Competitive players - Why do some of you choose not to play top tier characters?

[DrewB008]

people played lower tier characters, either before they knew about tiers or just because they liked them, enough so that those characters became their best option in tournament matches. and thats all there is to it

 

[=ArtH=]

I use Fox because I like pressing the same amount of buttons in one game that you do in two.

 

[Super Mari0]

I main Mario because he isnt a bad character

I main Mario because his WD his Combos and his movement is awesome

I main Mario coz its fun

 

[KosukeKGA]

I main Mario because he isnt a bad character

I main Mario because his WD his Combos and his movement is awesome

I main Mario coz its fun

Exactly. You don't have to use Top Tiers to win. I've seen old matches of Eggz and Silent Wolf going even and they were Mario and Fox, respectively.

 

[Dark_Crono]

i dont play the same with a top tier... i always tried to play sheik but i just feel good with Falcon, actually the only reason i play fighting games and get good at it its because of the characters Falcon in ssbm and Nightmare in SC2 those are the only fighting games i play with a lot of passion even if i play tekken, marvel, etc...

 

[Pakman]

I main Luigi. I picked him because I could nair out of some auto-combos that work on like everyone else. After playing him for awhile, I realized that he is really fun to play and not terrible enough to really hold me back. I don't need a terrible amount of tech skill and Luigi combos are gorgeous.

I enjoy playing comewhat gimicky or unorthidox characters in most competitive game that I play.

Melee - Luigi (Wavedash)
3rd Strike - Alex (stungun headbutt)
Tekken - Xaioyu -(Phoenix stance)
Soul Calibur - Tira (hula hoop of death)
Bawls - Bowser (boozer claw)

I like characters that don't fall into generic patterns of play and usually require some kind of different skill set or strategy that the other characters. I prefer variety. I can't play a game whose distinctive differences among characters are just moves. *cough* DOA *cough*

 

[MattDotZeb]

I just play whoever I have fun with..
That happened to be Falco after I learned what SHL was.
I'm sure other people have similar "they're fun" reasons.

 

[CT Chia]

i main samus
missiles are amazing lol

though lately iv been trying to learn higher tier charas.

in brawl it just so happened that my fav character to play with was top tier

 

[iMichael]

I play with Mario because he can combo like no other. I like his style and I do it for the lulz.

 

[Proverbs]

I can't really say a whole lot here, because I main Marth. But even if Marth was bottom tier, I'd still use him. Why? Because he's good. I understand those two statements sort of conflict, but that's how I see it. I see Marth as good and I just love the way he plays. He's just amazing.

The reason I don't use Fox is because Marth's amazing and Fox isn't. It's just my style, I guess is the issue. That's why I'll never use a space animal or Sheik for that matter. They're just not my style.

That being said, I also use Captain Falcon and Samus seriously. Why? Because I just love the way they play. They're my style. That's all I can say, I guess--for me at least.

 

[MikeHaggarTHAKJB]

I can't really say a whole lot here, because I main Marth. But even if Marth was bottom tier, I'd still use him. Why? Because he's good. I understand those two statements sort of conflict, but that's how I see it. I see Marth as good and I just love the way he plays. He's just amazing.

The reason I don't use Fox is because Marth's amazing and Fox isn't. It's just my style, I guess is the issue. That's why I'll never use a space animal or Sheik for that matter. They're just not my style.

That being said, I also use Captain Falcon and Samus seriously. Why? Because I just love the way they play. They're my style. That's all I can say, I guess--for me at least.

nobody asked what you think about fox

 

[icincelli]

well i ve always had trouble committing to a character i used to try to play everybody but none of them fit my play style perfectly....or i didnt like how they killed people. ie marth ken combo ie fox shine it just wasnt for me.... but when i started playing ics i just love how they move. and when i counter-pick destination it doesnt feel like im a lower tier

 

[The Phenom]

Mr.Game&Watch & Fox

-because I want to be the preeminent G&W player and want to prove that.

-I picked him up and right away knew I belonged with him. I enjoy predicting the bacons trajectory and even the nine(no joke)! When just about to do the nine I say inside my mind(I think the time is right) and its just epic!(usually say right after:nine!,they get hit and smiles on all 12 smashers faces!).


-------
I use Fox when my confidence is quashed by the dominance of others in previous matches, I using Mr.G&W.

 

[smasher32]

A few reason, some better than others:

1) For fun! There are definitely times when I have more fun playing as Kirby over my main Fox. Sure, Fox is fun, but a Kirbycide is more gratifying than a shine spike (to me).

