Refusing to play high tiers on principle?

[Baby_Sneak]

I guess an interesting question to ask(if it hasn't been asked already); If everyone played the top 5 characters, would the game still be exciting, or stale and boring?

Depends on the person. For some, character variety is everything. For others, the players and comp. is all there is to it.

I'm in between

 

[The Legendary DJXYZ]

I guess an interesting question to ask(if it hasn't been asked already); If everyone played the top 5 characters, would the game still be exciting, or stale and boring?

That would be , and one of . I'd say that's pretty stale. Smash 4 is fun to watch because of its large character diversity. If someone wants a game where only the top few are played, go watch Melee. The entire played roster is :insert ice climbers emoji:, and then the occasional .

 

[Baby_Sneak]

Now that I think about it more, smash 4 wouldn't be that stale with just the top 5.

The players would matter so much more

 

[RmoneySmash]

Bottom tier mains are the coolest people in smash community, and it's absolutely worth it to stick with your bottom main all the way, and win with him/her rather than switch to an easier character. The satisfaction that comes with winning the way you want to is far greater than winning after compromising.

 

[Crystanium]

Anyone not playing a high or top tier out of "principle", as opposed to "I like X character better", isn't playing to win.

Unless said player feels a better connection with the character he plays as. I've tried different characters in Sm4sh and there are some I feel comfortable playing as while there are others I don't care for. Samus has been my main since SB64 and will continue to be to this day. I'm also picking up Zamus this time as well because I feel I should have done so in SSBB, but not because she's second on the tier list. I discovered that after. You should check out Jonny Westside if you haven't. His Samus has been able to keep up with one of the best Sheik players.

 

[SiO2]

Unless said player feels a better connection with the character he plays as. I've tried different characters in Sm4sh and there are some I feel comfortable playing as while there are others I don't care for. Samus has been my main since SB64 and will continue to be to this day. I'm also picking up Zamus this time as well because I feel I should have done so in SSBB, but not because she's second on the tier list. I discovered that after. You should check out Jonny Westside if you haven't. His Samus has been able to keep up with one of the best Sheik players.

What you describe is exactly a case of "I like X character better".

 

[Crystanium]

What you describe is exactly a case of "I like X character better".

More like, "I prefer to play as a character with whom I feel comfortable using." ESAM, a Pikachu player, believes Samus is a viable character, and again, there's Jonny Westside vs. ZeRo.

 

[HeavyLobster]

To clarify again, because so many people are misinterpreting my concerns, it's not about liking low tiers better, or being better with them, it's about not picking a top tier because you feel guilty about playing them. I mostly play low tiers myself because I don't like most high tiers.

 

[expansioN]

I don´t want to play characters that have a high chance of beeing nerfed, lol. Mario is my second though. I just don´t like most of the high tier playstyles.

 

[Ravengeance]

I think the line isn't whether you think a character is top tier but if you think that character is broken. It doesn't feel like winning if your character wins for you. I played Sheik from the start of Wii U Sm4sh. But I also didn't play Diddy out of principal. So I get where he is coming from. Granted if he can almost win with Shulk he could prob find a better character and not sell his soul to Bayo. (Bayo could very well be nerfed when 1.1.6 comes out anyway)

 

[Ravengeance]

I don´t want to play characters that have a high chance of beeing nerfed, lol. Mario is my second though. I just don´t like most of the high tier playstyles.

I agree with the first part of this statement a lot. I play the characters I enjoy playing the most but I like fast and technical character which tend to be the best anyways. I have double the time invested in Sheik compared to any other character in the game and the last patch knocked her down a few notches and it's really frustrating. Not bc wah wah Sheik went from being top 2 from 1.0.4 through 1.1.4 to 1.1.5 made her like the 5th best character but bc these patches are so stinking often like a patch every 5 or 6 weeks it seems that it's completely changing some characters. So it's like having to relearn the character and when certain combos no longer work it kind of breaks playing the character for you. Sheik was my primary and ZSS was my secondary and both keep getting nerfed and it's like maybe I should just use my Mario/Fox bc they seem less likely to get nerfed into oblivion.

 

[Yojiexo]

Just play what do you like
Even if the character gets bodied by the nerfs you can still just play it and make a good performance
There is nothing bad refusing to play Top tier character
My cousin for example for some reason likes , these are not Top tier characters, only Greninja, Dark pit and Ike are the close ones to Top tier but he really does not care, he enjoys playing these ones and make a good performance with that roaster

Same as me but, I like playing fox a lot, since the first smash I loved playing Fox.
Just play what do you like and what do you want, there is nothing bad chosing some character

 

[BEASTMASTERTOAD]

I don't necessarily refuse playing high tiers out of principle, but I don't go to them because:

A. I don't like their fighting styles
and
B. I have slight aversion to playing popular characters in fighting games (maybe I'm a hipster).

