Does Tier Placement affect Enjoyment?

[Rude]

So...I had this thought. It's probably nothing, but I thought it was worth discussing. These forums have been pretty negative lately about Injustice. Which is unfortunate, because I really enjoy this game. I admit it is very problematic at times, but I feel like every bad situation has an answer. It isn't always a perfect answer, but there is an answer.

Anyway, I make it no secret that I'm a Batman character loyalist. I'd play him morning, noon, and night. But the more I thought about the rest of the cast the more I wondered if I would enjoy Injustice less if Batman was a worse character.

In MK, my mains were Quan and Mileena. Solid characters, sure. I'm pretty sure that I would stay with my main even if he were bad, but I started to wonder: Do people like the game less because they have to struggle more with their characters?

In order to enjoy playing, does the tier of our character matter? Does the community prefer fighting 6-4 matches in their favor, 5-5s, or do they enjoy the uphill battle?

I know these questions may seem obvious at first, but a lot of people play for different reasons. Some people like to be challenged. Other people enjoy winning. A lot of people, I'm sure, fall somewhere in the middle.

So do people who play lower tiered characters enjoy the game less because they don't have as many tools or answers for situations? Do people playing high tier enjoy the game more because they don't struggle as much?

I'm not bashing, I'm legitimately curious as to what people think.

 

[Mr. Mileena]

I don't mind struggling. I know there's going to be better characters than mine if I don't use like a top 5 or 10 character.
I don't care if I lose to higher tier characters.

The only character in this game that really drives me insane, is Martian Manhunter.

MMH players think they are so good.. lol

If I lose to a KF or AM etc, it's cool.

 

[Zoidberg747]

Depends on your goals and attitude. Some like the challenge of winning low tier, some like having the best chance to win.

Personally I just play who I enjoy playing the most, that is more important IMO

 

[Phosferrax]

I can imagine playing the best character in the game gets boring after a while. I wouldn't find machine-gunning Kabals IAGB over and over again in a lot of MU's to be very interesting for instance, but at the same time that does mean the likelihood of a win, which is always fun.

It's a grey area for sure.

 

[GGA Max]

Yeah, I wouldn't have as much fun in this game if I didn't think Bane was "hype." I feel better about my character when they are less used, and therefor less explored. IMO my character is kind of boring if I see them EVERYWHERE.

 

[RYX]

KF. Batgirl. Catwoman. MMH

These are the only 4 I never enjoy playing

 

[ryublaze]

I think a lot of people who used low tier characters in MK9 now like Injustice better than MK9 for the balance. For me I just use whoever I like and they just so happen to be mid to high tier characters but it's not their tier placement that affects how much I enjoy the game, it's how the game plays.

 

[Alien Substance]

I use Kratos in MK9, and although this isn't about Injustice, I think it may be relevant to the thread topic.

+ I really enjoy his style, now that I've tuned myself to his strengths and weaknesses.
+ Has only a few 5-5 match-ups, and most of his match-ups are either in his favor or in his opponent's, so I experience the sides of both low and high tier.
+ Severely under-explored; a rare character to fight, and even more rare to encounter someone good with him.

Kratos is a little below mid-tier. I don't think the tier placement mattered to me all that much in my time with the game. I play Noob Saibot, Cyber Sub-Zero, (low-tiers), Liu Kang (mid-tier), and Freddy Krueger (top-tier) as well.

 

[T4T|Nevan]

I play and enjoy this game a whole freaking lot! So that said, the tiers don't take enjoyment from playing. I pick my characters based on what I like.

Lex/Superman player here

To be honest I think it's this focus on MMH and how he affects the game, that fear install but I think there's a solution to everything.

 

[ShadowBeatz]

For me, it's all about how fun the character is. First character I mained was Grundy, who was fun at first, but I don't have the skill to pull off his crazy WCC shenanigans, so my play with him devolved into a counter-style, waiting for my opponent to open up so I can hit with a MB-Swamp Hands and hit them for big damage. Got boring. Arguably Top 10.

Then I went to Frost. Again, fun at first with her vortex and everything (not to mention Jennifer Hale did an AMAZING job on giving her a great voice and attitude), but she started to bore me because her gameplan was relatively simple. No worse than high-mid tier.

THEN I picked up Lex, and even though I'm not a fan of this game, I have been playing Lex for months and he is SO fun for the exact same reason I played Cyrax in every MK: just covering the screen with shit. Probes, Mines, Lasers, Lance Blasts, etc. Crazy set-ups and traps. I love throwing out a probe and it firing on it's own, like I have a teammate or something. Lex is mid tier (even though an argument can be made high-mid)

So yeah, tier list doesn't affect me one bit. Just give me gadgets and I'm good

 

[Kiko]

I play my favorite characters from DC (Flash, WW, Raven, Superman), and as it turns out they're amazing in the game. (3 of the 4 arguably the best in the game).

However tier list does matter to me. I can't play D list, F list characters just because I like them besides for fun. You just can't play competitively with them and winning is fun for everyone I'm sure, why else would you be on this game?

