Updated at: 28-02-2023 - By: Leo Hall
If you want to get the most out of Killer Instinct, you need to use the best characters possible. If you want an overview of Killer Instinct, here is the most recent tier list.

Killer Instinct has maintained its position as one of the most fully realized games in the fighting genre.

Killer Instinct stands out from the crowd of fighting games because of its simplified auto combo moves and combo breakers, which require quick reads and reactions from both players.

You can trust that this is the most up-to-date, comprehensive ranking of Killer Instinct players available anywhere. Characters’ overall performance across all game modes is taken into account when compiling this list.

It’s important to keep in mind that, since success in this game hinges so heavily on the player’s own abilities, any of the playable characters could end up being a rival.

S-Tier

In terms of having the fewest bad matchups, these characters are currently the best in the game. You should study and select them because they will prove very challenging for your opponents.

JAPAN Killer Instinct Tier List - YouTube

Character Description
    Rash The Killer Instinct protagonist Rash is widely regarded as the game’s highlight. His damage output is impressive even without a meter, and he has great overheads, lows, staggers, and combos that are difficult to break.

Rash is for you if you’re looking for unrivaled mix-ups and air mobility.

      Aria When Aria is in meter and instinct, she has incredible range, pressure, and damage. When it comes to linkers, this player’s are the most formidable in the game.

Because each body has its own set of skills, it is difficult for opponents to predict the strategy that Aria will employ when she switches between them.

      Fulgore It’s no secret that Fulgore is a top-tier character for turning the tide of battle in your favor thanks to his arsenal of devastating special attacks like fireballs, blade dashes, and lasers. Having a character like Fulgore, who can zone effectively and rush down enemies, is difficult to counter.

But wait, there’s more: Fulgore’s teleport is so broken that he can become invisible and teleport to his opponent, making it a particularly useful tool for mix-ups. Fulgore is the robot you want if you need a character with few or no flaws.

    Omen Omen’s mobility is unparalleled. It can move around the ground with ease and has the best mobility of any fly. Omen’s high mobility allows for an abundance of control options over an opponent, including meter lockouts, left/right mix-ups, and more.

A-Tier

Don’t let that fool you into thinking these characters are weaker than S-tiers; they’re more than capable of holding their own thanks to their skill.

Character Description
Aganos Aganos may be one of the trickiest playable characters, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the best. One can use his chunks offensively or defensively. Aganos excels in both corner pressure and close-range mix-ups.

If you want to make your opponent scratch their head with powerful attacks and great defense, this character is for you.

Eyedol One more excellent option is Eyedol, who, when in instinct mode, has complete command of the action thanks to having access to the skills of both heads at once.

Eyedol’s warrior and mage forms are challenging for many players to master, but his exceptional rushdown and zoning capabilities make him a formidable opponent.

Thunder Chief Thunder’s strategy is based on closing the distance between himself and his foes so that he can deal maximum damage. In particular when the chief’s instinct mode activates and grants him a boost in mobility, his opponents consistently avoid and zone him out.
Hisako Hisako may move slowly, but don’t let that fool you; she packs a powerful punch and has excellent mobility skills, including descent and wall jump, which she can use to quickly gain the upper hand.

Hisako is a terrifying opponent because of her hard knockdowns and counter hits.

Arbiter Arbiter’s normal attack is among the best in the game. Arbiter’s attacks have a long range, making it difficult for its opponents to land hits in close combat.

Arbiter’s energy shield is one of his best features because it provides him with an armored protection against projectiles and an additional health bar.

Glacius With his strong corner pressure, Glacius makes for an effective zoner. Hail, one of his abilities, is widely regarded as the game’s top anti-air ability. Shatter is also widely employed because it deals unavoidable damage in a pinpoint area.

The combination of Glacius’s excellent full-screen zoning and his annoyance-inducing mid-range attack makes him a blast to play as in battle.

Riptor Riptor is a top pick despite the character’s low prevalence, as it boasts above-average range, excellent run speed (especially when using Instinct), and survival run (which is useful for tactical retreats). The ineffectiveness of projectiles against Riptor in Predator mode.

Its natural instinct makes it faster and more effective at running, and its flame and tail attacks have a longer range. Riptor is the perfect dinosaur for you if you like intense showdowns.

