There are a lot of different fighters in Street Fighter 6, all with ranging difficulty and capabilities. Keep reading if you want to know where we are placing the characters on this tier list. Since the start of Street Fighter 6, their placements have changed considerably, and they are all in different standings.
Here are all the Street Fighter 6 fighters, including the DLC fighters, ranked.
S+ Tier – Luke
The poster boy of Street Fighter 6, Luke, has some incredible capabilities in the game. He is a force to be reckoned with with a cancellable medium kick, a great ability to punish, and a great level 1 Super Art. Since JP dropped off, Luke and Ken have reigned as the game’s most powerful and consistent fighters. Luke has some of the most favorable matchups, making it easier for him to get the victory.
Make sure to time a level 1 Super Art; except for a projectile, every attack can be punished. That being said, it can be canceled out just before your Punish Counter.
Luke can steamroll his opponents, especially since his Crouching medium punch is advantageous on the block and can lead to some wild throw loops with which he can dominate the opponent. Compared to some of the other characters in the game, you don’t need to be an expert to be able to play Luke well, as he has some great power without complicated mechanics compared to some other fighters on the roster.
Luke has some of the simplest and most accessible counter combos, giving him the upper hand against his opponents.
S+ Tier – Ken
Ken is one of the strongest characters in Street Fighter 6 right now, being a top pick in the pro matches around the world. Ken has a great toolkit to his advantage and is quite simple to use overall. Both new and returning players can excel with Ken, especially with abilities like his Dragonlash or Jinrai Kicks.
He has gone from S tier to S+ tier because of his matchup capabilities. He has an advantage over most of the other fighters. This is because he has consistent ways to use anti-air, strong normals, and high damage output.
Being in the corner is always incredibly dangerous in Street Fighter, but adding the Drive meter in SF6 can either help or hinder you, depending on your side. Ken has some of the best corner punishes in the game, making it a hard match-up for the opponent as they fight for survival.
S Tier – JP
Since being at the top, he has dropped to the S tier. This is because of his OD Amnesia nerf. The attack has been scaled down significantly and does just over a fifth of the damage it used to do previously. On top of that, damage recovery has been boosted, making it difficult for JP to have the advantage in this situation.
Having your opponent at range allows you to output phenomenal damage while your opponent can barely get a single hit in against you. That being said, he also excels in close combat with his Overdrive Amnesia and his normal attacks. JP also has the advantage of having the only invincible reversal to counter strikes and grabs from the opponent.
Not only this, but JP also has some excellent anti-air capabilities, such as knocking his opponent out of the air with a simple, heavy punch.
When it comes to ranked players, JP is commonly played in the Master rank, so stay on your toes if you encounter him!
S Tier – Cammy
Cammy is a solid choice on the roster, but she requires a lot of skill to play her. She is incredibly agile and has a complicated moveset to boot. Cammy is the one for you if you like close combat with your fighters.
Cammy can close the distance between her and the opponent by utilizing long-range normal attacks. If you like a bit of danger and risk involved in your fights, using a Hooligan combo is also a fantastic way to dominate the opponent, but it has very high risk and can often yield no reward if it fails.
S Tier – Dee Jay
Dee Jay has gone up slightly in the rankings from the Capcom Cup. He has incredibly high damage output. Thanks to the Capcom Cup, professionals have shone a light on Dee Jay, giving other players an idea of just how strong of a fighter he can be.
Dee Jay is well-rounded and can be powerful if you know how to play him. With a lot of mobility, great feints, and a speedy Drive Rush, he can be a powerhouse if you know how to play him. His kit is quite fun, too, but you must have a high skill level to play him in the top rankings.
However, if you are good at playing Dee Jay, you’ll know how easy it is to trick your opponent into making many mistakes, especially if you’re utilizing the corner. As you work the opponent into the corner, Dee Jay’s trickery and facade are dangerous, and his feints can make or break the match.
A+ Tier – Blanka
Blanka was low on the tier lists when Street Fighter 6 first came out, but he has slowly worked his way up the ranks and can be a great fighter in the right hands. Once he has started to use his Blanka-chan doll, it can be incredibly overwhelming and difficult to know where and when to block. In Street Fighter 6’s first major tournament, MenaRD showed off the untapped potential of playing Blanka, and maybe it’ll start to inspire those to play him at higher ranks.
