Main Limit

[Ramzy]

What makes Smash Bros the game it is without a doubt for me is the amazing all-star lineup of all the characters I grew up with, and some I have not but am joyed to learn about. The real issue here is knowing who to use when there's so many good characters. Because of this it's very rare to see someone truly stick it out with just one character forever.

When I say main I mean a character you genuinely use in the effort of winning, studying all their moves, being familiar with their strengths and flaws, playing them hundreds of times to build that experience level. Theoretically you can do this for everyone, but we only have so much time in our live, thus the choice.

Ideally I think 2 is a good number. For example I main Mega Man and put most my training efforts towards him, but I also use Charizard as a secondary who primarily would be reserved to use for a matchup that would usually be awful for Mega Man. But I mained Toon Link in Brawl so my familiarity with him allows me to easily pick him up in Smash 4 so it's a hard choice if I might as well continue to use him with my other two or not.

What do you guys think? Who do you main and if you have a secondary(s) why did you choose to have a secondary(s)? Do you think there's a smart limit? Or no limit?

 

[Random4811]

Right now I have Marth as my Hero-King of my mains, Captain Falcon as my main secondary, Kirby as a tertiary, and Fox as a 4th main.

 

[GdspdUblkprzdnt]

There's no real definition for "main" it's usually just your best character or the character you put the most effort into. For some Smash 64 players, the whole roster is their main.

As to how many you can realistically take on it's up to you. I think most people can pick up two characters and maybe even a third and polish all of them to their best potential. Past that it's all up to your will power/cognitive ability/investment in the game.

 

[popsofctown]

I feel pretty certain the tryhard, max performance optimum number of characters was 1 in Brawl, so this time with custom moves and flat matchups spreads it will be about 0.7.

The more you add, the more you're probably gimping yourself. Like playing a low tier character, it might be fun and satisfying for you but ultimately it's not improving your odds of winning.

Playing 2 characters is the minimum amount of damage you can do to yourself, and you can still get a good bit of variety that way. There's a good chance I'll have to play two characters to stay sane, but one would be optimal.

 

[Aunt Jemima]

I only play Kirby. I don't like anybody else on the roster. They all feel clunky and odd.

 

[Captain Norris]

I only play Kirby. I don't like anybody else on the roster. They all feel clunky and odd.

I am unfortunately the same with Captain Falcon. I somewhat know my way around Lucina and sonic too though.

 

[popsofctown]

I only play Kirby. I don't like anybody else on the roster. They all feel clunky and odd.

Well if you don't take ice breath you might be dealing with some clunky and odd every game

 

[Ramzy]

I feel pretty certain the tryhard, max performance optimum number of characters was 1 in Brawl, so this time with custom moves and flat matchups spreads it will be about 0.7.

The more you add, the more you're probably gimping yourself. Like playing a low tier character, it might be fun and satisfying for you but ultimately it's not improving your odds of winning.

Playing 2 characters is the minimum amount of damage you can do to yourself, and you can still get a good bit of variety that way. There's a good chance I'll have to play two characters to stay sane, but one would be optimal.

Yeah I feel this a lot that's why it took me forever to decide I should train with someone other than MM. I wanted to strictly only use him to master him the best I can, especially given his vast playstyle difference among the cast. But I caved. I guess I can always switch around with a secondary but stay consistent with MM.

 

[popsofctown]

Yeah I feel this a lot that's why it took me forever to decide I should train with someone other than MM. I wanted to strictly only use him to master him the best I can, especially given his vast playstyle difference among the cast. But I caved. I guess I can always switch around with a secondary but stay consistent with MM.

That's probably a good gameplan.

 

[Conda]

I've spoken about this in the past. Having a main means you DON'T use other characters to the same extent as your main one. If you do, then you don't have a main, and that's cool too.

A main is your sole character. A secondary main is someone besides your main that you also give your time, but still not as much as your actual main. They are not 'both' your mains, as that would simply mean you don't have a 'main'.

Having 3 characters you focus on equally means you don't have a main. And that's fine. The point of the word 'main' in this context is to make it clear that you focus on 1 character above the rest.

If you focus on 4 characters equally above the rest, then good for you. You play a fighting game competitively with the characters you are good at using, that's all that means. That's how a lot of people play. These are not 'mains', that's like calling polygamy 'monogamy'.

There's nothing noteworthy about focusing on 2-5 characters equally as your focus, and thus there's no need to call them mains. They are the characters you use.

