History Main / CharacterTiers

** Mid Tier includes characters with lower stats and weaker element grids, but still have some utility, if only because of when they are obtained. This includes characters like Kid, Pierre, Luccia, Turnip, Doc, and NeoFio. Also includes Zoah, who is strong, but has extremely low stamina recovery.
** Bottom Tier includes characters who have extremely low stats, poor elemental grids, and nothing to make up for it. This includes characters like Mojo, Skelly, Sneff, Sprigg, Janice, and an unevolved Pip (and since evolution is difficult to pull off, it's unlikely he will do so)

** Bottom tier includes characters who have extremely low stats, poor elemental grids, and nothing to make up for it. This includes characters like Mojo, Skelly, Sneff, Sprigg, Janice, and an unevolved Pip (and since evolution is difficult to pull off, it's unlikely he will do so)

** [[KnightErrant Glenn]] is considered one of the best in the game, and the principal reason to [[spoiler:not help Kid when she is poisoned.]] The alternative choice gives two useless characters and Razzly. While she is a fantastic mage, the player will already have [[GirlNextDoor Leena]], who is just as good, only tougher. Later in the game, Karsh is almost always picked over Zoah since the player already has a powerful Yellow innate with Norris. Irenes tends to be the go-to pick if Harle's black elemental nature would do more harm than good.

*** More in-depth: [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160912163229/http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=658 The generally agreed list]] is six tiers, with the first two being either God or Top Tier depending on which one: Tier 1 is for characters like Clerics, Druids, and Wizards, who possess StoryBreakerPower and can utilize pretty much every type of it. Tier 2 is for characters like Favored Souls, Psions, and Sorcerers, who have access to similar StoryBreakerPower, but to a more restrictive degree (the creator compared it to the difference between a nation with a thousand nukes and one with ten). Beneath them, the tiers refer to characters in terms of how good they are at their given focus, and how many things they can do well. Tier 3 is for characters like Bards, Duskblades, and Factotums, who can either do one thing incredibly well and still pull off other tricks passably, or [[MasterOfAll do pretty much anything effectively]]. Tier 4 is for characters like Barbarians, Rangers, and Rogues, who [[CripplingOverspecialization can do one thing incredibly well but struggle at doing anything else]], or [[JackOfAllStats can do a lot of things to a passable degree]]. Tier 5 is for characters like Fighters, Monks, and Paladins, who can generally be okay at one thing but not much else, or [[MasterOfNone can do a lot of things but kind of suck at all of them]]. Tier 6 is for classes that can't even be okay at the thing they're supposed to be good at, and is mostly reserved for [[JokeCharacter deliberately weak]] [[{{Muggles}} NPC classes]] and the worst-designed PC classes. And then there's the [[BrokeTheRatingScale Truenamer]], a class that is so [[ObviousBeta mechanically broken]] that it doesn't work as intended, fluctuating between 4 and 6 depending on whether they can make their rolls consistently.

* '''God Tier''': Characters that are ridiculously good, to the point that [[GameBreaker it is almost unfair to use them]]. Most likely some sort of [[SecretCharacter secret]] [[ThatOneBoss boss character]] that was [[PurposefullyOverpowered not meant to be used in normal competitive play]]. There have been very few games with characters that could be truly considered to belong in this tier, and they are probably banned due to over-centralizing the {{metagame}}. These tiers can even have affectionate ([[TierInducedScrappy or not-so-affectionate]]) [[FanNickname nicknames for one or more specific characters belonging in this tier]], such as "[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2 The Four Gods]]" for example.

* In traditional TabletopGame/{{Chess}}, the white player is considered to have a slight advantage simply because he moves first, which agrees well with statistics[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-move_advantage_in_chess]]. This is not the case in other chess-variants, especially ''shogi'' (Japanese chess) where both players have an almost even 50% chance of winning.
** One way to fix this advantage in chess and other games where turn order can be an unfair advantage given identical starting circumstances is with the "pie rule" -- where one player makes the first move with white. The other player then has the option of either playing as black or switching to white for the game.
* Unlike Chess, the first-move advantage for Black in TabletopGame/{{Go}} is not disputed. Strangely enough, it took until the twentieth century for compensation for White to become standard. It's called [[http://senseis.xmp.net/?Komi komi]] and consists, depending on the ruleset, of 6.5 to 8 free points added to White's score.

