Guilty Gear Strive Tier List: Best Characters Ranked (Version 2.03)

Last updated: September 25, 2026.

Guilty Gear Strive‘s September 24, 2026 update, Version 2.03, rebalanced 13 characters without touching the top of the food chain. Leo, May and Anji Mito have held S-tier across two independent competitive rankings released five months apart, while Sol Badguy — one of the fighters this patch actually buffed — is the character most worth watching climb.

What Version 2.03 Actually Changed

Arc System Works released Version 2.03 on September 24, 2026, rebalancing 13 characters alongside Robo-Ky’s Digital Figure content and a new Blazing Pass: Sol Badguy, May, Axl Low, Potemkin, Millia Rage, Zato-1, Leo, I-No, Testament, Bridget, Sin Kiske, A.B.A., Unika and Jam Kuradoberi. Sol’s Sidewinder Ignited got an expanded hitbox, May’s backward mobility improved, and Potemkin’s Mr. Dolphin series picked up new follow-up hitboxes on top of extended recovery — real changes to characters that were already near the top.

The Current Tier List, Cross-Checked Across Two Rankings

Competitive Guilty Gear Strive player GrandmastaJ published a full tier list on August 23, 2026, shortly before this patch. Pro player Leffen published a separate ranking back in April 2026, right as the earlier Version 2.00 update landed. The two disagree on plenty, but cross-referencing them shows which characters have real staying power versus which ones are one player’s opinion:

Leo, May, Anji and Goldlewis are the closest thing this game has to a consensus top tier: both rankings put all four at or near the very top, five months and one balance patch apart. Potemkin and Chipp are nearly as consistent. The biggest disagreement in the current meta is Nagoriyuki, whom GrandmastaJ rates among the best characters in the game and Leffen rated dead last — a gap wide enough that it says more about matchup knowledge than raw power. Sol Badguy sits in the middle of both lists, which is exactly why his 2.03 hitbox buff is worth watching: a character already this close to Top 8 relevance doesn’t need much of a push to get there.

Best Characters for New Players

Tier lists measure tournament ceiling, not how forgiving a character is to learn. If you’re picking up Guilty Gear Strive for the first time after this patch, Sol Badguy and May are the two most commonly recommended starters: both have straightforward, high-damage combos that don’t require the execution-heavy inputs Zato-1 or A.B.A. demand, and both just received tuning in 2.03 that makes their tools slightly more consistent.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best character in Guilty Gear Strive right now?

Leo, May, Anji Mito and Goldlewis Dickinson are the closest thing to a consensus top tier, rated at or near the top by two independent competitive rankings released five months apart.

Did the September 2026 patch change the Guilty Gear Strive tier list?

Version 2.03 (September 24, 2026) rebalanced 13 characters, including hitbox and recovery changes for Sol Badguy and Potemkin, both of whom were already ranked highly.

Is Guilty Gear Strive good for beginners?

Yes. Sol Badguy and May are commonly recommended starting characters because their combos are damaging without demanding the execution-heavy inputs some of the cast requires.

Why do Guilty Gear Strive tier lists disagree so much on Nagoriyuki?

GrandmastaJ’s August 2026 list rates Nagoriyuki among the best characters in the game, while Leffen’s April 2026 list rated him last. The gap reflects how heavily his tools depend on matchup-specific knowledge rather than a fixed power level.

Where can I find the official Version 2.03 patch notes?

Arc System Works publishes full patch notes on the official Guilty Gear -Strive- news page, with character-by-character balance breakdowns also tracked on EventHubs and the Dustloop wiki.

Full balance-change breakdowns for Version 2.03 are also available from EventHubs.

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