Fighting Game Tier Lists: An Objective Look

    Fighting game Tier lists and Tier lists in any game are often a controversial topic. They are hotly debated by top players and casuals alike. Some players like Tier lists, some players hate them. Much of the hate for Tier Lists are based on misconceptions about what Tier lists are and what they are not. I'll try to show some concrete evidence using some modern game Tier lists and some classic game Tier lists as examples. This will demonstrate the importance and uses for tier lists as well as how they are misunderstood.

What Tier Lists Are

    The best definition for Tier lists I can come up with is: a list of current perceived strengths in characters based on objective information and current gameplay applications at a competitive or high level. Perceived is a very important word. Tier lists are fluid, especially in modern games. It's not just because modern games are patched often, it is also because the gameplay application or strategy or meta or however you like to put it is changing regularly. Players are discovering new things all of the time. It is happening at a much more rapid rate than the games before YouTube and the shared resources we have now but new things are discovered regularly. Strategies and meta are changed all of the time. For example, since MenaRD's win at Capcom Cup, Birdie's place on the Tier list has become greatly debated. However, other characters, such as Ryu, FANG, and Juri have stayed toward the bottom of the Tier list for most of the season and Ibuki and Akuma have stayed near the top in the SFV Tier List.
    Older Tier lists change much less frequently. A standard meta is mostly set in stone at a competitive level after 10-20 years of gameplay. That being said, older Tier Lists can be fluid too. Just as an example, the placement of Ken on the Third Strike Tier list can vary from place to place. Not by much, but he can be placed anywhere from Top 3 strongest characters in the game to outside of the top 5 in some areas of Japan. In Super Smash Bros Melee, a 15 year old game, Yoshi has risen up in the Tier list thanks to some new strategies utilized by Amsa. New tools can still be discovered in these games with a generally set meta.
    The other important word used is "objective." Tier lists are subjective, but they are based on objective and observed information. Fighting Games have a vast amount of variables in any given match. However, characters have concrete human designed tools that within the context of a certain way of playing, have more consistent results than others. Therefore, these characters with stronger tools based on the gameplay applications will be perceived higher on the tier list.           
    Without going into too much detail into how Street Fighter V is played, essentially Ibuki and Akuma's "turn" never ends. Part of this is because defensive tools are currently limited within the game. Essentially they have the strongest offense. Much of this has to do with the frame data in their attacks and resources available to them. On another level, the geometry behind their attacks are so that they can can have effective offense at a variety of ranges on the screen. Therefore, the math of the characters is stronger than the math of other characters. Again, this is simplifying things a lot but it is an objective observation that leads to the perceived strength of the characters. A change in the way the game is played could upset this perception and change their place on the tier list, but it is based on objective observation.

What Tier Lists are Not

   Tier lists are not "popularity contests." Many of the strongest characters in a game become popular, but it is not always the case. Ryu is currently very low on the Tier list of SFV characters. However, he is still a very popular character played online. Same with Alex and Chun Li. Their strength is perceived as lower, but online they are extremely popular characters to play.
     At a tournament level, this is very different. These characters are not popular to play because their objective tools are weaker than others making it harder to win. People like winning and there is a lot of money on the line at tournaments. People don't like giving themselves known or perceived disadvantages in match ups. Therefore, the perceived stronger characters are gravitated towards.
    Another misconception is that "the right player hasn't played the character yet" or "the right tech hasn't been discovered yet."  People will often say "If only (place high level player name here) played (place low tier character name here) then they would win and show how good my character is!" Sometimes this is absolutely true. We saw MenaRD win with Birdie against the strongest players in the world at SFV. I still don't think Birdie is that strong but he clearly has the tools. Most of the time however, this is not the case.
    Most of the time top players actually spend a lot of time with many characters and choose their main objectively. They absolutely develope the low tier characters out and decide that their time is better spent on characters that are more likely to win more often and have better tools at their disposal. This is not to say that the lower tier characters don't have the tools to win, but the perceived stronger characters have more consistent or objectively better tools.
  From a personal perspective, I spent maybe a year or two thinking (and hoping) that Ness in Super Smash Bros Melee might be good in my early days of delving into the game. He is not. He literally does not have the tools to compete with the top tier characters. This is just basic geometry too. His limbs are short. Marth essentially erases him from the game. He does very little damage too outside of extremely risky and easy to punish tools. It's not that hard to see if you watch higher level players. You would have to play so much better as Ness against the top tiers that it is not worth the Herculean effort.
    Another great example is Sean in SF Third Strike. He was intentionally designed poorly. He is designed to be weak. A high level player can outplay someone with Sean, but he is literally not designed to be competitive. There is no arguing it either. It was an intention by the designers.
    On the opposite end of the spectrum, Yun and Yang were intentionally designed to be the strongest characters in the game in SFIV Arcade Edition. This is a known fact. They were given better mathematical tools than every other character in the game. Other characters could win against them, but they just had better tools than the other characters.
    These are all extreme examples and modern developers try to make mostly balanced games. I think for the most part the modern ones are. However, they are man made games made by very smart but imperfect people. They can make intentionally and unintentionally strong or weak characters. It happens all the time and it is important for competitive players to have an idea about this going into a competition.
    Thus, tier lists are not meant for everyone. They are based on competitive play. They are not a list of characters with a "win button." If you are super casual, just playing with your friends without implementing strategies used by high level players Tier lists absolutely do not apply to you. This is totally an option. These are video games still, albeit typically punishing ones. You are still allowed to have fun with whatever character you want. You can implement some serious cheese with low tier characters that your friends might not have any idea how to deal with. Don't expect to win a tournament with these strategies but don't get down on yourself if your character just does not have what it takes to win one.

