This is a guide to the best beginner friendly characters to use in Super Smash Bros Ultimate (SSBU) for the Nintendo Switch. Here we will introduce 5 easy characters for new players of Smash Ultimate, who can help you master the fundamentals of the game.

Best Beginner Characters for Smash Ultimate

Criteria for Beginner Characters

These are the most important things to consider for a beginner character. Characters with a simple neutral game, good damage and KO power, as well as a good recovery are things to keep in mind when choosing an easy character.

Intro to Beginner Characters

1st Place Lucina	・ A well balanced character. ・ All the fundamentals can be learned easily while playing her. ・Few situations where she's at a disadvantage but she suffers against projectiles.
2nd Place Dark Pit	・ Has a great recovery ・ Has a defensive special in case you make mistakes ・ Can jump more times than most characters
3rd Bowser	・ Has many abilities that can KO an opponent ・ Possesses armor that allows him to tank attacks, and has a good range ・ Struggles against combo heavy characters when put in disadvantage
4th Palutena	・Has two projectiles that are good in many situations. ・Has an excellent recovery that is difficult to edgeguard ・Invulnerablity on some moves, as well as large hit boxes and powerful moves for KOing
5th Samus Dark Samus	・ Has a wide array of projectiles ・Can grab the ledge for a neat recovery ・Can easily KO enemies from a distance with charged shots

1st Place - Lucina

Lucina has high range, decent speed, good weight, and several moves that can be used in many situation. This makes her one of the best beginner friendly characters in the game. When playing as Lucina, keep your distance in mind and utilize your range to attack enemies while preventing them from hitting you.

Beware when trying to KO enemies out of stage as you can only perform a single strike. Going further than that will make recovery extremely hard, but she has a lot of decent tools that are easy to use, which makes her one of the best characters to use for players that are just beginning their journey in Smash.

Lucina Matchup Chart and Combo Guide | How to Counter Lucina

2nd Place - Dark Pit

Dark Pit has several jumps and a good Up special for recovering back to stage. He can also punish projectiles using his down special and even moves with huge lag with his swift attacks.

His Side Special and Smash attacks are powerful moves for KOing, so after racking up enough damage on an opponent, go for one of these to finish them off!

Dark Pit Matchup Chart and Combo Guide

Pit Is A Great Alternative

While Pit's arrows deal less damage, they can be controlled more freely than Dark Pit's arrows. It is more important for Pit to land his combos and smash attacks as his side special is weaker than Dark Pit, which can make knocking out enemies harder.

Pit Matchup Chart and Combo Guide

3rd Place - Bowser

Bowser is another great beginner friendly character. He is a super heavy character which makes knocking him out harder than other fighters. Nearly every one of his attacks are capable of KOing, so he is especially great if you just want to win among your friends. His down special can also break shields easily which can teach a player how to fight against defensive enemies.

While many players may not be shielding a lot in lower levels of Smash, Bowser's side special will allow him to grab a shielding for and inflict a ton of damage, even KOing at higher percents. He will struggle against characters who are better at comboing, but in the early levels of Smash Bros, this won't be a huge problem.

Bowser Matchup Chart and Combo Guide

4th Place - Palutena

Palutena is not only one of the best characters in the game, but she is one of the easiest to use. Every one of her attacks has some utility, and she has projectiles, a reflector, and a great recovery at her disposal. She even has a massive grab, and can KO opponents with a back throw.

The trick to using Palutena is making use of her powerful aerial attacks to rack up damage, then using a projectile on an offstage foe, or Up Smash on a recovering foe to finish them off. Palutena has very few weaknesses, and the ones she does have are hard to expose at low levels of play.

Palutena Matchup Chart and Combo Guide | How to Beat Palutena

5th Place - Samus/Dark Samus

Since Samus is a character that relies on projectiles, this character lessens the players need to perform risky moves and allows them to play from afar. Samus can also perform several recovery options like her ability to grab the ledge, her up special, and even her down special since it can change your landing timing due to the slight pause it causes to Samus while she's in the air.

Dark Samus vs Samus

Dark Samus is Samus' echo fighter. Dark Samus, similar to Pit and Dark Pit, has her own advantages and disadvantages when compared to Samus. Below, we'll breakdown on which traits each character has over the other.

Samus	Pros: Her jumps produces sounds which helps new players to count how many jumps he/she has already performed. Cons: Samus' side dodge rolls her into a ball which causes a slower recovery compared to Dark Samus. ・Samus Matchup Chart and Combo Guide
Dark Samus	Pros: Lower angle of Charged shots which allows her to hit enemies that grabs the ledge. Her side dodge is faster than Samus. Cons: Some of her moves have slightly longer lag than Samus. ・Dark Samus Matchup Chart and Combo Guide

SSBU Related Links

Tips and Tricks

In-Game Guides

Unlocking Characters Fast	How to Beat Challengers
Challenger's Approach	How to Farm Gold
How to Raise GSP Fast	How to Unlock Elite Smash
How to Get Support Items	How to Use Stage Builder
How to Join Online Tournamets

Improvement Guides

Best Characters for Beginners	Guide for Beginners
How to Short Hop	Parry Guide
How to Fast Fall	How to Cling to Walls
How to Wall Jump

Settings and Game Mechanics

Best Controller to Buy	Best Custom Control Settings
List of Echo Fighters	Physical and Digital Differences
How to Save Replays