First Impressions playing Steve and Alex

[pupNapoleon]

If you're lucky enough to have gotten access to Steve- I'm looking at you unavailable download- I'd love to hear what we think, and then maybe come back every once in a while to see how our own opinions have evolved.

Honestly, just at the start, It is certainly a lot to just get a handle on. He certainly doesn't feel overpowered to me, from block limits to a recovery I keep accidentally using only to kill myself.
I think when I know him better I will use moves more effectively, but it takes me a lot of conscious effort to make the right attacks come out.

 

[yknowlikenia]

He feels to me like the type of character that is both very easy to pick up and very difficult to master. The anvil can score you a good number of cheap kills, and placing blocks here and there, even aimlessly, is going to throw off most people's immediate gamesense. Even so, I think Steve is going to find a very weird place in higher tier play.
Some of the tech that people have already found with him is completely astounding to me, and I can see Steve becoming that unusual character that changes the way most professional players are used to playing. In other words, I see him as the kind of mid-low tier that can get inexplicably good tournament results. I don't think anything in his kit is too horribly useful or conventionally good, but I also don't think he is designed to succeed as a "conventional" character in the first place.

 

[Oddball]

Maybe I'm an idiot and everybody is going to laugh at me for it (go right ahead) but Steve is the first character in Smash that I've tried playing and just couldn't figure out at first.

What's the guage for? Why do I loose weapons and sometimes get them back? I feel like I need an instruction manual to get this guy.

I'm starting to get it now, but for the first dozen or so fights I had no clue what I was doing.

 

[Janx_uwu]

He is the weirdest character I've ever played. That being said, I want to main him. There are a few things I'm having trouble with early on:
-Accidentally doing up b or side b instead of neutral b when in the air
-Combo'ing jab into fair
-Combo'ing uptilt into up smash
-Continuing up tilt strings with Block
-Edgeguarding with down tilt (not as easy as Sak made it out to be)
-hitting opponents that are just out of my range.
There are other things too (like rushdown characters) but these are my main issues right now. I only got an hour to play him today though so I will play him some more tomorrow definitely and see what I come up with.

 

[StrangeKitten]

Awkward. Super duper awkward. Awkward gameplan, awkward hitboxes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just dang does he feel weird to play. I always knew Steve would have the most complex moveset, but man, I've never felt so befuddled trying out a character. Hell, I even 5-stocked level 9 CPUs in squad strike with Byleth mere hours after their release, if that's any indication of how well a character can gel with me day 1. Steve feeling weird is probably because I trend towards either rushdowns, swordies, or heavies. I don't tend to play setup-heavy characters like Pac Man or Snake.

As for competitive viability, Steve is honestly looking a lot worse than I thought in terms of raw stats. 92 is on the lighter side of middleweights, while he possesses some of the worst mobility in the entire game. Byleth has already shown that being as slow as a superheavy while not actually being a superheavy is pretty butt. And what's up with Steve's up B? Maybe there's some sort of trick to it I've overlooked, but it had very little verticality when I tried to recover low. Maybe it's supposed to be bad as far as going low so that Steve can't go for deep edgeguards, but if that's the case, it could screw Steve over from time to time, in addition to making him weaker to edgeguards himself. His range is also slightly poor, and the ways he deals with projectiles aren't the best. These are all some pretty glaring negatives.

On the plus side, his frame data is some of the best in the game. His kill power is also some of the best in the game. And he does have things to help him circumvent his poor mobility. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up low tier, but there is the potential for better, for sure. I'd be surprised to see him in top tier, though. Kinda funny that a lot of Smashtubers were thinking he might be broken, then he comes out and has a lot of flaws.

 

[cmbsfm]

I like him, but block placing in janky. It rarely works for me off stage.

 

[Alicorn]

Though I don't have him, after playing against many Steves I find that Steve has a difficult time responding to those who outrange and camp him. Using Byleth and Hero I was able to force them to think carefully about approaching. Since you know Hero's sword hitbox is nearly as big as Steve. It forces my opponents to use the fishing pole. The farming for materials also gives me time to set up with my spell commands. A good Hero just gives Steve mains a hard time.

 

[StrangeKitten]

Steve's really growing on me since I've been watching some Steve dittos. Wasn't gonna play them much but I may just have to

 

[Bobthealligator]

Awkward. Super duper awkward. Awkward gameplan, awkward hitboxes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just dang does he feel weird to play. I always knew Steve would have the most complex moveset, but man, I've never felt so befuddled trying out a character. Hell, I even 5-stocked level 9 CPUs in squad strike with Byleth mere hours after their release, if that's any indication of how well a character can gel with me day 1. Steve feeling weird is probably because I trend towards either rushdowns, swordies, or heavies. I don't tend to play setup-heavy characters like Pac Man or Snake.

As for competitive viability, Steve is honestly looking a lot worse than I thought in terms of raw stats. 92 is on the lighter side of middleweights, while he possesses some of the worst mobility in the entire game. Byleth has already shown that being as slow as a superheavy while not actually being a superheavy is pretty butt. And what's up with Steve's up B? Maybe there's some sort of trick to it I've overlooked, but it had very little verticality when I tried to recover low. Maybe it's supposed to be bad as far as going low so that Steve can't go for deep edgeguards, but if that's the case, it could screw Steve over from time to time, in addition to making him weaker to edgeguards himself. His range is also slightly poor, and the ways he deals with projectiles aren't the best. These are all some pretty glaring negatives.

