How many characters to use?

OK guys, I'm pretty much new to VF5 (360 version) and I've been toying around with most of the characters and found that I like at least half of them. How many characters to use at once is recommended for someone that wants to become excellent with characters? I see a lot of talk about a "Main and Sub" character, so I'll assume that means people normally concentrate on 2 characters, but I find that I enjoy almost half of them and still have some to try out.

What would be a good way to try out some characters? The Dojo Mode kind of sucks compared to VF4:Evo.

 

It is all about you and your preferences. I have 4 main characters personally even though I like playing all the characters almost equally. I do know this, If you want to truly excel in the game and dominate online you have have to pick a small number of people to specialize in no more than 3 or 4 but the preferred number I would say is 2. This can also be used in every other game as well from SF to MK as well. What character you play is up to you and everything I say just my recommendations.

 

I'm kinda having the same problem myself really lol. I mostly try to limit myself to 3 characters but sometimes I just have urges to try others out. Lately I decided that my maximum would be 5 characters. That goes for any fighting game. Is that a good amount?

 

Have fun with the game. I play as all the characters in equal amounts and am very good with them all. I admit that I would never win any professional tournaments, but I have found that I can certainly keep up with almost any player using any character.

I find the game immeasurably more fun than I would if I stuck to 3 or 4 characters - it adds variety to no end, plus I can perform every single thing available in the game. I would never stick to only Lau for example because for a start I wouldn't even know how low throws or reversals even work and this would be missing out on much of the game.

Another advantage to playing as every character is that you know what is available to your opponents no matter who they use.

Of course this all depends on how good your memory is. If you have trouble remembering moves and tactics for your couple of characters then I don't suggest trying to master them all. I personally have devised a special way of memorizing moves lists (for all fighting games, not just VF) which makes it far easier to have every character's moves readily available in my mind. I'm not sharing what it is though - it's a secret! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

I usually say you should choose one character, and focus on just learning that one. Unlike some other fighting games, VF is balanced enough that there's no concept of counter matches based on character choice. That being true, it also means each character has a huge amount of depth, learning all the ins and outs of just a single character, and how to win in every matchup can take a huge amount of effort. And for a new player, not having to worry about the differences between characters when trying to learn the basics of the system can be a benefit.

All that said, I've personally gone to the trouble of learning 3 characters myself, because it's fun, like many other people have said. But in a tournament setting, or any other situation where I'm actually trying to win, and not just have fun playing, there's only 1 character I use.

Also remember that as you gain a deeper understanding of the game, your character preference may change. So, even if you take my advice and try to stick with a single character, it's always valuable to check out the others at least once in a while.

 

Yes playing as 3 is more fun than playing as 1, but playing as 17's better still /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif. Plus I don't stick to the character I am best with even if I feel the need to win, I tend to choose the character I have gone longest without choosing, even if I am playing an expert who I want to try and beat. I find it more fun that way - keeps you on your toes and out of the safety net of your favourite character/combos/tactics.

 

I'm fairly new to VF as well, but as Sorias stated.. definitely pick one you like the most and try sticking with it.

Eventually you'll probably try another character and establish that as your secondary. Once you learn that character you will find that fighting against that character is now easier because you understand how they work, you learn some frame data, and what setups to look out for.

Down the road you'll play more characters and gain a deeper understanding of how they work, increasing your game knowledge and also improving the effectiveness with your main character.

 

From my experience I have an Akira with whom I'm quite good against AI and a Pai that, somehow, scores much better against humans. It must be all those low attacks...