What usually guides my choice is what characters I like as a fan. I main because of my love for Xenoblade, a game I've beaten twice with hundreds of hours of playtime.
I also like because I grew up on the Zelda series and I've liked him in Smash since Melee when I first felt that wonderful feeling of surprise at seeing him appear in the game.

I play from time to time because I also am a big Metroid fan and have played every game in the series. I'm not a big fan of camping though, so I probably don't use her arm cannon as much as I should.

And lastly, I have been attempting to pick up because I love the games and I never thought I'd see her in Smash. It's a shame that so many people have hard feelings about her playstyle, so I only sparingly use her.

 

[Matt11111]

Smash Bros. is a game about picking a character that you do well with, which isn't necessarily always a high tier. I enjoy playing characters all over the tier list. I play and in the high tier, in the mid tier, and occasionally and . I don't really find any characters (besides pre-nerf Bayo) to be overpowered, but maybe that's just me. I think you should just pick a character you have fun with and that you do well with. You shouldn't not pick a high tier because you feel that's cheating, because it ain't. No one releases overpowered characters that will end up being banned on purpose.

 

[Floor]

If you refuse to play a high tier, that's your thing (your brothers). You have the option to main whoever you want.

There's a whole lot going into a match: skill, matchup, characters-potential-as-ranked-by-a-tier-list, and more. You can still take many matches off of someone with any character because the game is balanced. My rule of thumb is that you should mainly focus on three mains...


1. A top or high tier character you enjoy / do the best with (for me that's )
2. The character you like the most regardless of tier (for me that's )
3. (for me that's )


Tiers help, but they are far from the games sole defining factor

 

[Jamurai]

Ask Melee fans.

Yeah it would still be exciting. In terms of spectating, the interactions between players and their playstyles are just as interesting as the interactions between characters, if not more so. At least in my opinion.

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As for the original point, I do like not being limited by a poor character, but (annoyingly) something draws me to characters which are played less often. I played Sheik a lot in Brawl cause she's cool, and I picked her up in this game and thought I wouldn't mind playing the best character in the game, in fact I thought I'd enjoy her more. I was wrong.

I like Cloud in this game, he is top tier (in my opinion), and since I'm currently going competitive and aiming to improve, if my current main (MK) doesn't cut it then I will switch. Because why hold myself back? I want to play at my best and to do that I need to play the character with the best (or one of the best) kit and option spread. A character is simply a medium through which you're fighting your opponent. If you want to win then it's entirely your fault if you're limited by your choice of character and have a harder time prevailing.

 

[BEASTMASTERTOAD]

I have hope that the next Smash will have even better balance. It has slowly improved over the years, but I'd like to get to a point where the characters I like playing are just as strong competitively as top tiers like Shiek. It can get demoralizing at times when you run into someone who's using a top tier character and just blows you away no matter what you do.

 

[Baby_Sneak]

I have hope that the next Smash will have even better balance. It has slowly improved over the years, but I'd like to get to a point where the characters I like playing are just as strong competitively as top tiers like Shiek. It can get demoralizing at times when you run into someone who's using a top tier character and just blows you away no matter what you do.

That means improving frame data across the board (cutting bowser's jump squat frames down and reducing landing lag in general). But, I doubt people would be up for it, since it would negate the "feel" of certain characters (bowser would feel like the hulk + flash if he got his movement improved).

 

[BEASTMASTERTOAD]

That means improving frame data across the board (cutting bowser's jump squat frames down and reducing landing lag in general). But, I doubt people would be up for it, since it would negate the "feel" of certain characters (bowser would feel like the hulk + flash if he got his movement improved).

I don't think this necessarily means making each character as quick as Sheik, but give weaker characters greater options to fight back against onslaughts that a character like Sheik can bring. I don't have any real knowledge on how to make that work, but it'd be nice to have a game one day where Ganondorf could be just as good an option as Sheik.

 

[Baby_Sneak]

I don't think this necessarily means making each character as quick as Sheik, but give weaker characters greater options to fight back against onslaughts that a character like Sheik can bring. I don't have any real knowledge on how to make that work, but it'd be nice to have a game one day where Ganondorf could be just as good an option as Sheik.

Not as quick, but to the point where playing reactionary actually works.