Thus there's no such thing as having 5 mains, they are simply 5 characters that you focus on equally. The only correct answer for this poll is "1", becaue if it's more than 1, then we aren't talking about the subject of 'main' anymore, but characters you use competitively.

The point of the word 'main' loses all value if we reduce it to simply meaning "characters you use competitively" because that's not what it means to begin with. If you 'main' 5 character, just say you use 5 characters competitively. There's no reason to call them mains, because they aren't. A main is always alone as your #1 - if it's not, then it's not your main.

 

[Ravio_Yo]

TBH the more characters you can play well the better. Cover all the disadvantageous matchups.

 

[TehNub]

That's the problem. With this game, I cannot decide on a "main."

 

[SmashBro99]

Right now just Mario and Pac Man would be considered my "mains" (my two most played characters by a long shot, being played in For Glory where I'm trying to win), but in every version of Smash I like to learn all the characters I like, either the characters them self or how they play.

It's also a nice little bonus that learning so many characters helps me when I have to face someone using a character I know. I already know how they play and what they can do for the most part, ofc not every player plays every character the same way.

 

[The Real Gamer]

In my opinion it's always best to focus on mastering one character at first, then once you figure out which MUs you really struggle with you pick up a secondary to deal with said MUs (if necessary).

If you aren't a pro I feel like "maining" a ton of characters is counterproductive to your growth as a player. Why be "good" with a lot of characters when you can be GREAT with one or two?

 

[Ramzy]

I've spoken about this in the past. Having a main means you DON'T use other characters to the same extent as your main one. If you do, then you don't have a main, and that's cool too.

A main is your sole character. A secondary main is someone besides your main that you also give your time, but still not as much as your actual main. They are not 'both' your mains, as that would simply mean you don't have a 'main'. Having 3 characters you focus on equally means you don't have a main. And that's fine. The point of the word 'main' in this context is to make it clear that you focus on 1 character above the rest.

If you focus on 4 characters equally above the rest, then good for you. You play a fighting game competitively with the characters you are good at using, that's all that means. That's how a lot of people play. These are not 'mains', that's like calling polygamy 'monogamy'.

There's nothing noteworthy about focusing on 2-5 characters equally as your focus, and thus there's no need to call them mains. They are the characters you use.

Thus there's no such thing as having 5 mains, they are simply 5 characters that you focus on equally. The only correct answer for this poll is "1", becaue if it's more than 1, then we aren't talking about the subject of 'main' anymore, but characters you use competitively.

The point of the word 'main' loses all value if we reduce it to simply meaning "characters you use competitively" because that's not what it means to begin with. If you 'main' 5 character, just say you use 5 characters competitively. There's no reason to call them mains, because they aren't. A main is always alone as your #1 - if it's not, then it's not your main.

I mean the point wasn't about terminology, but I'm sure most people agree with what you say, myself included. Anyone who isn't my main that I use I generally refer to as a secondary i.e. "I use my main and two secondaries."

 

[Omegascizor456]

honestly even though you probably should keep to one or two i have like 6 or 7 i like to use on a regualar basis i mean it really is not to big of a deal in the long run... The only important thing is is that you geta fair deal of practice with your mains on a regular basis!

 

[Iron Kraken]

It took me about a 1000 games to feel I totally "got" Rosalina & Luma, so for first ~1000 games or so I played 90% of my matches with her.

Only recently I've been picking up Yoshi as a true secondary. I've been going back and forth between playing Rosalina & Luma and Yoshi. It's a way for me to check up on my progress as Yoshi - how does my Yoshi compare to my RosaLuma against the same opponents? Early on, opponents that couldn't touch me with RosaLuma could kick my ass with Yoshi. But a couple of hundred games in, my Yoshi has been getting better and better, and I'm starting to feel really comfortable with the character.

So to answer your question OP, I don't know if there really is a limit. But to state the obvious, the more time you divide between different characters, the less time you'll have to master a single character.

 

[LancerStaff]

It depends on who your primary character is. Character like Mario and Pit do well in most situations, so you're better off learning the slightly bad matchups instead of learning an entire new character. Megaman though? He definitely needs a secondary from what I hear. Not sure who would be a good choice, but the Megaman forums would be able to help you there.

 

[Crescent_Sun]

Coming from the Mega Man forums myself if there's a magic secondary to cover Mega Man's bad matchups I'd love to know it. Shulk has personally been proving great for me though.

