Picking a main character

[BlueBlueAquamarine]

Not sure if this topic fits here, but...

How do you know when you've found the character that's just right for you?

In MBAC, there were small number of characters, so it was possible to just try playing with every character and then see which one felt the most comfortable.
In MBAA, with two more characters (and even more, if counting chars like Mech/Neco) and three moons for every character, this process is pre....tty tedious.

Sure, I guess I could just play characters with strong zoning / strong rushdown / strong mixup ... and so on, but sometimes I can be surprised by how well I can play a character that does not fit my "game style." When plating MBAC, I originally focused on Arcueid. Then, I tried playing Kouma once for fun, and... surprise! I quickly became attached to his grab-poke mixup and superarmor, and improved tremendously playing Kouma.

Some say just pick character I like the most. Eh... that would be Satsuki in MBAC, but no matter how much I practiced with Satsuki, I was mediocre at best with her....

I am currently trying whole bunch of different characters in MBAA.... Any advice?

[CPhame]

Well do you want to win or do you want to have fun? 

[Rokunaya]

My best advice would be to play around with many characters, watch videos, and to try characters that seem that you'd like. After playing this game for a month or two, you will probably get your bearing on what your mains should be if you follow this pattern.

[LoliSauce]

Watching videos is oftentimes the best way to get a quick feel for characters than you don't know about, and see if they appeal to you or not.  Otherwise I'd say just try picking someone you have the most fun with as your main, but take some time every so often to break up the monotony by trying out other characters that may seem interesting.  No harm in switching mains periodically, if it comes to that.

[abitofBaileys]

No harm in switching mains periodically, if it comes to that.

Just don't do it during a tournament.

As for me, I chose the characters I like most, but also based on their playstyle, overall stylishness and effectiveness. The best compromise between those four factors was F-Ryougi. But I ofc have alternatives. But I'd never get the idea of playing a character I don't like. Akiha, WLen, Miyako e.g. But there are also characters I don't play because I cannot friend with their playstyle. Arcueid, Sion e.g. I like those characters alot (especially Sion), but they just feel wrong when playing them.

[LivingShadow]

I've tried most characters at least once and they tend to fall into 4 categories.

1: The ones I can't play for the life of me. (Ries, Len, Sacchin)
2: Those I can play badly. Either they have a playstyle that isn't compatible with me or I just can't get a handle on their timing. (Nero, Kouma, Kohaku, Akiha, VAkiha)
3: Sub material. I can usually get something resembling a BnB down and a few setups. (Ciel, S-Akiha, Warc, F-Aoko) With enough practice this category could probably be promoted to category 4.
4: Main/main-sub material. Either they just click or I've been practicing with them for so long I know what I can do with them. (Ryougi, C-Arc)

In general, trying the Crescent moon variant is enough to know if the character works or not. The exception being F-Aoko who works much better than C or H for some reason.

[mizuki]

Although I never got around to picking a main in MBAA, picking a main in fgs overall uses the same kind of mindset.

Questions you want to think to yourself

"Do I want to win easily?"
"What suits my playstyle?"
"Can this character compliment me as a player"

[Legendary Blue Shirt]

Use a dartboard with everyone's face on it.

Well do you want to win or do you want to have fun? 

Probably the best question to ask IMO.

[Rokunaya]

Use a dartboard with everyone's face on it.

This is such a great idea that I'm actually probably going to use this for my next alts.... and if I miss the board completely like a scrub, the wall to the  left of the board will be NEC and the wall to the right of the board with be NAC


Me and Tonberry should use this method for choosing new alts to fuck around with when I actually learn my mains properly

[Zaelar]

Watch random videos until you find a character you think you'll like, try that character out, repeat if it fails.

Find a tier list, start at the top, pick characters working your way down and stop when you get to one that works for you.  inb4 people who don't understand the concept for tiers.

[LivingShadow]

Use a dartboard with everyone's face on it.

