Street Fighter 6 Season 3 Tier List: Best Characters in the Elena Patch

If you're diving into Street Fighter 6 for the first time with your new Nintendo Switch 2, or you're a veteran looking for a new main, we've got the first tier list you'll need to start climbing the ranked ladder

Karate Man Is Back On Top / Image: Capcom

• Ryu went from decent to absolutely busted good in Season 3
• Ken & Ed receive heavy nerfs
• Elena's early impressions = technical character with loads of mix-ups.

The newest season of Street Fighter 6 is upon us and there's now a whole host of changes that have shifted the tiers of the game. While most of the cast recieved minor buffs/nerfs, some have been drastically changed to the point that they are potentially unviable in pro play. However, take this list with a grain of salt.

Of course, this is only based on the patch notes and some minimal playtesting from us. So, expect these placements to shift. Also, the new character Elena is finally released, but because we don't have data on her matchups, she is relegated to an unranked tier. So, without further ado, here's where we think everyone falls in the new season of Street Fighter 6.

Our Much Too Early Season 3 Tier List / Image: Tiermaker

• S-Tier: Rashid, Ryu, Akuma, Bison
• A-Tier: Guile, A.K.I., Blanka, Zangief, Mai, Ed, Ken, Cammy, JP
• B-Tier: Terry, Luke, Juri, Chun-Li, E. Honda
• C-Tier: Dee Jay, Marisa, Kimberly, Dhalsim, Manon
• D-Tier: Lily, Jamie
• Unranked: Elena

S-Tier: Rashid, Ryu, Akuma, Bison

Ryu is overall much stronger now. / Image: Capcom

Ryu is now easily the best shoto in the game. His level 1 super, Shinku Hadoken, has been made faster AND has more damage. Not only that, if he buffs it with his Denjin Charge, it becomes nearly unreactable even at full screen. His normal Hadokens do more damage now as well and have less recovery. Basically, his main moves have been improved in every conceivable way. Plus, having a full-screen super move, at level 1, that you can throw out almost as a whiff punish is...a lot. Ryu is godly now.

The rest of the S-Tier just hasn't been nerfed enough to move much. Rashid still has his throw loop and his Level 2 super, Ysaar, is still by far the best utility super in the game. Akuma had some reduction to his neutral game by giving some of his normal moves extra pushback, but he still will be strong. Bison dropped the most out of the remaining S-Tier due to his heavy punch and Backfist Combo being nerfed, but he's mostly unchanged.

A-Tier: Guile, AKI, Blanka, Zangief, Mai, Ed, Ken, Cammy, JP

The A-Tier is chock full of fighters that have fallen out of the S-Tier and are a bit more modest now. Ken and Ed, in particular, were some of the game's most dominant characters, and now they have been lain low. Ed's suffered a major nerf to his Flicker Jabs. Previously, they were treated like projectiles, and you couldn't Perfect Parry them. Well, now you can. Which means they are VERY dangerous to use liberally.

Ken, on the other hand, got more nuanced nerfs. His light Jinrai Kick now knocks down, which severely limits his combo potential, and he's no longer able to chain his level 3 super with it. Also, Ken had his throw loop nerfed, which means he won't be able to take advantage of his still excellent corner carry. AKI and Guile got some minor nerfs that will probably keep them out of the top flight, while Blanka and Zangief got buffs that should see them a bit stronger.

Lastly, one of the stronger characters of Season 2, Mai, got two big nerfs. The first was to her Kagero No Mai super move. Previously, you got her Flame Stack buff the moment you activated the super. But now, it is brought more in line with other moves like it (such as Ryu's Denjin Charge). Now, if she is hit out of the move or it doesn't complete, she will not get the stacks, and you waste your super meter. Secondly, her oppressive heavy kick has less pushback on block and frame advantage, which makes it easier to counter.

B-Tier: Terry, Luke, Juri, Chun-Li, E. Honda

Image: Capcom

The big winners here are E. Honda and Terry. While Luke and Chun-Li haven't moved much, Juri has dropped down. Honda's launcher, Taiho Cannon Lift, now has new combo paths. This means that Honda has more opportunities to deal big damage. Terry's changes were just as positive. His heavy kick now pushes him back a bit less, meaning he can convert off counter hit more often. Also now his Round Wave special hits low, which means it must be crouch blocked to stop.

On the nerf side, Juri got some small adjustments that shouldn't change her much. The overdrive version of Saihasho how has 40% more scaling (meaning the more she hits you, the less damage each subsequent hit does).

C-Tier: Dee Jay, Marisa, Kimberly, Dhalsim, Manon

Marisa, Marisa, Marisa. Contending for one of the worst fighters in the game in Season 2, Marisa has seen some love this go-round. Her crouching medium kick was given one extra frame of advantage (+3), which now means she can combo from it. This is a godsend for the character. While it may not shoot her to the top tiers, it makes her much more viable in high-level play. Dimachaerus is now a more consistent anti-air and both her level 1 and 2 supers have been given additional properties to make it easier to combo into.

Manon, however, keeps falling and falling. For some reason Capcom refuse to help Manon out and she may be contending for bottom 3 or 4 fighters in the game. First off, her standing medium punch was nerfed. If your opponent was in burnout, her standing MP was arguably one of the best buttons in the game, and you could jail your foe in a block string. Now, that's not possible because of the additional recovery on the button. Also, a couple of her moves (A Terre & Temp Lie) knock down instead of pulling in. On the surface, this seems like a good thing, but that means she can't go right into her command grabs after them.

D-Tier: Lily, Jamie

The worst two are still the worst two. Neither Jamie nor Lily got changes that will catapult them to the high ranks of the game. Jamie still needs drinks even to play the game, and Capcom saw fit to actually remove one of his techniques that allows him to drink up. Not only that, he got some additional scaling on his Freeflow Strikes, which means they will do less damage.

Lily got some changes that could see her move up, but we just need more data. Her forward dash was made faster and her Desert Storm target combo was made slightly better. Also, her Tomahawk Buster moves were adjusted to make them easier to combo into. So we'll see if she improves, but as it stands, she's still pretty weak.

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