Duo Lon is for sure one of the better characters in my humble opinion, for all the reasons you mentioned.
Sure his HD damage isn’t staggering, but he honestly doesn’t need it. Still a weakness though, for sure.
Hi guys, i’m definitely not a pro nor an expert, but i would like to share my view on some of my characters, first Terry Bogard.
Point
Low/Mid Tier…I find Terry to be solid as point, his combos are pretty basic and no meter depending and some of his normals aren’t bad at all, however i do feel that his damage is not as high and it can get rough to counter without EX Rising Tackle and hard to apply pressure without Ex Crack Shot, however he can build some meter pretty easy and his EX Burn Knuckle does a good amount of damage if you managed to gather a few bars and don’t mind to spend a drive to end the round. Not my favorite spot for Terry but i still use it if i don’t feel confident with my rival’s possible point against my Ex Iori (Mai for example, i hate Mai -_-’).
Second Position
Mid Tier…IMO Terry’s best position, he should have by now at the very least 1 Bar so now you can use Ex Rising Tackle, one of his best moves and probably one of the best Wake Up moves in the game, also you can cancel most of his chains into Buster Wolf, not to mention his HD combo is fairly easy…although not that damaging, still i think that his Ex Super Moves can deal a good amount of damage and are fairly easy to land, also, if you don’t want to spend that much meter, he can still work as a decent battery for your Anchor.
Anchor
Low Tier? I’m not sure about this one, when i began to play i was using Terry as anchor, but i wasn’t confident enough with him, i still use it every once in a while when i feel that the matchup is not that good for Leona (again…Mai XD) specially because i don’t like most of his matchups against more popular Anchors like Claw Iori, Kyo or Shen, still he does have options, i mean you should have some bars and there is no reason to not use them now, so Ex Moves and Ex Super Moves are a must here, also his Neo Max while not as strong can be fairly easy to land and that way finish the combat quickly, then again, without meter you will have a pretty rough time that’s why i feel much more comfortable with other anchors like Leona or even Mature.
Ok, now i’ll talk about Leona, an incredible underrated character IMO.
Point
Low Tier - As in really low, i mean yeah, Leona is an underrated character and all, but she needs meter, that’s a given, so unless you feel pretty comfortable with your rival’s point character you should avoid Leona in this position, even if her normals are some of the best in the game (specially her air to air and air to ground normals) you don’t want to face an Ex Iori or a King (some of the best point characters in the game IMO) without Meter, besides she is not that good gaining meter since you will most likely spend it almost right away in order to do some damage, still and like i said, her normals are godlike, but hardly enough reason to put Leona first.
Second Position
Low Mid Tier - You should have by now some meter, but still pretty limited, however, you can do some good damage, and her HD combos are pretty good…although hard to execute, still she does have resources, since Ex Moon Slasher is deadly, her corner pressure is a nightmare because of her V-Slasher and let’s not forget her normals, like that amazing instant overhead plus her good defense makes Leona a solid character in the right hands. On the bad side, she is meter depending, and her most damaging combos are fairly hard to execute, not to mention if your point character failed to gather a good amount of meter you will have a pretty rough time trying to make a comeback with a meterless Leona.
Anchor
High Mid Tier - Now this is where Leona shines, her offensive which i think is her weakest point, becomes rather good, her Ex Moon Slasher is probably her deadliest weapon, both in offensive and in defense, there is no point to save meter now, besides she can land both her HD combos with Neo Max as well as normal chains with Ex V-Slasher to deal a huge amount of damage, her normals are great like always and you can choose to turtle or to rush, hell, I’m willing to say that with full meter and full drive she could even be High Tier…sadly…without meter, well you only have your normals to depend on and against Claw Iori for example…you’ll be in a lot of problems, still, i’ve been able to make some really good comebacks with Leona as Anchor.
Overall, her weakest points are, well pretty bad, but once you have the right tools she is deadly, if you let your guard down, she will eat 700 of your health with just a couple of combos and mixups.
Very nice, I found the above paragraph to be the most informative.
Since you’re talking about charge characters, how about Ash?
Personally, I think he’s good anywhere considering his Sans Culotte is only one bar, and pretty much acts as it’s own HD meter, albeit shorter.
Nice! Every thing said about Terry is pretty much accurate! Now let us talk about Leona!
