Is there a legitimate tier list?

[PatrickHateman]

I remember this game dying a quicker death than MVCI but figured it's worth asking anyway.

 

[KasumiLover]

That's interesting to say when the game still has a following playing it xD but the general consensus is these

I disagree tho on Tina, I think she's worse than characters like Kasumi since they can do everything better than her except for raw throw damage and crushes. Honoka I also feel should be higher especially with her grapple buffs

 

[PatrickHateman]

Thanks. I remember hearing Tina was good which is weird since grapplers are usually low tier in this series.

 

[SilverForte]

Honestly I cant take his list there seriously when he has doa6 honoka so low.

 

[KasumiLover]

Xcal and Emery made a tier list together last year in May:

My thoughts:

• I agree with @SilverForte , Honoka too low. I'd put her high A or even low S. Although sometimes I think she might be the best character in the game.
• Raidou is underrated. The only person I've seen make him viable is @DestructionBomb , who has superhuman-like command execution. And that's the problem with Raidou. Most people ain't getting passed his high execution barrier with enough consistency to consider how viable he could be. I don't think he's S tier but I don't think he belongs in D tier either.
• Brad Wong I think should be at least B tier or maybe higher.
• Hitomi is another I feel is rated too low in B but not quite S either.
• Hayate and Momiji should be in B tier at the most. I find Momiji's biggest weakness is her limited mixup game and her attacks from Amakake are too easily readable. Hayate is too slow especially considering he's a ninja, yet isn't compensated for that with a powerful kit like Hayabusa has.
• Marie Rose should be moved down to D tier. I don't think she's the worst character in the game, but even when veteran MR players chain together long hit combos, there's simply not enough output damage and I would bet her on being on the losing end of most character matchups in the game.
• I understand the argument Emery/Xcal gave for keeping Ayane out of S-tier, but I think there's a stronger argument for Ayane being the best ninja in the game. Myself I think Kasumi is the best ninja in the game and the reason why Ayane isn't is because I think her damage output in comparison is a step behind Kasumi's. I also think Kasumi is the most balanced when it comes to offensive and defensive options. I'm sure someone *cough*@revan*cough* has the numbers to dispute this, but my gut feeling says Kasumi's combo damage potential is greater than Ayane's.
• Nyotengu I feel is placed a bit too high. Her fastest attack is not quick enough. I think I'd put Diego ahead of her.
• Helena is S-tier without a doubt.
• Eliot is the best character in the game.
• I'd drop Nico to the top of A tier.
• Leifang is the deepest character in the game and another underappreciated character. If you have the matchup and frame data knowledge of the other characters, and you couple that with her crazy pressure and OHs... she's easily A tier.

There's arguments to some of you're points:

•Honoka is actually a great character but her range is a scare factor so people don't use her, there's better characters with range

•Raidou has good damage but again the game makes him more difficult than needed so that holds him back and makes characters with easier execution stand out.

•Brad is good but not that great, again there's characters like Helena who can do what he does better than him which overshadowed him.

•Hitomi is ok but again there's characters like Kasumi who can easily do what she does better.

•Hayate is ok where he is, he has the best guard pressure of the ninjas which is a different field. Momiji has weak mix up but her range is good and her damage is good too and she has good pressure, but her kit just isn't so effective.

•Marie rose herself is good but she doesn't have any good pressure block tools so that holds her back. If she had some positive GBs and maybe better on hit NH pressure she would be better, her damage is actually good.

•Hayabusa imo is the best ninja, worse neutreal but best damage from Environmental hazards and counters and he has plenty of mechanics like ceiling hits and other things to make him best for danger zones. Ayane is second imo but her multi hits from single attacks and her lesser priority make her worse than Kasumi who doesn't have that and has better speed and priority over her. Kasumi doesn't need the pressure Ayane has.

•Nyotengu is accurately placed, she has GB pressure, range, crushes, and overall everything but speed to make her deadly, people just play her too aggressive which isn't her forte and then call her weak when they lose. Her crushes and pressure and damage are amongst the best in the game but the meta doesn't really favor her much when there are faster better characters.

