Q&A The 'Mains' Advice Thread

[j3lly]

I miss Snake ;_;

 

[monzer]

Right now I main 3 characters and secondary 5 characters, is that too many?

I'm back, although I need secondary/pocket character advice.

My main is , and my secondary is (been a main since Melee). My biggest problem is rushdown, as is the keepaway king/queen, he/she get demolished by pretty much every high tier if they know what they doing, and my still needs work. also just laugh at Villager's whole keepaway game, so that also an issue.

I did thought of some characters that interest me as a pocket, but keep in mind i'm willing to use others outside of these characters.

: Seems to handle rushdown well and fun IMO, but any throw + a aerial past 50%=GGs.
: Seems fun, but a little too high risk with rest and dying at 70%.
: Waifu status, but seem to have the same gameplan as Villager. Might handle rushdown a little better, but i'm not sure. Need more research with WFT in general.
: Interesting as a character, but seem like a worse Villager with having a mainly ranged moveset, with a worse recovery and worse kill options.
: Secondary from Brawl, so i have SOME experience. Seem to mix close up with ranged, and having a heavy would be nice given my mains, but from what i heard also have trouble with rushdown(Seem to be a common theme with people i'm interested in).
,, and : Solves my problem, but IMO boring to play as.
: 2nd best waifu, also top tier. Barely know anything of her though.

Overall, the characters that interest me(the most) are , , and .

TL;DR:Need a pocket/secondary for and to deal with rushdown, but bored of the actual rushdown characters.

Handles rush down well, but is destroyed by any character with good ariels like. There are more, but that's everyone I can come up with at the top of my head. If you like him, use him, but you also should pick up another character who also handles rushdown.

Is much better than he was in Brawl. He handles rushdown decently, but nothing really counters rushdown. I would recommend this character.

Is generally considered to be low-mid tier, but no one has really used her do her full potential as a character is unknown. If you like her play style, use her but you should still need another character who can deal with top tiers.

I would recommend , as him and cover eachother's weaknesses nicely, but if you dislike rushdown characters you probably won't enjoy playing as him and therefore, you won't play as well.

, And all have a very strong punish game with thier amazing down throw combo's. Since a lot of people playing rushdown characters make mistakes without thinking(usually lower skill players, but high level players do this to sometimes), a character who could punish those mistakes hard can deal with rushdown well.

Is always a good option. I really don't know much about Rosalina but she does have good matchups against all the major rushdown characters.

 

[xDizxy]

When I play online I pick different characters.
1. Bowser jr.
2. Lucas/ Ness
3. Mario
4. Dark pit
5. Pikachu.
I want to pick one character and practice alot with them. What's my playstyle? Well at first I like to rush but if I'm taking damage then I play it safe.
Things I don't like about these characters.
1 . Bowser jr - Has no throw combos, kart dash is kinda predictable. Has lag on some moves .Fsmash sometimes won't connect.
2. Lucas - Due to the extreme lag online, when I use pk thunder, I either miss or it sends me down. Sometimes it sends me crashing into the ledge without grabbing on.
3. Ness - Same as lucas. Plus if pk thunder touches someone, you're screwed.
4. Mario - Has crappy recovery. Fsmash lacks range. Hard time killing.
5. Dark pit - Some of his attacks don't always connect like Fsmash or nair. Reflector is slow.
6. Pikachu - Has great combos but he's really weak. Hard time killing.

 

[TheBlueSpirit]

4. Mario - Has crappy recovery. Fsmash lacks range. Hard time killing.

I don't believe you've played Doc yet.

Mario's recovery is bad if gimped, but it has a lot of priority so that does not happen often. His fsmash doesn't have much range, but neither does Mario as a whole. Which brings me to my next point, which is that if you're using his fsmash then no wonder you're having trouble killing. While it's not a bad kill move, Mario's up smash is way more consistent and has super armor on his hat/head area.