 

[Launcecraft]

There is no ideal main count; just choose all the characters you feel comfortable with.

But if there needs to be an ideal main count, it would probably be 2.

 

[Kos-MosPlushie]

How I have it, is that I have three characters at the moment that I would call my mains:
PacMan, Megaman, Dark Pit

These three are the ones that I feel I am the best at and will spend the majority of my time practicing. However, I do have characters that I have a lot of fun with and if I wanted to I could swap out DP for any of the following:
Lucario, Kirby, ZSS, Duck Hunt, Jigglypuff, Sonic, Dr Mario

 

[Sneak Sneaks]

I actually have 4 mains, Mega Man being the first since I got the demo, Kirby being one of my most beloved character since Smash 64 and being useful when people call a "Spammer" with Mega Man since Kirby is great for the ground and air game and my other main is Ness for his powerful combos and his powerful killing moves (like grab, pk flash, pk thunder auto hit, headbutt etc..) and Mario for his amazing combo grabs and awesome meteor smash!

 

[MarioFireRed]

I technically have 3 mains: Shulk as my primary, and Mega Man and Robin as my secondaries. It's clear to me that I want Shulk to be my best character, but I also want to put some time for those other two because I enjoy them in the game (not sure if they actually cover Shulk's weakness though XD).

As for secondaries I have five that I like to play every once in a while: Falcon and Fox for that awesome rushdown feeling, Mario and Pit for pick-up-and-play types, and Lucina to practice my offensive spacing.

I'd personally keep the ideal Main count to one. It's best to have just one character you're better to use with, even if it's an extremely marginal amount, than the entire cast to have as your main character.

 

[Indigo Jeans]

For the most part this seems like an issue of semantics, though as lots of people have pointed out its also a matter of your growth as a player.

I always find myself playing characters I like, either in the sense of the character themselves or the playstyle. Literally the only reason I began to play Lucina was because I find her character design cute. The only reason I began playing Rosalina is because Ive always liked the character in all of her appearances. Over the course of time actually PLAYING as them grew on me, and I found not just the character fun but playing as them fun as well.

On the other hand I'm pretty sure I played ROB exclusively because of the community of players around the character. Then ROB grew on me as a character, THEN I began to genuinely and wholeheartedly enjoy playing ROB. So much so in fact that I can't bring myself to play as ROB in smash 4 because he doesnt feel the same. It isnt fun, and it feels like a chore.

Ideally I would pick my secondaries more logically, learning characters that complement my main and cover their weaknesses, but the same process applies

I honestly never expected myself to be spouting this "just have fun bull****", but really either that or the issue of decay of ability as a reason is a perfectly valid justification for the question of how many "mains" is "good".

 

[Trickerhere]

I would say one main character and one secondary. Sm4sh I main Sheik. Secondary -Mewtwo. However, I only main Marth in Melee, Brawl, and PM.

 

[LunarWingCloud]

I gave my vote to 3, but 4 might be okay. I think though it's more meaningful to consider only 1, maybe 2 characters, as your mains.

 

[Frostav]

Over in traditional fighters we call characters you play besides your main "subs". I'd say that I main Mr. Game & Watch and sub Captain Falcon. For random casual play I'll pull out Fox and Lucina as well, but otherwise I don't really play anyone else.

IMO subs can be useful to counter characters who give your main trouble.But a lot of Japanese fighting game players use only one character at all, so maybe that's just what us scrub westerners think >_>

 

[ItsMeBrandon]

I guess the poll you made is asking for the ideal number of mains rather than a certain limit one should probably have on mains. In other words, we'd be answering specifically "2" or "3" or so instead of "2 at most" or "3 at most."

I don't do competitive play, which might explain the fact I have 6 mains. Maybe others can do it, but I can't imagine playing competitively with 6 different characters and being very capable with all of them. Yet I went to a local tournament yesterday and used only my primary main Ness, and frankly I felt like I needed at least one more fighter to keep things a bit more fresh.

To me it sounds like you're fine maining whatever amount of fighters you want competitively as long as you're capable with all of them. Which I think a lot of people here have already said. That said, I guess this thread's talking about the ideal main limit/count rather than something like a supposedly mandatory main limit/count, so everyone's probably just free to do whatever they want. I've heard a few times (including the post right above mine) that Japanese players tend to main only one character, which is something most Westerners just don't do, I'm pretty sure. So it seems like it really does just come down to each person's preference and capability.

 

[XStarWarriorX]

Isai can main 12 chars in smash 64 and wreck.

