Where does your main rank?
Smash Ultimate has had one of the most rapidly evolving metagames since the series’ inception. With the exaggerated roster size, frequent patches, and DLC additions, players are often discovering new strategies to make their characters rise above. Since it’s been officially confirmed that DLC characters and patches are no more, we consider now to be the perfect time to create our official tier list, analyzing the characters for what they are and what they will continue to be throughout the game’s lifespan.
S tier
As commonplace, S-tier fighters will be the only ones with specific descriptions, as these are the most tournament-relevant and meta-defining characters. These fighters have a plethora of strengths in all important aspects of gameplay. Their weaknesses are either very minimal and difficult to exploit, or so overshadowed by their strengths that they simply do not matter too much.
1. Pyra/Mythra (S-Tier)
One of the newest additions to the game has instantly climbed the ranks to become the best. Some might think it’s just people being biased towards the shiny new thing, but simply watching one match will make you see how ridiculous their strengths are. Switching between the two sword-fighters on command lets you basically have the best character for both low and high-damage situations, one being unreasonably fast, the other unfairly strong.
Pyra/Mythra Pros:
- Change characters depending on situation.
- Sword means good range and disjoints.
- (As Mythra) So fast, she’s unpunishable.
- (As Mythra) Great Combos and damage output
- (As Pyra) Easy kill options and kill confirms
- (As Pyra) Extremely strong.
- (As Pyra) Very annoying projectile.
Pyra/Mythra Cons:
- Slightly exploitable recovery.
2. Joker (S-Tier)
Following the trend that you can pay $5.99 to be good at the game, Joker is the 2nd best character in this tier list. This fan-favorite Persona 5 rep has a ninja-like archetype, with acrobatic moves, multi-hit combos, and very quick lag-less moves. He draws a lot of comparisons to classic Zelda rep Sheik. The difference is, unlike Sheik, Joker has his persona, which whenever activated, makes his moves hit twice as hard while still being just as fast. And since his meter builds up passively, as well as when being hit, your opponent will not escape Arsene’s wrath.
Joker Pros:
- One of the best comeback mechanics in the game.
- Very hard to punish
- Very hard to hit, with shifting hurtbox
- Great landing tools
- Reliable kill setups
- (With Arsene) High damage output, very strong.
Joker Cons:
- Not many approaching options.
3. Pikachu (S-Tier)
Widely considered one of the best characters since Ultimate came out, the classic Pokemon mascot is at the top of their game still. Like their typing suggests, they’re a lightning-quick character who excels at rushing down their opponent with their spammable projectile, safe aerial attacks and great mobility. They can do some of the best combo-strings in the entire game, and have solid kill-power as well.
Pikachu Pros:
- Amazing recovery
- Great landing tools
- Great combos and high damage output
- Some of the best out-of-shield options in the game
- Great edgeguarding
- Solid projectile
Pikachu Cons:
- Very light, easier to kill.
- Few disjoints
4. Wolf (S-Tier)
Star Fox’s eternal rival, Wolf has proven he shouldn’t have ever been taken out of Smash in the first place. One of the most beloved characters, because of his style and design, he comes in at a surprisingly high place in the tier list. He’s a brawler character that isn’t super fast, and doesn’t have a unique game-changing attribute, however, he does pretty much everything amazingly. His moves are strong and lag-less meaning he can get high-damage combos, then spam aerials and smashes to kill. And if you try to camp him out, he has his own projectile and reflector.
Wolf Pros:
- Very lag-less smashes
- Various strong kill moves
- Amazing combo game
- Projectile and Reflector
- Easy to pick-up and master
- Up-B is difficult to contest when recovering
Wolf Cons:
- Slow running speed
- Easy to combo him
5. Roy (S-Tier)
From being a much worse Marth in Melee, to the best Fire Emblem character in Ultimate, my man has had quite the glow-up. His echo Chrom had much of the attention at the start of the game, but due to Roy’s better recovery, he steadily climbed the ranks as the better fighter. He’s a swordfighter, which gives him disjointed moves, and he’s as fast as he is strong. This makes his pressure output simply insane! A good Roy can dance around you with so many attacks, it feels impossible to deal with. And if you mess up, you’ll either catch 50% or lose your stock.
Roy Pros:- High aerial and ground speed
- Very strong attacks overall, can kill early
- Swordfighter means disjointed attacks
- Solid kill set-ups
- Good combo game
Roy Cons:
- Easy to combo him
- Tipper weak-spot on sword
6. Palutena (S-Tier)
This goddess got a big buff from Smash 4 to Ultimate, and since then, she’s been steady in the top of the metagame. She was initially a contender for best character in the game, but after some DLC additions, characters exploits, and mostly some significant nerfs coming her way, she’s declined ever so slightly. However, she remains an amazing all-around character with fast movement, solid projectiles, decent combos, and safe defensive moves. Her trusty shield lets her use bash-attacks that are uncontestable.
Palutena Pros:
- Invincible shield moves
- Good projectiles
- Has teleport, good for landing
- Fast ground speed
- Counter and Reflect
Palutena Cons:
- Few options up-close
7. Sonic (S-Tier)
Sonic needs no introduction. He’s the fastest thing alive in his own games, and Smash is no exception. Many tend to undervalue just how strong he is in the metagame, because of some players’ linear playstyle, but this character is just ridiculous. His ground speed is the best in the game. His side-special lets him move across the map without consequence. It’s stupid how difficult he is too catch, which is why most people hate playing against him. On top of all that, he actually has decent normal attacks that lead into good combos and early kills.
