GHNeko.
Arkaether.
What you perceive as "depth" in a fighting game is the variety of options given to a character which can be utilized in differing scenarios depending on the situation. However, there is no inherent bonus of having two options of dealing with a situation compared to having one option which is just as good for dealing with both. The argument that this leads to a 2D character is baloney; a good player is never predictable enough to allow himself to stay 2D. For example, at scrub level play, Marth could be easily considered a 2D character since fair at first glance appears to be the best option in all scenarios. However, once you progress in skill, you learn to evolve around that one move, learn how to deal with it, and how to counter. The marth player, in turn, learns how to bait, how to punish, and when to use it.
The problem with that though, you're factoring skill into that scenario. When you factor that out, between two good characters, the character with more reliable options is the one that will generally come out on top majority of the time. That's how CPs are generally made. A comparison of options.
You say a smart player will keep himself unpredictable, but if both players are equally smart in general and match ups, then having less reliable options is a bad thing. When your reliable options are figured out and shut down, then what.
Two good options when uses to their fullest potential > 1 Great Option. At least imo. Your going to have a harder time predicting 2 moves than you are one. So when you mix up properly, the overall effect is greater.
One of the commonly cited characters for lacking "depth" is G&W, seeing as he has a rather 2D playstyle. The problem here is not that G&W has a 2D playstyle, but rather that G&W has a very small learning curve. This is not to say that G&W lacks "depth"; while indeed G&W may seem to be best by spamming a "wall of priority", many characters have ways to deal with that and as such G&W is forced to develop his game through different methods, mindgames, and unpredictability. In fact, the defining aspect for a skilled G&W player is not the learning curve of the character but rather the skill of the player himself, which, in my opinion, is a much better factor to judge than simply character "depth".
But the issue at hand is that using methods other than reliable methods puts you at risk for being punished. Being unpredictable works because uses the shock factor to overcome your opponent. That works against people who dont play your or dont know the match up. And you know what trounces that? Playing that match up. When you learn a match up, you learn answers for things tossed at you. When this happens, the cost of being unpredictable can be steep. That's why you dont use bad options in the first place and you stick to what works, but when what works is already limited in the first place, being unpredictable can be costly. Being unpredictable against a player of equal skill and match up knowledge can hurt more than help.
I can take Jigglypuff, for instance; fair was a horrid move in melee and bair was most often the best option, especially due to her WoP strategy. However, a good jigglypuff player learns to mix up the overly predictable bairs with other strategies, even if they are lacking or inferior, solely for the unpredictability aspect. Empty SHs, nairs, grabs; these are just examples of how Jigglypuff developed depth. "Depth" is something given at the hands of a player, not something inherent within a character. In fact, by modifying moves for depth, you are hampering the development of depth by providing an overabundance of options for every scenario, forcing the player to use moves he would not normally use and preventing development of the metagame. How often do you see jigglypuffs in melee using ftilt? dtilt? dsmash? Buffing these moves would serve no purpose towards furthering jigglypuff's metagame, as they would come at the cost of those moves which are useful, such as bair or nair, and force the Jigglypuff player to use moves in situations which are inherently disadvantageous for Jigglypuff.
You're only providing an overabundance of options when you make it like that, but 1-3 tradeoffs dont do this. You cannot develop depth with a character when the move in question doesn't even retain the potential at its core. The reason wh you never saw jiggs in Melee use dtilt, dsmash, ftilt is because they didn't even have the potential to positively add depth to the character's metagame because they contract how jiggs was made to play. They're ground moves when jiggs is solely an aerial character. Fair would fall into the category of moves that could potentially benefit from a trade off and add depth to the character because it has the potential to do so. A move with no potential, when buffed through trade-offs is not a good idea because it would serve no good purpose towards teh character overall and make the player use an off the wall move as you've said, but when a move has the potential to do something like that, when buffed, wont be anything less than natural when used right.
In fact, there is no reason why you should prioritize such setups in lieu of a solid and simple game for a character. A complex character who is forced to use many different moves in many different situations is in no way superior to a simple character who is forced to use a single move in specific ways for many different situations. While having such options at hand might appeal to some, specifically tailoring a character for "depth" at the expense of polishing an already solid playstyle is not what I would consider smart.
I have said that some characters are shallow and that's fine. Not every character should be filled to the brim with depth, but what is wrong with adding a little more to a character?
Just my two cents.
Keep the change.
v:
:V
that was the case in vbrawl at least, now i kinda have the feeling that his hit&run style doesnt pay off as much anymore, due to the fact that most others have a better combo game than wario and thus the risk/reward ratio is worse for him. on the other hand, that had to happen since wario was top5 in vbrawl and b+'s goal is to balance...
