Is it bad to want to only practice mains?

[Myran]

My friend and I have been getting into the competitive scene over the past few months. Naturally we weren't as good when we started as so we practice a lot. I only really have him to practice brawl with. We play quite often, and I prefer to play with 2 or 3 characters. (Being my main and 2 alts who are fun.) After a bit of going at it with our mains and alts he says lets just do some casual fun games. Lately though I haven't been enjoying anything else as much as my main Olimar and the few others. He proceeds to say getting into the competitive scene has ruined the fun aspect of brawl. I guess what I'm asking is: Does anybody else feel that playing this game just wanting to increase your skill with 1 or 2 characters is taking the fun out? He says it does, but I think this game has hit its peak in fun when I play serious Olimar matches

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

I sort of noticed this for myself about my perception of smash being changed after trying to improve. I have some vague memories of trying to play before I decided to go that route of competition and trying to revert back to things like having items on or doing random stages has gotten quite boring. I suppose its because smash has only ever been enjoyable with people around your abilities. Then again, I imagine there must be people who are tired of the same old thing time and time again. Although, since I manage to go week after week for like 8+ hours in a day to just play the same old thing I find it quite enjoyable.

Anyway, there should not be any problem provided its fine by you to only stick with 2-3 people. I know of people who get bored with only a couple people and I can respect that. Even outside of that I know people who lack competition and still rely only upon the same person. Its probably just your misfortune that the person you play with is getting tired of smash. I suppose if they are getting tired of playing you guys should find some new people to play against or just start trying to mix things up. For my weekly events I head too its pretty typical to start out matches as well as you can, then as the day goes on we devolve to doing random stuff. One time we reverted to trying to speed run adventure mode with Pichu and CSP frequently.

 

[Myran]

Hmm... Thanks for the insight. It's nice to know that other people have the same feeling about it as me.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

I think Eryx pretty much explained most of what I could have said here.

Nice avatar though.

 

[Myran]

I think Eryx pretty much explained most of what I could have said here.

Nice avatar though.

Why thank you. Your's is quite nice also.

 

[bdk01]

Playing only a handful of characters and getting better with them is a valid action. If he doesn't like tourneys and the competitive scene; you have rights to leave him in the dust. I'm having plenty of fun maximizing my Olimar, Falco and anti-pikachu game with Mr. Game and Watch. If this doesn't help, I misunderstood the question.

 

[Myran]

Well he does like the competitive aspect, but recently he has been getting agitated because: 1 when we play it usually on an HD-TV 2. His controller has some problems about being buggy because its old. I think its him most of the time, but he is determined it isn't. Lastly I have learned how to beat his Falco and G&W so after losing a lot, and the annoyance that is the controller or his error whatever it may be he says lets just do friendlies or he just wants to stop. But friendlies aren't near as fun. He still likes to do mains, but wants to do casual fights with others after a bit.

 

[bdk01]

If he says his controller is broken or some other excuse, yell "No Johns!" before the match. Source: http://www.ssbwiki.com/John

 

[Myran]

Lol, I'll keep that in mind. Also it's done to an excessive amount. I have been telling him to buy a new 1 when he has money, but he doesn't for whatever reason he may have.

 

[bdk01]

Then, he's lying. Switch controllers and see if it's broken or "broken".

 

[Sashimi]

I don't think having a main and playing casually are mutually exclusive. I've only been playing competitively for about a year, and I've always had a main in every game. I still play casually in 64, and I always use Yoshi. I don't think it's bad to be happy with just one character (or three in your case).

I think that wanting to play competitively is only a problem if it completely prevents you from being able to play casually. In that case, you have lost something, but it's up to you whether or not that's bad.

He proceeds to say getting into the competitive scene has ruined the fun aspect of brawl.

I think that depends on your definition of fun, and what you expect from the game. If fun is goofing around on 75m with only explosive items on, then go for it. But if fun is looking for depth and competition, and trying to improve your skill, then go for that. Or it might be somewhere in between. But if your friend wants to play casually, it shouldn't bother him if you want to play Olimar every match. Playing casually isn't always "random characters, random stage, all items on very high," any more than playing competitively is "no items, Fox only, Final Destination." No one, not even Nintendo, can tell you how to play the game.

I think it's also worthwhile to note that casual players tend to wander to the newest game, while competitive players tend to stick to a single game or series. That's not necessarily bad, but I think if your friend is getting bored with competitive playing, he probably won't keep playing Brawl for very long. There are new games coming out all the time, and sooner or later, he'll want to play one of those instead. Again, not a bad thing. It's just a bit disappointing for the other player.

