Why do you limit your number of characters?

[Mean Green]

Why do you think it's better to limit yourself to the general 2-3 characters, than say 5+ if you're into them?

Every character must follow these rules of any smash game: use the right moves and positioning at the right times without leaving yourself open. If you are actually good with your characters, and you can handle more, why not expand your options?

Mistakes are pretty obvious; I think the only reason we improve slowly is because we're just too lazy to correct them. How much more could you possibly learn once you're good with a character & know his most efficient strategy / all his techs?

 

[Kankato]

I only play two characters at a time MAX, and one of them is always relegated to secondary. Trying to play more than two characters is an incredibly time consuming task & all your characters will suffer for it.

Conversely, experimenting with secondaries is a great way to see what other characters are like & find a new main (if you're looking).​

 

[A6stringthing (A6ST)]

Honestly, most people that I know play at least 3 mostly because matchup knowledge is a big factor in this game. Due to the fact that most characters are viable there are alot of different playstyles that have to be countered.

Also, why isn't Mario in the poll? I hate his recovery so much.

 

[Mean Green]

I'm not really asking for suggestions, I'm asking for reasons, like how do you think your other characters would suffer? As I said, we'll be assuming you've gotten 2 characters' strategies and techs down pat. Why should you not add more options if you can handle it?

 

[GP&B]

Because understanding a single character inside and out to build your foundation on will generally be much more effective than just trying to do it while simultaneously learning two other characters. Once you've got the Smash smarts, you'll not only learn other characters faster, but perform notably better with them with less initial effort.

 

[Kaeldiar]

More time spent on one character means that you are better with that character. Splitting your time between 2 characters theoretically means that you'll only be half as good with each. The more characters you learn, the less time you have with each. Having a secondary to cover certain MUs is a great idea, but MU advantage only works so well.

I personally have a main, a secondary, and 2 or 3 others that I play regularly for fun and to possibly become secondaries.

 

[Mean Green]

Honestly, most people that I know play at least 3 mostly because matchup knowledge is a big factor in this game. Due to the fact that most characters are viable there are alot of different playstyles that have to be countered.

Also, why isn't Mario in the poll? I hate his recovery so much.

That was my point. With so much diversity on the roster it can end up being a bit of a handicap if you can't use a good counter.

Bowser's pretty similar though don't you think? Lol I would have but, good as it is, Mario still works for his recovery.

 

[JipC]

Why do you think it's better to limit yourself to 2-4 characters, than say 10?
(not that they'll all literally be your mains, but you get it)

Now, some people like Mew2King and a PM player named Smashgod can use almost if not every character well to some degree. What's to say that everyone shouldn't do that if they like? I read a post maybe 2 days ago saying "if someone says they main more than 2 characters then that means they're all garbage" or something like that lol.

Of course if you're a busy person it's impractical to try to master so many characters. But keep in mind there's really only one basic way to succeed in any smash game, and every character must follow the rules: use the right moves and positioning at the right times without leaving yourself open. Every character has their ATs to master, but why should you limit yourself? How much better will you get by focusing on a smaller number, if you already learned their AT's and typical strategies?

Because that's too many to concentrate on, you'll never reach your full potential like that
Look at M2k, he mains like 3 characters in Melee now (Shiek, Fox, and Marth?) but he spent years and years for each specific one, I don't think he just started out and main all 3 of them out of the gate.

Honestly I don't even know if I would consider Doc in Smash 4 or Luigi in Melee my secondaries, I never put as much work in them as I did with Dr. Mario (Melee) or Kirby/PacMan/Bowser Jr (Smash 4)
I'm totally content with one main and one secondary in PM

Edit: Also kinda feel like this is a general Smash question instead of just a PM one. Though it does apply to PM mostly because of the big roster of viable characters.

 

[Mean Green]

More time spent on one character means that you are better with that character. Splitting your time between 2 characters theoretically means that you'll only be half as good with each. The more characters you learn, the less time you have with each. Having a secondary to cover certain MUs is a great idea, but MU advantage only works so well.