   Finally, I'll end on a bit of a subjective note. Tier lists are a tool and can be used as such. You can choose a top tier character to give yourself the biggest advantage or you can choose a low tier character because you think they are the coolest character in the game or the character has tools that you like to use. Most modern fighting games are really balanced. Many high level players have won tournaments with characters people thought no one could win with against players using the best characters in the game. Many high level players stick with these low tier characters and perfect them because they have tools that they understand the best. They might be low tier because they have to take big risks for low reward but knowing when to take those risks is an incredible skill that can be developed. Sometimes those low tier characters do really well against the high tier characters but poorly against everyone else. Tier lists are much more complicated than my little article could explain and I've left out (for brevity) information that could help you understand them. The point is: Tier lists matter, are fun to debate, but they are an imperfect tool at the end of the day. Use them however you see fit.
   

Overwatch: Main Tanks Vs Off Tanks

In Overwatch, the tank class of characters can be a bit confusing. You know you need one or 2, but which ones to choose? Whichever one you like playing the best? This can absolutely work, but a team composition can come together much better if you have one of the two "Main Tanks" on your roster. These two heroes are Reinhardt and Winston.

The first hero, Reinhardt, is the easiest to understand. He holds up a giant magic blue rectangle that makes it so that things can't hurt you when you get behind it. Easy. Winston is easier to understand as a main tank when you understand the actual benefit that both characters provide: They both provide space for your team to move into a better position.

Reinhardt is, again, the easier character to understand for this role. When Reinhardt puts up his shield, it creates a safe area for you to move around behind. It also comes creates an area that is UNSAFE for the opposing team to go into. If you alone walk behind a Reinhardt's shield and the entire team is behind it (not flank it, which is a topic for another day) then you are 1v5 and you will die. Even if you attempt to go behind the shield, the enemy Team has the opportunity to fire at you before you have a chance to hit them.

Winston can serve the same purpose as Reinhardt. He creates space. However, he has to to create space in a much more aggressive way. When Winston dives in, he creates a very large and dangerous distraction. Any character around 200 health will die in a few seconds with him around. He is very crucial to eliminate and while the focus is on Winston, this will open up the rest of the team to move in and attack. With coordination, the space created by Winston can actually be even more effective than Reinhardt in certain compositions. 

D. Va can dive into the enemy too, but Winston is typically more effective because of his barrier. His barrier gives him the ability to cut off a large area with an enemy area. This barrier can't be shot through to you or your teammates, and it can cut off healing to those on the other side of it. D. Va's defense matrix effectively has more health than Winston's barrier, but it doesn't cover a wide area and D. Va can't shoot while using it.

You don't always need a main tank, but it can really glue a team composition together. They can essentially carry a team if played properly and the rest of the team comp builds accordingly. Next time you are playing QP or Ranked, consider Reinhardt or Winston.