2) Smash64 influence. Once Melee came out, I immediately went with Kirby. It didn't take me long to find out how bad he was, and I tried playing other characters to figure out who I liked more (I think it was between Link, Mario, and Fox). Keep in mind, I had no idea that a tier list even existed yet. It wasn't until much later that I just decided I like Kirby, and stuck with him (and Fox eventually).

3) Raising my skill cap. What takes more skill: beating a skilled marth with another marth or beating that same marth with a Kirby?

4) College...because a lot of people hated playing my Fox, I chose to stick with Kirby (and Pichu) for a good while so people would have a chance against me. Consequently, I learned how to play Kirby even better than before >_>. Now my friends (the ones that got better) would rather play my Fox over my Kirby...lol, wut?

 

[david r]

I play them all because it's a game and tiers don't really matter since I'm not pro.

 

[KevinM]

Most people main low-tier for the artificial glory.

"I may not have won the tourney but I place 17th going all bowser lol best Bowser".

Guilty of that until I wizened up.

 

[AetherLord]

For one thing, it's to gloat at someone like

"Ha! I ***** your Fox with Mr. G&W!"

It makes you feel glorious and proud

If everyone played with top tier, it CAN get boring
I happen to play with Fox since he fits my style but I also play with Young Link, Roy, Mewtwo and Mario...

 

[Wobbles]

I play ICs because I love how they move, they keep the opponent on permanent edge with their ridiculous punishment capabilities, and they're adorable. They also have tons of room to be creative and screw with the opponent's DI and expectations, so I never find myself against an opponent who knows everything I can do. Almost everytime I play somebody, I do something they just don't see coming.

That being said, my backups are Sheik and Fox for dealing with Samus and Peach, respectively. It's one thing to enjoy your character's strengths, and another to pretend their weaknesses don't exist. I have to exert a *lot* of effort to go even with Samus players who are--from as objective an analysis as possible--weaker players than me.* Peach is... Peach. Ugh.

*I base this assessment on how well they do against other players and the tactics they use.

My philosophy is ultimately this: play more than one character. Pick a character you like regardless of tier-placement, another character who is very high in the tiers, and any others you have fun with. Taj is a shining example of this philosophy in practice: one of the best Marths in the country as well as the best Mewtwo, simply because he didn't neglect either of them. He's also very good at playing pretty much any other character he wants based just on his understanding of the game. Be like Taj.

 

[icincelli]

I play ICs because I love how they move, they keep the opponent on permanent edge with their ridiculous punishment capabilities, and they're adorable. They also have tons of room to be creative and screw with the opponent's DI and expectations, so I never find myself against an opponent who knows everything I can do. Almost everytime I play somebody, I do something they just don't see coming.

That being said, my backups are Sheik and Fox for dealing with Samus and Peach, respectively. It's one thing to enjoy your character's strengths, and another to pretend their weaknesses don't exist. I have to exert a *lot* of effort to go even with Samus players who are--from as objective an analysis as possible--weaker players than me.* Peach is... Peach. Ugh.

*I base this assessment on how well they do against other players and the tactics they use.

My philosophy is ultimately this: play more than one character. Pick a character you like regardless of tier-placement, another character who is very high in the tiers, and any others you have fun with. Taj is a shining example of this philosophy in practice: one of the best Marths in the country as well as the best Mewtwo, simply because he didn't neglect either of them. He's also very good at playing pretty much any other character he wants based just on his understanding of the game. Be like Taj.

wow yeah thats cool.....ive been trying to pick up sheik also. to deal with ics counter picks....i can play cpt falcon ok know too..

thats good advice though

 

[Lixivium]

I'm terrible with all top tier characters...they are just too punishable and everyone knows how to play against them.

There was this one time I picked Sheik to counter a Ganon. But other than that I only use the Top Tiers in Doubles play.

 

[Yuna-Maria]

I play as Jigglypuff because watching a little round pink ball do a release German suplex(Benoit style no less) is the best thing I've ever seen.

 

[Wangster]

i lyk top tier, it's just too too many ppl use them. i lyk to challenge myself on using vunerable character aka Bowser and mew2 cuz they can be very deadly wen used ur skilled w/ dem but still getting beat down by da top tier none the less

 

[ZeroFox]

I chose my characters based on who I thought was cool. It just so happened to be Fox and Mewtwo.

When I found out Fox was top tier, it just gave me more of a reason to develop my skills with him. When I found out Mewtwo was bottom tier, the same thing happened. I wanted to develop my skills with him so I could prove that a bottom tier character, when used by a skilled Smasher, can still dominate.

