King of Fighters 15 Tier List (September 2022)

The King of Fighters is a long-running fighting game that players have come to love and appreciate. There are tons of characters to choose from and some of them are extremely good. Since the game is constantly being updated, some of the characters might get buffed or nerfed in a future update. If that happens, we will update this list. Till then, we will look at The King of Fighters 15 tier list.

While the character that you choose depends on your playstyle and preference, there are some notably better characters that will allow you to win online. Keep in mind that regardless of the character, you need to continue practicing their combos and abilities. For those just starting out with KOF15, we have a complete beginner’s guide for you to go through.

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1 King of Fighters 15 (KOFXV) Tier List

King of Fighters 15 (KOFXV) Tier List

Before we begin, we know that you might not agree with all of our picks – and that’s fine! We would love to know which characters you are using and why you think your favorite one should have made the list. With that in mind, let’s get started and find out which characters are the best in The King of Fighters 15.

We have divided this King of Fighters 15 tier list into three sections. Each section will include various characters depending on their stats, effectiveness, moveset, and how well they perform in multiplayer. The S-Tier characters are naturally the best, whereas the B-Tier ones should be avoided in multiplayer. Also, do note that C-Tier does not mean that it cannot beat S-Tier, it will just take that much effort and it isn’t worth the time.

Note: The following tier list has been updated according to the latest King of Fighters 15 (KOFXV) Update 1.34 live for all the players.

S-Tier

The characters added in the S-Tier are useful in all situations, no matter the circumstance. They have the best stats and combos in the game. Not only that, but some of the fighters in this tier are easy to learn, even if you are a new player.

Name	Reason
Ralf Jones	Ralf is solid no matter where you play him. His reach, attack, and speed are all top-tier, making him a solid pick. Plus, he is great to pick up for new players as well.
Terry Bogard	The poster boy of the KoF series, Terry Bogard is continuously in the S-tier. This can be attributed to his high damage and amazing combos. Even new players are good with this character.
Vanessa	Vanessa has great run speed and her meter gain is quite good. If you properly use her combo, you’ll easily fill up half of her meter. Overall, her animations are really fast, making it difficult for the opponent to react.
Joe Higashi	Another member of Team Fatal Fury, Joe has great zoning skills and his fireballs can be fatal. Plus, his combos are extremely good as well even for new players.

A+ Tier

Characters in the A+ tier have pretty valuable stats in certain situations. They are good in some cases but may lack behind in others. However, these fighters are close to the S-tier characters but are behind due to a few flaws in their kit.

Name	Reason
Elisabeth	Her standing normals are extremely good and she has great anti-air combos as well. In the right hands, Elisabeth is easily an S-tier character.
King	King has great zoning abilities alongside some amazing air fireballs. She also has an amazing jump cd and overall buttons as well.
Mai Shiranui	Mai is easy to use and her jump normals are quite effective. She might have the fastest jump cd in the game. Plus, her low crushes have a good range.
Chris	Chris is a good character that does everything the others do above him. However, his damage isn’t as good so there are better options to choose from.
Robert Garcia	Robert is easy to use and an ideal choice for beginners. His fireball and zoning are superb compared to most other characters in the game.
Heidern	He has some of the best anti-air combos in the game. On top of that, he also has three reversals to help him solidify his place in the A+ tier.
Shun’ei	Shun’ei has great poke and can convert off of normal attacks really well. Plus, his damage is good too. However, his speed is where he is lacking.
Blue Mary	Blue Mary has an extremely good moveset that helps her stay near the top of the tier list. However, her lack of damage is why she isn’t S-tier. Even a small buff to her damage will immediately put her to the top.
Kyo Kusanagi	He is a nightmare to deal with in the corners. On top of that, he also has great damage. It’s not that he is a bad character, there are better picks available. That’s why he is in the A+ tier for now.
Athena Asamiya	Due to her moveset, she can be quite frustrating to play against. Overall, she can keep the opponent guessing. However, her zoning isn’t the best.
Dolores	Dolores has a good teleport ability that makes you go behind the opponent alongside having a good command grab. Due to the lack of good fireball and anti-air combos, she is in this spot.
Kukri	He has good zoning and he can be annoying to play against. Since we haven’t seen a lot from him, we cannot rank him higher for now.

