How do 'YOU' choose a Secondary?

[StarGalaxy777]

Greetings ladies and gentleman Smashers of ye old. I have been having a issue lately ever since Smash 4 hit the store shelves and that would be selecting a secondary character. Now I'm sure this matter has circulated thease forums every once in a great moon but with the next wave of characters released I'm find myself choosing a secondary character just with the huge roster we have now. It kinda gets overwhelming for me to be honest. Usually I would ask my friends for advice and most of them just play Melee/PM which is fine by me but leaves people to turn to limited in terms of opinions and whatnot. Usually I would be like 'Just pick a character from my favorite series' I'd tell myself but again huge roster to navigate so I'd like your input on the matter I main Rosalina n Luma and Brawl I used PT because I like Pokemon but for some reason Zard doesnt click with me in this iteration. I'd like to say I'm a overly offensive player that will bide his time in rare occasions. So thats kinda what I am and I certainly know thats alot of info to look into but its what I have to work with.

Or should I wait for wave three potential Dlc characters? Hopes for Shantae...

 

[Kurri ★]

Well my process for choosing a secondary goes something like this:

• I go to the eShop
• Select Roy "Our Boy"
• Buy him for $3.99

It's simple!

But really, for me, I just choose a character I like. I co-main; I play them equally; ZSS and Palutena and afaik, Palu doesn't exactly cover ZSS' bad match-ups. I used to have Robin as a secondary, but with Roy out, they're replaced... I'm sorry to all Robin players, being a tactician is fun and all, but Roy has "t3h phir3"

If that proves to be a problem for you, I suggest finding out Rosa's bad match ups and narrow the list of suitable secondaries from there, then find someone you like.

 

[MEnKIRBZ]

Roy isn't good

 

[Erotic&Heretic]

It's also "character I like". I'm not competitive, so it's not to cover my main weakness. Almost all my characters run slowly. and , then ,... I'm not a mobile player

I basically choosed for the twintails and the magic.

 

[IrkenPPG]

Roy isn't good

Roy isn't good implying Roy is top tier

 

[IrkenPPG]

I choose a secondary by deciding how much I like using the character and how often I use the character.

 

[Kurri ★]

Roy isn't good

And you say this why?

Roy just came out, it's going to be some time before we can actually see whether he's good or not. Personally I find Roy to be pretty good; he's fast, kills early and has great ground game.

 

[MEnKIRBZ]

And you say this why?

Roy just came out, it's going to be some time before we can actually see whether he's good or not. Personally I find Roy to be pretty good; he's fast, kills early and has great ground game.

roy will always be below marth. From what I've seen, marth aint good in this game


therefore....need I say more.....


Actually I will. Roy ain't good

 

[Kurri ★]

roy will always be below marth. From what I've seen, marth aint good in this game


therefore....need I say more.....


Actually I will. Roy ain't good

That's not evidence for why Roy is bad, so yes, please say more.

 

[Untamed]

roy will always be below marth. From what I've seen, marth aint good in this game


therefore....need I say more.....


Actually I will. Roy ain't good

That logic is pretty flawed. Just because roy wasn't as good as marth in melee, doesn't mean he isn't better now. For example, falco was pretty good in previous smash games, and only so so in smash 4. It's a whole different game. Roy isn't AMAZING, but he is defiantly better than marth in this game. In addition, he JUST came out, so combos will be found, how best to use him, etc.

 

[MEnKIRBZ]

That logic is pretty flawed. Just because roy wasn't as good as marth in melee, doesn't mean he isn't better now. For example, falco was pretty good in previous smash games, and only so so in smash 4. It's a whole different game. Roy isn't AMAZING, but he is defiantly better than marth in this game. In addition, he JUST came out, so combos will be found, how best to use him, etc.

Well marth was better then Roy in melee pm and brawl so my logic isn't flawed. Also, 1 person who probably doesn't play at a high competitive saying Roy is better isn't gonna beat history. Furthermore, Roy being new can also explain his success because people doesn't understand his character and how to combat him


Therefore, get lost with ur strawman

 

[MEnKIRBZ]

That's not evidence for why Roy is bad, so yes, please say more.