Sonic Pros:
- Speed and movement is out of this world
- Side-special lets him play very defensive
- Great edgeguarding
- Good recovery
- Great combos
Sonic Cons:
- Can struggle versus projectile characters.
8. ROB (S-Tier)
ROB has had a lot of powerful tools since the start of the game, and his traditional playstyle can be so oppressive that many are prone to rate him as one of the top 5 or even top 3 characters in the game. Though he’s not quite there in my eyes, he’s not too far off. ROB has huge, strong, long-lasting hitboxes and unlike most heavy characters that share this, ROB also has several quick, lag-less moves, and great landing tools. And we’re not done yet! He also has one of the best projectiles in the game. This lets him put an insane amount of pressure on you, and kill you when you slip up.
ROB Pros:
- Amazing combos
- Many great landing tools
- One of the best projectiles in the game.
- High pressure output with quick, big moves
- Far-reaching recovery
- Big hurtbox, easy to hit
- Easy to combo
9. Pac-Man (S-Tier)
It’s kind of cool to say that one of the first truly iconic video game characters is one of the best in Smash Ultimate. However, many actual pro Smash players would rather he wasn’t. Pac-Man has a solid keep-away game, with his trusty hydrant that pushes you away, his good aerial movement and large pool of projectiles. Thus, he can be quite frustrating to play against, but that only makes him better. His normal attacks are pretty good as well, letting him string together some combos, and kill with really powerful smash attacks.
Pac-Man Pros:
- Amazing recovery, various options
- Great keep-away game
- Amazing projectiles, and lots of them
- Good combos
- Good Kill set-ups
Pac-Man Cons:
- Few quick moves to escape pressure when cornered
- Countered by reflector
10. Pokemon Trainer (S-Tier)
Fighters that can change their form seem to be pretty good in this game. Similar to Pyra/Mythra, Pokemon Trainer can change Pokemon at will, which lets him adjust to the situation at will. Each pokemon has weaknesses, such as Charizard having slow moves, or Squirtle being light, but with intelligent switching one can change at the right times in order to obscure these weaknesses, and highlight their strengths. In this case, the three Pokemon are so different, you end up with an overall fighter that has so many tools, it’s impossible to deny how good they are.
Pokemon Trainer Pros:
- Can switch characters
- (As Squirtle) Very quick lag-less moves
- (As Squirtle) High combos
- (As Charizard) Good recovery
- (As Charizard) Various strong kill moves
- (As Ivysaur) Good range
- (As Ivysaur) Good projectile
Pokemon Trainer Cons:
- Ivysaur and Charizard have kinda slow moves (slow start-up and lag), and in high damage situations you have to either deal with one of these issues, or risk using Squirtle, who is one of the lightest characters in the game.
A Tier
These characters are still very powerful, and very relevant in the Meta. They are characters with which you can confidently enter a tournament and try to win due to their abundance of strengths, and overall solid match-up spread. They fall behind S-tier due to a slightly higher presence of exploitable weaknesses, that makes them fall just a bit short of being the the best.
11. Mr. Game & Watch
12. Mario
13. Peach
14. Daisy
15. Wario
16. Steve
17. Chrom
18. Diddy Kong
19. Zero Suit Samus
20. Olimar
21. Shulk
22. Min Min
23. Cloud
24. Terry
25. Snake
26. Sephiroth
27. Ken
28. Greninja
29. Kazuya
30. Byleth
B Tier
We consider this B tier as the last stretch of the really solid tournament characters. These are characters with really competent kits, and a few stand-out great attributes, however their weaknesses are much more prevalent, and against a bad match-up (usually one of the S tiers), these can be exploited, and the player will have a much harder time using their good tools.
31. Dark Samus
32. Samus
33. Yoshi
34. Bowser
35. Luigi
36. Young Link
37. Sheik
38. Link
39. Toon Link
40. Pichu
41. Ike
42. Falco
43. Inkling
44. Sora
45. Ness
46. Captain Falcon
47. Mii Brawler
48. Meta Knight
C Tier
Here is where the majority of the characters lie. C tier is kind of a limbo space with a pretty big variety of character quality. Smash Ultimate is a very balanced game, and you can find many players doing amazing things that make these characters look top tier. They all have at least a few stupendous tools/attributes, however, here, the weaknesses are much more pronounced and the lower down this tier you go, the unlikelier it is for you to reach far in a tournament without finding someone that will exploit them.
49. Ryu
50. Bayonetta
51. Richter
52. Simon
53. Jigglypuff
54. Robin
55. Marth
56. Corrin
57. Hero
58. Lucas
59. Mii Gunner
60. Dark Pit61. Pit
62. Wii Fit Trainer
63. Rosalina & Luma
64. Zelda
65. Banjo & Kazooie
66. Villager
67. Mega Man
68. Duck Hunt
69. Kirby
70. Donkey Kong
71. King K Rool
72. Lucario
73. King Dedede
74. Mii Swordfighter
75. Ice Climbers
76. Mewtwo
77. Incineroar
78. Ridley
79. Piranha Plant
80. Bowser Jr.
81. IsabelleD Tier
And finally, here we are, at the bottom of the barrel. Like we said before, Ultimate is very balanced. Even these bottom tiers have their sauce. But the weaknesses are straight horrendous. Though they vary between them, the common link is their straight awful recovery. If you can tap these characters off stage, they lose, so it almost doesn’t even matter what else they can do.
82. Dr. Mario
83. Little Mac
84. Ganondorf
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