Overwatch: Basic Team Comps Part 1- Death Ball

I've been spending a lot of time researching different team compositions, in particular, team comps that pros use. There are 3 main styles of play but there are several variations that can but implemented and give your team some creativity. Creativity is important in a game like Overwatch but I also want to give some context to people when they are solo-queing and you are having trouble with choosing characters or teammates character choices. Hopefully you have gained a basic understanding of at least 3 different characters in order to give your team a better chance of winning.

We are going to start with the Reinhardt Death Ball comp. This, in my opinion is the most basic and easiest to understand team composition in Overwatch. This is because Reinhardt is a giant shield. Easy. Get behind it and move forward or stay protected on the battlefield. Overwatch is an extremely deep game so I am only going to give a basic overview of these compositions including tips and positioning ideas.

Of note, all of the compositions are based around the tanks used in the comp for the most part. This is mostly because the tanks are to be followed in to battle. They can survive the longest. This is a really important idea that a lot of people don't understand and that is how key tanks are to fights and survival. I'll write more on that in a later, but just remember how important your role is when playing tanks.

2-2-2 Death Ball

This is THE most basic composition. You need 2 tanks: Reinhardt and one off-tank usually either D. Va or Zarya, 2 DPS, and 2 healers. The DPS is where you can get really creative and remember that the "defense" heroes should be used within this category because they can be fairly good eliminaters or damage dealers just with very clear drawbacks. Healers are going to be Lucio typically, and then whatever aspect you want to focus on from there. Zen for extra damage, Mercy for Res, Ana for the burst healing, and sometimes Sombra for health pack control and hacking. Positioning should be following Reinhardt in to battle and picking targets from there. Staying behind the Reinhardt shield until the fight is important because you want to survive long enough to actually help in the team fight. On low levels, there may never be a true team fight because players don't know how to group up, but if you want to get to a higher level you should be aware of how to play the game.

Triple Tank
This was the dominant meta for season three and I believe it's still pretty viable. The composition is pretty set in stone- Reinhardt/Roadhog/D. Va or Zarya/Soldier 76/Ana/Lucio. It's super important to be organized in this composition and you can get really destroyed if you don't follow Reinhardt's shield as you have only ONE long range damage dealer-Soldier. Most of the battles. Roadhog needs to get picks, D. Va needs to protect Rein and maybe chase targets down, or Zarya needs to get charge and beat down the enemy Rein shield. I don't know all of the ins and outs of the composition but without proper coordination the team has one consistent damage dealer.

3-3 Comp
This is a pretty unique composition and also requires a lot of coordination but it has a ton of sustain capabilities. I think that it can still be effective after some Ana changes. The comp is Reinhardt/Zarya/Roadhog/Lucio/Ana/Zenyatta or maybe Mercy for less damage and more survivability. This HAS to be played close range. Zenyatta is the only character with ranged damage.The main damage dealers are going to be Nano-Boosted Rein for team wipes, charged up Zarya and Roadhog insta-kills.

Overwatch: Zarya Value Guide

Zarya is a particularly powerful tank in Overwatch. I think there are a few ways to play her and you can get pretty creative with her. Zarya is somewhere between a support, a tank, and a DPS hero. She is a very dexterous hero and should not be underestimated when thinking about adding her to your team.

The reason Zarya is such a powerful tool for this is her bubble shields. Zarya can place a shield on herself and one ally as they charge into battle and this will allow you to get in the thick of it with almost no risk for a few seconds. A few seconds does not sound like a lot, but a few seconds can start and end a fight.

Zarya needs to take damage in order to do more damage, so you want to put the shield up sometimes even after being shot at. Sometimes the shield can go up preemptively but with the fairly long cooldown you need to be wise about the placement. You should be fairly certain you are about to be shot, or even have received a small amount of damage before placing her bubble shields. It also helps a lot to not be the only tank on the field. If you have another tank to propel into a fight with the shield, even off-tanks like Roadhog or D Va, it can really help build that charge quickly.

Briefly stated above, her weapon charges with every bit of damage you take while shielding yourself and an opponent. A number will show up in the middle of your screen and it will go down as the battle continues. Therefore, it is extra important you are in the heart of a battle when charging your weapon. The higher the number is in the middle of your screen, the more damage you do so you do not want to waste it by charging off of some tiny stray poke damage and not have your shield when it is needed.