A+ Tier – Guile
Guile is great at zoning his opponents, but he can make it difficult to overcome his power. JP has since taken the top spot for this, but Guile is still a force to be reckoned with. Guile is one of the best defensive fighters in the game, and if you prefer to utilize zoning attacks but don’t want to work to play JP or Dhalsim, Guile is a great alternative.
Being able to control the speed of his projectiles can be very disorienting for his opponent, making it easier to punish them for their mistakes. His basic combos have high damage combined with his advanced combos and Super Art, which last forever. Combining all of those factors, it’s very easy for Guile to annihilate his opponent.
A+ Tier – Juri
Juri is another excellent fighter with a lot of mobility and Rushdown potential. She has a lot of offensive capability but can struggle against opponents like Ken and Blanka. Despite having great potential, she can be pretty difficult to play, especially for new players who haven’t touched a Street Fighter game before.
However, if you are experienced with the game and fighters in general, you may have more luck with Juri, as she has some whiplash movesets that can create a living hell for the opponent.
A+ Tier – Chun-Li
Chun-Li is one of the fastest characters in Street Fighter 6, and it can be difficult to get to grips with her varying movesets as a new player or an experienced one. Her tool kit allows her to utilize both aggressive and defensive movesets, making her a great option to play in the game. However, she can be tricky to learn as her best combos are incredibly complicated, and you need to be swift to pull them off.
With this new iteration of Street Fighter, Chun-Li’s movesets have changed considerably to add in stance moves- this allows her to have follow-up pressure and some powerful launchers and juggle combos. If you can play her well, you can demolish your opponent.
While Chun-Li is a very strong fighter, you need to have a lot of Street Fighter knowledge to succeed with her. A lot of her combos require stance changes and a lot of strict execution, not to mention character-specific match-up knowledge.
A+ – Marisa
Marisa is a bit of a tank and significantly stronger than most people realized when she was first announced for Street Fighter 6. Since then, many pro players, such as Big Bird, have gone on to utilize her and show what a powerhouse she truly is.
Compared to some of the characters on this roster, she has a highly accessible moveset, and if you like grappling fighters, Marisa is the one for you. While projectiles are usually the way to go against grapplers, Marisa has some extra tricks up her sleeve. This includes her Guard, which negates any high attacks and instead headbutts her opponent, giving Marisa the perfect opening for a command grab.
Her moveset is incredibly powerful and can quickly deplete the player’s health bar if the combos are landed correctly. Marisa is an absolute powerhouse in the right hands.
A+ Tier – Rashid
One of the DLC fighters that have been added to Street Fighter 6, Rashid has a lot of mobility and projectile options, making him a unique but complex fighter to play in the game. Rashid offers a lot of versatility in his combos and moveset, allowing players to play him however they see fit. He has a lot of offensive pressure, fantastic follow-ups, and great defensive capability. However, his anti-airs are not his strong suit, and while he allows for many great mix-up combos, his anti-airs can lose you the fight if you aren’t careful.
That said, he is not higher on this list because his damage output falls slightly lower than others. Compared to some other combos from other fighters on this list, they don’t output as much immense damage as combos from Cammy would, for example. Rashid is a resource-heavy fighter, relying on Drive and Super gauge charges to excel in damage output.
At the Capcom Cup, Gachikun displayed stylish combos that dealt heavy damage and highlighted Rashid’s capabilities to other players who may not be as knowledgeable about the fighter.
A Tier – Kimberly
Compared to some of the other fighters on this list, Kimberly doesn’t excel as much as the others. That being said, she still isn’t a terrible pick overall. During the beta, she was one of the best Rushdown fighters to pick, if not the best. However, other fighters now excel in this place where she does not, such as Cammy and Juri. That being said, she is great at punishing her opponent, so use that where you can.
B+ Tier – Ed
Ed is the newest fighter to be added to Street Fighter 6. He is already off to a strong start as he sits comfortably in B+ Tier alongside the iconic Ryu. He has an interesting toolkit boasting a combination of long-range control moves and short-range rush-down. These moves are inspired by Balrog, first introduced in Street Fighter 2 but hasn’t appeared in Street Fighter 6.
Ed has the weakest light punches in the game, which can be a cause for punishment from the opponent. He is also the outlier out of all of the fighters, as he doesn’t have a single kick available to utilize. Instead, all of his low attacks are crouching punches. He also has the inability to do anti-air cross-up jumps. That being said, he makes up for this with his overall control and mix-ups from full screen.
