Is it important to main a top-tier character?

[Bluekirby2]

I've heard from Omni that it is a good idea to main a top-tier, which is why I main/kind of am working on ZSS.
But I'm not sure if I should do that or not. I don't know if tiers are really necessary or not.

Your thoughts?

 

[RIP_Lucas]

Omni explained it fine, there's no reason not to have a top tier you can win with

 

[Baby_Sneak]

Tiers are the best characters to the worst characters in terms of amount of options. It is best to main a top tier logically yes, since they allow you to play however you want, however if none of the top tiers play how you like, forget them and go for a character that bests suits you.

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Yes. The quickest means of learning what makes a character top tier is to play as one. You have to see how little their game plan has to change for each matchup gives you the right ideas on what makes a good character great. Armed with that knowledge, you can look at other characters and see which aspects stand out in similar ways. It's not just a matter of knowledge though. Playing Smash in ways you're not used to only improves you as a player. There are many benefits to playing a top tier character if you want to take Smash 4 competitive seriously at all. Take it from somebody who's on his third smash game, denial of this fact will perpetuate a block on your potential.

But most important of all, knowing everything there is to know about Sheik, ZSS, and etc. is one of the most handy steps to beating them, in any situation. That alone should be reason enough.

 

[Rinku リンク]

If you care about absolutely winning no matter what yes, if not then no.

 

[TriforceOfAura]

Eh, coming from someone whose competitive mains are Lucas and Roy, and from someone who also mains Sheik and Lucario, I guess you can say I'm a top-tier main(Though I DO main Meta Knight and Dedede), but I mained Lucas and Roy because I like their playstyles and they work well for me. Picking one of the top/high tiers(Who, to me, are ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and ), is one way to find a character who you like and suits you.

 

[Bluekirby2]

I see where everyone here who tells me who should are coming from, but does that mean I should only main a top tier and drop any mains that aren't? I feel like Lucina and Mega Man have some unexplored potential.

 

[Drewthedude64]

I see where everyone here who tells me who should are coming from, but does that mean I should only main a top tier and drop any mains that aren't? I feel like Lucina and Mega Man have some unexplored potential.

There's no reason to drop a main if you're really good at that particular character. They're still your mains. Sometimes it's just helpful to use top teirs as well, because they play so well. But by all means, keep your lower teir mains, as you could find ways to advance their metagames.

 

[Baby_Sneak]

Duh lol. Don't throw your time invested into that character down the drain. Keep them and have two characters.

 

[MysteriousSilver]

As a Palutena main:

Pick a top tier.

Top tier characters not only mean you'll perform better, but you'll have a lot more freedom as most of them, and winning more rounds means you get more for your money in tournament and get more experience. Top tier characters tend to have more options in every situation and can press their advantages better, so you'll get to play a more complex game and learn more about it. Playing top tier will show you where you really stack up compared to other players and you will know your ratings are being deflated by your poor choice of character. Playing a top tier means you know how at least one top tier character works inside and out, so you have a leg up on matchup knowledge. If you play a top tier, Sakurai will fly to your house and grant you one wish. Your hair will become silky smooth. All of your children will grow up to be rich.

Everything will be better if you pick a top tier.

 

[Evello]

If you're playing to win, then play who you can and will perform best with. Typically, this is a top tier character, since they have the most options and reward players the most for the same amount of practice. However, not all players are a good fit for all characters. For instance, I am total garbage as Fox in every Smash game, despite how amazing he is in Melee and Smash4. Almost everyone who is not ESAM is mediocre with Pikachu, despite the character clearly being quite good. Playing a character you are naturally terrible with just because they are theoretically good is just as unhelpful as maining a low tier character. You need a character that has high potential and fits your playstyle. It also helps if you enjoy watching and practicing your character.

 

[UberMadman]

Main who you want, as long as you don't blame your losses on your character. If you want to win, then yeah, pick a high/top tier, but I personally get value of being the best Bowser Jr. main I can be. (It helps having Sonic as a secondary though! )

 

[teluoborg]

Things like zoning, spacing, understanding of the game mechanics and tech skill are far more important than character choice. There's no point in picking a top tier if you can't understand what makes the character good or can't use his options.

So yeah if you're not consistently placing in top 8 then you should not concern yourself with character choice because chances are that's not what is limiting you at the point. Sure some are easier to learn an some have better rewards or fewer risks or both, but evveryone has options.

 

[CasteHappy//]

If you just wanna win, pick a top tier (it's not that easy, but you get the point)
Don't force yourself to drop your main and pick a top tier, if you don't enjoy playing with the top tiers, screw them.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

If you want to compete and get results at tournaments then it's pretty much required, depending on how big a tournament it is of course. If you only play online, with friends or attend friendly locals then you don't really need to main a top tier character, it's a bit harder to win with mid/low tiers but it's definitely doable as long as you play your character well, tiers only have a huge impact at the very highest level, although the best characters will of course make things a bit easier for you regardless.