Tusk Again, we have a character who can move quickly and deal a lot of damage. Tusk can hit like a truck and is great at moving across the screen, especially against zoners.

His ability to automatically counter attacks during the deflect window will make his enemies think twice about mashing buttons in an offensive manner.

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B-Tier

All-around, you can’t go wrong with these individuals in a fight. It doesn’t take long to master some of them, and with the right strategy, you can easily defeat opponents of any tier.

Character Description
Mira Mira is viewed as a high-flying, high-reward type of person. Because her abilities drain health but are regenerated by her command grab and bite, Mira has the best damaging counter-breaker combo despite taking damage.

The problem with using Mira is that you constantly lose health, even when using her air dashes and attacks that do no damage.

Cinder The lab is a necessary part of learning to control Cinder. He relies heavily on juggling and setups, and his effectiveness improves the more you use him, but he does not deal good damage outright.

Cinder is a great tool if you’re interested in more complex combos.

Eagle Eagle can throw a lot of curveballs, but he doesn’t deal a lot of damage. One of the best rushdown characters, Eagle is a powerhouse in the game. His bird’s block can temporarily stun foes, and his arrows can zone them.

Eagle, however, has poor anti-air capabilities and is relatively slow. But Eagle is a great character to use if you favor a zoner approach.

Kilgore Kilgore, the best zoner in the game, has a number of advantages over his rivals. His guns can fire in a variety of directions, his missiles deal significant damage, and his unbreakable damage is among the best in the game.

Kilgore does not have strong close-range specials, so he is at a disadvantage when playing at closer ranges. On the other hand, Kilgore is unrivaled when it comes to long-range games and zoning.

Spinal Once Spinal has all his skulls up, he becomes an extremely effective offensive character. In terms of both normal and special moves, Spinal is fairly competent. The bouncing skull that remains on miss and block adds significant power to Spinal’s instinctual miscalculations.

Spinal is difficult to play early because, unlike Aganos, he begins with no skulls, significantly reducing his offensive power, and because he has poor spacing abilities.

Gargos Another character with excellent mobility is Gargos, who has four jumps and a good aerial normal to boot. As an added measure, Gargos calls upon his minions to add to the pressure on his foe.

Gargos is a competent zoner, but his bulk makes him a soft target for pressure attacks. Gargos is the best choice if you like to sit back and watch your minions do the dirty work while you enjoy the fruits of their labor.

C-Tier

These heroes may not be as memorable as those in the upper tiers, but they’re still a lot of fun to use.

Character Description
Maya Maya is a feisty, agile protagonist. And if you’re not used to her combos, you’ll have a hard time dealing with her unbreakable damage and excellent lockdowns from her jump plus moves.

Maya’s daggers are an integral part of her offensive strategy, so when she loses them, she is left with few options. One of the skills necessary to master Maya is the ability to control a potent resource.

A Shadow Over Jago Shadow Jago is another example of a “high risk, high reward” type of protagonist. This is because his special moves are all risky, and the high consumption of the meter means that you must choose between playing safe and taking risks.

Shadow Jago is a very mobile character with one of the best dashes in the game despite the drawbacks listed above.

Hisako Shin Having effective pokes with frame advantage and quick, difficult-to-break mix-ups, Shin Hisako shines in close-range encounters. Once she closes the distance, she is nearly impossible to zone out. Her defense is phenomenal.

However, she is not ideal for use against excellent zoning characters due to her inability to easily breach their defenses.

Commander Raam Once General Raam gets close, he becomes extremely dangerous because he is the best grappler in the game. Opponents are constantly dodging his powerful normals and lightning-fast command grabs.

But he’s at a significant disadvantage because he can’t effectively damage his foes unless he’s up close and personal with them, where he’ll take a lot of punishment.

Kim Wu Kim Wu is a solid and powerful player because she deals a lot of damage and is difficult to zone. Kim has excellent parry and primarily uses dragon cancels.

Kim Wu is the ideal character if you’re looking for someone who is both powerful and reliable, with access to high-safe damage reversals.

Jago The damage and zoning capabilities that Jago possesses make him a well-rounded character. Something that stands out about Jago is how rapidly his shadow meter fills up. In instinct mode, he can also restore his health.

