Your preferred competitive balance archetype (now with poll!)

[Quillion]

If you don't know what they are or can't come up with good names for them, TVTropes names basic ones used in Smash:

• Close Range Combatant: Powerful up close but poor or useless at long range
• Long-Range Fighter: Powerful at long range but poor up close
• Fragile Speedster: Sacrifices toughness for mobility
• Mighty Glacier: Sacrifices mobility for overall power
• Glass Cannon: Can dish it out, but can't take it
• Stone Wall: Can take it, but can't dish it out
• Jack of All Stats: Not really good at any one thing, but not really bad at anything either. When all of the above are more or less balanced.

My preferred archetype is Jack of All Stats. And I'm very overjoyed that they're actually good Smash U. Diddy and Luigi are both awesome while Mario's pretty good. I'm not too good with the dominating Fragile Speedsters (though I'm working on my Melee Fox for the sake of its difficulty and reward for doing so).

 

[FightingPorygonTeam]

I think I can come up with more types, but among these, I would say Jack of All Stats, because I love variety as a weapon and being able to change playstyle on the fly.

 

[ChikoLad]

I want to say one of these but honestly I don't think my mains in Smash 4 really fit under any, except for Mario and Mega Man who are clearly Jack of All Stats and Long Range Fighter respectively. I would typically go for Speedsters in any fighter, but honestly, I wouldn't say Sonic is lacking in the toughness department in this game, not even after the few nerfs he just got. He can still get early KOs in and can take a beating.

Rosalina doesn't fit under any of these IMO, I like to think of her as a "Paradigm Shifter" - a character (or two characters in this case, really) that can switch between various roles at will (for a very literal example of this in another fighting game, see Lightning in Dissidia 012). The closest thing there is Glass Cannon for her, but that's a huge stretch as she actually has a lot of amazing defensive options and it's common for me to survive to very high percents with her despite her lightweight status.

 

[LancerStaff]

Jack of All Stats or otherwise balanced characters/weapons/vehicles. In Smash, Pit is obviously a well-rounded character with his only weakness being his KO moves being somewhat weak and hard to use. In KIU my Lancer Staff is something of a Mighty Glacier (note the Health) but FFAs aren't really balanced anyway. In LvD I prefer to use an Aurum Bow with both buffed Standing Continuous Fire and Dash Charged Shots so I can fit multiple roles at once, and the Aurum Bow is already fairly effective both up close and at a distance. Surprisingly effective even though KIU is basically all about min-making.

 

[LunarWingCloud]

Whatever is.

 

[ChikoLad]

Whatever is.

Fragile Speedster, definitely. Fast with an amazing combo game and decent zoning too, and his short stature makes him harder to hit, but is very light and his moves generally don't do a lot of damage individually, and he can't KO too early without pressuring people off stage or something (and even then, he can only do that to certain characters, mainly those with bad recoveries).

 

[LunarWingCloud]

Yeah I figured as much since Glass Cannon while accurate wasn't hitting the nail on the head.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

I don't really know what Rosalina would be classified as, but she seems like an opportunist type of fighter who would try to punish those who make careless mistakes.

Of course, Rosalina's custom specials can potentially portray her as a long-range fighter, especially when you can use Luma Warp to try to get at your adversary's face.

 

[Dark Phazon]

Mighty Glacier always have been always will be and proud

 

[Raijinken]

I'm a fan of the Jack of All Stats (Sakurai please give us Red Mage). I also enjoy glaciers, long-range, and glass cannons.

 

[Sodo]

Is there a Stone Wall in Sm4sh? ROB is the only one I can think of, not great offensive output in my opinion but a fantastic defensive character. Edit: Heavy Shulk is one and Rosalina sort of fits the archetype depending on playstyle, of course.

Anyways, I think a big one missed here is the Gradual Grinder (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GradualGrinder). I think Olimar perfectly fits this archetype. He doesn't have one great distinguishing quality but a good Olimar can wear you down and force you to play a game you might not want to play.

Another I think applies in Sm4sh is Confusion Fu (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConfusionFu). I think Game & Watch, Wario, and Villager all fit into this archetype in some way. They obviously have qualities that classify them as other archetypes as well, but all three have a certain element about their playstyle that work better with mindgames.

