So many choices to main!

[MumblingThumbs]

Hey guys, first post (obviously). I recently got back into fighting games. Was never hardcore, but did alright at MK when that released last year, before that it was GG, but nothing too competitive. I picked up CSX and am in LOVE. Between this and P4A, it makes me wave toodles to Capcom and plant my butt right with Arc, I've loved everything that they put out. For the life of me though, I cannot figure out who to main in this game. I am learning on my Hori stick from the ground up, so I want to use my main to really dig into the learning curve. I'm taken with Tao, Tsubaki, and Noel. Ragna seems fun, but I don't think I'd feel as rewarded once I get him down pat.

What char do you think would really make me feel the best accomplishment out of those three? Who has some of the best feel to them, and just best flash when it comes to actually watching them play? I am pretty much looking for opinions. I am incredibly sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but I didn't want to go to each char forum and ask. So if I can get some opinions from you guys whose opinions I've read the past few weeks and respect, it'd be great for me. Thanks guys, hope to make more posts in the future without a BB pacifier

[YukiBlue]

I think if you're just getting into BB and you want an interesting, strong and incredibly rewarding character to really sink your teeth into (Ha, Kind of appropriate) I'd never hesitate to recommend Taokaka.

Watching a good Tao is hype. You have one of the highest skill ceilings in the game along with a character fun enough to justify the amount of time you'll put in, I never see enough Tao players and it narks me, though that's not the only reason for my recommendation.

She's just all round awesome. Give her a spin and stick with it. She's also looking ridiculously strong in CP so it's a worthy investment.

[Kujikawa]

Tao:

Tao is one of the best characters in the game, but has a high execution barrier and fundamental knowledge to play her correctly. At first you will probably die alot, but soon you'll end up feeling very rewarded after you pull off that 6k damage throw combo in the corner that you've been training on all this week. I enjoy watching Tao, it varies from person to person, flying around the screen and making stuff happen is pretty cool.

Tsubaki:

Tsubaki is one of, if not the weakest character in this installment of the game. That no where near means she isn't good enough to win (People still win tournaments with her). Thats where the fun and enjoyment comes with her, beating someone with her. Going crazy with all her gimmicks and fancy unblockables and opening up the best of players to the power of Tsubaki, to landing those insanely clutch 5 bar mugen combos for that 5-7k damage. I do enjoy watching a very good Tsubaki (Even though I hate fighting one -.-).

Noel:

Most people dislike watching Noel and find her irritating. This is probably because of CS2 where Noel was one of the best characters, or it is due to her unique playstyle that utilizes her drive normals. Shes not that strong in this game, but she is still capable of achieving high damage and frustrating your opponent and limiting their options when they have you knocked down. Hitting those very important 4D Fatal Counters and then RTSD after scoring a 4k+ combo with corner carry is very fun, especially when your opponents get mad at it. She also has her CSEX haida loop now which can be lots of fun to learn and execute it on real opponents. I like watching CP players play Noel due to her new style.

If I was to say who you should main, I would have to say whoever you like/adapt to best. For instance, my favorite character is Rachel, but I can't adapt to her playstyle for the life of me. Instead I like to play characters like Platinum, Makoto and Tao which fit my playstyle more perfectly.

Who did you main in GG? Maybe find a character in BB thats similar to them and begin with them. One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to find 1 character and just keep at it with only them intill you can master them. Then go onto other characters within the roster. Do not start changing mains every month.

[MumblingThumbs]

Tao:

Tao is one of the best characters in the game, but has a high execution barrier and fundamental knowledge to play her correctly. At first you will probably die alot, but soon you'll end up feeling very rewarded after you pull off that 6k damage throw combo in the corner that you've been training on all this week. I enjoy watching Tao, it varies from person to person, flying around the screen and making stuff happen is pretty cool.

Tsubaki:

Tsubaki is one of, if not the weakest character in this installment of the game. That no where near means she isn't good enough to win (People still win tournaments with her). Thats where the fun and enjoyment comes with her, beating someone with her. Going crazy with all her gimmicks and fancy unblockables and opening up the best of players to the power of Tsubaki, to landing those insanely clutch 5 bar mugen combos for that 5-7k damage. I do enjoy watching a very good Tsubaki (Even though I hate fighting one -.-).