A-Tier

The characters in this tier are pretty good but they can be challenging for some newer players. However, we suggest that you give them a chance to see how well they suit your playstyle since these characters are not bad by any means.

Name	Reason
King of Dinosaurs	King of Dinosaurs is a great character that almost made it to A+. He has a good range and can be quite tough to play against. He is a grappler with good buttons.
Clark Still	Clark is a great character that plays as a grappler. However, since he relies heavily on his momentum, it can get difficult to get him going.
Leona Heidern	Leona has great speed that allows her to stay at this spot. Otherwise, her new move isn’t the best and it didn’t help her out that much.
Meitenkun	He cannot cancel his charge move as late anymore which is one of the reasons he is this low. Other than that, his sweep and other buttons are pretty good.
Isla	She has good damage and can be really strong in the right hands. However, her fireballs are easily punished so that’s why she isn’t higher than this.
Antonov	Antonov has a good neutral game and he can deal some good damage.
Kula Diamond	Overall, her speed is quite nice to have and she deals a decent amount of DP. However, her combos are harder to hit due to a few changes which makes her difficult to play.
K’	He is an easy-to-play character that is good for new players. However, after being nerfed a bit, he doesn’t perform the same way he did before.
Shermie	As a grappler, she is pretty good since she can match the movement of other characters. However, her defensive options are limited.
Maxima	In terms of damage, he is great and he has good poke damage as well. The only reason why he is this low is that he can have a hard time against characters that have good zoning potential.
Benimaru Nikaido	While his DP is quite good, the recovery time is lacking. Due to being nerfed, he is this low on the tier list.
Iori Yagami	Iori still has all of his tools and can actually deal a good amount of damage. However, like other characters in this tier list, he is also nerfed so he doesn’t feel as good as he once did.
Chizuru Kagura	While her overall kit is decent, her jump is where she gets points deducted. Since her jump feels too long, she can be an easy target for anti-air attacks.
Andy Bogard	Unlike the other members of Team Fatal Fury, Andy is in the A-tier because he feels like a basic character that is beginner-friendly. In the long run, he doesn’t have intricate combos that help him stand out.
Krohnen	Krohnen has great damage but you have to get in close for that. There are so many characters that can easily zone him out, making him almost useless.
Angel	Angel has good mix-ups and combos but she can feel a bit off in neutrals. Since she relies heavily on the opponent not knowing what you are doing, she is inconsistent.

B-Tier

These characters aren’t necessarily bad, but they are not the most effective in the game. Their stats are highly dependent on the situation. On top of that, they have mediocre combos, making it almost impossible for new players to pick them up or use them online.

Name	Reason
Ryo Sakazaki	Ryo has some strong combos that can hit hard. However, using those combos can require a lot of practice and skill. While it is worth it to learn them, there are better picks available. His damage is also quite good but his neutral game is nonexistent.
Luong	Her normals and stance cd are superb but you have to adapt to linear gameplay in order to play her properly. Your attacks can be telegraphed easily and blocked.
Ash Crimson	Another familiar face for those who even haven’t played the game, Ash has amazing damage but players will have to do a lot to deal that damage. As with Ryo, there are better picks available.
Ramon	While Ramon is playable, it is easy to counter him. All your opponent needs to do is spam block and wait for you to finish your combos. The main positive thing for Ramon is that his jump animations are quite fast.
Yashiro Nanakase	Yashiro did some great corner juggles that could shake up the opponent. However, in the final release of the game, he got nerfed and his juggles got removed. As a result, he deals way less damage now.
Yuri Sakazaki	She doesn’t have that many good neutral buttons, instead, you’ll have to play around with her jumps. Plus, after a few nerfs, she is barely hanging in the B-Tier.

C-Tier

The characters in this bracket do not seem as fun as others. Most of them are currently being slept on. Some of them can be really fun if given a chance. However, as of March 28, there is only one character deserving of the lowest tier.

Name	Reason
Whip	Whip is a decent character but she isn’t worth investing your time into. She is a gimmicky character that can be fun to play but if you’re playing competitive multiplayer, then she should be avoided at all costs.

Those are the best fighters in The King of Fighters 15. Did your favorite character make the list? Let us know in the comments below! We would love to know which character is your favorite and why.

King of Fighters is now out on the PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 platforms. Are you excited about King of Fighters XV? What do you think will be new in the upcoming rendition of King of Fighters? Tell us in the comments below!