Best way to practice characters you're unfamiliar with?

[darkchip1]

I don't want to tank my win rate in glory mode (it's already dropped from ~73% to ~70%); but for fun is just a indecipherable mess with at least 2 Little Macs running around each game. I find myself defaulting to my main even in For Fun because of the amount of OPs running around.
Lvl 9 Mario bot only gets people so far.

How do I get to improve on these new characters?

 

[Roko Jono]

• Get over your win rate because it doesn't matter
• Watch good players play the character you're interested in
• Visit the character forums for your character
• Play them anyways because win rate doesn't matter

 

[Starman15]

First of all, try out the training mode and practice there, it's called training for a reason.
After you get comfortable with that character, start playing with random CPUs starting on level 1, and make your way to level 9.
Alternatively, you could play Classic mode on harder difficulties.

 

[Spirst]

Honestly, who cares about win rate. It's utterly meaningless aside from an ego trip. Using solo Greninja, I was sitting at a 95% win rate before trying Duck Hunt countless times and losing. I'm now at like 92% after getting used to the character and having the effort pay off. I don't see how you're going to get better with a character unless you're willing to risk losses. It's just the process of learning. Once you get good with the character, you'll start winning again. It's short term vs long term, when you think about it.

Again, NOBODY else can see your win rate. Just play who you want, get your ass kicked, and learn. If you're really so set on maintaining a win rate, play with friends online. There's a 3DS friendcode sharing thread here, make use of it.

 

[OddCrow]

Every time you have an itch to pick up a new character, play through single=player mode with them. Do smash run, classic, trophy rush, multiman, etc

This should give you a basic feel for the character - enough to jump into for glory a bit more comfortably.

 

[Locke 06]

Do not play against level 1 computers. Just don't do it. You're better off hitting a sandbag.