Marth has always been better then Roy in every smash game that they've both been in. History will just repeat itself. That's all I'm sayin

 

[MEnKIRBZ]

Also, falco in all the games has been inconsistent. Top tier melee, high mid brawl, nerfed in pm, sm4sh he is low tier. Inconsistency aka history repeating itself

 

[Dark Dr. Pink-Gold Pit Jr]

Well marth was better then Roy in melee pm and brawl so my logic isn't flawed. Also, 1 person who probably doesn't play at a high competitive saying Roy is better isn't gonna beat history. Furthermore, Roy being new can also explain his success because people doesn't understand his character and how to combat him


Therefore, get lost with ur strawman

Captain Falcon was bad in Brawl but he's high tier in Smash 4. Anything can change.

 

[Untamed]

Well marth was better then Roy in melee pm and brawl so my logic isn't flawed. Also, 1 person who probably doesn't play at a high competitive saying Roy is better isn't gonna beat history. Furthermore, Roy being new can also explain his success because people doesn't understand his character and how to combat him


Therefore, get lost with ur strawman

Again, to reiterate, just because a character was better than another in past games, doesn't mean they're guaranteed better now. So yes, the logic is flawed. While it's true I don't play at a high competitive level, that doesn't mean I don't watch streams/videos of competitive players, follow them on social media, and read about their personal opinions of each character. While their opinions are not absolute, if the majority of high level players can agree on where a character stands, you can pretty much get a feel on how good a character is. In addition, when did I ever say my opinion was going to change something, and furthermore, why would YOUR opinion matter any more? I can agree with your final point, it's true people don't know how to exactly combat him, but you can't deny his power increase since melee. Finally, I'm not going to continue this discussion, considering it is tangent of the original purpose of this thread.

 

[Neckbeards]

Roy isn't good

You're just a butthurt Marth main who's mad his character sounds like a teenage Japanese girl xd

 

[Kurri ★]

You're just a butthurt Marth main who's mad his character sounds like a teenage Japanese girl xd

Boy your name is fitting...

 

[MEnKIRBZ]

You're just a butthurt Marth main who's mad his character sounds like a teenage Japanese girl xd

well it's not, but nice try though.

Nice location btw

 

[Neckbeards]

Boy your name is fitting...

*tips fedora*

 

[MEnKIRBZ]

Again, to reiterate, just because a character was better than another in past games, doesn't mean they're guaranteed better now. So yes, the logic is flawed. While it's true I don't play at a high competitive level, that doesn't mean I don't watch streams/videos of competitive players, follow them on social media, and read about their personal opinions of each character. While their opinions are not absolute, if the majority of high level players can agree on where a character stands, you can pretty much get a feel on how good a character is. In addition, when did I ever say my opinion was going to change something, and furthermore, why would YOUR opinion matter any more? I can agree with your final point, it's true people don't know how to exactly combat him, but you can't deny his power increase since melee. Finally, I'm not going to continue this discussion, considering it is tangent of the original purpose of this thread.

I'm sorry dude, I just look for patterns. Here are some examples

Marth better then roy (already have said this)
Kirby being really really good in 64, so they nerfed him and have kept him low tier since
Mario is always mid-tier
Jigglypuff and falco have slowly decreased in viability since melee

I'm sure there are more, I just can't remember them atm

 

[The Novice Sword]

TO REIGN THE TOPIC BACK IN

I'd say picking a secondary is definitely rooted in looking at your main's bad match ups and trying to cover them. (note I'm not a very competitive or expert player despite playing for years)

In my case, I main Bowser. He hits very hard and is dense as an anvil. However, despite the much needed buffs he's still fairly slow so he's vulnerable to rush down. He also doesn't have any range to speak of and so is vulnerable to spacing and projectile spam.

