Learning how to choose a main

[loki15]

I’d like to start this out by saying two things. First: This is not a “Tell me which character to main” thread. I realize that that decision is generally, and should be, a much more internal, personal thing, which is what really sparked this thread. Second: I am a bad player. I can tell you that. My AiB singles ladder record could tell you that. Pretty much everyone I’ve played would tell you that. And what I really think it comes down to is this: despite playing with the intention of competitive play for more than a year, I’ve been incapable of deciding on a main.

I’m sure that I’m not the only one out there who’s run into this problem. But having a main really provides a competitive edge. And it’s something that seems to be overlooked by so many of the “Learning to Play”, “Learning to Win”, and “Playing to Win” threads. Maybe it’s something that top players grasp naturally. But it seems like a terribly important step to just ignore.

And it’s not that I haven’t tried. I have “mained” just about every character on the roster. For a day or two. Even a week. I think the longest I’ve lasted on any character is about a month or so. But for some reason, I can’t seem to stick to anyone one, or even two characters. Meaning I can’t advance past a certain point because I’m never really comfortable with a character; never really learn their range, frames, nuances. It means I know a bunch of random knowledge of weaknesses of characters which definitely helps in matchups, but when I don’t know how to respond, it’s rather useless knowledge.

So my question is: How did you, the reader, go about picking your main? What influenced you enough to make you choose how you did? How did you force yourself to stick to one character even after being thrashed, as MookieRah would say, and work through your character’s weaknesses?

I realize that there isn’t a general answer to any of these questions, that the ‘main-picking mentality’ differs from person to person. I’m just hoping to find some sort of similarity in thinking to my own, so that hopefully I can finally pick a main and really start competing.

If any real quality response is received, and interest is shown in the thread, I’ll even keep the OP updated, and turn it into a guide for others like me. A big thank you to any future posters.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

I main whoever gives me the largest competitive advantage, the character with the least weaknesses, and the most strengths.

In short? Main Metaknight.
/thread

 

[Raziek]

/un-thread

I main who I'm most comfortable with. This came down to Marth and Link, and since the latter is competitively unviable, I chose the former.

 

[Eddie G]

I main characters that fit my style but only among those who can actually compete in high level play. Diddy Kong, Snake, MK, Peach (yes PEACH you lazy skeptics, MM me if you want to be smug about it ;D), etc. These are all characters who I've become comfortable with over time and who I will stick and continue to grow with.

 

[Variable]

Pretty much what everyone else thinks, play you like the best and you are most comfortable with. Then out of the group of them decide which one you think has the most potential and will give you the best chance at winning on a competitive level.


In other words I wouldn't main anyone that is extremely low, even though you might be comfortable with.. Because even if you play them extremely well then still have a very slim chance of placing well.

 

[tekkie]

i main not-MK to make sure that there's someone out there who doesnt

its a heavy burden playing an unviable character to de-centralize the metagame but someones gotta do it ;D

 

[SharkAttack]

I main Link despite that fact he's very low tier. Jut like in the opening post I had this exact problem with Brawl for close to two years after switching from Peach to Diddy Kong to Yoshi to Luigi to Bowser back to Yoshi again and now Link. The thing about Brawl and any competitive video game is you continue to learn about the game the more you play it over a period of time; whether that be on your own in one player mode, online against other people, among friends competitively or casually, and lastly at tournaments competitively in hopes to win money/develop a name or ego, and/or just to have fun.

My problem with Brawl, and still to this day, is that my competitor seems to predict me no matter how much I feel I'm changing up my playstyle between defense/offense and evasiveness. This is true with many people. Not only this but when to go for a KO vs. when to let it come after racking up an insane amount of damage is another thing to determine in a match and gives people problems. Lastly you have to be aware of your main's strenghts and weaknesses. Are you better at expoiting the strenghts or weaknesses of your character?

What I had just written is just a minimal aspect of competitive play if your playing Brawl from that standpoint. Then there is the personality trait where when you play the game are you someone who gets nervous/excited/angry/has fun/likes to think etc. Some characters will make a person feel one emotion and others and entirely different emotion.