First Position:
Low Mid tier. First of all… Leona almost guaranteed to dominate any air-to-air contact. Leona also has very good normal attacks and she can zone her opponent a little with her Earring Bomb (but, keep in mind that her regular Earring Bomb has a DANGEROUSLY huge start-up and that her zoning tools are ultimately limited in general. Other than her EX Earring Bomb, she lacks any particularly quick projectile). Her meterless combos are good enough but she could still use meter for safer usage of special move (she isn’t the best at building meter, either). In fact, most of her special moves… (well actually, ALL of them) are unsafe, so the player will have to rely on precision based game play… Very situational… Her defensive options are quite nice though. You can batter the opponent to death in this potion… A basic BnB combo would be something along these lines… j.C, close st.D (two hits), overhead command move, A version X-Caliber - or J.C, close st.D, command move, C version X-Caliber.
Battery:
Mid tier… The thing about Leona is that she can easily fit into ANY position of a team, which might be part of the reason why players would play her anyhow. She has a good set of options to use when in comes to defense. She can actually anti-air her opponent with her Baltic Launcher (mainly the C version but the A version is viable too…) and it works pretty well in the corner too, though she is still unsafe should the attack whiff. Her Baltic Launcher also causes A LOT of chip damage.Her drive cancels are also easy to pull off, but for high damaging combos… to maximize damage your going to need some really good execution… and METER. Again, in this position she play defensive game and batter the opponent. What should also be noted is that she has one of the best DM’s in the game (a la V-Slasher) - during the active frames she is INVULNERABLE THROUGHOUT! The EX version just homes in on the opponent… for Max Cancel, you can only use the EX V-Slasher for that). (The truth is, I would normally place Leona either in first or second position - Have my EX Kyo, Mai and Leona switch places based on what characters are likely to be used in my opponents first position). A good combo like… st.C, f+B, air qcf,hcb+P - worth one stock can do 338 damage… A Leona with four stocks isn’t really a bad idea… (I could say the same for others since this game is more or less balanced)…
Anchor:
Mid tier, again. Leona is weird…! But, nevertheless, she is still a solid character. It is important to keep in mind that Leona has a lot of good rush down opportunities too… I don’t think it is entirely a great idea to put her as an anchor, but she is still a solid character to use should be played as one (Personally, I think Leona should ask Shen, Maxima, Claw Iori, or Ash for back up with whatever mission she is trying to accomplish… HINT, HINT).
Leona CAN use the meter just to make her moves safer… If you DO intend on using Earring Bombs, it should be obvious that you should not be using them on close or even standing opponents… (of course, should they be a full screen away from you can alway use this to control their movement - should they roll Leona uses a Grand Saber (EX version is safer) or… THROW them (throws are inescapable during a roll, so… yeah). - should they forward jump, then Leona air-to-airs them or use A version Baltic Launcher.
After a Baltic Launcher you could also you j.D for a reset and do a mix-up or move aside in case your opponent has a special move with invincibility prepared for you. Regular Earring Bombs and Baltic Launchers are easily disabled by… EX projectiles/DM’s are just moves that bypass the said moves - Leona requires a lot of… planning. Here is a neat HD combo… j.D, s.D, HD, s.D, f.B, air qcb+C, d~u+C [HDC] b~f+D, d~u+AC [HDC] b~f+D, d~u+C [HDC] b~f+D, qcb,hcf+K [MC] qcf,hcb+AC… all for four stocks and 901 damage… I suggest you simply spend that meter battering your opponent to death instead, sense this is still rather situational… Oh yeah… her throw animation is a little bit… long. So, if you DO get a chance you throw your opponent - and drain time while you’re at it… as a matter of fact, I did something like that in one of my videos in the KOFXIII video section (though the Kim player was KO’d on the very last second though). As I said, Leona can easily be played as a defensive character and she fits pretty well into any position.
:eek: Aw shit… you beat me to the punch. We even have… more or less… the same opinion.
I can honestly say I will never be patient or precise enough to use Leona effectively, she’s just too specialized of a character in my opinion.
How about some more rekka characters? Like Mature? 
I guess Shen Woo will be next.
