What would you like to see addressed in future updates?

[TheMisterManGuy]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is finally here, and from what little tournaments its been featured in at the moment, it looks like Melee and Smash 4 players equally enjoy the game. That said, it's not perfect, and there are common criticisms on both ends that need addressing. Smash 4 received quite a few beneficial updates within its short shelf life (Nerfing shields is one example), and with Ultimate looking to be a longer lasting game, what do you think should be dressed in future updates? Anything from Character buffs/nerfs, to mechanic tweaks, or mode improvements. Keep in mind, it has to be things within reason (IE, no "Make a melee mode" or other stupid nonsense) Here's some basic things I think should be looked at in future patches.

• More stable online gameplay - Online multiplayer is notoriously hard to get right in the Fighting game genre, but this is Smash's third outing in this field, and it still isn't as optimal as it should be. Version 1.2.0 fixed the matchmaking system to better prioritize preferred rules, but before that, it was a mess as you'd be lucky to end up in competitive 1v1 match. Even then, there's still considerable latency issues that people have, even when using wired connections. I think the first thing to do is display signal strength of the other players in a room, just like other fighting games, that way, it's easier to tell who has a good connection. I'd also add the option to filter Wi-fi, and non-wi-fi users, that way players using wired connections can get more consistent results. There's a good foundation for the online in this game, it just needs to be in a more polished state than it is at the moment.
• Reduce input delay - From what I've heard, Ultimate has around 7 or 8 frames of input delay even when using wired controllers. In a fighting game, every frame matters, and we saw what happened to games like Tekken 7 and SFV early in their lives with input delay. I don't know if this is a weird quirk in the engine, or a limitation of the Switch itself, but the delay needs to be shaved off as much as possible.
• Fix the buffering system - I've heard mixed feelings on the buffering system in Ultimate. Some people like it, others hate it. I haven't played the game enough to say either way, but if it is as bad as people say, then some way to mitigate it would be necessary.
• Assist Trophy/Pokemon Switch - Moving on to something more casual, this is a feature that I'm baffled hasn't been implemented yet. In Smash, you can not only turn items off, but also choose which items you want on, including just Assist Trophies and Pokeballs if you want. It is beyond me, why there still isn't a specific Assist Trophy/Pokemon Switch in this game at all. I think this would go a long way at improving the flexibility of the game as you can now keep the Pokemon and Assist Trophies you like, and toss out the ones you don't. And with Assist characters now being KO-able, it can help cut down on some of the unfair randomness when you have them on.

That's what I have so far. Think Ultimate has a great life ahead of it. But much like Smash 4, Sakurai and the team need to keep it that way with consistent and beneficial updates that help the meta and game in the long-term. I don't want another Smash 4 situation where the team abandons the game too early before addressing the rest of the key issues.