Is playing a lot of characters a bad thing?

[Deleted member]

Another thread by yours truly, lol. For a while this has been a question that's been nagging me: is playing a lot of characters a bad thing, and does it actually undermine your play in the end of things? Apologies that this OP is kind of sparse in advance but yeah.

I mainly play as ,, and in most serious matches and in tourney play, but I have an affinity for most of the cast and put a good amount of time into characters as secondaries, but I don't put them at the same priority as I do the aforementioned four. I also have some pockets I use time to time, but not often. Just wanted to throw that out as an example. How do you guys feel about this? I'm interested on your input.

 

[Metal Shop X]

Personally, i think if you don't have the goal to be the best player in the world. Playing alot of character is not a bad thing. Heck, i play in every Smash Bros all the character in the roster. Of course, there is some that i am better and some less. But really, i think it's just better for a casual like me.

For serious player however, i think it's better to have like only 4 character at worst. Or else, you're not going to be able to be effective with you're main if you keep switching of character.

At the end, i will just say it depend of the player.

 

[mario123007]

Okay, for the poll, I have mixed thoughts about this. Because I have some questions to ask you:

Do you want to play Smash competitively?- If you do, technically it's better for you to focus on a single character so you can know more about that character's advance techniques. But on the other hand, always pick one or a few "fun" characters.

I bet for most Smash players, we often pick our favorite characters in the beginning, just like how when you choose your starter Pokemon. But the more you get into this game, you will notice that your character might be either too difficult to use, or just boring to use. So try to use other characters isn't a bad idea either.

Personally, I think it's bad to "main" tons of characters, but not bad if you just "play" them. My signature does have a bit of flaws because as you see... I have twelve "mains".... so far the characters I used the most often in FGs or just local matches with my brothers are . Secondaries:. Still in training:

 

[Acker]

Playing a lot of characters it's perfectly fine imo

Obviously in something like a tournament you want to play with your best character but if you're playing with a friend just play whatever character you want.
And for seeing this in a more "competitive" way, playing a lot of characters maybe can help you understand what that character can and can't do and this can be definitely useful for when you need to fight that opponent.

 

[Deleted member]

Okay, for the poll, I have mixed thoughts about this. Because I have some questions to ask you:

Do you want to play Smash competitively?- If you do, technically it's better for you to focus on a single character so you can know more about that character's advance techniques. But on the other hand, always pick one or a few "fun" characters.

I bet for most Smash players, we often pick our favorite characters in the beginning, just like how when you choose your starter Pokemon. But the more you get into this game, you will notice that your character might be either too difficult to use, or just boring to use. So try to use other characters isn't a bad idea either.

Personally, I think it's bad to "main" tons of characters, but not bad if you just "play" them. My signature does have a bit of flaws because as you see... I have twelve "mains".... so far the characters I used the most often in FGs or just local matches with my brothers are . Secondaries:. Still in training:

I do play Smash competitively, and like to think I'm decent at the game. Like I said, ,, and are who I use in serious play the most but is definitely the character I know in and out and have put almost all my time to. I've got around nearly 75 hours of playtime with him.

 

[BlueX]

It depends.

If you are playing Smash competitively then having more than one or two mains will seriously effect you. Mostly on performance and learning the character. You should always focus one or two characters and learning their punish games, combos, mix ups, etc. Solo maining is much better if you really want to be good at any Smash game. Knowing what other characters do and learning their meta game is OK so you can avoid the other characters punish games, combos, etc.

If you are playing the game for fun then it is OK to main than one or two characters.

 

[mario123007]

I do play Smash competitively, and like to think I'm decent at the game. Like I said, ,, and are who I use in serious play the most but is definitely the character I know in and out and have put almost all my time to. I've got around nearly 75 hours of playtime with him.

In this case, yeah, you should better focus on one or two characters when playing competitively. And also try to pick at leat one high/top tier character. But again, it's not bad if you just try to play many characters. However, if you found some other characters you are actually good at then those characters you have used so far, go ahead and try to learn on the character.

 

[Tizio Random]

No, I think it's even beneficial. Learning to play a character just that little amount that you can say you know how to kill your opponent at a reasonable percent means that you will have less trouble against that one. Playing a character you don't use and learn the moves, recovery and how it feels in general helped me quite a lot with characters that gave me problem. And characters I have problems against now (mainly ) coincidentally are some of those I can't use at all.

