zephyrnereus
Smash Journeyman
First of all, I'd like to point out that the following post will address ALL the Mii Fighter variants (brawler, gunner, swordfighter). If anyone can help me spread this message to other sites, that would be amazing.
Mii Fighters have been quite the predicament ever since the game was released. Many people complain about them, and yet they are considered as some of the weakest characters in the game. I and many other players believe that these characters have potential, but tournaments are limiting their power by restricting them to the 1111 set, or downright banning them. Their reasons? They use “custom” movesets. I think it’s about time we figure if a Mii is a “custom” character… and if not, then what exactly is it?
We all know how EVO went when they used customs, and by now most of us agree that customs should remain banned. But what exactly is a custom character?
Chibo is one of the well-known gunner players, and in this article he has separated the definition of “custom” into two vastly different answers.
“Wait, didn’t you just say that Miis ARE custom characters? How can they be custom and not custom at the same time?“
We can all agree by now that out of the previous two definitions of “custom characters”, almost everyone has been using the second one, since most tournaments allow 1111 Miis. Here’s the deal though: unlike every other character in the game, Miis are the ONLY ones that can use different special movesets whether or not the Custom Fighters tab is set to ON or OFF. If we follow the second definition, it implies that Miis are not technically custom fighters.
I believe that the Brawler, Gunner, and Swordfighter should be classified as “Mii Characters” (duh)
But…what does this mean to Mii users? Well for starters, we need to define what a “Mii Character” is. I offer you this definition.
“Mii Character- a unique style of fighter that is able to select various Special moves, while retaining the same Basic moves within all variants without the need to activate the Custom option.” By this definition, only the Brawler, Gunner, and Swordfighter have these attributes.
Palutena does not fall into the “Mii Character” definition. She falls into the “Custom Character” definition, as she is unable to select her other specials once the custom switch has been turned off. Palutena’s moves are considered “custom” by the system itself, so that means that all of the Miis’ different specials are NOT custom. It is their special “gimmick”. They are simply able to pick from a pool of moves that other characters have no access to. Many other characters in the roster have their own unique gimmick, and although not everyone has them, they are all equally allowed in tournaments.
Ok, so by now we can agree that Miis should be allowed to use their full set of special moves… But what about height and weight? With a choice of 12 moves to pick from, and the ability to pick from short to tall, skinny to fat, there are near infinite combinations to pick from and to learn against! Here is where the second part of the definition comes in. I know many Mii mains will not like this, but I believe that the optimal way to use these characters is with MEDIUM height and MEDIUM weight.
The arguments that come from us are, “but minimum/quarter height and minimum weight is the most optimal!” or the more casual, “but that will make my Mii not unique!” I believe that people accepting these characters’ vast arsenal to choose from is already one huge step, and I also believe we should draw the line there.
If we follow the definition I posted earlier,
“Mii Character- a unique style of fighter that is able to select various Special moves, while retaining the same Basic moves within all variants without the need to activate the Custom option.”
Then by this definition, altering the height and weight from the default medium WILL cause their basic moves to change. It is a known fact that smaller Miis are able to jump higher, run faster, and have less endlag on their moves. This is a HUGE change when it comes to competitive play. Not only that, but preparing a custom height Mii without the proper tools WILL slow down tournaments. It can even be considered as stalling and can get you disqualified. Why is this? Because you have to:
This process can easily take at least 5 minutes to do, and that is a big time waster in tournaments. Sure, this can be solved by loading a premade Mii from a 3DS, but then what about those who don't have a portable system with the 3DS copy of the game? Excluding them would be unfair.
I believe that restricting the Miis height and weight is a perfect compromise to what we are asking. After all, a gunner with 1111 will kill you with their Forward smash at the exact same percent as a gunner with 3122, and both will die at the exact percent if they have the same height and weight.
