Q&A The 'Mains' Advice Thread

[C0rvus]

As long as you have Mario, Ness, and Game and Watch covered, you should be more than fine. I understand not being able to decide, but honestly I would just be picking arbitrarily. Go for Luigi, then. He's not too hard to get into, does well against Mario, probably does fine against the other two, and if not, Roy's got your back as well. Go get 'em, tiger!

As for me, well, every time I come to my group of friends with a list or a couple characters I am deliberating between, my one friend's answer is always the same. He insists that Bayonetta is my character. I see what he means, to an extent. Strong gimping tools, combo game, depth, etc. I have played her a decent amount in tournament and have my qualms with her. I don't know. Committing is scary tbh. I gotta sort my **** out, man.

 

[Dream Cancel]

As long as you have Mario, Ness, and Game and Watch covered, you should be more than fine. I understand not being able to decide, but honestly I would just be picking arbitrarily. Go for Luigi, then. He's not too hard to get into, does well against Mario, probably does fine against the other two, and if not, Roy's got your back as well. Go get 'em, tiger!

As for me, well, every time I come to my group of friends with a list or a couple characters I am deliberating between, my one friend's answer is always the same. He insists that Bayonetta is my character. I see what he means, to an extent. Strong gimping tools, combo game, depth, etc. I have played her a decent amount in tournament and have my qualms with her. I don't know. Committing is scary tbh. I gotta sort my **** out, man.

Just play whoever is most comfortable if you're not super-hardcore about winning. And even if you are that way, it would be prudent to play a character you're naturally intuitive with rather than force a different character upon yourself. Only once you seem to reach your limits with your character in larger tournaments (64 people or larger) should you worry about your character choice. Match-up knowledge is very underrated with the exception of some of the top tiers, and even that can be confused sometimes.

I'll use myself as an example.

My natural playstyle is a slow and observant one. I like to observe my opponents, give myself some time to figure out a pattern, then make a series of reads with calculated risks. So I fit well with projectile zoners and to a lesser extent, bait and punish styles. I'm not a technical or aggressive player at all.

You can deduce your playstyle from experiences in other games. For example, MOBAs like League of Legends, RTSs like Starcraft 2, FPSs like Call of Duty or Halo, RPGs and MMORPGs, etc. Each genre lends itself to certain types of players, but it doesn't take long to see what you like and don't like in a situation.

Anyways, I was in a similar situation to you, just with Rosalina and Fox. I wasn't a fan of worrying about Luma 24/7 and Fox slides around alot. (Although he is my only secondary now) They were both really good tier-wise, but I was more concerned about comfort, improvement, and consistency over winning. I found Robin after testing him out and digging through the Robin boards and his lore as well. After messing with my controls and a few weeks of simply playing him, I got a real grasp of what it means to play Robin and all the things that are unique to him.

I've probably spent 10-15+ hours with 20 characters at this point, with former mains getting more than that. No character is going to be perfect so you gotta take a chance like you would on a dating sim and ******* ask a girl out and see if it works out or not. Like if you had to choose two characters to play as you are reading this, who would they be? I'd wager they're characters you're comfortable with and willing to take a step further. (Mine are Kirby and Mega Man if anyone was wondering)

Of course, competitive pressures will shape your comfort pick into a balanced one.

TL;DR Take the advice Avatar Aang got from Roku. Be decisive.

 

[C0rvus]

Just play whoever is most comfortable if you're not super-hardcore about winning. And even if you are that way, it would be prudent to play a character you're naturally intuitive with rather than force a different character upon yourself. Only once you seem to reach your limits with your character in larger tournaments (64 people or larger) should you worry about your character choice. Match-up knowledge is very underrated with the exception of some of the top tiers, and even that can be confused sometimes.

I'll use myself as an example.

My natural playstyle is a slow and observant one. I like to observe my opponents, give myself some time to figure out a pattern, then make a series of reads with calculated risks. So I fit well with projectile zoners and to a lesser extent, bait and punish styles. I'm not a technical or aggressive player at all.

