tier

a relative position or degree of value in a graded group

"lumber of the highest grade" any one of two or more competitors who tie one another a worker who ties something something that is used for tying

"the sail is fastened to the yard with tiers" one of two or more layers one atop another

"tier upon tier of huge casks"

"a three-tier wedding cake"

A Tier is a term used commonly within fighting game circles and tournaments to describe a character's general success in tournaments and common battles of the fighting game they hail from. In some cases the general structure of the tiers for a particular game are agreed upon by the player community, with only slight variation. With other games, the tiers may be the subject of fierce debate with strongly differing viewpoints. By their nature, tiers cannot be regarded as pure fact, but ideally come about from educated opinions and thoughtful observations supported by evidence as tournament results.Tiers are not limited to characters in fighting games. The concept of tiers may be applied to all other games in which players are allowed to choose from characters, weapons, strategies, etc. Tiers may be used to describe how effectively these choices accomplish the general goal of the particular game. It can be argued that as it is very unlikely that a game is perfectly balanced, particularly complex modern video games, that all games have tiers to an extent. Those who abide by this thinking believe there are methods or choices that are inherently more efficient or more effective than others.

Examples - Although it differs, the usual formation of the tier listing in fighting games goes like this:

Broken Characters Although not always used in tier listing, once in a while a character or characters in a fighting game are given such an overwhelming advantage, that they are considered broken. Such characters may be labeled as being "God Tier." The main priority in a fighting game is to keep all characters as balanced as possible, and a Broken character is a character who is very distinctively unbalanced and almost unfair.

Top TierCharacters who have had the most success, and are often used to successful degrees. Once in a while, a character who may be considered to have a little too much of an advantage may be in this spot as well.

High TierCharacters who have had a great deal of success, and are considered to have an equal chance against any opponent.

Middle TierCharacters who have had decent to okay success, and are used sparingly but often enough.They can be used efficiently against most opponents.

Lower TierCharacters who have been generally selected very rarely, so rarely that regardless of the said character's success or failure, it still doesn't change their place on the list.

Bottom TierCharacters who have more in game disadvantages than advantages, to the point where it is unfair. Although it is certainly possible to win with characters in this section, said character and player will be very hardpressed to win and will have more going against them than for them.

Controversy - Arguments about the existence (or non-existence) of tiers are commonplace among gaming boards, where the general consesus among experienced players is that tiers do indeed exist.Tier listings are often scrutinized by players who misunderstand its purpose. Many misinformed players mistake the Tier listings as a "Best Character" listing, and that the intent is to say X character can not win against Y because X is high tier and Y is low tier. This is not true. Given that X is a high tier character and Y is a low tier character, it is very possible that a player using Y can beat a player using X. However, if both players are of equal skill, X will beat Y more often. Therefore, in order to win consistently, the player using a lower tier character will need to work harder and be more skilled than the player using a higher tier character.The influence of Tiers in play is also often misunderstood: in a well balanced game, any effect of tiers will likely go unnoticed in low to mid level play, and low tier characters may actually be percieved as being better than characters who are actually much higher ranked. For example, if a low ranked character has an easy to use, fast, and damaging mid-low-low-mid combo, which less skilled players often have difficulty blocking, that character may be abused in low to mid level play. However, after becoming more skilled, a player may notice that when blocked, the combo leaves you open long enough for a damaging juggle or punishment move.

Common Misconceptions - Several common misconceptions are used ad nauseum in arguments about Tiers. Some of the most widespread are as follows.

Confusing the player with the character

* "My friend beat me with Y, so Y must be good."

* "I played a guy using X, and he always falls for this one move that Y has. Y > X."

* "Tiers don't matter if you know how to use your character."

* "My friend plays fighting - game all the time, and I beat him with Y, therefore Y is good."

Irrelevant Information

* "It's my opinion, and Tiers are an opinion, therefore, Tiers do not exist."

