Kappy’s Paper Mario Challenge Running Tier List v3.0 (September 2018)

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Since the end of December of 2017, I’ve been keeping tabs on the players who challenge run Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. I did this mainly because despite there not being an official list of the best players from the Glitz Pit Discord, there’s still discussion about it. Also, I like tier lists.

The first two iterations were posted on my Discord server since they were smaller and had fewer players. Now, there are quite a few who play, and so that demands a bigger platform since Discord posts can only contain so many characters (along with the editing I have for the list itself). So, tier list updates will now be blog posts in the foreseeable future!

So, without further adieu, let’s get to the list! A few things before we get started:

  • Players are grouped into tiers alphabetically
  • + symbol means edge case for next tier up
  • This is my personal opinion; I repeat: this list is NOT objective.
Kappy’s Notes: At this stage, there’s a big disparity in this list because TTYD is definitely more popular than 64, and there are a lot of Elite-level players (some I may consider God level) in TTYD but they fall flat in 64. Because of this, I have decided to create sections for “Combined”, TTYD, and “64”. This is because some players don’t care for one of the games, so it’s difficult to rank them in a forced “Combined” category. Keep in mind that this will thin out a lot of players; some tiers may have little or no players for a game.

 

This means that if you are combined, I deem your skill level for BOTH GAMES to be equal. If I think you are better in one than another, you will be put in two different tier levels for each game.

 

I also have a new tier: INACTIVE. This list will display players who haven’t played since the last tier list update. Basically, this means super old players or players who may have stopped playing will be moved here and will stay here so that you know who used to challenge run. I will also display what I thought their tier level was alongside the game(s).

GOD TIER 

— The best of the best. The cream of the crop.
(sorted alphabetically)
COMBINED
  • Jdaster64 — While Jdaster hasn’t done many challenges, his biblical-esque knowledge of both games is invaluable and allows him to come up with great and unique strategies, all while still displaying a high level of execution prowess. Sometimes, you don’t need multiple insanely difficult challenge completions under your belt to be a God, and Jdaster proves it.
  • Kappy+ — The + stays for me. While it’s been a while since my 10 HP Prologue Pit completion, I feel I’m only getting better. To elegant strategies for Even Turn Low HP in 64 to my *incredible* fight against Macho Grubba on my Grubba Conditions run in TTYD, I can safely say that my spot here remains unchanged.
  • Koop — With his recent Peril Mode completion, there’s no way Koop doesn’t stay up here. His strategy is excellent, and with the rather large list of challenges for both games under his belt, he’ll stay strong despite slowing down his pace. What I like about Koop is that he’ll do whatever it takes to complete a challenge, even if means he’s reusing an old strat because it’s effective in multiple fights; he gets the job done and damn if it isn’t awe-inspiring sometimes to see just how well some strats break the games.
TTYD
  • ilikepieinmouth — Pie has not only demonstrated great endurance for longer challenges but an amazing adaptability to superguards and superguard consistency. At this point, I would call him the 2nd best superguarder in the game after myself. Furthermore, he has displayed a knack for great strategy and execution for said strategies. I’m excited to announce Pie as the first official TTYD God for this list! I hope to see him continue to cement his spot here.
64
None.

