Skill Gate Characters: Difference between revisions

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Characters that are easy to use effectively for an amateur, but also easy to counter for an expert. These tend to be [[Mighty Glacier|extremely slow]], so that a faster character can bash them around without ever getting hit, or [[Glass Cannon|extremely frail]] (and possibly [[Fragile Speedster|fast]]), with sturdier characters demonstrating that the most important [[Hit Point]] is the [[Critical Existence Failure|last]]. [[Crippling Overspecialization]] may also be at play. However, these characters may sometimes stay solid past the end of their "glory days" if used well enough and not have their once powerful weapon expected to be a [[Game Breaker]].

Contrast the [[Lethal Joke Character]], which is weak unless used by an expert player who knows the trick(s). Also contrast [[Difficult but Awesome]], who is more obviously useful but appears worthless at first because (s)he/it is, well... [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|difficult]] to use. Sometimes a Skill Gate can also be either, creating an inverted bell-curve where it does well at both the newbie and expert levels but appears to be horrid for average players. Not to be confused with a [[Crutch Character]], which starts strong, but is inferior to other characters, sometimes because they [[Can't Catch Up|have trouble keeping up]]. Compare [[Wake Up Call Boss]], which is a PvE encounter that similarly serves to separate new players from the experienced. '''Skill Gate Characters''' may be overly reliant on [[That One Attack]] and thus falter once the opponent learns how to counter it. Has some overlap with [[Awesome but Impractical]], in which a skill or character has drawbacks that prevent it/him/her from being overpowered.

Contrast the [[Lethal Joke Character]], which is weak unless used by an expert player who knows the trick(s). Also contrast [[Difficult but Awesome]], who is more obviously useful but appears worthless at first because (s)he/it is, well... [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|difficult]] to use. Sometimes a Skill Gate can also be either, creating an inverted bell-curve where it does well at both the newbie and expert levels but appears to be horrid for average players. Not to be confused with a [[Crutch Character]], which starts strong, but is inferior to other characters, sometimes because they [[Can't Catch Up|have trouble keeping up]]. Compare [["Wake-Up Call" Boss]], which is a PvE encounter that similarly serves to separate new players from the experienced. '''Skill Gate Characters''' may be overly reliant on [[That One Attack]] and thus falter once the opponent learns how to counter it. Has some overlap with [[Awesome but Impractical]], in which a skill or character has drawbacks that prevent it/him/her from being overpowered.

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*** But in fitting with the trope Circle of Protection can be very useful depending on the opponent's deck. Stopping that giant creature with trample and lifelink from ever doing damage is worth one mana a turn.

*** The pre-packaged decks [[Wizards of the Coast]] sells are generally skill gates in themselves: Competitive against each other, but will get crushed against tournament-level decks. But they are useful in teaching newer players how to modify their decks to win more (first tip: Buy two of the same pre-packaged decks and smoosh 'em together.)

* ''[[~~Blaz Blue~~]]'''s Jin Kisaragi, to an extent. Most new players crumple and die against [[Memetic Mutation|ice car]] spam, but competent players can easily counter these tactics.

* ''[[BlazBlue]]'''s Jin Kisaragi, to an extent. Most new players crumple and die against [[Memetic Mutation|ice car]] spam, but competent players can easily counter these tactics.

** Note that ice car spam is nowhere near the best way to play Jin, and he does his [[Game Breaker|Game Breaking]] in serious tournament play by having boatloads of [[Invulnerable Attack|invincibility frames]] and frame advantage. But Ice Car Jins are most certainly Skill Gate Characters.

** Noel is also one easy-to-pick-up character whose confusing and seemingly relentless Drive attacks can overwhelm novices but can be taken apart by experts who recognise the openings.

** Iron Tager has become this in ''Continuum Shift''. His incredible power coupled with the fact that he is much easier to use than he looks makes him widely hated by new [[~~Blaz Blue~~]] players. Expert players who can keep him at arm's length and not get magnetized, however, can skillfully dissect him. Ironically he was firmly on the Difficult side of [[Difficult but Awesome]] in ''Calamity Trigger''.

** Iron Tager has become this in ''Continuum Shift''. His incredible power coupled with the fact that he is much easier to use than he looks makes him widely hated by new [[BlazBlue]] players. Expert players who can keep him at arm's length and not get magnetized, however, can skillfully dissect him. Ironically he was firmly on the Difficult side of [[Difficult but Awesome]] in ''Calamity Trigger''.

*** It has reached a point where people at low levels are [[Rage Quit]] ing on the VS screen because of their opponent picking Tager.

* Gado in ''[[Bloody Roar]] 2'', degraded from a [[Game Breaker]] in the first game. [[Mighty Glacier|Hits like a truck, and has some nice combos that can chew off life if you don't know how to handle it, but moves so slow]]. Seems devastating when your first fight against him or unlocked, but seems less and less fearsome as you understand the game and get better at it. Still makes a helluva annoying boss for new players. Unfortunately, in later games he was [[Nerf]]ed to sheer uselessness.

* There was a time during ''[[~~Starcraft~~]]'''s long lifespan when the (mostly average skilled) playerbase was complaining about how overpowered Zerg were (particularly Mutalisks) while many of the top players were playing Terran instead: Terran defenses combined with a sublime powers when microed (for example, the famous tank-and-dropship dance) made them far more powerful in skilled hands then the much simpler Zerg. Another example is stealth units: Against a good player, it's extremely difficult to pull off Dark Templars or nukes, but against a player who isn't good at detection management either can be an instant win.

* There was a time during ''[[StarCraft]]'''s long lifespan when the (mostly average skilled) playerbase was complaining about how overpowered Zerg were (particularly Mutalisks) while many of the top players were playing Terran instead: Terran defenses combined with a sublime powers when microed (for example, the famous tank-and-dropship dance) made them far more powerful in skilled hands then the much simpler Zerg. Another example is stealth units: Against a good player, it's extremely difficult to pull off Dark Templars or nukes, but against a player who isn't good at detection management either can be an instant win.

** Near the end of the ''Starcraft'' era however, "Fast Mutas" were considered to be the best Zerg opening, and most Terran and Protoss builds were judged against this build. Said Terran and Protoss builds were only considered viable if they were fast enough to outproduce or counter the initial [[Zerg Rush]] of Mutalisks. Certainly an example of the "bell curve" Skill Gate.

** Most beginners and intermediate players gravitate to the Protoss because their playstyle is based around having fewer, stronger units without too many special abilities to make them 'work'. In armies of equal cost, it's typically easier to control 10 beefy units rather than 30 units that die instantly if you make a mistake. Add to this that building 30 units takes more work than building 10 and you'll see why most new players like the toss: easier micro and easier macro. Of course, once you get good ''none'' of that matters in any meaningful way anymore and player skill becomes increasingly important.