I personally have a main, a secondary, and 2 or 3 others that I play regularly for fun and to possibly become secondaries.

Well I only said "mains" in the title to catch attention because I'd like as many opinions on this as possible. The others could be secondaries or whatever.
But it doesn't look like people are reading the part about already having all the knowledge and skill with a certain character before moving to another.

 

[Fortress]

Yes, because 'main' means 'one character'.

I don't have time to be a Bowser, Sheik, DK, Diddy, Link, Marth, Sonic, Snake, R.O.B, Squirtle, Roy, Peach, Mewtwo, Mario, Ridley main.

Plus, there's the fact that you will always, 100% of the time, without a doubt, improve more quickly and more consistently playing the game through one set of character stats and strategies than having to constantly be switching back and forth all of the time.

Multi-maining is not real, there's no such thing, not at the level that nearly every person on these boards are at. The unskilled are going to tell you "no, I need Pikachu, Charizard, Toon Link, Zelda, Ike, and Olimar to cover my character's weak matchups, you idiot" instead of figuring out that, yes, there are usually things that their character has to cover most matchups if they would just learn them. But that requires some actual time and effort, which is far and beyond what proponents of the 'multi-main' are simply capable of. You (reader), myself, the guy next door, are likely never going to be at that level where you can, in a major, switch up who you're using and play just as consistently well. You cannot expect to master many things when you cannot master one thing, that thing of course being your character choice.

Again, multi-maining; not for people who want to get good.

 

[Phaiyte]

Again, multi-maining; not for people who want to get good.

/ahem

Yaknow, aside from almost all of the actual best players not playing with only one character. Every top player has a pocket something, or even multiple pocket somethings regardless of the reason.

Someone just getting into the game, maybe. But someone mega experienced in the game's engine and mechanics can play a large variety of characters good enough to compete at the top and win.

What you mean to say, is that multi-maining is not real for /you/.

 

[Fortress]

But someone mega experienced in the game's engine and mechanics can play a large variety of characters good enough to compete at the top and win.

Thank you for repeating what I have already said. You, myself, the next guy reading this post, will probably never be at the level (never ever) where you can expect to go to a major tournament and succeed in this way. It just doesn't happen, you don't master anything like that. That's why I hate this retort, that's why I listed this as the top retort of the multi-main, the retort that "X pro player can do this with all seventeen of these characters". You are not X pro player, I am not X pro player, 9/10 people who stumble across this are not and will never be X pro player.

What I mean to say is exactly what I said: 'multi-maining' is a contradictory concept that only serves to limit your focus on the game. You can have a strong secondary character, sure, I'm not going to argue that, but you don't main Link, Zelda, Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Geno.

Anybody who actually wants to get anywhere in this game would do well to take that advice. Stick to one character, find out what you can actually do with them before you pick seventeen other characters to thin out your skillset. Figure out what's really hurting you in the matchup, and work around it, using the skills that you learned. You can only get better for it.

You do not better yourself as a player when you duck out at the slightest sign of trouble in a matchup while playing your main. You do not advance your knowledge of them whatsoever if you don't put your nose to the grindstone and work it out, and you certainly don't expand your own potential when you limit yourself in that way.

If that still sounds way too difficult for the mind of a multi-main, ask yourself this:

"Will sticking to one character, and learning how to overcome what I thought was a poor matchup lessen my knowledge with my character? Will it hurt me in the long run to learn more and understand more-deeply how to operate my character?"

If, for whatever reason, that still sounds like too much to expect of a player with expectations of any kind, say this aloud:

"No, I don't want to actually have to learn my character and discover that there are in fact ways to deal with matchups that I struggle in, things I can discover that only make me a better player."