Done that ever since, stuck with kirby all the way, and learning chars who I liked because of their franchises I've played not cause "they're really gud", if they're good cool, if not I get good with their strengths and learn to deal with the weaknesses, I always play matches with all of them so that I can give them attention (course im the best with kirby but still). and throughout all the smash series i've had no problems with "oh dude if you main too much characters you'll waste time yada yada", that's bs cause, if you know your smash fundamentals, and I have since 64, the rest falls into place. So really there's no limit if you dedicate your free time, its all up to preference though.

 

[Bighands-Senpai]

To have a main means that you know and master everything there is about the character. You know your matchups, the hitboxes to everything it does and the techniques you can apply to its moveset. Needless to say, this is a really hard task as it is, so people that truly main two or more characters are people that have been playing the game for a very long time and have done extensive experimentation with them, not to mention all the battles they have won. Lots and LOTS of battles. That's why I'm a bit suspicious when people say they have two or more mains: either you are a veteran or one of those characters is a sub, not a main.

imo the ideal thing to do is have one main and two subs. There will come a time when you can say "hey, I think I know enough about this sub to call it a main now" and move on to other characters to sub, then main. That also takes time. The point is to be patient and not cluster**** yourself with mains, I guess.

 

[Archimedes]

I consider my mains the characters im working with competitively. Because its much easier to say theseare my mains the, "this is my main, my secondary, my third character, etc etc. I like to use a variety of characters so its hard.

Though if I had to be technical I'd say right now my main is Ness, secondary is Robin, and another extra character is Lucario. (thats not even mentioning the other characters I like to play)

 

[Elegant]

I've spoken about this in the past. Having a main means you DON'T use other characters to the same extent as your main one. If you do, then you don't have a main, and that's cool too.

A main is your sole character. A secondary main is someone besides your main that you also give your time, but still not as much as your actual main. They are not 'both' your mains, as that would simply mean you don't have a 'main'.

Having 3 characters you focus on equally means you don't have a main. And that's fine. The point of the word 'main' in this context is to make it clear that you focus on 1 character above the rest.

If you focus on 4 characters equally above the rest, then good for you. You play a fighting game competitively with the characters you are good at using, that's all that means. That's how a lot of people play. These are not 'mains', that's like calling polygamy 'monogamy'.

There's nothing noteworthy about focusing on 2-5 characters equally as your focus, and thus there's no need to call them mains. They are the characters you use.

Thus there's no such thing as having 5 mains, they are simply 5 characters that you focus on equally. The only correct answer for this poll is "1", becaue if it's more than 1, then we aren't talking about the subject of 'main' anymore, but characters you use competitively.

The point of the word 'main' loses all value if we reduce it to simply meaning "characters you use competitively" because that's not what it means to begin with. If you 'main' 5 character, just say you use 5 characters competitively. There's no reason to call them mains, because they aren't. A main is always alone as your #1 - if it's not, then it's not your main.

You're wrong. Players CAN have more than one main. A main character implies 1, but you can say "I have 3 main characters that I play". If you spend equal amount of time into 3 characters do you have a main? Not a sole main, but you have 3 main characters that you play, and chances are you'll be better with one or like one more.

The fact that you use your own ideology and are trying to force it on others is ridiculous. People can have a main character, or multiple main characters. The answer is whatever the person answering wants, not just 1 like you stated.

 

[Gunslinger]

Play and learn every character, but main one.

Unless a matchup is just atrociously in the other's favor, I'd rather overcome disadvantages with my main than learn a whole other character. That's just me though. Honestly, unless you're M2K the most characters the hard working Smasher can master is probably 2.

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

Playing only one character out of 52 all the time seems boring to me. Still, I could say that Dedede is my true main since he is the character I play the most and the one Im better with. Im almost as good with Sonic and I pull it a lot too. After that, I play Zelda very much and maybe more than Sonic, but Im still better with Sonic.

Then I play around 5 other characters, each at least once everyday, just to keep things interesting. And sometimes I even throw a guy I barely play and stick with him a couple of days to see if I can pull something cool with him and make it a future main.

 

[Cherubas]

This is an interesting question that I've never really given much thought to. I think it really depends on what each person thinks makes their main their main, because I'm sure there are people out there who have put in nearly the same time on 10 different characters because their tastes have changed. I'm sure there are people who would say every character is their main because they have a frustratingly loose definition of "main". And then I'm sure there are people out there who are equally good with 15 different characters but only considers 1 or 2 of them their mains. Probably even people who are best with Pikachu but consider Peach their main because they like her better.