Ultimately there is so much that goes into a character based on understanding of the game, skill, strenghts/weaknesses of the character and how the player uses them, emotions, mindset and perception.

 

[Goldenadept]

i 2nd tekkies noble way of life, i too main a horribly crippled character thats devoid of competitive worth just so that i can say with pride i dont main mk, cause money and tourny wins dont mean **** to me. thats what having a job and a career is for you slackers :D

 

[RMZ]

LRMZ: I choose my main(s) (MK and Kirby) simply because they were cute characters. I felt comfortable with them and loved the fact that I was beating my opponents with adorable characters.
Poke! + Poke! = Death.

CRMZ: I choose my main(s) (Link and Snake) based on nostalgia. I loved playing these dudes on their games.

 

[WindMajor]

I chose Toon Link because when I played Melee, I used swordsmen (Link/YL/Roy/no marth).

Since Roy was gone, I decided to use Link. Link was good and all, but I just didn't like his weight or his recovery. I stuck with him though because he was better than the rest IMO at that time.

Then I unlocked Toon Link.

 

[Damage Points]

I main wario and 2nd MK and D3. Wario is who i have the most fun with, I fell in love with his moveset, his air mobility and his personality. hes a fun character for me to play and can hang with most of the top tiers. only reason i ever picked up MK or D3 was if i ever have to fight against them in a tourney cause I love pissing people off doing dittos.

 

[PieDisliker]

At first it was three chars I liked. Luigi, Wario, and Ness. I dropped Luigi because I knew I could really only be so good without mastering his down B to recover. So then it was just Wario & Ness. I was using Ness at first, but moved onto Wario because he was a better character and I had more potential with him.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

Picking a main isn't that important, kinda scrubby if you ask me.

It's simple. If someone said "I'll play you for a million dollars", the character you picked would be your "Main". Learn his moves and practice him or her. There's nothing wrong with playing multiple characters.

Just keep playing. You'll eventually find someone you'll stick with.

Also go play at tournaments. Who gives a **** about online brawl.

 

[loki15]

Also go play at tournaments. Who gives a **** about online brawl.

I have. And my wifi performance is not that much different than online as far as success goes. I was just using it as an example. Good players play well regardless of the setting, which is why the top scorers on the AiB ladder are also the ones doing well at tourneys, at least as a general rule.

In other news.

Thanks for all the response. I'm compiling this and hopefully gonna write an outline to picking a main for all those out there like me. This has been very helpful to at least here some of the thought processes of other players.

 

[#HBC | J]

i 2nd tekkies noble way of life, i too main a horribly crippled character thats devoid of competitive worth just so that i can say with pride i dont main mk, cause money and tourny wins dont mean **** to me. thats what having a job and a career is for you slackers :D

3rding Tekkie and agreeing with the way of making money

Nice read ^_^

Anyways I mained Lucas for 2 years when brawl first came out. The only reason being was I mained Ness since 64-melee. I actually was planning on using Ness in Brawl because when I first saw Lucas on Dojo I was like, "Wtf Ness wannabe." So I kept on going on hating Lucas till Brawl came out. I went him my first friendly with friends to see how he was....and he got very addicting. I kept practicing with him and I actually forgot about Ness I actually just used him for the first time and try and play aggressively a couple weeks ago.

So I just kept playing and practicing because I loved playing the character no matter what even though he is such a meh character. *Though until coming to the SWF I thought he was pretty good then realized how bleck he is*

So after 2 years I got bored quite frankly of playing such a character that gets no respect and isn't going anywhere. Then in a random game I found ZSS. <3 This chick is too good for me. Plus I will never main MK. Ew lol. I never knew how ZSS faired against everyone. Basically picking a main is just the character you can have the most fun with in Brawl. If competeing competitively then yes maining someone who is better suited is right however just have fun because it is just a game.

tl;dr: Just play the person you either
a.) think is cool
b.) have fun with
c.) most comfortable
d.) want to win....play MK sadly T~T

Your main will just come to you one day *shrug*

 

[Orion*]

tier *****.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

Simple logic.

fix'd.