First position:
Mid tier. Shen has really high damage output, even without meter, but it is never really a good idea to put Shen in front, sense he does EXCEEDINGLY well with meter. Shen does not seem to have any good… Cross ups, but his normals are still beastly and the player can rack up an easy 309 damage QUICK in the corner - The ideal BnB for Shen would be something like this: j.C, cl.C > f.B, QCB. A, QCF.A, which equals a nice 285 damage (his command throw costs 298). Also Shen’s command throw one of his stronger special move and can be easily cancelled into. It is very easy to execute Shen BnB’s for no meter… while he CAN do pretty while in this position, it is not recommended and he has A LOT of uses his meter.
Battery:
Mid. Individuals can get away with this too, but even this is not recommended, because there are better battery characters… I forgot to mention… that Shen does not do that well against grappling characters (if you see Vice or Goro, its time for you to start thinking)… A few of Shen’s special moves (and some of his normals) have a longer start-up, but you can still time your attacks. Shen’s normal are NICE! They’re SOLID!! (Though he might have some trouble with conducting a well-timed anti-air). Shen does not do any combos from low attack (unless you’re free cancelling from HD mode). Four meters? Full HD guage? You can even INCREASE Shen’s damage output with Bakuten (his secondary DM which can also be comboed into)… matter of fact - [SIZE=2][FONT=sans-serif]*(corner) *[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=times new roman][SIZE=4]EX command grab special move, EX qcf K, qcf D x2, qcf B, C.A.B.C for 671 damage and all four stocks… good for finishing you’re opponent! Otherwise… One should never really place Shen in this position, though… he may work very well - what is your third character going to do then? Especially if they are meter reliant? [/FONT][/SIZE]
Anchor:
High. For those who wish for a comeback mechanic in KOFXIII… Shen Woo is it. A EVIL one at that. Shen is one of THE best anchors of the game. Shen can stop projectiles easily! (EX QCF.A/C Gekiken - which is not safe on block, or Tamaken for deflecting projectiles). A fully charged Gekiken can take abou 40% of the casts health and can be abusable (you can stop charging animation by pressing K if need be). Once again, you can combo into his Bakuten DM, and even 100% combos are possible with this character! With four and five stocks both -
.C, s.C, f.B, HD, s.C, f.B, qcb A.qcf A, ([HDC] qcf D, [HDC] qcf C [charge half a sec]) x3, qcf D, CABC, Ex qcf x2+P for four
and
j.C, s.C, f.B, HD, s.C, f.B, qcb A.qcf A, [HDC] qcf D, [HDC] qcf C, [HDC] qcf D, [HDC] qcf C [charge half a sec], [HDC] qcf D, CABC, Ex qcf x2+P DM for five stocks
There is a reason why his name is in my sig right now… Hell, Shen does not even have to spend that much meter to conduct a high damaging combo! But, your best bet is to watch for particularly good zoners (Athena, Saiki, Billy…), and grapplers… Shen does not even take that much execution… the player can get away with a lot when the play Shen!
I’ll take pleasure in that! I’ll Mature, Kensou, EX Iori in that order… then I will focus on Mai and the Regular Kyo afterwards.
In the mean time, MadSnake1 will provide good insight on the characters!
EDIT: Has this sort of tier system ever been used for grading characters? Like KOF98 or KOF02UM…?
Thanks…and i’m not much of an Ash player, but i don’t like him as Anchor, i do like him in Second and Point is solid i guess…sorry to not be able to give a much better insight on him, but i don’t use him that much.
Anyway, i believe Ash is great in second position because of his EX Moves, his FB is insanely fast and it can eat your own projectiles, his normals are great and his combos aren’t that hard, however IMO his normals aren’t nearly as good as Leona’s (with the exception of 6B and jCD, since those are way too good) and you need to do some mind tricks in order to set the tone of the match which it is a mix of turtle and rush for you to corner your opponent, at least that’s when i have more troubles with Ash.
Like i said, there isn’t much of what can i say for Ash aside from this, sorry.
I’ll try to talk about Mature after Ex Iori.
Jejeje, its nice to see another fellow Leona player who thinks more or less the same about her, only thing i disagree is her as Anchor, IMO she works best as Anchor instead of second position, but you do have a point, a 4 bar Leona is still dangerous, anyway, maybe it is because i don’t play that well with other Anchors, like Shen or Claw Iori, so that’s why i always rely on Leona as my Anchor of choice.
Last on my main team is Ex Iori.
