Throws HURT

King in Tekken 8 is absurd. This character has always been good in just about every Tekken game but due to the nerfing of counter-hits in Tekken 8 and the overall buff to Throws overall has just made King stronger than ever. This character has great mid-range options, amazing jabs, and is even more of a monster that'll constantly be forcing you to 50-50 guess on what he's going to do or what the break is for his Throws.

Ridiculous Offense

Dragunov is another character that just doesn't seem to stop when he gets his flow going during a set. The character just recently topped the character popularity poll for Week 2 of the game (overthrowing Reina), and it's clear why. The guy just has a brutal offense and the minute you start blocking multiples of his plus-frame attacks in a row he immediately goes for a grab, and if you break that he goes right back into pressure. Has a ton of options, a lot of fast moves, and isn't too input-intensive.

She Never Stops

Azucena might be the best character for newer players to try out. Sure, her stance system technically requires so a decent amount of learning and practice to understand, but you can also just send it and rely on left punching twice (1,1) to go into the Stance for you without ever even needing to learn the actual stance input. Azucena is in the S-Tier primarily for her pressure, no other character seems to have it as good as she does. That running 3 into 2, her forward 343, and all those easy mixups make it so that Azucena players will feel like they get to play the game and their opponent just needs to watch.

Get Ready For Phoenix Stance

Ling Xiaoyu is very similar to Lili in a lot of ways. Both characters can absolutely keep the pressure on without too much input intensity, both characters have amazing mixups that are naturally a part of their strings, and both characters get a lot out of being backturned. If you're not ready to block when facing a Xiaoyu, you're going to have a bad time. All that said, Ling Xiaoyu ends up in A-Tier instead of S-Tier like Lili purely due to the fact that she needs proper execution and practice to excel while Lili really doesn't.

Easy To Understand, Hard To Learn

Reina is an interesting character for a multitude of reasons, but one of the main ways she's unique from the rest of the roster is that new players can pick up Reina and be successful with her without much practice but if they really take the time to learn her it's like a whole new ball game. Basically, Reina is both beginner and veteran-friendly, as her moveset allows for relying on a few key moves and doing decent or relying on her entire kit and doing amazingly. Plus, Reina has a moveset very centered around taking the initiative with moves like ff2 that goes into a whole bunch of other options and comes out incredibly quickly.

You're Going To Get Mixed

Anyone who has fought even a decent Lili player online knows how frustrating this fighter can be to go up against. As far as a mixup game goes, Lili has one of the best lists of mixup options out of anyone. She's constantly making her opponent guess if the next hit is going to be a high, mid, or low, or even if she's going to instead turn herself around and start attacking again from there. Plus, on top of all this, she's relatively easy to play and learn her strings, meaning that without a ton of practice, you're going to be feeling a lot of dopamine while using this character.

Some Terrifying Attack Strings

Next up is the mother of the Kazama family who is back after quite a while, Jun Kazama. Jun is a character that requires a decent grasp of the fundamentals to really make use of, but even with the bare minimum fundamentals, you can still go far with Jun thanks to all of her options. A lot of Jun's best attacks are plus on-block, naturally transition into mixups, or easily lead into a full string of hits if they connect. It might seem interesting to see Jun up this high considering where Asuka is placed, but Asuka is much more defense-focused in her design, and Tekken 8 is a very offense-focused Tekken game.

Basic Yet Complex

Jin is simple, he's honest, and he's reliable. As the 'protagonist' of Tekken 8, it makes sense that he would sort of be the default character, but being 'basic' is sometimes a blessing. He doesn't require a ton of learning (outside of getting the inputs down for his Electrics) and he has great strings, but once your opponent has fought against a couple of Jins you're going to find it's a lot harder to get away with his stronger moves such as his d2. Still, as far as moveset, combos, options, and overall design go, Jin is a very strong option.

