History TierInducedScrappy / TheKingOfFightersXV

This page covers characters in ''Videogame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' that have been [[TierInducedScrappy disliked by the fanbase]] for being high tier, low tier, or had been both at one point or another.

'''NOTE:''' Please remember that Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent -- when wording examples, please refer to the Season (or game) and use the past tense, instead of words like "right now", "is becoming" or other dated phrasing.

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[[folder:Billy]]
* Billy is supposed to be a ranged anti-zoner character, boasting some of the best reach in the game alongside Whip. Most of his normals have ''a lot'' of reach, and a good Billy is an absolute ''nightmare'' to even get in on him, if at all. Because he's so good at keep out and mid-range poking, Billy doesn't require a lot of meter to work with, but having means he's able to tear one's health bar to piece. The issue lies in the fact, otherwise, he has some really glaring flaws.
** Billy lacks any good frame data or ''especially'' hitboxes. Historically, Billy's hitboxes are [[MortonsFork a double-edged sword]]. Too good, and he's top tier; too bad (or mediocre ''at best''), and he can't keep up with the rest of the cast. One particular example is his trademark AntiAir, Suzume Otoshi, having a very finicky hitbox. Sometimes it'll hit the opponent right as they're touching the ground, while other times, it'll whiff even when his bo staff ''clearly'' hit them plain as day. Consequently, this also affects the reliability of its new follow-up move added in this game.
** Billy's normals, regarding his longest ones anyways, are also awful. His far Standing C is notorious due to leaving Billy vulnerable to being punished if it actually hits. Not when it's blocked, when it ''hits''. The best it can do with its range is canceling it into Quick Mode conversions or whiff punish into super.
** His Dai Kaiten-Geri command normal now only hits once, with him only doing the kick. That single change effectively takes away another anti-hop option that he used to have, limiting him to three somewhat risky moves that leave Billy open for follow-ups on whiff. This is on top of lacking the ability to cancel into Max Mode or even his other command normal.
** Billy does have his old [[CounterAttack Tsugeki Kon]] back, at least giving him a decent defensive option to use if none of his usual normals or Suzume Otoshi cut it. The issue is that the move doesn't work against certain moves. For example, Iori's Climax has a funny interaction where instead of Billy (usually) hitting the opponent with his staff, it just whiffs. Using it on just about any DashAttack causes this interaction. Suffice to say, this counter is unreliable in very odd situations.
** As of Ver. 1.62 (the start of Season 2), all of the above flaws with Billy were addressed ''en masse'', practically reinventing the entire character altogether. Billy's hitboxes and frame data received massive adjustments, in addition to major reworks to many of his specials that allow him to create more practical combos.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:B. Jenet]]
* Initially, Jenet was by far the weakest member of Team Garou, but certainly not on the level of Ramón or later Billy, being an average, beginner-friendly character with great normals, solid and fairly easy damage, and an overall no-nonsense Rushdown character to play. Her only real downsides are being a rather meter-hungry character and lacking a meterless reversal.
* However, that all changed with the Team South Town update, which turned Jenet from a fairly average character into a character at the upper echelons of top tier, enough that she - alongside Kula and Krohnen - flat-out usurps the infamous VRT trio from the top spot.
** Most notably, her dash speed is much faster than before, letting her naturally zip around the screen as quickly as her teammate Rock.
** While it might seem like an innocuous change if you read the patch notes, Jenet gaining momentum on her Far C is the straw that broke the camel's back, making her a force to be reckoned with. The move was already a fantastic and downright oppressive mid-range poke that is Special Cancelable on hit. The change to its movement only made it that much harder to deal with, not unlike Ralf's pre-patch Far D.
** Her Blowback also saw some buffs that, while already great on its own (given that it's her farthest reaching normal next to Far C), made it downright overkill. It's two frames faster, cancelable into Rolling Thunder (her only command normal), and recovers faster on hit.
** Speaking of, Rolling Thunder itself also gained more combo utility, as it's now possible to use it twice in a combo (e.g., using the cancel version to go into EX Harrier Bee, then using the normal version as a combo ender), which rounds out Jenet's damage quite nicely.
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%%[[folder:Chizuru]]%%
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[[folder:Dolores]]
* An unorthodox, but otherwise straightforward character, Dolores is a hybrid of a LongRangeFighter (owing to her Qafas pokes) and a [[TheGrappler Grappler]], thanks to Burj (which, unlike most command grabs, actually hits low and has better than average range; think [[VideoGame/SoulCalibur Ivy's]] Vile Condemnation or Lash of Atonement, for example).
** Dolores is one of the most unique characters on the roster due to her range and sheer utility in her moveset. On command, she can go from poking you at mid-range with Qafas Qabl, standing far B, far D, or jumping D (which also doubles as an excellent jump-in option), to harassing you with Qafas Khalfi (which is unique in that it strikes the opponent from behind, pulling them in towards her) or Altariq, which in addition to giving her a free cross-up anywhere on the screen, also cleanly dodges projectiles - including ''her own''. Pair this with very straightforward combos (at least at a novice level) and higher-than-average damage, and you have yourself a character that works well with just about any team.
** What keeps Dolores from being on the level of VRT (especially at launch) are two things - her lack of an invincible meterless reversal (the best she has Ghadab, which is a fully invincible command grab super that costs 1-2 stocks of meter) and her rather demanding execution at higher levels of play, making her a bit more risky to play as a result.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gato]]
* Basically, Gato has so many ways to approach you from the air that he makes [[Characters/StreetFighterAkuma Akuma's]] own Demon Flip look pathetic by comparison. The EX versions of either command hop also ''destroys'' fireballs, meaning any attempt at zoning is a NoSell if Gato has meter to burn. ''XV'' also gave Gato back his Lightning Fang bicycle kick special from ''Garou'', a move he sorely lacked in his ''2003'' and ''XI'' appearances.
** Gato's normals are also incredible. His Far A not only has incredible range, but its hitbox is also far bigger than it looks, giving Gato a solid punishment option if he visually confirms into it, and if he has meter to burn. Far B is also another quick and easy safe poke, far C is an average normal but is special cancelable otherwise, and far D is a Super Cancelable normal that, while slow, can catch hops pre-emptively. Crouching C is also another worthy contender, being as quick as far A, has fantastic range, and more hitstun than the latter normal, making it easier to confirm into. His Standing CD is also great for pressure, owing to its range and Gato - again - advancing forward during the animation. Overall, Gato's normals really round him out nicely.
** His other Specials are fantastic in their own right. Quaking Fang (qcf+P), while mostly combo glue (the EX version being a crumple stun on hit), has the added benefit of absorbing incoming projectiles. Because his EX Demon Flip isn't enough. And his returning Lightning Fang (dp+K) is far better than it has any right to be. Fast startup, great damage, and (the Heavy version, at least) results in a hard knockdown[[note]] Oh, yeah - the Heavy version can also be broken with A+B, too. Y'know, just for good measure. [[/note]]. Granted, it doesn't exactly have invulnerability frames, but considering how everything else in Gato's toolkit is ridiculous, that'd be overkill.
* The South Town Update hasn't done much to address this. The worst he got was a nerf on the forward movement on his far standing D, the addition of a hurtbox on his jumping CD, and a damage reduction for EX Quaking Fang. He is otherwise unchanged.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Iori]]
* Iori's launch state was unbecoming of his reputation as a top-tier character. Notably, he's a lot slower than he was in prior entries, with his Far D, seeing a huge reduction in its range and startup compared to the previous game. His Yuriori is harder to use than in prior games, especially when compared to Vanessa's Jumping C and Isla's Jumping D, the latter of which is also a dedicated cross-up that's functionally identical to it. It was also poor as a movement tool since he couldn't dash backward at the speed of light with it anymore. He was also just plain ''bad'' with meter. Among other things, most of his EX specials couldn't connect on hit due to the pushback of both Yumebiki and especially Shinigami. And they're nowhere near as useful in multiple scenarios as Krohnen's EX specials are. For a quick comparison, EX [[{{Shoryuken}} Oniyaki]] by itself is an adequate reversal that does plenty of damage and has excellent range, but comes with the usual drawbacks that you'd expect a DP of this kind to have. Whereas Krohnen's EX Heat Shield launches the opponent, absorbs incoming projectiles, and only slightly advances forward, ''and'' boasts excellent invulnerability - being much less risky to throw out than the usual EX DP is in comparison.
