Malifaux Model Tier Project

Malifaux Model Tier Project
Hey everyone,

I was playing some Tekken online with some friends the other day and the discussion of character tiers came up during the matches. For those unfamiliar, Character Tiers is a sort of rating system that is used to judge on paper how often a character will win a match against an opponent. Usually, tiers also represent the ease of use of characters as well, so in theory a "higher tiered" character will be easier to use for newcomers compared to others.

These tiers are matched based on character health, hitting power, move-set and move use, zoning (screen control) and many other factors.

Tiers are usually based on a letter grade as such:
S Tier: Usually one or two characters that really outshine the others. Think of this as a 9.5 to 10 out of 10 character.
A Tier: Excellent characters with much to offer in skill-set
B Tier: Great characters that offer a good package but may lack on a few skill-sets
C Tier: Average character with an almost equal amount of strengths and weaknesses.
D Tier: A character with a few great moves, but mostly unimpressive.
F Tier: Really bad character. There are USUALLY none of these in fighting games, but there are exceptions.

Now do not think of tiers as a tried and true "Tier S will always beat tier D" formula. Player skill plays a lot into it. Example: I play Blanka in Super Street Fighter IV (a Tier C, borderline D character) and I regularly fight Sagat and Dudley Players (Both Tier S) online and win regularly.

Where does this rambling lead? After having the conversation, I thought it would be a good idea to set up model tiers for Malifaux. After sitting down and really looking at a ranking system, I found a 1-10 out of 10 system works best for grading the models. I scratch built an arbitrary system to help make the grading a bit easier but still details the character's abilities (even if it is by a number).

The easiest way to do this is by having 10 points to each character that are graded individually:

OFFENSE (OF): How well can they hit others WITHOUT spells or buffs from other models. Triggers count.
DEFENSE (DE): How do they do at not getting hit WITHOUT spells or buffs. Triggers count.
RANGE (RA): How well does the model do at attacking at range? Spells and buffs do not count. Triggers count.
MAGIC (MA): How well/reliable does the model cast its spells. Triggers count. Really look at all of the spells on the model for this one.
MELEE (ME): How well does the model perform in close combat. Spells and buffs do not count. Triggers count.
UTILITY (UT): Through Spells, Abilities, and Triggers, how well does the model buff/de-buff itself and/or others, and control the board? Explosives, pulses, and auras count in this as well.
DAMAGE OUTPUT (DO): What degree of damage does the model put out? Spells and the like count toward this.
SURVIVABILITY (SU): How well the model soaks up damage. Spells and the like count toward this.
CREW COHESION (CC): How well does the model operate with others in the crew? Spells and the like count toward this.
MOBILITY (MO): How well the model moves about the board and over/around obstacles. Spells and the like count toward this.

Scoring each category is easy:
The model is GOOD at the category: +2
The model is AVERAGE at the category: +1
The model is NOT GOOD at the category: 0

Divide the overall score by 2.

Here is an example:

Viktorias:
OF: 2
DE: 2
RA: 0 (i know one has a gun, but I am going with the worst of the two for this score)
MA: 1
ME: 2
UT: 1
DO: 2
SU: 1
CC: 0
MO: 2

Overall Score: 13/20 divide by 2: 6.5/10

Ok, I have babbled and ranted enough, let the Model ratings begin!

SPECIAL NOTE: These scores are judged on an individual model basis, not the entire crew.