Time To Master Just Frames

When it comes to high-execution characters in Tekken 8, Lee Chaolan may be one of the highest. The amount of 'just frames' (another Tekken term you'll probably want to learn) that Lee players swear you need to consistently hit to make use of this character is high, meaning he's incredibly technical. In fact, Lee is also probably the best example of a character that'll feel more and more rewarding the more time you put into him. The better your execution and timing, the higher you'll get with Lee, and the better his kit will feel.

Always Coming At You

Devil Jin has been in past Tekken games, but he's easier to play than ever in Tekken 8. He has multiple stances like his Morning Crow stance, and almost all of them make approaching the opponent easy. Devil Jin is fast, he has a lot of reach, and because of the increased tracking of moves in Tekken 8, it feels like sidestepping him is even harder as well. He does require practice to really get good with, but once you're there Devil Jin will make your opponent feel like they can't do anything more than most other fighters on the roster.

Jab-Based Offensive

Nina Williams is in an odd situation because she's so incredibly beloved by the fanbase yet no one seems to play her in Ranked. Regardless, Nina Williams is unique in that she has a lot of fast lows, a lot of amazing jab strings, and she can cancel a lot of attacks into these fast sidesteps to immediately punish an opponent for even thinking about trying to counterattack.

Constant Approach & Chainsaw Offensive

Alia Bosconovitch, 'daughter' of Dr. Bosconovitch and the adorable robot who can't seem to keep her head on, is another character that's incredibly beginner-friendly but also incredibly terrifying once a good player figures her out. She has a lot of easy-execution moves that'll carry a new player through the initial couple of Ranks, and once they hit a wall and are forced to learn her these same players become a whole different beast to fight. Whether it's her chainsaw stance, her absurd number of approaching and aerial options, or just her slew of useful plus frame attacks, Alisa is a character worth at least checking out.

Fundamentals Can Be Scary Too

In a modern fighter like Tekken 8, Kazuya Mishima is probably the most 'old-fashioned' of the Mishimas (excluding Heihachi, of course) in terms of his playstyle. He relies heavily on fundamentals and proper spacing, and a large portion of the people maining him have been playing Tekken since the early 2000s at least. He's pretty much the definition of a 'traditional' character, with the major twist on him in this game being the absolutely absurd pressure you can apply while in Heat as Devil Kazuya.

Demolition Man = Death

If Paul fans were wondering if Paul still plays like Paul in Tekken 8, don't worry, he absolutely does regardless of his new hairstyle. He's still going to Demoman you for half your health or Deathfist you constantly, he still hits like a truck, and he's only going to feel even stronger in this Tekken that's more offense-focused than defense-focused. That said, Paul has a ton of exceptional depth but not a ton of move depth, meaning that once an opponent figures out which options and strings you rely on, it's going to be really tough to catch them slipping. An easy character to pick up but not an easy one to get into the higher ranks once players start learning their matchups.

A Kick-Based Offense

Anyone who is currently climbing the Green, Yellow, or even Orange ranks in Tekken 8 probably dreads coming up against a Leo player, as this character is a mix-up monster. For those trying to learn Leo, just try out his f4 into his stance and go from there, and you'll find the string you go into from this is usually enough to get at least the first round from any opponent. The options that Leo uses to start his long strings of hits that do absurd damage have such a big plus frame advantage that it almost feels like you're always safe on Leo, which is exactly why he's ranked this highly.

Power & Evasion Combined

Playing against a good Feng Wei player is going to be frustrating until you really get the hang of Tekken 8's flow, it's as simple as that. This character has a lot of easy punishes for when you whiff, he has a lot of evasive options that are also attacks such as his uf2, and his strings just feel like they'll never end once you're caught in them. He has a 10-frame counter hit, a lot of great options for attacks while sidestepping, and a whole lot of power.

Hard To Learn, Harder To Beat

If someone like Azucena was a character that got into S-Tier purely from ease of use, Raven is a character suffering in A-Tier simply because he's hard to learn. Raven is so incredibly good in Tekken 8 and has more options than ever, but he requires a whole lot of practice in both his moves and in general fundamentals. Just learning when to use his backflip (aka up to back, same as Azucena's backflip) and what moves you can use from that backflip takes a decent chunk of practice, and that's only maybe 1/10th of the options Raven has at any moment.

