Low Tier Inspiration?

[TheNumber47]

Hello all. I've been playing smash competitively for about a year and a half and I'm becoming more of a solid player and can't wait to improve more, but there's something that's been bothering me for a while. I've mained Marth and only played Marth ever since I first started playing this game. I've learned so much about the game with this character and he really helped me start off, but I'm at an awkward point. My true love is Samus, I love how floaty, defensive, mindgamey, and everything about the character. Until recently, a huge tech skill barrier has kept me from ever trying to play her. But I recently sat down and grinded out tech skill for about a week and I'm at a point where I think I can confidently use her. I'm honestly just very scared to try to main her now. Being that she's a worse character, it makes me very scared to try to main her and play her in tournament. I have a lot more experience and comfortability with my Marth and right now (and maybe in the future) I can play better and place better in tournaments with him. I don't know if it's worth it to try to relearn all of the top tier match ups (some of which are horrible!) with a new and worse character. I've thoroughly enjoyed the game with Marth and I still do, but I LOVE playing Samus, I feel like she's just right for me. Does anyone have any advice or experience to share? Thanks

 

[Sashimi]

Some things to think about from a low tier main:

1. If you play a low tier, you can expect two things: losing a lot for a long time, and having to seriously outplay your opponent to win.
2. Matchup inexperience will only get you so far, and is not a reliable strategy.
3. Some characters are low tier because they're bad, and some are low tier because they're very difficult. Most are just bad.
4. Playing a high tier and a low tier will slow your progress as a player. Choosing just one character is usually best.
5. If you intend to win tournaments, playing a low tier will get you nowhere unless you're the best player in attendance by a significant amount.
6. Some low tier players have playstyles that work so well with their character that using a high tier wouldn't make them do any better without really changing the way they play.

But at the end of the day, play whichever character you love most. It's a game, after all!

 

[(G-S.N) Chicago Ben]

Question here is do you play to win?
Or do you play for fun?
Even then samus is an above average character.

 

[mimgrim]

Samus isn't a low tier, y'know. She might not be top tier, but she definitely isn't low tier.

 

[Overtaken]

I've not been to a tournament myself, but I do have a close group of friends who I've played smash (melee and brawl) with for many years pretty competitively among ourself. From that experience at least, I've noticed that no matter what character you use, the key to winning is knowing your character, what the can do, what they should do, and being the one to execute first. I've never noticed a correlation between our winning percentages and the tier placement of our character, but inevitably, when one of us is playing a character we understand, and the Other isnt, the former usually wins.

 

[Citrus]

samus isnt even that bad

 

[Pichu Guru]

Take it from me, low tier is not such a bad thing. I use Pichu professionally. Of course, there's always my second option of Marth.

 

[pizzacato]

I'm a Samus main, and yeah she's definitely not low tier. She's also very dependent on your play style.
Are you Hugs? Low risk -> Moderate reward? (Defensive)
Plup? Moderate Risk -> High reward? (Offensive)
Or Darrell? High Risk -> Go Hard or go home? (Aggressive)

I'd like to say I play an Offensive Samus, walls of missiles as I approach. You definitely can't gain much without good experience. If you're not comfortable with using her in tournament, try $1 money matches. Get high stress experience and you'll become more comfortable.

 

[Bones0]

I think Samus is capable of winning tournaments, but at the end of the day, no one really knows. I think most people will never perform better with a "better" character that isn't their favorite to use. Many of those players quit completely because they are no longer enjoying the game, and simply having a real synergy with your character is pretty essential to developing a cohesive style. Playing a character you love seems much more conducive to ultra high level tasks like improvising and innovating, and a lot of people who switch characters all the time demonstrate a very noticeable lack of cohesion in their strategy which I think is also a sign of not being comfortable with your character. That is all stuff relevant to a playing to win mentality, but I think it's also worth noting that 99% of people will never be the best.

I try to have confidence in myself that I can be the best as long as I keep my mind and heart in it, but at the same time I would never play a game/character to be the best if I didn't enjoy the grind on the way there. I've played a decent amount of competitive games, but Melee is the only one I feel has really stuck with me because even after all these years, I can still hop on and mess around practicing and enjoy it. I can also still study videos in a slow, deliberate process without getting bored. Do you really want to put in months, probably years of effort to improve with your second favorite character? If the end result made the difference between 1st and 16th at a national, would you feel regret for having built up your Samus instead of your Marth? (And that is assuming, ofc, that choosing Marth over Samus would make that big of a difference, which I'm not even sure of).

 

[bigbro2233]

I personally think the tier list doesn't mean much. If your good at a low-tier character, figure out strategies to popular high-tiers and use them to your advantage. As a Ganondorf player, I prefer to use his Wizard's Foot and aerial attacks, plus his Up Smash as an air combo starter.