Noel:

Most people dislike watching Noel and find her irritating. This is probably because of CS2 where Noel was one of the best characters, or it is due to her unique playstyle that utilizes her drive normals. Shes not that strong in this game, but she is still capable of achieving high damage and frustrating your opponent and limiting their options when they have you knocked down. Hitting those very important 4D Fatal Counters and then RTSD after scoring a 4k+ combo with corner carry is very fun, especially when your opponents get mad at it. She also has her CSEX haida loop now which can be lots of fun to learn and execute it on real opponents. I like watching CP players play Noel due to her new style.

If I was to say who you should main, I would have to say whoever you like/adapt to best. For instance, my favorite character is Rachel, but I can't adapt to her playstyle for the life of me. Instead I like to play characters like Platinum, Makoto and Tao which fit my playstyle more perfectly.

Who did you main in GG? Maybe find a character in BB thats similar to them and begin with them. One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to find 1 character and just keep at it with only them intill you can master them. Then go onto other characters within the roster. Do not start changing mains every month.

Thanks guys for the responses. Tao caught my eye because of her insane speed and agility while hammering out some insane combos from the tourneys and combo vids I saw. Tsubaki's flow in her combos seems like a constant slap in your opponent's face with each hit for some reason, which made me smirk. Noel's multi hit C's for some reason made me interested in her, and actually the sound of her hits connecting made me interested in her, but that's hard to explain.

When I did play GG I usually went with Dizzy or Sol. Sol matches up with Ragna, but Ragna just seems so blatantly overused in this game, I'd like to dig out a little bit of a piece of my own with an underused character. That makes me lean towards Tao or Tsubaki more. I will agree with Yuki that Tao in CP seems ridiculous. In CP I may play around with Izayoi(sp?) once I see some more on her. I've gone through most of the challenges for each of the three, but the challenge mode combos seem a bit impractical, and I am horrid at air juggling with the stick for right now, so it makes me roll my eyes and give up after a good while.

I do like Tao and Noel in the sense there's no drive meter like Tsubaki's light meter. Is Tsubaki even a feasible char without taking the secondary meter into mind? It would be another thing to monitor and work with, while I tend to like focusing more on my opponent's movements.

[YukiBlue]

Tsubaki with no drive meter is so terrible it's almost hilarious.

If you're interested in Izayoi (Which sounds like a solid choice) Then I'd just go with Tao. If you can play Tao you can play anyone and she's only going to level up your execution and reaction speed.

(I personally feel that watching Tsubaki or Noel is akin to watching gloss paint dry)

[Star-Demon]

- Please don't play noel.

- Please don't play Tao because that match vs Litchi is an enormous PITA.

- So you should play Tsubaki.

Real talk - I would say, given your post, your wants from the characters are misplaced. If you want to feel accomplished and make yourself look good, play Carl.

Out of those three, pick Tsubaki, because winning with her is difficult. You'll definitely feel yourself if you become competitive.

Noel isn't a good choice because Noel's rewards encourage otherwise bad behavior and foolish risk-taking - if you want to feel rewarded, I don't think Noel will reward you in a way where you should feel good about it. Also - we hate her.

Tao has always been good, but TBH I'm not sure how good you'll feel about her once you learn her.

So that's all I have that doesn't echo what's already been said.

[MumblingThumbs]

- Please don't play noel.

- Please don't play Tao because that match vs Litchi is an enormous PITA.

- So you should play Tsubaki.

Real talk - I would say, given your post, your wants from the characters are misplaced. If you want to feel accomplished and make yourself look good, play Carl.

Out of those three, pick Tsubaki, because winning with her is difficult. You'll definitely feel yourself if you become competitive.

Noel isn't a good choice because Noel's rewards encourage otherwise bad behavior and foolish risk-taking - if you want to feel rewarded, I don't think Noel will reward you in a way where you should feel good about it. Also - we hate her.

Tao has always been good, but TBH I'm not sure how good you'll feel about her once you learn her.

So that's all I have that doesn't echo what's already been said.

I've read that before, the Carl bit. I've read posts saying Litchi and Carl will be the hardest but most rewarding. I did take other things into account, albeit smaller things, like aesthetics and sounds. I personally like the looks of those three, Noel coming in last with her little girl scoutish outfit. The ONLY thing that has got me a bit irked with Tao is a lot of her combos blend into each other when I watch them. Seeing some CP matches she looks a bit more varied, but I am sure it's just each player's approach. Okay I think it's safe to assume I'll cross Noel out. Why is there so much disdain for her though? I am reading it as she plays cheap and wreckless, so it's a bit of a pain to fight her because none of her moves are complex, rather they are just this side of cheap and monotonous?

All these posts so far make me lean towards Tsubaki surprisingly, but Tao still has a chance. At least I didn't want to main Tager, I think the community would lynch me. I hate that man...