There are some improvements to Shadow’s tools that Jago It’s possible that Jago will cause some confusion. You can still have a good time interacting with Jago.

Kan-Ra It is important to set up a trap with Kan-Ra. His traps make him extremely difficult to approach, and his mobility makes him a potent zoner—especially when the sand is always shifting beneath him. Learning to use Kan-Ra is challenging due to his reliance on traps and unusual movesets.

Still, adversaries will be frustrated taking on Kan-Ra, as he is no walk in the park, what with the park being full of traps and all.

TJ Combo TJ Combo is yet another competent melee fighter. Because of his skill as a combo starter, TJ Combo can turn an opponent’s own carelessness into a weapon. His speed makes it difficult to find a opening in which to execute a combo break.

TJ Combo, like most close-range characters, requires close proximity to deal damage, which means he must take significant damage before dealing any of his own.

D-Tier

These heroes are the least used because they are difficult to play and have terrible matchups against more experienced opponents. If you’re just messing around, they’re a lot of fun to use.

Character Description
Sadira Instinct is one of the best in the game thanks to Sadira’s powerful web pressure and agile air play. When confronted with zoning, she has a hard time breaking in, and she must rely heavily on instinct to recover from battle.

To this day, Sadira is a great character to use against characters with weak anti-air abilities, and she is also a lot of fun to use if you enjoy performing juggle combos.

Sabrewulf One of the best rushdown characters is Sabrewulf. In his Instinct mode, he gains a significant advantage with every attack he makes. Additionally, normals now deal chip damage in addition to the previously existing high-end damage. If you’re on the ground, you can cancel out any ground move with Feral Cancel.

If you enjoy doing good resets and a good normal character in the game, then Saberwulf is for you despite the fact that he relies heavily on resets and lacks good defensive options.

Orchid Orchid, who has one of the game’s fastest walk speeds, is another rushdown character to make the cut. Her pokes give her excellent control in the middle of the screen. The fire cat she brandishes in instinct mode allows her to easily close gaps and initiate combos.

Orchid has difficulty against zoners due to her lack of options that allow her to get up close, but she is still enjoyable to play if you enjoy assisting in a flurry of activity or setting up punishing knockdowns.

Killer Instinct Tier List | Best Characters Details

In case you were wondering who the best characters were in Killer Instinct, we’ve got you covered.

Rash – Killer Instinct Tier List >>

One of Killer Instinct’s most popular characters is Rash. Aside from his incredible damage output (even without a meter), he also possesses amazing overheads, staggers, lows, and hard-to-break combos.

The Rash is the best option if you’re looking for air mobility and an unrivaled mix.

Aria – Killer Instinct Tier List 

Aria’s range, pressure, and damage are all significantly increased when she’s in the zone and acting on instinct. Among the game’s characters, Aria’s bonds are the most challenging to break.

Due to Aria’s ability to switch bodies, her opponents rarely have a chance to successfully anticipate her playstyle and counter it. The fact that every Aria is equipped with its own unique set of skills only serves to increase the threat it poses.

Fulgore – Killer Instinct Tier List

And if you’re looking for the best option in Fulgore, this is it. Blade dashes, lasers, and fireballs are just some of fulgor’s many moves that make him one of the best at controlling the war on his side. Both Rush and Zoner builds that take advantage of Fulgor’s abilities are challenging to counter.

Riptor (Killer Instinct) Tier List by Ssundpool on DeviantArt

Fulgore’s teleport is one of the most broken abilities in the game because he can teleport to an opponent while remaining invisible, making it a useful tool in a variety of mix-up situations. Fulgore is the pinnacle of mechanical perfection if you’re looking for a character with minimal flaws.

Omen – Killer Instinct Tier List

At this point in the game, Omen’s mobility is optimal. Movement-wise, it excels both on the ground and in the air. The Omen is able to exert control over its opponent from virtually any location on the screen with a variety of techniques, including Meter Lock and Left/Right Mix.

Conclusion

We hope you found our Killer Instinct Tier List helpful in selecting the best characters for enhancing your gameplay, and if you have any comments or questions, please let us know in the section below.