Balance?

[the_judge]

In the earlier years of the competitive fighting game community, games which were balanced in terms of tournament-viable characters were somewhat scarce. However, due to a few fighting games in recent years, many players have asked for balanced character casts. Some of the demands for balance may be reasonable, other may not.

Namco is known for releasing a balance update for their Tekken series after the intitial title is released. Namco pays attention to the demands of the community, and watches closely for what characters may have distinct advantages over other characters. In response, Namco will either tone-down, alter, or completely remove whatever techniques the character possessed which were deemed too powerful or unfair.

Another example being the Street Fighter 4 series. The initial release of Street Fighter 4 introduced an entirely new game, which of course could not come without any potential balance issues. Some issues included the tools which were universal to all characters being very poor to some, many characters doing much more damage and stun for significantly less effort, and unfair and definitive advantages in terms of matchups. Capcom then releases Super Street Fighter 4 which added 10 more characters, and balanced the cast greatly. By the end of its lifetime, Super Street Fighter 4 was considered a very balanced game. Capcom then releases Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition, which contrasts Capcom's efforts in balance in the previous release. Some characters received unnecessary or excessive buffs, 2 new characters who possess incredibly strong tools were added, and some characters who needed small buffs to be stronger were either ignored or received buffs which did not benefit the character strongly in terms of matchups and competitive play. Due to such, many players have cried to Capcom for nerfs in a patch or update, as these players feel such strengths these characters possess are difficult to overcome. Capcom, being a company which directly listens to its fanbase, will most likely do something to address the balance issues of Arcade Edition.

However, with Namco and Capcom taking some effort in keeping the game enjoyable to the player of any character, the same players who are used to such treatment are not offered such hospitality in other fighting games. One example being The King of Fighters series.
In the latest installment, King of Fighters XIII, the game for the most part boasts a relatively balanced and reasonable cast of characters, until 2 particular characters are put into the equation. One of them boasts a powerful, invincible, and very fast attack which possesses an excessively high damage output, and is capable of putting any match into his favor instantly, along with strong attacks right off. The second possesses tools which hold a heavy presence in both the ground and the air, and generally has few to no apparent weaknesses. Characters as strong as those two in a fighting game are often dismissed under one of two titles: broken or overpowered.

Because the technology is readily available, many players will cry out for nerfs to the strongest characters in the game, and buffs for whatever characters said player plays. Such demands are merely ignorant cries from a player who: 1.) Does not understand the game at a technical level, and 2.) Does not wish to understand the game at a technical level. When a player demands a nerf or a buff to existing characters, the player displays a lack of knowledge of the characters' strengths and weaknesses, and instead of putting in the effort to determine a counter to such strengths, will dismiss any and all matchups, as the player honestly believes there is no apparent counter strategy. Due to such ethics, the players who complain about nerfs to top tier characters are generally the weaker players, or those who have a very difficult time winning against an opponent who has a level of understanding of the overall game mechanics. In many fighting games, top name players are less-likely to complain about an overly-apparent strength of a character, and will instead work towards determining a weakness or counter to those very strengths. The very mindset of the top player is to understand the game at some of its deepest levels, and at such levels, one must understand his opponents' choice in characters and playstyles, regardless of tier lists.
When it comes to demands for character buffs, there must be a level of respect and compromise. Once again, the weaker player will demand "Over-the-top" buffs, or changes which are heavily unwarranted, so the player can obtain wins easier. Instead, one should be respecting both the strengths and weaknesses of a character, and understand how one characters attributes compares to another's. Once a strong understanding of a character and the game's mechanics arises, one would learn how to maximize the use of the character's strengths, and minimize any weaknesses from being exploited. Only then can desired wins be found in any character, regardless of tier list placement.

In high level play, there is no meaning as to whether a fighting game is balanced or not. The thoughts of a balanced fighting game are merely myths created by weaker players. The general consensus of a balanced fighting game is where every character is viable in a competitive environment. Such ideas are passive, and are contradicted when the idea of character specific matchups are involved. With the laws of matchups, it all depends on how one character's attributes compare and contrast to another's, and because of such, it is very possible for a lower tier character to beat a higher tier character. A character which is placed in high tiers is placed there because said character is very strong against the bulk of the cast, while being governed by in-game mechanics. However, no character is void of any counterpicks, or direct counters which may come in the form of any character or playstyle. So, theoretically, a competitive player may or may not obtain more wins by picking a character whose strengths are more apparent at shallow levels of gameplay, than a character whose strengths become more apparent in deeper levels of gameplay. Such a theory is why some characters possess an "Un-tapped Potential" which can only be found in the deeper and wiser levels of gameplay and understanding.

Essentially, play the characters you choose. Understand their strengths and weaknesses well, and capitalize them when it comes to matchups. The sky will never rain skill and wins down on you. You must work for them yourself. Stop looking at tier lists as definitive titles, and view them as a list of characters who will produce more wins in the lower levels of player, rather than top levels, where the lists are somewhat null and void.

Note: This is generalized as hell, so cut me some slack.

[Dark Geese]

I agree with what you say, though for example 98UM is coming out with Final Edition, I could care less about it nor do I care about any of the games coming out necessarily because I feel like since I am not G.O.D. Incarnate and can defeat any and all life forms without barely working up a sweat, I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN IN THE OLDER GAMES.

