Why Heavyweights Can Never Be Good | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2023
  • As one of the most iconic classes, Heavyweights have been a mainstay in the Smash Bros. franchise for a long time... and sadly their competitive performance has perennially been lackluster. Today we'll be going over why they can never be good.
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    #SSBU #Characters #Heavyweight
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ความคิดเห็น • 704

  • @VarsIII
    @VarsIII  11 หลายเดือนก่อน +92

    (PLEASE READ BEFORE WATCHING) Apologies for the volume jumpscare during the outro (starts at around 13:30). Won’t happen again. Please be wary headphone users.

    • @Silver19897
      @Silver19897 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      I did not read this before watching. RIP me, but thanks for the warning 😅

    • @jeremybricker1215
      @jeremybricker1215 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      My ears are bleeding right now... You should have re-uploaded the video after adjusting the audio...

  • @TheEmperorGulcasa
    @TheEmperorGulcasa 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +675

    I think the biggest thing holding heavies back is pretty ass recoveries. It means that despite their high durability on paper due to their weight, they don't actually always live that long.

    • @captconrad6014
      @captconrad6014 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +15

      agreed

    • @cjaquino28
      @cjaquino28 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +87

      That's my take, too. If the point is that they should live longer, give them a great recovery.

    • @kunkudunk1133
      @kunkudunk1133 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +27

      Yeah they either need some more mix ups or better distance otherwise the likes of pikachu and sheik will easily live longer

    • @echospace7347
      @echospace7347 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      That’s really only dk and bowser tho😂

    • @Temax6
      @Temax6 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +50

      ​​​​@@echospace7347 incin and ganon have shit ones. also bowser's recovery is not that bad

  • @bigt8033
    @bigt8033 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +293

    Something I'd like to mention is that although Heavies are designed to be tanky and live long, due to a typically poor disadvantage state and generally bad recoveries they have a tendency to die earlier than a lot of the rest of the cast simply for getting comboed or hit off stage once

    • @Lardo137
      @Lardo137 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +24

      THIS. It's like Sakurai pretended combos don't exist, you can CLEARLY see examples throughout Smash's competitive history that non-heavyweights can rack up damage AND reliably kill better than heavyweights because their moves are more reliable to land. Hitting like a truck doesn't matter if you move at 15 mph while everyone else is going 30 mph.

    • @juhadexcelsior
      @juhadexcelsior 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

      EXACTLY. The extra weight, in practice, doesn't actually serve a beneficial purpose most of the time.

    • @Rougealienpirate
      @Rougealienpirate 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

      Other thing is that being lightweight is a negligible weakness if you can run around circles at your opponent as they either don't hit you or hit you with their fastest, but weakest attack. Sakurai assumes someone like fox or pikachu are just going to sit at a charged ganon fsmash and die at 40% when that doesn't happen. I think just buffing heavyweights wouldn't be enough, but to make actual speedy characters have weaknesses.
      Either give them worse recoveries to compensate for their speed, or attribute that increases the damage they take and any heavy knockback is amped up.

    • @orangeslash1667
      @orangeslash1667 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@juhadexcelsior Heavy weights are usually High risk high reward characters. The reward for punishing the opponent is greater, but because you're so slow you can't afford to make mistakes.

    • @juhadexcelsior
      @juhadexcelsior 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      @@orangeslash1667 the opportunity to punish is also greatly decreased for heavies though. Inherently because the advantage of being lightweight heavily outranks the advantage of dealing 50% in a couple hits. Combine this with an above average player's skill and its a massive uphill battle for heavy players,

  • @magicmanfk
    @magicmanfk 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +301

    I'm surprised there wasn't more discussion about why Bowser tends to be placed higher relative to the other heavies, and what we can learn from that about how to buff heavies in a balanced way. Speed is brought up a lot - Bowser outranks about 3/4 of the cast on the ground and in the air. Having a frame 6 OOS option that puts opponents in disadvantage shifts how he can play the game as well - it's a perfectly viable strategy not to strike first but bait your opponent to strike first in a way slightly unsafe on your shield. His powerful 6 frame command grab should also make opponents uncomfortable shielding when Bowser is approaching from the air. I think this versatility in gameplan really helps him excel where other heavies do not. Of course as a heavy he still has to deal with heavy combos, giant hurtboxes, and punishable recoveries, although his up b does offer more mixup than many people expect.

    • @sinchill5424
      @sinchill5424 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +22

      This is some good insight. My only issue is, that we couldn’t follow this to a T on how to balance heavies. If we did, all heavies would play extremely similar to each other, and then people would be complaining about how the characters are just clones and not true to their origins.
      I think small tweaks for each heavy would be good. For instance, I think the only buff Ganon would need would be to change how his wizards foot works in mid-air. Instead of diagonal downwards, make it work similar to Bayo’s (except he could only use it once) . Change nothing else, but it would give him better recovery options.
      DK I really think only needs is a better OOS option. Like less start-up or more armor on his grounded up-b.
      K-rool I actually think is fine. Good tools, good options, armor, reflector, good recovery.
      DDD, my biggest issue with DDD is the amount of end-lag on his gordo. This makes it challenging to play during some matches as they send it back to you before you can actually react due to end-lag. Shorten the end-lag on his gordo toss and DDD is in a better situation.

    • @dahomie253
      @dahomie253 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      @@sinchill5424 oh god please not that last one PLEASE

    • @YOSSARIAN313
      @YOSSARIAN313 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +11

      ​@@sinchill5424 id also alter ganon so his choke move wouldnt send him into free fall to give him mixups. Ganon would be a lot more threatening with decent recover. Hed probably at least lower mid tier with just those buffs

    • @CoinBox170
      @CoinBox170 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      @@sinchill5424 Disagree with K. Rool. His recovery has good vertical distance but is super exploitable. I actually think it should be easier to change direction while recovering with him.

    • @lasercraft32
      @lasercraft32 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      @@sinchill5424 I personally think Dedede should be LESS of a heavyweight... the guy can literally fly by inflating himself like a balloon, WHY does he feel like a rock? He's one of the heaviest heavyweights even though it makes no sense. In the _modern_ Kirby games he's just as mobile and nimble as Kirby and Metaknight, and he's not slow by any means. DK does a better job at feeling like that than Dedede himself.

  • @matteoschiro7710
    @matteoschiro7710 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +164

    I’ve always wondered why the devs insist on giving heavies bad recoveries. What’s the point of being heavy if you just get gimped at 30 like DK and Ganon do? The only heavies that don’t get regularly edgeguarded are Ridley and Bowser to a lesser extent.

    • @freddiesimmons1394
      @freddiesimmons1394 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +26

      They cant even land onstage. Meanwhile, pikachu and palu have like 6 frames of landing lag

    • @juhadexcelsior
      @juhadexcelsior 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      Ridley isn't a heavy iirc

    • @aprinnyonbreak1290
      @aprinnyonbreak1290 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +18

      King Dedede is like the only superheavy with good recovery, and he shows just how solid that combination is.
      Shame the rest of him is so... eh

    • @zegreatpumpkinani9161
      @zegreatpumpkinani9161 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

      I wish for a future where Ganon has float

    • @lennydickson8845
      @lennydickson8845 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      So nobody is mentioning the verticality K Rool can cover? I know it’s very exploitable but the fact a heavy can recover from the near abyss is impressive.

  • @spinybro1014
    @spinybro1014 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +508

    Problem is Sakurai likes to arbitrarily give them weaknesses, as well as adding character and whatnot that really renders the heavy’s weight useless, like Kazuya’s whole TOD being way easier on Heavies and making their one big strength not as useful while also making their weaknesses bigger.

    • @Mayadel100
      @Mayadel100 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +43

      whats the point of being heavy if your airdodge is too slow to avoid anything? has always been my issue

    • @spinybro1014
      @spinybro1014 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +53

      @@Mayadel100 exactly, frame 4 airdodge on characters with already monumentally bad disadvantage is bs when characters with really forgiving ones like Pika get better airdodges while also doing absurd combos
      Like, making a good Heavyweight is essentially just what the dev team did on Kazuya (intangible limbs on all attacks, absurd damage output but still have a mediocre disadvantage) but Kazuya is dlc u pay for the privilege lol.