* While it is generally agreed that tabletop wargames ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' have army tiers, getting anyone to agree which armies are in which tier is nearly impossible. It also revolves around the competitive metagame as much as individual matchups and will often depend on how easy or hard it is to make the army competitive. This issue is exacerbated by the fact that the more popular armies get updated much more often than the less popular ones.

* A lot of debate goes on in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' fandom as to whether one card can be "strictly better" than another. While it's certainly true that as the game gets more powerful in general newer cards outshine old ones with the same casting cost and power/toughness (though all of the very strongest cards ever printed are long since out of print), it gets harder to judge recent cards against each other due to how situational many cards are these days.
** This is complicated by Wizards releasing cards that [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=88817 seem useless]], only to either 1) release another card later that makes it useful, 2) have a player suddenly realize how it was meant to be used in the first place, or 3) to have a player use it in a way that they didn't intend but that [[GameBreaker completely breaks the game]]; the last tends to be the largest problem. Ironically, One With Nothing itself was meant to be a completely useless card, but due to a deck that wizards never even thought was viable, let alone good, coming to exist - a deck that won by forcing its opponent to fill up their hand with cards all the time - One With Nothing briefly became a tournament staple, though the popularity of the deck in question (Owling Mine) declined dramatically after everyone started playing aggressive decks that simply didn't care because they were throwing lightning bolts at people's heads, and drawing more cards just meant more lightning bolts and Kird Apes.
** In ''Mirrodin's'' case, it was a whole mechanic that worked mostly as intended, but was more dominant than expected. Cards costing one-fourth what they should proved slightly too strong. The same thing happened in the Urza block. Due to the way the mechanic counted the resources spent, what was supposed to give back the resources (and ''maybe'' a bit more) winded up returning a lot more. In both cases, the ability to play your whole hand in a turn or two ''and'' do it sooner than you should be able to was [[GameBreaker a bit too much]] for the metagame.
** The same debate goes on regarding different decks - generally there's the "best deck", several other top-tier decks, and a large number of second-tier decks. Then there are the "rogue" decks that aren't popular enough to have an obvious tier, and the decks that are pure {{Metagame}} choices. Being able to select the right decks is considered as much of a skill as playing well.
** It's important to note that there ''is'' an official definition for "strictly better" - a card is strictly better than another card if it does more for an identical cost (or the same/more for a smaller cost). Lightning Bolt, for example, is strictly better than Shock - both cost one red mana, but Lightning Bolt does an extra point of damage. Of course, with the way Magic tournaments are run, those strictly better cards might not always be legal.

