Best character for beginners/new players to begin with?

[B Link]

I've been thinking about this for a while and I thought it would make for some interesting discussion.

Who do you think is the best character for beginners/new players to begin with? By beginners/new players, I mean those who've played the game for a while but want to start getting a bit more serious about the game and want to start consistently winning against average->better than average players.

I think I heard that Superboomfan started with mario but I'm not sure. MATTS probably started taking smash seriously with kirby. Most players start off with falcon because of his easy combos and a lot of characters start off with Fox too. However, most people don't USUALLY start off with say, Yoshi or Luigi. Would they be worse beginner characters?

Another question that can come from this is do certain characters teach the fundamentals better than other characters? Or does it really not matter and thus people should just play who they like and play a lot, going from character to character when they feel like it?

 

[ciaza]

I started taking up Samus once I realised I wanted to start getting better. She forces you to get better spacing in order to win and not allow on stuff like falcon uair combos/kirby utilts that I see a lot of new players using (including myself).

I think Yoshi/Luigi/characters with high learning curves are not a good idea for new players. They will get slaughtered too often to the point where they couldn't learn anything. This can be remedied slightly by practicing in training mode but I believe it's better to go with someone easier, but not too easy.

 

[Battlecow]

If they wanna win, they should play kirby. Easy as hell to get good with, and you'll never really have to switch to a higher tier character or worry about particularly difficult matchups.

Everyone and their dog picks up Link first. No one really takes up Mario, or Yoshi, or Jiggs. Samus and Ness are pretty common ones, and Fox probably a bit more common than them. Doug's probably 3rd after kirby and link, because of his easy combos. DK is a rare one, but I've seen it before. Pika gets picked up sometimes, but often that's just because they took a cursory look at the tier list. Luigi I've actually seen a couple of times before, although peeps tend not to meet much success with him and switch away very soon.

Battlecow's n00b-picks tier list:

S Tier
Link
Kirby
Doug

A Tier
Fox
Ness
Samus

B tier
Pika
Luigi
DK

C tier
Mario
Jiggs
Yoshi

Keep in mind that this is a tier list of what they pick, not of what they should pick. Also, Links who have kirby-maining friends often stop playing or get a different character because that matchup is pretty balls once the kirby stops using Down-B.

 

[ciaza]

I don't believe they should pick who gives them the most chance of winning though Battlecow. If they want to win, sure they should pick up kirby but it the long run it's only going to be detrimental to their overall skill as they won't learn important things because Kirby is very forgiving.

 

[B Link]

If they wanna win, they should play kirby. Easy as hell to get good with, and you'll never really have to switch to a higher tier character or worry about particularly difficult matchups.

Most people aren't in it for the long run so I agree with Battlecow that Kirby would suffice for short-term wins. Just by using kirby you can actually beat a lot of average and even some better than average players. Kirby also seems to teach you to take advantage of 'broken' techniques, which is actually a good thing IMO.

I also see a lot of people IRL picking Link as beginners too. I don't think he's a good beginner character though.

Battlecow's n00b-picks tier list:

S Tier
Link
Kirby
Doug

A Tier
Fox
Ness
Samus

B tier
Pika
Luigi
DK

C tier
Mario
Jiggs
Yoshi

Keep in mind that this is a tier list of what they pick, not of what they should pick. Also, Links who have kirby-maining friends often stop playing or get a different character because that matchup is pretty balls once the kirby stops using Down-B.

I think that's a pretty good list of what people usually begin with. But I think I see more jiggly (once they discover rest combos) and marios (once they discover fireball approaches).

I don't believe they should pick who gives them the most chance of winning though Battlecow. If they want to win, sure they should pick up kirby but it the long run it's only going to be detrimental to their overall skill as they won't learn important things because Kirby is very forgiving.

I wonder if it IS actually detrimental, because I'm starting to think it doesn't matter. The only 'better' characters are pikachu and fox who both pretty much use a similar mindset when playing (moreso with fox, i.e. spam lasers -> approach -> edgeguard compared to kirbys spam X move -> combo -> edgeguard).

If you're always using the 'BIG THREE' why go down?

 

[sharksquail]

assuming it's someone who is already acquainted with the game like B link mentioned, I don't think that picking one char is better than another. I feel like i've been getting better recently just from spending time in practice mode working on stuff like dropping through platforms faster, and z cancels, just overall trying to speed up my play, and playing online more. however i think that playing with specific chars will help you with different aspects of your game. for example i've been playing with ness to work on my tech chasing.

 

[Peek~]

If they just want to plain win? Id say Kirby/Jiggs/Falcon/Pika AKA the easy-mode group

Out of those Id say Falcon can teach you the best overall. Techchasing/Combos/Pivots/Dashing/DI/etc. Mario is a good choice as well since he's so balanced + his Uairs will teach you the whole weak/strong-airs

 

[asianaussie]

I've seen people starting with everyone but DK and Ness.

