I think everyone on these forums have seen the numerous character complaints. People are saying that X character is “braindead” or “cheap” or “good at everything.” That the character takes much less effort to play than my character. That the character can win any match by spamming one supposedly amazing tactic.
The natural response to these comments is “git gud” or “practice.” Here’s my response:
Have you ever tried playing that character you hate?
No, I’m serious.
I’m not even suggesting you main or even pocket the character. Just take the character online for maybe 3 days and see how he/she feels, what is strong about him/her, what is working, what isn’t working. Then after you feel like you understand the character at a basic level, go ahead and drop him/her.
Now why would you waste 3 days of playing the game practicing a character that you despise? Wouldn’t you rather keep training your character that you are specializing in? You’ll probably learn more by doing that, right?
Wrong.
Me personally, I feel that the character knowledge you can gain from playing a character is very valuable. You will likely find that the character has gaps in their offense. That one tactic they have isn’t as strong as you originally thought. That the character gets pressured easily. That there is a counter pick for the character you never knew about. So many things you could learn to help you fight against the character can be learned in a very short amount of time.
Maybe you’ll actually find the character extremely enjoyable to play, but that’s just a potential bonus.
Just a personal note here. Like many other forum members here, I have seen so many knee jerk, uneducated complaints about characters. I’m not going to give specific examples for the sake of not offending anyone or challenging their opinions. But 90% of the time when I read them I think, “If you ever actually played the character, you wouldn’t be making this complaint. Heck, you might end up saying the opposite.”
I just hope people who read this try out my strategy. I’m just trying to give helpful advice, and I don’t think I’m asking for much.