what are good characters for new players?

[Cyclo]

I just recently started playing smash and I wanted to know who good PM and melee characters are for people who aren't at a level to perform advanced tech. As of right now I can dash dance (who can't), tech, DI (not very well), crouch cancel, and sometimes I can L-cancel. I can't yet consistently wave dash (some tips for this would be useful) and I actually don't short hop 100% of the time I want to.

So basically, who are good characters to practice for players who are god awful at this game. Currently in PM I've been playing Doc and Fox and in Melee I've been playing Shiek.

 

[CyberZixx]

I think Mario and Link are the most easy to play.

 

[Cyclo]

seeing as how link is generally considered not very good, I don't think I'll get into him, but I'm already practicing Doc so I guess I'll stick with that.

 

[Y-L]

I think Marth and Ganon are extremely easy to play on a competent level.

 

[DrinkingFood]

seeing as how link is generally considered not very good

***** are you crazy
The melee forums are that way \/

 

[UltimateWario]

seeing as how link is generally considered not very good, I don't think I'll get into him, but I'm already practicing Doc so I guess I'll stick with that.

Uh, I'm pretty sure that Link is considered one of the best characters in the game.

 

[CORY]

I think Mario and Link are the most easy to play.

in terms of simplicity and "learn fundamentals that are fairly universal", i'd say mario and shiek would be best to pick up as starter characters.

 

[Terotrous]

Mario is definitely very basic. I think Ivysaur and Captain Olimar are also pretty straightforward.

 

[Brim]

seeing as how link is generally considered not very good, I don't think I'll get into him, but I'm already practicing Doc so I guess I'll stick with that.

With all the buffs Link got? He may have been bad, but like **** he's bad now.

 

[Terotrous]

Correction: Link may have been bad, but now he's bad-ass.

 

[Brim]

^This is far more appropriate.

 

[Cyclo]

ok for the record, when I said link wasn't very good I was talking about melee. I know he's good in PM. Sorry for not specifying.

 

[RideTheLine]

I just recently started playing smash and I wanted to know who good PM and melee characters are for people who aren't at a level to perform advanced tech. As of right now I can dash dance (who can't), tech, DI (not very well), crouch cancel, and sometimes I can L-cancel. I can't yet consistently wave dash (some tips for this would be useful) and I actually don't short hop 100% of the time I want to.

So basically, who are good characters to practice for players who are god awful at this game. Currently in PM I've been playing Doc and Fox and in Melee I've been playing Shiek.

Wario, dude. I used main the ball of greed. He taught me good DI, l-cancelling, and tech chasing (that shoulder bash). And you don't even have to wavedash with him.

 

[9bit]

Characters with simple, straightforward movesets who don't die too early are probably the best place to start.

Kirby, Bowser, Mario, Marth, Link, and Game & Watch are probably decent starting places. None of them have super janky moves or weird physics.

Edit: also Sheik and Ganon!

 

[Guel]

1. Mario
2. Bowser
3. Shiek
4. Ganon
5. Lucario
6. Kirby
7. Marth

No specific order.

 

[9bit]

^ Damn good list, except for Lucario. But that might just be me not meshing well with his on-hit-combo system. And I can't believe I forgot Sheik and Ganon in my list!

 

[Senpai♥]

Mario is a good all-around character who will teach you to learn the basics well (as he rightfully should), so he should be your first stop.

 

[OrangeSodaGuy]

What do you guys think about Falcon?
I definitely agree that the previously mentioned characters are great for someone who's learning the game:










I guess as well, but I don't know the character well enough to be able to determine how well she teaches fundamentals.

,, , and are awesome characters, but they are also extremely technically demanding. Not so sure I'd recommend them for a newbie.

 

[Xenozoa425]

Fox.

Nah but seriously... and not in any order...

Mario
Sheik
Marth
Ike
Roy
Meta Knight
Kirby

Are all fairly easy to understand and pick up, imo.

