USF4 | Tier List Thread (updated October 2015)

Classic Fighting Games Ultra Street Fighter IV
1

This thread is meant to discuss and post tier information for Ultra Street Fighter 4.

Updates:
-Added 1.04 Top 10 Characters by Nemo (10/31/2015)
-Added 1.04 tier list by Momochi (3/1/2015)
-Added Pre-EVO 2014 tier list by Daigo, Bonchan, Momochi, Tokido, Kazunoko, and Itabashi Zangief (7/6/2014)
-Added Daigo’s discussion from August Arcadia Magazine, circa June 2014 (6/30/2014)
-Added Alioune’s Tier list, circa June 2014 (6/17/2014)
-Added Mago’s and Kokujin’s early opinions, circa June 2014 (6/17/2014)
-Added early arcade build (pre-console) impressions, circa April-May 2014 (6/17/2014)

What is a tier list?

A tier list is a method of ranking and grouping characters based on who has the most/least advantaged matches. Historically, this has been done through a matchup chart where, given two players of equal skill, each character plays every other character in a set of 10 games, and see who wins most. So in a “6-4” matchup, one character would win 6 games, and the other would win 4.

Tier lists are subjective and evolve over time. The point of this thread is to discuss this information.

What tier lists aren’t:

-A popularity list
-A list of characters YOU have a hard time against
-A personal assessment on what kind of person/player you are
-In stone

As long as you at least understand what these lists aren’t, you will save yourself a lot of headache.

All the tier lists here come from “organized” sources. These are neither my list nor Joe Blow random’s. **If you know of an organized tier list that should be here that is missing, please let me know and I’ll add it. **

2

Nemo’s USF4 v1.04 Top 10 Characters circa October 2015

Spoiler

Unknown if order matters within tiers:
SS: Evil Ryu, Elena
S: Rolento, Ken, Seth
A: Ibuki, Sagat, Akuma, Adon, Yun

source: Nemo’s Twitter

Momochi’s USF4 v1.04 Tier List circa March 2015

Spoiler

Unknown if order matters within tiers.
A+: Evil Ryu, Akuma
A: Ibuki, Seth, Ken
B+: Yun, Rolento, Cammy, Fei Long, Poison
B: Sagat, Yang, El Fuerte, C. Viper, Juri, Adon, Dudley, Dee Jay, Rose
C: Everyone else
D : Hakan, Dan

source: Arcadia Magazine, via Eventhubs

Previous Patch Versions

Daigo, Bonchan, Momochi, Tokido, Kazunoko, and Itabashi Zangief’s Pre-EVO 2014 Tier List circa July 2014

Spoiler

Within tiers, order does not matter.

S: Yun
AAA: Cammy, Fei Long
AA: Evil Ryu, Juri
A: Adon, C. Viper, Ibuki, Makoto
B: Abel, Akuma, Balrog, Dhalsim, Dudley, Ken, M. Bison, Rose, Rufus, Seth, T. Hawk, Vega, Yang, Zangief
C+: Sagat
C: Blanka, Chun-Li, Cody, Decapre, El Fuerte, Gen, Gouken, Guile, Guy, Oni, Poison, Ryu, Sakura
C-: E. Honda
D: Dan, Dee Jay, Elena, Hakan, Hugo, Rolento

source: 4Gamers.com, translation courtesy of Zhi.

Alioune’s Tier List, circa June 2014

Spoiler

Within tiers, order slightly matters.

S: Yun, Evil Ryu, C.Viper
S-: Juri, Akuma, Adon, Yang, Cammy
A+: Makoto, Rose, Balrog, Ryu, Seth, Ibuki
A: Poison, Oni, Sakura, Rufus, Ken, Fei Long
B+: T.Hawk, Decapre, Gen, M. Bison, Sagat
B: Gouken, Chun-Li, Guile, Vega, Zangief, Abel, Elena, Rolento
C: Cody, Dudley, Blanka, El-Fuerte, E. Honda, Guy, Hugo
D: Dee Jay, Hakan, Dan, Dhalsim

source: Alioune’s Twitter

3

Various Top Player Discussions on Character Strengths

Spoiler

Daigo via August Arcadia Magazine, circa June 2014:

Top 10 (excluding Yun)source: Arcadia Magazine, via Zhi’s Instagram. Translation courtesy of Zhi.

