Why do I care that my main is top tier

[Tino]

Ignore the tier list...like literally. Just play whoever you want to play as. If you like to play as Greninja, then play as Greninja. Simple as that.

 

[Zol]

If you main a character because of who the character is, then that's cool.

If you main a character because of their position on a make-believe stat list, then you're a doofus.

Decide which one you are.

 

[FalconSoup]

I have to thank you for making this thread (and the posters, too). It's still pretty early in to the game's lifetime, so I don't have a solid main yet, but I've been using a lot of characters, and Rosalina is one of them. Plenty of people are considering her to be a very good character, and I looked forward to using her right from the reveal trailer, since she's one of my favorite Mario characters. However, over the past few days, I've been thinking about whether I should continue using her or not.
I don't feel the need to dive into why I did, but I can say that I can now use her in peace. It doesn't matter much to me anymore if someone accuses me of using her just because she's potentially a top-tier character.

 

[praline]

So the second I saw Greninja in the direct I knew I would main him, not just because he is my favorite video game character, but because he is exactly what I look for in a character. Anyway, everyone has been saying he will be or is top tier. Idk why but it bothers me so much. Is it bad to main a top tier character? Or should I say make you have less skill? It has really been putting me down lately idk why (Im obsessed with Greninja btw) But should I be worried that people will think I have less skill or anything like that?

Tier lists are dumb, just play as who you like playing as.

 

[Kikkipoptart12]

I think everyone here said it best, play the characters you like not because they are top tier or not. You don't want to be unhappy playing as a character you don't like because of this tier crap. People that talk about tiers most of the time take it to heart and think they can win a lot because they playing as a top tier character. The chances of finding two players that are at the same skill level are small so the tiers don't matter.

 

[PingPongCop]

There's nothing wrong with playing a character you like, be it top-tier or low-tier.

There's also nothing wrong with intentionally picking top-tier.

However, intentionally picking low-tier for the sake of being a low-tier warrior is ********. These types of scrubs should really go away.

...Do you even know who Hungrybox is?

Plus that's really darn offensive and you shouldn't be going around flinging ignorant insults like that around here. Go do that on 4chan or something.

 

[PingPongCop]

X-X

double posted, sorry

 

[maxistrife]

Ignore the lists man. It is a decent enough placeholder to show you what characters have disadvantages against other characters, but I had a friend back in melee days who was pretty darn good with Ganondorf (who was at the VERY bottom iirc). The characters I pick are usually mid-top tier just by coincidence, and I believe I do quite well with them.

 

[Dragoomba]

...Do you even know who Hungrybox is?

Plus that's really darn offensive and you shouldn't be going around flinging ignorant insults like that around here. Go do that on 4chan or something.

What the **** does Hungrybox have anything to do with my statement?

 

[LiamMail]

IMO tiers only gets bad when EVERY SINGLE HUMAN IN EXISTENCE uses that character. I watched a smash 4 tourney and nearly ALL players were Sheiks, AND I ABSO-F***ING-LUTELY HATE THAT

 

[Hyruleslink]

So the second I saw Greninja in the direct I knew I would main him, not just because he is my favorite video game character, but because he is exactly what I look for in a character. Anyway, everyone has been saying he will be or is top tier. Idk why but it bothers me so much. Is it bad to main a top tier character? Or should I say make you have less skill? It has really been putting me down lately idk why (Im obsessed with Greninja btw) But should I be worried that people will think I have less skill or anything like that?

Dude. You need to get out more. It's just a game.

 

[Moon Monkey]

Yeah it's waaay too early for tier lists bruh!

Just learn all the tech you can now and see where it takes you 6months to a year down the line.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

I find it funny when the same people who say that "Tier lists mean absolutely nothing at all and I choose to ignore them" (which is fine by the way) go on to complain about people using High Tier characters. If you think Tier Lists do not define a character's worth, how can you complain about the High Tier ones?

What the **** does Hungrybox have anything to do with my statement?

Hungrybox plays a killer Jigglypuff, so low tier characters can be good in the right hands.

 

[allison]

Tier lists are dumb, just play as who you like playing as.

Well, tier lists are useful in competitive play for figuring out what matchups you need to work on more, but using them to select a main is a bad idea.

 

[Dragoomba]

Hungrybox plays a killer Jigglypuff, so low tier characters can be good in the right hands.