ELITE TIER

— Players in this tier are highly proficient in their game of choice. These are some of the best.
(sorted alphabetically)
COMBINED
  • Fatguy — While Fatguy does have great luck and hasn’t really done anything super serious for challenge running as of late, he still displays great skill in both games when streaming them casually, and when he gets serious he does perform very well.
  • MilesLuigi — MilesLuigi has great knowledge of this game and was on the forefront of research and testing things back in the day. I enjoy that he has great strategy, but can back up his play with superguards if needed.
  • Olmi — No surprise here — since he started Olmi has consistently improved in both games. He’s solid all-around, so he has no real weak point in his play…but I think the “jack-of-all-trades” element is a small weakness on its own.
TTYD
  • A. A. Ran — While A. A. Ran was once a superguard beast, and I would argue he still is (he’s the 3rd best superguarder to me right now)…he’s burned out a little from challenge running, especially with a fresh Impossible Mode completion under his belt. The biggest thing holding A. A. Ran back is his lack of concrete, elegant strategies. Of course, his strategy isn’t bad, but I’m just not seeing any improvement there since he’s been so burned out. We’ll see how long that burnout lasts, but I hope to see him come back stronger than ever.
  • amazydayzee — An old school player who came out of nowhere and starting grinding through the harder Pit challenges. I was hesitant to give him an Elite spot, but he’s proven with his recent completions that he can play with the best of them despite him needing a little extra help for some of the ultra-tough challenges. I think his strongest element is his execution, but I can’t tell for sure. If only he had videos I could watch…
  • GamerFourFun — Quietly in the background, GamerFourFun has been churning out content for runs he’s been doing. He’s actually completed quite a few, and with a recent DIsabled Pre-Ch2 Pit completion, he’s earned this spot for TTYD. Whether he continues up, stays here, or falls back is anyone’s guess, but I look forward to seeing what happens.
64
  • DarkMario1000 — DarkMario finally makes his appearance as an Elite thanks to the game split. It’s hard to deny DarkMario’s talent in 64, where he not only prevailed through some nasty restrictions in Pro Mode but also has some great strategy for it. And finally, finally, the Glitz Pit Community Challenges have given me videos I can watch, further solidifying his spot here.

GREAT TIER

— Players in this tier are proficient in their game of choice. These are what I would consider to be a “general” challenge runner.
(sorted alphabetically)
COMBINED
  • MellowMathTeacher — MellowMathTeacher’s insistence on no item usage for his community challenges takes away from cool strategies he could create, but he’s definitely proven via both that he’s great at this point. He’s a solid player, but needs breakout challenges to really cement himself…as it is, he’s just barely made it here.
TTYD
  • DarkMario1000 — Based off what I’ve seen of him for TTYD-related things, it’d be difficult to put DarkMario any lower than this for TTYD. The big problem is that I just haven’t seen anything for him that’s TTYD related. I won’t be assuming how good he is at superguards, so here he’ll sit for TTYD.
  • Dyla — An explosive start for a new runner (like literally almost 2-3 weeks ago). PHP, 10 HP PHP NMRP, AND Disabled Pre-Chapter 2 Pit all blazing fast. If this guy keeps up, he’ll be Elite in no time.
  • Gibstack+ — Gibstack is still quite close to being an Elite player despite being inactive for a little while, but he still needs a couple big challenges that aren’t the Extreme Randomizer to propel him up there.
  • Miccat87 — A new addition to Great tier. Miccat has completed quite a few challenges since I’ve last updated this list. Notably: Disabled Mario. He’s a solid player, and with what looks like a Disabled Pre-Chapter 2 Pit completion, he’s only going to climb higher.
  • StarmanOmega — This is a surprise placement. As I was finishing up editing, I got word that StarmanOmega completed Impossible Mode. He’s now the 2nd fastest completion of Impossible Mode and beat my Magnus Von Grapple 2.0 reset record, which is nothing short of impressive. He’s definitely on the rise if he keeps this up for other, more difficult challenges, particularly with the Pit, which I’ve seen him struggle with.
  • stebbdogg+ — Stebbdogg is close to being an Elite-level player, despite being on the brink of inactivity. He’s been completing a lot of challenges; some easy, some difficult. It’s hard to deny that he’s close to Elite with all of them, though.
64
  • GamerFourFun+ — While making big strides in TTYD, Gamer stays in Great tier for 64, albeit on the cusp of Elite. He’s done some difficult runs, but I think he needs one or two more completions under his belt.
  • TwoPieRadian — With two Pro Mode challenges completed, I’d say TwoPieRadian is great. If he keeps up what he’s doing, I can easily see him becoming Elite in 64.