Zarya also has one of the best synergy Ultimates in the game. It pairs well with nearly every other ultimate because of its amazing crowd control. Watch the enemy group up, toss it in, and wait for D Va, Soldier, Tracer, Genji, McCree, Junkrat, Pharah, or probably a few other heroes I can't think of to clean up. Good communication and synergy is important in order to use it, but it's also the kind of Ult that can synergize the team for you because most players understand what it used for.

Back to the actual value you get from having a Zarya on your team. With Zarya, you have a peel, a shield for Zarya and one ally, a body block, good self-sustain because half of her health regens, great DPS with proper bubbles, and one of the best crowd control Ultimates in the game. She can be the glue that holds the whole team together. The synergy and uses she brings to the table can't be underestimated.

Overwatch: Ways to Step Up Your Game

I just had a few thoughts I wanted to share on how Overwatch functions and what is the optimal way to play the game. This is based on really low level play and I'm using high level advice as well as my own low level experience and observations on games that go well.

"Skill" is not that Important
Accuracy and traditional FPS skill is important but it's not as important as a lot of people might think. There are far more important factors that go into winning a match than accuracy. Besides that, there are many great characters that do their most important functions with very little aiming such as Lucio, Winston, Zenyatta, and Reinhardt.

Organization is Key
This is a really important concept that I am shocked at how many players do not understand. It does not matter how the team is organized, but most of the time the more organized team will win. This can be either intentional or unintentional.
Just communicate with your team. It's OK to want to go absolutely blitzkrieg-aggressive, just let your team know to go blitzkrieg-aggressive too and do it TOGETHER. 

What often happens is one team gets on the point and survives together, with little to no communication, and they win. This is usually unintentional organization but if you are a beginner like me, you will have these games. What is important to recognize is the team that won had 6 people fighting 1-4 people at a time. Maybe. The team that lost is often staggering their respawns and just feeding the other teams Ult charges. That's it. You have no chance in this game in a 1-4 vs 6 unless you have a pretty good Ult strategy. Just organize and go in together as 6 vs 6.

Know Your Character's Value
This can be creative, but take at least a little time to figure out what your character is supposed to do. This means that when you're playing Ana, you can do damage...but you are mainly a healer. Focus on that. When you're Winston, know that you will do the most help for a team chasing down the healers. There are a hundred guides on these and I might focus on in the future but take some time to learn or ask.

You can get creative and step outside your main value when necessary but you need to focus on your main value FIRST.

That's all for today. I might do a value guide for characters as soon as I come up with a format.

Overwatch: Capture the Flag First Impressions

Capture the Flag was just introduced as an event mode within Overwatch today. I think it's a lot of fun, but there are some things that I have learned from the first few games of it.

1.Teamwork is Still Necessary

I think this goes without saying, but teamwork and communication is still necessary. Most teams are going to be smart enough to not allow Tracer in to just snag the flag and walk out. Plus, it is necessary to stay on the flag for a few seconds before you have it and that doesn't allow for a quick snag and escape. It is still necessary for you to go in with either all or part of your team.

2.Meta

There will definitely be a meta to this mode and I believe it will be mostly the mobile and movement boosted characters. For example, Ana just does not have the speed or mobility to perform well in this mode. Lucio and Mercy will probably be the favorite healers in this mode. Winston, Tracer, Genii, Pharah, Mei, Symmetra, Torbjorn, D. Va and Soldier will probably be the other strong picks. Symmetra and Torbjorn, in particular, because of their strong passive defense.

Those are my absolute first impressions of the mode. It's a lot of fun and adds a bunch of new ideas into an increasingly fascinating game.

Overwatch Support Tips

I have been playing Overwatch for the most part lately, besides a little bit of Street Fighter and I am still loving it. It's a really exciting mix of MOBA and FPS that feels fantastic. The great thing about it is that being good at FPS is good, but not key. The important thing is to do your job. I have been playing mainly support characters and I have a few beginners tips for them.

1. Supports are for Healing

Your main focus as a support role is to heal. DPS is second. You can absolutely get kills and do good damage to the enemy team, but first and foremost you should try and stay alive so that the rest of your team also stays alive. This includes Ana. She does good damage and can do some really good offensive things but she is the best healer in the game and should focus on that.

