All Tekken 7 Characters Ranked

As we all start to collectively prepare for Tekken 8, it is time we look back at the base roster of Tekken 7 and see how they all fare. A lot of characters became better as the years went by, while some stayed as they were. While one can rank them, every single character, even the worst of them all, is a very viable and strong character in the hands of one who spends enough time with them. That being said, let’s judge every character! 

Note: Each character was carefully labbed and practised to learn optimal combos as much as possible, and at least a few matches were played and won with each one. This ranking is from a Savior-ranked Leo main who has played thousands of matches with hundreds of hours in-game. 

36. Gigas: 

 

This big guy has only a few things going for him, sadly. He deals really good damage, but that’s about it. It is really difficult to land a hit with Gigas, thanks to his slow speed compared to the rest of the roster. He has a very limited move set and is a very predictable character. However, as mentioned, he can do a lot of damage, and his easiest combos can be really powerful. He does also have a great 1,2 punisher thanks to his great range as a result of his long arms. 

35.Panda/Kuma:

These two are like Yoshimitsu, in that only the best and most skilled can utilize them properly. These two have rather poor evasion thanks to their slow speed and simply aren’t as strong as some of the other characters. As with everyone on the roster, they can be utilized well, as seen in Rangchu’s usage of Panda in professional tournaments, but unless you either wanna mess around or you seriously really take the time to master these two, it is probably best to use others. 

33. Lars: 

 

He used to be one of the weakest characters. Now, he’s still weak, but at least he’s better than before. His wall game is pretty good, and he can deal good damage with his range, but he can be very easily sidestepped to the right and, as such, can be punished very easily. He is a pretty good character for beginners, but you will rarely see him in higher levels of play. 

32. Yoshimitsu: 

Only for those who spend dozens of hours practicing a single character, Yoshimitsu, much like Lei, can be very tricky. An extremely flashy and unique character, professional players like EyeMusician can handle him at his best, but for casual players, he simply isn’t as easy to learn as others. His tricks and gimmicks are only for those who have absolutely mastered. Otherwise, while he is fun, spend your time elsewhere. 

31. Lucky Chloe:

She doesn’t have that many options when it comes to punishing whiffs and missed attacks, but if she lands a combo, be prepared to lose all of your health. A pretty mobile character with a decent amount of options for attacks, she can dish out a lot of damage with a single combo. It is rather easy to punish her for whiffing or blocking her attacks, and she doesn’t have that many defensive options, important in a game like Tekken, where there are tons of aggressive characters. However, she has a good backswing and lots of options, in general, to launch and punish as well as confuse and panic with her 50/50. Her Rage Drive is also insanely strong if landed, though it is very slow to startup in addition to a Rage Art that hits low. If you wanna have fun, use Lucky Chloe. 

30. Jack-7:

 

The latest iteration of the robot fighter can deal quite a lot of damage with his combos, but unlike Bob, his size doesn’t make him quicker. Despite his sluggish speed and evasion, Jack can deal damage from quite a distance, much like Gigas, landing hits from far away. His punishers are rather good, and he can be utilized quite well, but his speed brings him down. He also has some throws he can use to his advantage. 

29. Master Raven: 

While dealing some decent damage, she isn’t noteworthy enough to be one of the strongest in the roster, though her different stances may be of use. She deals relatively decent damage, but her launchers aren’t anything special, and while her damage output is decent, it isn’t enough to set her apart. A few relatively slow moves as well drag her a bit down to being rather average or just slightly below it. Another of her big weaknesses is how unsafe she can be, especially at close range. 

28. Bob: 

Bob used to be one of the most popular and powerful characters in Tekken 6, but now, barely anyone plays him. One of the lesser-used characters, he is still a very good option. He has lots of ways to attack, and despite his size, he is rather quick, as he says himself. He has absolutely the worst launchers, with a lot of them being slow on startup, and even though he can deal a bit of damage when he lands a combo, he isn’t quite what he used to be. 

27. Katarina:

Easily outclassed by much stronger characters, Katarina is an easy character to pick up, with her not being a very complex character to use. She lacks a lot in her defensive department, but her offense is reliable enough for one to use well. She can be very unsafe, and despite her decent attack range, if pressured by another opponent, Katarina can fall apart. 

26. Eddy: 

What Eddy has in lots of stances that can sometimes be hard to punish, he lacks in said ability to punish attacks and speed. The sheer amount of attacks that he has can easily pressure an opponent, but sadly, he has problems at close range, doing best from mid-range with his long reach. Despite that, he has great whiff punishing and can be quite unpredictable with the number of moves he has. 