Falcon, Link and Fox are by FAR the most common, but most people switch to Kirby very quickly.

Dunno who the best to start with would be.

 

[ciaza]

^James started with ness.

If we're talking about solely winning then I would agree that using Kirby/Pikachu/Fox is best. However since these characters are quite forgiving I stand by my point that you don't improve overall as a player. For example: get hit off the ledge? No problem, Pikachu can make it back 90% of the time. This teaches them that getting hit off the edge isn't that big of a deal, but if they play someone like Link it forces them to learn how to not get hit off the edge.

 

[Battlecow]

I've seen people starting with everyone but DK and Ness.

Falcon, Link and Fox are by FAR the most common, but most people switch to Kirby very quickly.

Dunno who the best to start with would be.

Might be that way in Australia, but in AMERICA (where things matter) I've seen a whole ton of people start with ness. I'm talking maybe six or seven out of the few dozen "starting off" people I've encountered. DK once or twice too.

My definition of "starting off" begins after they've learned what all the moves do. The very first time they pick up the game it's kind of random except for Link, who gets picked up because nerds like swords.

 

[Marth307]

I stated with Kirby...still use kirby :D best begginer character is more than likely link/fox/mario

 

[TANK64]

^James started with ness.

If we're talking about solely winning then I would agree that using Kirby/Pikachu/Fox is best. However since these characters are quite forgiving I stand by my point that you don't improve overall as a player. For example: get hit off the ledge? No problem, Pikachu can make it back 90% of the time. This teaches them that getting hit off the edge isn't that big of a deal, but if they play someone like Link it forces them to learn how to not get hit off the edge.

Exactly. If you play chars who gets punished hard, or easy to edgeguard/gimp (funny how link keeps coming to mind) then you learn to avoid gimps better. Or Falcon/fox can teach you not to recover predictably, because they don't have many recovery options to start with. I definitely would say a DJC char wouldn't be the best in terms of learning the fundamentals, as they have their own. Trying to learn the fundamentals with Yoshi would seem kind of silly as he is the exception to most of the basics.

On that note, I started with Yoshi- but that's 'cause I'm cool.

 

[The Star King]

I think Fox is maybe the best to learn overall. Teaches you to not rely on drills for combos, comboing in general, projectile use, camping, not getting punished, covering options, etc.

I started with Pikachu if anybody cares. And not because of the tier list.

 

[asianaussie]

Might be that way in Australia, but in AMERICA (where things matter) I've seen a whole ton of people start with ness.

We have the nicest beaches and platypuses. America has fat peoplez and Wal-mart. Check and mate.

Fox is theoretically the best to learn, but the learning curve is so steep that I can see most people just quitting because they get gimped due to failing D-Air Z-Cancels or something.

Pick a bad character, use him a lot and good characters' strong points (like Pika's goddamn U-Tilt and U-Air) become far more obvious. It also means you have to take a 'work-for-your-wins' mentality, which should carry over to using top tiers.

 

[ballin4life]

We have the nicest beaches and platypuses. America has fat peoplez and Wal-mart. Check and mate.

lol. Please learn what check mate is before making posts like this. Thanks.

Also lol nicest beaches and who cares about platypuses. Should have gone with koala bears those things are bad ***.

And you wish you had wal-mart man I got deals on deals yo

 

[asianaussie]

we don't need deals cuz our economy ain't sinkin

koala bears sleep for 18+ hours a day and are hardly badass, cuddly is a more valid descriptor

a platypus once jumped on me, it was pretty wet

 

[The Star King]

Koala bears are both cuddly and badass.

 

[Olikus]

who cares about platypuses.

!!!!!!

My profilpic is higly offended >=(

ontopic. I see many recommend a caracther that needs alot of techskill to master like ness, yoshi or fox. If your not so good it must be frustrating to play such a caracther. But again that doesnt make it less worthy. To start with a low tier doesnt seem to dumb imo, cus then your learning curve can peak if you switch to a higher tier caracther later on.

 

[Battlecow]

Lol. Beaches and platypuses. I'm not ready to let you win on the beach one, but regardless, if that's the best you can do, I think it's obvious that we win hands-down.

Fat people are the failures, cast-offs, and dregs of American society. They can't stand the awesome and take refuge in their tubby little Brave New Worlds of diseased ecstasy. American fat people are like the equivalent of Adelaide in Australia (ugggh the horror). Also New Jersey sucks (sorry Sensei). but America as a whole is cool enough to make up for all that.

We have the best culture. I could give examples, but the list would go on for too long, no matter how I tried to pare it down.