If you're playing to win, MK is your best bet. If you aren't, go with whoever fulfills the function (your comfort with a character) / (character's placement on the tier list) = max the best.

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

I want to enjoy who I'm playing more than winning. I don't see a point in playing if I don't like who I'm playing, part of the reason I don't play a few fighters out there.

 

[mlorenzo]

just main the character you enjoy the most not matter their tier placement. If you get good with a char. you can fight any top tier character. Look at my main. He is able to take down any top tiers. :D I main Falcon. I even use him on MLG :D

 

[rPSIvysaur]

Metaknight da bess. Bess ya eva had.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

just main the character you enjoy the most not matter their tier placement. If you get good with a char. you can fight any top tier character. Look at my main. He is able to take down any top tiers. :D I main Falcon. I even use him on MLG :D

You enjoy giving away money, don't you?

If you're playing to win, pick a high-top tier at the very least (if not MK).

 

[loki15]

tier *****.

Didn't you just...

Whats with people and Honor

Metaknight da bess. Bess ya eva had.

Loved this song.

So sort of new question, although the ones proposed in the OP are still up for answering. How do you feel about, if you play a low tier main, finding a higher tier 'equivalent'? For better match-ups or what have you.

This seems rather obvious, but what I mean is a little bit more in-depth. I mean identifying the aspects about the low-tier character that causes you to like them. For example, let's say there's a Samus main. Especially, but not limited to, the areas in which D3's infinite is not banned, Samus in unviable. So this hypothetical player wants to switch mains to a character a little more tournament-viable.

Is it the chargable, powerful projectile? Lucario's probably the best bet. Is it the spammable projectile with flinch power? Falco or Pit. Explosions? Snake. Floatiness and weight? Rob

This is just one very simplified example, but I think it makes the point quite well. And I understand that people may not necessarily like the "tier horing [sic]", and that there are some people who will main characters regardless of tier placement.

This is just a way I've thought of things, and I wanted other people's opinions/ thoughts on it.

 

[Throwback]

picking a main isn't hard. Choose a character for whatever reason, then grow a pair and stick with it.

 

[Damage Points]

@ the kid who mains falcon

you played MLG with that garbage??? You consider yourself a competitve person?? I would 2 stock you everytime with all 3 of the characters I play with one hand tied behind my back and blind folded.

 

[Apollo$]

For some reason I enjoy the struggle of my mains since it makes winning feel twice as good.

 

[dj asakura]

Why people think you can do well with a lower tier character? My only issue with the Brawl community is the lack of dedication to any character outside of MK and A-tier.

I picked my two characters based on my love for the characters themselves and because I have fun playing them. Just because someone uses a lower tier doesn't mean they're throwing money away or wasting their time. Quite frankly, they're probably having more fun than you.

I hope so bad that at some point, someone destroys you people with a low tier character just to shut you up.

 

[Damage Points]

Most people play this game to be competitive with intentions of making money. I'm good with a few low tiers but I would never use them in actual tourney play. I likemy high tier characters I play Wario because he's my favorite Mario character and he's the most fun for me to play. You can not call yourself a competitive person tho and expect to win with a low tier. They don't have the necessary tools. Sure a more skilled player will always win the match but if even skill levels are involved high tier always wins.

 

[Kitamerby]

Why people think you can do well with a lower tier character? My only issue with the Brawl community is the lack of dedication to any character outside of MK and A-tier.

I picked my two characters based on my love for the characters themselves and because I have fun playing them. Just because someone uses a lower tier doesn't mean they're throwing money away or wasting their time. Quite frankly, they're probably having more fun than you.

I hope so bad that at some point, someone destroys you people with a low tier character just to shut you up.

