User blog:IsGamer13/Character Branches: Balanced

The Balanced character branch is oriented towards having no particular strenghts or weaknesses, even with this peculiarity, they're a very comfortable pick for any party and a good way to start anywhere, consider them as your own wildcard in case you're doubtful of what to add in your character parties.

Balanced characters tend to have balanced stats and a set amount of skills that cover every branch in-game, there are few exceptions but overall they still fit into Balanced nevertheless, allowing them to fit in any role without too much effort, the skill sets mostly orient to Offense, Defense and Support, Healing is rarely seen on balanced characters (and Healing-oriented characters are few in this game).

The characters under the Balanced branch are:

Mario/Luigi: Their skill set allows them to cover every area, except for Healing, they can excell at doing a good amount of damage and at the same time last in the battlefield for a while, input the commands correctly and they will be a force to recognize. They get along well with Peach and Daisy, mainly because Peach will heal their missing HP and Daisy will cure away those annoying status ailments and lend them some few stat boosts.

Link: His wide arsenal of weapons allow him to approach the battle from different ways, he would be Offensive/Defensive but the side effects of some skills (A.K.A weapons) allow him to be a fitting support, his Speed and Resistance is really low, but he covers it up with the rest of his stats. He gets along well with Zelda or Impa, Zelda can lend him a good portion of his lacking stats and at the same time sweep the enemies, Impa can fill the roles Link can't and viceversa, allowing them to be a very good back-up.

Impa: Similar to Link, but she lacks Defense and HP instead of Speed and Resistance, if Link is not a good option for you, then Impa can do the trick, her wide variety of skills allow her to be a quite troublesome character, her side effects compliment her passive, allowing her to be a very gimmicky character. She can get along well with Link, since he can do what she can't (depending on what role you have for her) and with Ganondorf, considering his potentially infinite HP sustain and his high defense, he can cover up for her in case she's in danger.

Kirby: Considering his skill-system, Kirby can be anything he wants, using him correctly will make a very nice addition to the party. His skills (in other words, Powers) cover about anything you desire, but not everything, use Kirby's powers wisely and you will have a wonderful character at your disposal. An offensive back-up is probably Meta Knight, because he can get the job done in case Kirby couldn't, a defensive back-up instead would be King Dedede, he can take the hits Kirby couldn't in case of doubt.

Sonic: I wouldn't consider him Balanced, but there's no specific branch for a Speed expert like him around, so it's fair enough to put him in Balanced, just because there's no other fitting branch for him, now for the topic at hand, Sonic almost always acts first, ALWAYS, his damage may be a lackluster but his incredible speed, speed buffs and abusable homing attacks make him a safe pick in case you don't want a complex character around. As for back-ups, the most reliable is Tails, Sonic's bane is the airborn enemies and Tails can help him greatly with this issue, another decent alternative is Amy, she will mantain the enemies in line with her stuns, allowing room for his fast attacks, kind of a tricky yet overpowered tactic you can use.

Tails: His unique skill and system allows Tails to cover any part of the stage without problems, he won't excell at anything however, he will be there as a filler in case your party lacks ground/aerial offense, his skills are gimmicky and take a bit of time to use, he has excellent balanced stats however, making him one of the most neutral characters in-game, having neither advantages nor issues againist enemies. The most reliable back-up to his enemy coverage is Sonic, his ground attacks are fast and devastating enough to let him cover the air with ease, while Shadow allows Tails to use his skills without worries by slowing down the opponent's actions.

Duster: Probably the only Balanced class from the Mother series, he has coverage on a lot of status ailments and spreaded offensives, his stats are not very low, some temporal stat buffs help him a lot actually. His skills offer mystery and randomness to the battles, you don't know how effective Duster can be in a battle unless you feel lucky to use him, in the end, if you like to rely on random factors in any battle, Duster won't dissapoint you. A very good back-up is Lucas, he offers useful stat buffs that Duster really needs if you want him to be effective, Ness can fill the role of a boss killer whenever Duster is not oriented towards individual targets, so he is a fair pick.

Ranger: They're known in their game for being one of the most tricky, overpowered and helpful classes for any party, a ranger was a MUST back then in the first few games, in this game, they're no exception. They actually boost Accuracy and Avoidability, stats that are rarely boosted (and rarely noticed, but well), if you find a good use to these, you will have a very good Ranger, their offensives cover two main areas, the mobbing and bossing, and they excel at it if you get it to high levels. Their only letdown is that they're glass cannons, their defensive stats are on the floor and the HP is not a great help either, you need to protect it a lot if you want it to be useful in battles. The back-up of excellence is Paladin, their absurdly high defenses and defensive skills cover Rangers and fragile classes most of the times, allowing them to safely attack without harm, another alternative are Medics, they will keep the Ranger alive if they manage to survive a hit enough to heal.