Tekken 8’s first balance patch has arrived, and, though that patch didn’t change too much on the tier list on its own, Tekken’s power rankings have moved significantly since launch. Here’s the full Tekken 8 tier list.
Tekken 8 is shaping up to be one of the best fighting games of all time. Even during the so-called “Golden Age” of fighting games, it stands out as a title that takes everything great about the Tekken series and refines it.
Whether you’re just hopping into the series for the first time or are returning and want to see how your main stacks up to the competition, we’ve got an updated tier list that’ll give you an idea of where each character ranks as of patch 1.01.04.
Bear in mind that this tier list is subject to change, and that Tekken 8 is fairly well-balanced. While picking a top-tier will give you an edge, you can ultimately win with any character. We’ll also update with more characters as DLC fighters get added, with Eddy confirmed to be coming soon along with Lidia, Marduk, and Fakhumram being datamined for the first DLC pass followed by Armored King and Anna Williams in DLC 2. There are a lot more characters coming down the road.
Here’s our full tier list for Tekken 8.
Full Tekken 8 Tier List for patch 1.01.04 (February 2024)
S-Tier: Jun Kazama, Jack-8, Jin Kazama, Azucena, King, Dragunov, Devil Jin
S-tier characters are the absolute best of the best. Though they’re not unbeatable, you’ll gain a massive edge by picking them.
Jun
Out of everyone in Tekken 8, Jun seems to be the strongest fighter on the roster even after the nerfs. She’s easy to pilot, has strong mix-ups and lows, and can carry to walls well. Many of her moves are deceptively difficult to sidestep, and she’s not easy to punish. Overall, she’s not unbeatable and certainly not release T7 Leroy level, but very strong.
Jin
Jin is the all-rounder. Quick lows, strong mix-ups, a ton of tools for every situation. He’s missing a lot of the Mishima staple moves in Tekken 8 and has swapped out for a much more traditional style of Karate. It’s a bit more standard than his move sets in prior games, but with some Devil Gene stuff sprinkled in to give him some flashy combo enders. Jin does a lot well, and he doesn’t have many downsides.
Jack
Jack is old-school Tekken at its finest. What he lacks in sidestepping and mobility options, he makes up for with incredibly long-range jabs. Jack is one of the most oppressive characters in the game, and Tekken 8’s Heat options have only given him more ways to shove his opponent right into a corner. A good Jack player will make your life an absolute nightmare, and winning against him requires good reads and a wealth of matchup knowledge.
Azucena
Arguably the game’s strongest newcomer, Azucena has a bunch of spammable moves with strong frame data that will put new players on the ropes, but she’s also got great stances and counter mechanics that give her some strong defense. While she isn’t too strong when it comes to creating distance from her opponent, she has no issues being up close and personal. Who needs reach, anyways?
Plus, she’s an absolute noob killer. Jwong has already given us an instant Tekken 8 classic.
I am a very toxic Azucena player 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪 pic.twitter.com/GyINyaYSRC
— Justin Wong (@JWonggg) January 26, 2024
King
King is a bit of an outlier, but he’s been moved up to S-Tier because of how strong throws are in Tekken 8. He’s able to easily counter most parry mechanics with throws having more of a place in the game, and the amount of 50/50 throws he has makes King tough to counter even if you know the matchup and required throw breaks. Not to mention the ridiculous range on some of his pokes. King is a menace in Tekken 8.
Dragunov
Dragunov quickly rose up to S-tier in the days following Tekken 8’s release, and he’s still at the top of the table even after his nerfs. Though some of his pressure has been mitigated by nerfs to his plus frames on certain bread and butter moves of his, he’s still a pressure monster with strong mix-ups. There’s a reason Dragunov is one of the most popular characters on the ladder in Tekken 8.
Devil Jin
Though Devil Jin isn’t exactly easy to pull off, it’s become hard to deny that he’s an S-tier pick in the right hands. He’s got some really strong mobility tools and lightning fast lows that come out of nowhere. Outplaying a competent Jin requires some really tricky reads that make him difficult to counter for even seasoned Tekken veterans.
A-Tier Tekken 8 Fighters: Bryan, Nina, Alisa, Feng, Shaheen, Xiaoyu, Leo, Kazuya, Reina, Lili, Yoshimitsu
Our A-Tiers are still a step above the rest of the cast, and they’ve got their fair share of strengths. However, they either aren’t nearly as oppressive as the S-Tiers when it comes to the frame advantage on block from some of their BnBs, or they have very clear and distinct counterplay that makes some of their moves a bit less safe against an opponent with matchup knowledge.
