What Are All the Tiers in Power Scaling? A Full Guide

Download Article

Plus, learn how to power scale your favorite characters

Co-authored by Dianté Richard and Samantha Fulton, BA

Last Updated: August 10, 2026 Fact Checked

Download Article

• The Power Scaling Tiers
|
• What is power scaling?
|
• Power Scaling Characters
|
• Video

|Show more |Show less

Have you ever wondered whether Deadpool or Captain America would win in a fight? Well, power scaling is one way to find out! We’ve put together this guide to explain all of the power scaling tiers, so you can compare your favorite characters with ease. We’ll walk you through each tier and its sub-levels, with examples from some familiar fandoms along the way. Plus, we partnered with an anime expert to learn what power scaling is, as well as how to power scale all on your own. Let’s get started!

What are the different power scale tiers?

Download Image

Download Image

Power scale tiers range from the weak “infinitesimal” tier 11 to the all-powerful “boundless” tier 0. Characters get more powerful moving from Tier 11 to 0. The tiers explain what a character can impact or destroy based on their battle history or personal feats in a series. Power scaling is not an exact science.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

The Power Scaling Tiers

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Tier 11: Infinitesimal Characters and objects in this tier can only impact lower-dimensional universes or lower layers of reality. They don’t even have 3-D mass or volume, so they can’t be compared with humans or scaled against typical characters. Fan wikis have split this tier into three “hypoversal” levels that are all below three-dimensional beings. Here are examples of characters in each sub-tier:

   • 11-C (Low Hypoverse Level): Monarch of Pointland (Flatland)
   • 11-B (Hypoverse Level): The King of Lineland (Flatland)
   • 11-A (High Hypoverse Level): Arthur Square (Flatland)

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Dianté Richard (aka D-Rich) is an anime expert and cosplayer. He’s been making content about anime, cartoons, TV, and movies for about six years.
2. 
   2
   Tier 10: Human Characters in the Human tier have varying levels of strength and durability that are all possible for, you guessed it, human beings. While this tier is called “Human,” it can also contain animal characters on the lower levels. Tier 10 is split into three sub-tiers to account for different levels of human powers. These are examples of characters in each sub-tier:

   • 10-C (Below Average Human Level): Mags (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
   • 10-B (Human Level): Light Yagami (Death Note)
   • 10-A (Athlete Level): Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   Tier 9: Superhuman Superhuman encompasses characters that exceed regular levels of human strength and durability. They’re capable of destroying various small structures. This tier can also include trained martial artists and street fighters, who are mortal humans but have special training that gives them more ability than the 10-A athlete level. Tier 9 is split into three levels, based on the amount of damage the character can do. Here are characters in each Superhuman sub-tier:

   • 9-C (Street Level): Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Avengers)
     • Note: “Street” level doesn’t mean the character can destroy a street, but rather refers to street fighters and martial arts capabilities.
   • 9-B (Wall Level): The Falcon (Avengers)
   • 9-A (Small Building Level): Bucky Barnes (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
4. 
   4
   Tier 8: Urban These are characters that are capable of destroying things on an urban or city level. They have enough power and strength to do more large-scale damage than a superhuman, but are still somewhat contained, with the highest level being multiple city blocks. Tier 8 is split into four levels that represent what a character is capable of destroying and the damage they can withstand. These are examples of characters in each Urban level:

   • 8-C (Building Level): Spider-Man (Marvel Comics)
   • High 8-C (Large Building Level): Captain America (Avengers)
   • 8-B (City Block Level): Wolverine (X-Men)
   • 8-A (Multi-City Block Level): Ant-Man (Ant-Man)
5. 
   5
   Tier 7: Nuclear Tier 7 characters can destroy anything from a small town to a large mountain. They have extreme strength and durability that allows them to do large-scale damage and take serious blows. This tier is divided into seven levels, moving from smaller to larger destructive capabilities. Here are examples of characters in each level of Tier 7:

   • Low 7-C (Small Town Level): Twice (My Hero Academia)
   • 7-C (Town Level): Eijiro Kirishima (My Hero Academia)
   • High 7-C (Large Town Level): Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)
   • Low 7-B (Small City Level): Gaara (Naruto)
   • 7-B (City Level): All Might (My Hero Academia)
   • 7-A (Mountain Level): Fourth Raikage (Naruto)
   • High 7-A (Large Mountain Level): Homelander (The Boys)
6. 
   6
   Tier 6: Tectonic These characters or objects can destroy large land masses and geographical areas like countries and continents. They’re able to withstand insane amounts of damage and can defeat highly powerful characters. This tier is split into seven sub-categories based on the geographical area the character is capable of impacting. Here are characters in each Tectonic level:

