Roles

## Introduction

When thinking about what fighters to use, the most common teambuilding strategy is to use a "roles" based approach that categorizes characters for how they are used. This roles-based approach was a reaction to the confusion that stems from Class typing, which is used for game balance (along with Gear Types and Faction Types).

You know, for example, that you can only put one character in point position, so you'd only want one "tank" - or frontliner - on your team. You also know that you can only use one super, combo 1, combo 2, and combo 3, so having 4 support units is probably not enough damage.

So what's the problem? Just plug in all the Tank (Class) units and you've got your list of tanks, right? Well, that's a problem because Fashion Blanka is a tank class unit, but he has more in common with Dhalsim than the rest of the tanks. M Bison is a member of the Attack (Class) but is the best tank in the game, and C Viper is the game's foremost assassin despite being in the Attack (Class).

## Carry

Your carry is a team's main damage dealer, responsible for the vast majority of team DPS. **Generally** speaking, your carry should either deal regular AoE damage, have the ability to attack the rear, or otherwise directly counter M Bison's revival. Carries will also use both the Super and either a Combo 2 or Combo 3, to maximize their damage potential.

There are honorable mentions for single target carries (Mad Ryu) in specific content (i.e. faction towers) as the risk of facing M Bison is significantly lower, but these units still are not optimal for carrying. Fielding two carries is relatively common, but you run serious risk of overlap since you can only leave 4 skills on your bar.

For a full list, see: Carries

## Tank

Your tank stands in the point position of your team and absorbs the majority of the enemy team's combo chain. Viable tanks require some form of immunity, self-sustain, and/or damage mitigation. The best tanks will increase your damage or offer unique tools to your team composition, as well.

For a full list, see: Tanks

## Support

Your support is, generally speaking, going to be your tag character - but exceptions do exist for characters that require main team deployment (Rose). The support is the "zero damage" member of your team who exists primarily to boost your other fighter's damage and keep them standing.

For a full list, see: Supports

## Support DPS

The support DPS of your team is the second damage dealer and **generally** will take the remaining spot on your team either in front of or behind your carry, though characters like Beast Zangief see occasional use out of tag. They exist to fill the remainder of your combo chain and will most often contribute direct support to combat in the form of buffs, debuffs, and strong damage intervals.

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For a full list, see: Support DPS

## Interrupt

For pushing content that is much higher than your BP, it becomes crucial to interrupt the enemy combo chain to prevent taking full rotations and losing. The list of characters that can interrupt well is not a long list, but once you push into 5-team content you'll need to understand how to make use of each option.

For a full list, see:Interrupt Fighters

## Bosser

Bossers are a specific breed of carry that scale well in long fights against single (or multiple) units. Since the aim of the game is not to kill something as fast as possible, but rather to do consistently high damage to a single thing for 90 seconds, you'll see a lot of fighters excel at bossing that are less viable in true 6v6 modes.

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For a full list, see: Bosser

## Speedsters

A major facet of the game is ensuring you get the additional Super Combo Gauge for the first strike bonus. For that reason, you'll want to make sure at least one character on the team is a "speed" character potentially wearing Fast Chant, the fighting soul with additional speed.

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For a full list, see: Speedsters

## Assist-Dominant

For some characters, the primary role that they play in *most* fights is in the top row, as an assist fighter. This isn't some "sour grapes" either, these characters are **legitimately strong** from the top row and should be among the first looks when you're looking to fill out any team comp.

For a full list, see Assist-Dominant Fighters

## Unique Utility

There exists a class of characters that fill specific, unique or nearly-unique roles within the game. This is either due to the fact that they do something at a power level that no other character can, or they have access to certain mechanics that alter the way the game is played. For further reading on this topic, please see: Uniques.

## Assassins

*(Not to be confused with the Assassin Class)*

There aren't a lot of them, but characters that target the back row specifically are known as assassins. Because of the size of this class, there isn't enough to merit a longform article. For certain content and in PvP it will be critical for you to target the back-row fighter (usually their carry) first, and unless you intend to use Ibuki, your options are:

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