 

[Nexin]

Whenever I play fighting games, I tend to naturally go for the mighty glacier since I'm willing to give up speed for sheer power and a lot of health. Interestingly enough, in this game, I break that pattern with Palutena, who is a glass cannon.

 

[Turrin]

As Fox, I definitely see myself as the fragile speedster. From the get go, I will blitz all over the place just trying to bait my opponent or get them to mess up, and I use my speed to keep a safe distance until that happens so I can start combo-ing. However, I can't afford to mess up myself, or I'll die very quickly.

 

[Storm Erion]

Long-Range Fighter. Every character that I enjoy playing the most is some sort of zoning character. Even in other fighting games I pick zoning characters if they have them. I just prefer fighting at a distance more so than up close.

 

[Khao]

Not sure what Marth or Pit count as. Though Mega Man is certainly a Long-range-fighter, as well as maybe Link to an extent. I generally prefer fast characters too, but there's exceptions (Link's not particularly fast for one).

Either way, I most certainly like disjointed hitboxes and/or projectiles, and there's definitely bonus points if they have high mobility.

 

[GhostUrsa]

@ Nexin Is Palutena a glass cannon though? I see her more as a stone wall, personally. With her aerial mobility (which helps prevent her death from gimps), tilts and attacks that keep opponents right out of arms reach (but don't have kill power) and half her specials designed for pure defensive, I'd say her default falls in the Stone Wall category. Only thing she shares with a glass cannon like Little Mac is the ease of being launched, but since Mac's air game is ****e (and a good air game helps with the part of the games defense, which is recovering back to the stage) I don't feel Palutena falls there. With customs, that's different and can see her changing depending on how the player sets her up.

Though I don't play as her, but my experience fighting against her gives me the impression of a good defensive character instead of how other glass cannons work. (Like Mac, or IMO Jiggs.)

I am presently with a Mighty Glacier (Though the less glacier like of the group), but was a Jack of all trades for ages (used to main Link, who is the titular definition of that term in most incarnations). With Customs on, Ike could definitely shift into a slow Jack instead of being a fast Glacier.

 

[ChikoLad]

Honestly these archetypes don't always fit the characters. Like, I see Little Mac as a defensive character, but not quite a Stone Wall. Then again, his super armour kinda makes him that.

 

[Purin a.k.a. José]

I like two: The Close Range Combatant, and the Fragile Speedsters, being Falcon, Ganondorf, Kirby and Jigglypuff.

 

[Sodo]

Honestly these archetypes don't always fit the characters. Like, I see Little Mac as a defensive character, but not quite a Stone Wall. Then again, his super armour kinda makes him that.

Little Mac as defensive? That's interesting. To me, he's a Lightning Bruiser and a Close Range Combatant. But, obviously everyone sees and plays characters differently.

 

[ChikoLad]

Little Mac as defensive? That's interesting. To me, he's a Lightning Bruiser and a Close Range Combatant. But, obviously everyone sees and plays characters differently.

In an FFA context he'd be a Lightning Bruiser, but in 1v1, he should be played defensively. While he's fast and strong on the ground, he is near completely useless in the air, meaning his follow-up potential is extremely limited, so he can't rush people down. Not to mention the end lag on a lot of his moves.

The fact his Smash attacks give him Super Armour and the fact he really has to stay on the ground makes me play him in a manner that I am defending my position on the stage. Rather than run headfirst into people, he's better suited to baiting people into throwing the first punch, since he can punish quite well on the ground due to his Super Armour. This goes doubly for when you fill the Power Meter, as you want to not get hit until you can land a (ground) hit with it.

 

[MapleWooD]

Mighty Glacier Master Race

 

[Aus0115]

My main is Zelda so I'm gonna go ahead and say glass canons...mewtwo is up there too so I guess I like those type of characters

 

[Nexin]

@ GhostUrsa

I see what you mean, and you are probably right; at the same time, though, she is still pretty fragile and has some very potent kill moves, which fits the glass cannon description.

Of course, I tend to play her both offensively and defensively depending on what is happening in the match, so to me, she can feel like both a glass cannon and a stone wall.

 

[Sodo]

In an FFA context he'd be a Lightning Bruiser, but in 1v1, he should be played defensively. While he's fast and strong on the ground, he is near completely useless in the air, meaning his follow-up potential is extremely limited, so he can't rush people down. Not to mention the end lag on a lot of his moves.