So if those are your only "problems" with Mario then I think he'd probably be your best bet, as those aren't necessarily weaknesses of the Mario that you listed. It's more of what you aren't used to or lack knowledge on of the character from what I see. So yeah Mario out of those 5 I think is best because the problems you have with him are easily overcome once you learn him enough.

 

[TyphlosionSmoke]

Hey, I'm new to Smashboards. I'm TyphlosionSmoke, I main Game and Watch, Falcon is my secondary, and I want to find another character. I tried Mewtwo, I felt he was too large and too light. I then tried Lucario, and I didn't like how he didn't have much "oomph" at low percents. Any suggestions on who I should try? My favorite franchises are Zelda and Pokemon.

 

[Morbi]

When I play online I pick different characters.
1. Bowser jr.
2. Lucas/ Ness
3. Mario
4. Dark pit
5. Pikachu.
I want to pick one character and practice alot with them. What's my playstyle? Well at first I like to rush but if I'm taking damage then I play it safe.
Things I don't like about these characters.
1 . Bowser jr - Has no throw combos, kart dash is kinda predictable. Has lag on some moves .Fsmash sometimes won't connect.
2. Lucas - Due to the extreme lag online, when I use pk thunder, I either miss or it sends me down. Sometimes it sends me crashing into the ledge without grabbing on.
3. Ness - Same as lucas. Plus if pk thunder touches someone, you're screwed.
4. Mario - Has crappy recovery. Fsmash lacks range. Hard time killing.
5. Dark pit - Some of his attacks don't always connect like Fsmash or nair. Reflector is slow.
6. Pikachu - Has great combos but he's really weak. Hard time killing.

Honestly, if you are somewhat comfortable with Pikachu, I would probably attempt to commit to him. He is the most viable character on the list aside from Mario; however, they share the same weakness of little KO moves. Albeit, I believe that Pikachu puts the damage on easier and therefore he can kill earlier. That being said, if you have difficulty recovering with Mario, Pikachu is the opposite with an excellent recovery. Both are adept at hit and run-esque play-styles, Pikachu more so than Mario. But Mario is certainly able to do so better than most of the cast. Mario is a great choice, but if I had to choose, it would obviously be Pikachu.

 

[xDizxy]

You know what I'll just do, I'm going to play one character for a week. The character I have a higher chance of winning, will be my first main. The process is going to take 6 weeks :/

 

[xDizxy]

Honestly, if you are somewhat comfortable with Pikachu, I would probably attempt to commit to him. He is the most viable character on the list aside from Mario; however, they share the same weakness of little KO moves. Albeit, I believe that Pikachu puts the damage on easier and therefore he can kill earlier. That being said, if you have difficulty recovering with Mario, Pikachu is the opposite with an excellent recovery. Both are adept at hit and run-esque play-styles, Pikachu more so than Mario. But Mario is certainly able to do so better than most of the cast. Mario is a great choice, but if I had to choose, it would obviously be Pikachu.

How do you quick attack cancel? Is it patched? What's is it useful for?

 

[Morbi]

How do you quick attack cancel? Is it patched? What's is it useful for?

I have no idea, I do not main Pikachu myself, you should probably check the Pikachu boards. I believe an infinite was patched out, but he can still cancel his quick attack on platforms.

 

[xDizxy]

Also I mostly play team smash, so who benefits the most from teams.

 

[monzer]

Hey, I'm new to Smashboards. I'm TyphlosionSmoke, I main Game and Watch, Falcon is my secondary, and I want to find another character. I tried Mewtwo, I felt he was too large and too light. I then tried Lucario, and I didn't like how he didn't have much "oomph" at low percents. Any suggestions on who I should try? My favorite franchises are Zelda and Pokemon.

is always a good option since he is a combo based character similar to Game and Watch, who you already use. Pikachu is decently light, but he has a small hitbox so he won't get hit as easy as Mewtwo.

Other characters with good throw combos like Game and Watch and Falcon are. I'm sure I missed a few, but these were the first ones who came to mind.

Has an extremely similar move set to Falcon, so if you know Falcon you will know his moveset well too.

From what Ive heard and both work well with Game and Watch.

