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Do Tier Lists Matter in Fighting Games?


TheLiamK

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While I'm in the fighting game mood today I thought I'd ask a question about tier lists in fighting games. For those of you unfamiliar, it's basically a list of the quality of characters in a fighting game from top to bottom, based on the opinions of top players and those familiar with the game. I ask because I just stumbled on the tier list of KOF13 and out of 36 characters the characters I want to mainly use are ranked 31, 30 and 20. I.E. not very good. Now, imma keep using Team Liam because they're the characters that I have the most fun playing with which is more important to me than  winning and let's be honest, I'm never going to Evo :D  I get it probably makes a difference when you get to high level competitive play but for a couple of buddies sitting on a couch or me scrubbing it up online is it really going to effect me that much? or is it more subjective to players and their style?

KOF Tier List: 

http://www.eventhubs.com/tiers/kof13/

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  I get it probably makes a difference when you get to high level competitive play but for a couple of buddies sitting on a couch or me scrubbing it up online is it really going to effect me that much? or is it more subjective to players and their style?

 

You hit the nail on the head. It doesn't matter that much if you're not planning on taking it to the next level. Tier lists and match-ups compare characters played at their highest potential. You could pick E. Ryu or Yun in USF4 and get destroyed by a DeeJay player who knows what he's doing, so don't worry about it.

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Unless you play at a competitive level no.  More of an issue is how beginner friendly a character is i.e. Akira on Virtua Fighter is a pain in the ass to learn, so if you and your mates were playing that chances are whoever chose him would lose. I also think he's a character that if i spent ages trying to play him i'd still be crapper then i am with other people.

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Yes they are highly necessary imo but...if a character isn't top tier, it doesn't mean is bad.  A example is Dhalsim from Street Fighter, being a low tier and a character that sucks for his movements and he's actually one of the godlike characters of the game when someone plays him well lol the best character in the game is the one you know how to use. 

 

On KoF13 i use Ash, Vice, Athena, King and Benimaru.  And it always affect when playing with a human, you learn something new every time you win and lose :) if you want to go few rounds let me know (i haven't played it in a WHILE so you probably crush me :P)

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Even at EVO, I've seen people win using the lowest tier players.

For example, Yu Chie, and Kanji are considered miles ahead of everyone else on P4A, yet the winner plays as Aigis. Also, Kabal is arguably the best MK9 character according to tier lists, yet no one wins as him on EVO.

I look at tier lists to see who is the easiest character to perform combos and master. It does not necessarily mean that character is the absolute best or even the best character for you.

Edited by Beyondthegrave07
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Yes they are highly necessary imo but...if a character isn't top tier, it doesn't mean is bad.  A example is Dhalsim from Street Fighter, being a low tier and a character that sucks for his movements and he's actually one of the godlike characters of the game when someone plays him well lol the best character in the game is the one you know how to use. 

 

On KoF13 i use Ash, Vice, Athena, King and Benimaru.  And it always affect when playing with a human, you learn something new every time you win and lose :) if you want to go few rounds let me know (i haven't played it in a WHILE so you probably crush me :P)

 

Dhalsim is NOT godlike.  There's a reason why he's low on the tier list....  

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Dhalsim Godlike emoticon-2867-src-f02f9d40f66f0840-28x28 have you seen how japanese play yoga? His mix ups are too good.  

 

Yes, I've face quite a few of them..  I have no problems playing against him...  Then again, the characters I play with don't have too much trouble against him, except for Guile.  The OP posted something from Event Scrubs.  That site is trash.

Edited by grimydawg
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Dan vs Evil Ryu?

 

I rest my case.

 

If the Dan player is better than the Evil Ryu player, then no........  Keep in mind tier lists only apply to people that have the same skill level against their opponents....

Edited by grimydawg
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Yes, I've face quite a few of them..  I have no problems playing against him...  Then again, the characters I play with don't have too much trouble against him, except for Guile.