In order to combat characters who excel at those tactics I started experimenting with faster characters. Wii Fit Trainer, for example, is quite speedy and good at chasing down opponents who attempt to space her out. She makes a nice counterpoint to Bowser and so I picked her up as a Secondary.

Another factor is you have to like the character and how they play. I like Wii Fit Trainer's unique, campy style. Her speed is a refreshing switch up to stomping around as Bowser (which is fun in it's own right of course) I like her projectiles and her good recovery. I also just like her dissonant, serene voice lines in the heat of battle. Basically, I found a character who I had fun playing and practiced enough to comfortably secondary her.

In short, take a look at your main. Decide what her weaknesses are. Then take a look at characters who play differently. Maybe make a short list of a few who interest you. Then just start playing those characters and see who feels right to you. Once you decide you can start focusing on them to make them a true secondary by your standards.

Also, keep in mind you're by no means limited to one secondary! In the course of finding one for Bowser I ended up really liking Peach, Samus, and Link among others and now I consider some of them secondaries as well and can bust them out for some matches.

Finally, remember to have fun!

 

[StarGalaxy777]

In short, take a look at your main. Decide what her weaknesses are. Then take a look at characters who play differently. Maybe make a short list of a few who interest you. Then just start playing those characters and see who feels right to you. Once you decide you can start focusing on them to make them a true secondary by your standards.

Finally, remember to have fun!

Thank you for the thoughtful input which I will take to heart...

 

[Karinole]

Honestly, I only play characters that I enjoy using. I was stuck with only Rosa for awhile because no other character was as fun for me as she is. This was also helped by the fact that she doesn't really have any weaknesses that warrant needing a secondary. I decided to secondary roy because I just have a ton of fun with him even if I don't need him for any particular matchup. Don't worry too much about picking one and focus on mastering your main in the meantime.

tl;dr - picking a secondary is hard when you play top tier.

 

[Zionaze]

Since when was Marth in Smash 4 better than Roy? From Day 1 he already has better combos and followups than Marth and his placement can only go up while Marth will stay put.

Back on topic.
I choose a handful of characters that I like, then sort them out if I'm good with them or not, then decide if any of them can cover my Mains bad MUs.

 

[Thejewishpeople]

I think picking a secondary just comes down to how much you enjoy playing certain characters. I don't think overthinking it is really worth it. It is just a game after all, and you should be playing it to enjoy yourself.

 

[ReturningFall]

Back on topic, The usual way to cover matchups.

Personally, I find that boring and just go with whomever has the complete opposite playstyle of what I'm used to. Gets me more used to thinking like my opponent and makes the game more fresh.

 

[Kevandre]

Yeah basically I just play everyone until I find something that clicks. In the end, I'm mainly playing these days, no real order of primary/secondary but I love all of them for different reasons

 

[Wyzill]

Ok so my mains are : (Lucas when I buy him probably)
Secondary:
Tertiary:
How you've got to pick is:
1. Look at them. Would you want to play as an ugly character like if he was any worse? NO!
2. Look at your playstyle, you specifically are probably good with:
3. Look at movesets: Captain Falcon and Kirby's moves are too slow, you think. BOOM
4. No.1 again. You decide B Jr is too ugly. BOOM
5. Look at your mains weaknesses. Rosalina is too slow, you think. They both fit that. Not strong close range. They both can do close range. Heavy. Depends but mostly both that. Want still strength but fast. Both fit that. Matchups: Worst is Yoshi. BOOM. Yoshi selected.

 

[Zionaze]

Ok so my mains are : (Lucas when I buy him probably)
Secondary:
Tertiary:
How you've got to pick is:
1. Look at them. Would you want to play as an ugly character like if he was any worse? NO!
2. Look at your playstyle, you specifically are probably good with:
3. Look at movesets: Captain Falcon and Kirby's moves are too slow, you think. BOOM
4. No.1 again. You decide B Jr is too ugly. BOOM
5. Look at your mains weaknesses. Rosalina is too slow, you think. They both fit that. Not strong close range. They both can do close range. Heavy. Depends but mostly both that. Want still strength but fast. Both fit that. Matchups: Worst is Yoshi. BOOM. Yoshi selected.