•Helena isn't S tier but she's one of the best, just high execution. Her damage requires work to get but because she's so mix up heavy she gets away with her stuff compared to others.

•Eliot I can see kinda but he's not really the best imo, his damage and tools tho make him amongst the best

•I agree, Nico is great but not that great as she was in Vanilla 6. Her Gbs I feel are overrated since you can easily hold them but the reward for them are good since most people don't know what to do against her. If it wasn't for her 9i strike and 11i mid and a few other tools she'd probably be somewhat better than maybe Christie or Hitomi imo

•Leifang imo isn't that deep, good holds and damage when done right but characters like Kasumi can outdo her. Her pressure is linear and her tracking isn't good so unless you're just eating reads and holds all the time in her matches she can get dusted easily easily. She's good but she's not that good in 6 since the system isn't as in her favor as LR where she has some better properties

 

[KasumiLover]

Leifang I consider the "deepest" character in the game because to get the most out of her you need to have knowledge of all the other characters, the matchups, frames, etc and making good reads, executing those holds, etc. Her skill ceiling is tremendously high. Could be the most technical fighter outside of Ayane and a few others. Her wall pressure is easily best in the game. And I think her style heavily favors her when it comes to the mindgame aspect. But it's the knowledge/execution piece that gives her depth. (FWIW I don't think DOA6 is deep purely from a game mechanic perspective, but that's different than examining the characters themselves). There's a reason why you don't see many serious Leifang players because of what is demanded from you as a player.

I think Honoka's supposed lack of range is a bit overstated. 6 isn't a game for people who like to try and build space. You get CH when you try to backdash away. Backwards movement and freestepping is very slow. You can't escape throws and there's guard breaks, so you can't really be on the defensive for too long. You're in close often, and there's no room to really pester your opponent safely and you have to be quick on reading when your opponent gives you an opening on their offensive, or guarding, or sidestepping, or ducking,, on NH, CH etc.

So with how 6 is built for close range engagement, Honoka can be utterly devastating in that range.

Eliot I don't know where to begin. The fact the person in charge of 6's game balance is an Eliot player really speaks for itself lol.

That is true but characters like Kasumi can out do her foe easier play, Kasumi can easily get Leifangs damage with the right counter hit launch or her holds that launch or give her advantage and she has the priority and tracking Leifang doesn't.

In 6 and LR you don't need to backdash to make space, you can just 88 up and pace back and forth without worrying about a backdash, that's the best way imo to gain space when you and your foe are pacing and making space, backdash imo has always been more a beginner tactic unless you already have distance. And tbh you can can space in 6 but it's easier with certain characters. Kasumi doesn't have to really be up close since she has moves like 66K, 66P, and 3P+KP for long range for example and she has 3K and 6PK and other stuff she can use to space while she waits for you to move in. Kula and Mai also can zone' all day too since they have the tools for up close and they have their 236P and other Ranged moves to zone all day if they have to. And if you have a high or mid parry or anything that can step highs and mids you're fine in 6, especially if you have an OH like Tamaki.


Eliot imo is a scary character but not that scary, if he didn't have that 7P and didn't have that Gen Fu cancel stance he'd be the same as LR but even then he wasn't really that bad. 6 is just the game that better fleshed out him and Rig so they're both nasty. Im actually surprised no one complained about rig since he's the best character imo atm, he's quick, has resets and damage for days and his pressure is super nasty, I feel if you're not bringing up Rig more in the balance discussion than the player themselves doesn't fully understand the game since Rig is arguably one of the best. Sure Kasumi is strong but she only has one true GB from a wall and a situational +1 GB and she has mix ups but most are easy to duck and her mids that she can use to beat crouches are super unsafe. Basically if you get caught in a stun against Kasumi it's more than deserved imo since her safety is one of the worst without much general reward, like she has no crumple or faint stuns besides her fatal ones while characters like Helena have them embedded in their kit and characters like Tamaki have multiple