I'm decent at SF (been improving since Veet1 destroyed me lol) but Dhalsim always scares me.  He's good if used well and since i always get good Dhalsim's, that's why i say he's godlike 

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I see players kick ass as Yoshi in Melee. And he's considered to be quite low on the tier list (though he has gone up in the ranks throughout the years)

aMSa as Yoshi is a good example of an unknown match up. The reason he wins is due to the inexperience of his opponents, not because of the characters they were playing as. They simply didn't know how to approach his Yoshi as advanced tec with him is unseen, simply because he has to work so much harder for a considerably lower reward. Another misconception is that if a character is higher in the tier list they beat everyone below them. Tier lists are comprised of the overall match ups across all charcters, some characters can be low tier but counter pick a high tier. A match up is comprised of the tools available to each character and how they stack up in terms active frames, positioning :etc.

 

Personally tiers matter in casuals as well as competitive, as playing an 8-2 mu consistantly will probably show the disadvantage a player has over another, that can suck the fun out the game.

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Getting back to the thread title, as another person who absolutely sucks at fighting games, I think that tier lists can be useful. Knowing which characters are the most "user friendly" is quite useful when playing solo against the computer or whatnot. It's always worth seeing all of the info out there.

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Tier lists are 100% subjective and based upon personal preferences and experience.

Dhalsim being low on the tier list is simply because there's not a lot of people who know how to play him.

In other words tier lists are useless, just play whichever character you're comfortable with.

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Tier lists are 100% subjective and based upon personal preferences and experience.

Dhalsim being low on the tier list is simply because there's not a lot of people who know how to play him.

In other words tier lists are useless, just play whichever character you're comfortable with.

 

Absolutely not true at all......  There are several reasons why Dhalsim is one of the worst characters in USF4.  He loses to the majority of the cast....  I do agree with playing a character you feel comfortable with, however.  There's a weakness in playing with just one character in the game, ttoo.

I'm decent at SF (been improving since Veet1 destroyed me lol) but Dhalsim always scares me.  He's good if used well and since i always get good Dhalsim's, that's why i say he's godlike 

 

 

You clearly don't know how to play against Dhalsim, if you think he's godlike.....  Show me how you've improved apparently.....

 

As far as the title suggests, tier lists don't really matter, especially when most folks aren't really good and/or casual, especially in trophy sites.

Edited by grimydawg
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You clearly don't know how to play against Dhalsim, if you think he's godlike.....  Show me how you've improved apparently.....

 

As far as the title suggests, tier lists don't really matter, especially when most folks aren't really good and/or casual, especially in trophy sites.

Well...on both defense and offense i guess, i'm a D+ fighter and proud of it. I know i have improved a lot looking at how i played and how i play now :) i'm what high level call "Free" but i'm training and working hard to change that. I think you understand now lol
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Sabin did not make it to the EVO finals just by sheer luck.

A character is only as deadly as the player who's controlling it.

People like hiding behind their tier lists when they lose a supposedly unfavourable matchup, rather than acknowledging their lack of skill. And that is just what tiers are, a personal opinion based upon experience or the lack thereof

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Sabin did not make it to the EVO finals just by sheer luck.

A character is only as deadly as the player who's controlling it.

People like hiding behind their tier lists when they lose a supposedly unfavourable matchup, rather than acknowledging their lack of skill. And that is just what tiers are, a personal opinion based upon experience or the lack thereof

 

Not entirely true, once again....  I do agree that folks make up excuses, however.  At Final Round, I nearly made my pool and I went against players whose characters are REALLY good.  Tier lists are based on how characters square up against each other a certain amount of times, assuming opponents have the same skill level.  They give you a general idea how good a character is.  Sabin DID NOT make it to the Finals of EVO.........  What are you talking about? :facepalm:  A character like E Ryu is considered one of the best, if not the best, because most of his matchups are at least even and to his advantage.  Dee Jay is arguably the worst because of the same thing, only opposite of Evil Ryu.  

Well...on both defense and offense i guess, i'm a D+ fighter and proud of it. I know i have improved a lot looking at how i played and how i play now :) i'm what high level call "Free" but i'm training and working hard to change that. I think you understand now lol

 

You lack fundamentals.....  Until you improve on them, you're really not improving.

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