Basics
What Does S Tier Mean?
S tier sits above A in most tier lists. Here’s what it means, where the S probably comes from and how to decide what really belongs there.
By List Tier Maker Team Published
In a tier list, S tier is the top row — the place for things that are better than merely excellent. If A means “great”, S means “the best of the best”.
Why S and not A+?
The exact origin is hard to pin down, but the S rank is usually traced to grading systems used in Japan and in Japanese video games, where an S grade sits above A. Many games award an S rank for a near-perfect performance, and the idea carried over to the tier lists players made about those games.
People have suggested the S stands for “special”, “superior” or “super”. Whatever the original intent, today it simply means the very top.
What belongs in S tier?
S tier works best when it’s small. If half your items are S tier, the label stops meaning anything and the A tier becomes the real top. A useful test:
- Would you pick this over almost anything else in the list, almost every time?
- Does it stand apart from the A tier, rather than just edging it out?
- Would you still put it there tomorrow?
If the answer to all three is yes, it’s probably S tier.
Can S tier be empty?
Yes, and sometimes it should be. Leaving S empty is a statement in itself: nothing in this list is truly exceptional. That’s a perfectly valid conclusion, especially for categories where everything is “pretty good”.
Beyond S
Some lists add tiers above S, like SS or S+, for a single item that dominates everything. Use them sparingly — the more top tiers you add, the harder the list is to read.
You can rename any tier in the tier list maker, so if S doesn’t suit your topic, swap it for something like “Legendary” or “All-time favorites”.