The fact his Smash attacks give him Super Armour and the fact he really has to stay on the ground makes me play him in a manner that I am defending my position on the stage. Rather than run headfirst into people, he's better suited to baiting people into throwing the first punch, since he can punish quite well on the ground due to his Super Armour. This goes doubly for when you fill the Power Meter, as you want to not get hit until you can land a (ground) hit with it.

I see what you're saying, but his attributes are definitely leaned towards a Lightning Bruiser. He's the third fastest character in the game and has phenomenal killing power. It's hard for me to classify him as any sort of defensive archetype when his weight is so low and his recovery is the worst in the game.

But maybe we'll just agree to disagree haha.

 

[Nexin]

For Little Mac, I say that he falls into the category of "Crippling Overspecialization". He is awesome on the ground, but if you get him into the air, he isn't a threat at all.

For Rosalina and Luma, I would definitely classify her as a "Puppet Fighter", which is a character where you are in control of two fighters at once. They are extremely difficult to learn, but they are almost always some of the best characters in their game.

 

[allison]

Long Range fighter all the way, as my most played characters are Samus, Palutena, Mega Man, and Pac-Man.

 

[Muskrat Catcher]

For me, my best characters are mighty glaciers and mid-range combatants (i.e. usually wield a weapon with disjointed hitboxes), explaining why Dedede is my main. Dedede doesn't need speed, since he can protect himself with the range of his hammer, and still take a lot of damage before he is in danger. Also, I am skilled with most other heavies, and I like to use characters with a weapon or other disjointed method of attacking, like shulk, rosalina, etc.

 

[Quillion]

Surprised at the amount of Mighty Glacier love.

Especially considering they always suck in Smash.

 

[Moydow]

I guess I'd say whatever is - somewhere between a close- and long-range fighter? (close because sword, long because tippers)

 

[Quillion]

I guess I'd say whatever is - somewhere between a close- and long-range fighter? (close because sword, long because tippers)

Long-range entails heavy use of projectiles, so Marth is close-range as he's entirely a melee fighter.

Are there any other smashers willing to answer this question?

 

[AfroGamerNinja]

I go for Mario, being the shoto and what not.

 

[Buffoon]

I prefer the Jack(s) Of All Stats [] or the Close-Range Combatants []. I (attempt to) use these characters to keep constant pressure on my opponents by not letting them breathe.

 

[Ze Diglett]

Long-ranged, without a doubt. I mean, just look at my signature/mains. I also tend to prefer Glass Cannons, so I might use some of those sometimes.

 

[Evello]

I generally like Close Range Combatants and Mighty Glaciers, as my main suggests. I love the mind games that characters like and force you to play due to their speed deficit, and up-close footsies always feels more rewarding to me than picking off enemies from afar. While constantly fighting top tier speedsters loaded to the teeth with projectiles can get a little tiring, the joy of a good read and brutal punish more than makes up for the drudgery. For some reason, I've never felt super comfortable with when to use projectiles, so it's a convenient that most glaciers are also close-range focused.

 

[rlwrgh]

I like Ike and I think with his counter he could be considered one of the closest to a stone wall this game has. He is also of course a mighty glacier.

 

[DrROBschiz]

Jack of all Trades

Just the nature of my character and my playstyle. I flip a switch in my head and can go from aggressive to defensive and back again.

Of course once I start to get tired or frustrated i fall back on aggression and start to lose lol

 

[Quillion]

May a moderator make a poll please?

 

[IsmaR]

May a moderator make a poll please?

Unfortunately, moderators cannot add on polls.

 

[Komatik]

You left out Master of All. Properly done, they're just a wee bit too good for comfort and give you that nice criminal feeling of getting away with something you shouldn't really but are anyway, while not being too far ahead of the rest of the cast to turn games into farces, and end up giving people something to (rightfully) hate on a bit which is valuable in itself. Getting them right like that is hard though, too little and you end up with a jack of all trades, too much and you break the game*.


*(*cough* This is why we do not give them SSS+ tier camping abilities *cough*. You're already top tier in everything, go win your match honestly)

 

[Lime Cultivist]

Gotta love glass cannons - and in most of the games I play, not just smash. Jack of All Stats is a nice and reliable choice, though, that really opens up a wide variety of options for playstyles.