Highlights

  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a large roster of 74 characters, but players need to unlock most of them through gameplay, making unlocking the roster a top priority.
  • There are multiple methods to unlock characters, including playing various modes and the World of Light story mode, allowing players to have fun while progressing.
  • It's important to follow online etiquette and be a good sport when playing with others, including accepting rematches and taking online matches seriously. Using a wired connection can help mitigate connection issues.

As one of the best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been entertaining players since it was released in December 2018. From then until October 2021, Smash Ultimate continued spreading hype across the game industry thanks to a pair of DLC Fighters Passes that introduced even more Nintendo and third-party representatives. Even now, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate stands as a timeless platform fighter that anyone can bring out for parties or competitions.

Thanks to all of its accolades, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate continues to see a lot of play. Over the course of countless hours with the game, its community has developed a number of unspoken rules that lie outside both Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and its organized tournaments. Whether they are just good advice or behaviors meant to improve everyone's experience in Smash Bros.' infamous online modes, following Ultimate's unwritten rules is a shortcut to a great time.

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Make Unlocking The Roster Top Priority

Smash Bros Challenger Approaching

An obvious draw for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is its massive 74-man roster. With one of the largest playable casts in the fighting game genre, there's a fighter for everyone in Smash Ultimate, even before its DLC added twelve more fighters. However, in reference to the initial characters in the N64 Super Smash Bros., players only start with eight combatants unlocked. Finding and besting the rest is necessary to unlock them, and as enjoyable as it is to bring friends into the process, there is an expectation that someone's favorite fighter will be available if they've come over to play.

Play Lots of Modes While Unlocking Everyone

Fortunately, there are several methods to unlock characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and they can be done while enjoying the game's content. The simplest is to play any gameplay-related mode, whether that's a tournament or the Spirit Board, to prompt a new challenger's appearance after a match or when exiting that mode. After ten minutes, this will repeat, meaning prolonged multiplayer sessions are great ways to unlock the roster while having fun. Ultimate's World of Light story mode is a slower, but still satisfying option, as characters join the player's party and the roster itself once they are bested. Unlocking every character and beating World of Light are complementary goals that should propel players through the early hours of Smash Ultimate.

Follow Online Etiquette So Everyone Can Have Fun

super smash bros ultimate online

Most of that involves offline play, however, and anytime players feel ready, they can take their preferred fighters online. However, there are plenty of community behavioral rules players are advised to follow, some that Smash shares with other fighting games. Taunting and teabagging among friends is fine, but it's best to fight strangers seriously, especially with an anonymous partner in 2v2. Joining in with opponents' antics is also good sportsmanship, so players should try to be flexible depending on the circumstances. Perhaps the most important rule, however, is to accept at least one rematch in a 1v1 setting, assuming the prior bout's connection wasn't too bad.

Use A Wired Connection If Possible

Mitigating the connection problems also falls on the shoulders of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s player base. The longstanding issues with Nintendo’s internet infrastructure and Super Smash Bros.' online multiplayer are well-documented, and it should only take a few matches to run into a single-digit frame rate or dropped connection. Players cannot prevent these issues even under optimal circumstances, but, if their living space allows it, they can plug Ethernet cables into their Switch for more stability in matches. Users with Wi-Fi 6 or an equivalent may not need to bother with an extra cable, but as that technology is still spreading, it's best to apply solutions that have served Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players well since launch.