Injustice 2 has been out for nearly two weeks now, and the game’s competitive community seems to have come to a loose consensus about which characters are true gods, and which need to be sent back to the funny pages. Of course, you’re welcome to your own opinions, arguing about who belongs in what tier is a time-honored tradition amongst fighting game devotees, but the fan-voted tier list on Event Hubs seems solid at this point. Some minor character shuffling is still happening, but no big shakeups.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Generally speaking, it seems like characters with a lot of ranged attacks, like Deadshot, Darkseid, and Doctor Fate, and those that can deal out quick combos, like Batman and Robin, are at the top of the rankings. Meanwhile, big, powerful characters like Bane, Atrocitus, and Gorilla Grodd populate the lower tiers. Also, unfortunately, aside from Supergirl, the game’s female characters don’t fare too well.
Scroll on down for a tier breakdown of the full 29-character Injustice 2 roster. Obviously, these rankings will continue to change as players find new strategies and NetherRealm adjusts the game’s balance, but this is where we stand as of the end of the May, 2017…
S-Tier
Deadshot, Supergirl, Darkseid, Black Adam, Robin, Doctor Fate
And here we have the elite class. The best of the best! Heck, some may argue Deadshot is a little too good. One thing most of these S-Tier characters have in common, is the ability to deal out devastating ranged attacks. Injustice 2 is definitely a game that rewards moving quick, playing defensively, and keeping your adversary at a distance with projectiles. Deadshot, Darkseid, and Doctor Fate can all zone the hell out of their opponents. Meanwhile, Supergirl and Robin can stick and move, dealing out damage then quickly getting back out of range.
A-Tier
Batman, Superman, Poison Ivy, Brainiac, Captain Cold, Firestorm
The very good, but not quite godlike, class. Most of the characters at this level are well-balanced, with a few good ranged attacks to keep opponents at bay. Batman can unleash some impressive combos and take out opponents with gadgets, while Superman brings power and the handy ability to fly to the table. Meanwhile, Brainiac can smack you down with his tentacles, and Captain Cold and Firestorm can keep you hopping with their projectiles.
B-Tier
Aquaman, Green Lantern, Joker, Harley Quinn, Swamp Thing, Cyborg
You can make characters at this level work for you with a bit of effort, but they’re not the most accessible and have some significant weaknesses. Aquaman is a good defensive character, but you need to have patience to use him. Green Lantern has some nice combos that can be chained together, but if those chains are broken, he’s left very vulnerable. Harley Quinn has decent ranged attacks, but she’s simply nowhere near as powerful as super snipers like Deadshot and Doctor Fate.
C-Tier
Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle, Scarecrow, Green Arrow, Gorilla Grodd
Okay, here’s where things start to get tough. If you want a personal challenge, you can try to get competitive with these characters, but it may not be easy. There isn’t necessarily much tying these characters together – they all have their own issues. Wonder Woman is a bit slow, and has a somewhat lacking collection of moves, Catwoman has some combos, but is ultimately underpowered, and Gorilla Grodd is surprisingly vulnerable giving how large and intimidating-looking he is.
D and F-Tier
Flash, Black Canary, Atrocitus, Bane, Cheetah
And here we are in the basement. These are the characters you should probably avoid, or maybe encourage your inexperienced friends to try out if you’re a jerk. There are basically two types of bottom-tier characters – big guys like Bane and Atrocitus, whose power doesn’t make up for their lack of speed, and, on the other end of the spectrum, speedy characters like Flash and Cheetah, who are just too fragile to be competitive.
All Injustice 2 characters have four base stats – Strength, Ability, Defense, and Health. Depending on how you want to play, you may want to choose a character that has a high specific stat. Combine it with the tier rankings above, to find your character. So, let’s say you want to play defensively – your best bet would be Black Adam, who has high defense, and is an S-Tier character. Want to clubber opponents with strong basic attacks? Pick the high-strength S-Tier Darkseid. You get the point.
Highest Strength Characters
Atrocitus, Bane, Darkseid, Gorilla Grodd, Scarecrow
Strength determines how much damage a character does with normal attacks.
Highest Ability Characters
Aquaman, Atrocitus, Bane, Batman, Black Adam, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Brainiac, Captain Cold, Catwoman, Cheetah
Strength determines how much damage a character does with special attacks and Super Moves.
Highest Defense Characters
Aquaman, Black Adam, Brainiac, Cyborg, Firestorm, Green Lantern, Supergirl, Superman, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman
Defense determines how much damage a character absorbs while blocking.
Highest Health Characters
Darkseid (highest of all in a category by himself), Atrocitus, Bane, Batman, Captain Cold, Catwoman, Deadshot, Doctor Fate, Gorilla Grodd, Green Arrow, Harley Quinn, Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow.
Health determines how many hit points a character has.
And there you are! You should now have a pretty good idea which characters you ought to focus on mastering. Of course, you can also ignore all this and just pick characters you think look cool, but you may end up getting your butt kicked.
Injustice 2 is available now on Xbox One and PS4. You can check WWG’s latest coverage of Injustice 2 here, and our extensive back catalog of stories, right here.