 

[wizrad]

As Nairo demonstrated at MLG last weekend, winning is much more about the skill of the player than the potential of the character. Anyways, some characters are much less demanding skill wise, meaning you can play them at a higher level than you might a top tier. Example: Fox and Falco are both extremely hard to do well with in Melee, but Puff is much less technical and is still a great character. At most skill levels, Puff would be the better choice for winning.

 

[|RK|]

Eh, coming from someone whose competitive mains are Lucas and Roy, and from someone who also mains Sheik and Lucario, I guess you can say I'm a top-tier main(Though I DO main Meta Knight and Dedede), but I mained Lucas and Roy because I like their playstyles and they work well for me. Picking one of the top/high tiers(Who, to me, are ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and ), is one way to find a character who you like and suits you.

Wait... you put Kirby in top/high and Meta Knight as mid/low?

 

[Jaguar360]

If you're going to play a top tier, you need to have passion for them so that you enjoy playing the game while getting results. If there are no top tiers you have a passion for, strive to make the most out of your character.

In my personal opinion, there's nothing wrong with having both top tiers and low tiers in your arsenal. I'm probably not the best example since I use so many characters, but I have an agreed top 10 character (Pikachu) that I secondary, but I also use Zelda a ton and feel even more comfortable with her. If you decide to add a top tier to your roster, there's nothing wrong with keeping Lucina and Megaman around.

 

[Lavani]

Who are you best with?

Who would you rather fight characters like with?

If your goal is to win, you should make the choice on the character select screen that best facilitates that. At the same time, "The Best" doesn't necessarily equal "Your Best"; we all have our affinities, otherwise we'd all just main Sheik and call it a day.

 

[Thirtyfour]

Ally mains only mario while Anti uses Mario with Sheik, Luigi and other alts. Lets just be hypothetical and say both players are at equal skill levels and would get the same results with Mario. Anti's far more likely to get further in a tournament since he has characters to cover unfavorable match ups where Ally's chooses to be vulnerable in bad match ups. Is it important for Ally to do the same and pick up a secondaries? Probably so, but it's ultimately the player's choice. No real discussion there.

 

[Bluekirby2]

Alright, what you guys are saying makes sense.

I feel a little more confident with keeping Lucina (As she is usually very low on tier lists), but I can't exactly say that about Mega Man, as I did some online matches with a friend that made me feel less confident with Mega Man.

But yeah, I think I'll just stick to adding ZSS on my mains while keeping Lucina, Mega Man, and more recently, Falco.

 

[Nah]

While you don't necessarily have to main them, I agree with Zapp Branniglenn that playing them to some extent is very useful. Top tiers are the most metagame relevant threats. Learning what makes them tick firsthand, learning their strengths and weaknesses are will allow you to handle them better, as well as understanding what makes a good character truly good (though all the top tiers have a somewhat cheesy move/attribute to them as well). That's part of the reason why I've started playing recently. You may even learn something else in the process.

Also most people don't solo main. Most tournament players have 2 mains or at least a main and a secondary/pocket or two. There's little reason to only seriously play play one character unless you play (the only character in the game with no MU worse than even). So if you wanna play a top tier in addition to some other character that's perfectly fine . Just don't spread yourself too thin with the number of characters you play seriously.

 

[Infinite901]

(Who, to me, are ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and )

Not to go too far off topic, but this made me laugh. Lucario and the Links as top tiers? Yoshi, Kirby and Roy but no Ryu, Meta Knight, Wario, Diddy, Mario? Something seems off.

 

[Wintermelon43]

Picking one of the top/high tiers(, )

IN MY DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TriforceOfAura]

Not to go too far off topic, but this made me laugh. Lucario and the Links as top tiers? Yoshi, Kirby and Roy but no Ryu, Meta Knight, Wario, Diddy, Mario? Something seems off.

All of those, except Wario and Diddy, are JUST under them, I didn't want to put too many on there, though. What's with the Lucario hate? He's really good, provided he isn't against one of his worse matchups(Primarily the heavyweights, as well as Roy, Falcon, Ness, and Lucas). Ryu is pretty good, don't get me wrong, as are Yoshi, Mario, and Meta Knight. Diddy and Wario are a bit more questionable. I've faced frighteningly good Kirbys, Foxes, and Toon Link's. Link, though, shouldn't really be up there. I've been making a personal tier list(yes, yell at me), and I've often struggled on where to place the Link, Diddy, Wario, and Meta Knight. I have gotten wildly different reviews for all of them.

 

[SphericalCrusher]

Omni explained it fine, there's no reason not to have a top tier you can win with

This. To answer your question, I guess it depends on how you value competition at tournaments. If you have a strong desire to win, then I would say it's very important. If you just want to play for fun... play whoever you enjoy.

 

[TheJolteon]

Just pick a top tier if u wanna win a tournament. If u don't want to win then u don't have to. But don't think you'll win Samus or anything.>

 

[Sünta]

It's nice to pocket main a top tier because if you play a lower tier character, some of the matchups can be really rough. It's good for insurance in case you get bodied with your main.