* In traditional TabletopGame/{{chess}}, the white player is considered to have a slight advantage simply because he moves first, which agrees well with statistics[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-move_advantage_in_chess]]. This is not the case in other chess-variants, especially ''shogi'' (Japanese chess) where both players have an almost even 50% chance of winning.
** One way to fix this advantage in chess and other games where turn order can be an unfair advantage given identical starting circumstances is with the "pie rule" - where one player makes the first move with white. The other player then has the option of either playing as black or switching to white for the game.
* On the other hand, the first-move advantage for Black in {{Go}} is not disputed. Strangely enough, it took until the twentieth century for compensation for White to become standard. It's called [[http://senseis.xmp.net/?Komi komi]] and consists, depending on the ruleset, of 6.5 to 8 free points added to White's score.
* ''TabletopGame/BloodBowl'' has a fairly well-agreed upon tier system divided into three tiers: Tier one consists of all teams that are perfectly capable of running a main scoring strategy (running, throwing or bashing) out of the box. Tier two consists of teams that either need some SPP development to do so, or have an obvious drawback when playing their favoured strategy. Tier three are obvious [[JokeCharacter joke teams]] who basically depend on luck to win. Notably, something like 80% of the game's teams are in tier 1. How strong a team is also depends a lot on the type of tournament/league you're playing, other teams participating, and rules (such as time limit per move) that are implemented. And, of course, ultimately [[RandomNumberGod Nuffle is the final arbitrator]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', ''D&D 3.5e'''s SpiritualSuccessor, strives to make all characters much more balanced, with limited success. All classes received upgrades, but low tier 3.5 classes received more extensive rewrites while powerful 3.5 classes only received minor enhancements to make them more fun to play along with some nerfs to the most well-known exploits. A good example is that the Wizard, a top tier character, received new abilities which are hardly worth a mention and had many metamagic feats nerfed, while the Paladin, a tier 5, had its trademark Smite Evil boosted into a permanent buff against the designated target, its Lay on Hands ability was boosted to be far more useful as a source of healing and status removal, and its other abilities were generally enhanced, pushing it up into Tier 4. The overall balance of the game is unchanged, however, and competent casters can still break the universe in half while fighter-type characters still tend to lack any versatility outside combat.

** More in-depth: [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160912163229/http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=658 The generally agreed list]] is six tiers. Tier 1 is for characters like wizards, clerics, and druids, who possess StoryBreakerPower and can utilize pretty much every type of it. Tier 2 is for characters like sorcerers, psions, and favored souls, who have access to similar StoryBreakerPower, but to a more restrictive degree (the creator compared it to the difference between a nation with a thousand nukes and one with ten). Beneath them, the tiers refer to characters in terms of how good they are at their given focus, and how many things they can do well. Tier 3 is for characters like bards, factotums, and duskblades, who can either do one thing incredibly well and still pull off other tricks passably, or [[MasterOfAll do pretty much anything effectively]]. Tier 4 is for characters like rogues, barbarians, and rangers, who [[CripplingOverspecialization can do one thing incredibly well but struggle at doing anything else]], or [[JackOfAllStats can do a lot of things to a passable degree]]. Tier 5 is for characters like fighters, monks, and paladins, who can generally be okay at one thing but not much else, or [[MasterOfNone can do a lot of things but kinda sucks at all of them]]. Tier 6 is for classes that can't even be okay at the thing they're supposed to be good at, and is mostly reserved for [[JokeCharacter deliberately weak]] [[{{Muggles}} NPC classes]] and the worst-designed PC classes. And then there's [[BrokeTheRatingScale the truenamer]], which is so [[ObviousBeta mechanically broken]] that it doesn't work as intended, fluctuating between 4 and 6 depending on whether they can make their rolls consistently.
** Tiers themselves are based on "As Written" comparisons based on how effectively the class can deal with different situations. The original author pointed out that optimized fighters can still be a low tier but capable of taking down the [[PhysicalGod Tarrasque]] in a single turn. In the the right hands, many classes can be equal to higher tiers in power, even though they still remain in their tier because of their lack of versatility. The Truenamer breaks the tier system by dint of its mechanics not being properly thought out, getting worse by every level, [[MagikarpPower until level 20,]] when it will just spam Gate Celestial Angels.
** [[PrestigeClass Prestige Classes]] generally are set on separate tier [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160818031632/http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1573.0 system]], ranking them on how they might move the expected base class through standard tiers. Marvelous tier advances base class by two tiers, Great to Good Tier by one, Medicore don't advance it at all and Bad to Awful Tier and Catastrophic Tier can actually [[PowerUpLetdown move the class down one or two tiers]]. What you enter PrestigeClass from is also important - for example, Warshaper is Marvelous Tier when taken by classes who cannot use magic, but only Medicore Tier, when taken by a caster. Some are also very situational - Dragonstalker and Dragonslayer are Bad to Awful Tier, but if your game is focused heavily on fighting dragons, they're respectively Good to Great and Medicore. A few prestige classes are informally referred to as "Tier Zero", which doesn't have a precise definition but is generally accepted to mean a prestige class designed to make a Tier 1 class significantly better - for instance, the Planar Shepherd upgrades the druid's already-powerful VoluntaryShapeshifting to let them turn into celestial beings instead of animals and lets them set up bubbles that run on different laws of physics, while keeping basically all their old power.