    • @freddiesimmons1394
      @freddiesimmons1394 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +18

      ​​@@Mayadel100 if i could change one thing for balance, it would have been to swap all the frame 2 air dodge characters with the frame 4s

    • @meee_5155
      @meee_5155 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +42

      Problem is heavyweights are amazing in casual play and ppl such as vars don’t take it into consideration that they just aren’t built for competitive play

    • @freddiesimmons1394
      @freddiesimmons1394 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      @@meee_5155 but there are features you can give them that translate poorly into the casual range, like OoS options and even jabs (which are underused by noobies)

  • @thebeheaded4582
    @thebeheaded4582 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +75

    Htwo made a video about this topic 4 years ago, where he analyzed 2 heavies from Rivals of Aether, which has heavies that are actually viable, but not overpowered. In short, they have ways to overcome their weaknesses, but not remove them.

    • @jjtjp2469
      @jjtjp2469 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +26

      Basically, this. I believe the answer lies with buffing characters in ways to where their weaknesses are tone down to some degree, but they're still weaknesses the characters have that reels them in.
      I think a good example is Bowser in Ultimate. This is easily the most viable Bowser has been in the franchise's history, and I think it boils down to:
      - Tough Guy which makes it so that you can't just hit him with anything and put him in a vortex
      - His Up-B giving him an option against shield pressure
      - Mobility: Bowser is decently mobile in Ultimate. He's no Cap.Falcon or anything, but fast enough to where he doesn't really struggle to get around
      He's still combo food, but has options on defense. He's still not fast enough to overcome the speed weakness but has enough mobility to chase you down to some degree.

    • @rmdashrfv
      @rmdashrfv 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      can you link that video?

    • @Lardo137
      @Lardo137 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      It's a bit sad that a four year old video does a better job of analyzing heavies and their balance dynamics than this one.

    • @waffleman8053
      @waffleman8053 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      And Etalus is still one of the worst characters in the game.

    • @maxmucci3170
      @maxmucci3170 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      It's also the only true heavy in the game. Kragg is more of a zoner

  • @wailmoregd140
    @wailmoregd140 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +32

    If we look at Bowser and Incineroar, Bowser is good because he lacks some weaknesses that a lot of other superheavies have, and Incineroar is good because while he does have the traditional weaknesses of a superheavy, he has an amazing moveset and is rewarded for overcoming those weaknesses. Both of these characters set great building blocks for what a viable heavyweight should have, and if there is to be a high-tier or top-tier superheavy at some point in the lifespan of Smash as a series, it’s more than likely it would require both of these bases to be applied, unless you’re Brawl Dedede of course

  • @pessoafadeonepiece
    @pessoafadeonepiece 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +11

    Kazuya:are you sure about this?

    • @Matanumi
      @Matanumi 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Kazuya has a smaller hitbox.
      Also bowser has become a bit of. Special exception....

  • @meaw5297
    @meaw5297 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +67

    I personally think it would be a fun idea to give heavy weights tons more shield damage. Like for example, even a slightly charged boswer/ganon fsmash could break a full shield. It gives them an interesting niche by wanting to actually attack shields, and makes landing their big goofy moves (like warlock punch) after they break shields a realistic win condition. Would it be OP? probably, especially in casual. Would it be fun to watch and play competitively? I would think so

    • @patrickburton1401
      @patrickburton1401 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      Bowser has plenty of moves that have insane shield damage, and are more viable moves than a forward smash. Fire breathe/down B. Down tilt/up smash. I get shield-breaks often. I can’t speak for other heavies tho.

    • @neworldfool9625
      @neworldfool9625 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      DK’s forward B can punish someone blocking too much. It felt like 80-90% of shield’s HP so one tap and a F+B or just F+B if they’ve drained enough and basically secure a kill. Just y’know, watch for a certain series of down+b’s to counter you after the first one lol

  • @ridori7376
    @ridori7376 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +120

    Ridley could deadass be a very solid heavyweight if they MADE HIM AN ACTUAL HEAVYWEIGHT.
    Ridley has pretty decent mobility, good normals and unlike the other heavies his damage isn't THAT insane, instead relying more on combos/pressure. He doesn't have quite the same "make 1 mistake and you're dead" style, he's more healthy in that way.
    But for some bizarre reason they decided to make him lighter than Samus despite having the biggest hitbox in the game, which means he gets all of the disadvantages of being a heavyweight with none of the upsides. It's so sad.

    • @judithforever9494
      @judithforever9494 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

      As a ridley main I wholeheartedly agree, but we don’t play Ridley for an extremely op character lol

    • @troykv96
      @troykv96 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Maybe that is precisely the reason why he isn't a heavy weight, he has weird design philosophy that cross elements of being a heavy weight and a regular fighter, the fact that he doesn't have the super punishable normals is probably why they didn't want to make him a heavy weight despite being so large.

    • @matteoschiro7710
      @matteoschiro7710 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

      I don’t mind that he’s not a super heavy, he’s honestly one of the better big bodies. I would prefer buffing his initial dash and letting him angle his up b diagonally, and maybe add another jump.

    • @Zenitsu-zq4pj
      @Zenitsu-zq4pj 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      @@matteoschiro7710 I agree with letting him angle his Up B diagonally, but giving Riddley another jump would make him extremely broken.

    • @MerryBlind
      @MerryBlind 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      While I agree he should be heavier, something I don’t see ever mentioned is how his hurtbox shifts a lot during a lot of his animations, making him sometimes not as easy to hit as he may seem given his overall size.

  • @King_of_the_Shrooms
    @King_of_the_Shrooms 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    The issue is that Plattform-Fighters are just bound to be more Movement-Centered, most heavies don”t have that movement.
    Make them quicker or give them interesting features that cover the lack of movement, like Rivals of Äther did. Etalus comes to mind first, she can freeze the ground and abuse the ice on the stage for her own good, get a armor out of the ice and has a REALLY good recovery

  • @SMOG8
    @SMOG8 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +27

    Most heavyweights should have good recoveries because what's the point of being heavier to live longer if you can get cheesed offstage at 20%. And I mean good as in distance, so still exploitable like Dedede's or K Rool's.
    The heavies in Rivals of Aether are well designed and proof that heavies can be good in platform fighters. They just need to be less extreme in high strength and low speed.

    • @martinwilches6583
      @martinwilches6583 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Not only that, but give them more options to recover and good mix up. Look at Bowser, his recovery isn't bad but to recover is extremely predictable

    • @orangeslash1667
      @orangeslash1667 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@martinwilches6583 With the exception of Ike and Banjo. The heavy Weights that people have a problem with are villains/bosses.
      The fact that punishing is the ONLY thing they can do, is very fitting🤔 to what they are.
      They feel less like fighters and more like playable boss fights. Where their attacks are very powerful, but also very committal. When their attacks miss, they leave themselves wide open to attack.
      Even Dk counts as a boss fight thanks to DK 94 on the gameboy.
      Kazuya is the one exception to the rule, cause while he is a villain he wasn't a boss fight till Tekken 7.

  • @darquezze306
    @darquezze306 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +46

    13:23 No idea if you ever plan to cover Rivals of Aether or even Project M/P+ but I think both games show how heavy weights are done right. They need tools that help with getting zoned and have good movement options. Outside of universal movement options like wave dashes, Bowser has a fireball projectile over flame breath that's charged over time, not instant. Ganondorf has both Float as a neutral B and down b that refreshes 1 jump when used (like in Melee) Ike has quick draw which stops all momentum when you press B again for the actual attack, otherwise not activating the quick draw attack will just give you a good boost of speed. Dedede has side B for projectiles and Down B gives Dedede burst of momentum. And DK is just nuts lol. Etalus from Rivals has his ice breath that id applied to the stage to help with his poor speed.
    They all still have the fundamental issues of heavy weights but are given the proper tools to compete.