On the plus side, his frame data is some of the best in the game. His kill power is also some of the best in the game. And he does have things to help him circumvent his poor mobility. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up low tier, but there is the potential for better, for sure. I'd be surprised to see him in top tier, though. Kinda funny that a lot of Smashtubers were thinking he might be broken, then he comes out and has a lot of flaws.

I think this is a really fair review. I don't see him being below mid tier though personally, my gut says he'll just edge into high tier.

 

[StrangeKitten]

Dabuz and Izaw's current impressions of Steve:

The more I play Steve the more matchups that are just, difficult. RN Shulk & Pikachu are his two hardest IMO (out of what I've played) with Falco as a distant 3rd.

— Liquid | Dabuz (@DabuzSenpai) October 17, 2020

Day 3

I stand by what I said, Steve is trash, bottom 7 and potentially the worst character in the game. Video will be made showing and explaining why soon

— IzAw (@Izawsmash) October 17, 2020

So I might be onto something with Falco being his worst matchup. Dabuz saying Shulk is really hard as well is interesting to me as he's not that fast and I can see Steve maybe being able to use blocks in order to stall against Monado Arts, but maybe Shulk's range is too good to allow Steve to do that.

I hope SwagGuy99 doesn't mind me sharing this quote from the competitive thread. I feel like it fits this thread too. Dabuz is struggling, and Izaw has a very negative first impression of the character. I'm doubtful on Steve being the worst character in the game, but that's how Izaw feels. Oof.

And I can understand the struggle. In an offline environment, rushdowns can smother Steve well. They just keep comboing him and racking up the stray hits and whatnot - it is difficult for Steve to escape or get much going. Not impossible, of course, but difficult enough that these don't seem like Steve-favored matchups. Then you have campy characters like Snake and Zelda that outcamp Steve well. Then you have the swordies, who all have the mobility to get in on Steve well enough and outrange him. Don't forget reflectors too, which is what makes Falco very rough. And It's currently not looking bright for Steve in terms of MU spread.

But of course, it's worth restating that Steve is brand new, and is a very difficult character to play. I expect things to improve over time, because it's worth stressing just how different Steve is. Zelda? Snake? Pac Man? Olimar? Those are probably the closest to Steve I can think of, and they're still nothing like this mining, crafting, block-placing weirdo. So it's gonna be a while before players make waves with him.

 

[Janx_uwu]

I probably won't main him because he just feels too weird for me. But dang it, I'll try. Because this is the only DLC fighter so far from a game I've actually played and loved. So if I have to climb a mountain of tech, movement options, and jank to learn Steve, then I will. And if it doesn't, well, I do just fine with the Koopa King, so it's not too bad. I'll keep him for casual games regardless.

 

[Mike 223]

He is the weirdest character I've ever played. That being said, I want to main him. There are a few things I'm having trouble with early on:
-Accidentally doing up b or side b instead of neutral b when in the air
-Combo'ing jab into fair
-Combo'ing uptilt into up smash
-Continuing up tilt strings with Block
-Edgeguarding with down tilt (not as easy as Sak made it out to be)
-hitting opponents that are just out of my range.
There are other things too (like rushdown characters) but these are my main issues right now. I only got an hour to play him today though so I will play him some more tomorrow definitely and see what I come up with.

(Not Trying To Be Mean Here, Just Telling You The Solutions)

1st Problem: Just Make Sure Your Stick Isn't Being Pressed Somewhere
2nd Problem: Leave A Little Bit Of Time Between The Inputs So It Does Pickaxe Fair Instead Of Sword Fair
3rd Problem: I Use C-Stick For Smash Attacks So I Don't Find This A Problem
4th Problem: I Can't Do This Either
5th Problem: I Just Use TNT Or Fair To Edgegaurd Instead (Sometimes Using A Block)
6th Problem: Try To Learn Steve's Range Better

Again NOT Trying To Be Mean, Just Seeing If I Can Fix Your Issues With The Character.

 

[Janx_uwu]

(Not Trying To Be Mean Here, Just Telling You The Solutions)

1st Problem: Just Make Sure Your Stick Isn't Being Pressed Somewhere
2nd Problem: Leave A Little Bit Of Time Between The Inputs So It Does Pickaxe Fair Instead Of Sword Fair
3rd Problem: I Use C-Stick For Smash Attacks So I Don't Find This A Problem
4th Problem: I Can't Do This Either
5th Problem: I Just Use TNT Or Fair To Edgegaurd Instead (Sometimes Using A Block)
6th Problem: Try To Learn Steve's Range Better

Again NOT Trying To Be Mean, Just Seeing If I Can Fix Your Issues With The Character.

Bro that was October I literally have not touched the character since

 

[Mike 223]

Bro that was October I literally have not touched the character since

I'm Aware It Was October, Just Posted That Too In Case You Were Still Having Those Problems, Sorry If It Bothered You.