** The ''Dungeons & Dragons'' community has an ultimate prototype for a (ridiculous) God Tier character: Pun-Pun the Kobold. Pun Pun was initially created in 3.5e and has since been worked out in other editions as well as versions in other [=RPGs=] mechanics. It's essentially the most [[MinMaxing minmaxed]] character possible in a given set of mechanics.

** In ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEditon 3rd Edition]]'', versatility (how many problems a character can contribute to solving) is often at least as important as power (how powerful the character's abilities are for problems) in tiering. In one popular system, the top tier is characters who, with the right spells prepared, can solve nearly anything the GM can come up with as a standard action. Lesser tiers either have [[CripplingOverspecialization less versatility]] or [[MasterOfNone less power]]. For example, Druids tend to be high/top-tier due to their highly versatile magical powers which include conjuring and purifying food and controlling the elements as well as the ability to transform into various animals, as are Wizards, who depending on whether or not they prepared the right spells and still have spell slots the cast them, can either be a UselessProtagonist or effectively overcome absolutely ''anything''; Fighters on the other hand tend to be low-tier as they are unparalleled allies in battle but have few useful skills outside of Intimidate (i.e, outside of a fight, the only thing they're really good for is ''preventing one''). In general, while a character of any tier can be a GameBreaker with the right factors, only a high-tier character can be a [[StoryBreakerPower Story Breaker]]. Imagine how ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' would have turned out if Gandalf could teleport any distance, read minds, identify any item instantly, and make anyone [[NoSell immune]] to mental influence... and that was just a fraction of his abilities.

** The ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFourthEditon 4th Edition]]'' of ''D&D'' sought to remove this by making all the classes follow the same progression, so ''everyone'' is [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards linear]]. Predictably, this nevertheless didn't result in a uniform power level, and discussions about which classes are higher-tier than which others are common. For example, "iconic" classes like the fighter and wizard have ''many'' more spells, feats, and abilities printed than "what on earth is that" classes like the Battlemind or the Seeker.

** ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEditon 5th Edition]]'' tried to rebalance the classes and eliminate the tier system and... ultimately ended up just reshuffling the tiers around a tiny bit. Wizards and Druids are still more than capable of wrecking the game in every situation, while Bards somehow ended up sharing a God Tier spot with them due to their ability to break the skill system entirely and learn up to 9th level spells from EVERY classes spell list. Clerics were bumped down a little bit and Paladins became less specialized, but ultimately the tier system is still prominent, it just looks a little different compared to 3.5.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
** The Dungeons & Dragons community has an ultimate prototype for a (ridiculous) God Tier character: Pun Pun the Kobold. Pun Pun was initially created in 3.5e and has since been worked out in other editions as well as versions in other [=RPGs=] mechanics. It's essentially the most [[MinMaxing minmaxed]] character possible in a given set of mechanics.
** In 3rd edition, versatility (how many problems a character can contribute to solving) is often at least as important as power (how powerful the character's abilities are for problems) in tiering. In one popular system, the top tier is characters who, with the right spells prepared, can solve nearly anything the GM can come up with as a standard action. Lesser tiers either have [[CripplingOverspecialization less versatility]] or [[MasterOfNone less power]]. For example, Druids tend to be high/top-tier due to their highly versatile magical powers which include conjuring and purifying food and controlling the elements as well as the ability to transform into various animals, as are Wizards, who depending on whether or not they prepared the right spells and still have spell slots the cast them, can either be a UselessProtagonist or effectively overcome absolutely ''anything''; Fighters on the other hand tend to be low-tier as they are unparalleled allies in battle but have few useful skills outside of Intimidate (i.e, outside of a fight, the only thing they're really good for is ''preventing one''). In general, while a character of any tier can be a GameBreaker with the right factors, only a high-tier character can be a [[StoryBreakerPower Story Breaker]]. Imagine how ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' would have turned out if Gandalf could teleport any distance, read minds, identify any item instantly, and make anyone [[NoSell immune]] to mental influence... and that was just a fraction of his abilities.