But regardless, the subject at hand is the best character for beginners. The best character is AMERICA.

lol. Please learn what check mate is before making posts like this. Thanks.

Also lol nicest beaches and who cares about platypuses. Should have gone with koala bears those things are bad ***.

And you wish you had wal-mart man I got deals on deals yo

You're a great American.

 

[asianaussie]

Why don't you come to Australia for real? Adelaide doesn't count. I've been to American beaches and they suck. It's that simple.

Platypuses are cooler than the average American.

It's hardly the best we can do, I just don't want to embarass you (tbh I'm too tired to think straight, lectures on bone density are not too stimulating, enjoy my weak trash talk).

 

[dandan]

yeah, australia beaches are great, except you have to be in a confined area, to escape the deadly jellyfish and to a lesser extent, the sharks.

med sea beaches are really nice.

Platypuses are legit though.

 

[greenblob]

When I first picked up the game I started with Kirby, but once I really got into it I realized that Jigglypuff would net me much easier wins. I think she has the easiest combos at the beginner level where no one knows how to DI or deny approaches.

 

[ballin4life]

Why don't you come to Australia for real? Adelaide doesn't count. I've been to American beaches and they suck. It's that simple.

Platypuses are cooler than the average American.

It's hardly the best we can do, I just don't want to embarass you (tbh I'm too tired to think straight, lectures on bone density are not too stimulating, enjoy my weak trash talk).

In case you didn't know, Hawaii is part of America.



If you were a true boss you would have brought up the Great Barrier Reef. I hear the scuba diving there is INSANE (although Hawaii is pretty awesome too).

 

[Battlecow]

Hawaii is pretty legit. Never been there myself.

I don't doubt that Australia (mostly b/c of platypi and beaches) is pretty ballin'. I give it 4th-5th best country in the world- A-tier material. Adelaide is mostly what keeps it from chilling below America in S tier.

 

[asianaussie]

I'm happy we could come to an agreement, because I actually love being in America - something to do with being born there, I expect.

My first character was Pikachu because I played a lot of Pokemon Yellow back then. Then I played Link because the oracle games are cool.

 

[HellxBound]

I think falcon is top tier for lower levels of play, he's one of the only characters that people can consistantly ztd with at lower levels, he's got the fastest dash, easy spike kills, and his uair combos are tough to DI out of. Oh and he has an amazing taunt.

Fat people are the failures, cast-offs, and dregs of American society. They can't stand the awesome and take refuge in their tubby little Brave New Worlds of diseased ecstasy. American fat people are like the equivalent of Adelaide in Australia (ugggh the horror).

Google just told me that 68% of Americans are overweight or obese, with almost half of those being in the obese category, and we all know google never lies. Not saying that Australia doesn't have a lot of overweight people as well.

 

[ciaza]

I thought Australia was now the fattest country per capita? A lot of sources say different things I guess.

 

[asianaussie]

Fattest per capita, probably.

Raw number is probably about 1/5th of America though.

 

[#HBC | ѕoup]

CF is the easiest to learn at first hands down, that doesn't make him hard to master though, but he's pretty damn easy to pick up, especially those bread and butter combos.

 

[DJRome]

how do i gauge my 64 skill? i think im okay, but play no one competitively (whatever that even means)

 

[ballin4life]

You can play online

 

[DJRome]

well, i don't have the equipment for it and would rather use the original controller for sure

 

[ciaza]

Buy a nintendo 64 adapter, then play online.

 

[DJRome]

how much are those?

 

[ciaza]

I got mine for about $15 on ebay.

 

[Battlecow]

If you don't play anyone competitively, but think you're OK, then you're OK. OK is pretty relative, and if you don't play anyone competitively, there's no chance that you could be "good" (not that that's a bad thing). Don't sweat it, basically. If you really want to know where you stand in relation to people, but don't want to travel/play online, watch some vids; that might give you a rough idea. Or it might not.

Google just told me that 68% of Americans are overweight or obese, with almost half of those being in the obese category, and we all know google never lies. Not saying that Australia doesn't have a lot of overweight people as well.

We have a lot of awesome. Therefore, we have a lot of castoffs.

 

[DJRome]

idk, i play melee, but last time i watched an isai vid, i just did mostly what he did. so it's tough to tell

 

[Battlecow]

Unless you're a god, you can't get good without playing good people. A lot. That's no indictment of your skill (which I'm sure is very impressive, given the circumstances) it's just facts.

 

[DJRome]

lol i doubt im a god. our friends just played with the 4 of us for a couple of years for a few hours everyday so we're pretty solid i feel. i play samus so i don't do it like they do, but they practice their combos and stuff. i wish i had some way to test other than adapter

 

[Battlecow]

another very rough way to test might be to see if you can pull off some of the harder samus combos (what other kind is there lol).