Before you say anything I would like to point out that I may have spelled some of these wrong and might not be correct about their tiers. You are welcome to correct me in the comments!

1
0 - 9,999

2
10,000 - 19,999

3
20,000 - 29,999

4
30,000 - 39,999

5
40,000 - 49,999

6
50,000 - 69,999

7
70,000 - 89,999

8
90,000 - 109,999

9
110,000 - 129,999

10
130,000 - 149,999

11
150,000 - 179,999

12
180,000 - 209,999

13
210,000 - 239,999

14
240,000 - 269,999

15
270,000 - 299,999

16
300,000 - 349,999

17
350,000 - 399,999

18
400,000 - 449,999

19
450,000 - 499,999

20
500,000 - 599,999

21
600,000 - 699,999

22
700,000 - 799,999

23
800,000 - 899,999

24
900,000 - 999,999

25
1,000,000 - 1,099,999

26
1,100,000 - 1,199,999

27
1,200,000 - 1,299,999

28
1,300,000 - 1,399,999

29
1,400,000 - 1,499,999

30
1,500,000 - 1,749,999

31
1,750,000 - 1,999,999

32
2,000,000 - 2,249,999

33
2,250,000 - 2,499,999

34
2,500,000 - 2,749,999

35
2,750,000 - 2,999,999

36
3,000,000 - 4,999,999

37
5,000,000 - 6,999,999

38
7,000,000 - 8,999,999

39
9,000,000 - 11,999,999

40
12,000,000+

Alright so here im giving you the locations of what your tiers location is. Some locations can have multiple tiers.


1-6: Forest of the Fallen Giants

6-11: Heides tower of flame

11-16: Huntsmans, No mans wharf, Sinners rise, Brightstone, Shaded ruins

16-20: Poison valley, Earthen peak, Iron keep, Brightstone, Shaded ruins, Gutter, Black Gulch

20-30: Iron keep, Black gulch (pretty rare), Drangleic castle, Shrine of amana, Undead crypt, DLC Areas (rare)

30-36: Drangleic, Iron keep, DLC Areas

36-40+: Iron keep, DLC Areas, NG+ and beyond

I was told you can just look at the zones highlighted in orange at the bonfire to know which areas have activity in your SM.

True Archery: "NG-cycles don't matter for matchmaking. A NG-character can summon NG+-characters as long as they're in the SM-range and vice-versa."