** The 4th edition of D&D sought to remove this by making all the classes follow the same progression, so ''everyone'' is [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards linear]]. Predictably, this nevertheless didn't result in a uniform power level, and discussions about which classes are higher-tier than which others are common. For example, "iconic" classes like the fighter and wizard have ''many'' more spells, feats, and abilities printed than "what on earth is that" classes like the Battlemind or the Seeker.
*** On the other hand, it's been said that the power spread of the entire 4E tier system could fit within one tier of 3.5, partially because of more aggressive errata and the inability to do things which simply break the gameplay in half. Additionally, while some classes have many more powers to choose from, in reality all that actually matters is the -strongest- powers at any given level - unlike in 3.x, where spellcasters had access to every single new spell in every single book (at least potentially), characters in 4th edition are limited in their number of powers, so no matter if you have four powers or thirty to choose from, you still have the same breadth of ability. The primary advantage lies in that with a higher number of powers, it is more likely one will be overpowered, and less likely that all will be bad or unsuitable for your build.
** D&D Minis had informal tiers based on the perceived usefulness of a particular miniature. Unlike the RPG, spellcasters were rarely in the top tier due to SquishyWizard Syndrome, among other things. Also, very few of the most powerful monsters from the RPG were top tier as minis, due to poor playtesting by the Devs.
** 5th edition tried to rebalance the classes and eliminate the tier system and... ultimately ended up just reshuffling the tiers around a tiny bit. Wizards and Druids are still more than capable of wrecking the game in every situation, while Bards somehow ended up sharing a God Tier spot with them due to their ability to break the skill system entirely and learn up to 9th level spells from EVERY classes spell list. Clerics were bumped down a little bit and Paladins became less specialized, but ultimately the tier system is still prominent, it just looks a little different compared to 3.5.

** It's a joke among the 40k fandom that you're not allowed to bitch that GWS hates, ignores or deliberately nerfed your army unless you play Dark Eldar. Their original codex was released in 1998 for the launch of 3rd edition 40k, and they did not receive a new codex until 2010, for the ''Fifth Edition'' of 40k.
*** Necrons had similar issues. The changes from Fourth to Fifth Edition almost completely gutted their competitive metagame, and since their army had such little variety it was nigh impossible for players to find new tactics. This was eventually fixed with the release of a new, much larger codex in late 2011[[note]]and to prevent the same problem from happening twice in a row, the codex was written with the upcoming Sixth Edition rulebook in mind rather than the then-current Fifth Edition[[/note]]
** The Orks also had a long time between their 3rd edition codex and their next one. They were one of the first to come out for 3rd edition in 1999 but didn't get another until early 2008 just before Fourth Edition was replaced by Fifth Edition. Their next scheduled Codex update is early 2014.

