Your main and you?!

[Cirazun]

I'll clear this out of the way first! I know that you're thinking there's probably been trillions of threads on this topic and that it should be in the 'Question and Awnser' thread, but I'm going into a lot of detail here. I really want some advice.

I've been playing Melee for about three months now. I've also been on here for the same amount of time, but only decided to register today. Why? I don't know lol! Well anyway, how'd you all go about picking your mains? Was it that they're from your favourite game or simply because you enjoyed them the most? I guess there's a lot of reasons.

I CAN'T decide on my main! I'm always never happy about it and switching around!

I first started playing Link as he's from one of my favourite game series. When I found out about the competitive comunnity, all the AT's and the tier list etc this changed. I had been watching a lot of M2K on YouTube with his sweet Marth. I now started maining Marth. It was from here that I had mastered the basic AT's; shuffling, wavedashing, etc. I went to my first tournament soon after. There were 23 entrants and I placed 9th. I'm glad I got the experience. Well anyway, a few days later I realised I was only playing Marth because he's a top tier character. I wanted to play the characters I enjoyed most - no matter where on the tier list. From here on, I'd switch every few days! I'm never happy and always change my mind. I don't want secondaries, just to focus on ONE character! It went from Pikachu > Mewtwo > Roy > Sheik > Puff > Dr Mario > Captain Falcon within a month! Whilst 'maining' each character, I'd learn about all of their exclusive AT's, learn the matchups, watch a lot of matches and more - just to change my mind within a few days! I really need some help! This game is FREAKING AWESOME! I don't wanna abandon it just because I'm too fussy!

For some insight, here's the characters that are my favourites:

Marth
Mewtwo
Sheik
Luigi
Pikachu

It's really hard to choose! I'll probably change my mind in a day or two and have a completely different list though lol!

 

[EPsilon933]

Don't feel bad about anything. Play with all the characters you like until you know for shure, 100%, that when you've found your character that it's THE character for you. I played Fox for a whole year and it took me a year to find out I am a Peach player simply because I never tried playing Peach. About two months after that, I realized I play a pretty well with Zelda too.

 

[X1-12]

For some insight, here's the characters that are my favourites:

Marth
Mewtwo
Sheik
Luigi
Pikachu

It's really hard to choose!

main sheik and marth

 

[Cirazun]

main sheik and marth

I'd prefer to have placed last at a tourny with a character I enjoy than place first/near top with a character I don't enjoy and only play them for being top tier.

I do enjoy them both, obviously as they're two of my favourites, but I just wanted to point the above out. I'll never get good enough to place first at a tournament anyway, so it probably doesn't really matter for me lol!

 

[Xposure]

Well, I would say Marth. He is very easy to use and fun (imo).

I picked Fox because he was one of my favorite characters, and then I found out he was Top Tier.

 

[DCLXVI]

This is exactly why I love playing melee. At any given time there are 8-10 characters I find fun and want to play and improve.

 

[xbombr]

Marth, Pikachu, or Sheik would probably be best.

Luigi is really fun to play as, but it's really frustrating to take playing him seriously at the same time. Mewtwo is just frustrating in general to me.

Overall I'd probably go with Marth since you've already got tournament experience with him and placed reasonably well for your first tournament.

 

[X1-12]

I think if you try to play a lower tier in a tourney it'll become very frustrating and will require a lot more effort to master and play well that character

 

[Falco (MOP)]

You've been playing for 3 months and you got in the upper half of that tournament? XD

It took me years to place anywhere but dead last WTF XD.

Lol, I 'd say the same thing everyone else is, Marth and Sheik are definitely the best choices for you, stick with those guys and don't change your mind back to like... pikachu XD

~MOP

 

[Masmasher@]

be a tier *****.

 

[TresChikon]

I'd prefer to have placed last at a tourny with a character I enjoy than place first/near top with a character I don't enjoy and only play them for being top tier.

Finally, someone who hasn't sold their soul to the top tier hell.

Play all of them if you like them that much!

PC Chris plays four different characters very efficiently and I say he's having fun with them.

Dude, go for it, don't worry about having "tourney viable" characters; that's utter BS.

 

[KirbyKaze]

Pick any of those listed but Mewtwo.