Low tiers are not viable as standalone characters. Occasionally, they may have a matchup in a core area that can have them be considered as a possible counterpick/secondary option (such as Yoshi for Ice Climbers or Jigglypuff for Diddy Kong), but for the most part, even then there are just so many better options for secondaries to choose from who can cover more than just one or two problematic matchups. Sure, I could use Jiggs and Yoshi for Diddy and ICs, but why do that when I could instead use Marth and take them both out at once?

 

[camden]

For me, it was all about personal preference. I play the characters I like, not to win, but to have fun. If I start winning in the process, that's great. Let's be honest, I do want to win, but if I'm not having fun, then regardless of whether I win or lose, it's not enjoyable. It took me a year to discover that Kirby was truly the character for me.

 

[dj asakura]

Most people play this game to be competitive with intentions of making money. I'm good with a few low tiers but I would never use them in actual tourney play. I likemy high tier characters I play Wario because he's my favorite Mario character and he's the most fun for me to play. You can not call yourself a competitive person tho and expect to win with a low tier. They don't have the necessary tools. Sure a more skilled player will always win the match but if even skill levels are involved high tier always wins.

Low tiers are not viable as standalone characters. Occasionally, they may have a matchup in a core area that can have them be considered as a possible counterpick/secondary option (such as Yoshi for Ice Climbers or Jigglypuff for Diddy Kong), but for the most part, even then there are just so many better options for secondaries to choose from who can cover more than just one or two problematic matchups. Sure, I could use Jiggs and Yoshi for Diddy and ICs, but why do that when I could instead use Marth and take them both out at once?

Tell this to BigLou.

It just takes more work. Who's to say you aren't competitive if you use a low tier? What if you're GREAT with a low tier and wreck people? They are viable if you put in the work.

 

[Damage Points]

For me, it was all about personal preference. I play the characters I like, not to win, but to have fun. If I start winning in the process, that's great. Let's be honest, I do want to win, but if I'm not having fun, then regardless of whether I win or lose, it's not enjoyable. It took me a year to discover that Kirby was truly the character for me.

You said you like to have fun? I don't know many people who consider losing fun.

 

[Nitrix]

I play Pit because he is decent enough to compete with alot of characters, and very well rounded for the most part. Plus he has wings, swords AND a bow....@_@

I also like his U-Air.


.....I don't really understand why people main low tiers, I hate losing to stupid gimmiks

 

[tuestresfat]

Personally I love characters with great aerial mobility, combo ability, and a sense of balance to their game.

Might not make sense to some people but I just really enjoyed playing Marth and ZSS for a long time.

 

[Ixisnaugus]

In my opinion when it comes to choosing a main you simply go with whoever you wan't to go with, for whatever reasons that may be. People can jump on others, calling them tier whores and whatnot, but at the end of the day if their priority is to win then they're going to choose a top tier character, be it Meta Knight, Snake or whoever else.
If you're even playing competitively then winning has got to mean something to you, and if you wan't to maximize your chances of winning, obviously a select few individual characters are who you wan't to be looking at. Those who try to bring others down because of their character of choice aren't doing themselves any favors.

Everyone wants to win, there may be other factors for those who decide to opt out of picking a top tier character but we all still wan't to win one way or another. What I disapprove of are players who prance around telling people that they simply cannot win with characters below A-tier. It simply isn't as black and white as "I chose a top tier character so I can win and you didn't which means you can't win".
What's to say these people haven't put in the effort to learn difficult matchups, who's to say a Pit, or a Donkey Kong can't take on a Marth or Wario? Do I think a mid-low tier user will pop out of thin air and conquer all odds, winning a big tournament? Certainly not. However that scenario is all but impossible.

It's unlikely, it's impractical, and whether it's worth it is down to the player, but there are some who are willing to jump through every hoop, trudge through every swamp, climb every mountain, doggy-paddle every sea; there are people willing to go to hades and back to become good enough players to compete with the best using their underprivileged characters. Do I think they'll reach that red tape? I definitely have my doubts, but I'm not going to judge just yet. Neither should anyone else. They may be at a disadvantage, they may have to put in far more effort to reach the gold, but again: Those who try to bring others down because of their character of choice aren't doing themselves any favors.