Mago and Kokujin, circa June 2014:

source: Teisei Sokuhou, translation courtesy of Eventhubs

Ultra SF4 Arcade Build Early Impressions Part 1:

Spoiler

Kazunoko
"[Seth has no future.]"

Uryo
"Sakura’s long Tatsu combo doesn’t work on some characters anymore, and also weak. This is bad. Did I drop the combo? I hope so. Is it because her hitbox or opponents’ hitbox? Need more time to verify."

KSK
"I couldn’t win with Hugo. I didn’t see anyone won too. This’s like hard mode."
“It seems Abel becomes stronger.”

Bon-chan
"No one used Elena. But I know you all really want to! (laugh)"
“Yun is now in higher tier.”
“Sagat is strong as expected.”
“Tiger Cannon is lame”

R (commentator and Guy player)
“Playing Guy becomes fun again.”

Acqua
"Yang gets better."
“Cammy is still strong.”

Amiyu
"Gen is still doing ok."

Reiketsu
"(Claw)'s adjustments barely keep me interested"

Kindevu
"All I can hear from the cabinets is Condor Spire. Hawk OP?"

source: http://beastnote.blogspot.com/2014/04/usf4-day-1-japanese-players-impressions.html

Ultra SF4 Arcade Build Early Impressions Part 2:

Spoiler

Kazunoko
"Umehara-san’s (nesica) card (registered player name) became 「ウメハラ (「Umehara) (^^;)

*Someone took his alias so Umehara had put 「 in front of his name.

Bon-chan
"Was using Evil Ryu and met a Rolento player who rolled me entire match. Was about to go and look at his face after I lost but then he came to me and said good game. It’s [hint at Kazunoko]. That makes sense.

Kazunoko
"[I wonder who did such terrible thing to Bon-chan!]"

Acqua
"I wish the developers had put more time on Elena."
“I think Evil Ryu is strongest among Dougi characters (characters in judo uniform such as Ryu or Ken). He lost okizeme but still has raw power”
“It’s still tough for Yang to be top tier.”

Tsukimiya (Guy player)
“If I meet Guy users, I’d use Ryu, Akuma, Yun, Zangief, and Honda.”

Several players
[Complaint about button malfunction such as pushed (normal) Focus but Red Focus came out]

Uryo
"I even lost to CPU Hawk."

Wao
"Condor Spire!"

Tonpy (Viper player)
“Condor Condor Condor Spire!”

Itabashi Zangief
"Too bad, I did 0 Spire today. I want to do around 1,000 Spires tomorrow."

source: http://beastnote.blogspot.com/2014/04/usf4-japanese-players-impressions-2.html

Ultra SF4 Arcade Build Early Impressions Part 3:

Spoiler

TKD (Former El Fuerte player, now playing Chun Li)

"Has advantage over Chun Li: Yun, Blanka, Guile, Yang, Viper, Ibuki, Rufus, Rose"
"But Yun, Blanka, Guile are Chun's worst enemies."
"(Chun Li) To use Ultra Double against: Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Dhalsim, Seth, Akuma, Gouken, DJ"
"(Chun Li) To use U1: Sagat, Rose, Guile"
"Tier list

Strong
Cammy, Guy, Ibuki, Hawk, Chun Li, Evil Ryu, Adon, Sagat, Yun, Yang

Fairly Strong
Ryu, Akuma, Rose, Viper, Makoto, Sakura

Average
Other

Weak
El Fuerte, Elena

Super Weak
Hugo"

Kazunoko

"Perhaps because of Seth's zoom punch buff. It makes fighting Fei Long fun."
"I couldn't keep my (nesica) player name so I registered 「Kazunoko. (^_^;)" *To match with 「Umehara

Wao

"They should add some downside to delayed wake-up because it (DWU) makes game slow and lose sense of urgency."