2.Try to Have Two Healers

I think having two healers CAN be more far more important than having two of any of the other classes. If you are constantly healed, you won't die. Not dying is really important in this game. The other reason is that having two healers will cover the weaknesses of the healers. Lucio is an AOE (area of effect) healer, but heals slowly. Plus, his speed boost can be really important. It is usually not a great idea to have him solo healing. Ana is the best healer and probably will continue to be so even after a patch, but she has to pay attention to all your heroes positions to properly heal them. Lucio and Ana offer great synergy. Other combinations can be equally strong, or at least better than none.

3. Lucio's Speed Boost is Really Useful

It's really good for engagements and this deserves it's own section. It's seriously great for the added mobility, chasing down targets, and just adds an extra layer to your teams offense. It's super important. Turn speed boost on when moving into position, such as engaging with a defensive position of the enemy. Once in position, switch to healing to keep your team alive.

That's about all I have for today but I'll be updating this as I come up with new tips to help your game.

Overwatch: 3 Beginners Tips from a Beginner

These are a few things that I've discovered win me more games than losses. Remember, I am a true beginner. I've had the game for a week. My rank is mid-Gold and I have never played FPS games of any type before this one.

1. Communicate

This is a team game. Often times, I've noticed, even the slightly more organized team wins the match. It's definitely not always the "more talented" team, although 50% accuracy head shots don't hurt. Organizing your team together pushing, diving, and retreating as a unit through communication can really make a game. Plus, it's more fun that way. Utilize the mic function or, at the very least, use the speak commands your character has built into it.

2. Have Support Characters

Healing is very strong in this game. Saving your teammates lives will just make you outlast the teams that don't have dedicated healers in quick-play. If a competitive team doesn't have a healer, something has gone very awry and they do not understand how to play the game. The buffing and debuffing powers of the support characters can help focus fire and movement too.

3.Don't Stagger Your Respawns

Attack as a unit. It's basic math. If you attack one at a time, it could be always 6 people versus 1 person. Even if you manage to kill one person, then it's 5 versus 1 person. Still terrible odds. If you manage to kill 2 people? Still terrible odds. For anybody. Watch pro matches. Players die ALL THE TIME in 6v1s...because it's terrible odds and the game isn't built for one player to carry the team. Even if you can't get the WHOLE team together, pause, and wait to get the last few that died with you to go in with you. 3 v 6 is still way better odds and chances are the whole team will be together at some point in the battle. The ideal way to play would be together as a 6 person unit, but do what you can to organize in the beginning.

Circus Goes FPS in Overwatch

I just picked up Overwatch to find a game that my friends and I could play in some sort of competitive manner together. They refuse to play fighting games and that left me looking for something as close to a fighting game as possible, but in a genre that they wanted to play. This also happens to be how I got involved with Souls games. Overwatch has the character diversity of a fighting game, the mechanics of an FPS, and, as I later found out, the team synergy emphasis of a MOBA. As it turns out, I love it.

I will do at least a few write ups on my adventures in Overwatch, but I want to talk about my experiences in it as someone who has played almost solely fighting games and Souls games for like 5 years.

The biggest difference in Fighting Games and Overwatch is that winning is not entirely dependent on your solo decisions and skill. In fact, organization and better collective decision making will cause you to win. I've had the game for like 5 days but I believe this is the general consensus of the Overwatch community.

A big similarity in Overwatch and Fighting Games is the character diversity that I mentioned above. Every character has their own "kit" which is the equivalent of FG characters move sets. These kits will determine what your character's role is in each match. The kit determines their game plan, much like FG characters move sets determine the game plan.

There are actually quite a few analogous ideas in Overwatch and FGs. There are poke battles, resource management, a sort of neutral game in both. In Overwatch, these things all have a different name but the ideas are still there. In both games sometimes the decision making process comes down to, what decision do I need to make now, to give me the upper hand later or what resources do I absolutely need to spend now to win the battle? Do I need to do more than that?

These are my sort of vague first impressions. I am playing support characters a lot because my aim is only ok and I don't care about killing loads of people. Once I get better at the game and start actually playing ranked matches I will write a few beginners guides to a few of the characters that I have been playing.