be very helpful for the newbies like me.

The tier list is created based on the tournament performance of each character. It's not based on priority of moves or character speed or anything of that nature. If you study the tier list though, you'll discover that certain 'traits' tend to hold true throughout the list.

In summary, don't pick a character to main just because they are high on this list. Pick somebody you are comfortable playing to learn tech skill and game components in general, then you'll start to figure out which character's better suit your play style and you'll pick them. There is a high tier character out there for everybody, but you don't have to start there.

 

[-Ran]

Tiers are dictated by the ability of a character to succeed in the current character metagame. The easiest way to observe this is by looking at the following two links:

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=298484
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6654/week36.png

One way to look at the tier list is the ease of a character going through a tournament with as few as bad possible match ups as possible. Falco has unfavorable matches against Pikachu and Ice Climbers, but they are relatively rare characters in tournaments so this doesn't hold him back, while Toon Link's main disadvantage is against Meta Knight, which substantially hinders his success potential.

 

[ShineSpikeOverpowered]

mita nit iz tawp taer. peeryud

 

[CelestiBoom]

True that, I was first using Kirby cause my "Stonecutter" Combo (Down Special, then Up Special.), great power and of course, the copy ability. But now I am maining Lucario... Great projectiles, great air game, and I love the way he backflips :D.

 

[popsofctown]

The tier list is created based on the tournament performance of each character. It's not based on priority of moves or character speed or anything of that nature. If you study the tier list though, you'll discover that certain 'traits' tend to hold true throughout the list.

In summary, don't pick a character to main just because they are high on this list. Pick somebody you are comfortable playing to learn tech skill and game components in general, then you'll start to figure out which character's better suit your play style and you'll pick them. There is a high tier character out there for everybody, but you don't have to start there.

That's one opinion. Mine is that over ninety percent of players maximize their probability of winning by maining Meta Knight rather than anyone else. The remaining 10%, if they exist, are incredibly good Falco, Snake, Diddy, or Pikachu by nature, and half of them need to secondary Meta Knight for Rainbow Cruise, Brinstar, and bad matchups.

 

[Rubbish]

Is there a list out there that explains why each character is either very high and/or very low in the tier list? This may be common knowledge to veterans but would be very helpful for the newbies like me.

Tiers are based upon a character's matchups in the current highest level of play. A character that has good matchups on average is higher up, it's pretty simple.

One thing to note is that a high tier [character] does not necessarily have an advantage on a low tier. There are many character weakness that can lead to a higher tier character falling to a "weaker" character (imagine a projectile based high tier character going against a low tier character with a reliable reflector with low punishibility).

 

[Battousai780]

That's one opinion. Mine is that over ninety percent of players maximize their probability of winning by maining Meta Knight rather than anyone else. The remaining 10%, if they exist, are incredibly good Falco, Snake, Diddy, or Pikachu by nature, and half of them need to secondary Meta Knight for Rainbow Cruise, Brinstar, and bad matchups.

You're bad and I hope you know you're bad. Herp derp anyone who picks MK is bad; and if you pick someone else, you're incredibly good. The reason why my MK will beat you along with my Peach or Marth is because I can space better, have better decision making, more knowledge of match ups, more technical skill, and better mindgames.

 

[moomoomamoo]

You're bad and I hope you know you're bad. Herp derp anyone who picks MK is bad; and if you pick someone else, you're incredibly good. The reason why my MK will beat you along with my Peach or Marth is because I can space better, have better decision making, more knowledge of match ups, more technical skill, and better mindgames.

I think what he meant was that people think of "what is the best chances of me winning in a match vs x for x being any character in the game for any legal stage" when trying to win consistently. The rest are people who realize they are naturally better with other characters (mostly high tier but this doesn't exclude lower tiers).

He wasn't saying that metaknight da bess, just that a lot of players try to win and figure that metaknight is the way to do due to metaknight having very consistent and rewarding results vs. the rest of the cast (in the world of pure frame data and robotic play). Any character can be good with mindgames (and yes characters vary with selective technical skills).

At least I hope that's what he meant... if not... derp.

 

[Kakashi151]

Basically, a Tier List is a rating of how well each Character will preform in a Tournament; providing all players have the same skill level. Tier Lists list the character's on how well their individual moves and characteristics will do in a Tournament. They DON'T rate the actual character, just the possible performance level of each in a Tournament setting. Don't think you have to have a high-tier'd character to be good! You can be good with virtually ANY character.

 

[link2702]

Basically, a Tier List is a rating of how well each Character will preform in a Tournament; providing all players have the same skill level. Tier Lists list the character's on how well their individual moves and characteristics will do in a Tournament. They DON'T rate the actual character, just the possible performance level of each in a Tournament setting. Don't think you have to have a high-tier'd character to be good! You can be good with virtually ANY character.

except ganondorf.

he's a lost cause.


and link

and zelda...and jiggly....and pretty much anyone in the last two tiers.