    • @LloydTheZephyrian
      @LloydTheZephyrian 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      You forgot to mention that Ike's side b could be jump-cancelled, so you could do grabs, up-smashes, counters or aerials out of the dash.

    • @darquezze306
      @darquezze306 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@LloydTheZephyrian thanks for mentioning it!

    • @Saskaruto16
      @Saskaruto16 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Both of those games do heavies properly.
      I absolutely love PM Ike, PM has my favorite version of Bowser in any smash game, Ganon feels a lot better so he's actually useable, and Kragg is my favorite character in Rivals.
      I do think they went a bit too far with DK though in PM. His disjoints and grab game make him like a better Marth in most matchups which is a bit absurd lol. But even that helps show the lines of what breaks them and what doesn't.

    • @captainmega6310
      @captainmega6310 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Well, now you get into the problem of them being even more annoying to fight for lower skill players, especially Donkey Kong. ESPECIALLY Donkey Kong

    • @darquezze306
      @darquezze306 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@captainmega6310 I don't really think that's too much of an issue. DK is a problem because he's just really overturned. Heavies are supposed to be tough and heavies are always an issue for lower skilled players in any fighting game. Unless they're genuinely bad characters ofc

  • @ThatOneWeirdFlex
    @ThatOneWeirdFlex 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +43

    One problem i have is how awful most heavy recoveries are. Why design them to live to higher percents if they die after they get blown downward by a beeeze more than once?

    • @thebandit6886
      @thebandit6886 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      King K. Rool says hello

    • @Hugo-yz1vb
      @Hugo-yz1vb 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      ​@@thebandit6886 Not Mr. My recovery is so pretdictable is useless speaking about recoveries

    • @captainmega6310
      @captainmega6310 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@thebandit6886the recovery is so exploitable is hilarious

    • @thebandit6886
      @thebandit6886 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@Hugo-yz1vb fair but he can still recover better than all of the other heavies

    • @Hugo-yz1vb
      @Hugo-yz1vb 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@thebandit6886 Pretty much, but I still prefer King Dedede.

  • @oskarhenriksson7054
    @oskarhenriksson7054 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +53

    The biggest reason is because heavies would dominate casual play if they were any better. The game is balanced for beginners that don’t play optimally. However, as players make less and less mistakes speed and frame data gets more and more influential on the game because you get more opportunities to initiate advantage and evade disadvantage

    • @Icemario87
      @Icemario87 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      not if they increase the damage done to shields. casuals never shield.

    • @oskarhenriksson7054
      @oskarhenriksson7054 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@Icemario87 I believe casuals actually over-rely on shield and spotdodge, not using movement to their advantage

    • @Icemario87
      @Icemario87 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      @@oskarhenriksson7054 might be a symptom of online

    • @5p8nkm3
      @5p8nkm3 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      As a casual I can confidently tell you that for us every heavy is BROKEN.

  • @nothuman938
    @nothuman938 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +85

    As MockRock said in his video, instead of giving heavyweights more power they could also be given much more range on their attacks to compensate for their poor mobility

    • @liamfrench3090
      @liamfrench3090 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      Yeah, DK was actually kind of a decent pick in melee against a lot of characters, and a lot of that is because he was the only other character in the game that could zone like marth and puff, in a game where most characters have quick/stubby attacks. If they gave a heavyweight in ultimate range like Sephiroth, they’d probably be a high tier

    • @Rougealienpirate
      @Rougealienpirate 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +17

      I think the other problem is how lightweight/speedy characters weakness is very non existent. Like yeah they can die super early, but between them having either good recoveries, frame data, range, etc. it makes it hard to exploit it. It's why pikachu and fox are always top tier and high tier at worst. Their frame data is great, their recoveries kept getting improved, and their range doesn't matter if they can get in through sheer speed alone. Compared to other fighting games where a speedy character low health makes every hit/combo easy to die from, so long as you have the speed, you can recover and survive anything, especially if the opponent fast moves are their weakest.
      I think instead of just high tuning heavies, lightweights speed characters need better counterbalance than just maybe dying early.

    • @freddiesimmons1394
      @freddiesimmons1394 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Or like literally anything.

    • @nefalissys9630
      @nefalissys9630 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      @@Lionel-zd8rb Byleth would only be a little better with more weight; as making Byleth heavier doesn't make up for their poor speed and air mobility plus Byleth has to somewhat rely on reads to take early Stocks.

    • @dave9515
      @dave9515 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      @@Rougealienpirate Issue is even lightweight/speedy characters have an imbalance between each other too. Compare joker to shiek. Compare sonic to pikachu. Compare pichu to young link. Fox is combos hard without getting comboed much himself. There is so much inbalance between characters and even archetypes. Smash is such a horribly balanced series and Ultimate is no exception and also very horribly balanced still.

  • @Dionaea_floridensis
    @Dionaea_floridensis 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +15

    What's unfortunate is the fact that the Big Heavies usually CRUSH new players, casual players, and even mid-level players in a poor online environment. This leads to a comparatively large swath of the community loudly complaining to nerf them, and/or a hesitancy for the devs to make them as good as any other fighter since they'd be potentially alienating the largest part of their active player base

    • @Icemario87
      @Icemario87 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      allowing heavies to break shield easier would bypass this problem because casuals rarely shield.

    • @ayar2
      @ayar2 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@Icemario87playing casually doesnt necessarily means playing mindlessly, it means playing to have fun, whether win or lose. Playing competitively is playing to win, regardless of skill level.

    • @Icemario87
      @Icemario87 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@ayar2 And you think that definition yields: that people "playing to win" *shield an equal amount as* people "playing to have fun, win or lose"?

  • @BlazeDragothan
    @BlazeDragothan 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +13

    Bowser is on the cusp of being good, quite fast speed despite their weight and with tough guy, he's almost there.

  • @johnhall9038
    @johnhall9038 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    I feel like it would actually be very easy to make heavyweights viable and fair at top level. It just wouldn't be fun for casuals.

  • @grimsdol4665
    @grimsdol4665 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    The solution to the Heavyweight problem is by giving them moves that they can use in multiple situations, so that way they have the threat of coverage which each attack, a good example or this is Sephiroth up smash which has multiple uses

  • @ZiggyZ3
    @ZiggyZ3 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    One idea that comes to mind to make heavies stronger, but more balanced would be to give them states where they are more agile, but more vulnerable. Think of it as an inverse to super armor. Say a fighter throws out a strong and fast move but gets subject to more knock-back because of it. It’s short of like how heavier people in real life need more energy and concentration to pull off acrobatic moves. Gymnastics is easier when you’re shorter and lighter because you have less weight to manage and thus a lower risk of injury.

  • @andleepfarooqui7874
    @andleepfarooqui7874 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +13

    Pokémon’s speed stats DO affect how many actions they can take. If you’re KO’d, you cannot act. That’s why so much of VGC ended up being about speed control and why faster Pokémon are generally a LOT better than slow Pokémon. This isn’t just the case for offensive Pokémon: GSC Raikou is an effective tank in part because of its incredible speed.

    • @oceanman6973
      @oceanman6973 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Incorrect. It’s not because they can take more actions, it’s because in a turn based game, going first can and will always be the deciding factor between winning and losing

    • @andleepfarooqui7874
      @andleepfarooqui7874 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@oceanman6973 I mean it's not just that, threatening out slower Pokemon is a way you effectively get free turns. Being able to fast Spore/Dark Void gets you free turns. Getting a ko can mean your opponent doens't get to take an action and while they can play around that, I think the consequences of the fact you pointed out are far reaching and that's why I argued that it made sense to consider fast pokemon as taking more moves. If two pokemon double attack your slot and your mon gets KO'd, it can't attack. But if you don't like my phrasing, you can at least say that fast mons get more flexibility in how they use their moves.

