Do you feel sometimes your Main just isn't good enough for you?

[Liyrex]

I really wish I could play Marth and feel good about it in Smash4, but a cooking knife just doesn't cut it where a sword once did.

Go Lucina ????

 

[Ampetrix]

I feel this way on my old mains, like Olimar, Ness, Zelda...
But everytime I leave them for more favorable mains, I ask the question, "How do I improve better with this character?"
It's like asking yourself where is the key when you lost it, you will just suddenly realize the answer and find it.
That's why I still go back on my former mains, because by then I suddenly find myself much better at them. It's like having a main cycle really.

I'm still trying to incorporate Duck Hunt Dog in it, since he is a much more technical zoner than Link or Samus

 

[Raijinken]

Go Lucina ????

She has almost the same drawbacks and can't take advantage of my fourteen years playing Marth and learning to space things. The real issue isn't the sweetspots, it's everything else.

 

[Liyrex]

She has almost the same drawbacks and can't take advantage of my fourteen years playing Marth and learning to space things. The real issue isn't the sweetspots, it's everything else.

Haha wasn't being "Entirely" serious about that and wow 14 years that's insane. But yeah i know what you mean ive gotten frustrated at least twice to the point in smash 4 when i was ready to give them up and commit to Robin completely but not yet. I want to win a few tourneys with her first, and who knows maybe Marth will get the buff he deserves.

 

[TriTails]

Yep. As a Luigi main I always think "Why is he so slow?" or "What the **** dude. You hit an F-smash and I slide to the moon". I feel like switching to Ganon for his great traction or Falcon for his mobility whenever I feel that way.

Though, can't go wrong with the amazing CQC game Luigi has.

 

[Deviruki]

As Marth, always. But winning with such an average character is rewarding.

 

[Trifroze]

I wanted to main Robin at first and almost exclusively used her for about 700 matches. Since I've either mained or seconded Falcon ever since 2008 Brawl, I occasionally used him versus characters that felt tough for Robin such as Yoshi and Dr. Mario, and couldn't help but feel I had a way easier time with pretty much everything using Falcon in those matches. Robin is a very enjoyable character especially after the last balance patch, but at this point I started to see the limitations of just what I could do with her and started using Falcon more since I enjoyed playing him almost equally, however in his case my hype started going gradually upwards only to eventually make every other character feel stale.

5000 Matches with Falcon now and I haven't felt like the character is limiting my performance, only the opposite. Sure it's frustrating to get gimped or comboed so easily sometimes, but I acknowledge the positives that exist balance it out, and I genuinely feel like this is exactly the kind of character I want to play as well. Falcon is also enough antimeta that player skill lets him do well even when the odds are against him since he can often just ignore neutral if you concentrate on reacting to your opponent and he can get really early kills with just a single read or setup.

I've picked up MK as well and I don't feel particularly limited as him, only that my approach options are more one dimensional. What makes the combination nice is that MK has a great recovery and a good disadvantage, completely the opposite of Falcon while also being a speedy character based around combos and setups into kill moves. Ganondorf is fun versus people who don't/can't play extremely patient.

 

[Emblem Lord]

I really wish I could play Marth and feel good about it in Smash4, but a cooking knife just doesn't cut it where a sword once did.

Since his sword is literally the same length it was in Brawl I assume you are a melee player.

Semantics however, Marth is still weak.

 

[Raijinken]

Since his sword is literally the same length it was in Brawl I assume you are a melee player.

Semantics however, Marth is still weak.

I've played them all more than a bit, and Project M was my game right before Smash4 came out, which explains why I felt like the sword got even shorter.

But sword length aside, everything that felt satisfactory and good about him before just doesn't. Aside from tippers, and even they just don't seem to pay off as well. I still use him, but he's no longer near a dedicated main character for me like he was before.

 

[Monado Master]

Its very rare that I feel my main has failed me rather than I failed it. ZSS doesnt have any downright awful matchups (sans pikachu), but i lack the ability to use her toolkit in some of them.

Instead, I feel that there is an eventual cieling with how good you can get by just playing one charachter. Sure you may know them down to their hitbox, but you get constrained to one playstyle. I feel like playing a couple characters aside from your true main, will allow you to shift your playstyle a bit. At least thats whats happening with me.

