Well the best players quit because the devs screwed up everything in the newest balance patch.
Toro went from mid tier to worst character in the game Low tier.
Jak-already sucked and got nerfed again he lost some his best keep away tools Low tier
Kratos-got buffed Top tier.
Parappa-got slightly buffed mid tier.
Kat-was buffed even though she was already the best character in the game mainly because they added landing lag.
Heihachi-got no buffs or nerfs he still is bottom tier.
Radec-got buffed but it wasn't enough to save him from bottom tier he is just slightly above Toro.
Raiden-is still top tier and gained a bunch of new Touch of Deaths, his only counterpick is Issac.
Zeus-is good when being played by Vindabess or whatever his name was he is just average mid tier.
Issac-he is basically Emmett, and Radec together he is top tier but he isn't so good in 1v1 he has a couple of bad matchups mid tier.
Nariko-was good but she got nerfed so badly she lost all kill confirms low tier.
Dante-didn't lose Empty cancel and now he has more mix ups due to him being able to turn around mid combo he is barley top tier at best.
Big Daddy-He already sucked yet he got nerfed more than he got buffed his lvl 2 isn't all that great mid tier.

But yeah this is some of the reasons why this game is a joke at competitive gameplay

Why would they buff Raiden and nerf Big Daddy!?

Those "balance changes" are horrible, they ruined the game. I can see why the community died.

Best thing to avoid when making a fighting game:
Patches

Without patches Sackboy would still be the best character in the game.
And Kratos's combat grapple would still be the most retarded thing ever.

Without patches Sackboy would still be the best character in the game.
And Kratos's combat grapple would still be the most retarded thing ever.

Huh, I always though Sackboy was bad in the game due to his short reach overall.
And I thought Kratos was the best.

Sackboy when the game came out was OP one AP burst was like half of his lvl 2 meter filled and his Cakes gave off 40 AP per hit and were a lot more faster.
Kratos isn't all that bad he has no good confirms into lvl 1 it's best for a good Kratos to go for lvl 2 hit confirms.

Nathan Drake's Jab>Down Triangle Combo, now THAT'S OP if the opponent flinches instead of face plants. (A lot of his attacks are still OP)

Drake sucks he got nerfed he is just about average in 1v1 but in 2v2 he is just a monster.
His down square isn't that bad anyone with range can shut him down quickly, compare Drake to Ratchet a character who excels in both range and close range and all he has to do to set up a kill confirm on you is get you into a corner or knock you down.

I'm not referring to Down Square, I am meaning Neutral Square>Down Triangle.

That combo isn't very good and it's very unsafe on block it's just going to get you ripped apart, btw I am the 3rd best Jak player online.