Games

Tekken 7 Tier List: Best to Worst [2020]

By

David Mudd

It’s been more than 5 years since the release of Tekken 7 & its fandom is nowhere near dying out. Bandai Namco Entertainment developed & published the fighting game exclusively for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.

And just like me, if you’re a big fan of the game, this post is for you. Here, I’ve compiled a list of popular in-game characters. These best players will be selected from 6 pre-existing Tekken 7 tiers. Before I show you the complete list, let me explain how it is decided.

How is Tekken 7 Tier List Decided?

I bet many of you would be wondering what these tiers mean & how these Tekken 7 tiers are used to find the most powerful characters.

The list is compiled by Tekken 7 pro players who test each character individually & rank them as per their experiences with each character.

But remember, the tier list may vary from player to player. For instance, I’ve won XX games out of 100 games with a particular character & another pro player has a different win record. So, based on the different experiences, one’s tier may differ from the other.

Tekken 7 Tier List of Characters

The below mention rankings are solely from the best Tekken 7 players from all over the world. So, don’t get disappointed if your favorite character isn’t included in the list. You can check the list of any other Tekken 7 pro players.

Tekken 7 tier system is characterized in 7 tiers. The S-Tier is considered as best & F-Tier is considered the weakest character.

  • S-Tier: Paul, Devil Ring
  • A-Tier: Marshall Law, King, Bryan, Kazuya
  • B-Tier: Heihachi, Hwoarang, Xiaoyu, Dragunov, Feng, Bob, Kazumi, Akuma, Nina
  • C-Tier: Steve, Leo, Alisa, Lars, Shaheen, Jin, Lili, Yoshimitsu, Claudio
  • D-Tier: Jack7, Josie
  • F-Tier: Asuka, Lucky, Gigas

Paul Phoenix & Devil Ring are the two characters who consistently rank at the top tiers for almost every pro player. So, they’re right there in the S-Tier.

6 Best Fighters from Each Tekken 7 Tier List

The above-mentioned tier list has a total of 25 characters. And now, going ahead, I’ll list the best Tekken 7 character from each tier.

Paul Phoenix

Out of all the Tekken 7 characters, Paul has been there since the beginning. His popularity isn’t hidden from anyone. In fact, if you look around previous versions of the Tekken video game, you’ll find him there with the rest of the characters.

His fighting style combines Karate, baji Quan and judo. Over time, he kept changing his style, which helped him become the powerhouse he is today. Now, with certain move sets, he can easily leave the opponent dead.

King

King is our own mask-wearing wrestler. He has some key moves which can be quite deadly for your player. If you ever play Tekken 7, keep in mind to stay away from King, or else your character will be up for some dangerous thrashing.

Since the inception of the Tekken video game series, there have been 2 characters to carry forward the name – King. Both the time, a numerical value is added to luchadores name as King I and King II.

King is a tall muscular Mexican with black hair and light brown skin. He has long hair in the fourth game that can be seen on his shoulders coming from beneath his mask and the same outfit/appearance in Namco x Capcom, the first installment of the Project X series.

Those of you who don’t know luchadores are originally from Mexico who supports orphans from all over the world. Today because of his unique appearances & trademark “Point,” he’s considered the most recognizable character in the fighting games genre.

Akuma

When Tekken 7 was released in 2015, Akuma was introduced as the newest character in the collection. Last year in 2019, along with Yuta “Chikurin,” he became the joint winner of Tekken World Tour Finals 2019. I agree at first sight; he doesn’t look that much intimidating. But don’t go by the looks. Try to use this character at least once, and you’ll never be disappointed.

In the beginning, he does feel a bit sluggish, but once you get used to its ability, you can easily neutralize opposite characters with his big combos in the game.

Akuma is a cold and extremely powerful warrior whose sole reason for being is to hone his fighting skills by battling and destroying strong foes. He rarely displays any sign of emotions or humanity, aside from occasional bursts of anger, and rarely smiles.

He, however, will not engage in battle towards helpless people and in some cases may even defend them, either as a righteous calling or an afterthought of conquering major adversary. The only instance of humanity he has displayed after being drenched in the Satsui no Hado is with Kazumi Mishima, whom he respects, even in battle.

He takes his training very seriously and deals brutally with those who dare interrupt him, as seen in his Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike ending. Occasionally, he likes to test himself against worthy rivals (e.g. Gen, Oro).