I would say, however, to concentrate the big effort of learning EVERYTHING of a character to max 3 of them. Three mains brought to max level is a great accomplishment.

 

[valakmtnsmash4]

I play smash 4 competitively, and that characters I play the most are:
60%
30%
8%
2%
Shulk and falco are the characters who I strive to be better At
mario is a character I use to deal with the top tier girls
Samus Is so fun on FG
I think playing a small group of characters that you are dedicated to is the ideal response from me

 

[Xermo]

Will someone provide me with evidence that playing multiple characters somehow stunts your ability to perform as optimal as possible with your actual "main." This argument is constantly thrown around in these kinds of threads with the idea that, somehow, playing more than 2-3 characters is bad for you.

Learning to play bowser, Falco, Lucas, mega man, pac, shulk, ike, cloud and metaknight at what can be referred to as the "competitive" level hasn't stopped me from being the best Ness in my state.

 

[Tizio Random]

I don't think that. Once you learn the fundamentals you can play everything you want. But I wouldn't recommend to a novice to test as much characters as possible just to learn to play the game.

 

[RIP|Merrick]

Getting to know other characters options and their kind of matchup coverage really helps grow your mind on what they're capable of, and if you can play them at a very competent level, more power to you! I quickly learned through months of extensively playing Luigi at a competitive level that solo maining him was out of the question; I was gonna need a few other characters help, even if they are for more niche uses.

People tell me all the time that I'm going to get worse if I use other characters in tournament, but honestly screw them. I'm playing this game how I feel I should to get the results I do. I recently played Luigi (main), Wario (secondary), and Lucario, Rosalina, and Zelda all in one tourney day and ended up getting 3rd overall. I enjoy learning the options a vast amount of characters can use in their many different matchups, and I can apply that time to help myself grow my understanding of these characters intricacies.

But seriously, screw people who try to make you play the game how they want you to. Pick a few characters and learn.

 

[Ghostly ~]

Not really. When it comes of going to the competitive side, I pick few characters (, , , , , , ) that focus on specific match-ups that I might be able to win the game.

I only pick a lot of characters when I don't take it seriously.

 

[Weedy Spyze]

I play as every character. I have favorites/characters I play more than others, but I always go with whoever I feel like at the time.

 

[mario123007]

Here's a video that I would like to share, even though it's about picking your "mains"

 

[C0rvus]

I think that it was Gootecks who said something about not being a character specialist, but instead becoming a "student of the game". To understand the game as a whole and learn all its quirks and bits of information. The goal of a student of the game is to be proficient with the whole cast, perhaps. I think this is unrealistic, but as an indecisive overthinker, I've dabbled in the bulk of the cast and still not found my main. I do feel that playing a lot of characters can help you to understand the game a bit more in general, and can also help with comfort in matchups.

However, continually trying to play a number of characters will hurt your play. Even if you became intimately familiar with like 12 characters, you couldn't remember all that info and the feel of those characters at will. In other words, keeping them fresh or warmed up would be impossible. Do yourself a favor, and stick to as few characters as possible if you plan on competing.

 

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

In Sm4sh, I made the decision to absolutely 100% exclusively main Dedede. Occasionally, I'd find a character every now and then that I liked. But I always went back to Dedede. I finally just started working on a true secondary to Dedede (Wario) in November and I still play Dedede like 85% of the time.

Being a dedicated solo main, and with the results that I have gotten over the span of the game, I really do strongly believe it's good to have one or two characters that you know back and forth and up and down. I play a lot of characters for fun, but when it comes to serious tourney play, you should have only three characters at the most you truly work on. It makes you a better player in the long run to adapt to hard MUs rather than just pick up a new character every time you lose.

That's just my opinion and playstyle though. Do what you need to do.

 

[ZafKiel]

As mentioned before, it depends on your skill. If you're trying to find your main, then it isn't a good idea to focus on many characters. I like to play Random for fun sometimes but when I get into serious practice, I've been sticking to Sheik for now. It's better to put in all your focus and energy into one character so you can improve faster.

 

[Buffoon]

Playing multiple characters is never a bad thing, helps you learn their strengths/flaws in the (likely) event that you have you fight a character that you play with.

 

[Kneutronic]

Well, I do play a good portion of the cast pretty well. Even then, I usually beat up CPUs as a random character to see if I can maybe get in to using whoever I end up with.

