That reminds me
I’m opening discussion about what we should do for the items tournament.
Cynt, would you be so kind as to share some findings and your ranks for everyone?
The item rankings in its current form:
Rank 5 (The Pseudo-Ban Rank - these items wildly influence the game on appearance due to its overwhelming reward being too good or bringing the game to a halt, or otherwise reward considerably the player instantaneously through little or no interaction)
- Back Shield, Fairy Bottle, Gust Bellows, Heart Container, Lightning Bolt, Maxim Tomato, Special Flag, Starman, Timer
Rank 4 (The High Stakes Rank - these items aren’t necessarily busted but still incredibly tide turning for better or worse or otherwise difficult-to-impossible for an opponent to handle reliably, but not so much that it will either negate or create a kill guaranteed or otherwise bring the game to a halt until it is resolved)
- Assist Trophy, Beetle, Bob-omb, Bombchu, Bullet Bill, Cucco, Daybreak, Deku Nut, Dragoon, Galaga Ships, Gooey Bomb, Master Ball, Ore Club, Poison Mushroom, Spiny Shell, Super Mushroom, Superspicy Curry
Rank 3 (The Deep End Rank - these items may or may not have lethal abilities, or may or may not give great additional control, but most may bring about some risk or disadvantage that can be used against them pretty readily)
- Beam Sword, Blast Box, Fire Bar, Food, Golden Hammer, Hammer, Hocotate Bomb, Lip’s Stick, Metal Box, Poké Ball, Ray Gun, Rocket Belt, Smart Bomb, Smash Ball, Soccer Ball, Star Rod, Steel Diver, Team Healer
Rank 2 (The Conservative Rank - items in this rank shouldn’t really create a killing scenario on its own in any way that a smash attack wouldn’t also, nor should they control a large degree of a stage or otherwise give the player a significant advantage without some drawback)
- Barrel, Beehive, Bumper, Bunny Hood, Capsule, Chest, Crate, Drill Arm, Franklin Badge, Green Shell, Home-run Bat, Killer Eye, Motion-Sensor Bomb, Party Ball, Pitfall, POW Block, Rolling Crate, Screw Attack, Spring, Tanooki Leaf, Unira, Warp Star, X Bomb
Rank 1 (The Simple Rank - items in here are non-lethal in most cases; they should be able to disrupt an opponent and possibly set up for other actions, but unless the setup to make the item lethal is incredibly situational, that’s all they should be able to do)
- Banana Peel, Boomerang, Fire Flower, Freezie, Grass, Hothead, Mr. Saturn, Sandbag, Smoke Ball, Super Scope
Rank 0 - No Items
I’m going to assume we would want to avoid ranks 4 and 5, with the debate being among whether to include rank 3 or even rank 2 depending on how stingy we all are
I really think Super Scope should be moved to Rank 2. The move-and-charge ability makes it at least on the same level as Home Run Bat, IMO.
I think you could also make an argument for Warp Star to be Rank 3, but it’s probably fine as is.
Honestly, anything less than Rank 2 would barely be worth including items. I’d be fine with Rank 3 as well, but I can definitely understand if others weren’t.
I’m gonna start a vote just to keep this a bit focused on the ranks themselves and less on the individual items, which we can hammer out after figuring on a set rank.
Personally? I’m all for Rank 3 and below.
Counting Unsaxon, that’s two for Rank 3 as the maximum
Rank 5-2
Rank 4-3
Rank 3-4
Rank 2-1
Rank 1-0
I vote for rank 4.
Bring on the insanity.
The thing about the Homerun Bat is that it’s more likely to be used as a thrown item. It is rather terrifying there as it is pretty difficult to catch and as an off stage chuck is going to end up being fatal to most who get hit by it. The Super Scope doesn’t have that worry, both on the catch difficulty AND the lethality of it as a thrown item. The charge shot is slow, and your movements are equally slow. At best, you can surprise someone forgetting they can jump, but that’s about it.
If anything, I’d be tempted to argue that the Star Rod’s too high. It’s now reflectable and no longer sends you down and away when hit by it thrown. They nerfed that thing hardcore.
Rank 2, btw. Just to start out. While I prefer it at Rank 3, I think Rank 2 is a happy medium.
Wait, Assist Trophy is Rank 4, but Poké Ball is Rank 3… How?
Voting Rank 4 then.
I’m guessing because Pokemon, with one exception, aren’t as straightup disruptive. They’re just offensive
Sure Palkia is a pain, but compared to the trio of Nightmare, Devil, and Nintendog, it’s outclassed
You’ll also note that Master Ball is Rank 4.
But any Pokemon can come out of any Poke Ball… Master Ball just increases the odds of the broken ass legendaries showing up…
Or Goldeen.
None of the legendaries are as bad as half the assist trophies. Like, not even the uncommon ATs, but of the common ones, they are far worse overall. That tiny shot at broken Pokemon is a far cry from the common shit like Nintendogs.
I don’t have the numbers on either yet, but I know the rates are fairly similar to Brawl’s for each, and it was of a similar disparity.
Eh… Palkia, Giratina, and Kyogre are pretty disruptive. I’d consider them on par with a fair number of ATs.
Yes, but Giratina and Kyogre aren’t disruptive in the way Palkia is
Giratina and Kyogre are huge attacks aimed at your opponent. They’re big and cover a lot of the screen, but they still are participating in the fight
Palikia, Nintendogs, Nightmare and Devil just straightup alter the match to significant degrees and may or may not just stop everything cold.
LordWilliam wins over Martian.
2-0
Not to mention Palkia shows up in a very rare instance. Nintendogs? That shit’s around 1 in 5. It is a VERY common outcome. As is a number of other incredibly disruptive ATs.
Giratina and Kyogre are actually pretty damn easy to bait. I’d rate 'em pretty low on the legendary list of concerns. I’m much more concerned with the likes of Deoxys or the goddamn MLP ripoff than them. Hell, Lati@s is more concerning.
The other thing is the most problematic AT’s last a long ass time, while aside from Palkia, the rest are never around nearly as long. Poke Balls and ATs are definitely going to get dedicated videos when I begin the How To Item series, 'cause I want to show the massive difference in their potency and how, if possible, to deal with them while still dealing with an opponent to minimize the advantage.
/shrug
I feel like Kyogre lasts a long-ass time and he basically makes recovery impossible unless you’re Villager.
As long as the smash ball is in then I’m cool so I vote 3.
I dont mind using any items. I guess level 5 is very excessive. I’m fine with rank 4 and below. I don’t prefer the golden hammer tho. Thats OP