No End To His Hijinks

Yoshimitsu has always been one of the most unique characters among the Tekken cast, and that doesn't change in Tekken 8. This guy has a lot of gimmicks, a ton of stances, a whole lot of attack options, and is all-around a fantastic character. Moves such as his unblockable (while crouching) df1, 11, his spinning db3 (can repeat), and his b2 evasive option are all weird and yet all also amazing. And to top it all off, Yoshi's helicopter stance (u1+2) is better than it's ever been, making him just such a blast to play.

Auto-Combo Monster

Victor is one of the newcomers in Tekken 8, and he's basically a mix between Raiden from Metal Gear (specifically Metal Gear Rising Raiden) and John Wick. This stylish old-timer has such easy execution and such a wide range of options that anyone picking him up for the first time will feel like they're 'amazing at Tekken' after just a few rounds. Whether it's moves like his ff2 or his hilariously easy combo string after any launcher (just keep pressing 2), Victor is just very good. Of course, because he's a bit simple in design, players who have learned the matchup can really wipe the floor with Victor, which is why he's not ranked any higher than this.

Sliding To Victory

Out of the entire Tekken 8 roster, Lars Alexandersson may rely on his stance more than anyone else. This character is almost always using his sliding stance to go into a string, a combo, or even just a basic punishment, and because it's such a fast animation it takes a lot of practice for an opponent to start reacting to a good Lars player. If Lars is dashing forward in his stance, you're probably about to be in trouble.

Stance Switching Nightmare

Law is one of those characters that goes up or down in ease of use by quite a bit depending on the Tekken game. And, in Tekken 8, executing moves with Mashall Law is about as easy as it's ever been. That said, it's still not that easy overall, and Law is actually a pretty highly technical character at higher levels. You need to have his move list down and a proper grasp on timing to really do well with Law, and that high execution barrier of entry is what lands him here.

From Cold (Defense) To Hot (Offense) In A Snap

Whereas a few other characters in Tekken 8 have highly technical aspects to them, they usually have low execution aspects of their move list that allow newer players to still enjoy using those characters and winning with them. Of course, once they hit a barrier in Ranked, they'll be forced to learn the more complex stuff, but Bryan Fury feels like you need to learn the technical stuff a lot earlier. His taunts, his defensive loop, his counter hits, and his zoning options all require proper understanding and practice. He's a very good character in the right hands, but his high barrier of entry does put him a bit lower in the tier rankings.

Sleeper Monster Who Will Surf On Your Face

Moreso than characters like Lars who rely on their sliding lows or slide stances to open opponents up, Shaheen relies on this even more. If the opponent seems ready to react to Shaheen's df3 right from the start, then it's going to be a pretty brutal uphill climb to win the match. Still, outside of that, Shaheen is probably the character who has changed rank the most since our initial publishing of this Tier List, and is a real 'sleeper' character. He plays honest, but in the best of ways, as he's incredibly scary in heat, has very reliable options, and almost no one has labbed the matchup against him at all.

Scary To Fight Until You Understand Him

Hwoarang is a Tekken character with a faulty reputation. A lot of people just assume that they just need to mash kicks and the tae kwon do student named Hwoarang will just go off. This is not true. This character needs proper execution, fundamentals, and practice, just like everyone else. However, once you learn Hwoarang enough, it does feel like you can just keep attacking with no consequence. However, Hwoarang can be learned, he can be countered by his opponents, and once you know how to play against a Hwoarang it can be difficult for them to get another round from you.

Just Some Amazing Punish Options

Claudio is another character that not a ton of people seem to be playing online, but one they should be checking out at least. This guy has one of the safest pokes in the game with b1, he can instantly punish a bad approach with his uf4 launcher into a combo string, and he's one of the few characters in the game with a projectile by using his f2 while in Heat. Claudio is very unique in his kit, and while this can make the initial hump of learning him rough, it also makes it tough for new opponents to learn how to fight against him.