I chose Wolf and Fox in Brawl at first, and then later found out their rankings. Didn't stop me from playing them. Although I will admit I took on Meta Knight and Falco afterwards, partially due to their tier list rankings. But that doesn't mean I've given up on Wolf and Fox. I still make sure to develop my skills with everyone.

 

[br4n]

i play who im going to win with.

 

[Zodiac]

I've only used link in a tournament once, but most of the time I stick with sheik or marth, shame on me, the next tournament im going to use link cause in the end, im just better with my main.

 

[Takao9411]

I just find it more interesting and to be more fun to play with characters that I'm comfortable with. <3 Ness, Luigi, and C. Falcon.

 

[Tee ay eye]

What famous players don't USE high tier characters?

 

[Stratford]

I mained Fox before I knew competitive melee or advanced tactics existed. I think a lot of people main a lower tier because they either liked that character or thought he was good before they'd heard of advanced tactics, and then just decided to stick with him. I can't really speak for pros though. Your 3 propositions would be my best guesses, particularly #2.

 

[DtJ Jungle]

cuz yoshi's dobo

i lyk top tier, it's just too too many ppl use them. i lyk to challenge myself on using vunerable character aka Bowser and mew2 cuz they can be very deadly wen used ur skilled w/ dem but still getting beat down by da top tier none the less

dude have you ever taken english?

 

[N64]

I'm mostly a tier *****. While I don't play pikachu only because of his placement on the tier list, it has affected me staying with him. I like the feeling of going into something starting at a slight disadvantage (even if it's just superficial). Most of the satisfaction in a win come from beating the player themselves, but beating a matchup (oh god how I love beating ICs, etc.) also contributes to the feeling.

I also follow into the "playing him cause he's just so fun" category. Pikachu has a use for every move, and I love how they all work together. He does such pitiful damage but has such comboing ability that he's, for me, really fun to play. At the time I picked him up and started trying to push his game, I was partly out for self notoriety, you can call me out on being vain, but I was also interested in seeing what he was capable of because he wasn't as much explored as some other characters. Finding out what he's capable of and how he can be useful in tournament is really fun. I never had the idea that he could move up much in the tier lists, I've had slightly differing opinions on where I believe he should be in the tierlist over time, but none really moved him up or down far enough to escape his tier.

Pink Reaper explained most of the reasons pretty well, though I think there are a few other camps. Some use low tiers as a viable counterpick. This doesn't apply often to low tier mains, but some low tiers actually have some decent matchups in high/top tiers, and going into the match you have the advantage of it being a relatively even (or perhaps slight advantage) matchup that you probably have a lot more experience with than your opponent. Pika is a viable captain counterpick, ylink is a viable peach counterpick, DK is a viable counterpick for much of high/top, etc. Switch to a low-tier character and go to a not-commonly-played stage that gives them advantage and now the opponent is going to have to figure out how to fight your char, your style, and how to use the stage for that particular matchup over the course of one match (<8 mins), while you have more experience with the char and stage already.

Additionally, there are those that main low tier as an excuse. I enjoy beating high tier characters with crummy ol pikachu yeah, but I take my losses without character johns. I hate seeing people john about "oh I lost because he was sheik and sheik ***** <insert low tier char>". If you're going to john about losing to a sheik, then learn fox or learn how to fight sheiks. I hate people who use their character selection as an excuse to why they lost and generally imply it's the only reason they lost. If they cared that much about winning and were capable of winning with another character, they'd pick that char. If they didn't care about winning, they wouldn't ***** about getting owned. Johning about getting owned because of your character just looks to me like someone not being able to admit that they're a bad player. Just a pet peeve of mine.

So, I guess for me, I originally picked up pika because he was fun and I wanted to try someone mid->bottom tier. I kept with him because the more I discovered about him, through my own or others' methods, the more I enjoyed him. It felt good winning with him, it felt good figuring out how to get around common tactics of other characters with him, it felt good learning his limitations and figuring out how to get around them or at least accomodate for them and ensure they made as small of an impact as possible, it felt good getting recognition for my style and any successes I got using pika, and it felt good feeling like I generally had a good understanding of all the capabilities of the character along with being able to perform (even though i'm incredibly inconsistent techskill-wise) them.

Nowadays I play pika in tournament because I'm honestly most confident with him. If I played a high tier in tourney I'd probably do just as well or worse than if I played pika (and i wouldn't have half as much fun). Not to say high tiers aren't fun, they are and I play them so often in friendlies nowadays heh, I just have more fun learning others' styles and pitting my pika vs. their whatever than my random crappy high tier vs. them.