** Due to the universal changes to throws and wake-ups in ''KOF XV'', Iori's okizeme took a hit from it as a result. His Aoibana no longer works as in previous games, as Iori was susceptible to reversals if he's careless. Additionally, his Kuzukaze command grab also scaled damage heavily. For comparison, following it up with Yaotome after will cause it to only do half as much damage than if it was followed with Aoibana. Nevermind that the nerf to Far D made it less ideal for MAX Mode Quick cancels, either (which in themselves have also been adjusted from ''KOF XIV'').
* Thankfully, Iori would see a return to form with the Team South Town update, which addressed some of his issues with meter. The most notable of which being that Heavy Tsumakushi can now cancel into any other EX Special Move that isn't itself or, obviously, Kuzukaze (which just whiffs) and is more damaging (doing 80 damage compared to 50 pre-patch). Shinigami also had its pushback on hit reduced, making it ''much'' easier to land follow-ups during combos, increasing Iori's combo potential tenfold. His dash also saw a much-needed increase in speed, and he even gains a new unique mobility tool in Light Kototsuki In, which has Iori run forward instead of grabbing the opponent and incinerating their face clean off; making it a neat little fake-out to mix-up with the Heavy version. While not as strong as his heyday, Iori is still a viable choice because of his toolkit and how easy he remains to play, with the patch only making him much more reliable and easier to use.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Krohnen]]
* "Newcomer" Krohnen has an incredible moveset. His normals are ridiculous (e.g., standing Far C and its advancing variant, Spiral Smash - f+A, close C, crouching C - equally as ridiculous as Ralf's standing Far D pre-1.32, and both of his jumping punches), his three special moves are all excellent in their own capacity, and his combos are among the easiest in the entire roster. Like Rock, you can get just shy of 30% damage off of the most basic light confirms, even ''with'' the universal nerfs to crouching B.
** Perhaps the contributing factor to his top-tier status would be [[AntiAir Heat Shield]], a move that is so versatile, reliable, and trivially easy to use that it'd be impossible to watch a Top 8 match in EVO 2022 without ever seeing the move even ''once''.
** His {{Super Special Move}}s are no slouches either. [[SphereOfDestruction Infernal Prominence]] is a souped-up Heat Shield that's a kill confirm of a move that's easier to pull off than K9999's or Nameless' equivalent moves on-demand, and [[ArmCannon Fusion Blaster]] is another anti-zoner button to use since he can either fire five unseeable shots (all you can do at that point is block or jump over him pre-emptively) or a single, powerful charged shot with the MAX version.
** When you combine his ease of use with some of the most damaging combos in the game and some of the best metered moves in the game, Krohnen is right next to (if not better than) Terry for the best Anchor character in the game. Even then, Krohnen doesn't need to rely on meter for damage unlike Antonov or Terry. His simplicity also makes him a popular pick in tournaments.
** As of Ver. 1.62 (the start of Season 2), much of Krohnen's above-listed strong points were finally reined in. The range on many of his normals has been shrunk down and he is now more prone to being whiff-punished. His Heat Shield now pushes opponents farther away on an anti-air hit, and has overall damage output has been slightly toned down. That said, he also received several buffs in other areas, particularly the startup speed on many of his attacks. While his capabilities as one of the easiest and strongest anchors in the game has been nerfed, he has also been made much better as a battery in team compositions, and can still function well as an anchor.
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[[folder:Kula]]
* Ever since ''KOF XI'', Kula was an average character at best. She was a very forgiving JackOfAllStats that does reasonable damage, great space control, easy combos into fairly solid damage, and is another easy SkillGateCharacter. When Team South Town released, Kula received some not-inconsequential buffs.
** One of Kula's biggest buffs by far is the ability to Special Cancel into her far standing D, making Kula the sole character on the roster whose far normals are '''ALL''' Special Cancelable. This translates to reliable-as-all-hell block and whiff punishment, as Kula has an option for just about any situation at any range. On that note, her standing far B (one of her best pokes) can now cancel into One Inch more consistently, which, when paired with her crouching B (itself another fantastic poke even after the universal damage nerf), can lead to some extremely easy and damaging light confirms.
** She also has an incredible neutral game. Supplementing her normals, her Jumping C is one of the quickest and most difficult to react to jump-ins in the game. Diamond Breath, the light version of which is much faster than it was at launch, is also another noteworthy tool she has due to its ability to control the neutral like no other (that, and the EX version causes a crumple stun, leading to some nasty damage on hit). That is one thing, but most of Kula's normals have ''a lot'' of pushback. So much that you'll find yourself trying to outpoke Kula only for her to push you right back to where you started, making the task of even ''approaching'' her a chore.
** Much like Krohnen, Kula is another common tournament pick due to her ease of use and meter efficiency, which rivals that of Rock's due to her building meter faster than she burns it. As a result, don't be surprised at the abundance of Kulas online or in tournaments since all of the above quirks make her a force to be reckoned with in this entry.
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[[folder:Maxima]]
* Maxima is a rather peculiar case. When it comes to tanking through attacks and striking back with devastating combos, Maxima is the go-to character that's sure to get that job done. A lot of his attacks have loads of Guard Point, meaning he can outpoke the opponent with his far heavy normals, and keep them on the ground thanks to Maxima Missile (df+C). And that's not even getting into his devastating combo damage or abundance of mix-ups with every hard knockdown he gets.
** However, Maxima's downsides far outweigh his upsides, since he's also the game's resident MightyGlacier next to King of Dinosaurs. His overall mobility is sluggish, his armor doesn't do much (if at all) to help him deal with zoning, he lacks any kind of good lows to open up the opponent with, and all of this combined makes him horrible at rushdown play.
** What takes the prize for Maxima being somewhere in the realm of mid-tier and upper low tier is the fact that there's already a character that more or less does what Maxima can already do and surpasses him at it (and is easier to play as well). His name is Yashiro Nanakase (more on him below).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ralf]]
* Ralf is a very formidable [[CloseRangeCombatant Rushdown character]] with great normals (e.g., the infamous far standing D being [[ThatOneAttack a prime example]]), colossal damage potential, great gap closers (Ralf Kick; the D version of which is a feint that can cancel into Dive Bomber Punch, and Gatling Punch, which is also a staple combo tool), and high damage. He can do as much as 20% damage in less than five hits, using as little light confirms as possible. This is on top of Ralf being an otherwise very simple character. It won't take much time to do big damage with Ralf.
* The Team South Town update saw some much-needed adjustments to his absurd tools. Standing Far C's super cancel window was made less lenient and has a reduced hitbox for the latter half of the move's animation. Likewise, standing Far D is two frames slower, has a smaller hitbox, and is easier to interrupt at range by other moves (whereas before, Ralf can lock you out all day with nothing but Far D spam). Coupled with an adjustment to Heavy Gatling Attack, Ralf went from the top of the pack to still good, but now perfectly reasonable.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ramon]]
* One of the most agile characters on the roster, Ramon is an incredibly tricky and unpredictable character that can make life hard for virtually anyone. On paper. In practice, he has some massive issues in actually fulfilling his gameplan.
** Despite his small frame, his combo damage is excellent. Combos into his command grab come very easy, his movement is excellent thanks in part to Feint Step and Somersault, which are very fast gap-closers from almost full-screen, and his abundance of knockdowns means that he can subject the opponent to [[CycleOfHurting a pretty vicious vortex]] if they're not careful with their wakeup.
** But then there are his glaring weaknesses. His normals are either unrewarding or just plain bad, he has virtually no lows to open up the opponent with, his offense is difficult to gain momentum with due to his lack of reliable reversals (again, his normals aren't great), and, fittingly enough, he's the definition of a PaperTiger - a character that has all the mix-ups he could ever want with absolutely nothing to help him out of a bad read or when his back is against the wall.
* The South Town update did very little to help him out. The best he got was a quicker startup on his standing CD and Throw Invulnerability on his command grab, but nothing else.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rock]]
