D tier
D tier is a low rank on a tier list, used for options that are clearly outclassed and rarely worth choosing over anything above them.
On lists that stop at D, this is the bottom rank. On lists that also use F, D tier is the last rank still considered playable or usable at all - the distinction being that D is bad, while F is not worth attempting.
What belongs in D tier
D tier is for things that lose to almost everything above them without being actively broken. They still work; there is simply no reason to pick one when the alternatives exist.
D tier in practice
D tier is the character nobody bans and nobody picks. On a food tier list it is the item you would eat only if the alternative was nothing. In a ranking of album tracks, it is the one you skip - present, finished, and outperformed by everything around it.
The mistake people make with D tier
D tier is frequently confused with "unpopular". Something being disliked is not the same as it being weak, and mixing the two is the fastest way to produce a tier list nobody agrees with.
D tier questions
- What is the difference between D tier and F tier?
- D tier is bad but functional - you could use it and it would work, just worse than the alternatives. F tier is the rank for things not worth attempting at all. On lists that stop at D, D absorbs both meanings.
- Is D tier the lowest rank?
- On many tier lists, yes - plenty of people use S down to D and stop there. Lists that add F push D up one place, making it the last rank that still counts as usable rather than the bottom.
- Does D tier mean something is unusable?
- No. D tier things work - they are simply outclassed by nearly everything above them, so there is rarely a reason to choose one. The rank for things not worth attempting at all is F, on lists that include it.