u just called wario ugly? Hes majestic

 

[Zol]

"which characters aren't ****ing lame"

well, there goes like, 98% of the roster

 

[axelalexzander]

I just love playing so he has naturally become my secondary even though I never intended him to be. He's a terrible choice for a secondary as I imagine he has similar matchups to my main, . But he's just SO damn fun to play. Other than my main he's the only other character I thoroughly enjoy playing for marathon for glory sessions. Unlike most other characters. I really tried hard to get good with as he covers bad matchups to characters like very well. Also tried hard to get into high tiers like . But...I just can't get into those characters. I just suck with them, I'm naturally someone who likes playing powerful, read based characters. I like defensive types, not aggressive rushers. Oh, and few things are as satisfying as landing DK bairs off stage. As as for , he's not a rusher but I found I lacked the absurd amount of patience required to be good with him.

 

[CaP_Omega]

I suppose I pick characters that have versatility and that I like the feel of most times. The process for deciding whether I like how they feel or not might be something like deciding my favorite color. . . Which Is blue. . . So I also favor characters that have blue skin or blue coverings.
In this case, my ideal secondary would be Mega Man

 

[Dokokashira]

Personally, I chose to secondary based on the fact he's different to my usual playstyle, which is overloading the opponent with pressure and throwing out strong attacks when they screw up. While Marth uses a lot of offensive pressure as well (from what I've seen), I can't go in all willy-nilly; I have to properly space my hits for tippers and better damage. So he feels comfortable, since he's familiar enough to me, but he's different enough that I learn and grow as a player. I can also apply what I learn with Marth to my play with.

So I'd say try to find a character that you're just okay with (as in feeling, "clicking", not skill), and then experiment with them for a while and see if you're still okay with them after you know them more. If you like them more after some training, you've found a good secondary!

 

[Kwinston]

I literally just choose the character I like and try to get good as them. If I am not initially good as them I just keep practicing until I am. You can play as anyone if you practice with them enough.

 

[LancerStaff]

I'd choose somebody to cover matchups on my mains

 

[Mazdamaxsti]

I main and I secondary . MK is fun mostly. I want to pickup Fox to cover MUs tho.

 

[Falcon1991]

I choose a secondary by deciding how much I like using the character and how often I use the character.

This. My secondaries are Mr Game and Watch and sometimes Zelda or Falco. I wouldn't say I'm as good with them as my main characters, but then that is why they're my secondaries.

 

[Purin a.k.a. José]

I simply choose a character who I like the playstyle, despite being seen as "band-wagon" (The One Who Show His Moves)

 

[Nexin]

I used to be a Palutena character specialist, but not because I only wanted to play as her. I also used to play Ike and Olimar as secondaries because they were both fun to play. The problem, however, is that one of my biggest weaknesses as a player is that I'm not that good at fighting on the ground, and I came to the conclusion a few months back that neither of them were helping me overcome that weakness, so I dropped them in favor of improving my Palutena exclusively.

When I first played Ryu, I immediately fell in love with his playstyle. In my opinion, he was not only the most fun DLC character, but easily one of the most fun characters in the game (aside from Palutena, of course). Normally, that wouldn't have been enough to make him my secondary, but what finally caused me to decide to make him my secondary was the fact that you have to be good at fighting on the ground to win with him. His aerial game is very predictable in the neutral, so you can't rely on that with him.

I chose to secondary Ryu not only because I enjoyed him, but because he forced me to improve a portion of my game that is normally very weak. Since I've began playing him, I've noticed that I've been slightly more comfortable on the ground with Palutena, so I know that Ryu is a keeper.

 

[Akira213]

Pick a character that you both enjoy and compliments your main. If your main isn't so great, look at higher tier characters that cover your bad matchups and try them out. I don't think I've had a consistent secondary for the entirety of this game's lifetime though, I've gone through several characters including Jiggles, Pikachu, Sheik, Luigi etc. and I am currently experimenting with Ryu.