P.S.
Toon link is a demon, and his never ending supply of projectiles from hell is the bane of my existence.

I agree with what you are saying about the rarely thinking that my main character has failed me. I think if i lose to someone who has a good match up against because that tells me that i'm still not good enough for tournaments ( major tournaments not tournaments against my friends because i win nearly every time against them).

 

[wingedarcher7]

No, not really. I'm actually very comfortable with my boy and I pretty much always have been. I feel like I do a good enough job with him, I always have fun and it feels like I'm still learning too which is perfect.

 

[IndigoSSB]

I'm not too sure honestly. I actually like Falco more this time around compared to the laser happy version of Brawl, but because he's not top tier anymore it's been a turnoff for many. I still think there's potential in this character; at the moment I'm treating it as one of the newcomer characters since none of the strategies from before work anymore. Finding new strategies and testing them out, that's where I'm at right now.

 

[Blue Warrior]

I've recently moved from Mario to Fox mainly because Mario wasn't stimulating for me anymore. I've mained Mario since 64 and enjoyed his well rounded attributes, but with the advent of Brawl and especially 4, Mario feels more centralized around easy-ass combos and gimping gimmicks, which I've just gotten bored with. Fox jives well with me because he has a similar bread and butter nature to Mario, but his speed is a delightful change of pace in 4's primarily defensive metagame. I also like some of the tools 4 has given him; his one-two lock is simple like Mario's, but feels a lot more skill indexed because of its followups and its frame-perfect requirement, and it's also nice that he has a guaranteed kill opening through dash-upsmash when an enemy makes a mistake. I do feel like my skills carry over better to him, but moreover, he's just more fun for me to play.

 

[BSP]

I feel that Pac-Man is capable of winning any MU in this game, even if it is difficult to do so.

I'm not sure it's worth it though. I feel like the good characters in this game require 1/2 the thought Pac-Man does, yet they reap just as much reward not more. When I go Falcon for instance,I always feel that I'm just 2/3 reads away from taking the stock. Any time I lose with him, it's because I got outplayed: he has everything he needs to always win. He has the mobility and power to make hard reads worth it.

With Pac-Man, I don't have that game changing power usually. The best I've got is a galaxian combo into side B, which is extremely difficult to pull of. When I get leads, I have to stay 100% focused because everything can tumble downhill quickly with a misplaced hydrant, stolen fruit, etc.

So to answer the question, no. I think Pac-Man can handle everyone in this game, but I need to do more self reflection and figure out what matters to me more. I enjoy how Pac-Man is such a niche character and people are surprised to see what he can do, but I'm not sure if its worth the effort. I have to decide what matters more to me out of winning and representing a character I like.

I wouldn't go so far as to say Pac-Man limits me, but my skill is much more apparent when I go Falcon and win off of better fundamentals straight up.

 

[Purin a.k.a. José]

Against campers who know that they are doing when approaching, I feel like Kirby is a bad character. Mainly against Link: Kirby is so light that Link's ground attacks kill him pretty quickly. I can use my shield, but he will grab. I know how to Spotdodge, but he strikes me on the right time. I can roll well, but he gets me with Down-Smash. The same happens against Spamus and a few DHD's. This only doesn't happens with Killager!

 

[Liyrex]

Against campers who know that they are doing when approaching, I feel like Kirby is a bad character. Mainly against Link: Kirby is so light that Link's ground attacks kill him pretty quickly. I can use my shield, but he will grab. I know how to Spotdodge, but he strikes me on the right time. I can roll well, but he gets me with Down-Smash. The same happens against Spamus and a few DHD's. This only doesn't happens with Killager!

I belive you are reffering to the Thrillager

 

[GSM_Dren]

Not in some character stats wise, more like in the competitive sense. Between match ups with other characters, do you feel that your current main isn't providing you what your current skill can give you most? What I mean by that is does your main provide you 100% of what technical skill you're capable of?

Honestly, I've played about over 1000 games of For Glory and most of it was with my main Toon Link. While I have won a great deal of games with him, I certainly feel like at times "I could do better." in the game after losses with him. While I'm open to always improve my play, I feel like I'm not noticing any sense of improvement over this period of playing him.