  • @matheusnunes1294
    @matheusnunes1294 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +17

    imo i think heavys should have more armored moves, like dk and ganon punch, also they could have a shield that last longer and do more damage to enemy shields, but as you said, it's hard to balance them in a plataform figther like smash, otherwise we'd have more kazuia 2.0

    • @robertoalexandermendezmore408
      @robertoalexandermendezmore408 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The world would be better place if all heavys have someting like king K, down smash

    • @orangeslash1667
      @orangeslash1667 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@robertoalexandermendezmore408 With the exception of Ike and Banjo. The heavy Weights that people have a problem with are villains/bosses.
      The fact that punishing is the ONLY thing they can do, is very fitting🤔 to what they are.
      They feel less like fighters and more like playable boss fights. Where their attacks are very powerful, but also very committal. When their attacks miss, they leave themselves wide open to attack.
      Even Dk counts as a boss fight thanks to DK 94 on the gameboy.
      Kazuya is the one exception to the rule, cause while he is a villain he wasn't a boss fight till Tekken 7.

  • @trevorparker6400
    @trevorparker6400 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I think a funny character would be someone with Falcon's speed and Bowswr's tankiness, but with Shielk's attack power

  • @chebas_
    @chebas_ 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    id be interested if you talk about ways that heavyweights can be implemented well in smash and to work as well as other fighters without being overtuned

  • @3of6mylove
    @3of6mylove 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    I feel like the term "heavy" should be a bit more specific. Most people use it to mean specifically superheavyweights. But there's plenty of other characters classified as heavy, like snake, Rob, and samus.

    • @Krona-fb4dn
      @Krona-fb4dn 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Its more appropriate to use the term "Grappler" in this sense of what people mean by "heavy". Grapplers specifically are slow and big and have trouble getting in but are massively rewarded for doing so.

  • @E_Fig05
    @E_Fig05 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    I love this video. I'm fascinated by the inherent advantages and disadvantages of archetypes. I know this is a Smash Bros. channel, but Rivals of Aether has some great workarounds for heavyweights that make them just as good as the rest of the cast. Mock Rock even talks about them in his video on heavyweights.

  • @SNoodle
    @SNoodle 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Bowser is ALMOST the perfect heavyweight. He does hard damage, has big attacks, is fast, has minor armor on absolutely everything alongside invincibility on certain body parts during certain attacks. He just needs a better recovery imo.
    The thing that balances it is he has no real combo game. He’s a rushdown fighter who lands stray hits whenever he finds an opening, but those hits are so strong that the opponent is bound to grant said opening at any time. And, while he is combo food, he shuts down certain combos purely through his tough guy armor, due to certain combo tools being WAY too weak to interrupt him.
    Just let his Up-B go higher and I think we have the first TRULY viable heavyweight in Smash.

    • @jameswolf4894
      @jameswolf4894 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      His hurtbox is what holds him back. Getting Bowser through projectile heavy charcters like Snake, Samus or the Belmonts is a fucking chore.
      What Bowser really needs is a good projectile that can counter and cover his huge hurt box at times. They have done this with him in Project M Plus. They basically replaced his flame breath with a huge fireball that has to be recharged every 10 seconds. This made him viable enough to win a tourmenant.

  • @jayden9766
    @jayden9766 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    That song you picked in the beginning is one of my favorite PMD tracks ever. I still have it in my phone to this day

  • @aslaksockcraft
    @aslaksockcraft 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Kazuya is massively held back by the fact that whilst his moves have a lot of invinciblility, they're all extremely comittall.

  • @epicthelegend9001
    @epicthelegend9001 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    Safety is the key to balancing most heavyweights. They tend to suffer in neutral, pressure, and disadvantage, but fixing their pressure game would be the best way to keep their identity without over-tuning them. Make 1 aerial and 1 or 2 tilts/jab completely safe on block, but they don't kill outright, limited combos, and no strong kill confirms. That way they can safely pressure opponents, but if they want to kill they need to use the higher risk/higher reward options they're known for.

    • @epicthelegend9001
      @epicthelegend9001 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      This would stop them from needing to take big risks at every stage of the game to which is another big problem with nearly ever bad character in smash but also all heavyweights.

    • @orangeslash1667
      @orangeslash1667 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@epicthelegend9001 Heavy weights are usually High risk high reward characters. The reward for punishing the opponent is greater, but because you're so slow you can't afford to make mistakes.

    • @epicthelegend9001
      @epicthelegend9001 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@orangeslash1667 yeah but in their current state, that's the ONLY thing they can do, meaning they can't play safe or patience if they wanted to. Having 1-2 low risk/low-reward options that don't provide kills, kill confirms or too much damage would mean that they still need to use high risk/high reward options to win. It's kinda like Little Mac, putting too many eggs in the already full "big damaging attacks basket" leaving them without the tools to actually form a strong gameplan instead of just swinging all over the place.

    • @junkyyard2273
      @junkyyard2273 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​​@@orangeslash1667
      High risk high reward characters ok but you're constantly in risk when you play a heavy weight with a big ass fucking hitbox and a god awful recovery. The chances of getting a reward? Not very favorable especially when others can outspeed you and put you in a disadvantage state

    • @Icemario87
      @Icemario87 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@orangeslash1667 It's balanced by having only 1 ground move and 1 air move that qualifies. So they become predictable if they use the 1 fast move.

  • @armorbearer9702
    @armorbearer9702 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +13

    What about buffing heavyweights shield? Perhaps shield durability can correlate to weight.

    • @XxEnderxX-lh5hf
      @XxEnderxX-lh5hf 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      A lot of things should be related to weight, while others no, and there are other things that should be universal. Jump squat is an example weight dependent, where light fighters get 3, mediums get 4, and heavy get 5. Dodges are an example of thing that should be universal, little macs rolls are dog shit for no reason, this also applies to techs, bowser's are dog shit for no reason. Ultimate has a lot of shitty design in it for no reason, while other thing are designed nicely.

    • @Saben.C-Spoon
      @Saben.C-Spoon 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      That would destroy light characters who are already weak to shield pressure like sephiroth, doesn't sound like a great idea to apply it to weight but maybe on a case by case basis

    • @captainmega6310
      @captainmega6310 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@XxEnderxX-lh5hfI wouldn't say should but it's an interesting thought experiment

    • @orangeslash1667
      @orangeslash1667 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@XxEnderxX-lh5hf Mac can't afford to make mistakes, it's only when you suffer too much damage that you get knocked off stage, so don't get hit too much. It's like Punch Out, when fighting the harder bosses a couple mistakes is enough to lose. In return Mac has super armor in some of his attacks, his tilts are pretty strong, his counter has pretty good range, a KO punch, and finally his speed allows him to both run away and rush down opponents.
      Mac can punish super hard but he can also be punished super hard. A true example of an extremely high risk high reward character.
      So how do you not make mistakes, be patient. Some characters are not meant to play like everyone else.

  • @ramblincapuchin9075
    @ramblincapuchin9075 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I would argue that above mobility, offensive presence is one of the most critical components of *any* real time fighting meta
    No one plays incineroar, but he has been stepping through the ranks lately because players are beginning to wake up to his tools, something that couldn't be said about little Mac
    When your opponent has to look out for what kind of offense you bring, they are forced to put respect on your game on account of instinct
    The less you get to play your game, the more opportunities they have to play theirs. So in a sense it's not a measure of how you well move, but whether you have the upper hand
    This can be illustrated really well by Yujiro Hanma's matchup with Kaku Kiaoh. The infamous old man punch. This is a man that would take on any animal, but wouldn't come near that punch
    I'm trying to point out the core design that has held smash back in terms of roster viability. The meta in smash has always rewarded a certain style of play, despite boasting so many characters. And thus tiers are born
    You see, any game that was concerned about it's programming efficacy has always included characters variable play styles. This is because they want to expose the player to levels and skill. Sure, rote memorization plays a factor, but somewhere in the mind, the designers hoped that people would achieve that level of play
    Sakurai described this notion as "to burn". And if a game wants to be successful, it's got to include characters that are compelling. Street Fighter's Hakan was one of those characters. He was a big body, but they had given him oil so it became tricky to face off against his grappling style. And the reward for playing him was that you got to see the whole roster get trick shot by his oily finisher
    Smash doesn't seem to know how to make big characters the exception to the rule. If speed is the name of the game, then they ought to have mechanical ways to counter speed. Much in the way that high defense is the compliment to strong offense
    It's the Sun Tzu philosophy of "if my opponent is as the mountains, then I shall be like the sea" If there is a hit and run Sonic type, you don't fight him by matching his tempo. You punish with bait and traps. Don't be Bowser, be Steve. It's just unfortunate that Bowser ISNT designed to be more obstructive and they kept making him agile
    He could have been smashes Z-Broly if implemented well. But again, smash tries to make things cookie cutter across the iterations

  • @user-ix6vv8lo5j
    @user-ix6vv8lo5j 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +34

    What if rage multipliers were determined by weight instead a flat value among all fighters?