25. Asuka: 

One of the best defensive characters, Asuka has lots of great strong punishers and launchers, in addition to some great wall carrying. However, she is noticeably slower compared to others despite her options, and she doesn’t have many pokes or quick punishers. She is still a strong fighter with her good damage output and an amazing reversal. 

24. Xiaoyu:

Quite possibly the most evasive character in Tekken 7, Xiaoyu has a multitude of options to keep her away from the reach of enemies. She doesn’t have that many solid options when it comes to launching and damage, but her stances allow her to chip away an enemy’s health. Her weak combos are more than made up for by the hits she can get in, thanks to her insanely quick speed and amazing evasion. 

23. Hwoarang: 

A character so low only because he requires that you practically be a master at him to use him right, Hwoarang’s different stances can be tricky to use well. He can deal massive amounts of damage but is best used by skilled players. His kicks can easily pressure an opponent, much like his boxing counterpart Steve, but it takes a true Hwoarang master to properly utilize his different stances and numerous attacks. With this guy, confusion is key. 

22. Nina: 

She has good wall carry and a lot of throw options, but that is about all Nina has. She has decent pokes and punishes and some good range courtesy of her long legs, but that is about it. Her subpar damage is one of her biggest weaknesses. However, she can do quite a lot of damage if she lands a throw, and while her throw game isn’t as good as King, it is still among the best.

21. Lee: 

 

Wanna hear a joke? Lee’s damage output. Lee is one of the most difficult and technical characters to learn, focusing on kicks. He has a lot of options for combos, and it can be quite tricky. It takes a lot to learn how to pull off his most damaging combos, but even then, his damage output is one of the weakest. Despite his weak damage, he can easily bring you to the wall if played well, so either way, steer clear of Lee. 

20. Miguel: 

While he has plenty of launch options, always important for those high damage combos, Miguel isn’t, particularly the fastest character. However, his mix-up game is impressive, thanks to his stance, giving him many opportunities to confuse opponents. While his strength is pretty decent overall, the sheer power of some specific attacks, in addition to his pretty good wall carrying ability, makes him a viable fighter. 

19. Lili: 

This French fighter has undoubtedly the best sidestep in Tekken 7. Ironically, her moves are linear, and as such, very easy to sidestep. Boasting surprisingly good damage, she also has with her a lot of jumping attacks, allowing her to very easily evade lows. With her good evasion and wall carry, her biggest weakness isn’t just how linear she can be, but her low attacks being easy to block. She is a very easy character to learn, and if you can utilize her well, have fun at the wall. 

18. Leo:

Leo is easily the jack-of-all-trades of the base roster and has quite a few options when it comes to playstyle. However, given their nature, Leo is the master of none, an all-around good character for anyone to play. Not too hard to learn and not too hard to master, Leo, is a good, beginner-friendly option. While Leo’s damage output isn’t the best, their wall game is rather good and is best on walled stages, which can boost their combo damage. There are quite a few good pokes and punishing options as well that can whittle an opponent’s health down, in addition to powerful counter-hits. 

17. Shaheen: 

He’s just a generally great character. He has lots of great options and is a simple and balanced character. He has many great options, and while not that exceptional, he is more than a viable option. His simplicity is his only weakness, in addition to not having that many lows, but he has easy to learn moves that make him readily available to use by anyone. 

16. Josie: 

One of Tekken 7’s new characters, Josie, is a very solid and good character. Her biggest weakness is how linear she can be, in addition to not being as evasive as other fighters due to her lack of a back handspring. She has lots of good pokes and quick attacks, however, and she can deal quite a lot of damage in addition to some above-average wall carrying. 

15. Heihachi:

One of the most difficult characters to use in Tekken, Heihachi can do massive damage if mastered. While his wall carry is one of the worst, his damage output alone makes it more than worth it, despite his difficulty. A lot of his moves are safe as well, and he overall has a lot of moves for aggressive options. Heihachi has a lot of great moves for players who take the time for him. 

14. Kazuya: 

One of the most played characters, Kazuya, is very much a member of his family, which is to say that he is tough. He has quite a few options, but his best is his punishing, which can lead into massive amounts of damage. He works best defensively when one can punish missed or blocked attacks, and when he lands hits, they can deal quite a lot of damage.

13. Alisa: 

A very good all-around fighter, Alisa has a lot of options. While her counter-hit options are lacking, she has many launchers and combo opportunities. Her chainsaw stance is also rather good, but where Alisa fails is that she can easily be punished for whiffs and blocks, in addition to her weak combo damage. However, she is a very evasive character, and her movement and speed make up for her weaknesses. 

