History Main / CharacterTiers

** SuperSmashBrosBrawl has a single borderline god-tier character - Metaknight. Universally considered the best character in the game, he dominates most of the cast with extremely fast and safe attacks, excellent recovery and edgeguarding capabilities, and unrivaled ledge game. He has one or two matchups against other top tiers that ''might'' be considered 50-50, but many are skeptical. He was been dominant enough in the competitive scene for many fans, and some tournaments, to support banning him.

** The devs seem to be aware of this practice, at least as far as PurposefullyOverpowered final bosses go: Caulder/Stolos can't be selected for wifi matches in ''Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict''.

** Thanks to the occasional balance patch and a roster that's ten times more balanced than Brawl's was, the tier lists in ''For 3DS/Wii U'' has a case similar to Street Fighter 4's where the bad characters aren't that much worse compared to the top tiers. That said, pre 1.06 patch, Diddy Kong was seen by many as the new Meta Knight due to a frustratingly good down throw to up-air combo many came to call "Hoo-hah". [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome It got so ridiculous that at one point, it was common to see Grand Finals of Smash 4 tournaments where both players used him.]] However, Diddy ended up getting nerfed throughout two different patches, causing other players to have to learn him more thoroughly, and he is still generally seen as a high tier character.

**** The characters introduced through DLC have all been unique cases similar to Little Mac or Ike from Brawl in that at first, they tend to perform well if not dominate the meta game until players get enough match up familiarity to counter them. Of all the characters introduced through DLC, Mewtwo is considered by many to be a low tier mess despite being buffed a good bit from his ''Melee'' days. Lucas plays about the same as he did in ''Brawl'' as a low mid tier character. Roy and Ryu are considered to be high tier material Roy especially because of his significant improvements from ''Melee'' while Ryu's status as a JackOfAllStats in his home series plus his combo oriented style of play from said series translates well to a smash bros game.

* SoulCalibur 4 tiers generally class Hilde as god tier due to her "Doom Combo" that can ring out from pretty much anywhere. Other generally good characters to use include Sophitia and Kilik, whereas Rock in particular is awful.
** SoulCalibur 5 currently has no "concrete" tier list, but matchup charts so far have placed Cervantes and Alpha Patroklos very high on the lists. Raphael and Z.W.E.I. are considered the weakest characters, while Dampierre gets his own placement below them for being a JokeCharacter. That being said, the game is very well-balanced and considered an improvement from ''4'' in that department.

** The second tier is the [=UnderUsed=] (UU) tier. This tier is composed of Pokémon that are occasionally used. The Pokémon in this tier usually have a problem or two that prevents them from being used easily, or have Pokémon in the upper tiers that fulfill the same purpose, but do it better [[note]] Though it is not unheard of for a UU Pokémon to find a niche in OU or even Ubers, as being on a lower tier doesn't necessarily make them bad (For example, the ORAS Viability Rankings rank Mega Aerodactyl as A-, which is basically the Top Tier, despite being UU for the majority of Gen VI (and still is, as of March of 2015.)[[/note]]. In UU battles, only Pokémon from the UU and below are allowed.

** In addition to the standard tier set (which organizes Pokémon on the assumption that anything you can do without hacking is legal) there's Little Cup, where Pokémon must be level 5, must be able to evolve, and must not evolve from anything. Little Cup has its own list of Ubers, OU, and UU, and other modified rules. There's also the many, many, ''many'' Other Metagames with modified rules, such as Almost Any Ability, which allows any Pokémon to use almost any Ability, which have a completely different set of Pokémon from OU, due to certain tweaks making some previously unviable Pokémon viable [[note]]For example, the RU Braviary now finds itself at the top of the Viability Rankings due to being able to use Gale Wings[[/note]].

** First off is Ubers. This isn't a tier but a banlist (Or, according to Smogon, "A banlist first and a tier second"), as Pokémon in it are only in there so that the OU metagame doesn't suffer, as Pokémon in this tier are considered too [[GameBreaker broken]] for standard competitive play. Pokémon in this tier can not be used in any competitive battle unless the rules specifically allow it, or the players agree to use them. This tier is a metagame in itself, since the overpowered nature of all the Pokémon used creates balance. At least until Mega Rayquaza showed up, which was too overpowered ''[[UpToEleven even for Ubers]]'', necessitating the creation of AG (see below).

** Thanks to the occasional balance patch and a roster that's ten times more balanced than Brawl's was, the tier lists in ''For 3DS/Wii U'' has a case similar to Street Fighter 4's where the bad characters aren't that much worse compared to the top tiers. That said, pre 1.06 patch, Diddy Kong was seen by many as the new Meta Knight due to a frustratingly good down throw to up-air combo many came to call "Hoo-hah". [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome It got so ridiculous that at one point, it was common to see Grand Finals of Smash 4 tournaments where '''both''' players used him.]] However, Diddy ended up getting nerfed throughout two different patches, causing other players to have to learn him more thoroughly, and he is still generally seen as a high tier character.