 

[TyphlosionSmoke]

is always a good option since he is a combo based character similar to Game and Watch, who you already use. Pikachu is decently light, but he has a small hitbox so he won't get hit as easy as Mewtwo.

Other characters with good throw combos like Game and Watch and Falcon are. I'm sure I missed a few, but these were the first ones who came to mind.

Has an extremely similar move set to Falcon, so if you know Falcon you will know his moveset well too.

From what Ive heard and both work well with Game and Watch.

Thanks! I'm not sure what, but I don't like the way Pikachu feels that much. I know 3 Kirby mains within my friends and family, I don't think we could use another one. Potential charcters I guess would be Ness, because he has good projectiles, like Mewtwo, and Ness (unlike Mewtwo) can kill fairly easy. I also might try R.O.B, Rosalina and Luma, Ganon, amd Yoshi. Thanks again!

 

[Yojimbosan]

Hey, I'm new to Smashboards. I'm TyphlosionSmoke, I main Game and Watch, Falcon is my secondary, and I want to find another character. I tried Mewtwo, I felt he was too large and too light. I then tried Lucario, and I didn't like how he didn't have much "oomph" at low percents. Any suggestions on who I should try? My favorite franchises are Zelda and Pokemon.

Have you tried Toon Link? His projectile game is very good and he's pretty nimble. Tether grab and bomb jumps greatly help his recovery to make up for his lighter weight.

 

[j3lly]

Honestly, if you are somewhat comfortable with Pikachu, I would probably attempt to commit to him. He is the most viable character on the list aside from Mario; however, they share the same weakness of little KO moves. Albeit, I believe that Pikachu puts the damage on easier and therefore he can kill earlier. That being said, if you have difficulty recovering with Mario, Pikachu is the opposite with an excellent recovery. Both are adept at hit and run-esque play-styles, Pikachu more so than Mario. But Mario is certainly able to do so better than most of the cast. Mario is a great choice, but if I had to choose, it would obviously be Pikachu.

Ness and Lucas are definitely more viable than Mario.

I rarely face an issue with Ness' recovery. His 2nd jump is enough to reach the stage most of the time and if you properly position yourself when recovering with PKT you'e pretty much begging your opponent to risk losing their stock at an attempt to gimp you.

Pikachu is great as well but the lag would affect you more due to the Quick Attack Canceling required to fully reach his potential.

 

[j3lly]

I've settled on Ness, Falcon and Villager as my mains (Lucas being someone I play when I want to mess around and have fun.) These pretty much cover each other's weaknesses. I have a pocket Sheik for RosaLuma.

 

[Number Three]

Hey, I'm new to Smashboards. I'm TyphlosionSmoke, I main Game and Watch, Falcon is my secondary, and I want to find another character. I tried Mewtwo, I felt he was too large and too light. I then tried Lucario, and I didn't like how he didn't have much "oomph" at low percents. Any suggestions on who I should try? My favorite franchises are Zelda and Pokemon.

Well, I'll go through the characters from Zelda and Pokemon and tell you what I know about them. I'm not super experienced on these characters, but I know enough to the point where I feel I can try to help. Correct me if I'm wrong.

- Link is primarily defensive and mainly plays using projectiles and zoning out the opponent. He's the type of character who you can't just run in and hit people with. You have to take on a defensive playstyle and gradually easy your way in. If you don't like playing defensive, Link isn't for you.

- Zelda is also a very defensive character and you're required to be very patient with her. Zelda has a couple good attributes about her (like Up B killing extremely early). However, Zelda is widely considered to be one of the worst characters in the game. Now, coming from a Mewtwo main in both Melee and this game, winning with a bottom tier character isn't impossible by any means, but it requires you to be very patient and make the least amount of mistakes possible. Unless you're heartbent on playing her, I wouldn't recommend it.