* Rock had seen plentiful quality-of-life changes that make him significantly better than his low-tier status in ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves''. Like Terry, Rock is a stellar all-rounder of a character that is who Geese's [[GroundWave Reppuken]], Terry's [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]], Overhead Kick - a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin self-explanatory]] special that also has some utility as an approach tool that can go over most projectiles in the game (and its EX version also synergizes with EX Hard Edge, since it leads to a ground bounce on hit), both his father's parries (Crack Counter) and Shinkuu Nage, a very devastating command grab that can also be broken with A+B has. And yes, just like Terry, he's a ''very easy'' character to play.
** Rock's damage potential is also ''excellent'', and he's also one of the most meter-efficient characters in the game. His light confirms are especially absurd due to his Elbow Spike, a swift command normal that can be canceled from his far standing B for some of the most robust combos in the game. It's possible to deal close to ''300'' damage off a single light confirm with him - especially if you make liberal use of Rising Tackle's Brake in your combos - as the initial Brake alone gives you a substantial chunk of meter to play around with.
** Rock can also zip around the screen with Rage Run, which has been revised to have four different follow-ups (A cancels the run, B leads to an overhead that goes over low projectiles, C is a different variation of Hard Edge, and D crosses up if done up close), Light Hard Edge, and an overall quick walk and run speed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Terry]]
* Terry is a very reliable character who can do whatever you need. He has a solid projectile to zone with, two different and equally effective approach tools in Burn Knuckle, Crack Shoot, and Power Dunk, a reliable anti-air in [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]] (which has the same input as the TropeNamer, as opposed to being a [[ChargeInputSpecial charge move]] like in most of his appearances), great buttons (e.g., standing Blowback and Back Knuckle), and high damage potential for low execution. Terry can destroy ''half'' of your health before you can even blink. The prime suspect behind his damage is the ability to cancel Power Charge into Rising Tackle or, most notably, Power Dunk.
** Unlike Vanessa and Ralf, Terry did have ''some'' drawbacks. Notably, he's a bit on the meter-hungry side, meaning he's at his strongest as the anchor. Because of this, he's considered by many to be one of ''the best'' anchors in the game, right next to Krohnen. In regards to the anchor role, his sheer reliability means not much can go wrong if he is an anchor.
* Compared to Vanessa and Ralf, Terry saw the least adjustments in the Team South Town update. The most he got was his crouching B being a frame slower (and also subjected to the universal nerfs of the entire roster's crouching B attacks). EX Crack Shoot is slower and has less range, making it less oppressive to deal with. Power Dunk also got a scaling change that makes it do less damage during combos, especially when canceled into after Power Charge. All that's been done was bring Terry in line with the rest of the roster.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vanessa]]
* At launch, Vanessa quickly took off for several reasons. She had very fast normals, a plethora of Rushdown tools, excellent damage potential without meter, and is also excellent at shutting down zoning attempts due to [[AttackReflector Parrying Puncher]]. Put all of this and the notorious hitbox on her jumping C together, and you had a character who, despite supposedly being a [[SomeDexterityRequired technical]] [[DifficultButAwesome character]], was banally easy to play.
* The Team South Town update saw some tweaks to Vanessa. Apart from the universal nerfs to crouching B (hers of which was an excellent low poke in itself), she also took a hit in her damage potential. Dash Puncher lost its obnoxious pushback (making it a whole deal easier to punish on block) and had its combo potential nerfed (meaning hse can't use it in combos as much anymore), and she lost the cross-up on her jumping C. On the other hand, EX Puncher Weaving became projectile invulnerable even if you continue to hold the input down, and the second half of forward Puncher Vision can be super canceled, giving her some more utility to make up for the nerfs otherwise.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Whip]]
* Whip's historical downsides as an unsafe character with high range. This is because her whip, Voodoo, has a hurtbox of her own. In practice, this means that hitting Voodoo means hitting Whip at a distance that, under most circumstances, shouldn't be possible. The biggest offender for this weakness has to go to her Strength Shot. What should be a strong mid-range mix-up on paper that can strike from three different angles, similar to Yamazaki's Serpent Slash or Luong's Geki is comparatively harder to use because the hurtbox makes this riskier than it should be, as well as the fact that, if she whiffs it, she's royally screwed. Canceling the move isn't much better either. It was much better to throw the move out anyway.
** Boomerang Shot also suffers similar drawbacks. Compared to Krohnen's Heat Shield or Ash's [[{{Shoryuken}} Nivose]], this probably won't do you any favors if you time your reversal poorly, as Whip is left wide open if she whiffs it. Its hitbox is also quite finicky, meaning you won't even get the full damage if the opponent was already jumping in occasionally. And if that wasn't enough, it's not much to write home about damage-wise, as Rugal's infamous Genocide Cutter or, again, the Heat Shield, both beat it out by a landslide in that department.
** Whip doesn't offer much in damage either. Being as unorthodox as she is, she doesn't ''quite'' follow the same combo structure that the rest of the cast does. As a result, not only do her staple combos take some adjustment to get used to, but even if you are used to them, her main source of damage output is more DeathByAThousandCuts, since it's better to poke the opponent to death than it is to go all-out with 90% combos after a whiff punish.
* The South Town update did alleviate her weaknesses somewhat. Boomerang Shot overall is a ''much'' better move than it was at launch[[note]]Damage increased, less recovery on whiff, more consistent hitboxes, and is all-around more reliable to use. [[/note]] both hits of her Far C (one of her best pokes) are Special Cancelable, her standing Blowback is three frames faster (which can be kara canceled into mid-range mix-ups), and her combo routes are marginally improved, with it now being possible to connect Crouching D after EX Strength Shot on hit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yashiro]]
* One of Yashiro's defining traits is the reach on his normals. Far C is one of his best pokes due to its range, speed, and it's Special Cancelable. His Regret Bash command normal is one of the better overheads in the game; being relatively quick, causes a hard knockdown on hit, and hits on the ground. His jumping C is notorious due to its disjointed hitbox making it one of the best cross-ups in the game. Pair this with his fast movement speed and already stellar air control, and Yashiro is liable to reduce your health bar to almost nothing in a matter of seconds.
** Yashiro is also incredible at corner carrying. Jet Counter is the prime offender, owing to its ''amazing'' range, speed, and screen travel. When paired with EX Missile Might Bash, Yashiro can travel from one end to the screen to the other while also eviscerating the opponent's health bar in seconds. And the corner is a very dangerous place to be in due to Yashiro's strengths.
** Despite his lack of a true fireball, Yashiro can still defend himself well. As his range can cover for his lack of zoning ability - crouching C is a solid anti-air that, while unsafe on its own, can be canceled into Regret Bash on block to stay safe. Upper Duel is a unique anti-air that, in exchange for invincibility, grants him [[ImmuneToFlinching armor frames]] instead, allowing him to absorb fireballs and build meter in the process. And given its armor frames, it can also muscle through poorly timed mids or highs, making it a nice way of dealing with counter-pressure on the opponent's end. Finally, close C is a very quick uppercut that covers plenty of space above Yashiro, which is especially handy against crossups. As for those pesky fireballs, as long as Yashiro has at least a stock of meter, he can blow through zoning and fireball pressure with [[MegatonPunch Final Impact]] (which itself [[ChargedAttack can be charged up]] like Ralf's Galactica Phantom) and EX Sledgehammer.
* The Team South Town update changed his game plan, making him stronger than before. His already fast and long-ranged Blowback has ''more of both''. His jumping C also gained more active frames, making it easier to confirm into anything else afterward on hit. Jumping CD had also been made faster on startup and had its forward-facing hurtbox reduced, making it even more of a pain to anti-air against it. Final Impact also gained invulnerability to projectiles, giving him a better option to deal with zoning if he has the meter to spend for it. And if that wasn't enough, EX Sledgehammer is much faster, easier to use against projectiles (its invulnerability frames were increased), and more reliable to use on hit. This consequently caused him to rise to the top of most tier lists in the competitive scene.
[[/folder]]

