KOF 15 Tier List: The Ultimate Ranking [V.1.63]

King of Fighters is a popular fighting game that has captured the interest of gamers since 1994. With numerous series and action-packed gameplay, it has become a favorite of many. The recent launch of Kof 15 in February 2022 for various platforms has further increased its popularity. In our KOF 15 Tier List we will rank all the characters in the game.

The game consists of 39 playable characters, each with unique skills and abilities, making team selection a crucial aspect of the game. To help gamers select the best characters, a ranking has been created, with characters ranked from best to worst based on their fighting abilities and tendencies to win. 

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Key Points

• There are a total of 36 characters on our list.
• Each has been ranked according to their movesets, damage output, and difficulty.
• Among the highest tiers, you will find fighters like Terry Bogard, Ralf Jones, Vanessa, and Mai Shiranui.
• The lower ranks contain characters like Yuri Sakazaki, Ramon, and Whip.

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Summary

Let’s now list all the entries in a short table.

S Rank	A Rank	B Rank	C Rank	D Rank
Terry Bogard	Joe Higashi	Ryo Sakazaki	Andy Bogard	Ramon
Ralf Jones	Shun’ei	Isla	Luong	Whip
Vanessa	Leona Heidern	Maxima	Ash Crimson
Mai Shiranui	Heidern	K’	Krohnen
Elisabeth Blanctorche	Kula Diamond	Meitenkun	Benimaru
Dolores	Blue Mary	Chizuru Kagura	Antonov
Chris	Kukri	King of Dinosaurs	Clark Still
	Angel	Shermie	Yuri Sakazaki
	Yashiro Nanakase
	Kyo Kusanagi
	Iori Yagami
	Athena Asamiya

learn more about each entry below.

S Tier

The superb tier includes the utmost perfect fighters with the highest stats and abilities and skills that make them able to fight flawlessly and perfectly. They have incredible combos and the finest stats in the game. 

Terry Bogard

Terry Bogard is an extraordinary player and the finest fighter in the game. Truly he has incredible combos with great damage. He has so many great moves to choose from. He leaves the competitor with so much damage that it looks like a piece of cake for him to kill the rival. His unprecedented moves are the Power Geyser and Buster Wolf. He has amazing skills with killer moves. The player’s command moves are marvelous and on point, including Back Knuckle and Rising Upper.

Terry is an undefeatable fighter of the kof 15 arenas. He is best in his climax move, that is, the Stardust Ignition providing his amazing reach and defensive attack. All his attacks are super; even his normal throws are heavy on the rival; for instance, his Buster Throw backward and forward are beyond belief. Terry is placed in the S tier of the list because he is perhaps the best fighter in the entire game.

Attack	8/10
Defense	8/10
Range	8/10
Speed	6/10

Ralf Jones

He is a great rush-down character with exceptional normals. Being a fantastic grappler he shines throughout the game. He is a solid character with spectacular moves like Galactica Phantom, Bareback Vulcan Punch, and Ralf Super Phalanx. Ralf has a remarkable reach, attack, and defense. Jones is right in all terms. His command move, like Jet Upper, leaves the opponent with great damage. 

Many more moves provide him full room to win the game by using them in their proper accordance. He can go through the enemy with his strikes and jump-in attacks. There is a capability of giving heavy and devastating blows through his attacks. He can finish off any rival if all his moves are carried out adequately. Ralf is a fighter with tremendous solid buttons. Ralf is a terrific heavy-hitting fighter of the game. He is standing brightly in the S rank of the King of Fighters 15 tier list.

Attack	8/10
Defense	4/10
Range	8/10
Speed	6/10

Vanessa

She is so magnificent that so is worth adoring. Vanessa is well known for her despicable fast speed. That allows her to rush down the rivals and apply pressure on them. Vanessa’s Puncher Vision move is fantastic in allowing her to dash forward and backward into other punches. Her attack is very heavy. She has splendid activities like Machine Gun Puncher, which increases the attack strength and does tremendous damage.

