Street Fighter 6 Season 4 Tier List: Broski Breaks Down Winners and Losers
According to UK competitor Broski, Ryu may now claim the top spot in Street Fighter 6 after baffling balance adjustments pushed the character's damage output and Drive depletion to terrifying levels.
Key Takeaways:
- Broski rates Ryu, Luke, and Alex as the patch's biggest winners, highlighting game-changing neutral and combo tools.
- In Broski's view, Ed received the harshest nerfs of Season 4, driving competitive players to explore other options.
- Top-tier contenders like Mai and JP retain their strength in his evaluation despite targeted balance adjustments.
Broski Weighs In on the Season 4 Meta
Roughly a week and a half after Capcom released the Season 4 balance update for Street Fighter 6, British competitor Broski evaluated the competitive landscape in a post-patch breakdown. The early dust has settled, and his analysis highlights significant potential shifts across the roster.
In Broski's estimation, Capcom delivered unexpected buffs to Ryu, specifically enhancing his Solar Plexus Strike. He points out that safe neutral tools like Heavy Donkey Kick and Light Hashogeki allow Ryu to drain opponent Drive Gauges on block while dealing heavy damage on hit. These adjustments lead Broski to position Ryu as a prime candidate for the strongest character in the current version.
Other key beneficiaries in his breakdown include Luke, Jamie, Cammy, Elena, and Alex. Broski emphasizes that Alex received sweeping improvements, including full armor on Lariat through active frames, new tick throw setups with Heavy SPD, and an air target combo ender. He also notes that Elena had core weaknesses addressed, with Crouch Medium Kick becoming safe or plus out of Drive Rush. Luke gained knockdown capabilities on counter-hit Sand Blast in his assessment, while Jamie secured safer neutral options and plus-frames on overhead drinks with Okizeme setups.
Broski's Season 4 Character Tier Assessment
| Broski's Evaluated Tier Impact | Characters Included |
|---|---|
| Major Winners | Ryu, Luke, Jamie, Cammy, Alex, Elena |
| Moderate Buffs | Guile, Kimberly, Lily, Akuma, M. Bison, Zangief, Rashid, C. Viper |
| Minimally Changed | Chun-Li, Marisa (Classic), Dhalsim, A.K.I., Terry, Ingrid |
| Minor Nerfs | JP, E. Honda, Juri, Blanka, Dee Jay, Sagat, Mai |
| Heavily Nerfed | Ed |
Highlighting Ed's Decline and High-Tier Adjustments
In Broski's assessment, Ed suffered the most drastic downturn in the update. He believes adjustments to Snatcher severely stripped back Ed's reward, dropping him from top-tier status into mid-tier territory. Broski pointed to tournament representation as early evidence, noting that high-level competitors like EndingWalker have experimented with Ryu in open qualifiers rather than sticking with Ed.
Defensive adjustments altered other high-tier mainstays without knocking them out of contention in his view. Broski notes that JP lost his devastating Back Throw combo conversion out of EX Amnesia, forcing resets to neutral instead of guaranteed rounds. Mai lost wakeup Level 1 Super reliability during burnout, yet he considers her strong normal moves and new corner combo routes enough to keep her highly potent. He also identified E. Honda as slightly weaker, citing increased recovery on Stand Medium Punch making meaty setups vulnerable to Drive Reversal.
Early Patch Impressions Prepare for Tournament Testing
Capcom's latest tuning pass transforms how matches play out across both online ranked queues and open tournament brackets. Broski's personal tier list reflects one pro player's early impressions, offering a baseline for how matchup charts might evolve. While his analysis paints a picture of a newly dominant Ryu and rejuvenated options like Alex and Luke, these opinions will ultimately meet their real test as competitors refine setups and test the meta on the global stage.
Source: Broski