- =

* "Y is 'unpredictable', therefore Y is good."

- =

* "All you have to do is play to Y's strengths."

- =

* Red HerringsCategory:Fighting games

BRUNIE Tierheimverwaltung
Mit der BRUNIE Tierheimverwaltung stellen wir Ihnen ein Organizerprogramm zur Verfügung, das mit seinem umfassendem Katalog an Funktionalitäten alle Voraussetzungen dafür erfüllt, als zentrales Instrument zur Verwaltung eines Tierheims dienen zu können.
http://www.tierheim-software.de

Tiertherapie und Tiergestützte Arbeit
Das ist die Internetpräsenz der 4 Pfoten - Tiertherapie und Tiergestützte Interaktion
http://www.4pfoten-tiertherapie.de/

DAS ENGAGIERTE BERATUNGSZENTRUM für Mensch und Tier
Das engagierte Beratungszentrum unterstützt Mensch und Tier bei Unverträglichkeiten, Allergien, Belastungen, chronischen Prozessen, Angst, Burn out durch regulative Lebens- und Gesundheitsberatung, Bioresonanz, Holopathie, Qigong, Diplomberatung für Tierpsychologie, Futterberatung, Herstellung bioenergetischer Essenzen - ONLINE Beratung und Service, Online-Shop
http://www.alternativgesund.at/

Wildgemälde/Jagdgemälde: Wildmaler,Jagdmaler,Tiermaler Niebert
Wildmaler / Jagdmaler / Tiermaler, B. Niebert zeigt Tiere in der Natur (Jagdgemälde / Wildmotive) und vieles mehr in seiner virtuellen Ausstellung
http://www.wildmaler.ws/

www.sohns-wildlife.de
worldwide photos from wildlife
http://www.sohns-wildlife.de/

Tierheilpraxis Maria Mengwasser
Tierheilpraxis Maria Mengwasser - Homöopathie, Bachblütentherapie, Akupunktur. Die Tierheilpraxis ist in Silberstedt, SH, Deutschland.
http://www.maria-mengwasser.de

Tierschutzverein Tierfreunde 2000 Duesseldorf e.V.
Tierfreunde 2000 Duesseldorf e.V. ist ein behoerdlich als gemeinnuetzig und foerderungswuerdig anerkannter Tierschutzverein. Wir helfen Tieren in Not und betreuen herrenlose Tiere in privaten Pflegestellen
http://www.tierfreunde2000.de

Tiersprechstunde
Fakten für Haustierbesitzer
http://www.tiersprechstunde.de/

Medevial Traumzeit-Tarot Kartenorakel, online Orakel und esoterische Beratung
Medevial Traumzeit Tarot, Große und Kleine Arkana, die TAROT-Website des KÜNSTLERS selber mit dessen Eingebungen zu den Geheimnissen des Lebens und der Seelenreise in einfacher bildlicher Symbolik. Die Symbolik ist verschiedenen Kulturen, Epochen, esoterischen Traditionen wie Traumdeutung und Astrologie entnommen und beschreibt eine neue These spirituell vernetzter und uneingeschränkter Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit
http://www.corporatearts.de/

2-Tier.Com
Associate programs listed by category in a searchable directory.
http://www.2-tier.com/

Northern Tier High Adventure Bases - Ely, MN
Located in Manitoba Rainy Lakes District near Lake Superior. A National Camp on the Canadian border.
http://www.ntier.org/

Tier.Net: Southern Tier Online
A Southern Tier website network including Tioga County. Provides a local web site directories, news, weather, events, and columns.
http://www.tier.net/

True Innocents Equine Rescue
Targets abuse/neglect cases, horses that are slaughter bound and/or horses that can no longer be cared for by their current owners. Located in California and has listing of feedlot horses available in that area.
http://www.tierrescue.org

Tier Technologies, Inc.
Provides information technology consulting, application development and software engineering services. (Nasdaq: TIER).
http://www.tier.com/