Smash Ultimate Tips: Why Solo-Maining Might Be Hurting Your Growth
Tags: Gaming, Features, Super Smash Bros, Esports, Nintendo

Unlike Smash 4, in which most players largely specialized in a single character, Smash Ultimate is a counterpick-heavy game. Notice the stark contrast of counterpick use in the latter. As with any Smash title or fighting game, you are less likely to rely on other characters if you’re picking from the top tier due to a better matchup spread.

However, some people dive in headfirst with only one character regardless of their tier standing. Whether to push the fighter’s meta or to prove others wrong about their standing on the tier list, pride factors into the choice for these players. They’re willing to fight tooth and nail against all odds to use a single character.

Depending on what you’re looking for in competitive Smash, you might look to be the best around or just a really skilful player who specializes in a singular character. If you’re aiming for the former, solo-maining will not help you.

When you’ve mastered a single character, this includes learning all of their matchups. However, this does not mean mastering fundamentals or other ways to play the game.

What do you do when you come across an opponent whose character beats you +2 in a matchup? What are your options when you’re facing someone who not only has a counterpick, but also knows your matchup? You’re stuck against an antithesis who has you figured out.

It’s like losing your weapon in a sword fight. Do you submit when the sword flies out of your hand? Or do you continue fighting using every tool in your arsenal?

I’ve been an Ike main since Brawl and Smash 4, the latter of which I delved into competitive meta. It was through tournaments, like Tipped Off 11, Momocon 2016, and Pound 2016, where I learned how horribly Ike struggles against the likes of Diddy and Sheik. Through the course of more tournaments, I saw his struggles against the likes of Cloud, Rosalina, Lucas, Meta-Knight, and, of course, Bayonetta.

Keep in mind that there is a fine line between “blaming the matchup” and not being good enough. Without a doubt, I was part of the latter while doing the former. However, I was a fool for not exploring my options and trying out better tools to win with.

When I lost at Genesis 4 in 2017 to Snoop, I declared I was done using Ike and switching to Cloud; something I had done several times when faced with losing at past tournaments but still never committed to. Someone watching the match responded with, “No, you’re my favorite low-tier hero!”

I felt insulted. I know they didn’t intend to insult me, but was I really nothing more than a low-tier hero? I wasn’t aiming to be the best player I could be, but a commodity for entertainment. Was this a testament to losing because I stuck to some misguided belief that using lesser tools made me somehow a more commendable player? I wanted to be the winning player, not an underdog beacon.

I will not deny that low tiers have always caught my attention across fighting games. I always loved using the character that didn’t have all the meta tools. The heavies, the close-ranged fighters, and the grapplers all interested me more than the high-octane meta of zoners and speed characters.

I feel that lead to me developing a scrub mentality. If I find a game I can’t enjoy, I just leave it and move on to another. Or I can just complain about the game’s balance instead of learning with another fighter. “It’s not fair that Ike sucks in this game.” Which is true, it’s not fair and it sucks.

That impacted my experience with Brawl and Smash 4. I left Brawl. I struggled in Smash 4 for years before I finally realized it was time to bite the bullet, cut my losses, and move on to better characters. If I wanted to win matches, I needed to use the right tools.

By no means was it easy. I made some upsets learning Cloud and even took down a Cloud ditto fighter with my Lucina at a con tournament. I wouldn’t even dare venture that I was good with either of them. But it was enough to win with what skill I possessed using better tools than struggling with the character I mastered (Ike) which lost to most of the roster.

Using the sword fighting analogy from earlier, purposefully using a low-tier character is walking into battle with a broken sword. Just because you take pride in yourself for overcoming your enemy with a handicap doesn’t mean you should expect victory against wiser and stronger opponents who know how to use their tools efficiently.

If you’re playing for keeps, the wiser player chooses better tools.

Thankfully, Smash Ultimate currently lacks a bottom tier. With 89 fighters in its roster, Masahiro Sakurai and his team have transcended all expectations and delivered one of the most balanced fighting games in history.

While Tekken and Street Fighter players cry over Leroy and Cammy, respectively, Smash Ultimate still doesn’t have a character that flat-out invalidates rosters. Likewise, none of Ultimate’s top tiers feel as broken as the top tiers in Smash 4.

With that being said, the likelihood of placing high or even winning with Incineroar, Little Mac, or even Ike is better than any Smash game in history. Keep in mind that Incineroar, along with several other low tiers, received major buffs in the last patch. All three aforementioned characters also placed high at the latest major event, Mainstage 2021, thanks to Skyjay, Peanut, and Yez. On that note, look at the Top 32 of the event and how many of the players used multiple fighters.

Counterpick example. Keep in mind it’s not necessarily against a losing matchup. You might pick what you’re most comfortable with against your opponent.

You are free to decide on whether you want to solo-main a character or pick up secondaries. It all comes down to what you want from the game and what you enjoy the most. Keep in mind, however, that there is no weakness in the latter and I honestly consider it a strength. There’s a long-running myth that players spread themselves thin by learning other characters. The opposite is true.

It’s more important to master your fundamentals than thinking you’ve mastered a character. This will carry over to any character you choose, though I strongly recommend sticking to characters that fits your own playstyle.

Keep in mind that competitors in King of Fighters, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Marvel vs. Capcom are regularly learning at least three characters in their team. Anyone playing competitive fighters is likely using more. If you choose to enter Squad Strike competitions, learning multiple characters is a must for success.

As an Ike main, I mastered a character people feared largely because they didn’t understand the matchup. This made me feel like an excellent player before people learned how to cripple him and my entire playstyle. Likewise, I was getting my can handed to me by Roy, ROB, and Palutena players in bracket.

I got sick and tired of losing and expanded my knowledge by winning with better tools. Learning other characters helped me get an edge over my opponent. It also helped me learn new playstyles. Learning these tools changed my approach and gave me more options to use against my opponents. These new options helped me win money matches and bracket rounds when I needed to counterpick.

A personal example of counterpicking in bracket to win.

Using Roy taught me to use tech-chases and juggle combos. Learning Terry helped me improve my neutral considerably. With Cloud, I could play a patient game by forcing my opponent to approach with Limit Charge. Edgeguarding with Lucina, projectiles with Wolf — the list goes on. I learned more ways to play the game when I diversified my character selection.

I realize I can’t win all my matches as Ike. I can continue to improve my fundamentals and overall play. I can learn more than just one character.

The frustration I once felt before was replaced with me enjoying learning and using more characters. I now have more playstyle options and tools in my arsenal, creating more effective approaches against different matchups.

This doesn’t just apply to Ike, either. If you use Roy, chances are you’re cruising through bracket till you’re matched up against Pikachu. Or you’re confident with your run as Terry or Ken till a Lucina stands in your way. This applies to nearly everyone. In fact, I would dare venture to say that Joker and Pyra/Mythra players might benefit from having a counterpick as well.

Even MKLeo, the #1 player in Smash Ultimate, counterpicks.

In the end, you must decide what you want more. Do you want to roleplay a solitary main out of pride or do you want to win tournaments? Do you want to facetank your only option against someone who has the edge in matchup experience or do you want to diversify your toolkit and increase your options against your opponents? If you seek victory, then I strongly stress the latter.

Which leaves us with one last question: who will you use?