GOOD TIER

— Players here have breached past what I would consider “casual” and are officially challenge runners (or have the skills to be one). Most new challenge runners will be put her since usually they’ve only completed one or two challenges or are in the process of completing their first one.
(sorted alphabetically)
COMBINED
  • simodomino — All I’ve really seen from simodomino are community challenges for both games, but just from those alone, I can see he’s skilled in both. He’ll stay here until he starts doing more with either game.
TTYD
  • Feposo — A new TTYD runner. Currently doing a 10 HP run, but I haven’t really seen much since I think his most recent upload is Hooktail.
  • Gible_V+ — Already almost breaching Great despite just starting, Gible started with Impossible Mode. Lack of sanity aside, she also completed 10 HP PHP and has demonstrated great superguarding ability. Now she needs to *complete* Impossible Mode and get a couple other things under her belt and she’ll be Great in no time.
  • TwoPieRadian — TwoPieRadian has finally started dipping into TTYD challenge running. Since he just started, he’s here by the protocol of my list, but I can see him being Great soon if he keeps playing.
64
  • A. A. Ran — A. A. Ran has finally dipped his toes into Paper Mario 64 challenge running. This is really only protocol for now — if he keeps playing 64 I expect him to be Elite in no time, especially if he gives Pro Mode a whirl.
  • Lolyuri64 — A new runner entering with Community Challenges for 64. Like others,
    there aren’t enough videos to really get a feel for him, but we’ll see how he tackles future challenges.
  • Miccat87 — With the Glitz Pit Community Challenges for 64 underway, Miccat has thrown his hat into the Paper Mario 64 ring of challenge running. I haven’t seen much since there’s only been 3 months worth of videos, but I expect him to climb from here.
  • Starlad — A new 64 runner who started with the community challenges, although he hasn’t been keeping up recently. I hope to see more from him since he was quite confident in his abilities when talking about the community challenges.
  • Timmy+ — A new addition to 64 challenge running, Timmy has started off strong with a Single partner Pro Mode completion, and from the looks of it, it wasn’t too difficult for him. With community challenges and maybe another difficult challenge under his belt, I can see him easily breaking into Great tier.

INACTIVE TIER

— Inactive Players. Players have their last tier listed for reference.
(sorted alphabetically)
  • Auron Nomcario — Great Tier (64) | Good Tier (TTYD)
  • avengah — Elite Tier (TTYD)
  • Blanket P.I. — Great Tier (COMBINED)
  • catbooger — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Codebox — Great Tier (COMBINED)
  • DiamondCrafterA — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Dount Cooku — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Gradis — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Jayjar100 — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • JakeTheSnake — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Mathcat — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Michael The Fox — Great Tier (TTYD)
  • Mr_Some1 — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • ngburns — Great Tier (TTYD)
  • OmegaRaptor — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Prentiscool — Good Tier (TTYD)
  • Skawo — Elite Tier (COMBINED)
  • Snowy — Great Tier (TTYD)
  • Wayoshi — Elite Tier (TTYD) | Great Tier (64)
  • ThatOneSpyGuy — Elite Tier (TTYD)
  • TRex Quisite — Great Tier (COMBINED)
NOTABLE CHANGES & THOUGHTS
  • With the advent of the Inactive Tier, it’s now much nicer to list everyone.
  • The game separation resulted in a rather clean, organized list. I’m glad I made the change.
  • Congrats, ilikepieinmouth, on reaching godhood. You’ve proven yourself to be worthy. I hope you continue to play and support the challenge running community for Paper Mario.
  • Other notable players who caught my eye on this list:
    • Dyla
    • Gible_V
    • StarmanOmega
    • GamerFourFun
  • There are no 64-only Gods. Will someone rise to take that place?
  • You people need more videos so I can watch you.

And that’s it for this version of the tier list! I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts on this. If you’re interested in making it on this list, start challenge running! A great resource for challenge runners is the Glitz Pit, a Discord server dedicated to challenge running the Paper Mario series.

Just Sayin’

December 2018
March 2019
July 2019
October 2019

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