For the best beatings you need the right characters: here is the preliminary “tier list” of Tekken 8, to immediately know who to fight with
Understand what the best charactersespecially now that Tekken 8 is finally among us, it may prove vital. Dragunov in S rank? Reina in the B rank? The first few days of the game were something phenomenal for the competitive community. For further clarification on this matter you should consult (or, while writing this guide, wait for) our review, but suffice it to say that despite coming into the world in the so-called golden age of fighting games, the eighth chapter smooths out the edges of all its predecessors, accentuating their strengths. Naturally things are destined to changeBetween updates that improve the characters (buff) or that weaken them (nerf), but as you can see below, even the best players in this genre are training properly. Eddy Gordo will have a lot of competition!
I am a very toxic Azucena player
🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪 pic.twitter.com/GyINyaYSRC
— Justin Wong (@JWonggg) January 26, 2024
“Tiers” for fears | The best Tekken 8 characters
Usually we tend to beat around the bush until the end, but not with the best characters in Tekken 8: we will start right from them. The division into “tier” (ranks, in fact) is known to all fighting game lovers and the S rank denotes the best of the best. It goes without saying that those belonging to the aforementioned S-Tier are excellent from many points of view, although there are characteristics in which they excel more than others. Consequently, therefore, the lowest ranks will automatically also be the least versatile, not to say openly “worse”. Again: with the arrival of new fighters via DLC, automatically the entire roster will be rebalanced. Today’s guide was written on January 31, 2024.
Rank S | Best Tekken 8 characters
Here’s who makes up the S rank of the game: Jun Kazama, Jack-8, Kin Kazama, Azucena, Bryan, King and Dragunov. Between them, Jun seems the strongest: easy to use, strong in low attacks and, in general, almost free of unfavorable matchups. Her moves are hard to punish. The balanced ones just below her are Jin, Jack e Bryan, excellent at putting pressure on the opponent. The situation is similar Lily, thanks to his counterattacks and hard-to-punish normal moves, including some of the best jabs in the entire game. She and Jun compete for the crown. Plus, Azucena is ruthless with inexperienced players, in the right hands. See Justin Wong’s tweet (the one from the very famous “Daigo parry”) at the beginning of the article. King has made its way thanks to the buff of throws compared to previous chapters, not to mention its ability to counter even parries. Finally, one of the “youngest” veterans, Dragunovenjoys excellent range and easy casts.
Rank A | Best Tekken 8 characters
That is where most of the roster resides. In the rank A we find balanced characters with well-defined strengths and Achilles’ heels, but all excellent in the right hands. Let’s talk about Shaheen, Hwoarang, Nina, Alisa, Lili, Kuma/Panda, Xiaoyu, Feng Wei, Devil Jin, Victor, Leo, Paul, Lars, Claudio, Kazuya and Zafina. Let’s start right from there Zafina, easy to punish in defense but a potential nightmare among intermediate players. In general, this is where the fighters reside balanced stronger (Feng, Leo, Paul, Shaheen, Claudio, Lars e Nina), others that they reward technique (Devil Jin, Xiaoyu, Lili, Victor e Kazuya) or characters who they require patience for their gimmick (Same to you/Panda, Hwoarang and Zafina). The latter perhaps don’t excel in competition, but online they could give you the opportunity to catch some unfortunate people off guard.
Rank B | Best Tekken 8 characters
Even in the lowest tier, they are all usable characters. Heavily penalized by the Heat mechanic (for some moves now linked to it or in any case for having been affected by it), the members of the rank B they are always playable. None among LawReina, LeroyYoshimitsu, RavenSteve e Lee it’s “bad”, but it requires effort to get the best out of it. Leaving aside the nerfed fighters and those that reward less player effort, let’s talk about Reina in particular. The recent addition is vulnerable to throws and does not benefit from simple “safe” combos, thanks to the parry mechanics included among its moves. She is in general a divisive character, but despite the mind games possible with the Mishima-style shot, the most common opinion of her does not seem to favor her. Stevethen, was brutalized by nerfs to the point of convincing one of its best players, Knee, to abandon it. Yoshimitsu it’s an enigma. The ability to steal health with the sword gives him the chance to rise to A rank, but for now he is postponed until September.
“And then there’s her”
Poraccia Asuka, cornered by all the Tekken 8 characters better than her. For better or worse, having your own rank is never a good sign. To put things in perspective, competitive player Fergus doesn’t seem very optimistic despite having made it shine in the previous chapter. His strengths are better integrated into other fighters, whether through Heat or not. Lacking range, it is easy to punish even from a distance. Not “unplayable”, but certainly and objectively a source of possible disadvantages. That said, remember what we clarified in the general guide to the game: if a fighter convinces you by eye, you try anyway. There’s no shortage of options in the S rank, but ultimately it’s up to you to make the best of whoever appeals to you most.
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