Street Fighter 6 has launched with a roster of 18 characters, each with their own unique fighting styles. It’s hard to say any one character is bad or puts their player at a big disadvantage; nonetheless from an objective standpoint some characters are more viable than others.
This Street Fighter 6 (or SF6 for short) Tier List will rank characters against one another. This list was created after hours of playtime and research into each character’s performance, though keep in mind; tier lists are all subjective. When picking a character to play as I would not recommend picking based off of a tier-list, but instead by who’s playstyle you enjoy most.
S-Tier Characters
Manon
Manon combines the elegance and grace of ballet with the martial art of Judo to create something truly terrifying. She is able to dance around her opponents, utilizing her long legs for kicks to keep her opponents in check. This compliments her powerful close-range throws, which only get stronger with each command-grab you land. Even without the gimmick of her medal meter buffing her throws, Manon is a truly strong fighter.
Luke
Luke is the poster-child of Street Fighter 6 and is generally the most well-rounded fighter of Street Fighter 6. He has pretty much everything you’d need from him, a strong anti-air, a consistent fireball, and scary pressure. With no apparent weaknesses or gaps in his play-style, Luke is not at all a bad pick.
Guile
Guile’s game-plan is simple, but that doesn’t make it weak. Guile’s sonic booms are consistently able to take advantage of neutral-play, meaning players have to find other ways to approach. However, Guile has solid anti-air tools and strong pokes to punish players for reckless approaches.
A-Tier
E. Honda
One of Street Fighter 6’s new mechanics is the Overdrive Art, the ability to supercharge a special-move by pressing two of the same button-type in it’s input. Honda arguably has some of the strongest special-moves in the game. Honda is able to take advantage and utilize the overdrive art in a lot of ways which makes him a threat.
Juri
Juri has a versatile moveset consisting of mainly powerful kicks that make use of her Feng Shui Engine. She has a lot of powerful mix-up potential, and is easily able to sweep the opponents off of their feet. Juri is especially good at baiting her opponents, however it can be hard to know a Juri’s next move.
Kimberly
Kimberly is one of the most mobile characters in SF6, being able to sprint, jump, and teleport all across the stage. As the odd combination of a ninja and a graffiti-artist she has access to all sorts of mix-up-tools. Kimberly is very unpredictable, however seasoned players can more easily see through her gimmicks. Nonetheless Kimberly is one of the strongest new fighters to join Street Fighter 6.
Ken
Ken is really good at rushing down the opponent, more so than you’d initially think. At first I assumed Ken would be one of the weakest fighters in Street Fighter 6, however Ken players consistently dominate in online-matches. His moves are just as strong as ever, if not stronger, making Ken a really viable choice for people who like to get up close and personal with their opponents.
Marisa
Marisa claims ancestry to Greek warriors, and is immensely proud of her greek heritage. To honor her heritage, Marisa has a mastery over Pankration, an unarmed fighting style dating back to 7th century Greece. Marisa’s a bit slow, however she’s able to dish out some of the most high-damage non-special moves in Street Fighter 6. Plenty of Marisa’s move set can be charged or has super-armor, naturally making her hard to put down.
B-Tier Characters
Chun-Li
Despite her age Chun-Li remains one of the fastest fighters in Street Fighter, her mobility being a big advantage of her tool-kit. Chun-Li is able to quickly move in and out of range with strong mix-up game to throw opponents off of their guard. While individually her moves may not be all too powerful, she has incredibly strong combo-potential.
JP
JP presents him as a gentleman only wanting to play fair, but he plays anything but. I mean, the dude summons shadowy demon spikes to target and stab his opponents, that doesn’t seem all too fair! Though JP definitely needs this advantage, after all his close-up game is incredibly weak. Still though JP can be absolutely nasty at a distance if you can’t figure out how to move in close. Oh, and even then he has a counter, said counter also working on both attacks and throws, yikes!
Dee Jay
Dee Jay returns groovier than ever, his flashy moves becoming even more stylish with the drive meter. It can be hard to predict Dee Jay’s next move due to the nature of his hybrid kickboxing breakdancing fighting-style. Dee Jay has plenty of strong mixups and has a high learning curve for any player willing to put in the time.
Ryu
Ryu and Ken usually have been shown to be evenly-matched, with Ryu outpacing him by a hair. However. Ken is one tough mister and likely the best rushdown fighter we currently have. Ryu’s still as versatile as ever, being used by some of the current top players.
Zangief
Zangief is easily able to reduce an opponent’s health to zero with just a few good reads, however that isn’t enough to make Zangief top-tier. While he lacks a lot of options to gain the advantage in neutral, his moves heavily rely on the opponent falling for them. However, Zangief is one of the characters that benefits most from modern controls. Zangief is a tricky character to play, however his damage output can be very rewarding when played right.
Dhalsim
Dhalsim ignores how the human body is supposed to work, meaning his kicks and punches stretch to incredible lengths. His range is incredible, and his firebreathing techniques can be hard to avoid if timed correctly. Dhalsim doesn’t pack a punch quite as hard as other fighters, so it’ll take a mastery of his unique fighting style to thrive with Dhalsim.
C-Tier
Lily
Lily embodies the spirit of T.Hawk with brand new moves of her own. Due to her small puny arms she weilds two wooden clubs which seems a bit unfair, but she’s a kid, so whatever. Her wind-meter can help boost the power of a lot of her special moves and attacks once powered up, and she is a very solid pick for if you’re trying to learn the game.
Cammie
Cammie’s combos are just impressive as ever with the amount of pure speed Cammie has. Unfortunately Cammie’s damage output is a bit weak compared to her fellow fighters, though I believe this to be for the best. Cammie has a very high skill-ceiling and can totally control the match in the proper player’s hands, however that’s not an easy feat. Nonetheless Cammie is a great fighter, though if you’re looking for pure strength, look elsewhere.
Jamie
With all the style of a Jackie Chan movie, Jamie has powerful mix-ups and continuously grows stronger as he fills his drink meter. With each drink he gets, Jamie unlocks a new move, before letting his hair loose and entering a stronger form at level 4. Once his meter is full Jamie is a beast, however his meter returns to zero after each round. With how short each round is it’s hard to prioritize filling your meter as a Jamie, making him fall flat.
Blanka
Blanka’s moves are just as wild as Blanka himself. However, Blanka really struggles to string together combos as easily as other fighters, without much of a damage advantage either. Despite being the so called “weakest” fighter in this tier-list, Blanka is not to be underestimated. Blanka along with all other fighters can be played at professional level, and he certainly can dominate if you take him lightly.
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