The ranked season is finally here in Mario Strikers: Battle League and players are scrambling to reach the top of their divisions. While the game is young and the meta is still evolving, the most modern entry in the franchise has a few characters that are proving stronger than the rest in online play.
Though any character can be used effectively in Mario Strikers: Battle League, especially with the right gear, online play always requires players to take every advantage available in order to win. Here are a few characters that will provide such an advantage as soon as they're picked.
Rosalina Is Mario Strikers' Best Goalscorer
Rosalina is almost unanimously considered the best character in the game, and it's not hard to see why. With high natural shooting and technique stats, Rosalina is by far the most effective goalscorer in the game. She scores effortlessly from anywhere on the field with charged shots and combo shots alike. Her decent natural strength also means she isn't a complete liability on defense, but her low speed means she should generally be used as a midfielder instead of the captain.
Rosalina's best builds are ones that maximize her deadly stat combo of shooting and technique in order to churn out as many goals as possible. A gearset of trick helmet, bushido bracers, cannon plate and cannon boots gives Rosalina a shooting stat of 20 and a technique stat of 19, making her a scoring machine. If the team is lacking speed, Rosalina can swap out her cannon plate for a turbo pad.
Waluigi Is Mario Strikers' Best Defensive Player
If Rosalina is the best at scoring goals, Waluigi is the best at preventing them. His unique blend of high strength and speed makes him the ideal defender, as he can easily tackle strong attackers like Bowser and keep up with quick characters like Peach, stopping any offense dead in its tracks. Though he won't be scoring many goals, Waluigi is a brick wall, so it's best to keep him in the correct position.
Maxing out Waluigi's speed and strength will make him a defensive monster. Using a gearset of turbo helmet, muscle gauntlets, bushido armor and bushido sandals, Waluigi can reach 20 and 21 on his two main stats. As a pure defender, he doesn't really need any other stats, but he retains a solid 10 in technique which will help players time their perfect tackles.
Mario Is Mario Strikers' Best Captain
Mario doesn't have as flashy of a stat line as Rosalina or Waluigi, but he makes up for it by being the best all-around character in the game. In fact, it's possible to run Mario without any gear equipped and still have great success with him. The ideal captain, Mario can score, make plays, play defense and even take on the role of a reliable hyperstrike shooter. His flexibility and capacity to slot easily into any team makes him a consistently strong pick.
If everyone on the team is hyper-specialized, players will be forced to follow a rigid game plan that opponents can figure out very quickly. Mario's inclusion raises the level of any team. By using a simple gearset of only cannon gloves, Mario reaches a respectable 16/16 shooting and technique mark that makes him a reliable goalscorer while retaining the flexibility he brings to the team.
Donkey Kong Is Mario Strikers' Best Midfielder
Donkey Kong, like Mario, is a character that can fit in wherever he's needed. With his high natural strength and passing stats, he makes for a relentless play-maker that can shrug off weaker defenders with ease. That being said, Donkey Kong can also be used as a competent defender, his high passing stat ensuring he sends the ball to the other team's half far quicker than Waluigi. He can even slot into a scoring role with the right gear.
Donkey Kong has a ton of effective builds, but the one that seems strongest would be his two-way play-making build. With the bushido helmet, turbo gloves, bushido armor and bushido sandals, Donkey Kong can reach 16 strength, 13 speed and 18 passing. This makes him a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the field, as he can defend well and set up goals like no one else. This build is perfect for a midfield position.
Luigi Is Mario Strikers' Best Technique Player
Luigi, like his brother, is able to do a bit of everything. However, he is also one of the best technique characters in the game, which opens up a ton of possibilities for his gameplay. Though he doesn't have Mario's shooting potential, his high technique allows him to score all the same. It also makes hitting perfect passes, tackles, charged shots and hyperstrikes effortless, making Luigi a threatening play-maker, scorer and defender all in one.
Luigi can use a variety of gear to fit any team's needs. For an all-purpose build, players can equip the trick helmet, trick gloves and trick pad to nearly max out his technique stat while maintaining a healthy balance for every other stat. For those who need Luigi to score more goals and hyperstrikes, trick helmet, bushido bracers, trick pad and cannon boots will turn him into more of an offensive threat.