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Best characters to learn fundamentals?

kirby3021

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Nov 12, 2014
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248
Hi all,

I've been playing Smash Bros for many years, but have decided I'd like to take a step away from my mains and make sure I have a solid grasp on the fundamentals of Ultimate. I feel that my most-played characters - Mewtwo, Ridley, Ganondorf - promote more of "learning to play a character" than "learning to play Smash", if that makes sense.

With that background, what characters would you recommend as best to use to learn the fundamentals of Smash Ultimate instead of just learning to play a specific character?
 

popemanz

Smash Apprentice
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Dec 6, 2018
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luigi some people might say mario but Honestly mario has some stuff not beginner friendly specifically down b and side b witch are swapped for luigi
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
Mario is the go-to brawler, Samus for Zoners, Lucina for Swordfighters if you're trying to learn fundamentals for all types
 

popemanz

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yeah but if someone is learning the fundamentals then mario is the best choice, luigi is pretty technical
really or is hi level Luigi more technical than Mario in my opinion I think in low levels of play Mario's side b and down b are more technical since they are for more than hurting your opponent
 
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D

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really or is hi level Luigi more technical than Mario in my opinion I think in low levels of play Mario's side b and down b are more technical since they are for more than hurting your opponent
I'd say even in low level his grab and specials make him more technical

Mario's specials all have specific purposes, leading people to only use one when they need that specific one, which is a good habit. Low level players would feel encouraged to spam with him. Also his grab is hard to use and his Up-B is hard to land.

And in high level play?

No contest.
 

KIRBY MAIN

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popemanz popemanz Really? I’ve always thought that Kirby was a good character to simply start out with and “get a feel for the game”. While I agree he’s not great for more advanced gameplay (I main him out of sentiment) I still think he’s a great character to begin with and really get a feel for the game’s gameplay. What kind of bad habits does he usually cause?
 

popemanz

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Messages
114
I'd say even in low level his grab and specials make him more technical

Mario's specials all have specific purposes, leading people to only use one when they need that specific one, which is a good habit. Low level players would feel encouraged to spam with him. Also his grab is hard to use and his Up-B is hard to land.

And in high level play?

No contest.
okay you got me there but not the video that's I thought you meant that video when you said technical and my problem with it is in low level's they aren't trying to learn those and over halve the roster has one
 

popemanz

Smash Apprentice
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Dec 6, 2018
Messages
114
popemanz popemanz Really? I’ve always thought that Kirby was a good character to simply start out with and “get a feel for the game”. While I agree he’s not great for more advanced gameplay (I main him out of sentiment) I still think he’s a great character to begin with and really get a feel for the game’s gameplay. What kind of bad habits does he usually cause?
while he has good game feel. all his special's are high risk high reward witch has same problem as luigi and only uses up-tilt and airels
 

Sean²

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Pit and Ike. Prove me wrong.
 

ToTs

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You want someone that has everything, a good solid mid tier. Because you will have to sometimes work for the kill

-Multi jump
-Good recovery
-projectile
-Decent normal / Aerials

Pit/Dark Pit
 

Uffe

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Going to say Mario. His movesets are pretty basic, has decent recovery, projectile, strong and fast smashes, and good combo game.
 

MapleBeasts

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Mario is the go-to brawler, Samus for Zoners, Lucina for Swordfighters if you're trying to learn fundamentals for all types
I would think Marth would be a better choice for swordies no? He's probably the best in the game if your goal is to practice spacing and has the exact same moveset.
 
D

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I would think Marth would be a better choice for swordies no? He's probably the best in the game if your goal is to practice spacing and has the exact same moveset.
Marth is pretty damn punishing if you miss his tipper though. Lucina is easier to learn the fundamentals of sword characters while Marth is way hard to get into if hes your first swordie.
 

MapleBeasts

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Marth is pretty damn punishing if you miss his tipper though. Lucina is easier to learn the fundamentals of sword characters while Marth is way hard to get into if hes your first swordie.
I know missed tippers are bad but I personally feel that's what makes him good to start out with. You're incentivized to space whereas if you start with Lucina you aren't to the same degree. Maybe I'm just odd and prefer learning through struggling
 

Admiral Pit

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I almost wanna say :ultpit: outta bias, but he's one of those flexible and versatile characters that might be of help.
-If you're looking to learn punishments, Pit has a few (like SH N-air after shielding a move when someone's close, or dash attack).
-Want to practice basic grab things? Pit has many different D-throw combos, and other throws for um, other situations (like F-throw being the kill one).
-Need a decent recovery with a few different ways to recover? Pit has that.
-Decent speed while not being too fast? That's Pit.
-A projectile with different applications and a reflector? Pit has that also.
-Ways to gimp opponents? Pit surely has different ways.
-Learning spacing and timings? Pit's F-air and D-air spike respectively are candidates, and on a smaller scale, F-tilt's sweetspot.

Pit is the one who's pretty much all-around and versatile enough to help suit the needs of many. He may not be the best choice for each situation, but he could be pretty helpful. At the same time, Pit's pretty heavy on fundamentals and basics, so perhaps may be one of your good options.

You may choose :ultdarkpit: as another option if you want a few changes, like Side-B KOing on the sides rather than vertically, and arrows not being as controllable, but do a bit more damage, but I still recommend Pit more not just because of bias, but with his controllable arrows, it can help with the gimping department a lot more. Hope this helps in any way.
 
