This isn’t true at all. Cetrion wasn’t even considered a top 10 character for awhile (in SF’s 1st tier list for example, which was a month after release, he had Cetrion at 12th). Scorpion was said to be a top 5 character for quite a long time. Sonya was thought to be one of the best characters if not THE best character, not to mention Cassie being somewhere near the top 5 as well. Baraka was up there for a long time as well, Skarlet wasn’t too too far behind. Oh and don’t forget a lot of people putting EB in the top 3 or so, some even saying he was arguably the best character. This list is a lot different than how people saw the game a few months after launch.
I believe that she was the most damaging character on release day doing 40% mid screen and over 50% in the corner.
I obviously agree about the meta, but some characters did experience major shifts. I would add Johnny Cage, Kitana, and Sheeva to Juggs' list. Characters like Kano and Kotal Kahn received massive buffs while characters like Jade, Kabal, and Sub Zero became better due to custom moves.
Sonya became a joke character due to the aggregate of all of her nerfs, people figuring out how to deal with her, and getting no benefit from Custom Variations.
I don't mind a letter system, so long as the letters are actually used properly. So if you have almost all of the cast in S tier, that person doesn't understand how to properly use a lettered system.
You could also add Raiden to that list. Started out as bottom five, even after the first few patches, but slowly got tweaked into a middle tier character.
They got what they paid for.
In my opinion, Kitana was top 10-15 when razors required no meter. She had exceptional chip damage and excellent pressure and flawless block mind games. Razors were also underrated as a meaty and preemptive anti-aerial tool. Kitana with pre-patch razors was the closest thing resembling fun that I ever had while playing this game. LOL.
For fun?
Cassie had a completely safe herpderp ender in her Up Glow Kick. She very much got nerfed down from her former glory.
There’s never a “right” or “correct” tier list. And there’s never a tier list that is set in stone. Tier lists are, and will always be, subjective. Even the tier lists that are based on MU numbers are subjective, considering MU numbers are subjective.
While this is true, you can for sure call out the stupidly wrongheaded parts of tier lists. If someone put Shao into the top spot on their tier list, are you really going to consider that has as much validity as every list ever putting Jacqui at the top?
Probably not, but I'd be curious behind the reasoning. Unless they're just doing it to troll people, maybe they have a valid reason that they think makes Shao top tier. Maybe they think Shao is just straight up being played wrong, and that there's a better way to play him, or that people are sleeping on one or two of his moves, or whatever.
And really, Sonya is exactly the type of character that's going to start a game being top tier. Very simple to pick up, simple 50/50 gameplan that people don't know how to defend, solid damage, and a solid projectile. She's the exact type of character in a fighting game that does really well early in the games life, and then fades once people figure out how to block her stuff and she gets dinged with a few nerfs. She's also textbook why calling for early buffs/nerfs in the first month of a games life can be a bad idea.