I play the game competitively, while it's debatable that 'I suck' or I haven't 'mastered' him yet or I still need time to 'improve', I feel like he can't catchup with my technical skill and that he's drawing me back from what I can do.

It may be just me but have you guys felt anything similar before?
EDIT: Sorry if this is in the wrong section, this my first thread ever on the forums

I've been a single-main player for quite awhile now and it has gotten me good results in tournaments/online. However, as it stands now, finding a solid secondary is a necessity to compete against other competent players. Of course I have much to improve on with Yoshi, but I've also been practicing a secondary to get the job done. I think its a good idea to keep your options open by picking up a secondary, but to never forget where your main has gotten you so far.

 

[The21stSmasher]

Well I'm good with my main, Mario. In fact, he's the best main I ever got in Sm4sh (As shown on my signature). Everyone else, their all just for parties, weddings, funerals, special occasions. You know, when I don't feel like getting serious most of the time. That principle goes for Mario too sometimes, but still. Also, I wish I can main Bowser like that...

 

[ZephyrZ]

I feel the angels hit my sweetspot of skill level. They have a lot of simple, easy yet effective enough combos and a well-rounded play style.

Sometimes I do feel like this guy's size and air speed really hold me back. Against rushdown characters, I often feel overwhemed, and against campers, it's a struggle to get in close. I seriously love the guy, though, and I can't imagine myself giving him up.

I feel like this guy has so, so much potential. Teleport, Disable, Shadow Ball his crazy jumps...he's certainly a bizarre and difficult character to use, but I feel like he can be so much better.

Everyone else, their all just for parties, weddings, funerals, special occasions.

I hope people will be playing Smash at my funeral.

 

[The21stSmasher]

I hope people will be playing Smash at my funeral.

Bruh!

 

[erico9001]

nope, I do not

 

[Karinole]

sorry nope.

 

[LightLV]

Go Lucina ????

if he wants to do universally worse, sure

 

[SuzuTitor]

I feel quite the opposite to be honest. Like, I know Ness is good and I know what he can do, but I feel like I'm not performing him as well as I should.

 

[DairunCates]

I main Wii Fit Trainer. So, most of the time I'm more concerned with learning the ridiculously complicated and weird tool set involved with that main. Playing her really screws up my rhythm on other characters, but my spacing has gotten twice as good as even when I was playing Ike in Brawl. The closest I get to actually cursing the limits of my character is when I miss a crucial attack by literally 2 pixels and would've hit with just about any other character in the game. It's frustrating, but it's more of a 1/20th of a second timing issue than a limit.

That said, I've definitely felt that wall before in other games, including the smash series. It's important to note that USUALLY that feeling comes from mastering the tools and techniques you can think of for your character and not necessarily the character's actual limit. When you hit this kind of wall, it can be a GREAT help to watch other people play your character and note the differences, and how they adapt to certain situations. Even bad players can give good paradigms on how to play a character. A good example is the number of people that just flat-out didn't realize that crawling in this game has some really awesome defensive properties. Point is, watching some other people play can give you ideas on how to expand your techniques.

It's also worth noting that, even when you have a solid main, just randomly playing other characters will not only give you a better handle for the game and matchups, but can also lead to ideas too. A lot of my Wii Fit Trainer off-stage game is actually adapted from Yoshi techniques from Melee mixed with a bit of Jigglypuff style aerial movement. It's not always useful, but for characters that just have no way to follow off-stage, this can be vital for racking up damage.

Similarly, playing characters with weaknesses that are debilitating to you can help you overcome those weaknesses. Play a really fast character that specializes at rush-down but you're getting shield punished a lot? Play a big slow character so you can learn some better spacing and how to use safer options. Get out-spaced by characters with big long range melee attacks? Play a few rounds of Wii Fit Trainer or Mr. Game and Watch. Keep forgetting when you've used a second jump? Play some Yoshi.

So yeah. It's a real thing. It just usually means you need a paradigm shift of some kind though. Now. If you just simply don't enjoy playing the character anymore. That's a different thing. You should probably just move on at that point.