** Thanks to the occasional balance patch and a roster that's ten times more balanced than Brawl's was, the tier lists in ''For 3DS/Wii U'' has a case similar to Street Fighter 4's where the bad characters aren't that much worse compared to the top tiers. That said, pre 1.06 patch, Diddy Kong was seen by many as the new Meta Knight due to a frustratingly good down throw to up-air combo many came to call "Hoo-hah". [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome It got so ridiculous that at one point, it was common to see Grand Finals of Smash 4 tournaments where ''both'' players used him.]] Thankfully, Diddy got nerfed two different times to where you have to rely on his other attacks instead of cheaply spamming his down throw to up-air combo. (which doesn't even work anymore).

** Fourth is the [=NeverUsed=] (NU) tier. This tier is, as its name says, composed of Pokémon that are [[CaptainObvious never used in higher tiers]] because of their terrible stats, Ability, movepool, and/or type. As such, you'll find that many Pokémon in this tier serve purposes that Pokémon in higher tiers can do better. In NU battles, only Pokémon in the NU tier can be used. NU has its own banlist, [=BL3=], which, as of March 2015, has only 3 Pokémon.

** In addition to the standard tier set (which organizes Pokémon on the assumption that anything you can do without hacking is legal) there's Little Cup, where Pokémon must be level 5, must be able to evolve, and must not evolve from anything. Little Cup has its own list of Ubers, OU, and UU, and other modified rules. There's also the many, many, ''many'' Other Metagames with modified rules, such as Almost Any Ability, which allows any Pokémon to use [[CaptainObvious almost any Ability]], which have a completely different set of Pokémon from OU, due to certain tweaks making some previously unviable Pokémon viable [[note]]For example, the RU Braviary now finds itself at the top of the Viability Rankings due to being able to use Gale Wings[[/note]].

* Non-gaming example: [[http://memegenerator.net/tier/god Meme Generator]], [[CaptainObvious which is a website for]] [[MemeticMutation generating memes]], ranks the available 'characters' by popularity/ubiquity as God Tier, Demigod Tier, Legendary Tier, Top Tier, Fascinating Tier, Meh Tier, Lame Tier and Fail Tier.

* In ''AdvanceWars'', although ''any'' character can become a potential GameBreaker if used properly, message boards have still agreed on a definite tier system, with Grit, Colin, and Hachi (and often Sensei and Kanbei) rooted firmly at the top, thanks purely to the pure ease with which these characters snap the game in half. And god help you if you play Sturm or his big brother Caulder, the intentionally gamebreaking final bosses, who are universally regarded as not of this world.

*** Then theres Mazinkaiser. It has a massively powerful weapon on all range with its weapon able to reach 4-6 range, all of its attacks don't need will to be used, massive armor, high HP, and its dodge is higher than some reals. It gets Mazinpower to further enhance its already powerful attacks. In fact, its attack is so powerful that a fully upgraded Mazinger Z without power up is of the same power as fresh Mazinkaiser. Also, it has good terrain modifiers. It goes without saying that it's a God tier unit. Not to mention Koji is a Top Tier pilot in the game being slightly worse than Tetsuya.

*** Then theres Mazinkaiser. It has massively powerful weapon on all range with its weapon able to reach 4-6 range, all of its attack dont need will to be used, massive armor, high HP, and its dodge is higher than some real. It gets Mazinpower to further enchance its already powerful attacks. In fact, its attack is so powerful that Fully upgraded Mazinger Z without power up is of same power as fresh Mazinkaiser. Also, it has good terrain modifier. It goes without saying that its a God tier unit. Not to mention Koji is a Top Tier pilot in the game being slightly worse Tetsuya.

* ''NeedForSpeed: Carbon''

** The game also actively enforces the tiers by denying lower-tiered cars performance upgrades that would put them on par with higher-tiered cars, a sharp contrast from the ''Underground'' games and ''Most Wanted'' which allowed the likes of the Chevrolet Cobalt to, once upgraded, compete with (and even surpass) a Porsche Carerra GT.
** In ''NeedForSpeed Hot Pursuit 2'', the PC version has classes, in PS2 you can tell the tier by the police car that chases you, though the corvette tier, featuring cars from the Corvette Z06 all the way to the Ferrari F50 was wider than the actual tier wherein players of a similar ability would have a decent chance to win (excluding unlucky mishaps).

* The ''VideoGame/GundamVsSeries'' has its tiers built into the game; the Universal Century and Cosmic Era games use a five-star system (with half-stars), typically following technical progress (which means in the ''GundamSEEDDestiny''-based game, most of the returning ''SEED'' machines are downgraded). In ''Gundam Vs. Gundam'' the system is simplified to three levels (3000 for hero machines, 2000 for middle-of-the-roaders, and 1000 for {{Mooks}}); ''Gundam Extreme Vs.'' adds a 2500 tier consisting mostly of [[TheRival Rival]] and [[TheLancer Lancer]] machines.

** ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'' had a Versus mode, albeit it (and ''AceCombat5'') referred to the bombers as "attackers" and doesn't state tiers, it's soon clear where each plane fits in.

It seems inevitable when you've got a game with LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: the time will come when the only thing left is to try and figure out whether [[Franchise/FireEmblem Lowen's]] early joining time and superior supports make up for his crappy strength growth. It can be a polite discussion or a FlameWar; a debate of logic and reason or a contest to see who can stick their fingers in their ears the longest. It usually gives birth to legions of {{Scrub}}s and StopHavingFunGuys.

* Since ''AceCombat6'' comes with multiplayer capability, the planes themselves have been separated into tiers. All of the planes are divided into three categories: "fighters", "bombers", and "multirole" planes. Within each category are other tiers based on each individual plane's performance attributes. Naturally, many modern planes such as the F-22 or SU-47 would be far superior to older planes like the F-16 or A-10.
** ''AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'' had a Versus mode, albeit it (and ''AceCombat5'') referred to the bombers as "attackers" and doesn't state tiers, it's soon clear where each plane fits in.

** Thanks to the occasional balance patch and a roster that's ten times more balanced than Brawl's was, the tier lists in ''For 3DS/Wii U'' has a case similar to Street Fighter 4's where the bad characters aren't that much worse compared to the top tiers. That said, pre 1.06 patch, Diddy Kong was seen by many as the new Meta Knight due to a frustratingly good down throw to up-air combo many came to call "Hoo-hah". It got so ridiculous that at one point, it was common to see Grand Finals of Smash 4 tournaments where ''both'' players used him. Thankfully, he was nerfed two different times to where you have to rely on his other attacks instead of cheaply spamming his down throw to up-air combo. (which doesn't even work anymore)

** The original game on Nintendo 64 has a small cast of 12 fighters making for a closer gap character balance wise. Isai, a well known smash 64 player, is known for being the only player in the 64 community to be consistently good *with all 12 characters* in tournament play.
*** Melee tournaments often feature both Star Fox reps, Sheik, Marth, JigglyPuff, Princess Peach, Captain Falcon, and the occasional use of the Ice Climbers, Pikachu, Yoshi, Dr. Mario, etc. Special note goes to Fox and Falco who are considered the best and second best characters in the Melee metagame due to being good at just about everything. The former has [[SomeDexterityRequired a high learning curve]] ) but when properly played is a sight to behold. In fact, Fox is so good that a community meme known as 20xx was spawned as a result.

** Notable on the God tier are GaoGaiGar, Zeorymer [[spoiler:taken further by Great Zeorymer in J]] and the Aussenseiter (Daitrombe) as well as its pilot [[strike:Elzam]] Ratsel in every game they're in. The Black Selena HM in all games Nadesico is in except W. The Vaisaga also makes a good case for this in OG at least, but on the GBA version of OG 2 you can only get it on your second playthrough and it's kinda hard to get. You can get it your first time through in the PS2 version though. Also, strangely, the Gundam X Divider can be deadly without many upgrades in Alpha Gaiden, as well as Kamille and his Zeta Gundam, which Kamille is God tier (Better stats than ALMOST every other pilot in all the games I've seen, even more than Char and Amuro), and the Zeta is Top to High most the time. If it's not the best MS in the game, you can just switch him.

* Although the ''GranTurismo'' games don't explicitly use Car Tiers, their cars can be pretty much divided into snail-slow subcompacts, slow sedans, medium sports cars, fast supercars, super-fast JGTC racing cars, lightning-fast Le Mans racers, and the [[TitleDrop Polyphony Formula Gran Turismo]].

* The GundamVsSeries, like ''Capcom vs. SNK'', codified its tiers as part of the gameplay: each team has a 6000-point "resource meter" which depletes every time a player is shot down, and the playable units are divided into different cost tiers, ranging from 3000 (representing mecha like protagonists' MidSeasonUpgrade Gundams and FinalBoss-level enemies) to 1000[=/=]1500 (representing MechaMooks and really low-tech machines). However, these tiers aren't a hard and fast measure of the characters' in-game performance; the 1000-cost Zaku II Kai can be utterly devastating in the right hands thanks to its trap grenades and has actually been banned from tournament play in some editions (the only 1000-cost machine with that honor). On the other side of the equation, the 3000-cost Gundam Epyon is generally low-ranked because while it ''does'' have an extensive melee moveset that lets it carve opponents up like Christmas turkeys, it has a hard time closing to melee range because it has absolutely no ranged weapons whatsoever, making it DifficultButAwesome.

* Note that TournamentPlay will shake tiers up. Sometimes a victor discovers an overlooked technique with a low-ranked character that the upper tier characters have no counter for. Also, some characters are fantastic counters against half the cast but get mopped by the other half, instead of being above or below-average consistently.