    • @engliships2126
      @engliships2126 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

      That dont really solve the problem. Ganons already strong as shit, but if he cant get in that doesnt matter. Making heavyweights stronger will just make the opponant camp harder

    • @dave9515
      @dave9515 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@engliships2126 Also characters like kazuya will get even more cheesy and overpowered. There are some great heavy fighters. I wouldn't mind this dude's suggestion though cause cloud and byleth get better and cloud killing at decent percents would be wonderful.

    • @engliships2126
      @engliships2126 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      @@dave9515 they dont need it tho. It will be even more cheap on them swordies cause theyll kill you early off disjoints which is horrifying

    • @dave9515
      @dave9515 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@engliships2126 They do need it tho. If you can't kill then all the threatening disjoints are pointless. Smash needs major overhauls on its gameplay choices in general and they need to bring back ledgehogging and stop making so many characters with magnet hands and great recoveries. Balloon knockback is also a horrible mechanic. HDR fixes a lot of ultimates flaws and Rivals and Fraymakers show how to make excellent platform fighters imo.

    • @user-ix6vv8lo5j
      @user-ix6vv8lo5j 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@engliships2126 they won’t just get stronger but lighter weights will get weaker too

  • @RainbowAceOfSpades
    @RainbowAceOfSpades 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I think the way to go is either give more range or increase the chance of hitting a follow up hit (ie. longer hitstun, more frame traps, or lower knockback for certain moves to set up a follow up hit) to account for the lack of mobility.

    • @ayar2
      @ayar2 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Sentinel entered the chat.

  • @SoggyWafflesXp
    @SoggyWafflesXp 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I love the Pokémon analogy here. Absolutely perfect!

  • @TengoSuenho
    @TengoSuenho 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    A small nitpick: In turn based RPG Speed is also vital. In the example you give, Pokemon, Speed is probably the most important stat of all, precisely because moving before the opponent means moving twice as much as them a lot of the time

    • @LloydTheZephyrian
      @LloydTheZephyrian 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I believe in Gen 6, you'd actually want Aegislash to go second, because if you go first, you'll get thrashed by being in Blade Forme, but going second allows you to take way less damage before attacking. You could then just use King's Shield to go back to Shield Forme if you feel like you have to.

    • @TengoSuenho
      @TengoSuenho 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@LloydTheZephyrian Yes, there are some specific situations where being slow is actually benefitial (another example are Weather Wars). However, 90% of the time being faster is just better, both in offense and defense

    • @LloydTheZephyrian
      @LloydTheZephyrian 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@TengoSuenho I'm not saying you're wrong about speed being key, but I did want to bring up a case where it isn't important. I have no idea how good Aegislash is in Gens 8 and 9, but I do recall it was a monster in Gen 6.

    • @N12015
      @N12015 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@TengoSuenho And it becomes more prevalent the more we move in generations. When it became almost everything? I would say in generation 4 due to the augment of base power of moves so it became easy to 1HKO or 2HKO, alongside gen 3 reducing universal bulk which hurt bulky attackers the most.

    • @TengoSuenho
      @TengoSuenho 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@N12015 I would say they were even more important in Gen 1, tho thats due to how that Gen use Speed for Crit Chances.
      The channel False Swipe Gaming has a very good video in this topic that I highly recommend

  • @Wario_B
    @Wario_B 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Never thought I’d hear the day someone calls KKR’s up air “fast” lol
    Good vid my guy 👍

  • @MartianBlobfish
    @MartianBlobfish 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I think it could be interesting if heavy weights had some sort of buffer to make it harder for them to be combo'd like maybe there was a 'poise' feature where you won't get knocked back until it's it's broken and it needs to recharge before coming back. It's broken once a certain amount of damage is done within a window of time and when you're being damaged the recharge timer resets.
    So it'd be harder to start a combo on a heavy character but when you do it's business as usual.
    Of course it wouldn't be allot of damage, just enough to where you'd need to get a good heavy attack or like 3ish lighter ones.
    I mean, this is kind of treading into the same category as super armor but honestly it makes sense that a large character would be more resistant towards being knocked back, and it gives them just that little bit of extra wiggle room.

  • @CodeNameMoniker
    @CodeNameMoniker 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Good points, here's my perspective. I've watched a lot of superheavyweight matches at all different skill levels, and here's the thing - they need a little more juice. A few extra percent damage and knockback to make up for the difficulty in actually hitting a savvy opponent. A little more weight to live long enough to enjoy the benefits of near/full rage. A very small increase to frame data depending on the move.
    Each heavyweight needs something different, but these small tweaks can really give them the push they need to be competitive but not brain-dead easy. As it stands you lose the ability to generate an advantage state in neutral just to die in a blender ~25% later and kill ~20% sooner IF you can land your finisher. Way too skewed in the lightweights favor, and while you're right about risks in making heavies good, they're so bad right now that a gentle push would almost definitely be good for the game. Plus, heavies are just plain hype to watch imo 😂

  • @torri776
    @torri776 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Greatly agree with Speed being the most important parameter in a real time setting. In turn based combat, Speed does decide who goes first, but the slower party does get a chance to strike back.
    My favorite example of Speed not feeling unfair thanks to Turn Based Mechanics would be the Myrmidon VS Knight in Fire Emblem. The former has fantastic speed and skill, the latter constituting critical strike chance, but generally low HP, damage, and especially durability. The Knight has comparatively higher health and base damage, solid accuracy for a slow class so they can hit even the fastest enemies reliably, and the main metric offsetting their horrendous speed is high Defense. In Fire Emblem, higher speed doesn't decide who goes first - it instead allows the faster unit to strike twice. Say if the Knight attacks first, they will only attack once, and they will tank two feeble blows (barring the Armorslayer weapon which counters armors).

  • @smashdriven1640
    @smashdriven1640 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This is very well put! I think heavy weights are super fun to play as and play against in Ultimate. Sakurai struck a good balance this time around with their power and advantages compared to other characters speed. But I agree that if they were any stronger than this they would be very frustrating to play against with quick characters that require precision. It would not feel fair with how much effort you have to put in with the fast characters.

  • @gameboyn64
    @gameboyn64 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    In pokemon speed often does grant you a way to avoid attacks all together. The pokemon that goes first can ko, cause flinch, or status an opponent before they get to move. Speed is one of the most important stats in pokemon. That's why in sun and moon smogon, steelix is in NU tier and pheromosa is in Uber.

  • @inaviatable118
    @inaviatable118 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You jumpscared me with barren valley. Very based mystery dungeon usage

  • @WhitePointerGaming
    @WhitePointerGaming 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Some heavyweights ARE good, though. Bowser's actually quite good in Ultimate, but outside of him, characters like Brawl Dedede, Snake (he's stupid heavy for some reason), Kazuya, Incineroar, Ultimate Samus and Wario are all very good characters.

  • @Claudia-km9lo
    @Claudia-km9lo 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    - man who has never never played rivals of aether

  • @skyeblu3178
    @skyeblu3178 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    What’s crazy is that even in Pokémon, a turn-based game, speed is still debatably the most important stat, far more so than the video makes it out to be. False Swipe Gaming has a video to that effect, literally stipulating that “speed…might just be everything” (Deoxys Theorem)

  • @Icemario87
    @Icemario87 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Increasing a heavy weight's ability to break shields would balance them without having to make them faster.
    also. they could benefit from having 1 fast jab or tilt and 1 fast aerial.

