What the latest 'Smash Ultimate' tier lists could mean for the 6.0 update
Who do you want to see nerfed or buffed?
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will soon receive its sixth major update and a new DLC fighter, Terry Bogard from SNK’s Fatal Fury fighting-game series. Nintendo announced Monday night that Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai will host a 45-minute live stream to give gamers an in-depth look at Terry’s abilities, as well as the adjustments and additions coming in version 6.0.
The presentation will kick off at 8 a.m. Eastern and won’t include any information about unannounced DLC characters, according to Nintendo. That leaves ample time for Sakurai to explain how his team reimagined the Fatal Fury mainstay and break down the biggest balance changes coming to the game.
Rankings of the current roster from the game’s best players provide evidence as to which characters Nintendo could consider nerfing or buffing. Here’s who five pros ranked as the five best and worst characters in Smash Ultimate in version 5.0, and what that could mean for them in 6.0.
Ezra “Samsora” Morris’ 5.0 tier list
Morris is currently ranked as the fourth-best Smash Ulitmate player in the world, according to Panda Global’s statistics and is considered to be the best Peach and Daisy player in the game.
He placed Joker, Pikachu, Pokèmon Trainer, Palutena, and Snake as his top five and Little Mac, Kirby, Jigglypuff, King K. Rool, and Isabelle as his bottom five.
Samual “Dabuz” Buzby’s 5.0 tier list
Buzby’s is ranked the seventh-best Smash Ultimate player on the PGRU rankings.
He put Snake, Joker, Zero Suit Samus, Pikachu, and Peach/Daisy as his best and Little Mac, Kirby, Jigglypuff, Zelda, and Bowser Jr. as the worst.
Eric “ESAM” Lew’s 5.0 tier list
Lew ranks 16th on the PGRU list, and is considered to be the best Pikachu player in the world.
He thinks Pikachu, Peach/Daisy, Snake, Joker, and Fox are the best characters, while King K. Rool, Kirby, Little Mac, Donkey Kong, and Dr. Mario are the worst.
William “Leffen” Hjelte’s 5.0 tier list
Hjelte isn’t ranked on the PGRU for Smash Ultimate, but he’s a legendary Melee competitor who was once called “the God Slayer” as he defeated many of the game’s best players throughout his career.
He placed Joker, Peach/Daily, Zero Suit Samus, Snake, and Inkling as his top five and Little Mac, King K. Rool, Isabelle, Kirby, Jigglypuff as his bottom tier.
Adam “Armada” Lindgren
Lingren is also not PGRU ranked, though one of the Five Gods of Melee.
He named Snake, Lucina, Peach/Daisy, Zero Suit Samus, and Pokèmon Trainer as the best characters in the game and Kirby, King K. Rool, Isabelle, Little Mac, and Zeldaas the worst.
Who’s likely to be nerfed?
For starters, Snake and Joker appeared at the top five spot of all of these lists, making them prime for revision by Nintendo.
Joker is a recently added DLC character with a unique comeback mechanic that greatly boosts his damage output and knockback when he’s on his back foot. Tons of players have been calling for his comeback ability, where he summons the persona Arsene, to be weakened. We could see a potential decrease in how much damage or knock-back Arsene is able to dish out.
Joker from 'Persona 5' drops in to 'Smash Bros'.
Snake isn’t nearly as big a target as Joker, but he’s known to for his “campy” play style. That means Snake players will happily stand on the opposite side of the map lobbing explosives at their opponents until they’re able to roll in for a swift killing blow.
The most complained about ability in Snake’s kit is his up tilt, which has the ability to kill a majority of the cast at 90-100 percent and has a massive hit box. Decreasing the size and lethality of this move could put Snake in check.
Who is likely to be buffed?
On the other end, Little Mac and Kirby were at the bottom of the barrel according to most of these pros. Both characters are lacking and would benefit from a redesign.
Little Mac already got slight buffs from previous patches, but his glaring weaknesses are still present. If he’s ever thrown off the level chances are he’s done for, but he remains a beast on the ground. His kit simply doesn’t mesh with Smash Ultimate’s overall play style.
Kirby, on the other hand, has a decent moveset but lacks the tools to approach, which means they tend to die early. That’s career-ending combo for players who actually know what they’re doing. At the very least, Nintendo could stand to buff Kirby’s air speed to let them get in and out of fights better.
Patch 6.0 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be unveiled Wednesday November 6 at 8 a.m. Eastern.