   • 6-C (Island Level): Caesar Clown (One Piece)
   • High 6-C (Large Island Level): Ikaris (Eternals)
   • Low 6-B (Small Country Level): Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
   • 6-B (Country Level): Killer B (Naruto)
   • High 6-B (Large Country Level): Godzilla (Godzilla)
   • 6-A (Continent Level): Thanos with the Power Stone (Avengers)
   • High 6-A (Multi-Continent Level): Captain Marvel (Captain Marvel)
7. 
   7
   Tier 5: Substellar Characters in Tier 5 are capable of destroying smaller astronomical objects like moons and planets. Depending on their level, they may even be able to destroy or impact dwarf stars! This tier is divided into five levels, moving from smaller to larger astronomical objects. Here are characters in each level:

   • 5-C (Moon Level): Piccolo (Dragon Ball Z)
   • Low 5-B (Small Planet Level): Master Roshi (Dragon Ball)
   • 5-B (Planet Level): Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon)
   • 5-A (Large Planet Level): Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)
   • High 5-A (Dwarf Star Level): Thor (Avengers)
8. 
   8
   Tier 4: Stellar Tier 4 characters can impact or destroy larger astronomical objects like small stars and solar systems. These characters are so powerful, they could also feasibly create the astronomical object that they’re on par with. The Stellar tier is divided into five levels, based on the size of the astronomical object the character’s power and strength align with. These are examples of characters in each level in Tier 4:

   • Low 4-C (Small Star Level): Hela (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
   • 4-C (Star Level): Astro Boy (Astro Boy)
   • High 4-C (Large Star Level): Frieza (Dragon Ball Z)
   • 4-B (Solar System Level): Ben 10,000 (Ben 10)
   • 4-A (Multi-Solar System Level): Saitama (One Punch Man)
9. 
   9
   Tier 3: Cosmic Tier 3 characters can impact and control entire galaxies! These aren’t characters you want to mess with. They can create and destroy not only celestial bodies, but the space in between them, too. This tier is split into four levels, based on the size of the cosmic entity the characters can impact. Here are characters in each level:

   • 3-C (Galaxy Level): World War Hulk/Peak Savage Hulk (Marvel Comics)
   • 3-B (Multi-Galaxy Level): Superboy-Prime (DC Comics)
   • 3-A (Universe Level): Ego (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
   • High 3-A (High Universe Level): Arishem (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
10. 
    10
    Tier 2: Multiversal Characters in this tier are immeasurably more powerful than prior tiers. They are capable of controlling, creating, and/or destroying higher-dimensional structures such as spacetime continuums. Tier 2 is divided into four levels, based on the level of multiversal impact the character is capable of. These are examples of characters in each Multiversal level:

    • Low 2-C (Universe Level+): Chronoa (Dragon Ball Xenoverse)
    • 2-C (Low Multiverse Level): Asura (Sonic the Hedgehog)
    • 2-B (Multiverse Level): Dormammu (Doctor Strange)
    • 2-A (Multiverse Level+): Doctor Strange (Marvel Comics)
11. 
    11
    Tier 1: Higher Infinity These characters have cosmological power beyond multiverses and can transcend known, numerical dimensions. Not only can they impact a multiverse, but they can also impact multiverses of varying complexities, hyperverses (higher dimensions beyond our universe), or outerverses (realms that transcend dimensions, space, and time). This tier is divided into eight levels that increase in complexity. Here are examples of characters in each level:

    • Low 1-C (Low Complex Multiverse Level): Clockwork (Ben 10)
    • 1-C (Complex Multiverse Level): Loki as God of Stories (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
    • High 1-C (High Complex Multiverse Level): Omega (Doctor Who)
    • 1-B (Hyperverse Level): Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls)
    • High 1-B (High Hyperverse Level): The Doctor (Doctor Who)
    • Low 1-A (Low Outerverse Level): Moon Knight when powered by the demogoblin (Marvel Comics)
    • 1-A (Outerverse Level): Hank Pym at maximum size (Marvel Comics)
    • High 1-A (High Outerverse Level): The One Above All (Marvel Comics)
12. 
    12
    Tier 0: Boundless Characters in this tier are rare because they completely transcend any and all forms of hierarchy. They are changeless and self-sufficient and are not surpassable by any other character or tier. Tier 0 entities exist outside of anything modern mathematics or dimensional scaling could explain. This is the only tier not divided into levels.