 

[Masmasher@]

make you own criteria about what you look for in a character.
then pick it.
if you like playing as mutha****ing ryu then play as mutha****ing ryu
dont let others sway you away. you might see a bountiful amount of others that use your character but **** it. do you

Spoiler

be a tier *****

 

[ru5514n]

Play whoever you want. You can be one of those people that uses almost every character in tourneys

 

[BC AL]

yea just go for your favorite
i mean look at AXE and Taj, iunno if pikachu and Mewtwo are their favorite characters, but perhaps you have seen how far they taken the character's potential themselves

 

[Meme]

I agree with KirbyKaze.
XD

Luigi and Pikachu are fun to play with...

Sheik IMO not so much... Marth can be entertaining but I never understood how to play [advanced] with him...

Though try to start with less characters so you don't have to juggle all of them at the same time, so you can master faster each character...

 

[trahhSTEEZY]

I think it's pretty awesome that you left marth cause he's top tier for lower tier characters you have more fun with =) Those lower tier characters definitely have potential. You just have to learn where those characters do well, and start mindgaming kids son!

I main falco, and secondary fox. As dumb as it sounds, even if they were the 2 worst characters in the game, i'd chose them no matter what. My playstyle fits both the characters pretty well. I love the speed and technical aspects, two things both characters have alot of. Not to mention they're both just awesome.

Also..

I've been playing Melee for about three months now.

It was from here that I had mastered the basic AT's; shuffling, wavedashing, etc. I went to my first tournament soon after. There were 23 entrants and I placed 9th.

O_O

 

[Kanelol]

When I first started discovering the underground world of professional melee, I was 100% certain I wanted to main Fox. Now I love C Falcon. I think the only thing that can determine what you want to main is playing. Like a lot. With all of them. Eventually you'll get a small preference for one, and in the meantime, developing a decent list of Alts you can also kick *** with is an advantage.

Example:
Friend: "OMG FOX IS SO UNFAIR"
Me: "Ok I'll whoop your *** with Peach"
Friend (after match): "..."

 

[gm jack]

While people say not to be a tier *****, remember a lot of the high tiers are dynamic, exciting characters to use. I find a lot of low tiers boring because they have only a couple of good elements you have to ***** to stand a chance. Some of the top tiers have legitimate uses for nearly every move, which can let you be more creative. I'd at least recommend trying out all the high tiers.

 

[tubes]

While people say not to be a tier *****, remember a lot of the high tiers are dynamic, exciting characters to use. I find a lot of low tiers boring because they have only a couple of good elements you have to ***** to stand a chance. Some of the top tiers have legitimate uses for nearly every move, which can let you be more creative. I'd at least recommend trying out all the high tiers.

This

imo, choosing to main any character below Gannondorf on the tier list is a waste of time unless the character chooses you first. and even then, Taj still plays pretty much just Marth in tournaments and Axe still has high tier secondaries to back up his Pika.

The smart decision would probably be to avoid anything Captain Falcon and below on the tier list or at least keep a higher tier secondary which can cover your < mid-high-tier main's weaknesses (although I'll admit that I main Captain Falcon and I don't plan on developing a secondary character anytime soon except as a friendlies character).

 

[KirbyKaze]

I think this kind of topic is really personal.

PC Chris advised me to play a bunch of characters so you have backup in the event your main is malfunctioning. Armada, conversely, says it is superior to train one character so you're not stuck with a bunch of mediocre characters that are all relatively underdeveloped.

 

[mainlink]

I've been playing Melee for almost one year. It's my favorite game. I started with Link, 'cus he a ******, and he's my favorite on Melee. I love TLoZ. I've never played in a tourney, but I stomp all my friends with Link. Any character, really. I played Luigi for a minute, while still playing Link, just 'cus LouieG is fun for me. I don't like top tier. I play Link, and will continue to play Link, because he's my favorite, and I feel that any character can be good if you know how to use them. Lately, I've been playing Sheik. Top tier, I know, but she's fun for me. I figure I should have a couple characters I'm good with. I've been playing Peach as of late as well. Link will always be my favorite, I like to toy with my opponent. Link makes it easy for me. This was probaby no help to you, I just realized that, but hopfuy it will be or you will find your answer. Just have fun, but be serious.

