How the Pros Rank the First Wave of Tekken 8 DLC Characters

After a rip-roaring start to life in the next-gen fighting scene, Tekken 8 has been plagued by a series of controversies predominantly around its DLC content and efforts of further monetization. While a pass for a collection of new characters was normalized in Tekken 7, few expected the post-launch release of battle passes and cosmetic items that cost a virtual currency. Still, players are mostly on board with the DLC character releases.

As relayed by IGN, though, the uneven nature of these DLC character releases has given Katsuhiro Harada, the head of the game, pause for thought. Sometimes, characters get story and stages, other times, you just get the character and have to pay another fee for the stage – as with Heihachi Mishima and the Genmaji Temple stage. Adverse feedback on the strategy is well-advertised, but at the very least, the new characters have landed well.

Decent Standing for the New Characters

Eddy Gordo, Lidia Sobieska, and Heihachi Mishima have all landed as additional characters in Tekken 8, fulfilling the roadmap’s promise of one new DLC per season. With the characters now having been tested and tried out by the community, a couple of pro players have been able to weigh in on where the characters stand compared to those already in the game.

These tier lists can prove to be critical resources for fans of the professional eSports scene and even while competing more casually in the game’s multiplayer modes. So, seeing a top-tier pro player enter with a high-ranking character on the tier list can get those on NetBet in the eSports betting section to back them over their opponent. With a higher-ranking character on the tier list, skilled players get even more of an edge.

On Chanel’s often very telling tier list, the new characters generally sit in the middle of the range. In A+ and A tier, most of Tekken 8’s characters pile up. Lidia holds a place in A, alongside the likes of Azucena Ortiz and Kazuya Mishima. Eddy and Heihachi, however, get to go shoulder-to-shoulder with King and Marshall Law in A+. END|Tone, on the other hand, has Heihachi in B and both Eddy and Lidia in C.

Next Up for the Tekken 8 Roster

There has been a lot of talk about guest characters in Tekken 8. For some, the guest characters in Tekken 7 made for a poor experience, with powers that’re distinctly foreign to the Tekken series breaking the experience. For others, getting hit characters from other game universes – and sometimes TV universes – helps to vary the gameplay and create a new challenge. With Tekken 8 so far, welcomingly, it’s been all Tekken players.

Apparently, Tekken original characters will remain the course of action as we complete the first season of the T8 DLC pack this winter. According to RedBull, we know for certain that this Year 1 Pass won’t contain any crossover characters. Instead, we could see the return of Armor King, Craig Marduk, Lei Wulong, Fahkumram, or maybe, just maybe, another brand new original character to really spice things up.

Given the backlash offered by the community to much of the additional monetization efforts of Tekken 8 so far, they’re going to need to hit a home run with this final DLC character. This is one that will either give fans a reason to subscribe to the Year 2 Pass with hope for more great introductions, or it’ll deter them from buying it immediately and make them take a wait-and-see approach. So, a new and interesting addition or a fan-favorite is needed.

So far, the DLC characters have been the light in the darkness of Tekken 8’s post-launch exploits. The fact that they play well and generally rank in a way that shows they didn’t break the game is a good sign. We’ll have to wait a couple more months to find out if the fourth release will follow suit.