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--> [-Go [[HighTierScrappy/TheKingOfFighters here]] for the series' HighTierScrappy page, or [[LowTierLetdown/TheKingOfFighters here]] for LowTierLetdown.-]

* Initially, Jenet was by far the weakest member of Team Garou, but certainly not on the level of Ramón or later Billy, being an average, beginner-friendly character with great normals, solid and fairly easy damage, and an overall no-nonsense Rushdown (later All-Rounder thanks to the changes detailed below) character to play. Her only real downsides are being a rather meter-hungry character and lacking a meterless reversal.

** Her Blowback also saw some buffs that, while already great on its own (given that it's her farthest reaching normal next to Far C), made it downright overkill. It's two frames faster, cancelable into Rolling Thunder (df+D; her sole command normal), and recovers faster on hit.

** Gato's normals are also incredible. His Far A not only has incredible range, but its hitbox is also far bigger than it looks, giving Gato a solid punishment option if he visually confirms into it, and if he has meter to burn. Far B is also another quick and easy safe poke, far C is an average normal but is special cancelable otherwise, and far D is a Super Cancelable normal that, while slow, can catch hops pre-emptively. Crouching C is also another worthy contender, being as quick as far A, has fantastic range, and more hitstun than the latter normal, making it easier to confirm into. Standing CD (which is his T.O.P. Attack in ''Garou'') is also great for pressure, owing to its range and Gato - again - advancing forward during the animation. Overall, Gato's normals really round him out nicely.
** His other Specials are fantastic in their own right. Quaking Fang (qcf+P), while mostly combo glue (the EX version being a crumple stun on hit), has the added benefit of absorbing incoming projectiles. Because his EX Demon Flip isn't enough. And his returning Lightning Fang (dp+K) is far better than it has any right to be. Fast startup, great damage, and (the Heavy version, at least) results in a hard knockdown[[note]] Oh, yeah - the Heavy version can also be broken with A+B, too. Y'know, just for good measure. [[/note]]. Granted, it doesn't exactly have invulnerability frames, but considering how everything else in Gato's toolkit is ridiculous, that'd just be overkill.

* Iori's launch state was unbecoming of his reputation as a top-tier character. Notably, he's a lot slower than he was in prior entries, with his Far D, seeing a huge reduction in its range and startup compared to the previous game. His cross up Yuriori (b+B while airborne) is also harder to use than it was in prior games, especially when compared to Vanessa's Jumping C and Isla's Jumping D, the latter of which is also a dedicated cross-up that's functionally identical to it. It was also poor as a movement tool, since he can't dash backward at the speed of light with it anymore. He was also just plain ''bad'' with meter. Among other things, most of his EX specials couldn't really connect on hit due to the pushback of both Yumebiki and especially Shinigami. And they're nowhere near as useful in multiple scenarios as Krohnen's EX specials are. For a quick comparison, EX [[{{Shoryuken}} Oniyaki]] by itself is an adequate reversal that does plenty of damage and has excellent range, but comes with the usual drawbacks that you'd expect a DP of this kind to have. Whereas Krohnen's EX Heat Shield launches the opponent, absorbs incoming projectiles, and only slightly advances forward, ''and'' boasts excellent invulnerability - being much less risky to throw out than the usual EX DP is in comparison.

* Thankfully, Iori would see a return to form with the Team South Town update, which addressed some of his issues with meter. The most notable of which being that Heavy Tsumakushi can now cancel into any other EX Special Move that isn't itself or, obviously, Kuzukaze (which just whiffs) and is more damaging (doing 80 damage compared to 50 pre-patch). Shinigami has also had its pushback on hit reduced, making it ''much'' easier to land follow-ups during combos, increasing Iori's combo potential tenfold. His dash also saw a much-needed increase in speed, and he even gains a new unique mobility tool in Light Kototsuki In, which just has Iori run forward instead of grabbing the opponent and incinerating their face clean off; making it a neat little fake-out to mix-up with the Heavy version. While not as strong as his heyday, Iori is still a viable choice because of his toolkit and because of how easy he remains to play, with the patch only making him much more reliable and easier to use.

** His {{Super Special Move}}s are no slouches either. [[SphereOfDestruction Infernal Prominence]] is a souped-up Heat Shield that's a kill confirm of a move that's easier to pull off than K9999's or Nameless' equivalent moves on-demand, and [[ArmCannon Fusion]] [[MoreDakka Blaster]] is another anti-zoner button to use since he can either fire five unseeable shots (all you can do at that point is block or jump over him pre-emptively) or a single, powerful charged shot with the MAX version.

** One of Kula's biggest buffs by far is the ability to Special Cancel into her far standing D, making Kula the sole character on the roster whose far normals are '''ALL''' Special Cancelable. What this translates to is reliable-as-all-hell block and whiff punishment, as Kula has an option for just about any situation at any range. On that note, her standing far B (one of her best pokes) can now cancel into One Inch (f+A) more consistently which, when paired with her crouching B (itself another fantastic poke even after the universal damage nerf), can lead to some extremely easy and damaging light confirms.

** Much like Krohnen, Kula is another common tournament pick due to her ease of use and meter efficiency, which rivals that of Rock's due to her building meter faster than she burns it. As a result, don't be surprised at the abundance of Kulas online or in tournaments, since all of the above quirks make her a force to be reckoned with in this entry.

* Ralf is a very formidable [[CloseRangeCombatant Rushdown character]] with great normals (e.g., the infamous far standing D being [[ThatOneAttack a prime example]]), colossal damage potential, great gap closers (Ralf Kick; the D version of which is a feint that can cancel into Dive Bomber Punch, and Gatling Punch, which is also a staple combo tool), and high damage. He can do as much as 20% damage in less than five hits, using as little light confirms as possible (e.g., cr.B, cr.A, Jet Upper into Gatling Attack did close to 250 damage). This is on top of Ralf being an otherwise very simple character. It won't take much time to do big damage with Ralf.

* Rock had seen plentiful quality-of-life changes that make him significantly better than his low-tier status in ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves''. Like Terry, Rock is a stellar all-rounder of a character that is who has Geese's [[GroundWave Reppuken]], Terry's [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]], Overhead Kick - a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin self-explanatory]] special that also has some utility as an approach tool that can go over most projectiles in the game (and its EX version also synergizes with EX Hard Edge, since it leads to a ground bounce on hit), and both his father's parries (Crack Counter) and Shinkuu Nage, a very devastating command grab that can also be broken with A+B. And yes, just like Terry, he's a ''very easy'' character to play.
** Rock's damage potential is also ''excellent'', and he's also one of the most meter-efficient characters in the game. His light confirms are especially absurd due to Elbow Spike (f+A), a very quick command normal that can be canceled from his far-standing B for some of the most robust combos in the game. It's entirely possible to deal close to ''300'' damage off a single light confirm with him - especially if you make liberal use of Rising Tackle's Brake in your combos - as the initial Brake alone gives you a very solid chunk of meter to play around with.

* Terry is a very reliable character who can do whatever you need. He has a solid projectile to zone with, two different and equally effective approach tools in Burn Knuckle, Crack Shoot, and Power Dunk, a reliable anti-air in [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]] (which has the same input as the TropeNamer, as opposed to being a [[ChargeInputSpecial charge move]] like in most of his appearances), great buttons (e.g., standing Blowback and Back Knuckle - f+A), and high damage potential for low execution. Terry can destroy ''half'' of your health before you can even blink. The prime suspect behind his damage is the ability to cancel Power Charge into Rising Tackle or, most notably, Power Dunk.