 

[Myran]

Well it's like this. My Olimar will stomp every character he plays except Falco and G&W that's why he want's me to change. Also bdk01 I have played with the controller he uses, and I'll admit that very rarely I see a glitch or something. I tell him that and he says its just me, because he has had a few other friends play with it and have the same issue. Also I play with Wiimote and Nunchuck, and occasionally he has said I don't have enough Gcube controller practice to notice. Which isn't true because I have taken sets off of him using the Gcube controller.

 

[bdk01]

I use Gcube controller and I play like I do with the classic controller.

 

[MoonlapseOpethian]

Well it's like this. My Olimar will stomp every character he plays except Falco and G&W that's why he want's me to change. Also bdk01 I have played with the controller he uses, and I'll admit that very rarely I see a glitch or something. I tell him that and he says its just me, because he has had a few other friends play with it and have the same issue. Also I play with Wiimote and Nunchuck, and occasionally he has said I don't have enough Gcube controller practice to notice. Which isn't true because I have taken sets off of him using the Gcube controller.

If you need someone to play competitively with you, add me and we can do a few matches. =)

 

[Myran]

If you need someone to play competitively with you, add me and we can do a few matches. =)

Thanks, but I'm not one to do to much wifi because my internet randomly drops and I can't stand the lag. If I do decide though I'll let you know.

 

[κomıc]

Play the way you want to play. I've played Kirby and Ness exclusively for a long time up until two years ago where I decided to go crazy and play everyone on the roster. I have the most fun that way and it's also good to learn how a character plays. Also, it's good for those who want to practice with you. They're probably benefit the most since you'd be playing a handful of characters but at the same time along the way, you'd learn match ups and maybe find a character you're really good with but didn't think. Hence why I found out that I play well with Jigglypuff, Yoshi, Pit and Pokemon Trainer over the years. Recently I've been playing Bowser a lot and have been doing really well with him.

But honestly, I don't see myself replacing Ness and Kirby. I just think it's really more complimentary especially for doubles (which I prefer over singles anyhow). From my experience, learning a good amount of characters can also be really beneficial because switching up your characters will keep your opponent from getting too comfortable in learning your playstyle with a certain character. I tend to rotate Ness, Kirby, Jigglypuff, Pit and Pokemon Trainer in Tournaments.

 

[Myran]

Well the results from playing Olimar far exceed anyone else. Also since I am pretty new into competitive play I want to place as high as possible. So Olimar is the only viable option I have, and is all the more reason just to get better.

 

[Toon Link 99]

I don't think it is bad. Use all character can be challenging, I tried. I decided to use seven characters instead, and it works much better. I don't play to win. I play because I enjoy it.

 

[eshu125]

There's nothing wrong just 1 character. If that's what you ENJOY then there's no reason to question it or justify your opinion on the matter. I've always stuck to a few characters in every game I play (even ARTS') because personally I find fun in the overall experience, depth and hardships (losing and having trouble fixing the issue is a great 'competitive' example) and not a certain character's move-set. No match is ever the same, and as long as phenomenon exists, I'll stick with the character that I most enjoy playing.

As for you friend:

Since he got into playing competitively with you, I'm going to assume that he has a competitive mindset. And I think there's a difference from a competitive mindset and a winning mindset. You can be competitive but have a terrible winning mindset, e.g. your friend. Now that you're noticeably stronger than he is, he can't stand losing every game and he would much rather 'play casually' (casual gaming is the stupidest term ever invented) so that at the end of the day he doesn't have to face the fact that he wants to win but is constantly losing. It's easy for us to say in our head, 'well I lost, but it wasn't a serious match so it doesn't matter'. He's still competitive, but he would rather take the easy way out rather than using perseverance and figuring out a way to beat you and fulfill his goal to be better than you. Needless to say, if he has a problem with you playing the way that you want, it's a lost cause.

Of the competitive and winning mindset, I hope that you are the ladder. And really the key to that mindset is to understand that you learn the most when you fail, and there's always room to improve and grow when there are so many choices to make (kind of like life right? Isn't gaming cool?). Try and find some good players in your area that will put you in the same position as him and see where you end up.

 

[Ghostbone]

There's nothing wrong competitively with playing one character/a small subset of characters.
Your friend might not find it fun though, and that's understandable.

I guess it comes down to whether you really want to improve or just play for "fun".
If you and your friend want to improve it's probably best you stick to a few characters (and make sure you play vs lots of people)