- Unlike Link and Zelda, Sheik is a character you will like if you favor very aggressive play. She's all about running in there, getting a hit, and stringing moves together to rack up the damage. Her needles also do a good job at baiting approaches from opponents. Her only downsides are slight range issues and her awful KO ability (as her only move that can KO relatively early is Bouncing Fish, which is very predictable sometimes). Despite this, Sheik is widely considered to be one of the best characters in the game. If you love being the aggressor during the match, I'd recommend Sheik. I personally don't find much success with her as I'm a very defensive player and don't like playing hyper aggro (though, I still like playing as her for fun since Ocarina of Time is my third favorite game). If you're like me, Sheik might not be the best choice.

- I don't know too much about Ganondorf, but this is what I do know. He's extremely powerful and heavy, but very slow and laggy to compensate. Since he is a semi-clone of Falcon, you might like him. Just know that you can't play him like Falcon.

- If you want to use a Link, but you don't really care about which Link you play, I'd recommend Toon Link WAY more than Link. Toon Link is a MUCH better character than Link. He has a much better projectile game (e.g. his boomerang >>> Link's), much better mobility, and a pretty good recovery. By picking him, you sacrifice Link's weight and power (which isn't that much of a sacrifice) for a solid character who fixes everything wrong with Link. He can be played both aggressive and defensive, so he gives you a lot of room to play how you wish.

- He's pretty much the Pokemon equivalent of Sheik. He's all about rushing in and stringing together combos. He can also use Thunder Jolt to bait approaches, too. He has similar downsides to Sheik, too (range issues and garbage KO ability). Pretty much, he's Sheik in Pokemon form.

- He's a lot like Ganondorf in Pokemon form. He has suprisingly quick ground speed for his weight, though. If you're able to deal with his laggy moves, he could be for you.

- If you didn't like how light Mewtwo was, you probably won't like how light Jigglypuff is. She's basically a character who gets all of her kills off of edgeguarding and wins by not getting hit. If that doesn't sound like your thing, then I'd skip her.

- I like to think of Greninja as a defensive version of Sheik. He may not be able to rush in and combo the opponents like crazy, but he's just as quick and agile. If you want to play Sheik, but don't like playing aggro, try Greninja.

In the end, it really comes down to what type of player you are and using that knowledge to figure out which characters work best for you.

 

[4AV]

I am looking for another character to main so far i have a yoshi luigi and sheik with a pocket mega man and falcon. I am looking for a character that is primarily defensive.

 

[monzer]

I am looking for another character to main so far i have a yoshi luigi and sheik with a pocket mega man and falcon. I am looking for a character that is primarily defensive.

The only "defensive" character who is around high/top tier is Villager. However, most Villager mains arn't super campy and they generally alternate from being offensive or defensive since being completely defensive rarely ever works in high level play.

Other defensive characters are Though these characters can all also be played offensively as well.

 

[MarioFireRed]

I am looking for another character to main so far i have a yoshi luigi and sheik with a pocket mega man and falcon. I am looking for a character that is primarily defensive.

Honestly it'd do you best to just stick to Yoshi, Luigi, and Sheik and level them up instead of spreaking your work even further by adding a fourth character.

If you really must have a primarily defensive character than I suggest either training up that pocket or go for someone among the likes of . Rosaluma has their tag team gimmick that really helps their defense while Olimar can just zone and camp with his Pikmin.

 

[xDizxy]

I think I've made my decision. It's mario. He fits my playstyle. Aggressive and great combos. If you know how to use fludd, it can gimp opponents. Mario also has an reflector, so he has little trouble with approaching. The only bad things on him is his horizontal recovery. He kinda gets gimped easily especially by greninja neutral b. If Sakurai buffed bowser jr, he'd be my main again but for now mario

 

[TyphlosionSmoke]

Well, I'll go through the characters from Zelda and Pokemon and tell you what I know about them. I'm not super experienced on these characters, but I know enough to the point where I feel I can try to help. Correct me if I'm wrong.

- Link is primarily defensive and mainly plays using projectiles and zoning out the opponent. He's the type of character who you can't just run in and hit people with. You have to take on a defensive playstyle and gradually easy your way in. If you don't like playing defensive, Link isn't for you.