Dogura (Dictator player)

"Rolento is fun. Rolento makes USF4 fun. Rolento is the Light that guides us. (Saying this while rolling)"

Tonpy (Viper player)

"I couldn't win Nemo's Rolento....!"

Nemo

"I'm getting used to Rolento. But all he does is rolling anyway. ＼(^o^)／ "

source: http://beastnote.blogspot.com/2014/04/usf4-japanese-players-impressions-3.html

Ultra SF4 Arcade Build Early Impressions Part 4:

Spoiler

TKD (former El Fuerte player) *note that he plays at Shinjuku Taito Station (same as Umehara) which has the highest level competition in the country

S
Sagat, Fei Long, Cammy

A+
Yun, Juri, Adon, Viper, Guy, Rolento

A
Chun Li, Rose, Yang, Evil Ryu, Boxer, Ibuki

B+
Ryu, Akuma, Gouken, Hawk, Guile, Sakura

B
Everyone else

Z Warrior (Dragon Ball Z reference)
Hugo

Uryo

"Sakura becomes harder to play. No significant improvement. Footsie is necessary. And you can't drop a combo now."

Kazunoko

"Umehara-san changing his alias...." (his alias became Umehara, (with comma) breaking the tie with 「Kazunoko)
"I think Yun has quite advantage over Sakura."
"Kindevu using Hawk now?"
"Please don't nerf Rolento's rolls! Though it's better if they do (laugh)"
"Yun now requires more of meter management in USF4."
"When a Hugo challenges me, my first thought is choosing by mistake?"

Reiketsu (Claw player)

"Umehara-san's Hugo repeatedly lost to my Izuna loop and still continued with smile. His love of Hugo knows no bounds. I'm terribly sorry for doing this."
"Umehara-san's Ryu still kills me (Claw) with just Hado and MK."

Desora (Gouken player)

"They should charge only 50 yen for playing Hugo." (average Japanese arcades charge 100 yen a credit)

Koji KOG (Hawk player)

"Haitani-san was filming when I won Dogura-san's Rolento by just doing Condor Spire. Then I realized and kneeled down and said to him (Haitani) 'Please don't upload this. If Capcom finds out Hawk'll get nerfed to death!' It was uploaded anyway."

Wao
(Moaning about Delayed Wakeup but we say let’s listen to someone else who don’t random Ultra and expect opponent not to block)

source: http://beastnote.blogspot.com/2014/05/usf4-japanese-players-impressions-4.html

4

Tier List FAQ

It’s too early to create a tier list! The game hasn’t even been out for (X Days/Months/Years)
To reiterate, tier lists are subjective and evolve over time. In the beginning, everything is going to be up in the air, and that’s okay. There are actually a few reasons for creating this thread early:
a) It’s interesting to see how people’s opinions of characters change over time.
b) People are inevitably going to want to discuss the topic, so might as well control it from the beginning.

I’m not an expert player. Can I post in this thread?
Of course! Any opinion is welcome. In fact, the skill level of the posters here varies greatly, anywhere from beginner-level to the occasional International-tournament placing competitor. If you’re a true newbie getting a grasp on the game, you may need to check out http://forums.shoryuken.com/categories/newbie-saikyo-dojo first, but otherwise as long as you simply enjoy discussing matchups, feel free to post.

This forum is filled with stream monsters and groupthink
This is a public forum for people interested in fighting games. Statistically, the vast majority of people here are not going to be the best players in the world. It’s just the nature of the beast.

Ranking characters by adding up their matchup points is so naive. Everyone knows that you’re much more likely to face (character X) in a tournament than (character Y).
Yes it is naive. The problem with weighing characters based on tournament popularity is it adds a whole other degree of uncertainty about the results. How do you quantify which characters are popular and which are not? Will they vary by region/country? How do you decide between the weights between a character you’re “almost certainly” going to see in a tournament, and three or four characters you only “might” see? In fact, creating a “tournament tier list” is what most people think of at first, but it has its own set of issues to deal with.

The handy thing about a matchup chart is that it gives you data to reshuffle characters however you want based on how popular you think certain characters are. So if you believe a good matchup against Ryu is much more handy than a good matchup against Dan, then have at it.

