Yo gaf, I would like to hear your opinions on this matter. Try to be as unbiased as possible (that means sf fanboyism, losing to scrub western, etc). Do you think umvc3 is balanced (tac infinitesimal aside for now) or at least is it balanced as far as characters variety goes. Also, would you call umvc3 a random game?
Opinions please. Curious to see what you guys think.
I think UMVC3 is balanced enough to the point where there are definitely strong, top tier characters vs weaker, low tier characters but most strong characters have counter picks or counter strategies. The team mechanic makes it so that one character is almost never that strong, it's always a team that has to be strong and even teams can be picked apart. Character viability goes all the way down to at least the 40th ranked character with most characters being a legit threat in a proper team. A lot of tech is still undiscovered in the game especially from the lesser used characters, just because someone like X-23 isn't used a lot doesn't mean she isn't a major threat in the game. X factor is the main reason why every character is pretty much going to be a threat in the hands of an expert. UMVC3 has more top characters than most FGs have the number of viable characters. Lots of strategies to employ and worry about when it comes to approaching the meta game.
There are definitely gaps in balance that should be rectified. For example, the match up between someone like Zero and Iron Fist is laughable, it should never be that bad where a top Iron Fist piloted by Justin Wong shouldn't lose to a mediocre Zero player just because one character is so ill equipped to handle the match up. Match ups like these aren't that common in UMVC3 and most are rectified by having an assist (like if Iron Fist had Dante or Strider then it's a much closer match up but normally Zero is also the one backed up by these 2). The match ups among the top and high/mid characters are fairly equivalent so it's not that big of an issue.
Some mechanics hold the game back IMO and that is the TAC (not even going to touch the infinites). TAC in its current form is too broken in the sense that it's too much reward for almost little risk. It gives you a 33/33/33 reset option and with the infinite the reset turns into a character kill with extreme meter gain. The TACs are also nearly impossible to react to meaning they account for a good deal to the "random" element in the game. The game would be much better without it IMO.
Aside from that, 2 other hypers that randomly cross up plus Hsien Ko/P Wright item/evidence mechanics, there aren't random elements in Marvel at all and those who claim Marvel is random can't deal with it's high pace or can't deal with that fact that the game at it's core is a very punishing game for all players involved. You can't afford to make mistakes in the game like you can in other games. If you play perfect, then you will never lose and that's a skill level that players feel they can attain and thus be unstoppable. Hence why statistically Marvel has some of the most consistent results out there and the top 8 ranked players almost always place in that position when they enter a tournament. The gap between a top player and an intermediate player is becoming more and more apparent practically with each passing day.
The extreme punishment for mistakes is the reason why Marvel should be 3/5 in addition to it's high damage ratio combined with oppressive mix ups and set ups. A match of Marvel is more equivalent to one round of SF4 in terms of number of reads and player interactivity involved between 2 players. 3 characters are more equal to one life bar of SF4 only when you lose a character in Marvel you aren't just losing 1/3rd health you are losing valuable team tools and thus X factor exists. Without X factor the game would be a rush to the first touch and after that the momentum is completely in one player's favor.
Of course this is my opinion on the game without the infinites being put into play (they will be patched according to Nitsuma as they are working on a fix). Infinites have a major long term effect on the game's meta that is going to be very detrimental but the good thing about it is that it might jump start the game's evolution.
I'm not necessarily sure how to communicate the argument I was trying to make but I would like to think they don't necessarily relate. Someone was trying to argue that umvc3 isn't balanced because random shit happens a lot and used a wolverine dive kick as an example because a friend of mine got hit by one. My counter was that the player is random and that isn't the fault of the game. Without getting into too much detail, it came down to marvel being "low risk, high reward. Lazy in a mind games aspect with barely existing footsies" as compared to other fighting games.
Basically speaking, you are right and your friend is wrong. Getting hit by Dive kick is the fault of the player not the fault of the game.
People who don't think Marvel has footsies or mind games don't understand Marvel. The entire game is about spacing but only it uses the entire screen for spacing from the floor to the ceiling and wall to wall. That's why you see players constantly doing air dashes, flying and unflying and shooting projectiles at particular spaces because that's what you gotta do to avoid getting hit and maintain neutral game dominance. Otherwise you are just fresh meat for the killers.