Poke, Jab, & Footsie Machine

Jack 8 is absurdly interesting as a Tekken character. He's always been big and bulky, but Tekken 8's highly offensive general playstyle made it seem like bigger characters like Jack 8 were going to have it rough. However, that's not the case, as this big guy is actually a monster when it comes to footsies and pokes, though not a lot of that comes from his kicks. Essentially, you poke with Jack 8, find your window, and then mix them up with his wide range of mid and low options after a jab. And, if that doesn't work, just do f3 and hold down afterward to go into his macho-flex type stance and there's a whole bunch of other options you can use from there.

Better Than Before

Leroy Smith is back in Tekken 8 and better than before. His d32 string leading into his Hermit Stance is very similar to Leo's initial game plan in that these two simple attacks can easily lead to a whole bunch of different attack strings that constantly keep the opponent mixed up. Essentially, Leroy has a built-in parry system, he has a lot of very satisfying strings, and while he doesn't have an absurd number of amazing options, he does have a good handful of them.

Learn Your Stances To Dominate

Zafina very much feels like the type of character who has all the tools to be good but needs the proper time and dedication to really make use of them. This character has a lot of different stances, a lot of very unique moves, and doesn't seem to be all that popular in Ranked play. However, professional fighting game players seem to like her, with Sonicfox being the premiere example, so that alone proves that she can be a real monster in the right hands.

Still Playing T7 While Everyone Else Is Playing T8

As a Steve Fox main, it hurts us a real lot to put our boy here, but it's where Steve Fox belongs as of May 2024. While a ton of the roster feels like they've gotten much better in T8 or at least easier to play, Steve Fox (even with his new Stance) feels mostly the same as in T7. The only big difference, other than Lion Heart, is the fact that his B1, the core of Steve Fox's general gameplay loop, is worse in T8. It's less reliable and is beaten out so much more often than ever before. He's still an incredibly fun character to play, and his combo damage and wall combos have massive damage potential, but you don't 'have it easy' in ranked with Steve Fox, you're going to be putting a ton of work in for each and every win.

Worse Than Before

Just like how characters such as Steve Fox are a bit worse in Tekken 8 due to defense-centric mechanics not being as good, Asuka has also suffered from this as a result. Whereas Steve Fox players find it harder to profit from counter hits as much, Asuka sort of struggles with her parries and sabakis in Tekken 8, and those are pretty core to her gameplay loop. Asuka players really need their opponents to respect them to do well, by that we mean that their opponents aren't just mashing after blocking every attack. Additionally, her frame advantage on a lot of her attacks has been nerfed from Tekken 7 as well, making her one of the few characters to get an overall downgrade from Tekken 7 to Tekken 8. Again, can be unstoppable with a dedicated Asuka player behind the controls, but on average Asuka players are struggling right now.

Depth Buried In Gimmicks

Kuma (and by extension Panda) are both so absurdly fun in Tekken 8and surprisingly good as well. In previous Tekken games, both of these characters were known for being 'gimmick' characters that people used just because it was funny to play a bear. But, in Tekken 8, they're still not going to be at the top of any Tier Lists. Does this mean you can't win with them? Absolutely not. Both bear characters have plenty of potential to win in Ranked and even in tournaments as long as they're in the right hands. But, in general, the bears just don't have access to the same safe options as a lot of other characters do. For example, their main low poke, their d/b2, is now launch punishable in T8, and that sort of mentality can be seen in a lot of their kit. You can make the bears work, but you're going to have to react to your opponent playing toward your weak points a lot more than with many other characters on the roster.

Depth Buried In Gimmicks

Panda doesn't have a ton of differences from Kuma outside of her Heat Mode mechanics and her Rage Art, so it only feels fair to give them both the same evaluation.