You can deduce your playstyle from experiences in other games. For example, MOBAs like League of Legends, RTSs like Starcraft 2, FPSs like Call of Duty or Halo, RPGs and MMORPGs, etc. Each genre lends itself to certain types of players, but it doesn't take long to see what you like and don't like in a situation.

Anyways, I was in a similar situation to you, just with Rosalina and Fox. I wasn't a fan of worrying about Luma 24/7 and Fox slides around alot. (Although he is my only secondary now) They were both really good tier-wise, but I was more concerned about comfort, improvement, and consistency over winning. I found Robin after testing him out and digging through the Robin boards and his lore as well. After messing with my controls and a few weeks of simply playing him, I got a real grasp of what it means to play Robin and all the things that are unique to him.

I've probably spent 10-15+ hours with 20 characters at this point, with former mains getting more than that. No character is going to be perfect so you gotta take a chance like you would on a dating sim and ******* ask a girl out and see if it works out or not. Like if you had to choose two characters to play as you are reading this, who would they be? I'd wager they're characters you're comfortable with and willing to take a step further. (Mine are Kirby and Mega Man if anyone was wondering)

Of course, competitive pressures will shape your comfort pick into a balanced one.

TL;DR Take the advice Avatar Aang got from Roku. Be decisive.

I mean, I play to learn but winning is the ultimate goal of any competition. So it's a consideration. It also helps in character selection, cutting the roster down to a more manageable size, excluding characters not recommended for competition.

My style is something that has eluded me for a long time. I am an indecisive person. I hate it, it holds me back from so much in life, but it's just how it is. I unfortunately don't really play MOBAs, FPSs, RTSs, MMORPGs, any of it. I used to play CoD years ago, but I didn't really have a main gun; I switched constantly. I'll favor support in stuff like TF2 or Tabletop Games because either noone else wants to do it, or I'm not confident enough to play a more aggressive role.

I play mostly Smash and JRPGs lol. The Tales of Series is my main squeeze. In those games I switch my controlled character all the time. In Pokemon, I'll switch my party around compulsively. I think that my indecision or lack of focus, or desire of variety, or quickness to boredom, is a deep rooted issue (well it's not really an issue most of the time, but here it is getting in my way).

I know I just need to pick. And I have a couple times. But it never sticks. I may be beyond help, I dunno. Perhaps I am doomed to never settle, or I am just overthinking things. I've played a lot of characters, who play pretty differently, some for a long time. Being bored on a Friday night certainly doesn't help; on some level I think I enjoy overthinking this crap, or it's often a way to procrastinate and feel sorry for myself. I could go in depth with each main of days past and try to draw some conclusions. Maybe I'll do that and report back. Or I should do something else.

 

[Y2Kay]

Just main Greninja and be done!

 

[C0rvus]

I think ultimately I need to play more and think less, so to speak. I have been learning more about chess lately, which could give me some insight on my style, though I am confident I favor defense and support. At least, that is my comfort zone.

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

I think ultimately I need to play more and think less, so to speak. I have been learning more about chess lately, which could give me some insight on my style, though I am confident I favor defense and support. At least, that is my comfort zone.

Use whoever you feel natural with. That's me with Roy. I can pull off his stuff without thinking almost.

 

[Lavani]

Committing is scary tbh.

Bayonetta sounds perfect then.

 

[Dream Cancel]

I think ultimately I need to play more and think less, so to speak. I have been learning more about chess lately, which could give me some insight on my style, though I am confident I favor defense and support. At least, that is my comfort zone.

It seems like you would like a character that is capable of playing different playstyles to a proficient degree, in conjunction with enough depth to keep you in place for a while. And tiers do matter as well, so I won't go anything past mid-tier. (Which is a bit subjective)

- Cloud
- Peach
- Rosalina
- Mewtwo

Honestly, you should stick with your intuition. You know yourself best.

Anyways, I may have come across as a bit abrasive, but I hope it helped. Perhaps you should give Bayo a bit more time.

 

[GoodGuy]

Hey I'm a year into competitive smash and I really can't find a main. Before I used all the time but then I figured out that I also do well with zoning characters as well as all around that are up close can but I'm not the best with really huge zone breakers like ,,. Right now I'm choosing between \,,,, and . Anything is helpful and Thanks!

