Xiaohai is a name you hear often in high-level The King of Fighters and 2D fighting game play. Without him, there wouldn’t be other Chinese and Taiwanese players like ET picking up the KOF mantle and keeping the scene alive.

So when you hear him craft up his tier list for the recently-out The King of Fighters XV, you would darn well listen. His KOF XV tier list takes into account the four new characters released in the Season 1 Pass so far: Rock Howard, B.Jenet, Gato, and Omega Rugal.

Xiaohai’s KOF XV tier list is listed in number form from the highest (11) to the lowest (2). Here’s the ranking:

S Tier

11: Gato, Ralf

10: Elisabeth, Terry Bogard, Vanessa

9: Dolores, Mai Shiranui

The reasoning behind this selection is similar to what we gathered in our last tier list pre-Season 1 character additions: Ralf, Elisabeth, Terry, and Vanessa can end games with full meter and DM chains. Both Ralf and Terry’s damage output is insane, while Elisabeth and Vanessa have oodles of moves to combo into.

Gato is clearly the best character to use and exploit among the Garou Team lot because of his mixups and huge offensive/okizeme kit. He is a great point and mid character, and doesn’t require much meter (if any at all) to hold his own against the rest of the cast, especially when he has loads of combos he can launch from the corner.

A Tier

8: Kyo Kusanagi, Robert Garcia, Rock Howard, Isla, Blue Mary, Kukri, Chris, Joe Higashi

7: Ash Crimson, Andy Bogard, Clark, Athena Asamiya, King, Iori, Shermie

While not as powerful as the S Tier characters, these characters are still great and have synergy with the majority of the cast. Joe and Athena are still top-tier zoners, while Robert and Kukri can get the combos and damage going. In terms of solid grapplers for mid and anchors, you can’t go wrong with Clark and Shermie.

Rock Howard has tons of potential being a new KOF XV character with his well-rounded skills and moveset.

B Tier

6: Chizuru, Leona, Antonov, King of Dinosaurs, Heidern, Meitenkun, Kula Diamond

5: Luong, Omega Rugal, K’, Krohnen, Yashiro, Maxima, Benimaru, B.Jenet

4: Yuri Sakazaki, Shun’ei

Some of these characters require a bit more effort to learn and play, while the easier ones to use are outshined by the S and A tier characters.

Omega Rugal has great pokes and zoning tools, as well as the best invincible DP in the game (Genocide Cutter). But he is slow. This means that half the cast can run circles, out-footsie him, and just mix him up like crazy once he gets knocked down.

C Tier

3: Angel, Ryo Sakazaki

2: Ramon, Whip

These characters require a lot more effort to play at a high level. Yes, Angel combos are great to watch in a real tournament, but only because the players behind them practiced way more hours using her when compared to less intensive characters above the list.