  • @dragonic_puppy1700
    @dragonic_puppy1700 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Im a king k-rool and king dedede main, both are good if you can land the right moves and make the right set ups, their recoverys are actually not bad, king dedede with his many jumps and good horizontal recovery (not adding in jumping moves his hurtbox back meaning you cant use jumps to slow your momentum when being launched to the side, and k-rool with his up air to help him get more vertical range so he can recover low, plus they both have really good comand grabs and projectiles (yes gordo is wack but when it works it works) plus king k-rools belly armor gives him that helping hand out of disadvantage, not only that but the power behind his devastating counter

  • @NoNo-bg8oc
    @NoNo-bg8oc 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great video! It may interest you to know however that its been a long while since bulky tank mons have been the meta in competitive Pokemon. Fast Pokemon dominate the metagame in most formats for about exactly the same reason as fast characters do in Smash, if your pokemon is faster they act first, and if they KO the opponent or use a move with a chance of Flinching, Freezing, or Paralyzing them then the player with the tank will lose an entire turn. This is especially relevant in the premier competitive format VGC where a turn might just be a fifth of the match.
    The only exception is when the slower Pokemon are not built to be offensive IE walls, or they have something to compensate such as Dragon Dance or Regenerator. I think this is actually a good comparison with smash as well as heavyweight characters HAVE actually been viable before, if never cream of the crop. This is only true however when the characters were designed understanding that the weight class is a weakness of the character that had to be compensated for.
    P+ Bowser has a bunch of good tools and increased speed to compensate, Ultimate Bowser gets Tough Guy, Melee Ganon has very good aerials and decent speed, Melee Samus has good projectiles; screw attack; CC down smash; and goofy mobility options, Kazuya one shots you, Snake has traps and great kill confirms, Brawl Dedede has a consistent chaingrab and disjoints, etc.
    From a designer perspective I would posit what can be learned here is that durability is almost irrelevant to viability. Super armor is a great mechanic to help heavyweights feel better to play, but overusing it doesn't actually fix the issues that Heavyweights have in a competitive setting, but it does make the character less interactive and frustrates players. The strongest smash characters of all time are a fast faller which can be chaingrabbed or one tapped by multiple other viable characters in his game and a featherlight with no projectiles. What DOES make heavyweights more viable is options which can give them back control over the match through zoning or disjoints, volatile options which can reduce the number of neutral interactions they have to win, or alternative ways to get where they want to go that don't necessarily defeat the purpose of a strong and slow character being added to the game in the first place. Or at least those are my own thoughts.

  • @frankd8958
    @frankd8958 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I could imagine a character specific map hazards to be unleashed. The more the combos guys hit you in quick succession? The more the map breaks and becomes hard to maneuver arround. While you as the heavy stays impervious to your own Lava, Bananas or whatever. It woud require a lot more skill and thought put in, in beating you. And it would LOOK cool. And Kids would probably like it, cause you get to feel like an epic raid boss or something =D

  • @gunbuckybucketman4578
    @gunbuckybucketman4578 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    My idea for super heavy is they can shield stunt their opponent, by attacking if it hit their shield then the opponent can't drop their shield for a short period of time so they can't evade or hit back as easy, depends on how strong the move is (Tilt ,Smash).

  • @Fungo4
    @Fungo4 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    As one of the few people who likes Stamina mode, it's unbelievable how EVEN MORE stacked against heavies the mode is.

    • @ayar2
      @ayar2 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You can compensate with handicap

  • @mushroomdude123
    @mushroomdude123 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    5:11 It’s funny that you mention that because that’s exactly how Speed worked in Legends Arceus. Fast Pokemon would very often attack 2-3 times in a row, which of course, made slower Pokemon harder to use.

  • @feloniuspunk7078
    @feloniuspunk7078 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Im kind of new to smash again (havent really played since Melee) and im learning the meta soowly. But one thing i have to remark on is how INTELLIGENT the people in this comment section are! Wow. The amount of knowledge you guys have is impressive. I have a lot to (re)learn!

  • @blazichaos7181
    @blazichaos7181 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Whats funny about the comparison of speed to pokemon is that somewhat recently, a channel called "False Swipe Gaming" explained that even in pokemon, a turn based game. Speed can be absolutely crucial for some pokemon, and other Pokemon are screwed over by a LACK of speed.

  • @Sapreme
    @Sapreme 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    There's been heavyweights that have been top tier in other games, we can take a look at them to see why/how they're high tier. In traditional games, its due to their command grabs that deal 1 third of your health bar. Potemkin, Honda, Gief, etc are great examples of this. Interestingly enough, the only high-tier heavyweight I can think of in smash would be King Dedede in brawl, and he also had a chaingrab against most characters that would straight up be an infinite or deal massive damage + put you in a great advantaged state. Maybe a great way to make heavyweights good would be to give them grabs that could combo into their heavy hits with the correct read.
    Another top tier example, probably the all-time goat of heavyweights, is Sentinel. He's.... OP for a million of reasons, but one big things he has that pushes him over the top is fly/unfly cancels. Maybe a good way to make heavyweights good would be giving them certain conditions where they're able to cancel or mitigate some lag on some of their moves, something like L-cancels with a cooldown could work, or make them recover faster after hitting a shield.
    One other thing is that most good heavyweights have something that helps them mitigate their weakness, but doesn't solve all their problems so they can't rely on it. Zangief has green hand, and lariats to help deal with fireballs. Haggard has a lariat that is invincible, but it costs health to use. Even in smash, theres some great examples of this. In melee bowser has a great f-air, in brawl he has a great dtilt, and across all games he has an amazing up'b OoS.

  • @TheZexal
    @TheZexal 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I have two propositions for universal changes to heavies that could potentially make them more viable.
    1.) Any character above the sandbag weight class could have decreased hitstun. This could grow with their weight, but idk. Just a small difference could be all they need to break a combo. If they're larger and heavier, I think it makes sense they'd flinch less from attacks.
    2.) You could increase their early % knockback growth, and keep their late % knockback growth the same. This makes faster characters need to be more on point to combo them and not just be free combo food, but still keeps their survivability.
    Not 100% sure on how applicable this could be, but it's the best I could come up with.

    • @jameswolf4894
      @jameswolf4894 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I do agree with 1. I know smash isnt realistic but it bothers me to no end when I see Bowser getting juggled by a charcter that is the size of a rabbit. Its borderline dumb that being bigger means less ability to react and just act like a punching bag.

  • @cheezeebred
    @cheezeebred 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Honestly I think giving all heavies a universal reduction in hit stun would do wonders. If disadvantage is where they fall apart the hardest, make it easier and (not impossible) for them to get out of it. It wouldn't make them over powered as fast characters can still reset their combo, but they will have the added strained of their big combo target having more movement options, while also risking a heavy counter attack. Physics-wise, having less hit stun just makes sense too. Big fatty K Rool shouldn't be as physically effected as a tiny Pichu.

  • @Lexicon865
    @Lexicon865 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    "Why Heavyweights can never be good"
    Kazuya: i pretend i do not see

  • @garbless
    @garbless 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    i like how speed actually is a factor that affects the amount of turns a pokemon has in legends arceus

  • @Silver19897
    @Silver19897 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I think the way to fix it is to look at disadvantage instead of advantage. Something between DI, hitstun, and fall speed can probably be tweaked to allow heavies to be able to play the game after getting hit without inherently taking it over completely. Maybe let them have stronger DI after a hit so that they can escape combos just a tiny bit earlier? Obviously fine-tuning that difference would take time and effort, but it could keep things competitive. Maybe allow them to suffer less hitstun from some attacks, letting them take defensive action earlier than most characters, or letting them be affected less by the same moves. For example, having a higher threshold for being sent into tumble. Since it’s so difficult to improve their offense without overtuning them, maybe they should be better defensively.

  • @pronerdproductions8009
    @pronerdproductions8009 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Great video but I will say that your comparison to speed in Pokemon was pretty misplaced. Speed is arguably the single most important stat in Pokemon and there are dozens of Pokemon that are considered unviable just because they're slow (Rhyperior is great example ironically enough). I'd recommend watching FalseSwipeGaming's video called "Speed Might Be Everything" if you're curious about this.