Height and weight are not the only things we need to worry about. Another argument that people use against Miis is “it wouldn’t be fair if the Mii is able to change their specials between rounds.” I agree with this point of view. Being able to change movesets as a way to “counterpick ” your opponent is a tad unfair. Chibo states this as well in his article, and this is what he wrote in response:
If you’re interested in the cause, you should read through the whole post. But here is a short and sweet ruleset to remember:
As for my final thoughts? Well I believe that to get what we want we have to be clear about it. Tournaments are not only a place to compete, but to have fun as well, and I feel that limiting these amazing characters is unfair, especially when it’s due to a lack of knowledge. None of their moves are overpowered, and although they could get out of line, a simple and universal rule can easily fix this, just like how we use 2 stock and 6 minutes as a standard. If by any chance, people begin to discover that certain moves these characters have are broken (and I mean literally, like freezing the game) then that one specific move can be banned.
Here is to hoping that all Miis become fully legal!
Introduction
Mii Fighters have been quite the predicament ever since the game was released. Many people complain about them, and yet they are considered as some of the weakest characters in the game. I and many other players believe that these characters have potential, but tournaments are limiting their power by restricting them to the 1111 set, or downright banning them. Their reasons? They use “custom” movesets. I think it’s about time we figure if a Mii is a “custom” character… and if not, then what exactly is it?
Definition of “Custom Characters”
We all know how EVO went when they used customs, and by now most of us agree that customs should remain banned. But what exactly is a custom character?
Chibo is one of the well-known gunner players, and in this article he has separated the definition of “custom” into two vastly different answers.
Following the logic of the first definition, that would mean that ALL Miis should be banned, including the “standard” 1111 that many tournaments are using. This is because no one is able to select a Mii fighter from the CSS unless it has been previously created in the custom section. But, if we go by the second definition, then ALL Miis are allowed, including the ones that are considered “custom.” But now we bump into another problem… people start to complain that Miis should ONLY use their 1111 moveset in tournaments, because the others are deemed as “custom.” This is where I present to you this counter-argument. “Miis are NOT custom characters.”A custom character may be either:
- A character that needs to first be created from the Custom Menu before it may be used in battle
- A character that can only be selected for battle when Custom Fighters is set to On in the game settings
Definition of “Mii Characters”
“Wait, didn’t you just say that Miis ARE custom characters? How can they be custom and not custom at the same time?“
We can all agree by now that out of the previous two definitions of “custom characters”, almost everyone has been using the second one, since most tournaments allow 1111 Miis. Here’s the deal though: unlike every other character in the game, Miis are the ONLY ones that can use different special movesets whether or not the Custom Fighters tab is set to ON or OFF. If we follow the second definition, it implies that Miis are not technically custom fighters.
I believe that the Brawler, Gunner, and Swordfighter should be classified as “Mii Characters” (duh)
But…what does this mean to Mii users? Well for starters, we need to define what a “Mii Character” is. I offer you this definition.
“Mii Character- a unique style of fighter that is able to select various Special moves, while retaining the same Basic moves within all variants without the need to activate the Custom option.” By this definition, only the Brawler, Gunner, and Swordfighter have these attributes.
The Palutena Dilemma
What is so great about this new definition is the fact that it addresses one of the main counters to our petition: “if Miis can use custom moves, then Palutena should be able to because she has her custom moves from the start.” This then leads to, “if Palutena can use her custom moves, then ALL characters should use their custom moves.”
Palutena does not fall into the “Mii Character” definition. She falls into the “Custom Character” definition, as she is unable to select her other specials once the custom switch has been turned off. Palutena’s moves are considered “custom” by the system itself, so that means that all of the Miis’ different specials are NOT custom. It is their special “gimmick”. They are simply able to pick from a pool of moves that other characters have no access to. Many other characters in the roster have their own unique gimmick, and although not everyone has them, they are all equally allowed in tournaments.