She is an eminent attacker with the most spectacular punching moves in the game. After gaining full control of Vanessa’s techniques, she can cause serious damage and apply pressure during the battle. Vanessa is a phenomenal fighter who is worth selecting for a good player.

Attack	8/10
Defense	2/10
Range	6/10
Speed	9/10

Mai Shiranui

Mai is a glorious neutral fighter and amongst the best in the game. She excels in all categories; be it speed, power, attack, defense, or normals, she is outstanding. There is a strategy to maintain the pressure of the game by controlling the tempo of the match. Projectiles can be defined, and she can make the opponent hanged in the air. She has the most spectacular jumps which make her phenomenal in many situations.

The character is a great pick for the players. Mai has so many good normals like Shiranui Gorin, Fuush Kuzushi, and Yume-Zakura. She has such a fast speed that she can beat her rival. A fabulous pick for beginner players, her attacks are jaw-breaking for the rival, with immense damage caused to even the strongest opponents.

Attack	4/10
Defense	8/10
Range	6/10
Speed	8/10

Elisabeth Blanctorche

She is so heavy on the foe that it gets frustrating for the rival to compete with her. Her moves are easy to understand and cause a good amount of damage. Elisabeth has a sound reach for the opponent to cause destruction. She performs a good cross-up if you can manage it well. Her projectiles are great. If the player is offensive, the transition can be made to learn moves like Grele and Coup-de-Vent. Her command move is called Eclair, which gives her immense power to cause destruction.

Attack	6/10
Defense	8/10
Range	6/10
Speed	4/10

Dolores

She has unique psychic abilities the help of which she can contact the spirits of Earth. She can control rocks and mud and change their state according to her will. While she is applying her moves, the Earth spirit can be seen emerging from the mud puddles. She has tremendous ground-based powers like teleportation, trapping opponents, and setup moves.

Dolores is that character of this incredible game who has the most promising normals that are so damaging to the opponent that nobody can compete with his moves. Her normals are called Salaba and Maran.

Attack	6/10
Defense	8/10
Range	8/10
Speed	6/10

Chris

Chris returned to the kof series after a very long time. He is a great character in the game and hence placed in the S tier. The ability to spin kick in the air, dash from one side to another which is great to avoid attacks, and flip his rivals upwards with a grab is some fine skill. He has such miraculous combos that are spectacular in a competition.

Chris has great finishing moves like Onslaught Mirage and Quarter Circle back. He has lavish speed and mobility that provides great attacking abilities and skills. Chris is the greatest player with awesome combos.

Attack	8/10
Defense	6/10
Range	4/10
Speed	10/10

Related Read: KOF 98 Tier List 

A Tier

Here is the above-average tier, and the characters placed here could be S tier for many fans but it is all subjective. The rank consists of players that are not worthy of being placed in the S tier due to minor flaws in their abilities. 

Joe Higashi

Joe is another distinguished player on this list. He has many abilities that a true fighter has and also the powers that a good player is looking for in his best character. He has so much potential and so much power in his Hiza-Jigoku and Joe-Special moves that the rival is left defeated with ease.

He can be a bit absurd sometimes and so he is placed in the A tier of our list, but he is a great fighter. He is a tremendous all-rounder character. He has a great range of mix-ups and overheads that makes him so dangerous in many situations. Joe is a very challenging character and is worth picking for the players.

Attack	4/10
Defense	8/10
Range	7/10
Speed	6/10

Shun’ei

Shun’ei is a good character in the game with many great moves and a good attacking strategy. He has refined normals that provide a good amount of damage to the opponent and defeat the opponent with iconic power. He has an epic defensive mechanism that allows him not to lose his strength throughout the battle.

His moves provide him the ability to defeat any good contender. Shun’ei’s most special techniques that allow him to stand marvelously in battle are Scarlet Phantom, Aqua Spear, Rising Efreet, Blau Wing, and Thruster Vision( front, back, slant, and under). His killer move which is the K.O. move is Phantom Singulation. It is the ultimate move that leaves the opponent in a disastrous state. His low-speed level is the one flaw that made him slip down to the A tier of the KOF 15 character tier list. He lacks in the speed department a bit and hence he lost his place in the S tier. Even though he is an all in all amazing character to choose from.

