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Bowser mains, what are your secondaries?

Sp0nge

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Title. For me, I pretty much only play Bowser. If I get tired of him, I fool around with DonkeyK, Roy, Charizard, and Shulk, but I don't have a go-to backup.
 

Pikachutobal

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my secondary characters are Pit, MK, Falco, Roy and Mewtwo. I love to fight with them c:
Many people complain that can only have one main character, so my best secondary characters are Lucario and Ganondorf
 

Cassius.

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I'm similar to you. Aside from Bowser, I haven't put *too* much time into playing other characters at a high level. I'm trying to invest the most time in learning characters that will help me with MUs I don't do too well in. For example, I am trying to play ZSS and even Sheik a bit more to handle Luigi. Ironically enough, I said I was going to main ZSS when she was revealed for Smash 4, so that kind of motivates me a bit more.

I've tried a bunch of characters so far, like Pit, and Fox, but due to my inconsistency with playing and practicing the game, I kind of fell off of that.

It's usually in your best interest to look at secondaries or counterpick characters like that, anyway. If you're playing a mid-tier, or a character with a few bad MUs in the spread, you need to cover most, or all bases. I really do think that there is a difference between a secondary--a "go-to backup" character as you explained, and characters you just know how to play by coincidence...or you just fool around with when you're bored. I could be wrong, of course.
 
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Sp0nge

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That's very interesting that you pick other characters based on matchups. But if that was truly the only point in having a secondary, (or playing anyone at all) everyone would just play Sheik because she has great matchups across the roster. There's a lot more to consider, like your results you get with the other character. Because I really don't know too many matchups in this game, and I don't like a lot of other characters, I don't have a real secondary.

But yeah I agree, if you play a character that has similar matchups as your main, both bad and good, why not take the time from that secondary to improve your main?
 

Cronoc

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Jigglypuff is my secondary, but I'm thinking about working on Sheik - I don't really like playing as most of the high tiers, but Sheik is so quick and precise, she actually feels really good to play as. Mii Brawler, similarly. I'm starting to get sick of outplaying people and losing cause Bowser can't convert each win in neutral into 30%+ like the high tiers. Especially if customs really are on the way out, some matchups are too rough to continue banging up against with Bowser. This is probably all bravado though, I always come back to Bowser.
 

Corgian

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I'm stuck in a character crisis when it comes to my secondary. I have an incurable, malignant :4fox: which I can't bear to lab anymore. I tried picking up :4villagerf: but just don't feel comfortable with the character. The only other character I'm genuinely decent with is:4lucario:, and I just feel blech about the idea of playing Bowser and Lucario. It just feels so self-defeating. I've tried Shiek, Pikachu, Rosalina, Luigi, ZSS, Ness, and Mario, and I just can't get the hang of any of them.
 
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Cassius.

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there are definitely characters that will take a while longer to click with, especially since Bowser's fundamentals and neutral game is different from others. You have to strip characters (take Luigi, for example) down to a fundamental level and start there. He plays different from Bowser in a lot of ways. Different punish game, different problems and struggles...you can actually leave the ground as Luigi, etc.

You have to start from like...day -1 because you're learning a different game with these characters. They all have options a seasoned Bowser player will not be familiar with.

It may not be necessary since it's still classified as "early meta/early game", but it may be because it's so early that it's kind of important to start thinking about characters that may be worth your time. It's also important that you master one character before you branch off with others, in my opinion. You don't want to play 10 characters and be mediocre with all of them lol
 
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Corgian

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That's pretty much why I've stuck with Bowser for so long. I may just choose to not pick up a secondary.
 

Cassius.

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That is totally up to you, but once you hit a plateau with your character (this may happen in the future, especially with Bowser...but definitely no time soon), I would implore you to look at other options for a second or third character.

The maximum amount of characters I would recommend for someone to learn at as high of a level as possible, unless you are trying to dual-main a character or something (is this even possible?) is probably three characters. After that, one character is bound to fall off as far as player skill goes. (This is under the assumption of tournament play)
 

LIQUID12A

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I dedicate equal time to both, but Samus is my main while Bowser is my secondary.

A nice mix of playstyles for me.
 

UltimaLuminaire

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Kirby. It complements my play-style and after playing one I play the other better.
 

Uncle

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Recently, I've been playing a lot with my 2nd favorite Mario character of all time. :4wario2:

I love how he feels in this game, and I've been favoring him over Bowser for most matchups. It's a hard knock life for the King of Awesome, as much as I still love playing him.
 