 

[Arctic]

I'd have to agree with Link. In my smash group we have two Link mains that manage to come out on top with absolutely no technical skill whatsoever. Great projectiles that require no skill, great kill moves (up air, fair, Dair, F-Smash, you can argue many others), and good gimping on technical characters like spacies. One thing I would heavily recommend if you decide to do link is L-Canceling or Land canceling. By tapping a trigger when using an aerial attack and approaching landing (within 6 frames of landing?) you cut landing lag usually in half. VERY Important with Link and his aerials because he has some of the longest landing lag in the game.

But l'd say Link, great overall character that is sky rocketing in popularity. Aerial glide tossing is an amazing tool for his recovery but that's pretty technical so you can go about yourself whether or not you want to do that. I agree with Sheik as well but I'm thinking Link. Hope I could help.

 

[RideTheLine]

What do you guys think about Falcon?
I definitely agree that the previously mentioned characters are great for someone who's learning the game:










I guess as well, but I don't know the character well enough to be able to determine how well she teaches fundamentals.

,, , and are awesome characters, but they are also extremely technically demanding. Not so sure I'd recommend them for a newbie.

As someone of low tech skill, I'm not keen on Falcon. He blitzes too hard for your mind to wander, what with all the l-cancels and wavedashes you'll performing.

Puff isn't technical, but I don't count her (him? It?) as easy.

And Ice Climbers are more about Ice Climbers specific techs. Learn to l-cancel and wavedash, and you're good on universal stuff.

 

[Will-O-Wisp]

I'm pretty new to competitive Smash too, and I have to say Mario is pretty easy to pick up. And I really think playing around with a sword character especially Ike, Marth, or Roy force you to think about spacing. Just keep aiming for tipper marth fsmashes and eventually you'll start to "see" spacing in a more dynamic view.

 

[HRR2b23]

As a bunch of the other guys have been saying, Sheik, Mario, and Marth are all pretty simple starting points. However, and this is just my personal opinion, I think learning how to play Zelda (melee) would be a very good idea. Not necessarily as a main, but learning how to play her will make you learn how to play defensively and how to space properly. Also, in PM Zelda is absolutely fantastic.

 

[Giygacoal]

I don't recommend Lucario for new players. He's a character that both feels too different from the typical flow of Smash and requires strong Smash fundamentals (wavelanding, powershielding, really good spacing, etc.) to make up for his flaws. Definitely try him out eventually, though.

 

[Sour Supreme]

As suggested, Shiek and Mario are easy to get used to. But don't get too involved learning them if you don't plan on using them consistently. When I started I straight up started learning Ness and now he's my best main.

Also, you mentioned wavedashing, it would be very beneficial to use Luigi to practice wavedashing. It seems to go over quite easier with him, as if friction is his b*tch. Its how I learned.

Also, Welcome to Smash!

 

[NWRL]

I'm not sure if Ike is a good choice for a new player. He requires a lot of effort to play properly and because of his slow startup and weight he can be punished pretty heavily if you goof. Plus with all of his QD options you will have to practice quite a bit

 

[Ness_STFU]

Mario, Marth or Peach. All very forgiving or basic, but extremely powerful if used correctly.

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

I think Ivysaur and Captain Olimar are also pretty straightforward.

no

 

[Cyclo]

thanks for all the suggestions guys, I'm playing shiek as my main and playing marth and doc as secondaries

 

[CPU?]

If you want to get good at L-canceling play bowser. its a must to play decent with him

 

[chaosscizzors]

i feel like bowser is the best character for a beginner. he's one of, if not the least technical character in the game. unfortunately you wont be learning wavedashing with him but you'll definitely learn good DI from getting comboed all day and CC for obvious reasons. he requires l-canceling more than others. he has uB OoS so you can practice that. you'll need to learn how to recover intelligently and sweetspoting with his sub par recovery. you can practice JC and platform waveland. and...er... idk he's easy to perform well with compared to tech heavy characters like falco who get bodied every time you're 2 frames off of anything you do ever.

i'd start with him but don't dwell there. move to mario or someone else once you get the essentials down and you can take matches with bowser.