Infinite Possibilities? Not Really
Ok, so by now we can agree that Miis should be allowed to use their full set of special moves… But what about height and weight? With a choice of 12 moves to pick from, and the ability to pick from short to tall, skinny to fat, there are near infinite combinations to pick from and to learn against! Here is where the second part of the definition comes in. I know many Mii mains will not like this, but I believe that the optimal way to use these characters is with MEDIUM height and MEDIUM weight.
The arguments that come from us are, “but minimum/quarter height and minimum weight is the most optimal!” or the more casual, “but that will make my Mii not unique!” I believe that people accepting these characters’ vast arsenal to choose from is already one huge step, and I also believe we should draw the line there.
If we follow the definition I posted earlier,
“Mii Character- a unique style of fighter that is able to select various Special moves, while retaining the same Basic moves within all variants without the need to activate the Custom option.”
Then by this definition, altering the height and weight from the default medium WILL cause their basic moves to change. It is a known fact that smaller Miis are able to jump higher, run faster, and have less endlag on their moves. This is a HUGE change when it comes to competitive play. Not only that, but preparing a custom height Mii without the proper tools WILL slow down tournaments. It can even be considered as stalling and can get you disqualified. Why is this? Because you have to:
- Close the current game (Smash Bros)
- Go to the Mii maker
- Create a brand new Mii
- Set it up to the EXACT height and weight as the one you use at home
- Close the program
- Reload Smash Bros
This process can easily take at least 5 minutes to do, and that is a big time waster in tournaments. Sure, this can be solved by loading a premade Mii from a 3DS, but then what about those who don't have a portable system with the 3DS copy of the game? Excluding them would be unfair.
I believe that restricting the Miis height and weight is a perfect compromise to what we are asking. After all, a gunner with 1111 will kill you with their Forward smash at the exact same percent as a gunner with 3122, and both will die at the exact percent if they have the same height and weight.
More Limits That Should be Considered
Height and weight are not the only things we need to worry about. Another argument that people use against Miis is “it wouldn’t be fair if the Mii is able to change their specials between rounds.” I agree with this point of view. Being able to change movesets as a way to “counterpick ” your opponent is a tad unfair. Chibo states this as well in his article, and this is what he wrote in response:
I agree wholeheartedly with this rule (although I’m personally against banning costumes, but I can compromise if we are allowed to use all moves.)While there should inherently be no issue with this, I can understand the concern, and most important, the time needed if players were to create up to 3 or 5 different Miis per set. In order to help appease this, I created the following rule which was used in events such as MLG 2015 Finals: “Each player may make one Mii Fighter of each type (Brawler/Gunner/Swordfighter) during a set when they intend to use them. They may only use a system default Mii with any special combination of their preference. The appearance or equipment may not be altered." Fans of Miis have begun to adapt this rule at their events, and found it to be a good compromise for keeping the integrity of the counterpick process, and making sure this doesn’t become a time issue.
Here is something to think about: this iteration of smash bros has four class of fighters:
ANY character that is not in the Standard class can be argued and banned if we really wanted.
- Standard Characters
- Unlockable Characters
- DLC Characters
- Mii Characters
Likewise, these characters can be restricted in a similar fashion.
I ask you, why then are TOs demanding to only bring setups that have ALL unlockable characters and DLC characters available, but not allow Miis with variant loadouts?
The TLDR and Conclusion
If you’re interested in the cause, you should read through the whole post. But here is a short and sweet ruleset to remember:
- All special moves allowed
- Mid height and weight only (guest miis are defaulted to these stats)
- No changing special moveset between rounds. (changing mii type is ok)
As for my final thoughts? Well I believe that to get what we want we have to be clear about it. Tournaments are not only a place to compete, but to have fun as well, and I feel that limiting these amazing characters is unfair, especially when it’s due to a lack of knowledge. None of their moves are overpowered, and although they could get out of line, a simple and universal rule can easily fix this, just like how we use 2 stock and 6 minutes as a standard. If by any chance, people begin to discover that certain moves these characters have are broken (and I mean literally, like freezing the game) then that one specific move can be banned.
Here is to hoping that all Miis become fully legal!
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