12. King: 

Throw out your math textbooks because King’s throw and grab commands are going to need insane memorization. He has some easy to learn combos and is best played defensively with a focus on punishing. With that, he is best known for his throw strings that can absolutely erase an opponent’s health bar. He may not have the best evasion, but his throws deal more damage than other characters’ combos. They are just notoriously difficult to memorize, but once you do, have some fun with Rolling Death Cradle. 

11. Kazumi: 

Not the strongest, not the fastest, but one of the simplest and easiest characters to learn, Kazumi has very few but effective tools. What she does have is pretty important. She has a pretty good wall game. Her lows are her weakness, but other than them, she has an overall pretty good and basic moveset that anyone can use properly. Her flying stance gives her a good spacing tool while making her more evasive, and it is best to play her aggressively, and when not, her pokes are reliable.

10. Feng: 

Basic but effective. That is the best description of Feng. Feng has quite a lot of good attacks and counter-hits and can evade attacks really well with his stances and very low attacks. While his combos aren’t the most powerful, his pokes work really well to chip away damage in addition to his punishes. 

9. Claudio: 

A very beginner-friendly character, this new character doesn’t have much, but what he does have is more than good enough. Claudio is rather basic, but even so, he packs a bit of a punch. He is very easy to learn, and while most of his statistics are average, he still has great launchers that can help him win.

8. Jin:

One of the most well-rounded and viable options, Jin has great evasiveness and great poking, and while his throws and wall carry aren’t that special in addition to his underwhelming damage output. One of the most balanced characters in Tekken 7, it can take a lot to truly maximize his potential, but boy, is it worth it to do so. 

7. Law: 

Yet another character that doesn’t deal the most damage, Law, can carefully and very quickly chip away at your life bar if you aren’t careful. He can very easily bring you to the opposite side of the stage if used right. He has tons of low options and quick attacks that can drain your health. His overall speed makes him dangerous to fight against, so always watch for what he does. 

6. Devil Jin: 

As with the rest of the Mishima’s, Devil Jin is one of the hardest characters to play in the game, but if utilized well, he can absolutely demolish. Some of his moves are a bit linear, but he has just about every tool you could want. His hell sweep is amazing, and he can get a launch out of it. He has just about every option one could want to use in a match, and if played well, is a very viable option in top tier play. 

5. Dragunov:

While some of his higher damage combos can be a bit tough, Dragunov is a very solid option on all ranks. He just has a lot of great options for all kinds of attacks, with good pokes, an amazing move-in f,f,f, 2, some pretty decent combos and a few good counter hit options. He is surprisingly quick, and the aforementioned f,f,f, 2 is an amazing launcher on counter-hit. His wall game is also insanely good, and he just generally has a lot of great options for a match. 

4. Bryan: 

A pretty tough to learn but very rewarding character, Bryan can deal an insane amount of damage. He can be punished for his extremely aggressive playstyle, but if he lands a combo, be prepared. Bryan has access to an extremely large amount of moves that give him variety and different options in a match, so it is best to know what he can do. 

3. Paul: 

Paul does damage. That is Paul. This American brute has the infamous death punch, which can take more than a quarter of your life away in a second. He is pretty good all around, with lots of options for throws and moves, but his combo damage is what sets him apart from the rest of the roster. He’s just a generally really great character, nothing more, nothing less. 

2. Steve:

Counter-hit reliance. That is Steve’s one weakness. He is just the best of the Tekken 7 roster, able to easily pressure with his different stances. It may take some time to learn how to utilize him properly, but if you can manage all his stances, you can deal a lot of damage while scaring an opponent into not knowing how to react to your attacks. Steve’s aforementioned pressure can be downright terrifying to deal with, and you’ll be stuck wondering whether or not to attack, and by then, you’ve already lost the round. 

1. Akuma: 

Easily the strongest of the Tekken characters isn’t even from Tekken. The moment I started writing, I knew he would be on top. Akuma isn’t for Tekken players due to his insane difficulty, and he is for either the elite and the most skilled or the Street Fighter players. While he isn’t the quickest character on the roster, he can deplete your health bar with one combo if played right. Speed is important in Tekken, but with Akuma, it is irrelevant. He is insanely difficult to play but also insanely rewarding if played right. As a mainly Tekken player, I have no experience landing a full health bar erasing combo that he is known to have, but if you spend probably an entire day or maybe a week or however long it takes, you can absolutely just piss off whoever is unfortunate enough to fight you. If he catches you, he can erase your health bar if played right. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t return in Tekken 8, and if he does, hopefully not this powerful. He’s just simply not like other characters.