- Zelda is also a very defensive character and you're required to be very patient with her. Zelda has a couple good attributes about her (like Up B killing extremely early). However, Zelda is widely considered to be one of the worst characters in the game. Now, coming from a Mewtwo main in both Melee and this game, winning with a bottom tier character isn't impossible by any means, but it requires you to be very patient and make the least amount of mistakes possible. Unless you're heartbent on playing her, I wouldn't recommend it.

- Unlike Link and Zelda, Sheik is a character you will like if you favor very aggressive play. She's all about running in there, getting a hit, and stringing moves together to rack up the damage. Her needles also do a good job at baiting approaches from opponents. Her only downsides are slight range issues and her awful KO ability (as her only move that can KO relatively early is Bouncing Fish, which is very predictable sometimes). Despite this, Sheik is widely considered to be one of the best characters in the game. If you love being the aggressor during the match, I'd recommend Sheik. I personally don't find much success with her as I'm a very defensive player and don't like playing hyper aggro (though, I still like playing as her for fun since Ocarina of Time is my third favorite game). If you're like me, Sheik might not be the best choice.

- I don't know too much about Ganondorf, but this is what I do know. He's extremely powerful and heavy, but very slow and laggy to compensate. Since he is a semi-clone of Falcon, you might like him. Just know that you can't play him like Falcon.

- If you want to use a Link, but you don't really care about which Link you play, I'd recommend Toon Link WAY more than Link. Toon Link is a MUCH better character than Link. He has a much better projectile game (e.g. his boomerang >>> Link's), much better mobility, and a pretty good recovery. By picking him, you sacrifice Link's weight and power (which isn't that much of a sacrifice) for a solid character who fixes everything wrong with Link. He can be played both aggressive and defensive, so he gives you a lot of room to play how you wish.

- He's pretty much the Pokemon equivalent of Sheik. He's all about rushing in and stringing together combos. He can also use Thunder Jolt to bait approaches, too. He has similar downsides to Sheik, too (range issues and garbage KO ability). Pretty much, he's Sheik in Pokemon form.

- He's a lot like Ganondorf in Pokemon form. He has suprisingly quick ground speed for his weight, though. If you're able to deal with his laggy moves, he could be for you.

- If you didn't like how light Mewtwo was, you probably won't like how light Jigglypuff is. She's basically a character who gets all of her kills off of edgeguarding and wins by not getting hit. If that doesn't sound like your thing, then I'd skip her.

- I like to think of Greninja as a defensive version of Sheik. He may not be able to rush in and combo the opponents like crazy, but he's just as quick and agile. If you want to play Sheik, but don't like playing aggro, try Greninja.

In the end, it really comes down to what type of player you are and using that knowledge to figure out which characters work best for you.

Thanks a ton. A lot of these characters are really cool, I enjoy them. Link and Toon Link are cool, but I can't play them because I hate projectile spammers, and I wouldn't force that on anyone. Ganon is pretty cool, though laggy, like you mentioned. I play him sometimes, but only in friendlies. I'm starting to dig Zelda's playstyle. I don't enjoy Pikachu's feel, I'm not sure why. Charizard is a lot better, good contender for sure. Jiggs' weight really turns me off. Greninja is pretty awesome, I loved him because I chose Froakie from the first time he was revealed, and now he's banned in competitive Pokemon. Thanks again!

 

[TyphlosionSmoke]

Have you tried Toon Link? His projectile game is very good and he's pretty nimble. Tether grab and bomb jumps greatly help his recovery to make up for his lighter weight.

Thanks for the response. Yeah, he's cool and all, but his projectile spam playstyle turns me off. I play him sometimes in friendlies, and use a lot of his sword, more than his projectiles. I would play him if a large part of his viability didn't depend on spamming boomerang and arrows.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Right now I main 3 characters and secondary 5 characters, is that too many?