[Kujikawa]

If your up for a challenge, both Tsu and Tao are good choices. Tao for her execution and movement and Tsu for well... everything.

Playing Tsubaki will make you a better player in a the sense that you have to "work harder" to win with her. Here in the UK we have quite a bit of Tsubaki players. Playing Tsubaki without mugen meter is death. You have to learn to use it just like how you have to learn Tao's 5k+ combos.

The last step I believe is to test them out yourself and see what you have a better feel for. Or, you could play both of them ^^

[MumblingThumbs]

Well it's settled then. I do believe I am going to main Tsubaki. Tao is a phenomenal option, but I may use Tsubaki to really hammer out the fundamentals in execution, and let Iz and Tao in CP be my reward for mastering Tsubaki in this one. I appreciate all the help guys.

If anyone else wants to toss out a recommendation please feel free, I hate just disappearing from threads, so I'll try to keep an eye out. Thanks again!

[Chaoschao222]

Why is there so much disdain for her though? I am reading it as she plays cheap and wreckless, so it's a bit of a pain to fight her because none of her moves are complex, rather they are just this side of cheap and monotonous?

She doesn't fight like a normal character. Her moves don't operate like most charcaters' (for example, she doesn't get knockdown on standing normals outside of counterhit) and for the most part have always been bad for neutral. This leads to her Drive. Noel's drive is her best tool, which leads it to be used more than anything else by a typical Noel player, even some of the best be mashin' D awl dei.

Because Noel'd Drive have invulnerable frames, they can be both amazing reversals, or more commonly, a somewhat safe approach to mashing. This is something that makes people hate Noel, she has invincible drives that require no real timing or confirmation abilities and lead to average to great damage.

4D and 2D are probably the biggest causes for salt when someone fights Noel.

There's nothing cheap about Noel since everything she does can easily be dealt with, but if people don't know how to stop her, it becomes exceptionally aggravating having your hard work shat on by drive mashing. Not to mention that the greater majority of Noel's combos are very easy to perform, even her SMP combo takes no execution.

There are lots of reasons why people hate Noel, but it tends to boil down to drive is dumb, mash drive, no skill.

[YukiBlue]

One good thing about Tsubaki is the fact her character forums here on DL really do put all the others to shame. Quality forum.

[Kujikawa]

One good thing about Tsubaki is the fact her character forums here on DL really do put all the others to shame. Quality forum.

The Linhua forums are much better.

And yeah what Chao said.

[InWithTheAshes]

To be honest, I'd recommend, if you're interested in them, to just try every - one of the ones you listed. It may take more time, but you will have a better knowledge of how, exactly, to play them and whether they're honestly what you're requesting or not.

[MumblingThumbs]

To be honest, I'd recommend, if you're interested in them, to just try every - one of the ones you listed. It may take more time, but you will have a better knowledge of how, exactly, to play them and whether they're honestly what you're requesting or not.

Well my issue with trying them all and seeing is my time restraint. I have a wife and a stepdaughter with a busy day, and we are remodeling a lot of our condo, so my downtime to play isn't as much as I'd like. I picked those three because I was liking their moveset and their look and style. I played with Noel a bit today and now I understand the whole drive abuse mentality. I went through a list of BnB combos of hers and nothing really does much of anything unless D is involved. It takes away the challenge for me, which is why I would imagine she is usually recommended alongside Jin and Ragna for newcomers, although I have a hard time finding anything good about Jin, but I may be using him incorrectly.

[InWithTheAshes]

Jin's pretty much the typical shoto: He's got hadoukens, D.P.'s, a relatively balanced move - set, ect. The unfortunate thing, however, is that he's made as an archetype that's intended to ease people into the fundamental elements of fighting games within a game that, to be honest, doesn't make much use of said elements (Although they definitely help.). Still, like most shoto's, he's pretty straightforward, and doesn't have many glaring weaknesses (Aside from his sucky high low.) to balance out the fact that he doesn't have much glaring strengths (Aside from his above - average crossup game.), both of which make him easier for newcomers.

Also, I wasn't aware of the fact that you had a family to take care of. Sorry if my previous suggestion wasn't affordable for you.

[Dreize]

Main Valkenhayn instead.

[InWithTheAshes]

Stop pimping your character.

[Celerity]

Any love for Hazama? He has a ton of options, rewards making good reads, will definitely give you a sense of accomplishment the more time you invest into him. He's flashy as hell and very satisfying when played well. Not too difficult execution but requires a slightly different mentality.