** ''Final Fantasy VI'' has a large cast, each with their own skills, abilities, and equipment draws. Normally that would be enough to make a tier list from, but the spanner in the works here is the Esper system. By the end of the game 13/14 characters have access to the same list of spells, and 12/13 can have their stats boosted by having the Espers equipped on level up. Even so, the following is generally true;
** Terra and Celes have great stats and perform nearly any task well. They possess the second and third highest natural magic stats, can equip all the best armor, can use the Lightbringer, which massively boosts all stats, and in some versions of the game, can become untouchable thanks to the 128 Magic Block glitch. However, Terra edges out Celes thanks to her amazing Morph ability, which greatly enhances all of her stats for a limited time. Meanwhile, Celes has the relatively useless Runic ability.
** Mog and Edgar are probably next. The Dragoon setup lets them his for well over 9999 HP per round. This also helps them avoid damage (as they're in the air and can't be hit). Edgar has the mostly-obsolete Tools ability, and Mog uses the uncontrollable Dance skill, but by the endgame, you're probably not using those anyway. Edgar can use the Lightbringer as well, but it's mostly useless to him as a Dragoon. The thing that might make Mog a bit better is his ability to hit max defense, enabling him to take almost no damage from most encounters.
** A well-trained Gau is probably next. Like Mog, he can hit max defense, and a wise player knows which Rages can get the most bang for your buck (for reference: Stray Cat, Tyrannosaur, Io, Purusa, and Baalzephon).
** Relm has the single highest magic stat in the game and the absolute best equipment of any character. Her special ability is trash, but you'll never use it anyway.
** In the middle of the pack are Locke (Good equipment draw, average skill in Steal), Shadow (Great counterattack ability with Interceptor, decent equipment), Setzer (great equipment, unpredictable skill), and Sabin, who despite his memetic badass status, has awful endgame equipment and schizophrenic stats--he's equipped to be a physical fighter, but all of his best Blitzes use his magic stat.
** Gogo unfortunately can't benefit from Esper bonuses and has the lowest stats in the game, but their ability to use any, well, ability in the game may outweigh that. Gogo can have a higher magic stat than Sabin, making them the superior Monk, and can steal and use Blue Magic at the same time. Truly a jack of all trades, but master of none.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' has a similar tier list to ''Magic'', with decks being judged mostly by how well they do in tournaments. Generally, the most important tiers are Tier 1 (the best decks of the format that regularly win tournaments), Tier 2 (not as good as the Tier 1s but can still win tournaments in the hands of a good player), Tier 3 (can do well in tournaments but will rarely ever top them), and Rogue (can win individual games against the other tiers, but is too inconsistent to do well in tournaments). With ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' being one of the all-time kings of PowerCreep, decks maintaining their tier position for more than a few years is quite rare, and the vast majority of decks and archetypes aren't even considered Rogue-tier. Very occasionally, there are decks classified as Tier 0, which refers to a deck so overpowered that ''nothing'' in its format can beat it reliably aside from a mirror match, resulting in ''all'' tournament placings being variants of that deck--these decks are usually short-lived, due to them getting smacked by the banlist after a month or so.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' has a similar tier list to ''Magic'', with decks being judged mostly by how well they do in tournaments. Generally, the most important tiers are Tier 1 (the best decks of the format that regularly win tournaments), Tier 2 (not as good as the Tier 1s but can still win tournaments in the hands of a good player), Tier 3 (can do well in tournaments but will rarely ever top them), and Rogue (can win individual games against the other tiers, but is too inconsistent to win tournaments). With ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' being one of the all-time kings of PowerCreep, decks maintaining their tier position for more than a year is quite rare, and the vast majority of decks and archetypes aren't even considered Rogue-tier. Very occasionally, there are decks classified as Tier 0, which refers to a deck so overpowered that ''nothing'' in its format can beat it reliably aside from a mirror match, resulting in ''all'' tournament placings being variants of that deck--these decks are usually short-lived, due to them getting smacked by the banlist after a month or so.

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has spawned lots of tier lists, the most popular can be found [[http://www.reignofgaming.net/tier-lists/solo-tier-list here]]. They're constantly being changed, cause every patch brings nerfs and buffs to certain characters. As such posting a tier list here would be kinda useless. Once in a while, low tier characters get "discovered" and end up in top tiers. Many agree that characters in lower tiers can still be effective, [[OvershadowedByAwesome maybe being less all-rounder than the top tiers]].

