Bayonetta and Diddy Kong tied atop Panda Global Super Smash Bros. for Wii U character tier list

Esports organization Panda Global have issued the latest character tier list for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and while Bayonetta hasn't been knocked off her perch, another character has joined her at the top.

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For professional Super Smash Bros. for Wii U players, part of their success can be attributed to the characters they go to war with. The folks at Panda Global have released the latest version of their character tier list, based on a survey of the Smash 4 community that includes tournament organizers, casters, and top players from around the world. The list has undergone some significant changes from the previous version of PG's rankings, including one at the very top: Bayonetta is now sharing the top spot with Diddy Kong.

Those that have played Smash 4 are quite familiar with Bayonetta, considered to be a broken character upon her release as the game's final DLC character. With powerful up and forward smashes, multiple jumps from her Up+B, and her Witch Time special that would slow down opponents, Bayonetta needed a patch to slow her down. Even with that update, however, she stands as the cream of the crop. Several top Smash 4 players utilize Bayonetta, including Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth, Yuya "9B" Araki, Saleem "Salem" Young, Marcus "Pink Fresh" Wilson.

Diddy Kong's noticeable jump to a first-place should not be entirely unexpected, given the next-level play of Smash 4's number one player in the world, Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios. Diddy's banana peel special and up smash combo, along with his numerous recovery options, make him a nightmare to play against. Other top players like Julian "Zinoto" Carrington and Shawn "K9sbruce" Bruce have elevated their Diddy Kong play over the past six months, so much so that the character himself is now considered a much tougher matchup.

Out of a scale of one to ten, Bayonetta and Diddy Kong sit at 9.94. The other "S" tier characters include Sheik (9.76), Cloud (9.64), and Rosalina & Luma (9.58). The "S-" tier includes Sonic, Fox, Mario, Zero Suit Samus, Marth, Ryu, and Mewtwo.

There is no change at the bottom, however. King Dedede (2.47), Zelda (2.13), Ganondorf (2.03), and Jigglypuff (1.67) all sit in the basement "D" tier with no sign of getting out.

With rumors continuing to fly about a Nintendo Switch port of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, it'll be interesting to see how these character rankings shake out over the course of the rest of the year. The full PGRv3 character tier list, along with the full list of 35 panelists, can be found on the Panda Global website.

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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