 

[Mean Green]

The top players who do that are one of a kind and we aren't/never will be them; you're right. But I wasn't trying to imply that it's better to pick up 20 characters and say that you actually main them all lmao. I could have worded that title a lot better, haha idk what I was thinking.

"You do not better yourself as a player when you duck at the slightest sign of trouble in a matchup while playing your main…"
I wasn't implying that either. I was just speaking hypothetically- if you really were good like a top player and your others won't suffer for it, give reasons why should you not go ahead and increase your options. I guess you kind of somewhat answered it when you basically said 'because we're not those top players' lol.

 

[Fortress]

I wasn't implying that either. I was just speaking hypothetically

Why hypothesize about it? We're not going to be on that level, that question should not even be one we're asking ourselves.

I guess you kind of somewhat answered it when you basically said 'because we're not those top players' lol.

 

[Vashimus]

/ahem

Yaknow, aside from almost all of the actual best players not playing with only one character. Every top player has a pocket something, or even multiple pocket somethings regardless of the reason.

Someone just getting into the game, maybe. But someone mega experienced in the game's engine and mechanics can play a large variety of characters good enough to compete at the top and win.

What you mean to say, is that multi-maining is not real for /you/.

And how did all those best players make it to the top?

With one character. Maybe two. Maybe.

Once they felt they've tapped out that character's potential and have gotten great results with them have they made the decision to branch out to other characters.

Nobody becomes a great player - not just a competent one, a truly great one - by switching around with more than half the cast. Stop kidding yourself.

 

[Phaiyte]

words

words

It's amazing that you guys are basically implying that these players are post-human are something. Damn near deities with their own religious doctrines and all that ****. But oooooooooooooooook. I'm going to continue to learn more and more about the game at a much faster pace than you, because I choose to explore every little thing about every single matchup I encounter on a regular basis, and you seemingly don't.

 

[Vashimus]

Right, because playing and learning difficult matchups with my character and getting better at them through experience won't help me improve or teach me anything about the game. Better main all the characters that give me trouble instead.

But hey, whatever helps you.

 

[Fortress]

It's amazing that you guys are basically implying that these players are post-human are something. Damn near deities with their own religious doctrines and all that ****.

How many majors did you win this year :^)

 

[Mean Green]

Why hypothesize about it? We're not going to be on that level, that question should not even be one we're asking ourselves.

Well I believe I am able to hold a candle to [insert big name pro PM player] even if it took a few tourneys to actually beat them. And I just happen to like a lot of extra characters aside from a main and 2 secondaries I stick with. Don't need to believe me I'm just giving you my answer.

 

[Phaiyte]

Right, because playing and learning difficult matchups with my character and getting better at them through experience won't help me improve or teach me anything about the game. Better main all the characters that give me trouble instead.

But hey, whatever helps you.

Actually playing those other characters will help you far more in the long run than not. Knowing how to play those characters gives you huge insight on their option selects in any given situation compared to flying solo with just that one character and merely observing yourself getting trashed.

 

[Phaiyte]

Why hypothesize about it? We're not going to be on that level, that question should not even be one we're asking ourselves.

See that's the one of the biggest things that hold people back in every single thing they do in life. With that mindset why the **** do you even bother training? This sounds like a cop out to block your failures from affecting your feelings.

 

[Phan7om]

So to the OP, If you are at the level where you are just figuring out the game and deciding who to main DO NOT main more than 3, its probably best to stick to 1 tbh. Get knowledge of the idea of spacing, baiting, punishing, fall speed, tech skill, etc. and then start looking outwards. But if you're saying you've completely mastered a character or two, which I doubt, then YES go ahead and completely master ONE more character. Once you're smart you'll get good at the game of smash regardless of how much time you spent with your character. And getting good means getting smart, not how many more characters I can play only ok with than you.

