Welcome to our second annual LumiRank tier list. Following up our first tier list from last year, the second tier list reflects new developments in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s ever-evolving metagame, as determined by our 61 panelists ranked globally in 2023. Be sure to read the methodology, analysis, and full list of panelists after the list:
S Tier:
S+: Steve, Sonic
S: Mr. Game & Watch, Snake, Pyra & Mythra, R.O.B.
S-: Peach/Daisy, Fox, Diddy Kong, Joker
A Tier:
A+: Kazuya, Min Min, Cloud, Yoshi
A: Samus/Dark Samus, Palutena, Pikachu, Sora, Roy, Wario, Wolf, Mario, Pac-Man
A-: Pokemon Trainer, Shulk, Bayonetta, Corrin, Lucina, Terry, Zero Suit Samus
B Tier:
B+: Sheik, Ryu, Olimar, Greninja, Falco, Mii Brawler, Sephiroth, Young Link, Luigi
B-: Captain Falcon, Pit/Dark Pit, Byleth, Rosalina & Luma, Hero, Ken, Toon Link, Ness, Mega Man, Inkling, Meta Knight
C Tier:
C+: Ice Climbers, Incineroar, Pichu, Chrom, Marth, Link, Lucario, Mii Gunner, Bowser, Jigglypuff
C-: Lucas, Banjo & Kazooie, Wii Fit Trainer, Ridley, Duck Hunt
D Tier:
D+: Mewtwo, Robin, Donkey Kong, Isabelle
D-: Bowser Jr., Ike, Villager, Zelda, Simon/Richter, Kirby, Mii Swordfighter, Piranha Plant, Dr. Mario
E Tier:
E+: King Dedede, King K. Rool, Little Mac
E-: Ganondorf
Methodology
Methodology was largely unchanged from the 2023 tier list. Any player within the top 150 and honorable mentions of LumiRank 2023 Mid-Year or LumiRank 2023 Full Year was eligible to be on the panel for the tier list. Responses were received from 63 panelists in the time frame from January 18th, 2024 to February 1st, 2024, while Tweek’s ballot was filled out from a tier list video released during the time frame. Two ballots were excluded due to either scoring fewer than 5 characters, while another was excluded due to being a troll response. Panelists were asked to rate each character they formed an opinion on from 1–10, with 10 being highest and 1 being lowest. They were also asked to provide an ordered top 5 characters in the game. 95% of panelists evaluated at least three quarters of the cast, with 80% of panelists scoring every character in the game. Bayonetta, Fox, Palutena, Peach/Daisy, Pyra & Mythra, R.O.B., Shulk, Steve, and Wolf were evaluated by all 61 panelists. Once again Mii Swordfighter was evaluated by the fewest panelists, with only 55 panelists scoring the character. Panelist responses were normalized, with their top 5 scored as 10.x (e.g. their #1 was scored as a 10.5, while their #5 was scored as a 10.1). The highest and lowest 3 responses for each character were removed, and the remaining responses were then weighted by region according to each region’s representation on LumiRank 2023, to avoid higher or lower response rates in different regions from biasing the list. Tiers and tier groupings were then determined via K-Means Clustering.
Analysis
- Steve was once again the consensus number 1 character, with 46 panelists (75%) putting the character in that position. Once again Europe was the only region not to place Steve in the #1 position, putting him 3rd and putting Sonic 1st. Sonic was the only other character with multiple panelists putting them in the #1 spot, with 9 panelists (15%) putting him there.
- A slight majority of panelists (34, or 56%) also put Sonic in the #2 position. No other character had a majority of panelists putting them in a particular spot in the top 5.
- Out of 59 panelists evaluating Ganondorf, 55 of them gave Ganondorf the lowest score they gave anyone, with 16 of them giving every other character they evaluated a higher score. For comparison, only 25 panelists gave Little Mac the lowest score they gave anyone, and no panelists gave every character besides Little Mac a higher score.
- Latin America was once again the only region to place Little Mac higher than the 81st position, putting King Dedede below him.
- The five characters with the lowest standard deviations were Steve (0.450), Sonic (0.611), Snake (0.733), Terry (0.779), and Pokemon Trainer (0.801). The five characters with the highest standard deviations were Mii Swordfighter (1.798), Mega Man (1.640), Piranha Plant (1.610), King Dedede (1.585), and Ice Climbers (1.584).
- Palutena was the highest ranked character to have no panelists place them in the top 5.
- Incineroar was the lowest ranked character to have a panelist place them in the top 5, while Pikachu was the lowest ranked character to have multiple panelists place them there.
- Bayonetta, Mr. Game & Watch, Corrin, Lucario, Sora, Incineroar, Snake, Pit/Dark Pit, and Samus/Dark Samus all rose at least 10 spots from last year’s tier list, while Chrom, Ken, Roy, Mega Man, Byleth, Sephiroth, and Wolf fell by at least 10 spots.
- Jigglypuff was the only player to fall on the list despite their score going up. Conversely, Pichu, Palutena, Mii Brawler, King Dedede, Bowser Jr., Ryu, Donkey Kong, and Ice Climbers rose on the list despite their score declining, with Ice Climbers going up 5 spots.
Regional Differences
Once again, different regions sometimes differed wildly in evaluating different characters. The most notable differences are as follows:
The US and Canada were high on Mega Man (+17) and Ness (+12), and were low on Yoshi (-12).
Latin America was high on Mega Man (+21), Kirby (+15), Sheik (+14), Pikachu (+13), Marth (+13), Ness (+10), and Mii Gunner (+10), and was low on Samus/Dark Samus (-15), Ice Climbers (-15), Shulk (-14), Captain Falcon (-13), Falco (-11), and Banjo & Kazooie (-10).
Europe was high on Mii Brawler (+13), Pichu (+13), Piranha Plant (+13), Donkey Kong (+12), Pac-Man (+10), Toon Link (+10), Ridley (+10), and Zelda (+10), and was low on Captain Falcon (-25), Kazuya (-18), Lucario (-18), Ice Climbers (-10), and Robin (-10).
Japan was high on Captain Falcon (+17), Isabelle (+14), Falco (+13), Toon Link (+13), and Banjo & Kazooie (+11), while they were low on Lucina (-12), Mega Man (-11), Pikachu (-10), and Mii Brawler (-10)
Spreadsheet with summary data for each character
Panelists
US & Canada:
AC
Anathema
ApolloKage
Armadillo
BassMage
BeastModePaul
Chronos
Dabuz
DDee
Epic_Gabriel
Geist
H4
IcyMist
Ikan
JDV
Kiyarash
Kola
Lima
Ling
MuteAce
Onin
Peabnut
Rivers
Scend
SHADIC
Tilde
Tweek
WebbJP
Zomba
Latin America:
EKing
MKBigBoss
MkLeo
ShinyMark
WaKa
Europe:
crêpe salée
Flow
Luugi
Mezcaul
NaetorU
OwlBBs
Space
Supahsemmie
Tarik
Japan:
Carmelo
Eik
Futari no Kiwami Ah~!
Gorioka
Harasen
Hero
Jagabata
Luminous
Metara
Raki
Rarukun
Ryuoh
Senra
Sin
Suinoko
Tsubaki
Tsuna
Yamanaction
Yoko#
Article Written by: Stuart "Stuart98"Hepworth