 

[darkoblivion12]

it's all about how you want to play really. If you're playing to win, then marth/shiek/whatever are good. But if you're playing to put a crap ton more effort and win in style, then play them low tiers, like Roy :D

 

[INSANE CARZY GUY]

I think this is me that everyone should play as fox, because he helps you so much and improves your finger speed and reaction time so much LOL I learn how to play as pichu by playing as fox and I learned how to play as fox by playing as pichu no joke.

I'm not saying main but as a temp. main. Then play as who you like and if they aren't on the bottom half of the list I feel you should pick up someone on the bottom half i'm not saying play as someone kirby bad but someone non broken. You can teach just as much as high tiers.

 

[KirbyKaze]

I really, truly despise the idea that you can't win with style with a high tier. I find the bulk of low tier players I play really, really repetitive. Until I get to the decent or competent ones, it's often boring.

 

[_lemons]

I really, truly despise the idea that you can't win with style with a high tier. I find the bulk of low tier players I play really, really repetitive. Until I get to the decent or competent ones, it's often boring.

Yeah, if anything you can be more "stylish" in your win with a high/top tier, just because you have more options in any given situation. But who cares about style anyway.

 

[Geist]

You can still have a high tier character for tournaments while having fun with the characters you like. If you would rather come in dead last with a fun character, then do that. If one of the characters you have fun with is a high tier, concentrate more on him/her.
I'd say build your sheik and marth for serious matches, and use anyone else you want just because.

But I agree with above posts, generally most high tier characters are more fun to play with and play against.

 

[trahhSTEEZY]

I think this kind of topic is really personal.

PC Chris advised me to play a bunch of characters so you have backup in the event your main is malfunctioning. Armada, conversely, says it is superior to train one character so you're not stuck with a bunch of mediocre characters that are all relatively underdeveloped.

Yeah, each individual can use either of those opinions, considering person A could practice with fox for 50 hours, and thats all he has, where as person B could practice with fox for 50 hours, then practice with falco for 50 hours also, giving you equal development while still learning multiple char's..correct?

 

[Geist]

I think he meant both under the same time frame.
So person A could practice x hours with fox and person B would practice x/2 hours with fox and x/2 hours with falco.
Person A would have a better single character and would hypothetically beat person B.
But person B would have an advantage if his fox had a bad day versus if person A's fox had a bad day.

 

[trahhSTEEZY]

Well, considering every single person has practiced the game for different amounts of hours, and every single person adapts to the game at their own speed, it's hard to theory it that way IMO.

Some people could learn 2-3 characters and be good with them before someone learns one,

'Cauuuuse if what you say is true, PC wouldn't really have placed as well as he did back then considering some of the best that stick with literally one character would lose to PC, who obviously played like 4-5 good characters.

 

[t3h Icy]

I play about half the cast, but only two for serious matches.

Get really good with one or two particular characters and just use your others and favorites for friendlies.

 

[Geist]

Well, considering every single person has practiced the game for different amounts of hours, and every single person adapts to the game at their own speed, it's hard to theory it that way IMO.

Some people could learn 2-3 characters and be good with them before someone learns one,

Naw I agree with you. Its probably a better idea for less adaptive people to focus on one main in specific. People with alot of time on their hands can eat their hearts out.

I pretty much play the entire cast except Ness ICs and Roy. But I have a small amount of characters I really play.

 

[Zodiac]

Main sheik, she's from the zelda games, thats all you need to know.

 

[Signia]

A competitive player plays the character which gives them the best chance of winning. This often means playing top tier, but tiers don't really exist, there are only character matchups, and if you can overcome bad matchups with the character you like or play in a way that makes them even, you can make it work. You'll also have a better chance of winning if you use a character that rewards your style more than others, which is usually the character that you enjoy playing anyway. Also know that you'll enjoy playing a character with which you've had early success or recognition... which are often the better, easy to use characters.

That said, don't be TOO influenced by the tier list. Use the character that you have the best chance of winning with: the one you're the best with, the one that rewards your style, and preferably the one that won't be fighting an uphill battle often (high-top tier)

Playing lots of characters can be good for understanding the options of each of the characters, but focusing on one character for a little while without dividing your attention too much is your best bet for improving your tech skill and decision making.

