Are DLC characters buffed?

[Goomboi]

As the title says, do you think DLC characters are better than non Dlc?

 

[conr1201]

In Smash 4, mostly yeah, in Ultimate, not really.

The DLC characters in Smash 4 were all really strong except for Lucas and Roy. Mewtwo, Ryu and Corrin were all top 15, and of course Cloud and Bayo were the second-best and best characters in the game respectively. The Smash 4 DLC characters, especially Cloud and Bayo, are probably the reason why people in the community commonly refer to large hitboxes or other powerful advantages as being "DLC".

It seems like with Ultimate Sakurai and his team want the DLC characters to have unique mechanics (Arsene, RNG spells, Wonderwing, Terry's meter) and whether they are good or not in competitive is not really important. Obviously because there is no official tier list yet it is hard to say just how good the DLC characters are but in my opinion, Joker and Terry are good, but Plant, Hero, Banjo, and Byleth are all sort of underwhelming in competitive.

 

[Goomboi]

Yeah I agree with that for the most part but joker seems way op, especially since Leo picked him up.

 

[conr1201]

No character seems OP to me in Ultimate, there is no clear best character like in previous games. Joker with Arsene is the best character in the game for sure, but Joker does not have Arsene the whole match, so I think Joker is probably the second-best character in the game, behind Pikachu. And about Leo, he was winning with Ike and then Lucina before Joker, dude is just insanely talented. He finds kills without Arsene that no other Joker gets, making Joker look a lot more OP than he actually is. Joker is not OP, Leo is OP.

 

[GhostM]

I don't think the DLC characters are better than the non-DLC characters since everyone from the previous installment from SSB4 are overall improved in this game with the universal frame 3 jump squats, and the universal landing lag reduction. This includes the newcomers from Ultimate as well. The difference between the DLC from Smash Ultimate compared to Smash 4 is that they are focusing more on the attributes and the unique mechanics that each DLC character brings, such as Arsene for Joker. Each DLC character was made specifically to feel different from another while bringing in new unique mechanics, without really focusing too much on competitive play. Personally, I feel like this game is far more balanced in a way where even if you main a low tier character such as Little Mac, you still have a chance to win. The mechanics of Ultimate make it so every character feels good to utilize even if you main a mid-tier or low tier character. There is no official tier list out because there is no BRoom on Smashboards for Ultimate, not to forget that most pro players haven't used the board in years. The only real way to tell is from tier lists that the pro players make, but still, there is no character that is the face of Ultimate like Fox for Melee as an example.

Yeah I agree with that for the most part but joker seems way op, especially since Leo picked him up.

It's not necessarily because of Joker, but rather because Leo is overpowered. He has excellent knowledge of his character, not to forget that he has been competing in Smash overall ever since the days of Smash 4, being ranked #3 player of all time on the PGR for Smash 4, and obviously being ranked #1 in the PGR rankings for Ultimate. He's had plenty of tournament experience to develop his skills as a player, and knows exactly how people react in certain scenarios which can grab him early kills even without Arsene. Leo is utilizing the kit that Joker gives him access to, and his previous tournament experience and overall knowledge of approach and neutral game really helps him shine. Even before Leo picked up Joker, he was still placing fairly well in tournaments with Ike, Lucina, and Wolf.

 

[Goomboi]

See he started doing way better with Joker. Im just saying he seems a little op

 

[Deleted member]

The DLC aren't any better than the rest of the cast; many of them have downsides that equalize some of their stronger points. And personally, I don't think Banjo is really good at all.

 

[Goomboi]

But like are any dlcs low tier? They all upper-mid/top tier right?

 

[Diddy Kong]

But like are any dlcs low tier? They all upper-mid/top tier right?

Piranha Plant is close to bottom tier.
Byleth is about mid tier, or lower.
Banjo also isn't considered higher than mid tier any longer.
Hero, despite early stating of him being "unfair" due to the RNG gimmicks, also hasn't left a great opinion in the eyes of the competitive scene , and is also considered low tier, or mid tier at best.

So that leaves only Terry, and Joker. And personally, I think both will likely drop off eventually. If MKLeo finds another main, which is quite likely with 6 upcoming characters, Joker's days of success are likely over.

 

[OnyanRings]

It does feel like they have a few really strong/cheap moves (Banjo's side-B, Terry's GO, Hero's... Everything) probably to make them easier to pick up, but in the grand scheme of things, they're not all that strong aside from Joker.

 

[Goomboi]

I think they definitely have some cheap moves but yeah it's mostly joker imo.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Also, Diddy had a winning matchup against Bayonetta in Smash 4. He's largely seen as better than Cloud too in that game. Tho, not nearly as easy to pick up and play as Cloud.

 

[conr1201]

See he started doing way better with Joker. Im just saying he seems a little op

Go look at Leo's results on SmashWiki, he was not doing that much worse before picking up Joker. And it is hard to say whether his better results post-Joker are simply down to the character being better than Ike and Lucina, or to getting more comfortable with the game, or to changes in the meta. In reality it is probably a combination of all these things.

But like are any dlcs low tier? They all upper-mid/top tier right?

Because there are no official tier lists, this is all my opinion, but Plant is bottom tier, Joker is top tier (probably top three), Hero is mid tier or possibly high tier (his viability is sort of unknown due to under-representation), Banjo is mid tier, Terry is high tier and Byleth is low tier or possibly mid tier. The DLC characters in Ultimate are not as good as the DLC characters in the last game.

 

[Coccinelle]

Hi there,
I am part of the mass of enthusiastic players who are interested in the game and enjoy playing it (online and offline) without approaching a competitive level. And in my opinion, most of the DLC are usually extremely rewarding on that level. These are characters with often very cheesy moves that make it easy to KO without needing a lot of skill. A good example is Banjo with his side B, ditto with Hero, Byleth, Kazuya, Sepiroth, Pyra and Mythra. I don't include Piranha Plant which was a free DLC and a bit of a departure. At that level, a spammy Sora for example will win a lot of games and may not be so easy to beat. A bit like little Mac or Ganondorf, which are more threatening at low level.

My opinion is that in general DLC characters offer an advantage especially to low level players, and this is where they can seem OP. At a higher level, it's different because players become able to punish much better. My 2 cents.