What the literal **** am I reading?

 

[Kirbizard]

I just realized;
Greninja is your favorite video game character, ever?

Nothing wrong with that. Character designs go a long way in picking favourites and Greninja has a lot going for him in that department.

Thankfully/Unfortunately, I've never had to worry about my characters being top tier outside of maybe Smash 64. At least you like a recognised character, OP. :V

 

[SwoodGrommet]

What the literal **** am I reading?

Um, I'm saying that Hungrybox is a competitive smash player who plays Jigglypuff...don't really see how that confuses you.

 

[Kirbizard]

Um, I'm saying that Hungrybox is a competitive smash player who plays Jigglypuff...don't really see how that confuses you.

Jigglypuff is considered a high tier character in Melee, that's the confusion.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

Jigglypuff is considered a high tier character in Melee, that's the confusion.

Ahhh, I'm not very versed in Melee. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[PingPongCop]

What the **** does Hungrybox have anything to do with my statement?

Sorry, meant aMSa. Now does it make sense?

 

[FloatingMew]

Hmm. That helps, thanks. I feel like my friends at least will say he's OP which really gets to me but I guess I have to understand that they're probably saying that because they don't know the match up, or because they lost.

If your friends are going to say its OP and not play against Greninja, they aren't as good as you. You see, it takes a skilled player to learn a match-up and adjust to it. I'm a Sheik main, not because she's top tier but because of her off-stage game. My brother mains Ganon but he refuses to fight my Sheik using Ganon because he can't adjust to the match-up.

 

[the8thark]

Nothing wrong with playing a character you like and unlocking its potential. I'm talking about people who intentionally pick characters just because they're low tier so they can be a unique snowflake.

That's no different to people who who intentionally pick characters just because they are high tier so they can try to get more wins by spaming the same powerful moves over and over.

 

[Moldy Clay]

I always main (or rather, gravitate towards; it's hard to say I main anyone due to the large amount that I consistently play) characters I like playing. I don't worry about tiers or winning EVERY match, just who feels good to me personally.

I started with characters I personally liked OUTSIDE of SSB, then branched out and got a feel for everyone. Then as SSB sequels came out, I'd started with who I liked last time and branched from there.

Because I like a lot of characters, they run the full spectrum of the different tiers, so I've never run into a 'problem' maining just a top or low tier character, as I play in all tiers, even when narrowed down to the ones I play the absolute most.

Tiers are only used as a guideline for tournament play. If you want to place well in a tournament and ensure winning some cash, your best bet is maining a top tier character. However, tiers themselves are driven BY tournaments, so a character in top or low tier tends to be there because more people mained them normally and learned their techniques to do so well, or less people played them to begin with (or past tiers). Tiers evolve because players learn more techniques and more players shake things up by being really good as characters people don't play as much.

So low tiers can be bad, but sometimes it's just because people don't put in the effort because they follow the tiers and stick to top characters in fear of the risk of losing. It's safer to learn a top tier than otherwise.

But it ultimately doesn't matter.

As for worrying about playing a top tier character, don't. If Greninja is top, or even ends up the best (just a hypothetical), it doesn't matter. If you like playing him because you like playing him, don't stop because friends are immature about losing when you play a good character. They could just as easily play Greninja and be terrible at him and still get whiped out. Skill will shine through anyway.

Play who you like and enjoy the game. Anyone who tries to impede your enjoyment is not worth listening to. Drown them out.

The only time it's worth listening is when someone gives constructive criticism to expand your gameplay. Primarily, when you fall into predictability.

I actually only mained Link originally, and relied on a lot of the same techniques throughout SSB & Melee. A friend made fun of me and pointed out the fact I basically did the same thing every match.

Following that, I wound up learning other characters to switch it up, but I also improved my game with Link and was less predictable. It was mostly to prove him wrong, but underneath his snark it was actually good advice. I was just used to winning against the same people with the same techniques. So this made it a little more interesting for me, and them. But you don't necessarily need to follow as I did.

But if they're just whining that he's a good character, it's borderline jealousy that they're not as good.

 

[Gidy]

I think main whoever you want. Tier List aren't law, they are the communities opinions on characters. Who knows, you may even move the character you use up the tier list this early in the game. However, if it's something like Melee where the meta has nearly halted then it's kind of hard if you are wanting to be someone like Ness or Kirby. So far, this game seems the most balanced out of the other games in the series so use whoever you want.