 

[AXE 09]

so.... looking for a character to main?

of course as anyone would guess, i'd say pikachu lol

but here's MY advice:

PLAY ANY CHARACTER THAT YOU WANT TO PLAY

if Link is your favorite character, i recommend 100% to main him. ignore the tier list. just play any character that you feel the most comfortable with, have the most fun with, and love the most.

when i first started playing melee, i played pikachu simply because he felt comfortable to me. and honestly, out of all of the characters, he's the one that i loved the most. i used to watch pokemon a lot lol.

after a few years, i finally learned about advanced techniques. i also looked at the tier list. now, just because fox was on top of the entire tier list doesn't mean that you have to play him to win. i decided to stick to pikachu. i learned all the advanced techniques with pikachu first, and he has always been my absolute best character

if you like to play as Marth, then just go for it. if you like Mewtwo, go for it. pick ANY character, and PLEASE just ignore the tier list. i will admit, with a lower tier character, it IS a lot harder to get better with them, but take these words that i have to say from personal experience:

you will earn a LOT more respect if you get good with a lower tier character than you will if you get good with a higher tier character

but seriously, either way, the point is just to practice and get better, no matter what character. i personally think that it's best to get good with MULTIPLE characters, but it's really up to you.

in conclusion... play any character that you like to play the most =)

 

[INSANE CARZY GUY]

Axe you earned my respect(truth I respect everyone till they give me many reasons not to) when I saw a match of you f-tilting someone at the perfect time when it wasn't edge guard. At that point I thought you were the best. It's the smallest things that make me notice at times.

 

[gm jack]

The trouble with that is that sometimes, despite thinking about how good your lower tiers character actually is, you may then switch to a high tier and realise just what the low tiers lack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGh4ZU4H5Hk

This sums it up. Some people really do understand a low tiers perfectly, so probably do best with that charcter. But in the end, the character lacks and may limit them against good players. Taj destroys people who don't know the matchup, but he doesn't brilliantly in big tournaments because he eventiually meets people who know his character;s limitations.

With the higher characters, they allow you to work to your best. For example, Captain Falcon really lacks good approaches, and so is really based on reading the opponent. However, he has the tools to really do damage once he gets in. Lower tiers may not have approaches or combing ability once they get in. It means you can make as many reads and good predictions as your opponent, but still lose because the opponents characters has the ability to make it so.

Again, some people destroy with low tiers. They understand their character so well they know exactly what to do to follow up each hit. On the other hand, the high tiers tend to give more options and flexibility in executing this, so you can follow up better and rely less on opponent mistakes.

 

[Dark Sonic]

You typically do best with the character WHO'S STYLE WORKS WITH YOU THE BEST. It doesn't matter what game they're from or what tier they are, all that matters is DOES THEIR STYLE FIT WITH YOU? Sometimes this isn't even the style that you actually like the most (Hbox has a strange obsession with Falco's ), you just find that style that clicks with you.

When I started playing melee, I came in wanting to play a swordsman. Of course being a scrub I picked Roy <_<. A few months later one of my friends said I should try playing Marth cause he's faster. Being a guy who liked fast characters with long reach in every game I've ever played EVER, I gave him a shot and immediately liked him more than the character I'd been playing for months. So I tried giving the other characters a shot too to see if I'd like them just as much....and simply didn't. I didn't like ANY other character's style as much as Marth's, so I mained Marth (liking a character sometimes has to do with how good they are <_<. I typically like characters who have a lot of options for pressuring from a safe distance, which tend to be good characters)

I didn't go to the best character in the game, but my style of choice (poking game with high rewards for success) led me to a high tier character anyway (top tier in fact). But even if my style of choice led me to a bad character, I'd probably be better off maining them anyway because I wouldn't have to program myself around some style that I didn't have a natural eye for anyway. I'd probably need A SECONDARY, but I'd essentially be playing my favorite character 90% of the time, because playing matchups that are bad for you is FINE.

Why do you think people play characters other than Fox? Playing the best character in the game is not automatically the best option, simply because being bad with the best character still leaves you a bad player.

 

[Aesir]

I'd prefer to have placed last at a tourny with a character I enjoy than place first/near top with a character I don't enjoy and only play them for being top tier.

I do enjoy them both, obviously as they're two of my favourites, but I just wanted to point the above out. I'll never get good enough to place first at a tournament anyway, so it probably doesn't really matter for me lol!

You won't for long.