[MumblingThumbs]

Jin's pretty much the typical shoto: He's got hadoukens, D.P.'s, a relatively balanced move - set, ect. The unfortunate thing, however, is that he's made as an archetype that's intended to ease people into the fundamental elements of fighting games within a game that, to be honest, doesn't make much use of said elements (Although they definitely help.). Still, like most shoto's, he's pretty straightforward, and doesn't have many glaring weaknesses (Aside from his sucky high low.) to balance out the fact that he doesn't have much glaring strengths (Aside from his above - average crossup game.), both of which make him easier for newcomers.

Also, I wasn't aware of the fact that you had a family to take care of. Sorry if my previous suggestion wasn't affordable for you.

Oh, no harm done at all. I hadn't made it known, but responsibilities obviously come first lol. Thanks for explaining Jin btw, definitely helps to have an overview of him from others.

Dreize, I have thought about Valkenhayn actually, he was in my top five options. I actually like his style, but hearing that his timing between human/wolf form is so strict made me shy away from him.

Celerity, I played with him a bit after hearing good things about him. He has potential but his style and the style I've typically adapted made him sort of not as optimal for my taste. I still watch his combo videos when I want to feel pumped up.

Dammit, now I am thinking Tsubaki or Valk. I think I'll play around with some main combos tomorrow between the two and see who puts more of a smile on my face.

[The Katz]

One good thing about Tsubaki is the fact her character forums here on DL really do put all the others to shame. Quality forum.

This.

Dammit, now I am thinking Tsubaki or Valk. I think I'll play around with some main combos tomorrow between the two and see who puts more of a smile on my face.

I say you should main Guilty Gear.

All seriousness aside, you should just play someone close to top tier in BB just 'cause. That, or maybe Bang.

[excelence]

Well my issue with trying them all and seeing is my time restraint. I have a wife and a stepdaughter with a busy day, and we are remodeling a lot of our condo, so my downtime to play isn't as much as I'd like. I picked those three because I was liking their moveset and their look and style. I played with Noel a bit today and now I understand the whole drive abuse mentality. I went through a list of BnB combos of hers and nothing really does much of anything unless D is involved. It takes away the challenge for me, which is why I would imagine she is usually recommended alongside Jin and Ragna for newcomers, although I have a hard time finding anything good about Jin, but I may be using him incorrectly.

Noel ... when u don't know anything about her... u mash drives, and when u actually know her stuff.... u still mash Drives lol

And about Tsubaki, imo she's a very good character to start up learning fundamentals in this game, since your average damage output will be 1~2k bellow most of the cast, so you'll be forced to do better at footsies and defense compared to playing other character.

[Dreize]

Dreize, I have thought about Valkenhayn actually, he was in my top five options. I actually like his style, but hearing that his timing between human/wolf form is so strict made me shy away from him.

Dammit, now I am thinking Tsubaki or Valk. I think I'll play around with some main combos tomorrow between the two and see who puts more of a smile on my face.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll be fine. Feel free to leave a comment in the Valkenhayn boards if you need any help.

If damage is your thing, Valkenhayn will put a huge smile on your face. Plus his combo's look quite interesting, in my opinion.

Stop pimping your character.

It took a mere three words to get him to starting seriously considering Valkenhayn again. What more needs to be said?

Ultimate Persuasion Tactics 2013™.

[InWithTheAshes]

main Guilty Gear.

I like this idea.

As for any other suggestions... Have you ever thought about Makoto? A noticeable portion of what you've suggested is basically "rush down character who requires some work". Which is pretty much what Makoto is: She's obviously has a mostly up close style, and she definitely takes an amount of dedication to win with.

[MumblingThumbs]

I like this idea.

As for any other suggestions... Have you ever thought about Makoto? A noticeable portion of what you've suggested is basically "rush down character who requires some work". Which is pretty much what Makoto is: She's obviously has a mostly up close style, and she definitely takes an amount of dedication to win with.

Makoto would be great, except when my stepdaughter watches me play a game with tits bouncing for 99 seconds every round I also live in Chicago, which is full of squirrels. I don't need mental jugs on them

Valk does seem great with damage though, at least from the combo vids I've watched and the times I've played him. I do like Excelence's idea though about maining a character that NEEDS footsies and some oki to really get a win. After some coffee I am going to work on the two and see who really makes me happier.

As for GG, I would pick it up again but with CP coming out this year hopefully for consoles, I want to stay fresh with the series. If there was a new GG, I would get ready with that instead.

[Chaoschao222]

Odd reasons to stray from Makoto.