Strikers 101: Character Styles

Alrighty then...since my most popular entry so far has been my Strikers Online write-up, it's time for another!



Now, most of my experience has been online, the single-player is ok, but competing against real (albeit distanced) players is a lot more satisfying (and frustrating...)



I'll start with a quick summary of character types and basic elements therein:



Balanced (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Koopa, Shy Guy)



The Stikers characters are rated in four categories: Movement (Speed), Passing, Shooting, and Defense. Balanced characters are naturally average in all 4. They're solid, vanilla additions to your team that have no glaring weaknesses but no outstanding strengths either.



Balanced captains aren't too bad because your captains are naturally stronger at everything than equally weighted sidekicks. In other words, Mario is a lot more likely to knock in a one-timer than Shy Guy even though they have the same Shooting rating. For this reason, it's pretty safe to pick a balanced captain to anchor your team.



For that same reason, balanced sidekicks are a waste. It's better to vary your sidekicks specialization and even out your team that way than use balanced sidekicks. Generally speaking, Koopa and Shy Guy are weak in all areas since they specialize in none. While they have pretty decent skill shots, overall they're lacking and can be taken advantage of both offensively (zooming past with a good movement character) and defensively (not as big a threat to score).



Power (DK, Bowser, Petey Pirahna, Birdo, Monty Mole)



The big guys. Power characters have stronger than average Shooting and Defense, while slacking in Movement and Passing.



Power captains are one-timer machines. It's a near guarantee if you can get a good pass flow going with one of these guys on the shooting end of it, from nearly anywhere inside the midline, a charged one-timer from a Power captain is a 90% chance to score.



The counter? They're slow, so hitting them in the midst of your opponent's passing offense can frustrate your opponent into trying a different strategy. Quick characters are their demise.



Power sidekicks are rather useful as well. Since they have good defense as well as shooting, they're not a liability if you get stuck chasing down an opponent's character since their tackles can get them across the map a lot faster than simply running, not to mention send your opponents flying into the electric wall.



What Power characters lack in finesse, they make up for in scoring ability and defensive presence, I've started using at least 1 in all my setups (more on this later).



Offensive (Wario, Bowser Jr., Hammer Bro)



Offensive characters excel in Shooting and Passing but fall behind in Movement and Defense. Their only purpose is to score and score they do.



Just like their Power counterparts, Offensive captains are lethal one-timer shooters. Taking it one step further, due to their above-average passing, they help set themselves up for charged one-timers a lot more quickly than other captains. This is important when dealing with a skilled defender that will do his or her best to tackle your characters mid-pass as a better passer will keep the ball moving quickly and minimize the chance of a counter.



Offensive characters are huge defensive liabilities however (who woulda guessed?) as they are extremely slow and have the tackling range of a 90-year old grandmother. In other words, don't get caught chasing down the ball with one of these guys, try to leave them on your opponent's side of the field.



The lone offensive sidekick, Hammer Bros, deserves his own article, but I'll leave you with this: He's the most potent scoring threat of all the sidekicks due to his amazing skill shot and deke move. Despite his pitiful speed and tackling ability, give him an inch of freedom and he'll score every time. Don't say I didn't warn you.



Playmaker (Peach, Diddy Kong, Boo, Toad)



Playmaker characters are fast, accurate, but weak. Strong Passing and Movement keep the game moving at a fluid pace, but you'll want someone else taking the shots, both offensively and defensively.



Playmaker captains are a bit underpowered due to their weak shooting and defense. Having your captain in a support role is somewhat counterproductive to most teams, as you want to take advantage of a captain's stronger abilities with either strong shooting or defense, and playmakers suck at both.



Toad and Boo, however, are solid sidekicks that can set up your offense very quickly and keep the ball moving between your characters to set up a one-timer. What they lack in raw power, they make up for in fluid movement and precise passing, not to mention sneaky dekes that can take them right over (or through) your opponent's goalie. You don't want to use either character to take the final shot, but having one to set it up can be extremely valuable.



Defensive (Waluigi, Daisy, Dry Bones)



The last character style is Defensive, with strong Movement and Defense but poor Passing and Shooting. These characters are all about controlling the game in your favor, keeping your opponent from getting clean shots, and basically being a nuisance whenever they're on their feet.



Defensive captains are extremely potent on both sides of the ball; they can cover ground faster than anyone else between their raw speed and long-range tackling. They also have solid specials that supplement their defensive approach (Waluigi builds a wall that trails him as he sprints around the field and Daisy shoots up a circle of spikes that briefly KO anyone around her).



Dry Bones is the only defensive sidekick and as such is the most popular sidekick I've seen while playing online. He is extremely quick and is the best tackling/sliding sidekick available. His skill shot isn't too bad either, so don't think you're making too big an offensive sacrifice to add him to your team. I almost always use 2, if not 3 when setting up my roster.



Combos



I'm only going to go over a few as trying to cover every possible lineup would take me at least 37 hours...ish... So here are my favorites:



Waluigi, Dry Bones x3



Pure defensive style. I can only imagine the frustration my opponents have had as I sprint across the field tackling every character and creating dozens of scoring opportunities for myself. The only problem with this is if I'm off my game just a little and fall behind, I have a hard time staging a comeback without a strong offensive presence.



The best strategy with this team is to use your sliding more than tackling to get steals and set up open shots. With Dry Bones' skill shot temporarily paralyzing the goalie and offering a put-back opportunity, an open shot is a near-guaranteed goal, only stymied by a quick-reacting opponent tackling your shooter before the rebound gets back to him.



This was my original setup online and while it's extremely satisfying to shut out opponents constantly, it's also risky to play 1-0, 2-1 games all the time as sometimes even the best defense can be cracked by a lucky one-timer.



Waluigi, Birdo, Dry Bones x2



The solution to the previous paragraph? Adding a scoring threat without sacrificing defense. Birdo is an extremely strong shooter with a guaranteed-goal skill shot if there's no one between her and the goalie. Not to mention she can finish off a passing attack with a powerful one-timer that goes in more often than not.



This setup has a lot of potential to be just as annoying defensively as the previous group, while gaining the ability to score in bunches.



The problem I found with this group was an overreliance on Birdo for shots and thus allowing my opponent to easily counter by attacking Birdo relentlessly anytime I controlled the ball. Not to mention Birdo is reeeally slow and can't cover ground well if the opponent has a fast passing offense.



DK, Dry Bones x3



This is my new favorite team. It's the same basic setup as the last, 3 defensive, 1 power, but this time the power is my captain. DK's special is also a lot more devastating than Waluigi's, and he can take shots from anywhere with a high rate of success (unlike Waluigi). Since DK is a captain, he's also a slight bit faster than Birdo, and also has the most powerful tackle in the game.

The three Dry Bones sidekicks cover me defensively, and I also get more opportunities to score with them with so much attention on DK. Not to mention when I set up a passing attack and DK gets clobbered, Dry Bones can make excellent use of items to get quick scores after forced turnovers.



I went on a big-time winning streak last night after switching to this setup, getting up into the top 20 (gg new season that started a few hours before) and I think I'll stick with it for a while. Eventually I'll run into a counter, but for the most part, DK gives me a quality scorer that I get ample opportunities to use thanks to my Dry Bones amazing defense.



If you want to take me on, my Striker's Friend Code is 180 495 953 697. You can send me a message through gameriot, my Wii (5425 6393 6126 1466), or leave a comment with your Friend code. I can also be found in #gameriot on irc.gamesurge.net.