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has been surprisingly durable to the concept of CharacterTiers, due to the mix of an extremely large roster and relatively good balance in that roster, along with BalanceBuff patches to help or hinder certain characters. That said, most players seem to agree that [[VideoGame/Persona5 Joker]], [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]], [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Peach/Daisy]], and [[VideoGame/MetalGear Snake]] are near the top, while [[VideoGame/DrMario Dr. Mario]], [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser Jr., Piranha Plant]], [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf Isabelle]] and [[VideoGame/PunchOut Little Mac]] languish behind the rest of the cast.

** The game actually gets slammed by those who play only the early sections of the game for this, as many of the early characters are outright useless except as decoys. One very early character, a FarmBoy cleric, even outright says he has no skills at all (his only attack is very slow and unwieldy), but he's still better than some characters, which have no attacks at all, and their only support ability is to remove [[StandardStatusEffects status ailments]]. The win-the-fight-single-handedly good characters, however, are almost invariably the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking leaders of certain sub-factions]], and require you to collect every one of their subordinates before they can be added into your group. This means you have to do things like drag that annoying, useless brat mage around until he gains 10 levels to recruit his father just so you can recruit that father's boss. Oh, and if we're speaking power levels, the humans have much better character choices than the non-human faction does.

** It's the same story with ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesZeroNoKiseki Zero and Azure Series]]'' where physical attacks are still terrible but not as bad as the ones in Sky, though because you only have up to 4-6 characters by the endgame, the tier list isn't as varied though Randy usually gets benched in favor of Wazy due to his powerful S-Craft. Lloyd is usually kept in the field thanks to [[StatusBuff Burning Heart]] plus his evasion stat and Elie and Tio are there to cast buffs. Lloyd sometimes gets swapped out with Rixia mainly thanks to the range of her weapon.

** As a general rule, the top tiers of a ''Fire Emblem'' tier list are mostly dominated by mounted units. This is largely thanks to the how poorly balanced mounted units are compared to foot units, who have better movement and solid stats, plus often several other advantages depending on game (the rescue/drop system, the ability to move after attacking, access to multiple weapons). Fliers are usually put in the same category thanks to their ability to ignore terrain, which allows fast clears of a lot of maps when used correctly. For everyone else, unless they have a utility that matches the mounted units (e.g. healers, which not only keep units alive, but can utilize staves to teleport allies or disable enemies, and dancers, which can give an ExtraTurn) or have really good stats, they will not be as high as units with mounts. Additionally, CrutchCharacter units tend to outdo MagikarpPower units, due to the former being seen as more reliable and efficient--after all, would you rather work your butt off for an overpowered unit, or spend little to no effort for a serviceable one?

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has been surprisingly durable to the concept of CharacterTiers, due to the mix of an extremely large roster and relatively good balance in that roster, along with BalanceBuff patches to help or hinder certain characters. That said, most players seem to agree that [[VideoGame/Persona5 Joker]], [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]], [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Peach/Daisy]], and [[VideoGame/MetalGear Snake]] are near the top, while [[VideoGame/DrMario Dr. Mario]], [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser Jr.]], and [[VideoGame/PunchOut Little Mac]] languish behind the rest of the cast.

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has been surprisingly durable to the concept of CharacterTiers, due to the mix of an extremely large roster and relatively good balance in that roster, along with BalanceBuff patches to help or hinder certain characters. That said, most players seem to agree that [[VideoGame/Persona5 Joker]], [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]], [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Peach/Daisy]], and Snake are near the top, while [[VideoGame/DrMario Dr. Mario]], [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser Jr.]], and [[VideoGame/PunchOut Little Mac]] languish behind the rest of the cast.

** ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Melee]]'' tournaments often feature both ''Franchise/StarFox'' 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}} respectively 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. [[labelnote:Explanation]]20XX is a hypothetical year in which the metagame has been pushed as far as it can go, making Fox the only character worth playing anymore. Of course, every Fox is played to perfection, and as a result, rock-paper-scissor matches are held for port priority. Whoever wins that wins the actual match.[[/labelnote]]

*** The third ''Smash'' game has a single borderline god-tier character -- Meta Knight. 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 match-ups 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.
*** After Meta Knight are the Ice Climbers, whom some would argue are better than Meta Knight in some ways due to being too good with chaingrabs.
*** ''Brawl'' also has the odd case of King Dedede, who isn't really overpowered, but can counter a handful of specific characters so effectively that they are essentially non-viable in tournaments.