Realistically speaking, yes. Most of the top players main one character and have one or two secondaries. Every once in awhile you'll have a top player like Nairo or Nakat that has 1-2 mains and 2-3 secondaries but these players are extremely talented and most people can't handle keeping track of the match ups and strategies of that many characters. At high levels of play, a lot of players start to spread themselves thin if they try to seriously use more than two but at low levels (think 16-100 people tournaments), people can reasonably use up to five and still be considered competitively competent but they probably won't advance beyond that.

Think about it this way, if Zero suddenly crashed through the roof of your house and said he'd kill your mom if you didn't beat him in Smash, who would you pick? If everything was suddenly put on the line, who are the two you'd narrow it down to in order to save your mom's life? These are the two you should focus on the most, with more attention being given to the one that you consider your best.

 

[Plesioth]

Anyone have the same problem as me when it comes to picking (AND sticking to) a main/secondary?

Outside of Villager (my main) and MAYBE Game and Watch(my main since Melee), my list is constantly fluctuating. It gotten to the point where i am considering picking up a new character almost EVERYDAY, and I fear it affecting my skill with my actual Mains(mostly noticeable on G&W).

I want to add a secondary/pocket character to cover mainly Villager's bad matchups(rushdown,Rosaluma, and Palutena in my experience). My findings show that a rushdown character would help IMMENSELY, but most of the rushdown characters either don't appeal to me as a character (ZSS,Shiek,Fox) or gameplay wise(Falcon,Sonic,Pikachu to a lesser extent)

Worse, the characters that DO appeal to me(DH,ROB,Pacman,WFT) both gameplay AND character wise are ALSO are rushdown bait, so I feel that I have to either use someone I'm not a big fan of for overall better results (only high tiers I like is Ness and Rosalina, but to a lesser extent), or pick up someone I do like but not address my main's bad matchups, which will become my secondary bad matchups.

I feel my problem is more of STICKING to a character (besides Villager and G&W), than picking a character (although it still a problem).

 

[Number Three]

Thanks a ton. A lot of these characters are really cool, I enjoy them. Link and Toon Link are cool, but I can't play them because I hate projectile spammers, and I wouldn't force that on anyone. Ganon is pretty cool, though laggy, like you mentioned. I play him sometimes, but only in friendlies. I'm starting to dig Zelda's playstyle. I don't enjoy Pikachu's feel, I'm not sure why. Charizard is a lot better, good contender for sure. Jiggs' weight really turns me off. Greninja is pretty awesome, I loved him because I chose Froakie from the first time he was revealed, and now he's banned in competitive Pokemon. Thanks again!

No problem! I'm glad I could be of assistance! Best of luck with whichever character you decide to pick up!

 

[TyphlosionSmoke]

No problem! I'm glad I could be of assistance! Best of luck with whichever character you decide to pick up!

Sorry, pretty unrelated to your post, but after a few matches, I might pick up Donkey Kong.

 

[monzer]

Anyone have the same problem as me when it comes to picking (AND sticking to) a main/secondary?

I have that problem too, one time for a whole week my secondaries were changing twice a day.

I want to add a secondary/pocket character to cover mainly Villager's bad matchups(rushdown,Rosaluma, and Palutena in my experience). My findings show that a rushdown character would help IMMENSELY, but most of the rushdown characters either don't appeal to me as a character (ZSS,Shiek,Fox) or gameplay wise(Falcon,Sonic,Pikachu to a lesser extent)

Worse, the characters that DO appeal to me(DH,ROB,Pacman,WFT) both gameplay AND character wise are ALSO are rushdown bait, so I feel that I have to either use someone I'm not a big fan of for overall better results (only high tiers I like is Ness and Rosalina, but to a lesser extent), or pick up someone I do like but not address my main's bad matchups, which will become my secondary bad matchups.

Luigi or Mario are both good options for both Rosalina or rushdown characters.

R.O.B really isn't that bad against rushdown. If you like him you should use him.

All the other characters are ones who you already said you don't like or aren't good against rushdown.

 

[TheBlueSpirit]

I have that problem too, one time for a whole week my secondaries were changing twice a day.