Attack	8/10
Defense	4/10
Range	6/10
Speed	10/10

Leona Heidern

Leona Heidern is one of the main characters of the game. She is an absolute favorite of so many gamers that she is placed in the A tier of the list. She has an iconic amount of speed that allows her to operate fast in competition with her rival.

Leona has massive strength that provides her with high grounds to win the match. She is an astounding team player and good at defense. Her intensive finishing move is Leona Blade which provides him great damage to the rival. Leona’s normals are great, for example, Leona Crash is forward and backward. The reason she is placed in the A tier is because of her low reach and new moves introduced that are not up to the mark with the characters of the S tier.

Attack	8/10
Defense	8/10
Range	6/10
Speed	8/10

Heidern

Heidern belongs to the A tier because of his epic combos. He is a stellar all-rounder who has a bundle of special moves. His climax move is Gae Bolg which is a kick-ass move. His normal throws are Lead Belcher and Backstabbing.

However, his attack on anything is tough. His Storm Binger move is quite tricky to use and might cause the player to end up being dodged. That is why he has been placed in the A tier.

Attack	6/10
Defense	7/10
Range	8/10
Speed	8/10

Kula Diamond

Kula’s moves are One Inch, Slider Shoot, Crow Bite, Diamond Breath, Counter Shell, Ray Spin, and Falling Snowman.  He is an elite all-rounder and has a great selection for new gamers. She has gripping moves and attacks that help her perform well in the game. She can launch projectiles and reflect back the opponent’s shots back at them, which is her strongest feature. Her combos are hard to hit, and that makes her a somewhat difficult character.

Attack	6/10
Defense	10/10
Range	6/10
Speed	6/10

Blue Mary

Blue Mary is an insightful fighter. She has enriching special moves which are Straight Slicer, Vertical Arrow, Spin Fall, Real Counter, M Breaker, M Typhoon, M Splash Rose, Lock Kick, and Viktor Throw. Her ultimate climax move is M Dynamite Swing. She has great reach and rhythm. She is greatly defensive because most of her skills work against her opponents as counters.

Her approaches take her in the air, and while she is airborne, the opponent can quickly punish her with the help of an anti-air attack. This is considered her one big flaw, hence she placed in the A tier.

Attack	8/10
Defense	6/10
Range	6/10
Speed	6/10

Kukri

Kukri is yet another sensational character. Her climax move is called Goku Nessa Housairyu, and she also has more options to approach her opponents but she is also less offensive as a result.

Attack	6/10
Defense	8/10
Range	6/10
Speed	6/10

Angel

Angel is yet another member of the A tier. Her command moves Middle Spin and Heavy Knee Attack. She is a rush-down fighter and can apply pressure on the opponent. Having s a variety of combos to get her rival. She is a fantastic character if she is playing well. Angel is perhaps a challenging character in the game due to her Unchain Suite of attacks. However, she is a terrifying character.

Attack	10/10
Defense	4/10
Range	4/10
Speed	7/10

Yashiro Nanakase

Yashiro is a great character when it comes to getting close to the opponent showing his strategy and goals. When he closes the gap between himself and the rival, he uses a multitude of attacks to introduce deadly combos and armored attacks and shows flawless mix-ups. His playstyle is exhilarating and highly recommended for beginners.

Nanakase has a good finishing move known as Ultimate Billion Bash. He has some astounding normals like Liver Blow and Hatchet Throw. He lacks ranged attacks either medium or long, this factor may leave people on the fence.