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

Hey I'm a year into competitive smash and I really can't find a main. Before I used all the time but then I figured out that I also do well with zoning characters as well as all around that are up close can but I'm not the best with really huge zone breakers like ,,. Right now I'm choosing between \,,,, and . Anything is helpful and Thanks!

Keep and solo main him or go with someone who can beat like or if they give you a really hard time. I also use (well, not officially but am experienced with them) and can give tips you need.

 

[Heracr055]

I'm in the process of finding a new main right now. My current approach is picking randoms on For Glory matches. I'm also using the following criteria:
1) Does the character feel natural to me?
2) Am I winning with the character?
3) Do I like the character?
I have three pools. The first is a list of characters that satisfy all 3 of the criteria. The second is a list of characters that satisfy two of the criteria and need more testing. The third pool is an eliminated list of candidates.
The results so far are interesting.
Pool 1: Fox, Bowser Jr.,Wii Fit Trainer, ROB, Kirby
Pool 2: Samus, Sonic, Cloud, Jigglypuff, King DeDeDe, Duck Hunt, Villager, Lucas, Dr. Mario
Pool 3: Bayonetta, Bowser, Ganondorf, Zero Suit Samus, Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Zelda, Marth, Shulk, Ryu (offline only), Lucario, Ness, Captain Falcon, Palutena.
So that's 28 characters so far. It's an intriguing process that's working out for me so far. Looking forward to trying out the remaining characters!

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

I'm in the process of finding a new main right now. My current approach is picking randoms on For Glory matches. I'm also using the following criteria:
1) Does the character feel natural to me?
2) Am I winning with the character?
3) Do I like the character?
I have three pools. The first is a list of characters that satisfy all 3 of the criteria. The second is a list of characters that satisfy two of the criteria and need more testing. The third pool is an eliminated list of candidates.
The results so far are interesting.
Pool 1: Fox, Bowser Jr.,Wii Fit Trainer, ROB, Kirby
Pool 2: Samus, Sonic, Cloud, Jigglypuff, King DeDeDe, Duck Hunt, Villager, Lucas, Dr. Mario
Pool 3: Bayonetta, Bowser, Ganondorf, Zero Suit Samus, Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Zelda, Marth, Shulk, Ryu (offline only), Lucario, Ness, Captain Falcon, Palutena.
So that's 28 characters so far. It's an intriguing process that's working out for me so far. Looking forward to trying out the remaining characters!

It sounds like is the way to go and maybe keep or to cover hard matchups.

 

[C0rvus]

Sounds like he's beginning to figure it out himself. Not sure how you honed in on Bowser specifically from his criteria, but it's an option. I am not sure he was even asking for advice, rather sharing his method and his progress thus far. Hope it works itself out for you, Heracr055. Everybody carves their own path.

As for me, I have decided to humor Mewtwo-Chainz and pursue Greninja for a time. I think the character is quite good and will hopefully be worth my time. Eventually I'm thinking between Cloud, Corrin, and Rosalina for a secondary. I need to cover Sonic, and possibly Sheik? I intend to try and figure out all the matchups with Greninja first, of course. Hope this goes well.

Edit: Spoilers: It didn't. Shocker.

 

[Gearitz]

I was told I have a reactive aggressive play style. I've heard that that play style is somewhat like a bait and punish(idk if it is.) If so I'm looking for a more aggressive bait and punish ig I can't play fox because of melee but I'm open to any character who would be considered B and up.

 

[Green Zelda]

I was told I have a reactive aggressive play style. I've heard that that play style is somewhat like a bait and punish(idk if it is.) If so I'm looking for a more aggressive bait and punish ig I can't play fox because of melee but I'm open to any character who would be considered B and up.

Based on the official (but outdated) tier list, B and up includes and . Out of these, and seem to be characters you'd like.

 

[KniteBlargh]

Gearitz Along with Green Zelda 's suggestions, don't rule out completely. He may not be B or higher, but he does fit that playstyle very well (aggressive bait and punish), so it'd be a shame not to at least test him out for a while.