Bryan
Bryan’s just really hard to play properly. He’s S-Tier in the hands of someone who can properly utilize his pressure and consistently Taunt Jet Upper, but the chances of most low-level players pulling that off is low. However, he’s got some great mix-ups and fast lows that can catch people off guard, so Bryan is still somewhat viable at all levels of play. He’ll get hard once you play against someone decent, but keep pushing through if you really like him.
Nina
Nina’s got great options. She has some of the best hopkicks in the game, great wall carry, multi-stage grabs that do a ton of damage, and some decent mix-ups. However, she isn’t fantastic at whiff punishing with fast, hard hitting counters, and she requires some adjustment for those used to wavedashing and KBDing considering her frame timing for these is much tighter than most other fighters.
Alisa
Alisa’s all pokes and range. She’s considered by many to be a sort of gimmick character, but she’s actually viable in high-level play. Strong lows that hit almost cross-screen, great comeback potential with her chainsaws, and strange combo timings that’ll catch your opponent off guard make her very strong. However, she works best with range from her opponent and can be easily overwhelmed.
Feng
Feng is all about punishing his opponents and finding opportunities. Whether it be poking them into submission with fast lows, strong counter-hit mechanics, and a lighting fast b1 that will instantly stop your enemy in their tracks, he’s a really strong character in the right hands. However, most of his moves are very easily sidestepped, and he suffers if you don’t know when to punish the character you’re up against. Matchup knowledge is key with Feng.
Shaheen
Shaheen is very good despite his low play rate. He’s got similar strengths to Nina, but with simple and approachable combos that’ll knowledge check your opponents super hard. Though he lacks big punishers, his speedy jabs and killer lows will catch your enemy in the mix.
Xiaoyu
Xiaoyu is one of the slipperiest characters in Tekken 8. Her variety of stances and backstep options give her the ability to fight fire with fire in many matchups as long as she’s not up against a wall, and she can feel unstoppable if she’s got a read on her opponent. However, she sorely lacks poke options and has to get up real close to be effective.
Leo
After his nerfs, Leo sits confidently in A-tier. Though you’ll get much more of an advantage now from blocking his mix-ups, they’re still pretty hard to predict. Leo allows you to throw a barrage of hits at an enemy and pressure them into the corner, though he can be easily sidestepped and punished if you know his openings.
Kazuya
Kazuya is really, really hard to pull off. Getting the most out of his electrics will take a lot of practice, but there’s more to him than just spamming EWGFs. He’s got some moves that easily abuse lower level players, too, and he’s deceptively fast when it comes to closing distance on opponents. If you can stay in the enemy’s face and force them to predict what you’re going to do, it’s easy to gain the upper hand.
Reina
Reina is sort of similar to Kazuya, except she’s got a lot more range and options when it comes to closing and creating distance. However, her many stances, cancels, and automatic parries that can be punished with grabs keep her from being an S-tier pick. Though she’s a popular character, she’s also one of the hardest in Tekken history.
Lili
What Lili lacks in raw frame data, she makes up for in spades with range, mobility, wall carry, and really oppressive sweeps that counter sidestepping hard. Considering she has the slowest Heat Smash in the game and can be heavily punished by blocking her lows, she isn’t quite an S-tier pick.
Yoshimitsu
Yoshimitsu still has the strange and kinda troll moveset he’s always had, but the additions he’s been given really push him into being a high-tier. The ability to heal with his sword in Heat gives him a ton of comeback potential, and it balances out the health cost that’s on some of his key moves. You don’t have to be EyeMusician to succeed with this character anymore, though he still requires a lot of practice, and a lot of the skill required to learn him doesn’t translate well to other characters.
B-Tier Tekken 8 fighters: Victor, Lars, Claudio, Paul, Kuma, Law, Hwoarang, Raven
The B-Tier exists as a base tier for characters who have some really big strengths, but also some huge drawbacks. Most of these characters are pretty well-balanced, and there’s no reason you can’t do well with them.
Victor
Yes, we’re putting Victor this low. The vast majority of Victor players you’ll end up facing will spam the same few strings at lower levels, and many of his BnB strings are easily ducked or sidestepped as long as you’ve got the know-how. There are really strong Victor players out there, but beware of the pitfall of spamming his strings. And, while he’s got some killer lows, Victor lacks range outside of his slow sword swings and one-off pistol shots.
Lars
Lars is much, much better than he was in Tekken 8, but he’s still not a top-tier. While he’s got some strong gap close and movement with some tricky stance mindgames, he doesn’t do much better than other characters. He isn’t bad, but he’s just not particularly great either.