    • Example: Divine Creator (Marvel Comics)
Advertisement

Section 2 of 3:

What is power scaling?

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Power scaling is assessing a character’s power in comparison to other characters. Anime expert Dianté Richard says that power scaling means “figuring out how strong a character is in a given universe.” He adds that “it can get very convoluted [and] technical.”

   • Typically, you only power scale within the realm of one fandom or series. For instance, you could power scale characters within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it would be tricky to compare those characters to characters from My Hero Academia because the realities of their universes are different, so the power levels of the characters have different types of limitations.
   • Note: Fan wikis like VS Battles categorize characters across fandoms based on stats like speed, durability, and strength. Using those stats can make it possible to compare across fandoms, but it’s not an exact science.
2. 
   2
   Power scaling uses the transitive property to compare characters. This allows you to compare two characters, even if they’ve never actually fought each other before. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a math whiz to understand this! Basically, if character A can defeat character B, and character B can defeat character C, then character A can defeat character C. Here’s a more specific example of power scaling with the transitive property:

   • Captain America defeated Iron Man in a fight in Captain America: Civil War. Before that, Iron Man had defeated Ivan Vanko (Whiplash) in Iron Man 2. If you’re power scaling, you could say this means Captain America would also be able to defeat Whiplash.
   • Richard adds that some fans apply science and math to characters for powerscaling, like comparing the megatons of energy in one character’s attack to the speed of a different character. But for him, it’s more fun not to get too technical, and he prefers to just discuss who would get the upper hand in a fight.
3. 
   3
   The power scale tiers system makes it easier to sort characters. The tiers system uses metrics like whether a character could destroy a wall (Tier 9-B) or a multiverse (Tier 2-B). This makes it a bit easier to compare characters when there aren’t enough direct battles to draw a conclusion about how they’d measure up against another character.

   • Rather than using the transitive property, the tiers system relies more on character “feats.” These are referenceable moments that show a character’s power, like when Ant-Man grows large enough to destroy multiple city blocks.
Advertisement

Section 3 of 3:

How to Power Scale Characters

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Choose a fandom or series. Power scaling is easiest when you stick to one fictional world—this makes comparisons more straightforward. Select a TV series, comic, or other fictional universe with powerful characters that would be fun to pit against each other. It’s best if there’s regular combat in the series, so you have a starting point for your comparison.

   • Example: Characters in the Harry Potter franchise regularly face off, so you could create a power scale of wizards and magical beings from the series.
2. 
   2
   Identify characters who have battled before. This gives you a baseline to build your power scale tiers around. If two notable characters have faced off, start with them. Refer to their battle and determine who won and who lost. It’s best if at least one of these characters has faced multiple other characters; otherwise, making comparisons will be more difficult.

   • Example: Draco and Harry have faced off in the Harry Potter franchise, and both characters have faced other characters, too. This would be a good starting point.
3. 
   3
   Compare the winning character to another character. Now you can start to establish your tiers. If a winning character loses against another character, then that winner could also defeat the original loser. Continue doing this until you’re satisfied with the number of characters you have.

   • Example: Harry has defeated Draco, but Snape has defeated Harry before. This means Snape could also defeat Draco.
4. 
   4
   Use the power scale tiers for characters you’re unsure about. If you don’t know which characters would triumph in a head-to-head battle, refer to the power scale tiers. Remember, it’s not an exact science, so just make your best guess on what a character could reasonably impact or destroy.

   • Example: We don’t see the Sorting Hat battle anyone, but we could still assign it a tier. Since it’s not capable of destroying or creating anything, but it’s still a 3-D being, we could sort it into Tier 10-C (Below Average Human Level).
5. 
   5
   Weigh in on online forums! Once you get the hang of it, don’t be afraid to voice your opinions on forums like Reddit, where users love to debate who would defeat who. If you’re passionate about a power scale chart you’ve made, why not share it with other fans?

   • Check out r/PowerScaling to join the online conversation about character feats and stats and who they could take in a fight!
Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!