If possible I'd pick someone with even matchups across the board and of course flash and WW are exactly that (except with WW being even more than that).


TL;DR I play chars I like but tier listing does slightly matter to me.

 

[NoobHunter420]

I knew I was going to main flash before I saw any kind of game footage. We all knew that JL members were going to be in the top 10 characters.
NRS decided to give flash 50% combos with corners carry, that's essentially leads to death, I am very thankful for that.
I tried batman, but I just couldn't enjoy him.
tournaments players have to put their love for their characters to the side, in most cases. you can't be competing with characters like joker......

 

[SZSR]

Playing with Shazam is pretty much the only time I genuinely enjoy Injustice. The rest of the characters neither interest me or are that much exciting even when i've tried them out.

Does it stink that my tools are "less" than the rest of the cast? Yeah, but I picked it that way. So I don't really deserve to complain. If I really wanted to win, I would just pick a character that wins.

 

[InFlames]

Ares is shit. I like shit. Therefore I like Ares.

 

[Espio]

I played low tier in MK9, primarily Stryker and Jade and I enjoyed it. I play higher tiered characters in Injustice and I enjoy the game too. Low, mid or high tier...as long as a character is fun to play. I don't really mind having to struggle sometimes, I always play who I truly enjoy no matter what.


What impacts my enjoyment of a game is determined by fun factor and diversity of the roster, I'm usually drawn to obscure characters unintentionally.

I prefer my character to have a good share of 5-5's, 4-6's and 6-4's because I like to be challenged, but my favorite match ups are 5-5's because the focus on player skill level is front and center.

 

[Spinky]

A lot of the time, yes for me, because the characters I want to use very often end up being on the ass-end of the tier list, or near it.

 

[juicepouch]

I play Grundy because I loved him in the Justice League and that commercial (you know the one) and because he hits really hard so I can afford to fuck up sometimes and still get good damage out of it

I play Shazam because I'm a huge fan of Earth's Mightiest Mortal and it just so happens that he's hype as shit

I play Lex because I like how he looks like Bruce Willis and has funny shenanigans

I play Doomsday because I think the character is cool as hell

I would play MMH and Flash because I love them too but they just don't fit my style as well

Tier placement doesn't bug me too much, I just like playing the characters I like lol

 

[_xFriction]

the fun is in the challenge, Rude! I have more fun now that people are more familiar with the Flash matchup

 

[LanceMonsoon]

I say yes, I barely play IGAU, but in MK9 I used Johnny Cage for the most part (loved the game and char), and fighting Kabal and Kenshi was the only thing I could not take lol. I could only imagine if I mained a mid to low tier char in MK9.

 

[Rodrigue]

KF. Batgirl. Catwoman. MMH

These are the only 4 I never enjoy playing

Catwoman? Why? I do agree with the others especially Batgirl.
I main catwoman and i love to go against a good batman or aquaman. It's always a challenge.
Playing low tier characters is more fun and competitive i'd say. We see a lot of superman players blowing people up everyday but how often do you see a catwoman or a green arrow win unless they know what they're doing?

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

I would still play the kabal matchup as cage all day and night. I dont give a shit. I pick the character that fits me best, and I either win, or I get better and try to stop losing. Doesnt matter to me.

 

[Rampage254]

I think a lot of people who used low tier characters in MK9 now like Injustice better than MK9 for the balance. For me I just use whoever I like and they just so happen to be mid to high tier characters but it's not their tier placement that affects how much I enjoy the game, it's how the game plays.

I thought the same at first, but I used Stryker, Rain and Baraka. Which were possibly the worst characters in the game excluding Rain but he wasn't that great compared to the top tiers. I still had more fun playing MK, but I think it was because I relied on my spacing and whiff punishing to win and most of that came from the decent walk speeds and lack of extremely safe specials. Inj doesn't have that so I suck at it even if I used a top tier and it's probably why I hate it. Also, the game's controls feel real stiff for me so that's another turn off for Inj. I still play it tho because maybe I'll one day learn to deal with this stuff and maybe I will enjoy it more.

 

[Glass Sword]

In my opinion. I don't mind having a few bad matchups as long as I can overcome them. I enjoy the challenge. However, there is a point I feel that skill only goes so far. When I play and I end up thinking "This is dumb." Because the odds are so against me I have to be three steps ahead of my opponent and I have to do overly risky and dumb things to pull out a win, it is not so fun. On the other hand I don't get much enjoyment out of the other end where my character just cleans house. It feels like cheating and I get bored.
I prefer almost top tier.

 

[RunwayMafia]

KF. Batgirl. Catwoman. MMH

These are the only 4 I never enjoy playing

 

[AK Stormthegates]

Tier lists won't affect how much I enjoy a game as long as I can still have fun playing. I love playing injustice until I run into Flash who has a incredibly strong potential to make me quit due to the enormous amount of unfun I have while playing against him.