 

[OmegaXXII]

Simple, because some middle-tier, bottom tier characters such as Bowser for exmple tend to be judged by their appearance speed, therfore are often underestimated and overlooked, I simply use middle/low-tier (in my case Bowser), so I can prove of some of these elistist jerks out there that you don't necessarily have to use Fox, Sheik, or Marth in order to be the best, really any hcarcter has the potential to be good, that is if a player is willing to dedicate his time into it.

 

[N64]

Simple, because some middle-tier, bottom tier characters such as Bowser for exmple tend to be judged by their appearance speed, therfore are often underestimated and overlooked, I simply use middle/low-tier (in my case Bowser), so I can prove of some of these elistist jerks out there that you don't necessarily have to use Fox, Sheik, or Marth in order to be the best, really any hcarcter has the potential to be good, that is if a player is willing to dedicate his time into it.

But you do have to use Fox, Sheik, Marth to be the best. They're top tier for a reason.

 

[The Immortal Sir NZ]

But you do have to use Fox, Sheik, Marth to be the best. They're top tier for a reason.

Talk to Taj. He may not be the VERY best, but he sure is darn close.
If you have spare time, look up shadowclaw on youtube.

 

[NES n00b]

Talk to Taj. He may not be the VERY best, but he sure is darn close.
If you have spare time, look up shadowclaw on youtube.

N64 knows Taj. I suggest learning "famous" smashers in their entirety before telling a pretty well known person about another known person. It is weird.

I used to play Link because he was my best character (somehow), I had some fun with him, and he had low tier status. But now I play Falcon because i have the most fun with him and now he is my best. Even though I am practicing Fox and Marth I feel I will always play Falcon cause Falcon is always fun. While people going ooh and awww over falcon mains is a plus (hasn't happened to me yet lol), it is mostly the fun factor.

 

[hoopspr226]

Truth:

People like Mango and Chu Dat have proven that you don't necessarily need TOP tier characters to be the best/compete at an extremely high level. Melee is reasonably balanced, and high tier (possibly mid tier) will suffice. As long as you use high/mid tier characters, you'll beat almost everyone who is worse than you regardless of who your main is. The exception is that if your main is a mid/high tier and has a horrible /unwinnable matchup or two you might have to switch to a counterpick for those particular matches (i.e. IC player should switch against Peach). But yeah, I'm pretty convinced that any mid/high tier main can compete at the highest levels as long as you have a secondary for get ***** matchups.

Having said that however, there is a limit. Bottom tier characters are pretty much trash and even if you know your character well you'll still probably lose a lot to people worse than you. Low tier is probably the same way.

I'm pretty convinced this is the case... does anyone disagree?

 

[Stratford]

Maining lower tier = pre-johns.

 

[metaXzero]

Truth:

People like Mango and Chu Dat have proven that you don't necessarily need TOP tier characters to be the best/compete at an extremely high level. Melee is reasonably balanced, and high tier (possibly mid tier) will suffice. As long as you use high/mid tier characters, you'll beat almost everyone who is worse than you regardless of who your main is. The exception is that if your main is a mid/high tier and has a horrible /unwinnable matchup or two you might have to switch to a counterpick for those particular matches (i.e. IC player should switch against Peach). But yeah, I'm pretty convinced that any mid/high tier main can compete at the highest levels as long as you have a secondary for get ***** matchups.

Having said that however, there is a limit. Bottom tier characters are pretty much trash and even if you know your character well you'll still probably lose a lot to people worse than you. Low tier is probably the same way.

I'm pretty convinced this is the case... does anyone disagree?

For the most part, the unfortunate truth.

I say "for the most part" because at this state of the metagame, their are less Mid-High tiers succeeding in tournys.

*sigh* Why did Brawl and Melee have to be so unbalanced?...

 

[Wind Owl]

Honestly, it's amazing they're as balanced as they are given no thought was given to them as competitive games.

 

[N64]

Yeah, I was exaggerating for effect. There are people who have done really well, won or placed considerably high in notable tournaments, with characters outside of top tier, and should be praised (as they often are heh) for doing well with them. The post I quoted seemed very... optimistic and misinformed. While any character has the potential to win a match (and thus its player become 'the best' using that character), it's not from a lack of experimentation that these characters are labeled mid/low/bottom tier. Melee has been out for a while now, and there have been players who have pushed pretty much every characters' metagames. There's always room for improvement, yes, but I trust the abilities of pretty much all of these players and believe pretty much every character's potential has been shown if one cares to look and there's not much more to advance on to the point of moving characters' placings on the tier list notably. Feel free to prove me wrong and take your favorite character to the top, but don't be dissapointed when you find it to be a lot harder than with a better character.

<3 low tiers

 

[Commander Pancakes]

maybe some competitive players play not top tier characters cause there better with them