Claudio
Claudio’s a tricky character to play and play against. He’s got some incredibly deceptive mids and is able to force a ton of 50/50s where the opponent has to read what he’s planning to do, but many of his most effective strings are easily punished on block. That said, he has one of the best Heat buffs in the game, and he can easily turn the tide of a round by using his Heat enhanced moves. Claudio’s a character with a lot of strengths, but also many weaknesses to balance them out.
Paul
Paul is a very simple, straightforward character. He’s all about finding windows to land launchers, whiff punishing, and throwing out some high-damage moves. However, he lacks flashy options and deceptive mechanics. Simple, honest Tekken is what you get when you play Paul.
Kuma
Kuma has landed a tier above Panda despite their kits being very similar. Along with the high damage and long range both characters bring, Kuma’s EWGF in Heat not only makes him look damn cool, but gives him surprisingly strong and fast pressure. Tekken 8 Kuma isn’t sugar coating it, and he’s got a shot at being competitively viable.
Law
Between having some fairly underwhelming Heat moves, frame data that’s had its nerfs carried over from Tekken 7, and a lack of options that involve anything but making a B-line for your opponent, Lee’s fairly one-sided gameplay makes him fairly predictable. With how many options every character gets to keep him at bay and Power Crush through his aggression, Law doesn’t feel that great in Tekken 8.
Hwoarang
Hwoarang is arguably Tekken’s OG spam character, and he’s about the same in Tekken 8. While higher level players will get a lot more mileage out of him than mashers, but he can still kick spam his way through most opponents. His barrage of kicks is hard to counter for someone who isn’t aware of when he should be punished, but Hwoarang gets a lot harder to play against people who know how to shut him down.
Lee
Lee is in the realm of being exceptionally difficult to play properly, but without the same payoff as characters like Kazuya or Reina. Maximizing Lee’s effectiveness requires multiple, frame-perfect inputs within standard combos, and, though he’s got a wide range of strengths, getting the most out of him requires a massive time investment.
Raven
Raven’s a very tricky character in more ways than one. His normals aren’t all that impactful, and his raw frame data is nothing to write home about, but his clones allow him to have some very hard to read mix-ups and a ton of movement options. Raven won’t do anything in the hands of a masher, but he’s the sort of character that’ll do great in the hands of a seasoned player.
C-Tier Tekken 8 Fighters: Asuka, Zafina, Steve, Leroy, Panda
C-Tier’s fighters aren’t unplayable. Fortunately, this is Tekken, and the game is fairly well-balanced even when it comes to the roster’s weakest members. Picking one of these fighters doesn’t mean you’re going to lose guaranteed, but it does mean you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.
Asuka
Asuka severely lacks any option other than aggression. It’s difficult for her to do any damage without rushing down her opponent, and the damage she does get from a launcher pales in comparison to what other characters can accomplish with the same amount of effort. While she has some fun evasive options and is fairly new-player friendly, she feels pretty bad to play in comparison to someone like Jun.
Zafina
Zafina’s combos and frame data got killed in some nerfs in the transition from Tekken 7 to Tekken 8, with many of her old-school bread and butter combos either doing way less damage than before or being impossible entirely. And, considering how much easier her lows are to punish on block this time around, she’s in a rough spot. If Zafina looks interesting to you, you’re better off playing another stance character like Xiaoyu or Reina.
Steve
Steve’s in a similar spot to Zafina from having a lot of his BnBs hit hard in the transition to Tekken 8, with even Tekken pros like Knee deciding to drop the character despite having a competitive history with him. Steve is much easier to punish on block this time around, making his relentless barrage of punches much less oppressive than before, and the commitment required to learn his unique, no-kick playstyle isn’t worth the time.
Leroy
Leroy is the epitome of a character who’s been nerfed into the ground, with him catching a nerf in the latest Tekken 8 balance patch despite not being all that great. He’s got incredible chip damage and can still bring the pressure if he’s able to get up close, but Leroy feels a bit underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the cast.
Panda
Panda’s got some moves that make her stand out from Kuma, but her options are just worse unfortunately. Though she tries to copy Xiaoyu with an awkward bicycle kick, nothing Panda does can bring the sort of overwhelming force Kuma’s EWGF does. Panda scores points for being cute, but that’s about it.
All that said, just pick what looks good to you. If a character being an S-Tier pick makes them more attractive to play for you, then do that. If you want to play Asuka anyways despite her being in a very weak state on release, do it!
Ultimately, pick who looks interesting to you. If you’re the kind of person who’s interested in picking what’s meta, then S-Tier has a ton of options. If not, disregard where your favorite character is on the list and play them anyways.