Trust me, I use to think the same thing. It doesnt work cuz you convince yourself that you've mastered a character really cuz you're bored of playing that character and want to use someone else to revive that spark. Learn all the mixups, movement options, baits, combos, punishes, and gimmicks with that character. And if you're thinking you dont want to win off of gimmicks, there is a difference from winning off of gimmicks and being aware and smart on how to use your gimmicks. At face value it looks like the same thing, but it isnt... unless you find a gimmick that is utterly broken then yeah that probably means the same thing but most likely you wont. And if you're having trouble with a matchup, or people say this matchup is bad, dont be quick to take their word for it, but if you do picking up one character and using that character for those matchups only will be fine if you know for certain you cannot win with your original character.

And another thing to think about is characters have different levels of depth. A Fox will be harder to master than say a Mario. But regardless of what people say, no character is easy to master. Very few, if not no, top players actually have mastered their characters. If you learn something new with your character, or you are inconsistent with something, you havent mastered him/her. But the general consensus of character mastery seems to fall in between 50-60%. You will be fine if you master at least half of your character and move on to a new one.

TLDR. Get smart and knowledgeable about the game. You will get good solely off of doing this. You dont need a lot of characters to get there. But if you use a lot of characters, it will be harder to master them, and will take longer to understand the game since you are replacing that with learning more characters.

 

[victinivcreate1]

@ Fortress
Say, what is your opinion on maining different character across games?

For example in PM I play primarily MK, I play Mewtwo like he does in Melee, and Snake from Brawl experience plus watching Professor Pro.

In Melee I play Falco and Mewtwo.

What's your view on that?

 

[Frost | Odds]

As Fortress and Vashimus have already beautifully stated, if you play more than one character, you're limiting your growth. I seriously can't understand why anyone would find that concept so difficult.

@ Fortress
Say, what is your opinion on maining different character across games?

For example in PM I play primarily MK, I play Mewtwo like he does in Melee, and Snake from Brawl experience plus watching Professor Pro.

In Melee I play Falco and Mewtwo.

What's your view on that?

You're playing more than one character. It's limiting your growth.

 

[Mean Green]

So to the OP, If you are at the level where you are just figuring out the game and deciding who to main DO NOT main more than 3, its probably best to stick to 1 tbh. Get knowledge of the idea of spacing, baiting, punishing, fall speed, tech skill, etc. and then start looking outwards. But if you're saying you've completely mastered a character or two, which I doubt, then YES go ahead and completely master ONE more character. Once you're smart you'll get good at the game of smash regardless of how much time you spent with your character. And getting good means getting smart, not how many more characters I can play only ok with than you.

Trust me, I use to think the same thing. It doesnt work cuz you convince yourself that you've mastered a character really cuz you're bored of playing that character and want to use someone else to revive that spark. Learn all the mixups, movement options, baits, combos, punishes, and gimmicks with that character. And if you're thinking you dont want to win off of gimmicks, there is a difference from winning off of gimmicks and being aware and smart on how to use your gimmicks. At face value it looks like the same thing, but it isnt... unless you find a gimmick that is utterly broken then yeah that probably means the same thing but most likely you wont. And if you're having trouble with a matchup, or people say this matchup is bad, dont be quick to take their word for it, but if you do picking up one character and using that character for those matchups only will be fine if you know for certain you cannot win with your original character.

And another thing to think about is characters have different levels of depth. A Fox will be harder to master than say a Mario. But regardless of what people say, no character is easy to master. Very few, if not no, top players actually have mastered their characters. If you learn something new with your character, or you are inconsistent with something, you havent mastered him/her. But the general consensus of character mastery seems to fall in between 50-60%. You will be fine if you master at least half of your character and move on to a new one.

TLDR. Get smart and knowledgeable about the game. You will get good solely off of doing this. You dont need a lot of characters to get there. But if you use a lot of characters, it will be harder to master them, and will take longer to understand the game since you are replacing that with learning more characters.

Ok I'll remember that thanks

 

[Mean Green]

As Fortress and Vashimus have already beautifully stated, if you play more than one character, you're limiting your growth. I seriously can't understand why anyone would find that concept so difficult.