You’re free to discuss tournament viability though.

You guys are sleeping on (Character X)! / (Character X) is ranked too low
Great. Tier lists are actually the most interesting when a low-tier character shoots up because of some hidden potential. Care to explain why they’re being slept on?

(Character X) is ranked too high!
Similar to the answer above. Why do you believe they’re ranked too high?

These are my top N characters.
Cool. Need reasons. Also, discussion of matchups is helpful.

LOL. Tier lists are so dumb.
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion. Any game with meaningful/non-trivial differences between characters will naturally cause some to be better than others. Many people enjoy discussing these differences, and hence this thread.

**More/moar like tear lists (LOL/amirite?) **
Yup.

Other notes of interest:
Most people appear to be biased against their main characters, underrating their matchups, or saying they’re not as good as other people think they are. There are a few possible reasons for this:
-They know their character inside and out actually know the difference between a solid strategies/actual mixups vs. gimmicks that work against people unfamiliar with the matchup.
-It’s a psychological option-select against bragging and then getting exposed.

WIP. There may be other frequent questions that come up. I’ll post them as they come up/as people remind me.

5

First non reserved post.

TKD’s tier list: http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2014/may/05/updated-ultra-street-fighter-4-tier-list-tkd-places-hugo-dead-last-three-familiar-faces-take-top-ranks/

6

I doubt cammy will be top tier still. In fact I highly doubt fei, sagat and cammy are s tier.

7

Why?

8

Ibuki is going to be a bigger threat than Yun, calling it.

9

S+ Chun Li
S Yun
A+ Ken, Dudley, Makoto

10

Not top tier but capable of dealing with the top tiers: Vega

11

Now that he has some invincibility on his EX ST yesssss :D. Thank you based capcom <3

12

He doesn’t have invincibility on EX Scarlet terror.
You’re either bad at sarcasm or 3 months behind.

13

Where have you been?

Vega

• Crouching HP active frames increased by 2 (2F → 4F)
• Close Stand MK hitstun increased by 2 frames (+2F → +4F)
• Vertical Jump LK can cross up the opponents
• Mask Pick-up from ground is now a command, 2+PP when standing over the mask
• L, M, H and EX Rolling Crystal Flash charge time reduced by 10 frames (60F → 50F)
• M Rolling Crystal Flash → EX Focus Cancel → Forward Dash advantage on block increased by 3 frames (0F → +3F)
• Flying Barcelona Special (Super Combo) now has an attack added during the motion to the wall, does 100 damage; Rolling Izuna Drop damage 100100100; gauge consumption timing changed from when Vega reaches the wall to at the time of activation
• Bloody High Claw (UC1) forward charge attack’s hitbox expanded to match the EX Barcelona drop
• Splendid Claw (UC2) start-up reduced by 1 frame (8F → 7F)

People underestimate her already. She already had a good game outside vortex. Then they buffed it cause “she’s dead without vortex guys. For reals” I’m sure most people are aware of this by now. Given she can adjust midjump for dwu I’d say dwu might actually benefit her more than it hurts her. How fucked is that? lol

14

The character gets a crazy amount of nerfs and all when it comes to damage, also getting a lot less stun now. Even when it comes to pokes some of them are still bad. Overall though if you see a Cammy player chances are they’ll either be really good or really shit. I’d say it would still be S tier, just not an easy S tier such as Sagat.

15

I feel like the tier list should be:

Strong
Competitive
Counter Pick
Casual
Ass

16

lets have a moment of silence for the AE 2012 Tier List, which passed away in its sleep cough was murdered by Trouble Brewing cough a few hours ago…

17

S+: Day 1 tier lists.
S: People complaining why xxx is top/bottom tier.
A: People calling for buffs/nerfs after 1 day/week/month of play.
B: People using the tier chart maker without factoring in matchups.
Z: Actually grinding it out and waiting for the requisite months of matchup experience before making lists.

18

Woot

19

I’m not sure that this game is going to have more compressed tiers like a lot of people have been calling. I think that the tier rankings are going to be a lot more disparate as people start playing this game and stop acting like it’s the same as 2012.

20

You forgot one thing.