 

[mario123007]

Well, I do play a good portion of the cast pretty well. Even then, I usually beat up CPUs as a random character to see if I can maybe get in to using whoever I end up with.

I did the contrary, I use my main characters and play with random CPUs on my only Smash 3DS.

 

[_SoRa_]

Just play with who you like! :D I used to think that but I asked a really good player and he said: "The more characters you master or play, the better you will be" like I don't like Sheik vs Kirby, so I use Shulk or Sammy instead and some other MUs.
Also the more characters you play you will know better the MU, for example I play Mario for a week and I will be more used to him and the options he can do, so I will be better vs him.

 

[Tino]

Besides my mains you see on my signature, which I use more often, I do like to **** around with some of the other characters just for the hell of it...as long as it ain't another Mario character. I mean who needs them when Rosalina is all I need?

 

[FalKoopa]

Depends on your time and ability to learn them. If you have the time and patience to learn the ins and outs of each one, then go for it.

Personally, I'd limit myself to three characters though.

 

[cremebrulee]

I can't see what would be wrong with that

 

[jarbAin]

A thing about this topic that has been bothering me, is that does one forget how to play a certain character if he plays other characters more for a some time. I know that skills get rusty, but can skills get totally erased? I'd like to find out more about different characters, but i am kind of afraid that I can't play my main anymore.

 

[Raijinken]

Play who you want and have fun. But simply from a time-to-master stance, you'll be a bit slower on average in mastering any given character or matchup if you hop around. Ultimately, it's not a bad thing in itself, but if your aim is to be highly competitive, then unless you have a significant skill gap over the rest of your scene, it'll be harder to play multiple characters proficiently.

 

[Shining_Finger]

<CommonSense>
If one were to learn how to play each player competitively, it would help you counter and time those characters.
For example, according to a Smash Wiki, Shulk's counter lasts longer than many or most players' estimate. If one were to learn to play Shulk on a basic level, this error could be reduced or eliminated.
Similar situations arise with other characters.
If you learned to play Kirby on a basic level, you could observe his Recovery ability and take his Sword Attack from it into account when trying to block his recovery.
This is the sort of error you do not want to arise in the last match of a tournament.
However, learning this may take time away from learning Techniques and developing skill with particular characters, so it is a balancing act. Whether you wish to be able to predict your opponent better, or become better and less predictable, is entirely up to you.
</CommonSense>

 

[Modkiq]

I think being able to play most characters is a good thing, even if you're a competitive player. I have a couple of characters that I play in serious games, just like you, but I also enjoy playing most of the characters in friendlies/for glory. I think that if you are able to play as a character, you will be able to play against that character too, as you know what your opponent's options are.

For example, if you play against a character you know, you can work around his/her strenghts, while if you play vs a character you don't know, you don't know what to expect from that character either. A lot of people struggle with on for glory. Most people know what to look out for if I play a character like Mario, as they have probably played a lot against or with a Mario, but as soon as I use a character like Olimar they have no idea what to do.

So even if you don't want to use every character in the game in a tournament, knowing how to play them can help you counter them.

 

[McDizzle!]

A thing about this topic that has been bothering me, is that does one forget how to play a certain character if he plays other characters more for a some time. I know that skills get rusty, but can skills get totally erased? I'd like to find out more about different characters, but i am kind of afraid that I can't play my main anymore.

I believe that if you have put in a lot of time and effort training your main then you will still retain most of your skill with that character... even if you decide to start experimenting with other characters.

By training your main you form a "pathway" in your brain that contains all of your knowledge about said main. Since that knowledge is deeply ingrained in your mind I severely doubt that you will lose ALL of your skill with your main. You would probably just get a little rusty.

 

[Modkiq]

A thing about this topic that has been bothering me, is that does one forget how to play a certain character if he plays other characters more for a some time. I know that skills get rusty, but can skills get totally erased? I'd like to find out more about different characters, but i am kind of afraid that I can't play my main anymore.

I believe that if you have put in a lot of time and effort training your main then you will still retain most of your skill with that character... even if you decide to start experimenting with other characters.

By training your main you form a "pathway" in your brain that contains all of your knowledge about said main. Since that knowledge is deeply ingrained in your mind I severely doubt that you will lose ALL of your skill with your main. You would probably just get a little rusty.