You're playing more than one character. It's limiting your growth.

You're right but that didn't quite address what he was talking about. He was implying that if you regularly play 2+ titles, like Melee and PM, it's essentially the same thing (if you don't use the same characters). Don't attack me I'm just clarifying lol.

 

[Frost | Odds]

Well, yeah. I've definitely debated quitting one of the titles in order to tighten my focus on the other - especially with my free time being dramatically cut due to classes.

Playing 1 character in both games has its dangers as well. PM and Melee have different movement engines, techs to take advantage of, and in some cases, optimal controller schemes. You're bound to confuse your muscle memory if you make a habit of playing, for example, Mewtwo in both games. Whether or not it's worth it is ofc each individual player's choice.

Also, claiming that you "main" more than one character is completely asinine. You either focus on one character or you don't. You either have a secondary, or you don't. Either you're undecided between a couple characters, or you're not. The too-common signatures with lists of characters longer than I can count on one hand -- for each Smash game, serve as nothing but an indicator to everyone else that you're a mediocre player that suffers from indecision.

There's no shame in changing your mind, or in playing a bunch of characters, or in having a pocket character or two to deal with bad matchups -- but goddamn, nobody thinks you somehow seriously focus on and improve at 20 different characters simultaneously.

 

[Mean Green]

Well, yeah. I've definitely debated quitting one of the titles in order to tighten my focus on the other - especially with my free time being dramatically cut due to classes.

Playing 1 character in both games has its dangers as well. PM and Melee have different movement engines, techs to take advantage of, and in some cases, optimal controller schemes. You're bound to confuse your muscle memory if you make a habit of playing, for example, Mewtwo in both games. Whether or not it's worth it is ofc each individual player's choice.

Also, claiming that you "main" more than one character is completely asinine. You either focus on one character or you don't. You either have a secondary, or you don't. Either you're undecided between a couple characters, or you're not. The too-common signatures with lists of characters longer than I can count on one hand -- for each Smash game, serve as nothing but an indicator to everyone else that you're a mediocre player that suffers from indecision.

There's no shame in changing your mind, or in playing a bunch of characters, or in having a pocket character or two to deal with bad matchups -- but goddamn, nobody thinks you somehow seriously focus on and improve at 20 different characters simultaneously.

Lol relax dude I agree I don't think you actually need to use a lot of characters

 

[Pr0fessor Flash]

This seems kind of Stupid to be honest it really dosen't matter how many characters you can play I main Fox and Falco in Melee and Sonic,Snake and Diddy in PM I just feel like it doesn't matter tho if you feel comfortable doing it keep on doing it

 

[Fortress]

@ Fortress
Say, what is your opinion on maining different character across games?

For example in PM I play primarily MK, I play Mewtwo like he does in Melee, and Snake from Brawl experience plus watching Professor Pro.

In Melee I play Falco and Mewtwo.

What's your view on that?

First of all, my opinions are opinions. Some things you can't really argue (like how playing the whole roster right away will slow down your progress in the long-run), but some, like your question, are open to different points of view.

In my opinion, maining a different character (or even having a different main and secondary) across the different games isn't going to hurt you too much. You look at 64, you look at Melee, you look at Brawl, then PM, then SSB4. You simply can't compare any of them, even with PM and Melee running on basically the 'same' engine, the cast of the game and simple Brawl mechanics change up the playing field so much that sticking with one character (let's take, Link, for instance) and going in expecting to succeed in the same way can hurt you.

For example, going from 64 to Melee (64 being the Smash I came from), playing Link how I played him in 64 did not give me anywhere near the kind of results I was accustom to. Not only did my character change drastically, but so did the cast and sandbox around him. Going from Melee to PM was the same thing. In Melee, I mained Sheik after I stopped playing Link, and even going from Melee Sheik to PM Sheik is a huge difference; new stage dynamics, new character matchups, old ones entirely changed, it all makes a difference.