 

[Propeller Toad]

Just main whoever you wish is what I'd say. Don't let others discourage you ever.

Balancing has always been an issue in the series; however, we can't help but to choose our favourite characters when playing Smash Bros. regardless of the tier that they're in/how powerful they may be. Additionally, you can have high tier characters being played by players who possess little to no expereince with Smash and the character may suddenly seem horrible. However, it's your skill level that ultimately sets your "Greninja" in comparison to other Greninja users. Show those other Greninja players what you're made of via your own techniques!

And this is coming from a person who used Pichu almost all the time back in Melee! Sure, Pichu players were looked down upon considering Pichu's "joke status"; however, that didn't stop me from using that cute little mouse! There's a reason why this series has so many playable characters and you shouldn't feel bad for using your favourite just for tier purposes and so on.

 

[Phenomiracle]

Ignore the lists man. It is a decent enough placeholder to show you what characters have disadvantages against other characters, but I had a friend back in melee days who was pretty darn good with Ganondorf (who was at the VERY bottom iirc). The characters I pick are usually mid-top tier just by coincidence, and I believe I do quite well with them.

Ganondorf is bottom in Brawl. In Melee, he's roughly high-mid.

 

[SuperHyperMegaTurbo]

With my friends, I play whichever characters I find fun: in Brawl, I found characters like Olimar and Marth (and sometimes Fox) to make things seem too easy (and less fun as a result), which may indeed have to do with them being high tier... (and Olimar's up smash... it's dumb how strong it is.) Well, high-tier, except for Fox... I like them as characters, to play as and otherwise, and still use them in more serious matches, but I tend to avoid them for the majority of my play.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I found characters like Yoshi and Link really underwhelming, especially coming from Melee where I played Yoshi all the time. While certainly challenging enough to play as, I guess they just weren't interesting enough, potentially because they felt weak, Link in particular: this, again, lines up with the tier lists of the game, though it was based on my own experience.

So who did I find most fun? I played Sonic too much, since he's my favorite, but he's not my most-used character... no, that would be Ike! Both Sonic and Ike are the characters I find most fun to play in Brawl. They have strengths that are fun to use to win with, and weaknesses that are enough to feel like fights are fair (perhaps because I was almost always at a higher skill level than my friends).
Interestingly enough, if you look at the tier list, Sonic and Ike are just about the most balanced characters in the game: by this I mean that they don't have any hard counter-pick characters and aren't a hard counter-pick character to another character. They have worse matchups against higher-tiered characters and better ones against lower tiers... in general, they don't overpower or get overpowered by anyone too badly. They can hold their own, even if, in the truth about tourney play, they just aren't good enough to cut it.

So, what to take away from this?
Personally, I found higher tier characters in Brawl to be less fun to play as with my friends, since they felt a bit overpowered, regardless of whether I had seen a tier list or not. But I also found low and mid-tier characters not so great, either. What really did it for me was a character that I liked a lot, and I felt like they had strengths that were fun to use. That's it.

As far as Smash 4, I'm extremely excited to see that people are saying that Fox and Sonic are good, probably B tier or so... and Yoshi! I basically have no words... he looks simply amazing, even before I saw anyone saying he may be top-tier! Some of my favorite characters having the tools needed to be competitive makes me really happy, and I look forward to using them to destroy more serious opponents. FOR GLORY!
This means, though, that, depending on how strong they really are, I may gravitate towards lower tiers for friendly matches, and avoid my favorites. Ike still apparently isn't so good, but I bet I won't agree so much, and will use him a lot. Shulk looks extremely fun, Captain Falcon looks glorious, and Marth... we'll see about Marth.

But really: it's the cliche thing to say, but play who you have fun as. If you find yourself having less fun, try another character for a while. You can always go back. Or, you can search for stronger opponents, in which case you should have no worries about whether your character is overpowered. Don't worry about tiers unless you're looking at winning a serious competitive tourney.

 

[Captain Fun]

Play whoever you want and don't let it get you down.

I play Mega Man. Plenty of people think he's a bad character. He may be, for all I know, but it doesn't matter. I play Mega Man because I love the character.

Smash is a game about the characters. If you like them then don't let other people's perception of them affect your enjoyment.