I do something similar but basically I pick up random characters, learn them but never really main them. It started out as a problem but then I realized that I won't ever establish most of them as one of my mains. Which is fine with me, I have 2 mains and 3 secondaries already (would be 3 mains but fricken Icees got cut....). At this point I like to think of it more as learning other characters for the benefit of knowing how they play and what to look out for when I play them.

So yeah I don't really think that it's a bad thing cause of all the more things you know about other characters that people who touch nobody but their one or two mains would only hear about and play against.

 

[Number Three]

Sorry, pretty unrelated to your post, but after a few matches, I might pick up Donkey Kong.

DK is always a good pick. He's suprisingly quick for someone of his weight class. He definitely provides a bit of main diversity to your G&W and Falcon.

 

[Daniel8697]

Hi, I am trying to find a viable secondary as I currently main Shulk. I find myself doing alright with Mario, but I feel like I just can land any good reads or punishes because his hitbox is very small in my opinion so it's tough to get past certain characters. Any possibilities, maybe one with a sword just to maybe get that disjointed hitbox so I could space as well. Or should I continue trying to improve Mario considering he is a pretty high tier and does have good qualities I may have just not gotten used to yet.

 

[Plesioth]

I do something similar but basically I pick up random characters, learn them but never really main them. It started out as a problem but then I realized that I won't ever establish most of them as one of my mains. Which is fine with me, I have 2 mains and 3 secondaries already (would be 3 mains but fricken Icees got cut....). At this point I like to think of it more as learning other characters for the benefit of knowing how they play and what to look out for when I play them.

So yeah I don't really think that it's a bad thing cause of all the more things you know about other characters that people who touch nobody but their one or two mains would only hear about and play against.

But is it worth it over not having a definite secondary?

 

[TheBlueSpirit]

But is it worth it over not having a definite secondary?

I do have a definite secondary(ies) so yes, for me. Basically it's like having a somewhat decent pocket of every character. But I do think you should at least try to establish two characters that you will for sure stick with before, that way you always have something to come back to

 

[LordShade67]

Hi, I am trying to find a viable secondary as I currently main Shulk. I find myself doing alright with Mario, but I feel like I just can land any good reads or punishes because his hitbox is very small in my opinion so it's tough to get past certain characters. Any possibilities, maybe one with a sword just to maybe get that disjointed hitbox so I could space as well. Or should I continue trying to improve Mario considering he is a pretty high tier and does have good qualities I may have just not gotten used to yet.

Why not ? Technically, he's a sword character, he's easy to pick up like Mario, and he's versatile enough to be a good secondary.

 

[DavemanCozy]

Anyhoo, I'm curious which characters would fit my usual fighting game style. I typically enjoy some of those low-execution brawlers and grapplers who are perfectly content waiting a while, then hitting you once or twice for big damage.

I'm leaning toward Dedede for that reason, I think. But I've been surprised before, so for all I know, he requires the most execution. I'm open for all ideas, but my biggest focus is: Do a bunch of damage without too many hits.

Or the most annoying characters. Who are those?

IMO, these characters you picked seem best based on what you said above:

-- Crazy amount of power. Great reach. A slow, clumsy fool, like I usually use in fighting games.
-- The Ryu of this game. Probably a good choice for learning competitive Smash, ya?
-- Strong-*** mofo.

Dedede is among the slowest characters in the game, and his hardest matchups are vs fast characters who can overwhelm him. But you said you have experience with these kinds of characters, so he might be the best pick for you. Mastering the Gordos is key with him, you can use their high bounce trajectory to control space near you.

Mario is very simple to understand (not necessarily use) and he is indeed a great starting point. He has one of the safest and horizontal-range Up-smashes in the game, and he also has a very powerful combo game.

Ganon is also another slow character, but he has what is perhaps the hardest hitting moveset in the game, complete with a command grab that isn't easy to tech and can even serve as a kamikaze move.

And well, if you're familiar with him:
-- The Mario of a game I've played a lot of.

He does hit hard, but my understanding is he requires a lot of execution.

