Your take on maining / even playing more than 1 character?

[WinterShorts]

I want to ask this to the community on the sense of improving someone's gameplay. I know that there are some players that devote to only one character (hungrybox: , leffen: , The Moon: , etc.) and I know there are some players that devote to more than 1 character (Mang0: , PPMD: , Mew2king: , etc.), and I might be inaccurate about the player's character choices but you get my point. It's probably obvious that devoting to one character will make you better and knowing almost everything or everything about that character, and devoting to 2 or more characters will expand your tools for certain matchups, but weaken you knowledge on your characters.

I usually tend to pick more than Marth, I sometimes pick up Falco, other mid-tier and even low-tier characters, but I feel like with the precise movement of melee and how much practice it takes to play some characters, it might be better to play 1 character, assuming that they don't have a single really awful matchup.

So this is what I want to ask you, basically. I want your opinion on maining more than 1 character or sticking to only 1 character. Nothing less, nothing more but your opinion.

 

[AirFair]

I think that as far as tournament play goes, you should try build up one character to use, because all of the above can get you into high level play.

Now in friendlies however, you can try other characters, and that's perfectly fine, as long as you feel you aren't taking learning time away from your main. It helps you learn a little about matchups that way, since you will be looking at it from both sides.

 

[Comet7]

focusing on making one character amazing is what i think is the best. you can probably play a character on the side but the main should at least get used for the majority of the serious matches you play. this is so you dno't have to learn fundamentals with more than one character. once you become good with your main, then all the other characters you play will be better because the fundamentals and almost everything else carry over.

 

[MurphyPrime]

For me personally, I've always played a bunch of characters at a decent level, but I find that one character (Luigi in my case) always interested me the most. 1 Character is probably the best way to go, but just cause you don't main more than one doesn't mean you can't mess around with the others.

 

[Uchihadark7]

I want to ask this to the community on the sense of improving someone's gameplay. I know that there are some players that devote to only one character (hungrybox: , leffen: , The Moon: , etc.) and I know there are some players that devote to more than 1 character (Mang0: , PPMD: , Mew2king: , etc.), and I might be inaccurate about the player's character choices but you get my point. It's probably obvious that devoting to one character will make you better and knowing almost everything or everything about that character, and devoting to 2 or more characters will expand your tools for certain matchups, but weaken you knowledge on your characters.

I usually tend to pick more than Marth, I sometimes pick up Falco, other mid-tier and even low-tier characters, but I feel like with the precise movement of melee and how much practice it takes to play some characters, it might be better to play 1 character, assuming that they don't have a single really awful matchup.

So this is what I want to ask you, basically. I want your opinion on maining more than 1 character or sticking to only 1 character. Nothing less, nothing more but your opinion.

It really depends on preference. I main Marth, Falcon, Falco, Dr. Mario and Sheik, and I perform just as well with all of them. If you click with more than one character, that's good, but if you don't, just stick to the 1. Some people like to have just one character, and others are driven crazy when they keep playing the same character.

 

[EPsilon933]

You're only as good as your best character

 

[Suzukipot]

Personally, I like to main one character and then have a pocket and some secondaries.

 

[WinterShorts]

AirFair
Comet7
MurphyPrime
Uchihadark7
EPsilon933
Suzukipot

I appreciate all the responses. Thanks!

 

[Diosama]

Personally, I like to main one character and then have a pocket and some secondaries.

This is a terrible idea as you often don't have the time to allocate practice to each character.

Solidify your main, then consider 1 secondary, preferably a high tier to perhaps deal with top tier characters if you main mid/low tier

 

[Treedot]

I'll play Peach in any matchup except for vs. Peach and vs. Marth, though vs. Marth it depends on how skilled they are.

vs. Peach/Marth, I usually play Jigglypuff. She was my first main (after a brief lapse in which I played Sheik), and the character I've currently put the most time into. However, Jigglypuff to me is boring and stale, just overall not fun to play. So I switched to Peach, which is way more fun. BUT, if I really really want to win against my friend who mains Falco/Marth, and he plays Marth, I'll pick Jiggs.

 

[Archelon]

I think that you should really try to to work on one character until you get super competent with them, then maybe start working on a secondary.

 

[Sabre]

I'd say that you do get a slightly deeper understanding of your character from single-maining, so all things being equal that's the optimal thing to do. That said, I'd see two good reasons for potentially having another character: either because your main has matchups that you either personally dislike or that are generally viewed as being really bad(peach/puff, for example), or because you just feel comfortable with both characters and enjoy playing them. I double main in PM and used to double main in melee because I just enjoyed playing both of those characters and so it made sense to pursue them both. It takes more time and effort to get better at both, but it can definitely be worth it.

 

[IoSSBM]

I think it depends on the character. If you play a high tier, you probably don't need a secondary, but past around 6th spot, match-ups against top 4 characters become increasingly worse. I recommend only using a secondary for specific match-ups for top 6 (Link for Marth, YL for Jiggs) or if you main a low-tier, in which case you would pick a top 6 character to help deal with higher tier characters.

 

[Treedot]

Just to jump back into this thread, I mained Jigglypuff for a year before I even touched a different character. Now I main Peach, but have no issues switching back to Puff after a short warmup.

 

[Sabre]

Yeah, I used to double-main puff, and if I need to break her out for certain matchups I've found that I can usually play her pretty well after months without practice as long as I can warm up first. I think it's because a lot of her gameplay is fundamentals-based and she isn't an overly technical character, making her an easy character to use after a period of inactivity.

 

[Treedot]

Yeah, I used to double-main puff, and if I need to break her out for certain matchups I've found that I can usually play her pretty well after months without practice as long as I can warm up first. I think it's because a lot of her gameplay is fundamentals-based and she isn't an overly technical character, making her an easy character to use after a period of inactivity.

Press the back air button

Or as a guy from my scene tells me when I play Puff:

"Hold down and hit down-B"

 

[-Opera-]

Personally, I believe that when you are first starting, you should focus on one character, and build your skills with that character until the end of time. Don't worry about this question at first. There will come a time where you will absolutely hate a certain matchup. That's when you should make the decision to pick up a secondary to counter this undying hatred, or force yourself to overcome your hatred by developing your gameplay with your main, to the point where the matchup doesn't affect your emotions.

Basically, have FUN with a main, and master them. But if having FUN is ever jeopardized, choose to grind through it with your main and retain your FUN, or pick up a secondary, win, and have FUN!

Though picking up a secondary will undoubtedly take away from the progress you could be making with your main.

Think of it as a scale. A balance scale. All of your skill with your main weighs down one side. But a secondary would counterbalance that, even if just a little.

BUT, I do think you should at the least play around with other characters, to better understand what goes on in another players mind who may play them, aside from fundamentals.
;D

 

[YimS]

I wanna say that it depends on how high level of play you're at. At the top professional level I would say it's almost essential to have a secondary because there's always going to be somebody that can dunk you at your own character up there. But at the lower levels, (Where I'm at) sticking with one would be better since you'll be able to refine your play without worrying about other character's movement and technical skill. Just my opinion