I took a break from smash 4 for probably like 3 months, as I wanted to learn how to play rivals of aether instead, and when I came back to smash 4 it only took me a couple of hours before I was back on my old lvl again. Sure I didn't play as good as I usually would the first couple of times with the characters I play, butit did not take long to get back to my current skill lvl.

If you don't want to get rusty I recommend that you play a couple of games with your mains every day, even if you want to focus on another character that day, just to be sure.

 

[Ze Diglett]

Well, personally, I only really play two characters (check the postbit). There are a few other characters I like using, but I never really choose them because I have the most fun with Mewtwo by far and can pull wins with R.O.B. more easily when it counts.
Of course, that's just from the perspective of a mega scrub such as myself. If you think you're equally good with or just have a ton of fun with lots of different characters, then you go ahead and use as many as you feel comfortable with. So, basically, it really just depends on the player.

 

[CrazyPerson]

Is it bad... well what is your objective?

If you want to win the "World Championship" tournaments... (I know there isn't an official designation here.. but like any sport there are certain titles/championships that are considered the most prestigious) while you need to know your way around the roster, splitting your time between to many characters is going to hinder you. Probably need to devote most of your energy to learning even the smallest details of a tournament viable character, and maybe a secondary. 100 hours that you put into a 4th character vs 100 hours that your top level opponent but into his/her main... that is an edge for them. (unless yours happens to be a good counter pick.)

If you are more casual, and just want to have some fun smashing with friends... moving around the roster can be a lot of fun and help toward that objective. Nothing wrong with playing a game for fun, and doing what is fun, and not caring if you aren't that games equivalent of another games first ballot pro game hall of famer.

 

[Deleted member]

Well if you want to play competitively then having very few mains is probably a good idea so you can learn everything about the characters and know them inside out. Like, it's good to have a main, a few secondaries and maybe a pocket?

However I don't play Smash competitively. I prefer to play with friends so I main the characters in my sig. I have about 7 secondaries and about 10 'other' characters. If you don't play competitively it doesn't matter how many characters you main. I play as half the cast but the characters in my sig I play as the most and the ones I'm best with so I consider them my mains.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

I think the worst it could do to you is shift your focus from seriously improving with one character or two to giving you several different characters to have to improve with, meaning you'll have to put in some more time to get better with them all individually.

But if you're good at the game overall and have a decent understanding of the game's mechanics, it isn't seriously detrimental to your improvement in my eyes. I play lots of characters myself. I try to prioritize my mains first and foremost when it comes to improving my skill but it doesn't stop me from taking some time to get better with the others characters I like to play either.

In the end a big factor that contributes to all this is your own opinion. You can play as many characters as you want, you can play any characters that you like playing, etc. Casual or competitive, purely out of enjoyment or seeking to accomplish a goal, it's all up to you on how you want to play your characters. Everyone's gonna view a matter like this at least slightly differently and has different things they seek and enjoy out of the game, so no matter what, I don't think it's fair to say that playing any specific amount of characters is "bad".

 

[Swamp Sensei]

It improves your fundamentals as you have to rely on them more than the character.

Knowing your character is important, but so is remembering the basics.

 

[Simperheve]

Playing a large portion of the roster will give you more practical knowledge about character's weaknesses and how they can be overcome/ exploited. Playing a smaller portion of the roster will generally make you much better at those specific characters. It's about finding a good balance of both.

Generally, when I play by myself I focus on 4 specific characters (,,,). When I play with my brother we've basically split the roster so I use more (,,,,,,,,,,,, )

 

[LunarWingCloud]

Depends. If you're carrying experience from a character from previous games, you only really need enough time to master their changes. However, if you're someone picking out a new main for Smash 4, you need to not worry so much about using too many characters, because you need more time to really learn them and figure them out. That's how I feel anyway.

 

[DarkAuraful]

There's nothing wrong with wanting to play a lot of characters. Maybe you're just having fun with that much or really curious about learning them. If you're trying to find a potential main, secondary or pocket, though, then thats fine too.

I actually do that to. When I play, I only play with my main or my secondary. But I'm trying out different characters right now to have a potential pocket. I haven't decided whether or not it should be based on the character I like, or the move-set, but I have to admit trying a new character brings new flavor.

 

[itsmeMOB]

Nope, not at all. If anything, it helps you learn the game and matchups more as well as teaching you how to adapt to different character playstyles.

I play many characters out of the main 9 in my signature and they've helped me improve at them and get better at matchups/the game itself overall.





Hell, I'm going to be playing when they come out too.