If people took this attitude I took, we'd have much stronger players, better fundamentals, and easier transitions into the newer games instead of having Joe Blow from Scrubville, USA (Another generalization) pick up KOF13 not knowing how to Hyperhop, and picks Ash and starts playing him like  a feminized version of Guile lol..

[desmond_kof]

If people took this attitude I took, we'd have much stronger players, better fundamentals, and easier transitions into the newer games instead of having Joe Blow from Scrubville, USA (Another generalization) pick up KOF13 not knowing how to Hyperhop, and picks Ash and starts playing him like  a feminized version of Guile lol..

Yeah, see that's a reason why I'm always encouraging people to play KOF on GGPO/Supercade etc. for they can pick up some fundamentals and basics to learn the game.

[Dark Geese]

If people took this attitude I took, we'd have much stronger players, better fundamentals, and easier transitions into the newer games instead of having Joe Blow from Scrubville, USA (Another generalization) pick up KOF13 not knowing how to Hyperhop, and picks Ash and starts playing him like  a feminized version of Guile lol..

Yeah, see that's a reason why I'm always encouraging people to play KOF on GGPO/Supercade etc. for they can pick up some fundamentals and basics to learn the game.

I agree with that too...take advantage of whatever you can is what I tell people...

[thec0re3]

For what my understanding has been in competitive play, and this has been an argument also, is that a stronger player is going to pick the strongest character because its a "no brainer" as one pro competitor explained. For instance with KOFXIII, we know for a fact that raidens character has some of the highest damage in the game. Now I can A) pick the character I want to play with, learn every detail of him and that will possibly get me into the high rank as a competitive player but its probably going to take a long time to learn the science of that character or B) I can pick the top tier that does not require as much intricate knowledge and won't require as much time to master when it comes to competing with other players.

So, I think the issue is time vs the competitive nature of the individual. I personally am not at a level that I can really say I don't think this character can compete in a high level top tier situation so its not hard to disagree with the idea of creating balances. The biggest thing I wonder is if there may just be a learning curve for each character making some a lot harder to learn the others.

[Dark Geese]

For what my understanding has been in competitive play, and this has been an argument also, is that a stronger player is going to pick the strongest character because its a "no brainer" as one pro competitor explained. For instance with KOFXIII, we know for a fact that raidens character has some of the highest damage in the game. Now I can A) pick the character I want to play with, learn every detail of him and that will possibly get me into the high rank as a competitive player but its probably going to take a long time to learn the science of that character or B) I can pick the top tier that does not require as much intricate knowledge and won't require as much time to master when it comes to competing with other players.

So, I think the issue is time vs the competitive nature of the individual. I personally am not at a level that I can really say I don't think this character can compete in a high level top tier situation so its not hard to disagree with the idea of creating balances. The biggest thing I wonder is if there may just be a learning curve for each character making some a lot harder to learn the others.

I'd go further to say competitive nature of the individual/country!

Sometimes it's just a cultural thing, be it if people like to take shortcuts and not learn the game just learn the "Tiers", or if they just live in a bubble, have tunnel vision and only just X-Copy one particular region because "Well hey if they do it it must work."

With that attitude people fail to realize 90% of the time, if you are copying someone you will never be better than that person. Top players are only guides, it is YOU that must find your own path DANIEL-SAN....

In addition to this, as others have noted, failure to learn the game will only yield short term benefits, in the long haul you are only blinding yourself to international competition. But for some people dabbling in that fashion works for them, gives them a sense of confidence (which turns out to be a FALSE SENSE OF CONFIDENCE UPON PLAYING INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION), and maybe if they just wanna win local tournaments or something or rank high hey it works for them, or just play with people for fun hey it works for them!

But if they want to be the best, by no means is this strategy going to work, you may be the best in your country, but upon facing another country or multiple countries, your lack of application to learning the game not the tiers will be exposed for all to witness and you will only have yourself to blame..

[PurpGuy]

Another example being the Street Fighter 4 series. The initial release of Street Fighter 4 introduced an entirely new game, which of course could not come without any potential balance issues. Some issues included the tools which were universal to all characters being very poor to some, many characters doing much more damage and stun for significantly less effort, and unfair and definitive advantages in terms of matchups. Capcom then releases Super Street Fighter 4 which added 10 more characters, and balanced the cast greatly. By the end of its lifetime, Super Street Fighter 4 was considered a very balanced game. Capcom then releases Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition, which contrasts Capcom's efforts in balance in the previous release. Some characters received unnecessary or excessive buffs, 2 new characters who possess incredibly strong tools were added, and some characters who needed small buffs to be stronger were either ignored or received buffs which did not benefit the character strongly in terms of matchups and competitive play. Due to such, many players have cried to Capcom for nerfs in a patch or update, as these players feel such strengths these characters possess are difficult to overcome. Capcom, being a company which directly listens to its fanbase, will most likely do something to address the balance issues of Arcade Edition.

Like release Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition: Console Edition at full retail

lol potshot aside, I agree with your post actually.  I couldn't care less for tier lists, I play the characters I want to play, learn everything I can about them, study their moves and come up with possible tricks/traps/strategies, and just have fun.  And playing a lesser played character, sometimes people won't know how to deal with them effectively since they're not used to playing against that character as much.