 

[Gearitz]

Gearitz Along with Green Zelda 's suggestions, don't rule out completely. He may not be B or higher, but he does fit that playstyle very well (aggressive bait and punish), so it'd be a shame not to at least test him out for a while.

How does sonic do with an aggressive bait and punish style?

 

[Aetheric]

Is Mario and Pit good for dual maining or do they basically accomplish the same thing?

 

[GoodGuy]

Is Mario and Pit good for dual maining or do they basically accomplish the same thing?

and Are good with each other because Mario does pretty well with most of the cast except for people that outrage him like Cloud or Corrin. Out can cover those matchups and Put has a harder time killing heavyweights than Mario does so Mario can make those matchups easier.

 

[KniteBlargh]

Gearitz Ah yes, Sonic. He's actually another great choice for aggressive bait and punish! Playstyle with Sonic varies greatly among those who main him (tends to swing from totally defensive to totally aggressive), so for your particular interests, two players I'd recommend studying are Komorikiri and SuperGirlKels; they're both very good with aggressive bait and punish, while also managing to adapt as necessary. Also, while perhaps looking pretty straight-forward at a glance, he has quite a bit of interesting tech and complexity to play around with.

 

[Y2Kay]

Sounds like he's beginning to figure it out himself. Not sure how you honed in on Bowser specifically from his criteria, but it's an option. I am not sure he was even asking for advice, rather sharing his method and his progress thus far. Hope it works itself out for you, Heracr055. Everybody carves their own path.

As for me, I have decided to humor Mewtwo-Chainz and pursue Greninja for a time. I think the character is quite good and will hopefully be worth my time. Eventually I'm thinking between Cloud, Corrin, and Rosalina for a secondary. I need to cover Sonic, and possibly Sheik? I intend to try and figure out all the matchups with Greninja first, of course. Hope this goes well.

Edit: Spoilers: It didn't. Shocker.

Why didn't u tag me? ◥눈_눈◤

Yeah pick up Cloud as a secondary and call it a day. (Or be like me and pick up Mootoo!!!1!!1)

 

[C0rvus]

I guess you didn't read the edit. Nothing ever changes it seems. Anyway I happen to be in the midst of this video that may be helpful so I figured I'd link it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGHGEttNjyo&app=desktop

Pretty good advice, and I hadn't heard all of it before too. Give it a watch if you're still on the fence like I am.

 

[choof]

I'm picking up sm4sh in a week or so, main marth in pm so I'm curious as to what would translate well
obviously i gotta get a feel for the game as a whole but i'd like to know if marth is roughly the same character

 

[C0rvus]

Most Melee/PM Marth players find him kind of underwhelming from what I've seen/heard. Though don't be fooled, Marth is quite capable in this game. I'd say try him, but the differences may mess you up. Personally I try my best to avoid playing the same character in multiple games for this reason. Your call, though. Worth a shot.

Similar to PM Marth would be Cloud. His movement is very crispy, and he's hella strong. Might be more up your alley in terms of enjoyment. Zero Suit Samus would be worth trying as well. Maybe Corrin and Roy as well. Of course, most of these are DLC characters, so if you don't have them, try Marth and ZSS in the interim.

 

[DarkAuraful]

I'm picking up sm4sh in a week or so, main marth in pm so I'm curious as to what would translate well
obviously i gotta get a feel for the game as a whole but i'd like to know if marth is roughly the same character

I think you would translate fine. Though in comparison of Marth from Melee / PM (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong since I don't play Marth up until SSB4), Marth in this game is more defensively orientated. You in this case would have to rely on spacing. Previous Marth players (at least from what I witnessed) may feel discouraged by the fact that they can't play him as a rush-down / pressure character like in the previous games as a result. He's still a strong character.

Just like what C0rvus stated, there's characters like Cloud and Corrin similar to Marth's Melee / PM playstyle. From what I've heard, Cloud makes a great rush-down character and Corrin has aerials especially similar to Melee / PM Marth's. You won't go wrong with these two.

 

[Aetheric]

Yo is there any high to top tier character that plays similarly to . If there isn't one who would make a good pocket for her. Please don't suggest .