Attack	8/10
Defense	6/10
Range	8/10
Speed	8/10

Kyo Kusanagi

Kyo is known for his long list of deadly combos. His mixups are incredible. The moves are strategic like 100 Shiki Oniyaki, Red Kick, 75 Shiki Kai, 114 Shiki Aragami (the move starts with a great flaming punch) 115 Shiki Dokugami, 212 Shiki Kototsuki Yo, Ura 108 Shiki Orochinagi, and 182 Shiki. The climax move is Ura 1212 Shiki Yakumo. Kyo’s combos are brilliant, but they are challenging to learn.

Attack	8/10
Defense	8/10
Range	4/10
Speed	6/10

Iori Yagami

Iori has a lot to offer, he is a pure asset. He is a dazzling finisher, his learning curves are marvelous making him suitable to play well even under pressure. His moves like Kim 1211 Yaotome and Ura 316 Shiki Saika need great power gauge blocks. 

In 212 Shiki Kototsuki In, he sprints across the battlefield toward the rival. If the attack is successful, he pins the opponent to the ground with his purple flames. It is a marvelous technique when you are in dire need of a quick approach. His projectiles are defensive skills to keep the opponents at a distance. Its EX version is a close-range attack that adds a great amount of damage to the already knocked-down rival.

Attack	9/10
Defense	6/10
Range	7/10
Speed	8/10

Athena Asamiya

She is a great zoner of kof 15. She excels in many areas of fighting abilities. Her strategy is to launch projectiles at the rival and force the enemy to jump in. She is superbly mobile, which is why she is a solid character. Her climax move is Psycho Remix Spark, which allows her to beat the opponent with ease. She lacks a high level of speed as compared to the characters of the S tier.

Attack	8/10
Defense	8/10
Range	6/10
Speed	4/10

B Tier

The B tier is an average tier that comprises the characters that are decent but not high leveled. They are not excelling in all the departments. They are somewhat challenging. These characters can be good backups and be placed in a group of two fine players just to fill in the gap. 

Ryo Sakazaki

He is a mighty fighter, having many great abilities to thrive high on the battlefield. He has some fine moves that make his winning tendency way high. Ryo is a great fighter and a good choice for the new players. He has a great fireball attack that makes him control the area in front of him. Having a wide range of combos and juggle potential, makes him one of the best close-range threats in the game. 

Attack	8/10
Defense	10/10
Range	8/10
Speed	4/10

Isla

Isla has a potent offense and great speed. Her great feature is her combo strings stemming from her. She can hit her opponent directly by Throwie C. Forward, backward and vertical drips give her good control of the space. He can provide significant damage to the opponents, keeping them on their toes.

Attack	6/10
Defense	8/10
Range	8/10
Speed	6/10

Maxima

Maxima has a great Heavy Punch and Kick, which are his armored attacks. His M-4 Vapor Canon, Air M-4 Vapor Cannon, M-19 Blitz Cannon, Maxima Press, Maxima charge, and Double Vapor Cannon are the most magnificent moves.

However, he is a very complex character to understand, and not all players can play him with ease. That is a great drawback for the character which makes many gamers avoid him. His speed is not so good; he heavily lacks in speed, thus placed in the B tier of the KOF 15 tier list 2022.

Attack	8/10
Defense	6/10
Range	8/10
Speed	2/10

K’

K’ is an all-rounder and excels in mostly all areas. His strategy is using his Ein Trigger along with several follow-up attacks which lets him control the opponent’s flow and pace. He can teleport a flaming projectile at the opponent. He is unpredictable, which lets him apply great pressure and combos. 

He lacks in excelling the need to make up for his ability to weave in follow-up attacks.

Attack	6/10
Defense	8/10
Range	4/10
Speed	8/10

Meitenkun

He is a good character in the game with marvelous moves, which can trap the opponent in a long juggle by using the right timing. His command moves are Nezou Rangeki and Chinzankou. 

If a player is not good with charge characters, you should not want him in a pivotal position. It is comprised of a less powerful gauge.

Attack	4/10
Defense	10/10
Range	4/10
Speed	6/10

Chizuru Kagura

She is a dynamite fighter. Her speed is so great that it could be compared to those of the S-tier contestants. Her normal throws are Rei Getsu and Kai Ten. She is a spectacular player and a beyond-good attacker. Chizuru’s normals let her compete with full strength and power

She is the hardest to master. Her Yata Mirror move tends to project copies of herself for attacking rivals but these images require precision. Having reach and defense that are below average.