Hitman JT

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Luigi, 2nd favorite Mario character after Bowser. He's been in my top 3 most used in every game since 64 but never quite main status.
 

CeeV

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Mario is my dedicated secondary. I have to go to him more often than not lately, because as Uncle said, it's a hard knock life for the King of the Koopas.
 
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Sp0nge

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I've been trying to find a pattern with people who play Bowser and their secondary, all I really see is that (for the most part) nobody plays zoning characters and Bowser. I don't see a lot of other heavies either.
 

Zigsta

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I have yet to use them in tournament yet, but I play a campy Jigglypuff and Wario.
 

LeftwATER

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I main Bowser, and my best secondary character would have to be ROB, though I do love playing Link, Ganondorf, and Mario. Depending on my mood and whether or not I'm playing Rosalina, I switch between the last three pretty evenly.
 

Bobert

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I'm not a Bowser main anymore but Falcon was my secondary when I did main him.
 

Grizzlpaw

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I don't have any secondaries I'm dedicated to atm, but I do Co-main :4bowser: and :4charizard:

I guess my most played characters besides those two would be :4dk: and :4lucario:

All about that fire yo~ :006:

(pri ironic since I've taken to using water type avi's lately)
 

PHILS

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my secondary is :4sheik: , becouse , she can win most of MU thave have been considered hard for:4bowser: , or by simple fact of opoenent pick your gameplay, so sheik is my support
 
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TheKingofKoopas

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At first my mains were :4bowser: and :4falco:. At the time, I realized that ALL of the characters I played at were on the bottom half of the tier list, so I decided I'd try a high tier character. :4falcon:ended up being a lot like my Falco, but over time I ended up making different play styles for all three of them. So yeah, Falco and Captain Falcon I'd consider my secondaries, possibly even mains along with Bowser.
 

S_B

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I should probably pick up someone light and quick, but I find myself really enjoying D3 and Wario (though I'm definitely better with D3 than Wario...).
 

Godzillionaire

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Usually if I ever feel like switching for a bit I go to DDD or Charizard.
 

MtnDewFerret

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Well, I'm not a bowser main. But my brother is. His secondaries are Ganon, Mac, Sonic, and Duck hunt.
 
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C0rvus

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Not a Bowser main, but I'm considering him as a co-main or secondary. His ability to beat shields is quite enticing, and how can I say no when ol' Bowser's at the top of his game? This might be a bad idea.
 

Jerodak

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@ C0rvus C0rvus well if you do pick him up, we'll be happy to help you out. Also, I would like to point out that Bowser can blow up rolling, spot dodging, and air dodging too. Any panic option your opponent goes for can be punished extra hard. Of course it won't be easy, the road to mastering this character is a difficult one, but it is very satisfying as well.
 
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TehMud

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Well Bowser/DK are generally my mains but I enjoy Ganon and DDD for fun times.

I don't have a dedicated secondary yet, but it'll probably be Yoshi and/or Ryu. I've always used Yoshi since the N64 days, and I've taken a liking to Ryu.
 

King of koopas

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My secondary is Luigi. But I'm considering ZSS or sheik to cover his bad MUS
 

Duck SMASH!

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I wanted faster characters cuz Bowser's lack of speed annoys me sometimes.
To that end, I chose Captain Falcon and Sonic. Both are a blast to play, but Falcon in particular is my favourite because of his excellent aerials (NIPPLE SPIKES FOR EVERYONE)

I also main Bowser Jr because his character design is unlike anybody else in the series. I found it refreshing (if not tougher because Jr's tools aren't that good), but he's better at carrying offensive momentum and scoring a huge string and kill. :)

But yeah I hate doing a ton of little attacks and slowly racking up damage in the neutral. I have no patience for Sheik's Fair strings or Luigi's grab fishing. I choose characters who hit HARD. No pussyfooting. Every hit has to HURT. The satisfaction of drop kicking someone to kill them at the edge at 50% is completely worth all the struggles I have fighting the high tiers with Bowser.
 

The Novice Sword

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I'd say Link and Peach are the main secondaries (lolwut?). I just found that I liked their play styles and anyway and they happened to cover Bowser's weaknesses nicely.

Its always good to have at least a few characters you know how to use. If you're playing more seriously then you can keep an opponent off balance or deal with a wider range of characters. If you're playing with friends then it just makes it easier to switch characters a lot and not get totally bodied.
 
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