 

[Ussi]

Mid tier and up are useable in a tourney enviroment.


Bottom mid does have a hard time but nothing skill can't mitigate.

 

[-Ran]

As you go lower into the tier list you remove yourself from serious contention for becoming the best player in your region; however you drastically increase the possibility that you'll become the best player of the character.

 

[Flayl]

Becoming the best of a character has more to do with popularity than the position on the tier list e.g. Kirby and Sonic

 

[holyv]

Well, the first thing you need to know about the tier list, is:
1. Metaknight is invincible, all the MK players lost SOMETIMES because they can't up air/technical mistake
2. Ganondorf SUCKS, all the Ganondorf players win SOMETIMES, because dair hits unexplainable (how the **** you spell that)/Fsmash had their hitboxes ****ed up for a small amout of time
3. Luigi is the best, his position is because people don't play him.
4. Ike sucks for getting luigi position, while luigi has 385378463 frames of advantage and can up-b ike in all his moves
5. ZSS Is hot, that's why she's high tier
6. Zelda is marriage material, that's why nobody likes her and puts her at bottom tier (i still love her though)
7. Even if sonic is fast, his moves suck
8. Marth is a ******, but all the gals love him because he's in every yaoi possible.
9. Snake is badass, unfortunally, his recovery sucks cow nipples
10. Diddy kong must die on fire.
11. Ice climbers are gay, they just lose to mk, he's low tier because the back room hate them.
12. bowser rules, his up-b is just hitbox perfect and lagless
13. Samus is so floaty, that when she's on water, water floats on her.
14. Jigglypuff annoying ****face, lose to everything that has a disjointed hitbox. especially to our dear gay friend marth (no racism, gay means another think at brawl, if i would like to say gay, i would say ******.)
15. God damn it fox is too good why the hell he's on 16th? i know why, ****** marth sidethrow>sidethrow>dair>edgehog
16. Falco is a slow dumb**** that can't fly, being the awesome bird he is, the back room loves him, so they put him high tier

17 and principal: The backroom SUCKS.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

14. Jigglypuff annoying ****face, lose to everything that has a disjointed hitbox. especially to our dear gay friend marth (no racism, gay means another think at brawl, if i would like to say gay, i would say ******.)

and jiggly....and pretty much anyone in the last two tiers.

It is adorable that people still think Jigglypuff is complete trash this late into the game's life.

 

[link2702]

she's only went down since the last tier update, and was put in the triforce (or quadforce now) of fail tier.

this ain't melee jiggly, the new physics of brawl just royally ****ed her up, as well as getting a major nerf in her rest move.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

You can just keep thinking that if you'd like.

 

[Battousai780]

You can just keep thinking that if you'd like.

Here's how the game works. Characters like jigglypuff aren't complete trash until they happen to meet a top tier character like falco, snake, marth. At this point they are now complete trash.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

You can just keep thinking that if you'd like.

Quote for truth.

 

[link2702]

grim, jiggly sucks in brawl, just face it.

 

[Johnknight1]

As you go lower into the tier list you remove yourself from serious contention for becoming the best player in your region; however you drastically increase the possibility that you'll become the best player of the character.

This is for the most part true.

Also (this is for the OP and those who don't know), the tiers are not set in stone. It is subject to change with any smash bros game.

For example, in Smash 64 for a long time Ness was the 3rd highest ranked character out of the 12 man roster. Now, he's the 3rd worst out of the 12 because over time the best players and competitive community realized that he hadn't really gotten better for several years, and his recovery was very predictable.

In Melee, Donkey Kong went up in the tiers a few years ago when it was discovered he was a (soft) Fox counter. If a character is a good counter for any of the best characters, that definitely makes the character more threatening and useful, and it can make the character rise up in the tiers. If it was discovered Donkey Kong light countered the likes of Kirby (who is near the bottom of the tier list), this would not make Donkey Kong worthy of being considered better.

Recently in Brawl Wolf went up 6 spots on the tier list due to sudden advancements of his meta game (meta game is the strategies used by a player), these advancements resulting in more Wolf-users being successful with Wolf at tournaments, and due to the best Wolf players getting somewhat better since the last tier list.

I hope that helps any one new. Also, definitely use smashwiki.com for any questions you may have.

 

[PandaBear724]

The tier list tells you which characters to play.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

grim, jiggly sucks in brawl, just face it.

You can just keep thinking that if you'd like.

 

[Grey Lantern]

OP, the tier list is based entirely on how well certain characters tend to perform in tournaments. It's not an actual ranking of which characters are the best, which is how many people decide to take it. It just tells which characters have been proven the most effective in the past.

For example, Metaknight is at the top of the list, meanwhile, my Metaknight is terrible. My best character is Zelda. In my hands she's awesome, but in most, she's not, which is why she's at the bottom of the tier list.