 

[KniteBlargh]

A Aetheric ; he just happens to be greatly improved and probably the closest character you'll find to (Zelda's sort of similar, but she's not high or top tier). Abadango, 9B, and Blue have a good grasp of the character, so be sure to look up some footage if you need a general idea of how he works to help you decide whether he'd be the character for you or not.

 

[DJBor]

Hey, I changed my username. I used to be DJXYZ.
A Aetheric I agree that is pretty much offensively-focused Palutena moveset-wise, and since he was recently inaugurated into the top tier, he's an option.
Or, if you're like me and realize that Palutena is actually pretty nice when optimized, just get yourself a secondary that covers those bad matchups. I'd say pick a fast swordfighter with better frame data, so .

 

[C0rvus]

Sheesh, I know it's a bit cliche but really your character choice should be governed largely by who you enjoy or are passionate about. People are out there making their characters work where they can, and picking a high tier only gives you a boost at the beginning and the very end. I recall playing a top player in my region and losing with... I think it was Robin? I was kinda thinking that maybe I picked the wrong character, but it's not like my Cloud would've let me beat someone like False. Even if all my time went to Cloud, False would still beat me.

Yeah, losing to mediocre Cloud and Diddy players at your local stinks, but don't let it force you off your favorite character. Not like you're going to win the whole event. Secondaries are also a thing. Just something on my mind as of late.

 

[Xolen]

I play everyone for the most part , but you can say i main mario or diddy, i just need help choosing weather i should main mario or diddy , i love playing them both , i just need reason on why i should one over the other can anyone help me

 

[Aetheric]

Sheesh, I know it's a bit cliche but really your character choice should be governed largely by who you enjoy or are passionate about. People are out there making their characters work where they can, and picking a high tier only gives you a boost at the beginning and the very end. I recall playing a top player in my region and losing with... I think it was Robin? I was kinda thinking that maybe I picked the wrong character, but it's not like my Cloud would've let me beat someone like False. Even if all my time went to Cloud, False would still beat me.

Yeah, losing to mediocre Cloud and Diddy players at your local stinks, but don't let it force you off your favorite character. Not like you're going to win the whole event. Secondaries are also a thing. Just something on my mind as of late.

I agree that people should play the characters they enjoy but some people get tired of losing because "I was playing puff...". Sure a couple loses with your character shouldn't make you switch but sometimes you just crack and look for a better character. For me personally I don't really enjoy any of the character so why not pick a top tier? Again that's just me but everyone has their own reason for doing so.

 

[C0rvus]

That's valid. I myself ended up dropping an old main because of his bad matchups against common tournament characters. Constantly having to fight in uphill battles isn't exactly my definition of fun. So if your character has a hard time against a lot of characters it can definitely make them less enjoyable, so that's a factor for sure.

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

I play everyone for the most part , but you can say i main mario or diddy, i just need help choosing weather i should main mario or diddy , i love playing them both , i just need reason on why i should one over the other can anyone help me

Why not go both? I'd say both are a very deadly team. Diddy covers Corrin for Mario and Mario covers pika for Diddy. Stick with both.

 

[DJBor]

Whelp... A Palutena just beat ZeRo. I'd say that's pretty good. Main her if you want, she's about to get popular.

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

Whelp... A Palutena just beat ZeRo. I'd say that's pretty good. Main her if you want, she's about to get popular.

Who???

 

[C0rvus]

It was Prince Ramen. I don't think this will make everyone flock to Palutena, but it is a clear example of character choice not being the end-all. Ramen read and outplayed ZeRo, and he did it with his main. Diddy vs Palutena is a bad matchup no doubt. The takeaway from this?

Follow your dreams, kids

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

Still ZeRo has only 11 losses (Dobt fact check me) and s multitude of wins so he's clearly still the best. He shouldn't have been undefeated for so long really because he's not impossible. Though he was because he's the best. Don't hate on him

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

I use and consider for secondary. Final thoughts on who I should go with?

 

[Y2Kay]

Greninja is a good main but a poor secondary.

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

Greninja is a good main but a poor secondary.

I agree so in gonna go with Toon link and keep a pocket Mario and maybe keep Marth or luigi for Mario if I struggle too much with him.