Tier List

[Running Wild]

^ He gets it lol.

Unfortunately, it is the sad truth that many players will take everything Japanese sources say as truth. Famitsu can give Final Fantasy XIII-2 a 40/40 score and people will think it's the best Final Fantasy game since 6.

Still much too early, we'll see what happens when KOF makes its rounds in the major tournaments coming up.

[Saitsuofleaves]

^ He gets it lol.

Unfortunately, it is the sad truth that many players will take everything Japanese sources say as truth. Famitsu can give Final Fantasy XIII-2 a 40/40 score and people will think it's the best Final Fantasy game since 6.

Still much too early, we'll see what happens when KOF makes its rounds in the major tournaments coming up.

Uh, I wouldn't say that.  Famitsu gave XIII, what a 38?  People still trash the hell out of it lol.  But FF is a weird subject, I mean look at FF7 and 8.  Before FF7 was the best and 8 was awful, now FF7 is an overrated piece of crap and FF8 was misunderstood.  Just watch, 3 years later and people are gonna start trashing FF9 and call FF12 amazing.

[MUSOLINI]

man i wish ff6 would get a remake. totally kof related, both are great games.

[desmond_kof]

*smh* I'm going to need an aspirin.

[Saitsuofleaves]

*smh* I'm going to need an aspirin.

Or you can lock the thread, and feel the pain subside.

[Ky0]

LULZ
I think if there are a F.G where the tierslists have minor importance, for sure is the KoF series!

[Running Wild]

I think if there are a F.G where the tierslists have minor importance, for sure is the KoF series!

Let me tell you about the ABC's of KOF.

Athena
Billy
Choi

[MUSOLINI]

more like:

Anhel

Bao

Chriss, orochi with the power of flame.

[Running Wild]

That also works.

[ELTRO]

Well the thing about the Console version compare to the arcade is that alot more characters are viable. I think it's way too early to discuss tiers tbh but it is a popular topic among competitive players. Since alot of character that are C tier has great tools to work with they should not be looked down upon just cause a early tier listing.

[BioBooster]

I translated Dune's impression of all console characters from his elive cast 2 days ago. Thought it would fit in well with the tier list discussion>

Dune provides a caveat stating that these are merely his impressions at current and also
that he may be missing some detail in his analysis.

Ash:
Weak combos, that tend to increase opponent meter.
Good at being annoying.
For being a difficult chr to play not much return.

Billy:
Weak in breaking down guard, has strong zoning and normals instead.
Probably only real Billy users can make him strong.
Fun to use.

Saiki:
In general has no powerful combos outside of the corner.
It's not impossible to carry opponents to the corner but range on this is limited and carrying difficult.
(probably a lot of room for study mid-screen)
Upper-mid tier or Mid-upper tier.

Elizabeth:
Combos have less damage output.
Still good with a lot of meter.
Can still compete as EX counter can be comboed with specials.
People who chose her bc she was strong may move onto other stronger chrs.

Duo-Lon:
Has been affected by system changes.
His crossups are easier to defend taking value away from his rekka setups.*
Requires more precision.
I rate him low.
*(Not that sure I have this translated right)

Shen:
Nerfed slightly, balance-wise seems just right.
Can be put in any order.
I reccomend him.

Kyo:
Currently top tier, but takes skill to play.
Requires close combat for big damage, but this creates opportunity for opponents to punish him.
Can lack some stability due to the above, so requires a lot of practice despite move properties being good.

Benimaru:
Has everything, but has no jump attacks that are effective when used early.
j.CD is angled up and not that useful, if hitbox was downward, would lead to more of an advantage.
Has great tools like s.D, cmd throw, follow up on normal throw - close, but no cigar though.

Goro:
Buffed alot, but, is very matchup based.
Combos using hcf.A hcf.C dp.K are fun and good damage can be done when NM is included.
However, very few tools versus strong zoning.
Weak against air attacking, end up using dp.K to change the tide - comes down to what a player does in these
situations.
Not a bad pick though.

Claw Iori:
No good reversal moves (only EX DP - and better to use this preemptively).
Otherwise, good at breaking down guard and able to destroy once that's done making him easy to use.
Kinda like having a nameless without a good dp and a cmd throw instead.

Mature:
Despite move properties, easy to win with.
Strong Despair (and EX for anti-air), very good, esp in net-play.
Use throw and low start mixups for damage.
A bit lower tier, but can win.

Vice:
Less damage than arcade, but moves are better. Makes for longer matches.
Can pressure opponent with lots of meter, but no longer able to convert to death off of one combo.
Players should make sure to be well-practiced w her.
Still one of the better chrs.

Terry:
Currently I think he's the lowest.
Despite this, his combos are easy, strong rising tackle invincibility is good and crackshoot is good.
We'll see what Terry players are able to do with him going forward.

Andy:
Not hugely different from the arcade, but people used to the arcade may get frustrated when not
everything works the same.
i.e. Slower sweep, no invincibility on EX kuu-hadan.
Hishoken, kuu-hadan, NM are great for netplay, but less effective offline.

Joe:
Combos were great in the arcade - get's a lot of meter and can stun.
On console, getting a stun means the opponent ends up building 3 meters....making things difficult.
Can try to play him differently, but he loses flavor in doing so...