Attack	8/10
Defense	6/10
Range	10/10
Speed	4/10

King of Dinosaurs

The King of Dinosaurs is a great power grappler, which makes him such an awesome character. He has some great tricks to fight up against his opponents. With the ability to release his slams on the opponent by getting close to them and causing great damage. He has amazing armored attacks like his grabs which keeps the rival on high alert. He does not have a ‘wow’ factor in his strategy accompanied by his slow speed, hence he is lying in the A tier.

Attack	8/10
Defense	6/10
Range	8/10
Speed	2/10

Shermie

Shermie is a great grappler. She has a wide range of command grabs and closes the gap destroying the opponent. There are many grapplers in the game but Shermie has the greatest speed and agility. Her climax move is Shermie Exposition, and her normal throws are dazzling like Shermie Flash Original and Front Flash. The defense lacks a bit as compared to others in the S tier.

Attack	10/10
Defense	4/10
Range	6/10
Speed	4/10

C Tier

The players that are kept in the C ran of the King of Fighters 15 tier list have more downsides than they have skills and abilities. They may not be the first choice of someone due to their drawbacks in them. Winning the battle with these characters has a low chance. All the characters placed in the C tier are described below.

Andy Bogard

He is a fine character with good fireballs. His fighting style is Koppouken, an old Japanese martial art including a bit of Karate and Ninjutsu. He has proper combos. Andy is lying in the C tier due o her low reach. He is not too wild to be a good fighter.

Attack	4/10
Defense	10/10
Range	6/10
Speed	8/10

Luong

She is an offensive player and a pro juggler. Her fighting style is Taekwondo. She causes very less damage to her opponent. Her move’s list is very short and there is not much to offer.

Attack	7/10
Defense	4/10
Range	8/10
Speed	7/10

Ash Crimson

Ash plays a defensive game on the battlefield. He has a good projectile the help of which he destroys the opponent. However, his attacking skills are quite low along with his speed which let him down to the C tier.

Attack	4/10
Defense	9/10
Range	8/10
Speed	6/10

Krohnen

Krohnen plays a safe game, he keeps himself at a steady point where his defense is strong enough. He is an overall decent fighter but he has such a slow speed that he is left behind in the name of a great player.

Attack	10/10
Defense	4/10
Range	4/10
Speed	7/10

Benimaru

Benimaru is that character of the game who plays very well under immense pressure. He is very malleable. His weakness lies in his attacks that have slow startups.

Attack	6/10
Defense	8/10
Range	8/10
Speed	7/10

Antonov

He is a fine player with some upright attacks and useful normals. His fighting style is the Siberian Golden Fist. Where this character lacks is his average combos and below-average speed level.

Clark Still

Clark is known as the best grappler almost throughout the entire kof series. For fighting style, he is known as an accomplished wrestler. In the game, he has pretty decent normals but lacks good speed. He has great combos in his character.

Attack	10/10
Defense	6/10
Range	8/10
Speed	4/10

Yuri Sakazaki

Yuri is a good rush-down character in the game. She uses the lowest version of Kyokugenryu Karate as a fighting style. She has exemplary projectiles and pretty fair fireballs. On the contrary, she has a flawed reach and speed. Hence positioned in the C tier.

Attack	6/10
Defense	8/10
Range	4/10
Speed	6/10

D Tier

The current tier consists of characters that are poor in their abilities. They lack the basic powers that all the other fighters have. They are worst than the members of the C tier, therefore they are assigned to the D tier.

Ramon and Whip

Ramon and Whip are two of the most disappointing characters of the game. No character has so low levels of skills as them. They lack in many departments of ability, on the other hand, they have an abundance of flaws. They have a bizarre sense of gameplay. Both of them have very poor defense mechanisms. They have some average moves but any of the above-mentioned characters can easily cancel them.