As for myself, well I dug my own grave. I made a vow to stab it out with this character for as long as I play this game and I shall be sticking to my word. I promise myself every Smash to main a character from the Mario universe because it is my favorite franchise of all time and I enjoy playing as those characters the most. I should could have mained Peach or Luigi, but I chose Bowser, and I have reached the point where I am so used to playing this character that switching over to anyone else would be too much of a hassle for me as everyone else feels positively alien. That's fine though, I've accepted my fate, and at the very least I can promise everyone that winning as Bowser is far more satisfying for myself than winning as any other character.

Main whoever you wan't, for whatever reason you wan't. Just don't expect to get anywhere if you're not going to put in the effort.

 

[Dark 3nergy]

my main choose me.


Im dead serious. I ran into DDD one day behind a back alley...and it changed my life forever

 

[RMZ]

.....I don't really understand why people main low tiers, I hate losing to stupid gimmicks

CRMZ:
I don't think it's gimmicks. People play who they are most comfortable with. I love Link because he embodied the fighting style that I enjoy. He can attack from afar with his projectiles give a heck of a punch mid to close range. **** it to hell if he isn't high tier I can rock him and it's only a matter of time before my skill can make up the difference... I'll go down swinging with him in every battle I fight.

 

[loki15]

@RMZ and other low tier mains

What makes you choose to play the low tier when there's probably a higher tier equivalent? For Link, there's TL with a very similar playstyle and even some of the same ATs. Or Pit for the spammable projectile, bow, sword, and a better recovery.

I don't really have an answer to those who choose a character just because they like the character, or the game they come from. It's not that I don't understand it, but that doesn't follow with a competitive attitude.

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

@RMZ and other low tier mains

What makes you choose to play the low tier when there's probably a higher tier equivalent? For Link, there's TL with a very similar playstyle and even some of the same ATs. Or Pit for the spammable projectile, bow, sword, and a better recovery.

I don't really have an answer to those who choose a character just because they like the character, or the game they come from. It's not that I don't understand it, but that doesn't follow with a competitive attitude.

I ain't touching that.

>:E

 

[SFA Smiley]

Main Metaknight, if you wanna win.

If you don't care main whoever you like. I just main who the hell I want to because I'm gangsta. GW is my favorite chaacter and I like his glass cannon playstyle. I also like quirky gimmick characters and peach was pretty quirky. Marth is basically my MK in that he's a safety good character that I use when I need to win (Although my GW is better anyway I still keep him around) And I just think Bowser goes hard as a b-word.

You're thinking about it too hard, if you're losing and not getting better the main probably isn't the problem it's probably your overall game that needs work, like your mental game and stuff. Flip a 36 sided die (not literally because randomly choose a main and decide to stick with it) then learn about the character and just work on getting better instead of trying to find a main you won't keep. You probably keep changin em' because you're losing, but losing is the quickest way to get better.

 

[SFA Smiley]

@RMZ and other low tier mains

What makes you choose to play the low tier when there's probably a higher tier equivalent? For Link, there's TL with a very similar playstyle and even some of the same ATs. Or Pit for the spammable projectile, bow, sword, and a better recovery.

I don't really have an answer to those who choose a character just because they like the character, or the game they come from. It's not that I don't understand it, but that doesn't follow with a competitive attitude.

Because it's a GAME and there's more to the game than winning. If you're not going to play with money on the line who cares? and the ones that do play with money on the line, there are benefits to using lower tier character. It's not like all low tiers have get ***** matchups against every character higher than them. most are certainly winnable, I'm sure as you know Skill matters more than tiers even if these players were to switch to MK it's doesn't mean they'd beat the MK mains who actually main him or the people who are not just better but also familiar with the matchup. So why switch, you're probably putting yourself at more of a disadvantage than just going with the bad character you actually know how to use? get it?