What does a guide need to have for you?

[fivesixlol]

Hi smash boards, I'm five-six, I plan to be making some guides and discussion based content on YouTube for Ultimate. I was plotting out my channels "plan" on the general structure of guides, and different ideas for discussion. Then I realized, why don't I ask you guys? What do you think is necessary in a character guide? What are some things, that may not be necessary, but always helped you when it was in the guide. Any pet peeves many guide-makers hit on I should try to avoid?

Any input is really helpful on what you think a character guide should be.

Thanks!
Five-six

 

[KafkaKomedy]

I want, in a character guide:

Description of every move-- though only a THOROUGH description if the move is important to their play competitively. At a basic level describe simply animation, damage, lag and knockback. If important, explain how it shapes their neutral/advantage/disadvantage and in what situations to use the move and if it combos into anything, if it's safe on shield, etc.

Description of the character's stats-- their weight, recovery potential, speed, general playstyle, what situations they excel in and which they falter

Important matchups-- Which matchups are really amazing for them? For the enemy? Stages you'd want them on?

Possible Secondaries-- possible secondary characters you can counterpick with to help with bad matchups.

And that's about it for me. Just a recomendation: Don't show too much footage of Training Mode Stage. It's not exactly fun to look at, maybe just show it once when displaying the most basic info of the move so we can see the knockback angles.

 

[fivesixlol]

I want, in a character guide:

Description of every move-- though only a THOROUGH description if the move is important to their play competitively. At a basic level describe simply animation, damage, lag and knockback. If important, explain how it shapes their neutral/advantage/disadvantage and in what situations to use the move and if it combos into anything, if it's safe on shield, etc.

Description of the character's stats-- their weight, recovery potential, speed, general playstyle, what situations they excel in and which they falter

Important matchups-- Which matchups are really amazing for them? For the enemy? Stages you'd want them on?

Possible Secondaries-- possible secondary characters you can counterpick with to help with bad matchups.

And that's about it for me. Just a recomendation: Don't show too much footage of Training Mode Stage. It's not exactly fun to look at, maybe just show it once when displaying the most basic info of the move so we can see the knockback angles.

Wow awesome response man, really like the first and last section too. I always thought the training mode was boring too haha, I'll end up using the training mode only to show modes, and my talking about it will be over probably some for glory gameplay. Really appreciate this man, thanks!

 

[maxistrife]

I like very in depth character guides. Like, I have been playing since smash 64 and I find I have not often deviated much from melee's roster...starting with brawl, those really odd characters/characters I do not know do not get picked by me because I find them intimidating to learn. Likkkeeeee I would like to play Robin or Corrin, but they have unique/unorthodox mechanics that I do not understand and am afraid to try learning. Being told EXACTLY how characters function, how hard their moves hit, how they move....all would make me think "huh...yeah okay I could get behind that".

 

[thirsty-pocket]

I'm not a guy who knows much about the technicalities of Smash, im pretty casual, but I do look up a lot of guides for games. And to me one of the most important for me is that they get to the point and tell me exactly what the video description promises with no preamble. If there's too much blathering at the start of the video i'm probably going to skip ahead or look elsewhere.

Also appreciate it when the commentary speaks calmly and slowly, way too often I get these video guides that are just... "Heywhat'sgoingonyoutubei'mbackwithanotherwalkthroughandinthisepisodewe'regoingtobetakingalookat..." ...like take a breath dude. I shouldn't have to lower the speed of the video to follow along with what you're doing. Though if it's just on screen text, then maybe the action on screen should pause for the text, especially if I need to follow what's happening on the screen.

 

[fivesixlol]

I'm not a guy who knows much about the technicalities of Smash, im pretty casual, but I do look up a lot of guides for games. And to me one of the most important for me is that they get to the point and tell me exactly what the video description promises with no preamble. If there's too much blathering at the start of the video i'm probably going to skip ahead or look elsewhere.

Also appreciate it when the commentary speaks calmly and slowly, way too often I get these video guides that are just... "Heywhat'sgoingonyoutubei'mbackwithanotherwalkthroughandinthisepisodewe'regoingtobetakingalookat..." ...like take a breath dude. I shouldn't have to lower the speed of the video to follow along with what you're doing. Though if it's just on screen text, then maybe the action on screen should pause for the text, especially if I need to follow what's happening on the screen.

Definitely feel the same on that one, can't stand 2 minutes of any ranting that isn't necessary. I plan to do a short quick overview at the start e.g. "Meta Knight in smash 4 is a bait and punish character, with a great recovery, strong aerials, and a ladder combo that can kill at the correct percents" and then go into the moveset. Would you consider that to the point or more of a needless preamble?

 

[fivesixlol]

I like very in depth character guides. Like, I have been playing since smash 64 and I find I have not often deviated much from melee's roster...starting with brawl, those really odd characters/characters I do not know do not get picked by me because I find them intimidating to learn. Likkkeeeee I would like to play Robin or Corrin, but they have unique/unorthodox mechanics that I do not understand and am afraid to try learning. Being told EXACTLY how characters function, how hard their moves hit, how they move....all would make me think "huh...yeah okay I could get behind that".

So I was thinking I could do a Starter Guide series, where it's more the general things like bread and butters, playstyle, and moveset rundown. And then after a couple weeks or other character guides, I could do the Advanced Guide series where I go into tips/tricks, matchups, and stage selection. I feel like this is a good way of getting people to the next level. Thoughts?

 

[「 Derk 」]

Most people focus on the good and forget about the bad. Covering both is equally as important because you need to know what to look out for and how to minimize those weaknesses. Just think of what you would have wanted to hear someone tell you when you picked up the character yourself. If you think it's important to list, then it probably is! I'm sure you wanted to know the bread and butter combos, what sort of disadvantages you would be facing while playing the character (bad recovery and ways to deal with it for example), how to play neutral with your character, etc... If you are fond of doubles and want to throw that in then you can list in some preferred partners also.

Basically try to cover fundamentals with the character(s) because each character plays differently. Do it in a way that's inviting to players that have never played the character before because at least some of the people reading a guide will be playing them for the first time and looking at where to start. What's my best OoS option(s)? What's the game plan to secure stocks? Is there a kill confirm I need to know or do I need to fish for kills? How can I safely pressure shield? You get the idea.