While he has some downsides, in the right hands, he can be a powerhouse that can utilize long-range and short-range attacks, similar to Akuma’s previous styles and JP.
B+ Tier – Ryu
Ryu is a well-rounded, solid character to play, but there is nothing overwhelmingly special about him. His moves are almost identical to the previous games, but he can be incredibly versatile. However, this iteration of Ryu is one of the best in the franchise, with his Hadoken and Hashogeki now having electrical properties.
After the Capcom Cup, there was a small balance patch. The balance patch buffed Ryu in a number of ways, specifically his Hashogeki, which is now more advantageous on hit or block. This leads to more consistent pressure on the opponent. His moveset is still entirely predictable and can be easily countered.
B Tier – A.K.I.
The newest fighter to join the roster, A.K.I., is quite a complicated character with a unique moveset that makes her stand out from the crowd. Her character design has sent her soaring in popularity, especially in the Master League.
Despite this, her damage can sometimes fail if you don’t land the necessary combos. Traditionally, A.K.I. has no invincible reversals, but you can use a variety of her Super Arts to counter in many different scenarios.
While her Snake Step is a fun and unique move, it can easily be countered by throws, leaving her open to damage. However, if you want to learn how to play a unique zoner and character that does chip damage with poison, A.K.I. is a great choice and does have a lot of potential if you know how to play her.
B Tier – E. Honda
In the beginning of Street Fighter 6, he was a solid pick to choose, with some fantastic damage. However, now that players are more familiar with the game, he has become predictable and easy to counter.
For those who want a more accessible fighter to play, E. Honda is a great option, especially if you plan on playing in the lower ranks. He has some great combos you can utilize, especially starting with Honda’s hundred-hand slap, which can be used as an opener for your combos.
B Tier – Dhalsim
Dhalsim has some fantastic normal attacks with great range and damage output, but playing this character at range can be quite difficult. That being said, he has some great follow-ups with Drive Rush, and his fireballs now have a bit more movement to them, being able to be fired into the air or straight at his opponent.
His long-range capabilities aren’t as good as JP’s, even if he can teleport during the battle to keep the opponent guessing.
B Tier – Manon
At the beginning of SF6, many players had high expectations for Manon and hoped she would be an agile powerhouse. Instead, her damage falls a bit flat. While her grappling skills are significantly better than Jamie’s and Lily’s combined, she is still lacking.
If you can’t pull off many command grabs, then you won’t see Manon excel with her damage output, and Manon’s ability to do that depends on who her opponent is. However, Manon is a force to be reckoned with if you can wait out the long game and collect five Medals.
B Tier – Jamie
While Jamie’s design is fun and exciting, the execution of his toolkit just isn’t as fantastic as Manon’s gimmick with her Medal collection. To excel in battle, you have to reach drink level four, where his damage output shines. However, this can be pretty difficult to achieve if you’re against a player who is an all-out-aggressive opponent.
Unlike Manon, Jamie loses his drink level each round, so you have to be able to consistently keep up his drink level to be destructive enough to win.
Jamie has received numerous buffs since the most recent balance patch for Street Fighter 6. This includes the ability to now get a drink level after a successful forward throw. He also has new setups and retains the correct drink level after his level 2 Super finishes.
B Tier – Zangief
Zangief is another grappler fighter, and while he had a lot of potential at the start, he isn’t as great as some of the others on this list. However, if he manages to pull off an SPD, he can do 30% damage, which is an immense amount of damage for one hit. Zangief excels in punishment- should you let Zangief get close enough to punish you three times, you can say goodbye to any sort of win.
Since the Capcom Cup balance patch, Zangief has been buffed, which allows him to combo into his level 3 Super from an OD Lariat. Previously, this attack was difficult to combo into, but now you can combo into it from any type of hit.
C Tier – Lily
This adorable fighter doesn’t quite have some of the fantastic capabilities others have on this list and is seen as relatively weak with an underpowered kit. However, if she gets enough stacks of Condor Wind, she can buff her special moves and have some excellent damage output if she manages to strike lucky against her opponent.
She has some great mix-up abilities and strong combos if she is lucky enough to succeed with stacking Condor Wind buffs. While she is one of the weaker fighters on this list, she can easily succeed if you put her into the right hands.
That concludes our Street Fighter 6 tier list. While some of these fighters are ranked lower than others, there is truly no bad fighter, depending on your rank. The most experienced players can make any character work; seeing results may take longer.
Who’s your favorite Street Fighter 6 fighter?