This is such a great idea that I'm actually probably going to use this for my next alts.... and if I miss the board completely like a scrub, the wall to the  left of the board will be NEC and the wall to the right of the board with be NAC


Me and Tonberry should use this method for choosing new alts to fuck around with when I actually learn my mains properly

I am tempted to shop this now.

[Irysa]

I like to break down aspects of chars that I look for when I pick mains.

I like long reach and fast movement, and really "chunky" blockstrings (stuff that's good on block and hit to just throw out). I like chars who have a kind of "my turn" philosophy, when you start momentum it's tricky to stop (but really a lot of MB chars can do this, just applies to other games too)

[CT_Warrior]

You won't be able to determine the playstyle of each character just by messing around with them imo.

I used to hate using VAkiha so much until I played her enough to appreciate her speed and attack angles and got absorbed into her metagame.
She'd just be a very unforgiving character with low health that gets swatted out of the air all the time without all the experience I feel is needed to play her.

[BlueBlueAquamarine]

Thank you for all the input! To the first question: for now, I think I want to have fun while getting better. Maybe later, I will be able to play to WIN.

What I was worried about the most is that I will end up playing a character that is not necessarily "right" for me but just brain-dead simple to play for anyone (like most Nanaya/Tohno Shiki variants. I think F-S.Akiha also falls into this category.)

I thought I would lean toward crescent moon because of its similarity to MBAC, but it turns out that a lot of characters I like are Full Moon. As for half moon... long combos are long.

Tried my best MBAC character Kouma, but I can't get j.[C] timing for the life of me. The new anti-air grab was delicious, though.

For now, I think I might want to grind that practice mode with F-Arcueid. I am having a lot of trouble with hectic half moon combos, but I can surprisingly time links pretty well. It might have to do with music...

[Zaelar]

You could not worry if you're playing brain dead and enjoy it while it lasts and switch when you get bored.  You'd then have an alt to mess with if you get bored of your new main for an hour.

If there's a combo you can't do either do a weaker combo or grind training mode.  Most characters have slightly weaker versions of combos that you can use if you don't care about getting top 3 at tournaments.  Even if you do care, the advanced combos are probably the last thing you'll learn unless you need it to set up oki because the easy combo has a crappy ender.

Don't worry about what moon you use unless you specifically like a certain system mechanic of one of them that the others don't have.

[LivingShadow]

Use a dartboard with everyone's face on it.

This is such a great idea that I'm actually probably going to use this for my next alts.... and if I miss the board completely like a scrub, the wall to the  left of the board will be NEC and the wall to the right of the board with be NAC


Me and Tonberry should use this method for choosing new alts to fuck around with when I actually learn my mains properly

I am tempted to shop this now.

Done. Left the Joke chars off of it.

[abitofBaileys]

You deserve a HEAT for this, sir.

But it sure is hard to pick the bad guys then. Including S.Akiha. She's such a villain.

[Arlieth Tralare]

Should be split into Crescent/Half/Full too.

[LivingShadow]

Should be split into Crescent/Half/Full too.

[Rokunaya]

dude, this is honestly fucking amazing and I might even actually use this with Tonberry and record the shit, just for lulz.

But if it's not too much of a bother, imo, the high tiers should be geared towards the center--- gives more incentive.

Archetype Earth in the middle LOL

[LivingShadow]

I put the lower tiers in the center because when you're aiming at a dartboard you typically aim for the center. The random variation up/down/left/right is is usually enough.

I could potentially reverse them, but I'm too lazy to do so right now.

[c-nero 5[c]]

For a final touch you could give every char/moon combo a number, so that anyone too lazy to print out and use a dartboard can instead consult the great wisdom of an RNG.

[BlueBlueAquamarine]

For a final touch you could give every char/moon combo a number, so that anyone too lazy to print out and use a dartboard can instead consult the great wisdom of an RNG.

Except RNG is usually not completely random. Nice board, however. Every Melty fans need one on their walls. *print*

[ehrik]

If you rip off the section for H-wara it'll be complete

[fiendmaw]

This is friggin' awesome(but why is Nanaya on the edge? Easiest to hardest?)