* Compared to Vanessa and Ralf, Terry saw the least amount of adjustments in the Team South Town update. The most he got was his crouching B being a frame slower (and also subjected to the universal nerfs of the entire roster's crouching B attacks). EX Crack Shoot is slower and has less range, making it less oppressive to deal with. Power Dunk also got a scaling change that makes it do less damage during combos, especially when canceled into after Power Charge. All that's been done was bring Terry in line with the rest of the roster.

* At launch, Vanessa quickly took off for several reasons. She had very fast normals, a plethora of Rushdown tools, very solid damage potential without meter, and is also excellent at shutting down zoning attempts due to [[AttackReflector Parrying Puncher]]. Put all of this and the notorious hitbox on her jumping C together, and you had a character who, despite supposedly being a [[SomeDexterityRequired technical]] [[DifficultButAwesome character]], was banally easy to play.

* Whip's historical downsides as an unsafe character with high range. This is because her whip, Voodoo, has a hurtbox of her own. In practice, this means that hitting Voodoo means hitting Whip at a distance that, under most circumstances, shouldn't be possible. The biggest offender for this weakness has to go to her Strength Shot. What should be a strong mid-range mix-up on paper that can strike from three different angles, similar to Yamazaki's Serpent Slash or Luong's Geki is comparatively harder to use because the hurtbox makes this riskier than it should be, as well as the fact that, if she whiffs it, she's royally screwed. Canceling the move isn't much better either. It was much better just to throw the move out anyway.

** Whip doesn't offer much in damage either. Being as unorthodox as she is, she doesn't ''quite'' follow the same combo structure that the rest of the cast does. As a result, not only do her staple combos take some adjustment to get used to, but even if you are used to them, her main source of damage output is more DeathByAThousandCuts, since it's better to simply poke the opponent to death than it is to go all-out with 90% combos after a whiff punish.

* One of Yashiro's defining traits is the reach on his normals. Far C is one of his best pokes due to its range, speed, and it's Special Cancelable. His Regret Bash (f+A) is one of the better overheads in the game, being relatively quick, causes a hard knockdown on hit, and hits on the ground. His jumping C is notorious due to its disjointed hitbox making it one of the best cross-ups in the game. Pair this with his fast movement speed and already stellar air control, and Yashiro is liable to reduce your health bar to almost nothing in a matter of seconds.

** Despite his lack of a true fireball, Yashiro can still defend himself well. As his range can cover for his lack of zoning ability - crouching C is a solid anti-air that, while unsafe on its own, can be canceled into Regret Bash on block to stay safe. Upper Duel is a unique anti-air that, in exchange for invincibility, grants him [[ImmuneToFlinching armor frames]] instead, allowing him to absorb fireballs and build meter in the process. And given its armor frames, it can also muscle through poorly timed mids or highs, making it a nice way of dealing with counter-pressure on the opponent's end. Finally, close C is a very quick uppercut that covers plenty of space above Yashiro, which is especially handy against crossups. As for those pesky fireballs, as long as Yashiro has at least a stock of meter, he can just blow through zoning and fireball pressure with [[MegatonPunch Final Impact]] (which itself [[ChargedAttack can be charged up]] like Ralf's Galactica Phantom) and EX Sledgehammer.
* The Team South Town update changed his game plan, making him stronger than before. His already fast and long-ranged Blowback has ''more of both''. His jumping C also gained more active frames, making it easier to confirm into anything else afterward on hit. Jumping CD had also been made faster on startup, and had its forward-facing hurtbox reduced, making it even more of a pain to anti-air against it. Final Impact also gained invulnerability to projectiles, giving him a better option to deal with zoning if he has the meter to spend for it. And if that wasn't enough, EX Sledgehammer is much faster, easier to use against projectiles (its invulnerability frames were increased), and more reliable to use on hit. This consequently caused him to rise to the top of most tier lists in the competitive scene.

** His Dai Kaiten-Geri command normal now only hits once, with him only doing the kick. That single change effectively takes away another anti-hop option that he used to have, limiting him to three fairly risky moves that leave Billy open for follow-ups on whiff. This is on top of lacking the ability to cancel into Max Mode or even his other command normal.

* Initially, Jenet was by far the weakest member of Team Garou, but certainly not on the level of Ramón or later Billy, being an average, beginner-friendly character with great normals, solid and fairly easy damage, and an overall no-nonsense Rushdown (later All-Rounder thanks to the changes detailed below) character to play. Her only real downsides are being a rather meter-hungry character and lacking a meterless reversal herself ([[CounterAttack Ennui Mademoiselle]] notwithstanding).
* However, that all changed with the Team South Town update, which turned Jenet from a fairly average character into a character that is at the upper echelons of top tier, enough that she - alongside Kula and Krohnen - flat-out usurps the infamous VRT trio from the top spot.
** Most notably, her dash speed is much faster than it was prior, letting her naturally zip around the screen as quickly as her teammate Rock.
** While it might seem like an innocuous change if you read the patch notes, Jenet gaining forward momentum on her Far C is the straw that broke the camel's back in making her a force to be reckoned with. The move on its own was already a fantastic and downright oppressive mid-range poke that is Special Cancelable on hit. The change to its movement only made it that much harder to deal with, not unlike Ralf's pre-patch Far D.

* Initially, Jenet was by far the weakest member of Team Garou, but certainly not on the level of Ramón or later Billy, being an average character with great normals, solid and fairly easy damage, and an overall no-nonsense Rushdown character to play. Her only real downsides are being a rather meter-hungry character and lacking a meterless reversal herself ([[CounterAttack Ennui Mademoiselle]] notwithstanding).

* Initially, Jenet was by far the weakest member of Team Garou, but certainly not on the level of Ramón or later Billy, being an average character with great normals, solid and fairly easy damage, and an overall no-nonsense Rushdown character to play.

** Her Blowback also saw some buffs that, while already great on its own (given that it's her farthest reaching normal next to Far C), made it downright overkill. It's two frames faster, cancelable into Rolling Thunder (her sole command normal), and recovers faster on hit.

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--> [-To return to the series' main TierInducedScrappy page, go [[TierInducedScrappy/TheKingOfFighters here]].-]

** For a [[CloseRangeCombatant Rushdown character]], Gato's normals aren't ''at all'' lacking in range. His Far A not only has incredible range, but its hitbox is also far bigger than it looks, giving Gato a solid punishment option if he visually confirms into it, and if he has meter to burn. Far B is also another quick and easy safe poke, far C is an average normal but is special cancelable otherwise, and far D is a Super Cancelable normal that, while slow, can catch hops pre-emptively. Crouching C is also another worthy contender, being as quick as far A, has fantastic range, and more hitstun than the latter normal, making it easier to confirm into. Standing CD (which is his T.O.P. Attack in ''Garou'') is also great for pressure, owing to its range and Gato - again - advancing forward during the animation. Overall, Gato's normals really round him out nicely.

* Ever since ''KOF XI'', Kula was an average character at best. She was a very forgiving JackOfAllTrades that does reasonable damage, great space control, easy combos into fairly solid damage, and is another easy SkillGateCharacter. When Team South Town released, Kula received some not-inconsequential buffs.

* One of the most agile characters on the roster, Ramon is this game's answer to [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV El Fuerte]][[note]] Even though Ramon far precedes him, having debuted in ''KOF 2000'', a whole eight years before ''SFIV''. [[/note]], an incredibly tricky and unpredictable character that can make life hard for virtually anyone in the hands of a skilled player. That is... if he also didn't happen to be one of, if not ''the worst'' character in the game next to Billy.
** First, the good. Ironically, despite his small (relative to even Shermie, who is [[StatuesqueStunner a hair taller than him]]) frame, his combo damage is excellent. ''KOF'' being ''KOF'', combos into his command grab come very easy, his movement is ''excellent'' (thanks in part to Feint Step and Somersault, which are very fast gap-closers from almost full-screen), and his abundance of knockdowns means that he can subject the opponent to [[CycleOfHurting a pretty vicious vortex]] if they're not careful with their wakeup.
** And the bad? ''Everything else.'' His normals are either unrewarding or just plain bad, he has virtually no lows to open up the opponent with, his offense is difficult to gain momentum with due to his lack of reliable reversals (again, his normals aren't great), and, fittingly enough, he's the definition of a PaperTiger - a character that has all the mix-ups he could ever want with absolutely nothing to help him out of a bad read or when his back is against the wall.
** The South Town update did very little to help him out of his low-tier status except for giving him some company at the bottom of the barrel in the form of Billy (see above). The best he got was a quicker startup on his standing CD and Throw Invulnerability on his command grab, but nothing else.

