The thing about Lucina as a fighter is that she suffers from the same problem Pichu had in Melee: She is essentially an inferior version of another fighter. Marth is above her on every tier list for a reason.
Compared to Marth she has:
- inferior range
- inferior damage
- inferior killing power
- no hit-lag modifiers
The only thing she has on Marth is a slightly smaller hurt-box, but it's only a small difference and doesn't really allow Lucina to avoid anything that hits Marth.
Some people will argue that Lucina has a few moves that are superior to Marth's such as up-smash and Dancing Blade. The general argument here is that since they are 'hard' moves to properly space the tipper on. That's sort of a moot point since it doesn't matter if you can space, but let's indulge it for a bit.
The thing about Lucina's Dancing Blade is it does the same damage as Marth's
un-tippered Dancing Blade save for one percent.
Shield Breaker is another one that gets brought up since Lucina's Shield Breaker with a bit of charge will likely take out a shield. Again though, if you're spacing is on point a tippered Shield Breaker charged for less than half a second is pretty much a guaranteed shield break on anything that isn't Shulk in Shield Monado. I also find the Shield Breaker to be one of Marth's easiest moves to tip and it will take stocks surprisingly early. A fully charged, tipped Shield breaker will kill at around 30% percent. If you break your opponents Shield it's pretty much free.
The only arguable move for Lucina is up-smash since the tip is in such a specific spot for Marth. It's a super situational move though and up-tilt is almost always a better option on both characters for juggling. For killing Marth still has the incredible power of the tipper, and besides the un-tippered up-smash doesn't kill much later than Lucina's.
I believe what makes a character a clone of another character is if they have an incredibly similar move-set and play the same way. For example: Fox and Falco have incredibly similar move-sets, but there are small differences sprinkled throughout that make them play entirely different from one another.
Lucina is a clone of Marth. There are no disparities between their kits that warrant a different play-style from one or the other. The way both characters are meant to played is rely on poking and whittling away at your opponent much like how a river wears down a stone. This is accomplished through proper spacing and keeping your opponent at a fixed distance: the tip of your sword.
Here Lucina already starts to fall behind Marth as a character.
Marth has longer range so his zone of pressure is greater than Lucina's. If the goal is too keep my opponents at the edge of my danger-zone, then obviously the character with more range (on the exact same attacks mind you) is more adept at this task. In regards to the tipper: I'd rather have a larger reward for properly spacing with a character whose all about that sort of thing than one whom, while less punishing, will ultimately reward me less. It doesn't even become a contest for players who can consistently space.
Marth also has the hit-lag modifiers on his attacks so they are safer. It's that trait that ironically enables Marth to take a little more risk than Lucina despite having the large sour-spot on his attacks.
I've seen a lot of people state that they prefer Lucina over Marth because they don't have (or want to) worry about spacing for the tipper. I feel these people miss the point of the tipper and see it as something extra, as a little bonus of sorts, and because Lucina doesn't have it it somehow negates her need for spacing and requirement of keeping her opponents at the very edge of her hurt-boxes. If anything it's harder for her. It's the whole reason why Melee Marth was originally introduced with the tipper as a mechanic instead of just having great range and being left at that.
Everything about the tipper gives you incentive to try and land it. It's not just that it's better to land because it deals way more damage and knockback, but it feels good to do so. It's almost like a drug. There's the visual aspect of even while at 0% your opponent flies so far and the screen shakes just a little harder. In Smash 4 seeing the red lightning effect at 50% gives me chills even if it doesn't kill my opponent. In Melee the swords don't even sound like proper swords but they're still so satisfying to hear. Marth's un-tippered hits already have those super great sound-effects, but then you land a tippered hit and it sounds akin to a giant drum being struck at full force. Overall it's just this incredibly satisfying feeling for Marth. It also feels like a massive blow to the gut for your opponent.
To re-answer the original question: Yes, the lack of a tipper puts me off horribly so. I find Lucina unplayable as a character not because she's considered bad or low-tier, but because there is already a pre-existing character whom already does everything she does better. Whenever I play Lucina I'll commonly whiff attacks against opponent's because I'm spacing for the tipper and it just makes me want to play Marth whom has better range and will reward me with greater damage and earlier kills. Lucina also only has the standard un-tippered effects on her attacks. None of her attacks have that 'oomph' feeling that landing the tipper gives. Lucina is ultimately rewards me less for working harder and feels less satisfying to play.
I felt like a large post in some form on the attitude people take when addressing Marth vs Lucina's differences (especially from Lucina's side) has been a long time coming from me. I'm normally one to let bygones be bygones after arguing something for a bit and getting nowhere.
I understand that people play as Lucina. I understand why people play as Lucina. I understand why people would prefer her over Marth in Smash 4. it doesn't man she isn't inferior to Marth though.
I like Lucina as a character as well. I have nothing against her nor the people who play her. I'm happy that she in Smash and I know a lot of others are really happy about it as well, but it does no one any good to delude themselves and claim stuff like "Because Lucina doesn't have a tipper she doesn't need to worry about spacing and can get more aggressive." I'm pretty sure someone mentioned whether you prefer Marth or Lucina comes down to your own personal play-style (What? They play exactly the same way...)
What really gets me is that It's false information and can be detrimental to new players considering either character. If you just want to play casually then of course it's fine. If you're going to a tournament though Marth will carry you further once you've mastered his spacing. He outperforms Lucina in every aspect, does better in all of their match-ups, and has a positive match-up against Lucina. That's just the way it is.