 

[Giygacoal]

unfortunately you wont be learning wavedashing with him .

I think he's one of the easiest characters to wavedash with because his jump is so laggy. If you mean that he doesn't really have a wavedashing-centric style, I agree.

 

[chaosscizzors]

I think he's one of the easiest characters to wavedash with because his jump is so laggy. If you mean that he doesn't really have a wavedashing-centric style, I agree.

yeah something like that. he gets next to no distance from a WD and his huge frame isn't helping any. 10 frames of vulnerability isn't worth it. you're better off just not WDing at all imo.

 

[Celestis]

ok for the record, when I said link wasn't very good I was talking about melee. I know he's good in PM. Sorry for not specifying.

Not to be rude but, this is a P:M thread. Whywould you be reffering to the Melee link when the topic is P:M?

 

[Fortress]

Sheik isn't particularly technically demanding, and nets some solid results. Bad news is that her standard attacks are a little weak in that damage itself takes a while to rack up, and she only has a few outright kill moves. Good news is that the few kill moves you do have aren't too hard to lead into. Learning Sheik will help to build your mindgames, force grab opportunities, improve your abilities in neutral (which is funny, since Sheik is generally considered to be poor in that position), and work closely with tech chasing.

With Sheik, you might not see any huge leaps in your technical precision and ability, but you should see improvements in working on the more mental aspect of the game; picking the best opportunities in snap decisions, following through with those decisions based on your opponent's own, and whatnot. Not that your fingers aren't going to start flying faster, but Sheik isn't nearly as dependent on that as, say, Fox and his waveshine tech.

 

[Overtaken]

If it's advanced techniques you're looking to master, you have to simply practice with your main whomever that may be, however entry-level friendly they are or are not. To an extend though, it doesn't hurt to practice wavedashing with Luigi when you are first learning how to do it, but once you get the premise down, it doesn't do you any good to waste time on a character that isn't your main. The timing is different for every character, so just get your main and practice through repitition until it's down pat in your muscle memory.

 

[Foxy K]

If it's advanced techniques you're looking to master, you have to simply practice with your main whomever that may be, however entry-level friendly they are or are not. To an extend though, it doesn't hurt to practice wavedashing with Luigi when you are first learning how to do it, but once you get the premise down, it doesn't do you any good to waste time on a character that isn't your main. The timing is different for every character, so just get your main and practice through repitition until it's down pat in your muscle memory.

This is the best reply in here. Sure, wavedash with Luigi to see what it looks like and see, easily, that you can control the distance. But after 5 minutes, move to your main. In Melee, I learned to L Cancel by doing Link dairs because it was extremely easy to see if I was doing it right. Buuut then I had to learn to do it with my main.

Choose your main, and learn whatever techniques they need to win. If you actually want to play Bowser, knowing how to wavedash is pretty pointless (although to be fair, it seems as though you can't get far only playing one character in PM, and chances are that your secondary would require WDing at least occasionally, but whatever. Learn one character at a time, at any rate.). If you want to play Samus, learn missile cancelling. I play ICs, so Up B out of shield is (almost) completely useless to me. I'm more about controlling wavedash lengths (see: Luigi) and desynching (totally different can of worms). Virtually every character short of Peach requires SHFFLing, so that's something you'll want to have muscle-memorized.

 

[TreK]

I second that, play who you want to play, not who you can play. Having to overcome some technical hurdles will give you a work ethic that will be useful for the rest of your smash career, if not for the rest of your life. And when you get fluid, you'll be able to pick up anyone you like instead of feeling restrained.

 

[Cyclo]

Yeah I've been practicing L-canceling as much as I can and I've actually started to see noticeable repetition in my ability to L-cancel, and I'm also getting pretty ok at teching. I'm still not that great at wave dashing though.

 

[Foxy K]

It sounds boring (because it is) but the best thing you can do is go into training mode and do it over and over until you can do it over and over- without messing up.

Also tip for teching: If you press the button too early, just hold it down. Lots of times it will do it anyway.