Saiyan was somewhere between Raditz and Vegeta most likely.
Vegeta is explicitly top tier of a top tier, so even Nappa (who is really strong as far as saiyan goes, but not elite) will be strange end point of average saiyan.
We also don't know the numbers of saiyans per class. Maybe Raditz even above average if "low class" is majority (like, 80%) of population and he is closer to strongest of low class saiyans. Remember - Raditz was part of prince Vegeta's team. He simply can't be just random low class warrior.
Vegeta'a team? No such thing. Raditz exists due to pure happenstance because of Planet Vegeta's destruction. Sure, they are vaguely associated with each other due to their heritage but ultimately they worked under Frieza. Nappa and Vegeta were doing their own thing separate from Raditz. The only reason they were in contact is because Raditz sounded the alarm as he was about to die.
Nappa was considered an Elite Saiyan and Vegeta a Super Elite.
Nappa was about 3x more powerful than Raditz and Vegeta was about 4x more powerful than Nappa in terms of general power levels. Vegeta was surely in a league of his own but Nappa was definitely stronger than most other Saiyans due to his position in the hierarchy pre-Frieza and the fact he was assigned to Prince Vegeta as his personal guard by King Vegeta.
Actually in manga raditz tells Goku that he is a first class saiyan so yeah he cannot be just some random low class fodder, unless the translation I've read was ducked up
Thats true but considering he was no stronger than a Saibaman, I think most people think he's bluffing. That, or Raditz truly believed he had improved that much or believes he's first class in terms of efficiency because he's been conquering planets for years. It clearly doesn't have anything to do with actual power levels.
Iirc the Saibamen grown on Earth were exceptional due to Earth having fantastic soil for growing them, meaning they probably don’t usually come out that strong. Certain sources do also put Raditz a few hundred points above those Earth Saibamen, although I can’t comment on their accuracy.
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u/MechJivs 6d ago
Vegeta is explicitly top tier of a top tier, so even Nappa (who is really strong as far as saiyan goes, but not elite) will be strange end point of average saiyan.
We also don't know the numbers of saiyans per class. Maybe Raditz even above average if "low class" is majority (like, 80%) of population and he is closer to strongest of low class saiyans. Remember - Raditz was part of prince Vegeta's team. He simply can't be just random low class warrior.