There are too many variables to consider if you leave it opened ended. I think the questions that need to frame the conversation are things like: how much of a buff does he need before he’s broken? Would you be happy with a top tier Bison? If not, which tier? How much easier would you like your matchups against the rest of the cast to be? And the answer is different for different people. There are people who will pick the best character in the game whether they like playing them or not (why anyone would do this is beyond me, since I assume that having fun is more important than winning). And if you head over to the Cammy forums, they actually have a wishlist for how to make their character even stronger. Laugh along with me.
I assume most players play Bison because they like his play style, since he clearly doesn’t just dominate (certainly tier whores aren’t picking him). And that’s why I play him, but for me, what’s most impotant is removing the element of frustration associated with this character, and not so much the losing part. I don’t want a Cammy or a Seth. But I don’t want to feel like I lose because I had the misfortune of liking a character who’s kind of a predictable powder-puff.
There are too many things to list that make a top tier character, top tier. But there are some common threads between them. They’ve usually got a lot of moves (and in some cases, “an embarassment of riches” in this regard), which give them good or great options for most any situation, either offensive or defensive. They tend to be able to dictate play rather than being dictated to, or being forced to play the other character’s game. They have high damage. They have really strong and confusing shennigans, which are very ambiguous or so fast that they require precise, execution heavy blocking. They have great comeback potential, which usually involves a practical and useful ultra. And the last one, which is kind of abstract, is that you know what they want to do, but the tools to execute their gameplan are so sound, that they don’t need to surprise you with it. It’s effective whether you’re planning for it or not. To me, Bison doesn’t do well in any of these categories, and some, unfortunately just don’t apply to him at all.
True Talent has a Bison tactics video, which is perfectly fine for lower level play (and I’m not knocking ya dude, it’s cool that you did something to help the Bison community). And with those tactics, you’ll probably confuse the hell out of lower level players. But I feel like a lot of that stuff, upper level players wouldn’t even attempt because it stopped being relevant and useful long ago. People know what Bison wants to do, and good players can shut it down. And even if they don’t, it doesn’t translate into much damage. And good luck pulling it off again, once they’re more aware of it. As for pokes, they’re all well and good, but one cannot survive on counter hits alone.
The issue with Street Fighter is that the game doesn’t seem to be based primarily on considerations of “fairness.” Characters seem, by rotation, to get their “moment in the sun” with some characters getting them far more often, or for longer stretches than others. The question when assessing his buffs is, should Bison get that moment? If yes, then figuring out which buffs and how many really becomes a lot more obvious.
And again, Bison is different things to different classes of players. At lower levels, I think he’s a great character. But at the tournament level and advanced level, he isn’t, and he’s even a bit frustrating. In all honesty, I don’t know how good the current Bison could be if I practiced with him all day long, and worked out responses to every move of every other character in the game like the pros do. And I’m never going to be that involved in this game. So for me, what happens at the pro level is irrelevant, as it should be for 99% of the SSf4 community.
In closing, unless I’m leaving something out, there are only three areas of this game: Offense, defense, and mobility. I think his offense sucks. His defense is subpar, and with definite holes. And his mobility and speed on the ground is neutralized by players who understand Bison’s options. His jump is floaty, high and easily countered. In fact, I think characters with decent AA cannot wait for Bison to jump in. So I think his dash needs to be more Makoto-like. As for the rest of the buffs, the specifics matters less than where on their tier list we want to see him.