* Terry is a very reliable character who can do whatever you need. He has a solid projectile to zone with, two different and equally effective approach tools in Burn Knuckle, Crack Shoot, and Power Dunk, a reliable anti-air in [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]] (which has the same input as the TropeNamer, as opposed to being a [[ChargeInputSpecial charge move]] like in most of his appearances), great buttons (e.g., standing Blowback and Back Knuckle - f+A), and high damage potential for low execution. It's entirely possible for Terry to destroy ''half'' of your health before you can even blink. The prime suspect behind his damage is the ability to cancel Power Charge into Rising Tackle or, most notably, Power Dunk.

* Compared to Vanessa and Ralf, Terry saw the least amount of adjustments in the Team South Town update. The most he got was his crouching B being a frame slower (and also subjected to the universal nerfs of the entire roster's crouching B attacks), and EX Crack Shoot being slower and having less range, making it less oppressive to deal with. Power Dunk also got a scaling change that makes it do less damage during combos, especially when canceled into after Power Charge. Either way, the adjustments didn't do much to hamper Terry's reliability. He's just reasonable like the rest of the roster.

* At launch, Vanessa quickly took off for several reasons. She had very fast normals, a plethora of Rushdown tools (such as Jumping C - a very easy-to-use crossup that is only rivaled by Iori's Yuriori or Isla's Jumping D), very solid damage potential without meter, and is also excellent at shutting down zoning attempts due to [[AttackReflector Parrying Puncher]]. Put all of this and the notorious hitbox on her jumping C together, and you had a character who, despite supposedly being a [[SomeDexterityRequired technical]] [[DifficultButAwesome character]], was banally easy to play.

* One of Yashiro's defining traits is the reach on his normals. For a Rushdown character, his buttons can hit far. Far C, in particular, is one of his best pokes due to its range, speed, and its Special Cancelable property that can ''really'' turn the tide in Yashiro's favor after a successful punish. He also has one of the better overheads in the game in Regret Bash (f+A), a relatively quick overhead that, by itself, causes a hard knockdown on hit, hits on the ground, ''and'' is a meager -3 on Block, making it a fantastic tool to use in the corner. Like Vanessa above him, his jumping C has gained notoriety due to its disjointed hitbox, which turned it into one of the best cross-ups in the game. Pair this with his [[LightningBruiser surprisingly quick movement]] speed and already stellar air control (thanks in part to jumping D and his air Blowback), and Yashiro is liable to reduce your health bar to almost nothing in a matter of seconds with a well-timed cross-up into big damage.

* The Team South Town update changed his game plan, making him stronger than before. His standing Blowback, which was amazing due to its range and speed, is now ''even faster'' and has ''more'' range on top of that. His jumping C also gained more active frames, making it easier to confirm into anything else afterward on hit. Jumping CD had also been made faster on startup, and had its forward-facing hurtbox reduced, making it even more of a pain to anti-air against it. Final Impact also gained invulnerability to projectiles in this update, giving him a better option to deal with zoning if he has the meter to spend for it. And if that wasn't enough, EX Sledgehammer is much faster, easier to use against projectiles (its invulnerability frames were increased), and more reliable to use on hit. This consequently caused him to rise to the top of most tier lists in the competitive scene.

* Billy is supposed to be a ranged anti-zoner character, boasting some of the best reach in the game alongside Whip. Most of his normals have ''a lot'' of reach, and a good Billy is an absolute ''nightmare'' to even get in on him, if at all. Because he's so good at keep out and mid-range poking, Billy doesn't require a lot of meter to work with, but having means he's able to tear one's health bar to piece. The issue lies in the fact that otherwise... he has some really glaring flaws.

** His {{Super Special Move}}s are no slouches either. [[SphereOfDestruction Infernal Prominence]] is basically a souped-up Heat Shield that's a kill confirm of a move that's easier to pull off than K9999's or Nameless' equivalent moves on-demand, and [[ArmCannon Fusion]] [[MoreDakka Blaster]] is another anti-zoner button to use since he can either fire five unseeable shots (all you can do at that point is block or jump over him pre-emptively) or a single, powerful charged shot with the MAX version.

** She also has an incredible neutral game. Not only are the aforementioned normals a pain to deal with as it is, but her Jumping C (which was a ThatOneAttack contender back in ''XI'') is one of the quickest and most difficult to react to jump-ins in the game. Diamond Breath, the light version of which is much faster than it was at launch, is also another noteworthy tool she has due to its ability to control the neutral like no other (that, and the EX version causes a crumple stun, leading to some nasty damage on hit). That in itself is one thing, but most of Kula's normals have ''a lot'' of pushback. So much that you'll find yourself trying to outpoke Kula only for her to push you right back to where you started, making the task of even ''approaching'' her a chore.

* Ralf is a very formidable [[CloseRangeCombatant Rushdown character]] with great normals (e.g., the infamous far standing D being [[ThatOneAttack a prime example]]), colossal damage potential, great gap closers (Ralf Kick; the D version of which is a feint that can cancel into Dive Bomber Punch, and Gatling Punch, which is also a staple combo tool), and high daamge. He can do as much as 20% damage in less than five hits, using as little light confirms as possible (e.g., cr.B, cr.A, Jet Upper into Gatling Attack did close to 250 damage). This is on top of Ralf being an otherwise very simple character to play. It won't take much time to do big damage with Ralf.
* The Team South Town update saw some much-needed adjustments to his absurd tools. Standing Far C's super cancel window was made less lenient and has a reduced hitbox for the latter half of the move's animation. Likewise, standing Far D is two frames slower, has a smaller hitbox, and is easier to interrupt at range by other moves (whereas before Ralf can literally lock you out all day with nothing but Far D spam). Coupled with an adjustment to Heavy Gatling Attack, and Ralf went from the top of the pack [[BroughtDownToBadass to still good, but now perfectly reasonable]].

** The South Town update did very little to help him out of his low-tier status except for giving him some company at the bottom of the barrel in the form of Billy (see above). The best he got was a quicker startup on his standing CD and Throw Invulnerability on his command grab (which he should've had to begin with)... that's about it.

* Terry is a very reliable character who can do whatever you need him to do. He has a solid projectile to zone with, two different and equally effective approach tools in Burn Knuckle, Crack Shoot, and Power Dunk, a reliable anti-air in [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]] (which has the same input as the TropeNamer, as opposed to being a [[ChargeInputSpecial charge move]] like in most of his appearances), great buttons (e.g., standing Blowback and Back Knuckle - f+A), and high damage potential for low execution. It's entirely possible for Terry destroy ''half'' of your health before you can even blink. The prime suspect behind his damage is the ability to cancel Power Charge into Rising Tackle or, most notably, Power Dunk.
** Unlike Vanessa and Ralf, Terry did have ''some'' drawbacks. Notably, he's a bit on the meter-hungry side, meaning he's at his strongest as the anchor. Because of this he's considered by many to be one of ''the best'' anchors in the game, right next to Krohnen. In regards to the anchor role, his sheer reliability means not much can go wrong if he is an anchor.
* Compared to Vanessa and Ralf, Terry saw the least amount of adjustments in the Team South Town update. The most he got was his crouching B being a frame slower (and also subjected to the universal nerfs of the entire roster's crouching B attacks), and EX Crack Shoot being slower and having less range, making it less oppressive to deal with. Power Dunk also got a scaling change that makes it do less damage during combos, especially when canceled into after Power Charge. Either way, the adjustments didn't really do much to hamper Terry's reliability. He's just reasonable like the rest of the roster.

