Do Tier List Matter?

[Guh-Huzzah!]

I main a low tier (Kirby) I'm pretty good as him, and I'm getting better, but I'm afraid since he's so low tier it'll be almost impossible to play him competitively...Do tier list matter that much?

 

[Sayabi]

IMO they're only an indicator to give a first idea. They should be taken into account at first, but remember that they evolve all the time anyway, when people discover new techniques and new counters. Who knows, maybe you'll develop a Kirby playstyle no one is used to and you can make a change? For example, just like aMSa did with Yoshi? (great video btw, you should check it out)

My opinion is that learning the game is as important as learning a character. i.e. what are the mechanics of the game and how do I use my character at best to exploit those mechanics? Is using my character like this a good way to exploit these mechanics? Does using my character like this counter other characters who use the mechanics like this?

So in the end, I personally feel like Kirby has a lot of potential to break the rules and be impredictible, but I don't know him that much at the end of the day. But my point is, to break the rules, you must first learn them.

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

I may main Game and Watch, i do better as him and I'm a big fan of the G&W Games.

 

[Frihetsanka]

How much they matter depends on many circumstances. If you want to play in tournaments, then you risk running into matchups that are horrible for your character. If you only intend to play in locals, then tier lists matter a bit less, since people at the local might not play those characters that counter your character. If you intend to go to larger tournaments, then chances are you will run into some terrible matchups sooner or later and your character will hold you back to some extent.

There are many, many examples of low tiers and mid tiers doing really well at smaller tournament scenes, so it certainly can be done. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth it or not. You could main Kirby (or Game & Watch, who is a low-mid/mid tier) and have a secondary to deal with bad MUs, perhaps?

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

How much they matter depends on many circumstances. If you want to play in tournaments, then you risk running into matchups that are horrible for your character. If you only intend to play in locals, then tier lists matter a bit less, since people at the local might not play those characters that counter your character. If you intend to go to larger tournaments, then chances are you will run into some terrible matchups sooner or later and your character will hold you back to some extent.

There are many, many examples of low tiers and mid tiers doing really well at smaller tournament scenes, so it certainly can be done. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth it or not. You could main Kirby (or Game & Watch, who is a low-mid/mid tier) and have a secondary to deal with bad MUs, perhaps?

That's true. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[NINTENDO Galaxy]

The first 5 posts in this thread can help you. https://smashboards.com/threads/how-you-should-choose-your-competitive-main-in-smash-4.369829/

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

How much they matter depends on many circumstances. If you want to play in tournaments, then you risk running into matchups that are horrible for your character. If you only intend to play in locals, then tier lists matter a bit less, since people at the local might not play those characters that counter your character. If you intend to go to larger tournaments, then chances are you will run into some terrible matchups sooner or later and your character will hold you back to some extent.

There are many, many examples of low tiers and mid tiers doing really well at smaller tournament scenes, so it certainly can be done. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth it or not. You could main Kirby (or Game & Watch, who is a low-mid/mid tier) and have a secondary to deal with bad MUs, perhaps?

Just won against a For Glory Cloud as Kirby, so I'm probably doing something right xD

 

[NINTENDO Galaxy]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but try not to get too excited about winning in for glory. Going in with the wrong expecations can devastate you when you eventually head to an offline tourney.

Another thing that I experienced from playing online too much is that it threw off my timing for offline play since I got used to the input delay of online play.

After I ate a Giant Punch at point-blank from releasing my shield too early, I began to distance myself from online and eventually avoided it for the most part. Do note, that you may not experience the same problem as me.

 

[Guh-Huzzah!]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but try not to get too excited about winning in for glory. Going in with the wrong expecations can devastate you when you eventually head to an offline tourney.

Another thing that I experienced from playing online too much is that it threw off my timing for offline play since I got used to the input delay of online play.

After I ate a Giant Punch at point-blank from releasing my shield too early, I began to distance myself from online and eventually avoided it for the most part. Do note, that you may not experience the same problem as me.

Yeah of course. That was one match. I'm not really excited anyway. xD

 

[EMT~]

I'm of the opinion that you aren't truly held back by your character until you reach a really high level - as in, playing at majors/supermajors for money level. Tier lists are basically (at least idealistically speaking) a summary of overall character matchups, and character matchups are judged based on players of equal skill. Since variation in player skill increases as the mean player skill level decreases, tier lists become less important at lower levels of play. Not that they aren't completely unimportant; just that you don't have to worry too much about being held back by a low-tier character if you're mainly playing at the local or regional level.