Summary
Like any long-running fighting game series,Tekken’s roster has expanded dramatically over the years. The key to these titles, of course, is offering a varied range of characters of different fighter archetypes, allowing players to find someone that suits their playstyle. To keep things fresh, then, each new entry tends to introduce new characters to the mix.
That also means they’ve gone through a lot of tweaking and balancing. With today’s era of updates and patches, the truly busted can be fixed pretty quickly. Yet others have remained consistently strong across the series, either staying close to the top of the tier list or remaining at the top across multiple entries. Ranked by strength and technique, these arethe best fighters inTekkenhistory.
Updated Jul 01, 2025, by David Heath:Tekken 8 is finally out, and it has been out and about for nearly a month as of this writing. It’s already sold2 million units in that short time, rivaling Street Fighter 6 as the best fighting game for beginners and veterans alike. Its single-player content, like its cheesy but fun Story Mode, has helped pull in the casual crowd, while the online modes have largely been smooth and stable enough to please the die-hard fans.
It also has a bunch of new gameplay mechanics, which have affected its considerable character roster in one way or another. So, this list has been updated to reflect how the early days of T8 have affected things, alongside a few characters who just missed the mark the last time. So, ranked by tiers, here are more of thestrongest fighters in Tekken.
18Bruce Irvin
Nightmare Impact
The series' first Muay Thai fighter is one of the more inexplicably popular characters in the series.Bruce Irvindoesn’t really have much story presence beyond being Kazuya’s former right-hand man,nor much personality. The developers have tried replacing him three times, giving a lot of his moves to Bryan Fury inTekken 3before taking them back, then making two new kickboxers inTekken 7’s Josie Rizal and Fahkumram.
So, why is he popular? Because of his gameplay.Tekken 2andTekken Tag Tournament 1made him swift and strong, with some deadly chains and feints. The High Kick in his One-Two-Low-High Kick was unblockable inT2due to an oversight. But he was nerfed to near-oblivion on his return inTekken 5, until he became viable again forTekken 6andTekken Tag Tournament 2. Though chances are it’ll take a third Tag Tournament to bring him back.
17Paul Phoenix
Hot-Blooded Destroyer
Paul Phoenixhas been one of the series' easier characters to learn since the beginning. Players just need to get the hang of his Phoenix Smasher and throw it out. If that sounds too simple, it’s still more complicated than his friends Marshall and Forest Law, whose Somersault Kicks were the spammer’s delight.
That said,Paul has been a contendereven at the highest levels. His hits are more powerful than Nina or Law’s strikes, and he’s faster than the Jack robots. He’s great for getting up in opponents' faces. Even with nerfs, like his big moves being easy to sidestep and his more notorious moves, like the Falling Leaf/Demolition Man, getting more risky when blocked, he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
16Ling Xiaoyu
Dancing Phoenix
It’s understandable to see how Bruce got popular with his strong moves, and “powerhouse” may as well be Paul’s middle name. However, how wasLing Xiaoyuable to match and even outdo them throughout the series? Most of her moves are delicate strikes that don’t do that much damage. Her big unblockable move, Thunder Strike, does roughly the same damage as Paul’s Phoenix Smasher for a much slower setup. But there are more ways to be powerful than just hitting harder.
For Xiaoyu, it’s her mobility. Her swift strikes don’t hurt a lot, but they’re fast enough to stop the opponent in their tracks and leave them open. Many of them lead into her stances, which can bait opponents into a combo or launcher (Back Turn), or sit low enough to avoid high or mid-strikes (Phoenix). If all else fails, she can parry attacks to leave them open, or simply spin, roll, or cartwheel out of the way. So long as she’s on the move, she can be a difficult, dizzying character to encounter.
15Jun Kazama
Light of Hope
For being one ofT2’s big newcomers,Jun Kazamadidn’t leave much of a mark. She was around A-B tier, but was left out of the sequel because fans didn’t play her as much. Even when she did return toTTT1, she toppled down the tier list to being just slightly better than the jokey animal characters. With her (kind-of) niece Asuka taking over as the Kazama Ju-Jitsu representative, it seemed like Jun would be left in theTaggames.
ThenTekken 8brought her back and made her worth the player’s while. As of this writing, she’s rivaling her deadly son Jin as the strongest character in the game. Jun retains her tricky mix-up chains from the past, which are simpler to get to grips with than Jin’s Wavedash tactics. She can drive opponents into the wall with little fuss, and her moves track opponents well, striking them if they’re not perfect with their sidesteps. Bar any future nerfs or buffs, she’s the top character to try out inT8.