 

[red hot roy]

tier list are good to get a general idea of how a character is compared to everyone else, but if you enjoy playing a mid tier or low tier and want to use it competitively, it doesn't mean that everyone who plays with a top tier will win. It just means that they generally are considered better, smash 4 will never have a true tier list unless the game stopped getting patched, but even then the list might end up changing, kind of like how melee gets a change every so often to its current list.

 

[RIP|Merrick]

I am low tier trash and I can keep up with our states best with my secondary Zelda because she just fits my general playstyle so nicely despite being pretty garbage. I tried for a whole month to get into the likes of Sheik, Zero Suit Samus, and many others yet I end up being drawn right back to my boy Luigi and the waifu Zelda simply because I've invested so much time learning them and they just feel more natural to me. I wouldn't force yourself in playing a high tier though if you don't genuinely enjoy playing as them, not to mention the high learning curves I feel there is to make the most out of characters of that caliber.

 

[Megamang]

Examine your goals. Win a tournament/place highly? Top and high tiers have shown they do this easier.

But, some people wanna be the best at a character, and thats fine! Or maybe you just wanna advance a low tiers metagame a little, to have a personal impact. Then someone with lots of tools but less rep like mega is great.


I play pika because, while i dont think quite of highly of his kit as ESAM, i do think he can win any game. He has the tools. That is important to me; losing and feeling helpless sucks and i dont want that. That said, i did the top char thing with MK in brawl enough to know i dont wanna main shiek (there are more reasons, but this is an example more than an autobiography). But playing bottom tiers against tops (which you will see at tournaments) was horrific for me. So i picked a char i feel can win, enjoy his playstyle/persona, and feel i can succeed with.


Also, as others have said... you are certainly not at the stage where your char is holding you back alone, just keep improving overall. Hell, trying everyone out is good for learning how to approach those matchups. Just dont try and 'main' 12 characters if you wanna beat more focused players.


Get out of pools is a good first goal by the way, and mega can definitely do that. Lucina was unusable in my opinion, but after many patches she is pretty alright. Hell, the 1.1.1 patch took away excess safety from Marths sourspots, giving lucina a nice new little niche.

 

[BulgeTremmor]

No. I for one claim that if a person wants to help develop and expand a character's meta, they should. It's hard to win majors with characters that are considered mid tier, but it's that determination that helps unlock their true potential.

 

[Saya~]

Play who you want, but it's not a bad idea to alt a top tier for match-ups you feel are unfair.

 

[Wintropy]

It's important if you want it to be.

If you want to main the character, then go for it, but be sure you can dedicate yourself to the character. If you want to pocket the character for bad matchups, then do that.

 

[Pegasus Knight]

There's a difference between picking a top tier and learning while using a top tier.

I have run into many opponents who can do all the hype bandwagon combos with a variety of top tier characters... and discovered that is all they know. Their spacing was non-existent. Their defense was non-existent. All they knew was powerful attacks, and they were so obvious about them that they were easier to defeat than most low-tier characters would have been.

If you pick a top tier, do it to learn and improve. They're not magical victory machines that hand you free wins (even if it feels like it, sometimes). You can still lose if you suck, or if your opponent knows what you're going to do.

 

[Baby_Sneak]

Just have a pocket top tier that you know how to play with well. You don't have to main then necessarily.

 

[SamuraiPanda]

I wrote a thread on the topic that I feel is still quite relevant. Tiers DO matter, but at the same time it depends on what you want out of playing Smash. Do you want to be a top level tournament player someday? Do you just want to beat your friends? It all depends on you really.

 

[GooberGaming]

Truthfully, I feel like you are better off with maining characters that suit your play style vs characters who are top tier.

Any character can compete, it's just a matter of how skilled is the player who's controlling that character in my opinion!!

 

[1337Kai]

If picking a top tier really is difficult for you, then at least carry one as a back up for match up purposes (secondaries). I main Ike and do fine against the top tier players at my tournaments, but if a match up is tough for me, I have my Villager, Falcon, and Roy to help out. You don't HAVE to main a top tier, but at least have one prepared as a pocket character (get it? POCKET?!?!).

 

[YoshiYoshi]

Competitively, someone can play any character they want and do well. People don't play the game so perfectly that mind-games aren't a factor. The competitive game as much on mind-games as it is technical skill. So good players with lower tiers can beat good players with higher tiers as long as they win the mind-games.

Still, low tiers can suffer for having many bad MUs or a critically bad MU against a top tier. Then you could play the counter-pick game as all high tiers in this game have bad MUs, but frequently their worst MU is another high tier. Still, a good player can easily evade the coalescence of a bad match-up and an opponent who knows how to take advantage of it and win a tournament, but maybe not at the highest level where you really have to play at every tournament to even have the experience necessary to win. At the highest level, it would be a bad idea to play a low tiers, unless you're promoting it with yourself for the social media following.