Kim:
A great Kim player, '3-seven' says Kim is very strong on console. I'd like to see him play in order to see.
Can't fight without meter. Without meter, far s.D to keep the opponent grounded while charging meter may
be the only way to go.

Hwa:
Has become very good on console.
Not a main for me, but will use him in sub teams.
Just using far s.D is strong.
Using heel for frame advantage is strong.
Has a 1 frame throw.
Def top tier.

Raiden:
Much weaker, requires skill now.
Still plenty of tools to do well. Raiden players in the arcade should have no trouble.
Can't recommend him to players just getting started on console.

Athena:
Looks like she was buffed, her playstyle is not best suited for this game.
fb~dp play doesn't do much damage.
Low damage output in general - perhaps someone will find something effective with her.
Her jump being low and ground attacks being weak really hurt her.
Looks strong, but think she's lower tier.

Kensou:
A lot of tiny buffs, such as being able to follow up off of normal throw.
However, like Athena is not best suited for the game.
Normals looks strong, but aren't really.
Maybe upper-mid tier.
Looking forward to the uncovering of more potential though.

Chin:
My least favorite to fight against in this team.
More buffs than nerfs, but EX counter has a smaller window making it a bit iffy, but
still has the potential for getting huge damage. If opponents stay away fearing his
combos, he just drinks making matters worse.
Can def win.

Ryo:
Looks very improved, but when it comes down to it, the only mid-range tool he has is
kooh-ken. On a whiff, he can be killed often. Not to say he can't compete, but players may struggle.
Although f.A became faster, it's reach is very limited. What's more is it's easy to drop his HD
combos online. Fun to use but...

Robert:
No incredible combos at the moment.
Mid range he has fb, s.CD, and dp. All interesting elements for him.
Great for people who like footsies characters.
Think he's mid-tier, but may all come down to the use of his NM which is very useful.

Takuma:
All comes down to getting that one opportunity.
Many of his combos can finish the opponent once started.
A double-edged sword though as he gives a lot of meter to the opponent.

Ralf:
Much easier to use.
Lower tier though.
Has few options for breaking down guard.
Fun combos.

Clark:
Not very strong property-wise, but very easy to win with him.
I recommend him to new players.
Difficult to reverse momentum with him though.

Leona:
Playstyle doesn't vary much from the arcade.
Some buffing, but nothing that really affects play.
Good with meter, but not the best with damage output.
Good anchor, but not geared towards reverse ocvs.
(maybe better geared towards 2nd position)

Mai:
Normal and big j.D can be cancelled with d.B makes it much easier to do mid-low mixups.
If jump d.B is guarded, usually at 0 or -1 making it difficult to punish her.
It comes down to footsies and use of jumping for her.
Also a chr with low properties, but easy to win with.

Yuri:
Extremely buffed and close combat much easier.
Has dp+K, a 1 frame throw which can be DC'd or SC'd.
A bit lacking in getting in on the opponent.
Although attack frames of j.CD have been increased, it doesn't have the range to be that effective.
If her jump-ins were better, she would be incredible. I use her as a sub, definitely worth studying further.

King:
In JPN everyone thought her console changes looked really weak.
She is extremely strong. Works well with the game engine.
Good close and from afar. Locking down the opponent with sliding/venom strikes is very strong.

K':
People coming from the arcade shouldn't have difficulty, but those starting on console may struggle.
Corner combos and combos using meter are still effective.
Not quite top tier.

Kula:
I think she's a bit difficult to use losing invincibility on EX ray spin, as the invincibility on her
crow bytes is not that reliable. More range on s.B doesn't really change anything.
People will likely have a tough time as her damage output is not great.

Maxima:
EX press does less damage as well as some other minor damage nerfs.
Still very versatile and strong with meter.
On the other hand, he's slow and will be put into situations where he has to endure pressure.
Probably will only end up getting used by true Maxima users.

That covers all the characters I think.
My team will likely be Kyo/Goro/Claw Iori...
Because Goro's effectiveness is based on matchups, I may switch him with King or Vice.

I didn't discuss Flame Iori, but think he's top tier.
Very good tools, very stable. If you're not sure who to choose as a third character, he's very
easy to use and strong.
On the other hand, it could be said that he doesn't have a whole lot of potential to grow and that
other characters may become stronger. But at any rate, he's very stable currently.

Haven't discussed NESTS Kyo or Mr. Karate as they're not available yet, but I can't imagine any of
the DLC chrs being weak so please pick them up and give them a try.

Personally I wish I could make a team with Kyo/Flame Iori/Claw Iori...

[Xxenace]

i do have to agree with kensou's normals being a bit weak

[Rex Dart]

It seems like Japanese people always underestimate Terry. :P

Seems like a pretty balanced assessment, though. One thing he mentioned that got me excited is 777 praising console Kim. I would LOVE to see 777 play XIII. If you know who he is, you know how awesome that would be.

[BioBooster]

Dunno 777, but would love to see any great Kim players.

One thing I was caught off guard by was his not including Billy/Saiki in top tier. (esp Billy)

[tastylumpia]

Sounds like a balanced assessment on a balanced game. Most listed as "mid tier", with top tier standouts being Hwa, Kyo and (possibly) EX Iori.

I dunno if some of his assessments are that accurate or in-depth, as he probably doesn't have extensive experience with every character.

Kula feels top tier to me, she was great in arcade and only big nerf is EX spin inv. but she got a buffed 5B which helps her already good footsies A LOT.