I personally have 2 mains, but that's not really because I think they're the only two good ones, or even the best characters in the game for that matter. Ness has been my main since the first game because I like his design, I find him interesting, and I find the moves in his kit to be versatile and allow me to have fun as I try to adapt to any opponent. Bowser Jr (while honestly probably a lower tier character than Ness in this game overall) has been my favorite Nintendo character since his creation, and while most of his moves in this game are pretty punishable and he requires some good reads to play effectively, I would still choose him over an arguably easier character like ZSS or a character with arguably more potential like Rosalina, because I find Bj more fun.

There are other characters that I play quite well such as Diddy, Falcon, Lucina, or Sheik, and if I had put as much time into playing them as I have into Ness or Bj I might actually win more matches than what I do with those two. But the thing is if I could be known tomorrow as the single greatest player of _____ worldwide I would want it to be either Ness or Bj, even if the best Sheik player worldwide is going to win more tournaments than me. I just love everything about these two and there's no one else on the roster that I can say that for.

 

[Ramzy]

I find Bj more fun.

Maybe you should refer to him as Jr.

 

[Lichi]

In theory, there is no commonly confirmed limit to the number of characters a player could call a main, though it heavily relies on the definition of 'main', as stated above. You could be 'perfect' with every character and distribute your playtime evenly among them, though I guess then you would still not say "the whole roster is my main".
Practically, mastering all characters to perfection should be an impossible task for a human considering there's ~ 50 (including future DLCs). So you will be left with possible candidates for mains, which should be viable characters in terms of general strength and those you like by design. But this still means there is no real hard limit for the amount you could call a main.
Smash history has taught us though that most competitive players have one or two characters they excel as. Few are true masters of more than that, and this is a question of how much effort you put into it. The more you play, the more characters you could master. But I think at some point everyone starts with one character, and after a while adds more to complement it.

 

[Conda]

You're wrong. Players CAN have more than one main. A main character implies 1, but you can say "I have 3 main characters that I play". If you spend equal amount of time into 3 characters do you have a main? Not a sole main, but you have 3 main characters that you play, and chances are you'll be better with one or like one more.

The fact that you use your own ideology and are trying to force it on others is ridiculous. People can have a main character, or multiple main characters. The answer is whatever the person answering wants, not just 1 like you stated.

If you have three characters you play, they are not a main. If someone says they have a main, that means something. It doesn't simply mean they play a character, it means they only play one.

A main is like an only child - you cannot have more than one. If you have three kids, you have three kids. Not three only childs.

If you don't just use one character, then rejoice! You dont have a main! There is no reason for players to feel like they need to use the word 'main' if it doesnt apply to them. There are other words.

 

[popsofctown]

Maybe more like a spouse, you can only have one spouse, but you can cheat on your spouse, or divorce it for a new spouse, but you can't really have two at a time.

 

[Elegant]

If you have three characters you play, they are not a main. If someone says they have a main, that means something. It doesn't simply mean they play a character, it means they only play one.

A main is like an only child - you cannot have more than one. If you have three kids, you have three kids. Not three only childs.

If you don't just use one character, then rejoice! You dont have a main! There is no reason for players to feel like they need to use the word 'main' if it doesnt apply to them. There are other words.

You completely missed what I said. You don't have a main, you have MAINS with an S. Your analogy with children doesn't work because only implies one. Main does not imply one, it implies the character or characters you use the most. Using correct English it becomes "I main these three characters" or "My mains are: " etc etc.

If you have three characters you play extensively and you play none of the cast, you have three main characters. These are your go-to characters and everything else you play for fun.

A main doesn't mean they ONLY play one character, it means they play characters they call a main at a level where they are:
-comfortable playing competitively
-know the ins and outs
-will go to in a high pressure match

Going off of this, you seem to think that a main is ONE thing which it is not. Going off my last point "Will go to in a high pressure match" completely depends on momentum, and counterpick options due to stage/characters. People have a "Secondary" character for the reason to cover bad matchups, call it what you want but if someone is as comfortable on their "Secondary" they can also call that a main.

The fact that you're trying to relate a main to only child is ridiculous. If someone said they were an only child but they had 2 brothers I would be shaking my head. Maybe thats how it is for you when people say they have two mains or three mains, but if so YOU are the one that has a problem.

People can have more than one main character.