* At launch, Vanessa quickly took off for several reasons. She had very fast normals, a plethora of Rushdown tools (such as Jumping C - a very easy-to-use crossup that is only rivaled by Iori's Yuriori or Isla's Jumping D), very solid damage potential without meter, and is also excellent at shutting down zoning attempts due to [[AttackReflector Parrying Puncher]]. Put all of this and the notorious hitbox on her jumping C together and you had a character who, despite supposedly being a [[SomeDexterityRequired technical]] [[DifficultButAwesome character]], was actually banally easy to play.

* Whip's historical downsides as an unsafe character with high range. This is because her whip, Voodoo, has a hurtbox of her own. In practice, this means that hitting Voodoo means hitting Whip at a distance that, under most circumstances, shouldn't be possible. The biggest offender for this weakness has to go to her Strength Shot. What should be a really strong mid-range mix-up on paper that can strike from three different angles, similar to Yamazaki's Serpent Slash or Luong's Geki is comparatively harder to use because the hurtbox makes this riskier than it should be, as well as the fact that, if she whiffs it, she's royally screwed. Canceling the move isn't much better either. In fact, it was much better just to throw the move out anyway.
** Boomerang Shot also suffers similar drawbacks. Compared to Krohnen's Heat Shield or Ash's [[{{Shoryuken}} Nivose]], this probably won't do you any favors if you time your reversal poorly, as Whip is left wide open if she whiffs it. Its hitbox is also quite finicky, meaning you won't even get the full damage if the opponent was already jumping in on some occasions. And if that wasn't enough, it's not much to write home about damage-wise, as Rugal's infamous Genocide Cutter or, again, the aforementioned Heat Shield, both beat it out by a landslide in that department.

** Yashiro is also incredible at corner carrying. Jet Counter is the prime offender, owing to its ''amazing'' range, speed, and screen travel. When paired with EX Missile Might Bash, Yashiro can travel from one end to the screen to the other while also eviscerating the opponent's health bar in seconds. And the corner is a very dangerous place to be in due to Yashiro's aforementioned strengths.

** The South Town update did very little to help him out of his low-tier status except for giving him some company at the bottom of the barrel in the form of Billy (see above). The best he got was a quicker startup on his standing CD and... that's about it.

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* "Newcomer" Krohnen has an incredible moveset. His normals are ridiculous (e.g., standing Far C and its advancing variant, Spiral Smash - f+A, close C, crouching C - equally as ridiculous as Ralf's standing Far D pre-1.32, and both of his jumping punches), his three special moves are all excellent in their own capacity, and his combos are among the easiest in the entire roster. Like Rock, you can get just shy of 300 damage off of the most basic light confirms, even ''with'' the universal nerfs to crouching B.

* Ever since ''KOF XI'', Kula was an alright character. She was a very forgiving JackOfAllTrades that does reasonable damage, great space control, easy combos into fairly solid damage, and is another easy SkillGateCharacter. When Team South Town released, Kula received some not inconsequential buffs.

** She also has incredible neutral game. Not only are the aforementioned normals a pain to deal with as it is, but her Jumping C (which was a ThatOneAttack contender back in ''XI'') is one of the quickest and most difficult to react to jump-ins in the game. Diamond Breath, the light version of which is much faster than it was at launch, is also another noteworthy tool she has due to its ability to control the neutral like no other (that, and the EX version causes a crumple stun, leading to some nasty damage on hit). That in itself is one thing, but most of Kula's normals have ''a lot'' of pushback. So much that you'll find yourself trying to outpoke Kula only for her to push you right back to where you started, making the task of even ''approaching'' her a chore.

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* Rock had seen plentiful quality-of-life changes that make him significantly better than his low-tier status in ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves''. Like Terry, Rock is a stellar all-rounder of a character that is who has Geese's [[GroundWave Reppuken]], Terry's [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]] - a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin self-explanatory]] special that also has some utility as an approach tool that can go over most projectiles in the game (and its EX version also synergizes with EX Hard Edge, since it leads to a ground bounce on hit), and both his father's parries (Crack Counter) and Shinkuu Nage, a very devastating command grab that can also be broken with A+B. And yes, just like Terry, he's a ''very easy'' character to play.

* Billy is supposed to be a ranged anti-zoner character, boasting some of the best reach in the game alongside Whip. He's not like your typical zoner (e.g., Ash or King), but he sure as hell has plenty of range in his kit to punish them. Most of his normals have ''a lot'' of reach, and a good Billy player worth their weight in skill can make it [[StoneWall an absolute]] ''[[StoneWall nightmare]]'' [[StoneWall to even get in on him, if at all]]. Because he's so good at keepout and mid-ranged poking, Billy doesn't need a whole lot of meter to work with, being a solid enough point character as is. With meter, however (though not without some... [[SomeDexterityRequired execution-related quirks]]) Billy can rip your health bar in half faster than Kyo and Iori burning each other to cinders (or just verbally). The issue is that Billy doesn't work as as intended. ''At all.''
** Billy lacks any good frame data or ''especially'' hitboxes. Historically, Billy's hitboxes are [[MortonsFork a double-edged sword]]. Too good, and he's top tier; too bad (or mediocre ''at best''), and he simply can't keep up with the rest of the cast. A very precarious character that SNK has struggled to balance in the past (especially if his ''Maximum Impact'' iteration was anything to go by). One particular example is his trademark AntiAir, Suzume Otoshi (qcb+P) having a very finicky hitbox. Sometimes it'll hit the opponent right as they're touching the ground, while other times it'll whiff even when his bo staff ''clearly'' hit them plain as day. You'd think the new follow-up (qcb+C~qcf+P) would do wonders to improve it, but because of the hitbox issues, this isn't always the case.
** Billy's normals, while having fantastic range as usual, just '''suck''' when it comes to frame data. His far Standing C is notorious due to leaving Billy vulnerable to being punished if it actually ''hits''. Not when it's blocked, when it ''hits''. The best it can do with its range is canceling it into MAX Mode Quick conversions[[note]] Super Cancels are out of the equation; MAX Mode is all you're getting from this move. [[/note]] or whiff punish into super.
** The rework of his Dai Kaiten-Geri (f+A) command normal now only hits once, with him only doing the kick as opposed to hitting you with the bo staff first. That single change effectively takes away another anti-hop option that he used to have, limiting him to far A, far D, and the aforementioned Suzume Otoshi, all of which are fairly risky (except for maybe f.D) and leave Billy open for follow-ups on whiff. And no, you can't even MAX Cancel it or his other command normal, Boutakatobi-Geri (f+B).
** On the bright side though, Billy does have his old [[CounterAttack Tsugeki Kon]] back, at least giving him a decent defensive option to use if none of his usual normals or Suzume Otoshi cut it. The issue is that the move doesn't work against certain moves. For example, Iori's Climax has a funny interaction where instead of Billy (usually) hitting the opponent with his staff's nunchucks it just... whiffs. Using it on just about any DashAttack causes this interaction. Suffice to say, this counter is unreliable in very odd situations.

* Basically, Gato has so many ways to approach you from the air that he makes [[Characters/StreetFighterAkuma Akuma's]] own Demon Flip look pathetic by comparison. The EX versions of either command hop also ''destroys'' fireballs, meaning any attempt at zoning is a NoSell if Gato has meter to burn. ''XV'' also gave Gato back his Lightning Fang bicycle kick special from ''Garou'', a move he sorely lacked in his ''2003'' and ''XI'' appearances. Bear in mind he was already infamous in those games without it. Having it back is giving him yet another tool to dominate with.

