Get to know the Tier List and its Influence in Competitive Games

In play games competitive, you will be offered a lot of “tools” to win the match. In games involving a fight like fighting games or MOBA, this tool means a character that you can use.

The purpose of the many available tools is to give you options. Each player has their own play style and preferences, and they want to have a choice of tools that fits those styles and preferences.

Developer games themselves will try to make all the tools they provide balanced or equally strong. But in the end players identify that there are tools that are more powerful than others. Over time, players then build a map of strengths, which tools are strong and which tools are weak especially in certain contexts and regulations such as competitive realms.

In some games as fighting games, this power map is often referred to as tier list.

Ways of working Games Itself

There are several factors that influence why certain characters or tools are stronger than others. The first factor is games itself. It covers a lot of things, from mechanics or how it works games and everything around it.

Each games formed from various elements, ranging from mechanical and gameplay basis, rules in the system, as well as other elements (if any) such as items, NPCs, play areas, and much more. The interactions between these elements indirectly dictate how best to play games that or in other words meta-game.

Games does have a large selection of characters and tools, but not all of them are effective in meta-game which exists. This indirectly determines the position of the character or tool in the game’s power map. Ineffective characters in meta-game existing will nest in low-tier, vice versa.

Does that mean the character is weak? Not really. The character may be strong, but deep meta-game existing at that time, the character may not be able to bring out its maximum power.

There are many characters in the world games stranded in low-tier because of the way it works or meta-game at that time. One example is Bastion di Overwatch. On paper, Bastion is a strong character, but his full potential lies when he’s in Sentry Mode. Unfortunately in games where mobility is an important factor, Bastion that can’t move in Sentry Mode is less effective. But if he had to be in Recon Mode and move, his potential would be drastically reduced.

Indeed, there will be rare moments where characters low-tier or off-meta suddenly used and managed to win. However it is usually very rare and only happens occasionally or requires very high dedication. Otherwise, today Bastion should come out of the abyss low-tier, especially in the competitive realm.

The Strength of Character Itself

Because that’s the second factor that influences tier-list is the character itself, or how effective the character is in games as well as meta-game which exists.

How good are the kits and attributes of a character in games have different parameters. Strength of character in games MOBA like Dota 2 for example, determined from the effectiveness spell, attributes, and scaling along with levels. If the character kit is effective in meta-game at that time, then he could be considered a top-tier and often used.

For example, prior to The International 2021, meta-game what happens in Dota 2 that moment is domination early game. If can win since laning phase and early game by grabbing last hits in large numbers, you will dominate the game. Because meta-game that, the hero who can do harass and/or secure last hits remotely then preferred.

Interaction Between Characters

Fortunately, in games with balance good, even the strongest characters have weaknesses. This is the third factor that influences tier-list, namely the interaction of the character with other characters.

Character top-tier may be very strong in the game as a whole. But if you meet a weakness or counter right, they will also be in trouble. Characters who take advantage of weaknesses or become counter the strong character may be overall normal. It’s just because he can beat the character top tier easily, he has a better position in tier-list.

The best example for this is fighting games. In genre This is one of the factors to be considered in determining tier-list is matchup with all other characters alias matchup spreads. Characters who on average excel against the majority of other characters will be placed as top-tier, while characters who have difficulty dealing with too many characters will be placed as mid or low-tier.

Uniquely, if the character mid or low-tier can beat the characters above tier-list, that character could have a higher position in the tier-list. This is because in the game especially the competitive realm, the character top-tier will be used by many people. The reason is of course because everyone wants to win and maximize the chances of winning. Well, because it has more “prey”, characters mid or low-tier this statistically will record wins more often.

This also happened in games other. In Dota 2 for example, heroes who rely on spamming spells since the beginning the game is popular. Indirectly, Silencer who has Arcane Curse has an advantageous position in meta-game.

Tier-list will never be absolute. There are many things that make the character strength map change just like that.

The most obvious first factor is when games then changes. Through balance updates or patches, mechanic in games or even characters in games can change. From that change meta-game also changes, and which character excels also then changes. The more drastic the changes, the more drastic the changes tier-list later.

The presence of new characters can also have an effect on tier-list. If the new character turns out to be strong and enters in top-tier, another character who has matchup positive to face these characters certainly have a better position in the tier-list.

Balance updates is not the only way to tier-list changed. Tier-list Usually created organically based on player opinions and tournament results at the highest level. The opinions and results of the tournament come from the results of the experimentation and knowledge of the players.

Well, as more and more experiments and experiments, players will find some new tricks and strategies. If those new strategies and tricks exist for the character mid-tier, the character may have matchup spreads better and automatically have a good position in tier-list.

For example, you can compare two tier-list on. For 18 years played competitively, Super Smash Bros. Melee keep changing tier-list. Multiple characters mid-tier like Pikachu and Yoshi rose from tier-list thanks to players showing new tricks using the character.

But that doesn’t mean all characters can climb the board tier-list with hard work and experimentation. There are characters who are really bad and helpless against other characters unless he gets buff from developer games itself.

One thing you have to remember is, tier-list does this usually have an effect under specific conditions, namely in the competitive realm at the highest level? Because in a high level where all players are more or less equally strong, all advantages, including character strength advantages will have a big impact.

Meaning if you are a player casual or play at middle or lower level, tier-list have little effect. As long as you can play better than your opponent, anything is possible. Because it’s in a big tournament fighting games top players sometimes intentionally use characters low-tier face badass players and still win. They’re just better.

Also read: Get to know the tournament formats that are often used in esports