 

[dangeraaron10]

Hello everyone! So I narrowed down my characters to my two most favorite ones: Charizard and Pikachu.

I feel like I have a stronger connection to Charizard, although I've mained Pikachu since the first game and still use him quite a bit these days. You're supposed to only have 1-2 characters to focus on. Pikachu and Charizard are not only my favorite Pokemon but favorite characters on the roster, not specifically in terms of playstyle but in terms of fans of their characters.

Charizard is a slow, heavy hitting bait n' punish kind of character that rewards risky (yet flawless) play while Pikachu focuses on being aggressive, stringing together chains of attacks despite having low kill power, often making this type of play exhausting. Somehow I feel like adding a third and final character, and character wise I like Robin, as I love Awakening and was very glad he got in over Chrom.

Robin I feel like I want to master, even though I'm currently rubbish with him, because he's very defensive and projectile oriented. What would you all recommend for a defensive, projectile oriented character that focuses on controlling the stage (which is what I hope K. Rool becomes, so that he'd be my ideal playstyle). I want to force the enemy's hand so I can better predict what they plan to do and attack accordingly, rather than having to rely on hard reads with Charizard or exhausting combo-or-die-horribly play of Pikachu?

Edit: In the rather trivial pattern of keeping Pokemon mains/secondaries/tertiaries, how do you feel about Mewtwo fulfilling this role, even if all he has for a projectile is Shadowball?

Edit again: I take that back, I don't really care for Mewtwo all that much. His hitboxes just don't seem very on-point to me, unlike Charizard which I feel can more reliably land attacks (and even I still have trouble doing that). If I bother with a 3rd it will likely be Robin, but simply fishing for opinions.

 

[DavemanCozy]

What would you all recommend for a defensive, projectile oriented character that focuses on controlling the stage

It sounds like you're describing both and to me there with that sentence.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Why not ? Technically, he's a sword character, he's easy to pick up like Mario, and he's versatile enough to be a good secondary.

This is true but he's questionably viable. He's well rounded but he doesn't exactly excel at anything. As far as sword characters, has really been turning heads as of late and the character has gone from the worst swordsman in the the game to arguably the best thanks to all the patches. He's also the hardest swordsman to learn after though so you might not want to take the plunge if you don't want to deal with a high learning curve. are all in the same boat: unquestionably mid-tier but with minuscule things that are holding them back competitively. Of these, has the most promise (especially with customs) while a few tweaks to and could make them genuinely threatening.

 

[Wintropy]

What would you all recommend for a defensive, projectile oriented character that focuses on controlling the stage?

...

If I bother with a 3rd it will likely be Robin, but simply fishing for opinions.

That's Robin in a nutshell.

This is true but he's questionably viable. He's well rounded but he doesn't exactly excel at anything.

Double-edged sword: he may be bereft of any distinct strengths, but he's equally free of really poor matchups. That's pretty important in a wider competitive context. You can clutch a victory with Pit just on good fundamentals. He's definitely a solid character.

 

[Kulty]

Hi guys,

I'll try this again! Just a quick question. Do and need an another character to counter their weaknesses or just the two of them are fine? If no, then that's perfectly fine. If yes, then which character would you recommend between them : (these characters are those that I enjoy to play as, comfortable to play as and those who I am interested to learn them at a high skill level of play. Just to note that I did not list these characters in a preferred order)?

 

[TheBlueSpirit]

Hi guys,

I'll try this again! Just a quick question. Do and need an another character to counter their weaknesses or just the two of them are fine? If no, then that's perfectly fine. If yes, then which character would you recommend between them : (these characters are those that I enjoy to play as, comfortable to play as and those who I am interested to learn them at a high skill level of play. Just to note that I did not list these characters in a preferred order)?

I think that they are pretty well balanced in covering their weaknesses. Mario lacks range/disjoint while Roy has that. Mario's neutral I personally think is pretty good compared to Roy's, or at least approach wise. Cause Roy's approach is much more linear and Mario's isn't so much.

Despite this there's nothing wrong with picking up another character if you want to and think you can handle it