FamouslyUnknown
Smash Rookie
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Hey, I'm new to smash boards. So, what exactly separates low, mid, high and top players. Or is there no exact definition.
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What's the difference between low, mid, high and top level players
- Thread starter FamouslyUnknown
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Raijinken
Smash Master
Welcome to Smashboards!
It's kinda vauge, and depends on your area and whatnot, and also how you define it.
I identify strength within general social circles (for instance, I myself am a top level player in my own group, but probably mid-level or low-end-of-high at best on a larger scale). It's fairly easy to look at (but not necessarily to scale) it by analyzing a player's skill across various areas. How good they are at the character(s) they play. How good their technique and timing are. How much matchup and stage knowledge they have. How much knowledge they have of custom moves in those matchups. How often those skills translate into results (i.e. tournament wins). The list goes on.
Low level players, in my own opinion, are the kinds that still have basic mechanics to learn. They routinely forget or fail to use things like spot-dodging, roll/jump getups, tether recoveries, or even shield-grabbing. They go for the same narrow range of options repeatedly (think of anyone who spams Dash Attack on any character, or the Rock-Only Kirby that everyone knows), whether or not it works. They are often unsure about their own character's abilities, much less their opponents'. They ultimately lack knowledge in the game, and it reflects in narrow and repetitive strategies that generally don't work. In my group, this amounts to a guy who rarely plays Smash, and just kinda spams Rock over and over.
Mid-level players fix a lot of that. They know most or all of the mechanics, and can perform them with general success when appropriate. They know their character fairly well, but may not know others. They know several approach/defensive strategies on the characters they know, but may not pull them off reliably or switch them up as often as they should. They have solid technical skill but may still goof up from time to time. In my group, this amounts to the various players who play one character, and play that character pretty well, but not well enough to beat the better players.
High level players are even better, obviously. They know the mechanics and have probably a very good mastery of their character. Their main weaknesses tend to show in stage knowledge or matchup knowledge against characters outside their experience. They're good, but they have room to improve before they reach the top. In my group, this includes several of our franchise veterans who have been playing a character for years, and know Smash well.
The top level players know the most, and perform the best. They may have a single character they excel with, but they'll know how to beat most opponents. They know their options, and generally pick the best one. Executional failures are exceptionally rare. They know the fundamentals perfectly, and know other uncommon tricks to boot. In my group, this is my brother and I, 50/50 against each other but 80/20 or better against all our other friends.
Of course, in the larger scheme of things, my brother and I are pretty competent, but not amazing. I know every matchup in my group due to practice, but I wouldn't know the first thing to do against an Olimar or Toon Link. Watching skilled play, I can understand it, but it takes me numerous tries to emulate it properly. I know what stages my characters do well on, and what to do when I'm ahead or behind. But there's not a chance I could compete with Nairo or Zero.
It's kinda vauge, and depends on your area and whatnot, and also how you define it.
I identify strength within general social circles (for instance, I myself am a top level player in my own group, but probably mid-level or low-end-of-high at best on a larger scale). It's fairly easy to look at (but not necessarily to scale) it by analyzing a player's skill across various areas. How good they are at the character(s) they play. How good their technique and timing are. How much matchup and stage knowledge they have. How much knowledge they have of custom moves in those matchups. How often those skills translate into results (i.e. tournament wins). The list goes on.
Low level players, in my own opinion, are the kinds that still have basic mechanics to learn. They routinely forget or fail to use things like spot-dodging, roll/jump getups, tether recoveries, or even shield-grabbing. They go for the same narrow range of options repeatedly (think of anyone who spams Dash Attack on any character, or the Rock-Only Kirby that everyone knows), whether or not it works. They are often unsure about their own character's abilities, much less their opponents'. They ultimately lack knowledge in the game, and it reflects in narrow and repetitive strategies that generally don't work. In my group, this amounts to a guy who rarely plays Smash, and just kinda spams Rock over and over.