  • @shnurgle1721
    @shnurgle1721 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I'd highly recommend rivals of aether, a platform fighter with genuinely viable and balanced heavies

  • @PacNerd
    @PacNerd 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I think there should be a bigbody (kazuya excluded) passive that gives a chance at ignoring/midigating knockback from 0% to 30% similar to bowser's tough guy but for getting attacked while in the air. That way it would give a bit more of a fair chance for the heavy character to dodge/fight back/not get edgeguarded just as the fight begins. And since they're heavyweights they are definitely still combo material by the time the passive is deactivated. It gives both players incentive to play carefully, (if not carefully then to make quick use of the passive) while giving both a good chance at eachother when the fight begins. Win win.

  • @InciniumVGC
    @InciniumVGC 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    You got one thing wrong. In Pokemon the speed stat is also very important and slower Pokemon don't necessarily get the same number of attacks for the reason that if you are KOd first you don't get an attack.

  • @Super-qr7wm
    @Super-qr7wm 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    King dedede has a surprisingly good recovery that no one talks about if you dont get launched off the screen is doesnt matter where you are you can recover as long as you dont activate up b too early. Its only issue is that it can kill you cause of how big its end lag is.

  • @PineapplePineapplePineapplePin
    @PineapplePineapplePineapplePin 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Man, remember when people said K. Rool was busted? Good times...

    • @matteoschiro7710
      @matteoschiro7710 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      Tbf heavies always get worse as the game gets more optimized.

    • @orangeslash1667
      @orangeslash1667 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@matteoschiro7710 With the exception of Ike and Banjo. The heavy Weights that people have a problem with are villains/bosses.
      The fact that punishing is the ONLY thing they can do, is very fitting🤔 to what they are.
      They feel less like fighters and more like playable boss fights. Where their attacks are very powerful, but also very committal. When their attacks miss, they leave themselves wide open to attack.
      Even Dk counts as a boss fight thanks to DK 94 on the gameboy.
      Kazuya is the one exception to the rule, cause while he is a villain he wasn't a boss fight till Tekken 7.

  • @supportmain8509
    @supportmain8509 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You shoud make a 4th Challenge about Pokemon at this point. I love would to see it, you could do like “why did x Pokemon Fall off in the competitve scene”

  • @Miami2514
    @Miami2514 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I have a random idea for heavy weights in that they can heal a little bit of there health with shield plus B. Like dk can eat a banana or bowser a chunk of meat. Its like Pokémon where the better defensive Pokémon that exist have fast and reliable recovery to allow them to stay in the battle longer to annoy the opponent. But I don’t know how to balance this. Maybe heal like more percent the longer you hold it down but limit how many times you can do it per stock idk it seems like a cool and feel like it will fit in smash ultimate.

  • @UmbraStarWolf
    @UmbraStarWolf 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Nobody plays Wolf at top level anymore except of Jackal Charlie and Ouch
    Mid level maybe but not high or top level

  • @danielferrieri7434
    @danielferrieri7434 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +35

    The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

    • @theenderkirby939
      @theenderkirby939 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      No doubt

    • @judithforever9494
      @judithforever9494 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@theenderkirby939 unless ur ridley

    • @SkullTheLegless
      @SkullTheLegless 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The difference between casual and competitive is that casual players don’t know enough to move out of the way

  • @mistergidster259
    @mistergidster259 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Can you make a video on the links? They are pretty interesting to me.

  • @FL-uj7cs
    @FL-uj7cs 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I feel it's not as complicated as it sounds. Give them a bit of constant armor, making it so that even when they're just standing there, weaker moves from fast characters do not stagger them, or barely stagger them giving them a better chance to break out of a combo. To compensate, their damage output and the amount of superarmor they have on some moves (which are just ridiculous) could be nerfed. This would make them much more defensive, allow them to approach and make it riskier for faster characters to do so, and reduce the likelihood of scenarios where a heavy invalidates a light character as soon as it gets in one or two hits. Separately, heavies need better recoveries across the board.

  • @wanderlustwarrior
    @wanderlustwarrior 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I had to pause at around the 5:00 mark. Speed actually *is* possibly the most important stat in Pokemon, as it decides the order of who moves on each turn. If you have a higher speed and can take out the opposition or cause them to lose a turn, they never get it back, and you do get the turn advantage. False Swipe Gaming literally put out a video last week called "Why Speed... Might be Everything", continuing their series on stats, where the previous entries were on why having high stats elsewhere is not necessarily an important thing.

    • @wanderlustwarrior
      @wanderlustwarrior 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Even in the example given, according to a damage calculator, an offensive Pheromosa has a 62.5% chance to one hit kill certain defensive Steelix variants before they even move. (Assuming they both start the battle. The Pheromosa probably wouldn't be in for a matchup against a Steelix anyway.)

  • @h2oGiovanni
    @h2oGiovanni 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Damn great video

  • @Sickmmaner
    @Sickmmaner 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Would you consider Fishbunjin from Slap City a well-designed heavyweight? He is a big melee fighter, a bit like DK. His combo moves like his up tilt and neutral air are big and send to the side. He has a frame 2 shine that has very low knockback, sending opponents slightly away from him. His side special makes him run forward very fast, but it doesn't have a hitbox until you press attack again; there will be a strong hitbox that sends opponents upward. Both of these specials can be jump cancelled and turned around, which let him custom combo with his other moves very well.
    Despite being a heavyweight, Fish has some of the fastest, most technical movement in the game. He even has a great recovery, and a projectile that spikes opponents, changing speed the more he charges it. Having a big hurtbox and a heavy weight doesn't mean he can't have fair and balanced bursts of speed.

  • @luminach
    @luminach 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Heavyweights should have notably higher DI and SDI influence to compensate for how comboable they are. It would make sense since they have the body weight to "shrug" off impact more. It also adds a element of skill for both players. Attackers trying to combo would have to focus more on reading DI to continue their combo or advantage state, and super heavyweights would have a active role in compensating for their biggest weakness by mixing up their DI to escape combos.
    Since managing DI is a advanced concept it'll have less of an effect at the casual level, and only become more significant as players get more experienced.

  • @eyeris4050
    @eyeris4050 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    check out rivals of aether, every single character has a top 50 rep iirc and that includes the heavy weights.
    they have decent mobility hit like trucks and also have good combo games and have good recoveries. they're annoying but they aren't broken because by nature of roa's combo system, they get combo'd to hell and back by everyone in the cast, keeping them in check.
    they all have zoning tools which are powerful but also carry risk to use because of how they can be used against them as well, ensuring that everything they do is powerful but the counterplay is there and it is realistic to pull off unlike kazuya is in smash

  • @mega17
    @mega17 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I hope they give heavies better recovery and maybe even more weight to just emphasis survivability even more. It should feel like fighting a raid boss.

    • @mega17
      @mega17 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The notion that it is not fair to lose to a single combo of a heavy is more parallel to being outspend and whittled down by a fast character than I think you care to admit. I think there is a happy middle ground where the heavies are stronger than they already are, not oppressively so, but enough that ***relatively*** match ups come down to popularity and player preference. I think the idea that it would become frustrating is just a reactive emotional dislike of a shift from the historic norm. Watching for an opening to make that KO combo takes skill too, it isn't just a gamble. It's skill and equally valid.

    • @orangeslash1667
      @orangeslash1667 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@mega17 With the exception of Ike and Banjo. The heavy Weights that people have a problem with are villains/bosses.
      The fact that punishing is the ONLY thing they can do, is very fitting🤔 to what they are.
      They feel less like fighters and more like playable boss fights. Where their attacks are very powerful, but also very committal. When their attacks miss, they leave themselves wide open to attack.
      Even Dk counts as a boss fight thanks to DK 94 on the gameboy.
      Kazuya is the one exception to the rule, cause while he is a villain he wasn't a boss fight till Tekken 7.

