Well I recently got into Third Strike, like maybe a week and a half / two weeks ago, and I’m still learning the game and all that. I’ve been sticking to one character (Elena) but would it be better to try and learn a second character? Or should I stick to just one character for the time being until I really have them down?
3s is not really a counter pick game. You don’t see stuff like a low tier randomly having a really good matchup vs a top tier character. If you were looking to cover your bad matchups, logically you’d just have Chun as a secondary cause she doesn’t have any bad matchups. If you’re just thinking 3s will be more fun if you have a secondary, knock yourself out, but if you want to get good I’d recommend devoting all your time to one main. Also Elena is a pretty well balanced character. Afaik none of her matchups stick out as glaringly bad unless you count Chun, but pretty much everyone below the top 8 characters has that problem.
Just play someone + Ken so you can participate in Ken mirrors
stick to your main since you’re just starting out. even though switching mains is taboo in most people’s eyes, don’t be scared to switch if you want. just don’t be switching left and right or you’ll never learn a character in depth.
having alternate characters are fine once you reach a certain level. It’s fun to experience different characters and learn more about the overall game. you get to gain insight on the opponents character/other characters. Also different characters emphasize different aspects of the game more.
If you’re not competent with 1 character, then you’re cheating yourself by playing other characters. even though you’re new, I’d make an exception for alternating ken, because most people will agree ken = fundamental 3s.
3s can be frustrating sometimes but it’s a really fun game. welcome and hope you enjoy it!
= contradictio in terminis
:china:
Have Chun as your secondary character so you can counterpick the entire cast with her and only need to know how to back+HP and cr.MK to scare most people off.
Ahhh these are my favorite people to play against!
I find Elena to have bad matchups vs Makoto and Ken. She is free double SRK to Ken almost every time, and her floaty jump is easily destroyed by Makoto’s fukiage. All her specials get owned by fukiage too, and I’m pretty sure there is a double fukiage combo using ex or something like that which makes the matchup even worse. She can even get hit by fukiage when she’s standing =T
But yeah, definitely Ken is a terrible matchup for her.
As for counter picking, I think it’s more of a “are you more comfortable” kind of thing. Against Yun, I love using Ken, while against Ken I like to use Makoto, and against Makoto I use Ken (which doesn’t make sense from a typical counter picking perspective since I already feel better using Ken vs Makoto, but if someone picks Ken, I prefer to play Makoto). Pocket Chun is good to have too. Also the opposing player’s style makes a big difference in which character you should play. Sometimes I prefer Ken vs Ken rather than Makoto based on how the player uses Ken.
3s is far from a cut and dry counter picking brain dead mechanical game.
I would say explore all characters who are interesting to you, but don’t feel you should learn them all. 3s is a very hard game to get good at, and the time you spend on one character is very valuable while new to the game.
I think it depends on a couple of factors. Are you trying to get really good or do you just want to have some fun with a cool game? Do you have strong local competition or is your main competition going to have to be online?
When you’re first starting out maybe you just play one character, and bring Ken into the loop at some point. And if you have constant high quality local competition maybe that’s fine and that’s all you ever need to play.
If you live in a place without strong offline competition, I think it’s fine to gradually add a couple characters you’re interested over the course of a few years. Play the characters that interest you. When you don’t have that strong offline scene but you want to get good, learning a few characters is a decent way of bridging that gap. It’s kind of hard to learn some matchups online I think.
I’ve been playing for about two years, and I’ve found a comfortable spot playing mostly Chun and Ken with a side project of Makoto for fun. Those are the three characters I really dig in the game and I get a lot of fun out of rotating through them against my local buddies and sometimes online matches. If I lived in an area with strong local competition and my only goal was to improve I’d probably trim it down to just Chun and Ken. I think anyone here who has played my Makoto can vouch that she’s pretty bad anyway.
I really think it’s a YMMV thing depending on what you want to get out of the game and what your available options are.
One more thing to mention - I don’t think Elena is a great first character if your main competition is online. I spent my first six months playing Elena, and I’ve seen a fair amount of Elena players going through the XBL ranks. You end up playing really jungle and gimmicky. I’m not saying you should switch, but you probably want to investigate top Japanese Elena players and see how they play.
Use whoever you want but if you’re character has a bad matchup (7-3 or more) against Chun it would be wise to learn a 2nd character to deal with her.
why.
when is that ever going to matter.
in what scenario are you going to feel so pressured that you need to switch to a character you don’t know as well and aren’t as comfortable with.
third strike is so far past the point where that’s relevant imo. maybe 7-10 years ago that would be the case.
choose your character and master them.
i think everyone switches around at some point. probably very rare to find someone who has used their first chosen character for their whole time playing the game.
Just pick Hugo.
Elena is good, stay with her. Secondaries can be fun, but they’re more fun when you actually know a thing or two about the game itself.
There’s no Chun in America who will make any matchup 7-3. 
exactly.
it would probably be useful to point you in the direction of Japanese Elena players, so you can get an idea of what they’re doing.
I don’t have a lot of knowledge about top level Elena players, so maybe someone else can give you more specifics there. But that seems like an okay place to start watching.
Elena is okay but she’s basically just poke, kara throw, Parry/Punish with cr.MP into SA2. Use SA1 against the Twins to stop Dive Kick aggression. And bHK stops cr.MK. A nerfed Chun.
I remember almost two years ago I called Elena a nerfed Chun and 2-3 dudes blasted me, telling me I’m wrong. Then a few months later Renic calls Elena a nerfed Chun and now dudes agree with that.
Chun/Elena matchup is 7/3, right?
Chun/Elena is definitely another 7/3.
She’s not a dynamic character by any means, but she could teach you basics just as good as any other character.
P.S.- If you must insist on a secondary, play Ken. We’re not joking or being snarky when we’re saying “get ready for Ken mirrors”, because it’s potentially one of the coolest matchups in the game and anyone who says otherwise eats poop.
Ken mirrors are gay.
Justin and Ricky don’t count? Does Ricky lose cred for losing to NicaKO, does NicaKO gain cred, or both?