Mid-level players fix a lot of that. They know most or all of the mechanics, and can perform them with general success when appropriate. They know their character fairly well, but may not know others. They know several approach/defensive strategies on the characters they know, but may not pull them off reliably or switch them up as often as they should. They have solid technical skill but may still goof up from time to time. In my group, this amounts to the various players who play one character, and play that character pretty well, but not well enough to beat the better players.
High level players are even better, obviously. They know the mechanics and have probably a very good mastery of their character. Their main weaknesses tend to show in stage knowledge or matchup knowledge against characters outside their experience. They're good, but they have room to improve before they reach the top. In my group, this includes several of our franchise veterans who have been playing a character for years, and know Smash well.
The top level players know the most, and perform the best. They may have a single character they excel with, but they'll know how to beat most opponents. They know their options, and generally pick the best one. Executional failures are exceptionally rare. They know the fundamentals perfectly, and know other uncommon tricks to boot. In my group, this is my brother and I, 50/50 against each other but 80/20 or better against all our other friends.
Of course, in the larger scheme of things, my brother and I are pretty competent, but not amazing. I know every matchup in my group due to practice, but I wouldn't know the first thing to do against an Olimar or Toon Link. Watching skilled play, I can understand it, but it takes me numerous tries to emulate it properly. I know what stages my characters do well on, and what to do when I'm ahead or behind. But there's not a chance I could compete with Nairo or Zero.
DunnoBro
The Free-est
It's something I've been gauging and trying to conceptualize for myself as I began competitive smash with smash 4.
Rajinken touches on the in-depth, but to put it more simply I think it's largely:
Low levels turn into mid level with the proper amount of practice/playtime.
Mid levels turn into high levels with the proper decisions compiled onto practice. (who to main, how to practice, who to practice with, etc) The amount of practice to become mid-level in sm4sh is largely the same as it is to become high level, and said proper decisions have a stronger effect after a certain point.
And high level turn into top by dedicating themselves to optimization, and understanding.
High and Top players can be separated by as little as character choice, matchup experience, and very slight optimizations or mentalities that give them an edge.
Rajinken touches on the in-depth, but to put it more simply I think it's largely:
Low levels turn into mid level with the proper amount of practice/playtime.
Mid levels turn into high levels with the proper decisions compiled onto practice. (who to main, how to practice, who to practice with, etc) The amount of practice to become mid-level in sm4sh is largely the same as it is to become high level, and said proper decisions have a stronger effect after a certain point.
And high level turn into top by dedicating themselves to optimization, and understanding.
High and Top players can be separated by as little as character choice, matchup experience, and very slight optimizations or mentalities that give them an edge.
Last edited:
Kneutronic
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It takes a lot of practice and movement studying in order to perform well IMO. I consider myself to be mid-level; I know what I'm doing, but I lack technical skill.
Nobie
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This is a very useful video that explains the difference between beginners, experts, and everything in between.
Basically beginners learn how to play the game, intermediate players learn what the better options are, advanced players perfect their options and decision-making, and then experts exploit the fact that optimizing your decision-making makes you exploitable.
Basically beginners learn how to play the game, intermediate players learn what the better options are, advanced players perfect their options and decision-making, and then experts exploit the fact that optimizing your decision-making makes you exploitable.
Dr. Bread
Smash Apprentice
not really an exact definition, although if you have access to information about the game from the community, you can improve very quickly if you have people to use that information against or practice the things you learned with.
That said though, every player has their own unique skillset that helps them win in some way or another. As they become better and better, they refine their talents and round out their strengths, while also learning more and more about their mains.
These things all come together in a collective performance that determines whether they're winning or losing matches.
That said though, every player has their own unique skillset that helps them win in some way or another. As they become better and better, they refine their talents and round out their strengths, while also learning more and more about their mains.
These things all come together in a collective performance that determines whether they're winning or losing matches.