Point High Tier - IMO, Ex Iori is arguably the best point character in the entire game, he can get away with lots of great things without meter…he has great normals, easy combos, he is fast, has great pokes, decent DP, decent FB, crazy mix ups, cross ups and even a command throw, most of the time he is my Point character of choice, unless like i said earlier, i feel more comfortable with other characters due the match up, also when you gather some meter it can get even crazier, i’ve been able to cripple my opponent’s second character with Iori’s crazy mix ups and end with an HD combo into Ex Maiden Masher…that just hurts and demoralize a lot…bottom line, if you need a great character to put on point, you should consider Ex Iori, he doesn’t demand that much both in execution and meter, if anything, zoners can be a problem, i also struggle with hop pressure because it could be tricky to counter them with a normal, i usually use 5A but it doesn’t always work.
Second Position High Tier - Everything that he has as Point…but now with meter, it sounds incredible dangerous, however for some reason, i don’t believe he works as good in this position, the thing is that i believe there are other characters that could use that meter and Ex Iori doesn’t really need it, i think he works great in this position as long as it has another great point like King or Duo Long, then again and regardless the team, Ex Iori can work pretty well in every position, honestly for me it comes down to personal preferences, i use him second when i don’t like certain match up, or when i’m using another point character (Yuri, Mature, Kula).
Anchor High Tier? - I’ll be honest, personally i don’t like him as Anchor…don’t know really why because he is still pretty solid, maybe you can argue that he doesn’t have a devastating combo like Shen or Claw Iori since his Neo Max suffers from lack of damage (escalate?) with the HD combo, but still it works great, nevertheless, i feel there are other great Anchors…sorry, i’m not going to be able to go deeper on Ex Iori as Anchor right now…but i’m about to leave work and can’t leave my girl waiting XD.
Maxima, Daimon, Ryo, and Kim top 5? I would love to hear his reasoning.
I don’t think that could be anymore of the opposite, minus Elisabeth. Mr. Karate is probably top though.
The following is just going to be arbitrary speculation without order consideration. I think I should start getting better at HD and meter management in general before I start throwing out unpracticed orders.
Ryo is probably Mid, Kim upper Mid to High due to his air options.
I’m gunna say Daimon is Mid. He’s got damn good damage, but then again I don’t play him much so I’m not really an authority by any means, he seems to only be able to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Someone correct me, I’m sure there is something I’m missing from him.
In all reality, I’m just jelly of good Daimon players because I can’t do the HD roll-throw-roll-throw etc combo due to me sucking.
Considering he is a grappler I will make the expection of mentioning order here, that he is best suited as anchor. He simply does monstrous damage with full HD and 3 or more bars.
Maxima is tough to say, as he is the only one that could arguably be “bad” if only for the fact that not that many people play as him. I’m just going to go out on a limb and say that him and the grapplers are best suited as anchors and that he is Mid tier at best.
Mature is Upper-Mid to High, you can really disorient people with her in the right hands.
K’ is High, Upper-Mid at worst, he has good options and does hella damage IIRC.
Ash is High to Top I think, for reasons mentioned above by MadSnake.
Kensou is High to Top I think, he has good ground and air options and I hear he has some of the best hit confirms in the game, someone verify this for me.
Sure none of the “bottom players” mentioned are the best in the game, but they are pretty damn good, just as pretty much every character in the game.
KOF tier lists should focus more on who’s better than whose worse, if you know what I mean.
From good to excellent.
" **Kaoru: **
I don’t think the game is balanced."
o_O
Um, ok.
They mentioned he had an 884 game streak that broke his wanted 1,000 game streak due to Hwa.
[FONT=arial][SIZE=3]I’ll place him in the same area as Ash due to his alcoholism. 8-)[/FONT][/SIZE]
LOL! Kaoru is quoted that Maxima is top tier…
Unless there’s some secret strategy I can’t see it. Because I think the only way you can make Maxima work is if you get a lot of good guesses.
Pretty much, man.
I think Ryo is really good but I don’t know about top tier like Kaoru. Maybe because of the parries? No one’s really used Ryo like a 3S character.
This has gotten interesting… Then again there are moves that players have not put much emphasis on (Ryo’s Parries, Mai’s ground Musasbi no Mai, EX Kyo’s OTG’s, some HD combo)… …How exactly was Maxima top tier again? It might be dependent on the player…?
Wait, do you mean command counters or an actual parry? Like a gameplay mechanic only he has access to?