Tier list

A tier list is a ranking of all the characters in a fighting game based on the current metagame. Many factors go into making a tier list, and they require many people to input their opinions, usually top professionals at the game in question. Tier lists are updated frequently, as major changes in the metagame change how a character is viewed. For example, in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Abadango began to achieve high results with Mewtwo, who in the first tier list was considered a low tier, placing 37th out of 58 characters, and even was considered the worst character in the game upon release as DLC. Abadango even won a major tournament in Pound 2016. As a result, in the second tier list which was released six months later, Mewtwo jumped all the way up to 10th place, 27 higher than before.

Characters getting buffed or nerfed can also change their position on the tier list. However, characters can also not have any changes made to them but still move on the list as other characters do (cough) Dedede (cough) Jigglypuff.