14King
Anger of the Beast
Being strict, theKinginTekken1&2, and the one inTekken 3, 4, 5,etc, are two different people. King II was one of the kids at the first one’s orphanage. But in terms of gameplay, they’re basically the same, and they’ve hung around the mid-to-higher tiers throughout the series.T1King could trap opponents in constant blockstun with his elbow, whileT5/T5: DRKing gained the ability to throw people in midair, ending his juggles with hard-hitting slams.
The jaguar-headed luchador hit the doldrums inT4andSFxT, and his tricks kept him mid at best inT7. ButT8, as it currently stands, has given King his strongest outing in years. The game made throws stronger in general, so King’s throw-heavy moveset make him a considerable threat, especially when they lead into his nasty multiparts. Plus, his long limbs give him some strong poking attacks, stuffing his opponents mid-stride. If players want to give grapplers a try, King’s currently the best of the bunch.
13Lee Chaolan
Silver-Haired Demon
Kazuya’s foster brother,Lee Chaolan, didn’t have too much going for him in the early days. He was basically Law with an infinite (but not unbeatable) hit string, and some tricky high-low mix-ups here and there.TTT1gave him more original moves, like his Hitman stance and follow-ups, though he wasn’t exactly a Mishima beater. It wasn’t untilT4that he got his mojo, where he got his brother’s Mist Step, with his own deadly follow-ups like his juggling Cossack Kick combo.
Even better (or worse for his opponents), his moves were great at driving opponents intoT4’s new walled stages, where he could trap them consistently, if not infinitely, with his punch chains. Even when this got toned down, Lee remained a great character at carrying his foes into walls, reaching his peak inT6, but still dominant inT7. The downside is that getting to this high level requires tight input timing and more practice than the likes of Paul, Jun, or even his old relatives in the Mishima clan.
12Bryan Fury
Harbinger of Chaos
For one of the toughest fighters in lore,Bryan Furywas pretty lackluster gameplay-wise in hisT3debut. In high-level play, he was the weakest non-joke character, standing above only Kuma/Panda, Gon, and Dr. Bosconovitch, a character who couldn’t even stand up straight. That all changed with the sequels.
They upped his strength and expanded his move set with hard jabs, feints, and mix-ups, including the infamous Knee Taunt to Jet Upper. As tricky as its timing is, this move could stun the opponent, and then send them flying into the air for some nasty juggles.T6may be his highest-tier game, but he’s remained around A-tier ever sinceTTT1, includingT8.
11Armor King
Wicked Flower
Technically, theArmor KingfromT1-TTT1was also a different guy from the one who returned inTekken 5: Dark Resurrection,T5’s PSP update. But gameplay-wise, they’re not all that different. They’re both supposed to be the dark counterparts to their regular Jaguar-headed rivals. It showed inT1where, on top of having King’s blockstun-inducing elbow, he had the Mishimas' Wind and Thunder Godfists.
He lost them inTTT1but retained the Wavedash for other tactics, like a hard clothesline, or his own multipart throws. Then his successor gained an improved poking game thanks to his extra range, and he can make his opponents regret whiffing their attacks with some hard punishes. If only they had better tracking, as his moves could be sidestepped more easily than other characters' tools.
10Nina Williams
Silent Assassin
Thecold-blooded Irish assassinhas gone from strength to strength since herT1debut.Nina Williamsis good at stuffing opponents' attacks in mid-stride with her pokes and mix-ups, making her particularly strong in mid-range. Yet getting close to her doesn’t help her foes either. If her short jabs and chains don’t make them pay, her long list of multipart throws will.
She requires a lot of practice to be truly effective, which can feel like an uphill struggle depending on the game.Tekken 4saw her rival Jin in power as her Ivory Cutter could stuff a lot of her opponents' attempts to approach her. WhileTekken 7made her more average by comparison.T8has given her back some of her old mojo, as she’s putting up a decent fight in A-tier. Only time will tell if she stays there.
9Feng Wei
God Fist
Prior toT5, the series' kung fu practitioners tended to be elaborate and technical. Xiaoyu floats like a butterfly and stings like a Q-tip. Lei Wulong has more power in his strikes anda ton of stancesto study, but he wasn’t exactly a tank. The Changs and Wang Jinrei were simpler but weren’t that much stronger than Lei.
The developers noticed this and madeFeng Weias kung fu’s proverbial tank. Conservative estimates ranked him around A-tier inT5with his simple, fast, hard-hitting strikes.T6overcorrected with their nerfs, butT7brought him back to the top of the tree. He’s strong inT8too, but his moves can be sidestepped more easily than before, bringing him down to A-tier.