  • @DrunkPanda239
    @DrunkPanda239 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I’d actually love a heavy that has
    -Good mobility and frame data/combos
    -good recovery and anti zoning and walling(maybe a taunt mechanic) and maybe anti construct to counter Steve also.
    - Rewards successful defensive interactions (a meter that fills up when you successfully parry,dodge,shield a hit and by double tapping it deplets but your next move/special come out arsen-ish)
    His major flaw is he lacks “heavy” kill power and would have to as much work as a Mario Or Lucina or even squrtle without anything buffing him.
    He’d also wield a shield.

  • @AlhiXD
    @AlhiXD 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Well done on this--perfectly describes why Melee Ganondorf was so good at the time Wavedashing and Lcancelling and Wavelanding was catching on. This game is sumo wrestling--heavies shouldn't be pushed off stage and combo'd once and a stock taken. In my opinion Heavies need only one big attack--the rest don't need the KO power that they currently have. It's ok to build a heavy so that it doesn't kill you until it lands that big attack. Its better that they survive and can compete and fight like Lucario with no aura. Gotta watch out for that big move though.

  • @SpecialJess2
    @SpecialJess2 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    give heavy weights ds1 style poise let them take 1 medium attacks with no flinch to their attacks then a decent cooldown or reverse it after any 2 or 3 attacks hitting them they are given a free poise for 1 of their own attacks then they get a cooldown. cooldowns possibly being sped up by getting hit. If they are givven better recoveries the poise on 1 attack to get back to stage would be helpful.

  • @finalboss2879
    @finalboss2879 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    For DK, Konga is back (kinda) he's only doing locals.
    Hikaru is still active (Japan's best DK)
    But mostly he's playing solo Roy.
    Dedede rep has died out mostly but the only ones to my knowledge that are still active is D3will, Fruitloops
    Ganon there's Ray Kalm, Elf King (A honorable mention is MGK he no longer plays comp but he still provides so much knowledge and grinds the game basically at top Lv play)
    Bowser iirc we have Dark thunder but he mostly stays in Germany.
    For Krool we have Krool.34, Bruho and another krool who can't travel but has beaten top players but is region locked is Oa the Rool.
    Incin we have Greed and 1 other but can't remember his tag currently

  • @havenfractal
    @havenfractal 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I wonder if doubling down on armor could help. Boss characters like Ganon / Master Hand don't suffer hit-stun. Conversely, Fox's blaster is so weak that it doesn't _cause_ hit-stun. What if heavy-weights got some percentage of stun-resistance? Bowser could be stun resistant for his first 30%, K.Rule could have a move that makes him stun resistant for the next 10%, DK could be stun resistant for a short time for every 10% he takes... stuff like that. I haven't tested it at all, and I feel like it would incentivize faster characters to do more cat & mouse, but making them harder to stun could help them get their hits in and prevent them from getting hit by as many combos while still letting the faster character deal damage.

  • @mikelpelaez
    @mikelpelaez 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I honestly think that rivals of aether already solved the problems of heavyweights ,giving them more movement options, but more commital ones

  • @daftgit612
    @daftgit612 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Perhaps do a few trials splitting the weight class into 2 separate competitions.

  • @bl00df4lcon6
    @bl00df4lcon6 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I legit saw the thumbnail and got excited thinking I was about to vers a heavy online 😂

  • @smittywerbenjagermanjensen7027
    @smittywerbenjagermanjensen7027 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Well, thanks for joining the group of people I'm working to disprove. There will always be a chosen few that dominate the higher tiers of play with "bad characters". Yes, worse than some on paper, in common practice, and in theory. However, there will always be a place in the meta for defying the meta itself.

  • @quantum6637
    @quantum6637 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    On the weight vs size issue, being heavier is a buff as long as your size is proportional. Bowser gets combo’d more because he’s bigger, but his weight is so high he still lives much longer than Pikachu. Being bigger and heavier is a good thing for a character. Whenever you see top players talk about facing a heavy or you see commentators talk about heavy matches, they always exclaim how hard it is to kill them despite their hard they’re combo’d. As long as your not bigger than you are heavy (like Ridley for example) being a big boy is a buff.
    Being big is not what drags heavies down.

  • @DocRoc94
    @DocRoc94 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This video taught me that Atomsk and probably Rickles have retired.
    This video taught me that I wasn’t depressed before, but I am now.

  • @Calypp0
    @Calypp0 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Bro you can't upload on all 3 channels at the same time. I have no idea where to start this is too much stress

    • @DoMorrMusic
      @DoMorrMusic 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Vars I, Vars II, Vars III

  • @ChaosSolak
    @ChaosSolak 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Fear is what heavyweights need. Ike was considered a heavyweight in Brawl. He didn't really have much in terms of combos (except the jab cancel ones) but each one of his hits had oomph to it and range. That to me is that they should be designed. Not like with Donkey Kong's B-air spam. Attacks with range and lag, either at the start or at the end. In short, good range options that force speedsters to enter a "danger zone" in order to apply their own pressure.
    That is what is done though, so what should be changed? Mobility options. Ike with Side B cancel gave him ways to quickly follow-up the opponent and add up the pressure, even if his speed is far from the best. That's what makes Bowser rank higher than most other heavyweights in Ultimate: his ground speed. By comparison, Ganondorf has down B which is extremely laggy and doesn't allow for follow-ups... except when that puts him off-stage, which is where you'll see it used. If Ganondorf had the ability to jump cancel out of his down B in neutral, he'd instantly become far more menacing as it would extend his "danger zone". As of right now, Ganondorf can be approached fairly safely and can be camped like crazy.
    And of course, not nerfing their recovery options would also be pretty great. Incineroar can act out of his side B, allowing him to vary his recovery and be more viable. So can Ridley in fact. Yet Ganondorf is sent into freefall... why? As we've found out, it's the variety of recovery options that actually makes a character good at recovering. Same with Donkey Kong. Some characters have projectiles instead of recovery options to secure a path.
    Lastly... not having 0-to-death combos in this game, or combos that become 50/50 on whether you die or not. Putting so much hitstun in this game was a mistake. Ultimate Salt is Real showcases just how dumb this can get. And when your heavyweight has to content with such combos... they stop being viable. A speedster will be able to secure a kill by winning ONE interaction, starting a combo at 30% while the heavyweight will have to win SEVERAL interactions to achieve the same result. That plays a big part in why they're not viable.
    I could go on. It's almost like you could make a video on that or something!

  • @user-vu7ju3cj3k
    @user-vu7ju3cj3k 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    superheavies are literally the most fun character to play as.

  • @gameboyn64
    @gameboyn64 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You know if you combine attributes from all the heavy weights you would have a top tier. Dk ground and air mobility, charizard jab, dk tilts, ganon dash attack, k rool down smash, ganon f smash, charizard up smash, incineroar down and side special, charizard up special, bowser neutral special, ganon up neutral and down air, dk back air, bowser foward air, incineroar grab, incineroar down and back throw, charizard up throw, and dk foward throw.

  • @wutzerapple3
    @wutzerapple3 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Going off the Pokémon speed analogy, in the original Pokémon games speed effected crit rate, and that single handily made tauros the best (excluding mewtwo who was banned for being a legendary but was good for the same reason)

  • @i_am_kenokeno
    @i_am_kenokeno 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    13:20
    May I introduce you to Rival's of Aether? The heavyweights there suffer the same consequences that they do in smash but each one of them has a unique gimmick that helps them out considerably, but they have to work for the gimmick and it creates an interesting back and forth gameplay loop that is hardly ever seen in Platform Fighters, even then though, with these strong gimmicks they aren't overpowered and make up the entire competitive scene, and are on nearly the same playing field as any other fighter in that game
    If you were to put these fighters in Smash Ultimate they'd be exceptionally broken, but in Rivals, they fit perfectly and are extremely viable but still be decently balanced!
    Theres a great video about this by someone named "Htwo" called "The Heavy Problem in Platform Fighters"

  • @biguzivertt
    @biguzivertt 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    the pokémon analogy doesn’t work too well since slow tanks can be killed in one hit aswell or can be flinched,paralyzed etc. aka speed is king unless you’re too tanky to be taken out instantly

  • @brandtmichael3868
    @brandtmichael3868 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Speed is actually the most important stat in Pokemon too lol