In later games, Akuma often refers to himself as a “denizen of hell” and “evil incarnate”, and is seen as such by many. This may be a result of the Satsui no Hado (“Surge of Murderous Intent”) taking a toll on his mind.

Steve Fox

Despite some specific problems, Steve Fox is the best character out of the C-Tier. He made his first appearance in Tekken 4 and since then has appeared in all the succeeding games. Steve Fox is a young boxer who was adopted at a very young age. The strange thing to note about him is that no one knows about his origins. It’s a mystery in the Tekken universe.

That’s what in every version of Tekken video game, he trie his best to reveal the mystery surrounding his origins, a scar on his arm, revenge against those responsible for his condition & vice versa.

Steve was a young British boxer enjoying his run as the middleweight champion of the world. Adopted during infancy, Steve sought the identity of his biological parents, as well as the origin of the scar on his arm.

One day, Steve was ordered by a mafia group to throw a high-stakes fight, but he refused and instead won the fight. Unfortunately, the Mafia made good on their threats and put a price on Steve’s head.

With the Mafia in hot pursuit, Steve fled England for the United States and led a life on the run. But Steve soon realized that no matter what he did, the Mafia would eventually catch and kill him. Motivated by this realization, Steve sought the limelight once again, and entered The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4.

Josie

Josie Rizal is yet another character introduced as a playable character in Tekken 7. She made her first appearance as part of the four fighters (Devil Jin, Jin Kazama, and Gigas). She’s the only character whose in-game character models were leaked in March 2015.

As for her fighting style, she uses Eskrima-based Kickboxing. Eskrima style combat majorly features weapon-based combat that generally involves knives and sticks. Josie uses the unarmed variant of the style that focuses more on defensive techniques, grappling, and weapon disarming than the more offensive armed variant.

Making a living by being a kick-boxer and a model, she was on track to helping the household until a large typhoon in the country ravaged her home and creating widespread damage.

To offer aid relief to the ravaged country, the Tekken Forces from Mishima Zaibatsu came to help out those affected and Josie was inspired to become a Tekken Force member. After that, she set out to join the Tekken Forces by taking their employment examination.

In the end, Josie finally defeats Kuma as she cries in relief. To her surprise, Kuma barely wakes up as he only returns her earring back which Josie noticed her earring was missing during their fight. Josie thanked the bear for retrieving it but Kuma then faints and Josie tries to wake him up.

Asuka Kazama

Asuka Kazama is in the last Tekken 7 tier list. Her character was first introduced in Tekken 5, and since then, she has returned in all the succeeding series.

When Asuka was the newest character in the Tekken Universe, everyone assumed her to be the niece of Jun Kazama and Jin Kazama. However, Katsuhiro Harada claimed that their relationship is far more complicated than visible on the surface.

Asuka is surprisingly brash and arrogant. Although her profile states that she breaks up fights regularly, she seems to have no qualms about fighting and seemingly revels in it. In her story mode, after defeating her target, Feng Wei, she decides to remain in the tournament in order to “have fun”.

Her pre and post-match quotes also demonstrate her confidence. As stated in her Tekken 5 / Dark Resurrection prologue, Asuka is also known as being a “nosy kid” who likes to solve other people’s problems, “usually by knockout”.

Asuka speaks in Kansai dialect (Kansai is a region of western Japan encompassing major cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe).

Asuka is somehow related to Jun Kazama (Jin’s mother) and is the rival of Emilie “Lili” De Rochefort.

Frequently Asked Questions | Tekken 7 Tier List

Q: Who is the easiest character in Tekken 7?

A: For me, Josie is the easiest character in all of the Tekken 7 video games.

Q: Who is the hardest/strongest character in Tekken 7? 

A: No doubt, it’s Akuma.

Q: Is Tekken 7 hard to learn?

A: No, Tekken 7 isn’t that hard to learn. However, it would be best if you had hours of experience to learn punishers, combos & understand pacing, timing & strategy.

Q: Is Leo a female Tekken?

A: In most video game appearances, Leo is hardly seen or thought to be male. Further, in Tekken 7 Leo can equip mostly just male accessories.

Conclusion

Even though I had added 25 characters in the Tekken 7 tier list, I could briefly explain only 6 of them. Don’t be disheartened. If the remaining characters overcome their weaknesses, I would be more than happy to include them in this list.

That’s all for now. Out of all the characters mentioned above which one’s your favorite? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section given below.

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