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D

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I know missed tippers are bad but I personally feel that's what makes him good to start out with. You're incentivized to space whereas if you start with Lucina you aren't to the same degree. Maybe I'm just odd and prefer learning through struggling
I can see where you come from, I just personally think its best to lead people in gently before throwing the final exam at them. I think that people should start with Samus instead of a Belmont when learning zoning, for example. Or Inkling before Robin when trying out resource management characters (of which there aren't many; tbh I feel like Smash could use more)
 

MG_3989

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Wolf is great for learning fundamentals. You need to practice spacing on his aerials, tilts, and smashes. He has a projectile (don’t spam it, learn when to use it), he has two recovery options and while not the best they’re good to get used to recovering, and his dash is great to learn spacing with because he’s super rewarding when you space his moves correctly
 

Diem

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Mario is the go-to brawler, Samus for Zoners, Lucina for Swordfighters if you're trying to learn fundamentals for all types
Samus isn't that much of a zoner, as much of her game does require getting in close and doing combos. She's more complicated than it seems, so starting with her would just be messy and confusing.

I actually think that Simon/Richter are better at teaching zoning, since that's their whole game, and their moves are pretty easy to understand. Neutral-B is an arc, Side-B is horizontal, and Down-B is down/the floor. Then there's the whip, which demands knowledge of spacing to be effective, and once again is pretty much entirely horizontal, making it easy to understand how to use. There's nothing too crazy or technical like with Snake or Mega Man.
 

Aetheri

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:ultmario::ultlucina::ultike::ultkirby::ultdarkpit:

Are all pretty straight forward characters.

Lucina over Marth because she doesn't need to use spacing as much with no tipper.
Dark Pit over Pit because less to worry about with his arrows.
Out of all of these I'd recommend Lucina and Ike the most since they don't have projectiles and multi-jumps which makes approaching a bit trickier, which means it'll help you develop your neutral game.
 

Sean²

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Wolf is great for learning fundamentals. You need to practice spacing on his aerials, tilts, and smashes. He has a projectile (don’t spam it, learn when to use it), he has two recovery options and while not the best they’re good to get used to recovering, and his dash is great to learn spacing with because he’s super rewarding when you space his moves correctly
I have to disagree. He's easier to pick up on than Fox but has many glaring flaws that you need to overcome in the process. You'll find yourself struggling to recover and struggling to get kills early on and it's easy to let your game fall apart due to desperation while you're still learning. It's better to pick a more well rounded character who can do a little of everything when trying to pick up on basic smash fundamentals. Hence why I always say Pit and Ike. Especially Ike in this game tbh.
 

Baby_Sneak

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Hi all,

I've been playing Smash Bros for many years, but have decided I'd like to take a step away from my mains and make sure I have a solid grasp on the fundamentals of Ultimate. I feel that my most-played characters - Mewtwo, Ridley, Ganondorf - promote more of "learning to play a character" than "learning to play Smash", if that makes sense.

With that background, what characters would you recommend as best to use to learn the fundamentals of Smash Ultimate instead of just learning to play a specific character?
Ganon and ridley seems to be pretty fundamentals-heavy but anyways,

The marios, the pits, and the swordsmen are the most fundamental-heavy characters I can think of.

They are the simplest with tools for every situation (the marios and pits specifically, the swordsmen rely on movement to get around projectiles), and combo technicality isn't high with them.

They also have decent movement and decent recoveries so you never feel like you have nothing to combat stuff with.

I advocate them.
 

kirby3021

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Nov 12, 2014
Messages
248
i also agree with ike, this video helped me a bit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRr_HFq6pOE
Thanks again all, and special thanks for this video link. After picking up Ike and spending some serious time and effort learning how to use him and his move set, my game has improved with all the characters I use. I find I am spacing, juggling, reading, and following up much better. Now to practice evasive movement instead of mostly relying on shield.
 

T-Donor66

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Bowser, ike, ganondorf. All are exceptional for teaching baiting, punishing, when to go on offense/defense, etc. Highly reccomended.
 
D

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Samus isn't that much of a zoner, as much of her game does require getting in close and doing combos. She's more complicated than it seems, so starting with her would just be messy and confusing.

I actually think that Simon/Richter are better at teaching zoning, since that's their whole game, and their moves are pretty easy to understand. Neutral-B is an arc, Side-B is horizontal, and Down-B is down/the floor. Then there's the whip, which demands knowledge of spacing to be effective, and once again is pretty much entirely horizontal, making it easy to understand how to use. There's nothing too crazy or technical like with Snake or Mega Man.
The main reason I say Samus is because she doesn't have a nonexistent recovery and can protect herself up close unlike a Belmont who really only has SH nair to try and work with when someone gets around their walls. Samus being decent up close can help newbies who find projectile spamming to be ineffective.

I can totally see where you come from though, and I'm not insinuating that Samus is super easy to be effective with. She's 100% a lot more technical then people give her credit for. I just think that if somebody wants to learn the very barebone fundamentals of projectiles then Samus can be a good start.
 

Rhus

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I have to disagree. He's easier to pick up on than Fox but has many glaring flaws that you need to overcome in the process. You'll find yourself struggling to recover and struggling to get kills early on and it's easy to let your game fall apart due to desperation while you're still learning. It's better to pick a more well rounded character who can do a little of everything when trying to pick up on basic smash fundamentals. Hence why I always say Pit and Ike. Especially Ike in this game tbh.
Have to agree that space animals are just not good beginner characters in general. They are very punishing for mistakes and have weird physics compared to most of the cast. While Falco and Wolf are easier to pick up than Fox, I don't think any of the three is really suitable to learn fundamentals.

I will echo that (Dark) Pit has good fundamental-based gameplan and teaches you a little of everything. Mario, Ganon, Kirby, Doc, Samus, and ROB also come to mind as teaching a wide array of fundamentals and have intuitive movesets and/or are not heavily polarized (space animals, Mac, Duck Hunt, Olimar, Robin, etc. are polarized with weaknesses and strengths and makes learning universal fundamentals more difficult).
 
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