*** 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.]] Diddy ended up getting nerfed throughout two different patches; although initially perceived to have dropped from top to high tier, players who mained him discovered that although he was indeed less powerful in certain areas, his greatest strengths remain untouched, and he retains his top-level placement.
*** With that said, Sheik, a character who was already universally considered back in the ''Melee'' days to be top tier, has since become one of the best character in the metagame. At one point, she was the best character in the game, though patches brought her down a bit. She still solidly remains in top tier.
*** 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 was initially considered to still be a low-tier mess, even after having been buffed from ''Melee'', until a series of patches nullified or alleviated most of his weaknesses and turned him into a viable top-tier fighter. Fellow ''Melee'' veteran Roy wasn't as lucky and remains low on the tier list, largely due to his bad approach. Lucas plays about the same as he did in ''Brawl'' as a low-mid tier character. Ryu is considered to be high-tier, since his being a JackOfAllStats in his home series plus his combo oriented style of play from said series translates well to a ''Smash Bros.'' game.
*** This isn't even beginning to mention how Cloud Strife affects the metagame. Wanna know how crazy he is? Players of all sorts simply discarded their mains for Cloud and ''still'' did well or started placing much higher at their weekly local tournaments. Granted, he has some of the worst recovery and a very limited throw game, but that's just a small price to pay for his insane priority and being able to KO at ''70% or even less''.
*** Corrin is perceived as a solid high to top tier character because of his/her incredible frame data; disjointed attacks; good kill power; and his/her signature move, Dragon Lunge, which lets him/her pin his/her opponents into the ground.
*** Bayonetta was so overpowered at release due to her absolutely killer aerial game and combo ability that an infamous patch was dedicated solely to nerfing her ''and no one else''... and it ''still'' didn't keep her from being considered the best character in the game.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has been surprisingly durable to the concept of CharacterTiers, due to the mix of an extremely large roster and relatively good balance in that roster, along with BalanceBuff patches to help or hinder certain characters. That said, most players seem to agree that Joker, Pikachu, Peach/Daisy, and Snake are near the top, while Dr. Mario, Bowser Jr., and Little Mac languish behind the rest of the cast.

* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' has a pretty cut and dry agreed upon tier list.
** The very top of the list is Robo, a literal do anything robot who can be invested in to fill just about any part on the team. His only low point is that even with investment he doesn't break any records in damage dealing.
** In the high tiers is the specialized attackers Crono, Lucca, Ayla and Magus. While they lose a few points for not having Robo's utility they make up by dealing the most amount of damage possible within their own field.
** Below them is Frog. His list of moves makes him a JackOfAllTrades MasterOfNone. He can heal and deal damage but not to any significant degree worth using over anyone else.

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has been surprisingly durable to the concept of CharacterTiers, due to the mix of an extremely large roster and relatively good balance in that roster, along with BalanceBuff patches to help or hinder certain characters. That said, most players seem to agree that Joker, Pikachu, Peach/Daisy, and Snake are near the top, while Bowser Jr., Kirby, and Little Mac languish behind the rest of the cast.

** Character who sit in their game's god tier are generally those who influence the game to a much bigger extent than the rest of the cast, such as [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Caeda and Lena]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Sigurd]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Safy]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Melady and Rutger]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Marcus]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Seth]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Titania, Jill, and Marcia]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Haar]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Robin]]. The exact parameters and reasoning varies from character to character--some are high-level, others are low, some are purely combat, others are mostly utility--but they are generally seen as units where not making use of them makes the game much harder, or at the very least, much more tedious. This is also partly why MagikarpPower characters tend to perform poorly; rather than making the game easier for the player, raising them pretty much forces the player to spend dozens of turns bringing them up to par.