* Iori's launch state was unbecoming of his reputation as a top-tier character. Notably, he's a lot ''slower'' than he was in prior entries. The biggest example is his Far D, which saw a huge reduction in its range and startup compared to the previous game, making it a shadow of its former self. His cross up Yuriori (b+B while airborne) is also harder to use than it was in prior games, especially when compared to Vanessa's Jumping C and Isla's Jumping D, the latter of which is also a dedicated cross-up that's functionally identical to it. It was also poor as a movement tool, since he can't dash backward at the speed of light with it anymore. He was also just plain ''bad'' with meter. Among other things, most of his EX specials couldn't really connect on hit due to the pushback of both Yumebiki and especially Shinigami. And they're nowhere near as useful in multiple scenarios as Krohnen's EX specials are. For a quick comparison, EX [[{{Shoryuken}} Oniyaki]] by itself is an adequate reversal that does plenty of damage and has excellent range, but comes with the usual drawbacks that you'd expect a DP of this kind to have. Whereas Krohnen's EX Heat Shield launches the opponent, absorbs incoming projectiles, and only slightly advances forward, ''and'' boasts excellent invulnerability - being much less risky to throw out than the usual EX DP is in comparison.
** Due to the universal changes to throws and wake-ups in ''KOF XV'', Iori's okizeme took a hit from it as a result. Gone are the days of auto-piloting old setups after his trademark Aoihana on hit, as Iori actually has to think twice unless he wants to eat a reversal for his troubles. Additionally, his signature Kuzukaze command grab has had its scaling gimped pretty hard. For comparison, if you follow it up with Yaotome, you'll only do 128 damage (or 240 if you do the Saika follow-up), losing at least 50% damage that you could've just done if you'd used a standard [=BnB=] combo with Aoihana. Nevermind that the nerf to Far D made it less ideal for MAX Mode Quick cancels, either (which in themselves have also been adjusted from ''KOF XIV'').

* Ever since ''KOF XI'', Kula was... alright. She was a very forgiving JackOfAllTrades that does reasonable damage, great space control, easy combos into fairly solid damage, and is - alongside Iori and Benimaru - another easy SkillGateCharacter. When Team South Town released, Kula received some not inconsequential buffs.

* Terry is a very reliable character who can do whatever you need him to do. He has a solid projectile to zone with, two different and equally effective approach tools in Burn Knuckle, Crack Shoot, and Power Dunk, a reliable anti-air in [[{{Shoryuken}} Rising Tackle]] (which has the same input as the TropeNamer, as opposed to being a [[ChargeInputSpecial charge move]] like in most of his appearances), great buttons (e.g., standing Blowback and Back Knuckle - f+A), and most of all - damage, ''damage'', '''''damage'''''. And ''banally easy'' damage, at that. One hit with Terry and, if he's feeling generous, you'll lose at least ''half'' of your health before you can even blink. The prime suspect behind his damage is the ability to cancel Power Charge either into Rising Tackle, or, most notably, Power Dunk.
** Unlike Vanessa and Ralf of the dreaded VRT trio, Terry did have ''some'' drawbacks. Notably, he's a bit on the meter-hungry side, meaning he's better off either as a Battery or Anchor character. Though because of this he's considered by many to be one of ''the best'' anchors in the game, right next to Krohnen. In regards to the anchor role, his sheer reliability means not much can go wrong if he is an anchor.

* At launch, Vanessa quickly took off for a number of reasons. She had very fast normals, a plethora of Rushdown tools (such as Jumping C - a very easy-to-use crossup that is only rivaled by Iori's Yuriori or Isla's Jumping D), very solid damage potential without meter, and is also excellent at shutting down zoning attempts due to [[AttackReflector Parrying Puncher]]. Put all of this and the notorious hitbox on her jumping C together and you had a character who, despite supposedly being a [[SomeDexterityRequired technical]] [[DifficultButAwesome character]], was actually banally easy to play.
* Patch 1.32 saw some tweaks to Vanessa. Apart from the universal nerfs to crouching B (hers of which was an excellent low poke in itself), she also took a hit in her damage potential. Dash Puncher lost its obnoxious pushback (making it a whole deal easier to punish on block) and had its combo potential nerfed (meaning hse can't use it in combos as much anymore), and she lost the cross-up on her jumping C. On the other hand, EX Puncher Weaving became projectile invulnerable even if you continue to hold the input down, and the second half of forward Puncher Vision can be super canceled, giving her some more utility to make up for the nerfs otherwise.

* Whip's historical downsides as an unsafe character with high range. This is because her whip, Voodoo, has a hurtbox of her own. In practice, this means that hitting Voodoo means hitting Whip at a distance that, under most circumstances, shouldn't be possible. The biggest offender for this weakness has to go to her Strength Shot. What should be a really strong mid-range mix-up on paper that can strike from three different angles similar to Yamazaki's Serpent Slash or Luong's Geki is comparatively harder to use because the hurtbox makes this riskier than it should be, as well as the fact that, if she whiffs it, she's royally screwed. Cancelling the move isn't much better either, in fact it was much better just to throw the move out anyway.

* The South Town update did alleviate her weaknesses somewhat. Boomerang Shot overall is a ''much'' better move than it was at launch[[note]] Damage increase, less recovery on whiff, more consistent hitboxes, and is all-around more reliable to use. [[/note]] both hits of her Far C (one of her best pokes) are Special Cancelable, her standing Blowback is three frames faster (which can be kara canceled into mid-range mix-ups), and her combo routes are marginally improved, with it now being possible to connect Crouching D after EX Strength Shot on hit.

* One of Yashiro's defining traits is the reach on his normals. For a Rushdown character, his buttons can hit far. Far C in particular is one of his best pokes due to its range, speed, and its Special Cancelable property that can ''really'' turn the tide in Yashiro's favor after a successful punish. He also has one of the better overheads in the game in Regret Bash (f+A), a relatively quick overhead that, by itself, causes a hard knockdown on hit, hits on the ground, ''and'' is a meager -3 on Block, making it a fantastic tool to use in the corner. Like Vanessa above him, his jumping C has gained notoriety due to its disjointed hitbox, which turned it into one of the best cross-ups in the game. Pair this with his [[LightningBruiser surprisingly quick movement]] speed and already stellar air control (thanks in part to jumping D and his air Blowback), and Yashiro is liable to reduce your health bar to almost nothing in a matter of seconds with a well-timed cross-up into big damage.
** Yashiro is also incredible at corner carrying. Jet Counter is the prime offender, owing to its ''amazing'' range, speed and screen travel. When paired with EX Missile Might Bash, Yashiro can travel from one end to the screen to the other while also eviscerating the opponent's health bar in seconds. And the corner is a very dangerous place to be in due to Yashiro's aforementioned strengths.
** Despite his lack of a true fireball, Yashiro can still defend himself well. As his range can cover for his lack of zoning ability - crouching C is a really solid anti-air that, while unsafe on its own, can be canceled into Regret Bash on block to stay safe. Upper Duel is a unique anti-air that, in exchange for invincibility, grants him [[ImmuneToFlinching armor frames]] instead, allowing him to absorb fireballs and build meter in the process. And given its armor frames, it can also muscle through any poorly timed mids or highs, making it a nice way of dealing with counter-pressure on the opponent's end. Finally, close C is a very quick uppercut that covers plenty of space above Yashiro, which is especially handy against crossups. As for those pesky fireballs, as long as Yashiro has at least a stock of meter, he can just blow through zoning and fireball pressure with [[MegatonPunch Final Impact]] (which itself [[ChargedAttack can be charged up]] like Ralf's Galactica Phantom) and EX Sledgehammer.
* Patch 1.32 made changes to his game plan that made him stronger than before. His standing Blowback, which was already amazing due to its range and speed, is now ''even faster'' and has ''more'' range on top of that. His jumping C also gained more active frames, making it a lot easier to confirm into anything else afterward on hit. Jumping CD had also been made faster on startup, and had its forward-facing hurtbox reduced, making it even more of a pain to anti-air against it. Final Impact also gained invulnerability to projectiles in this update, giving him a better option to deal with zoning if he has the meter to spend for it. And if that wasn't enough, EX Sledgehammer in itself is much faster, easier to use against projectiles (its invulnerability frames were increased), and more reliable to use on hit. This consequently caused him to rise to the top of most tier lists in the competitive scene.