They are placed together in the D tier because they are side by side based on being deficient. Their speed is low, reach is poor, and projectiles lack strength. Moreover, they are a complete disaster in the name of kof characters.

Attack	7/10
Defense	2/10
Range	6/10
Speed	8/10

Comparison Table

Character	Rank	Attack	Defense	Range	Speed
Terry Bogard	S	8/10	8/10	8/10	6/10
Ralf Jones	S	8/10	4/10	8/10	6/10
Vanessa	S	8/10	2/10	6/10	9/10
Mai Shiranui	S	4/10	8/10	6/10	8/10
Elisabeth Blanctorche	S	6/10	8/10	6/10	4/10
Dolores	S	6/10	8/10	8/10	6/10
Chris	S	8/10	6/10	4/10	10/10
Joe Higashi	A	4/10	8/10	7/10	6/10
Shun’ei	A	8/10	4/10	6/10	10/10
Leona Heidern	A	8/10	8/10	6/10	8/10
Heidern	A	6/10	7/10	8/10	8/10
Kula Diamond	A	6/10	10/10	6/10	6/10
Blue Mary	A	8/10	6/10	6/10	6/10
Kukri	A	6/10	8/10	6/10	6/10
Angel	A	10/10	4/10	4/10	7/10
Yashiro Nanakase	A	8/10	6/10	8/10	8/10
Kyo Kusanagi	A	8/10	8/10	4/10	6/10
Iori Yagami	A	9/10	6/10	7/10	8/10
Athena Asamiya	A	8/10	8/10	6/10	4/10
Ryo Sakazaki	B	8/10	10/10	8/10	4/10
Isla	B	6/10	8/10	8/10	6/10
Maxima	B	8/10	6/10	8/10	2/10
K’	B	6/10	8/10	4/10	8/10
Meitenkun	B	4/10	10/10	4/10	6/10
Chizuru Kagura	B	8/10	6/10	10/10	4/10
King of Dinosaurs	B	8/10	6/10	8/10	2/10
Shermie	B	10/10	4/10	6/10	4/10
Andy Bogard	C	4/10	10/10	6/10	8/10
Luong	C	7/10	4/10	8/10	7/10
Ash Crimson	C	4/10	9/10	8/10	6/10
Krohnen	C	10/10	4/10	4/10	7/10
Benimaru	C	6/10	8/10	8/10	7/10
Antonov	C	6/10	7/10	6/10	8/10
Clark Still	C	10/10	6/10	8/10	4/10
Yuri Sakazaki	C	6/10	8/10	4/10	6/10
Ramon and Whip	D	7/10	2/10	6/10	8/10

Patch Notes Version 1.63

Version 1.63 brings the following changes to a number of characters

Ash

• Ventose (LP Ver.): Increased stun value.
• Germinal Caprice (LK Ver.): Altered the behavior when an opponent not in a hit state is hit while in the air.

Terry Bogard

• Crouching LP: Reduced all recovery frames.

Luong

• Ren (EX Ver.): Resolved an issue when canceling from Jumping LP where the combo scaling was smaller than intended.

Gato

• Counterattack Fang (Normal/EX Ver.): Resolved an issue where the counter would unintentionally trigger even when hit from behind. 

Geese

• Raigou Reppuu Ken (Normal Ver.): Resolved an issue where under certain circumstances, the damage was higher than normal.
• Raigou Reppuu Ken (MAX Ver.): Resolved an issue where under certain circumstances, the damage was lower than normal. 

Shingo

• Voice: Resolved an issue where the volume settings for some of Shingo’s lines would not apply properly.

Verdict

That was our KOF 15 Tier List, where we have attempted to rack all of the fighters in the game from S to D rank depending on their capabilities. Hopefully, the article should help potential players differentiate between the good and the bad characters, and help them make more informed decisions about who they want to play as.

If you have some disagreements about certain placements, please let us know about them in the comments below. We always love to hear constructive criticism from our readers, and we always try to learn from it going forward.