'Character loyalty', as it were, isn't going to hurt you, as long as you can adjust your gameplan to adapt to whatever game you're going into. It never hurts to have a solid background on your character, and some general goals, but what will hurt you is if you go into Brawl and try to play 64-style Link.

See that's the one of the biggest things that hold people back in every single thing they do in life. With that mindset why the **** do you even bother training? This sounds like a cop out to block your failures from affecting your feelings.

I train hard each day in this game, put at least ten hours a day into it (I'm not kidding), read up everywhere I can, watch whatever I can, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest that I'm likely not going to end up any more than a pot feeder in whatever major I end up going to. I'm among the top PM players in Montana, and I've hung with some high level players in Washington despite a very small and humble background, but I don't let something like "will I ever be able to play twenty-six characters skillfully" bother me. It's likely never going to be a thing I need to worry about, and so long as I stick to the gameplan (improving through one consistent experience) I know I'll end up exactly where I want to end up.

It's not rocket science, go out and try and master (master) five different languages right now. Now go and try and do one at a time. You're going to see faster improvement in any field when your focus is on one area.

 

[Frost | Odds]

Lol relax dude I agree I don't think you actually need to use a lot of characters

Sorry, didn't mean you specifically.

 

[Mean Green]

Sorry, didn't mean you specifically.

Yeah my bad too.

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

You needs like 2 characters, at least, under yo belt, in project matchup.

 

[LoveGame]

I've just always felt as though having a huge list of "mains" is a bit contradictory. I tend to stick to two or three characters in every Smash game, but I'm fine with having secondaries or "pocket" characters to mix things up or have a better matchup.

As for PM, I just now obtained consistent access to it (previously, I could only play it at friends' houses), so most of my time is being put into Mewtwo, with the rest going toward Wolf. I'm sure I'll try others once I "master" them, but I'll still mainly use those two long-term. I only play a character if I'm a fan of them and their series, but tailoring well to my playstyle helps, and my top two here fit that bill.

 

[Narpas_sword]

in my eyes, everyone has 1 or no main.

Your main is your best. the character you pick in double blind selection when you have no idea who the opponent is or who they'll pick.

Everyone else is a secondary.

if you say you have >1 main, you really have no main, and contenders for a main.

 

[DMG]

How many characters you should play, is entirely subjective based on player skill and other factors. There's no universal answer that settles the debate

With that said, I would recommend 90% of players across the board to stick with no more than 2-3 characters. The population of players who successfully or skillfully use more than 3 is incredibly low, for any Smash game.

 

[LoveGame]

How many characters you should play, is entirely subjective based on player skill and other factors. There's no universal answer that settles the debate

With that said, I would recommend 90% of players across the board to stick with no more than 2-3 characters. The population of players who successfully or skillfully use more than 3 is incredibly low, for any Smash game.

Hey, didn't expect to see you here!

But yeah, I pretty much agree with you and @ Narpas_sword in that you should have one definitive main that you pick when you have no idea who you're going against. I'm sometimes on the fence over Mewtwo or Wolf, but I'm pretty much gonna go with M2 in that situation, so it's pretty much a 55/45 divide.

Nothing wrong with having secondaries or "pockets". Unless you're one of those insane prodigies that can main everyone or something.

 

[Mean Green]

in my eyes, everyone has 1 or no main.

Your main is your best. the character you pick in double blind selection when you have no idea who the opponent is or who they'll pick.

Everyone else is a secondary.

if you say you have >1 main, you really have no main, and contenders for a main.

Yeah I agree 100%, and I just said "main(s)" to draw attention lol. I really mean "characters you use".

 

[Mean Green]

In your case you seriously can't go wrong with just 2 characters. A spacie for going ham and Mewtwo for when you want to play it safe.

 

[Dark-Samus-Lives]

There are way too many fun characters to play as, why limit!?