With Mario Strikers: Battle League having been out for some time now, I've played it extensively to the point where I have a feel for the characters and can give an honest opinion. Besides, my favorite character in the Mario side games is Daisy, so there won't be any bias here as she is not in the game currently. (Edit: She was added 7/21/22 as part of the 1.1.0 update) I'm no expert but, I do feel like I can give a good opinion to help newer players and veterans alike if they want more info on their characters or if anyone wants some detail on team building. I'll go over the characters without gear and, at the end, then I'll share my gear versions of the characters at the end of this post. I will be using certain soccer (football) terms like pitch, midfield, keeper, defender and so on. With that out of the way, let's get started.
Strength: How well players can tackle and resist being tackled. Charged tackles differ and when fully charged, strength is not taken in to account.
Speed: How fast the player moves.
Shooting: How well the the player scores, the speed of the shot and the accuracy of the shot.
Passing: How well the player passes, how accurate they are and how fast the ball moves. Important to take in to account when manually passing in a direction.
Technique: How well the player dribbles, how well the ball curves on a shot, how accurate a character shoots, how well the character performs manual (free) passes and the distance it travels, how much timing is required on a perfect strike - more makes for easier timing - and how much blue (perfect) zone you have when timing a hyper strike.
Max: These are the highest possible values that you can currently achieve with the gear we have in game. Not all characters are able to reach 25 in a stat and, if they can reach 25, only one stat at a time can be 25.
Mario:
Can play: Anywhere
Playstyle: Elite Scorer
Best position: Attacker
Strength: 11 / Max 21
Speed: 12 / Max 22
Shooting: 14 / Max 22
Passing: 10 / Max 20
Technique: 16 / Max 25
As he is with every game that he is in, he super balanced and can play any position on the pitch well. He leans offense in this game, more so that his younger twin brother, Luigi, which makes him a good choice for your captain (picking him first in the character select - player 1 or player 5). On offense, he has a good shooting stat with okay strength to resist weaker players. His high technique allows for an easier Hyper Strike and easier timing on perfect strikes. He is a decent midfielder (picking second or third in character select - players 2 and 3 or 6 and 7) with average stats across the board. Long passes and manual passes (very important technique to learn) will be a bit more difficult since his pass stat is a bit low. While he can be a defender, he will struggle against higher strength characters unless he uses a charged tackle.
As a captain: He's best up here as a captain, due his great total offense (shooting + technique).
As a midfielder: His poor passing stat and mediocre speed makes setups and ballhandling for other teammates a bit harder but, his offense makes him a good candidate to be setup for distance shots.
As a defender: He can play here but would rely on charged tackles and use of the turbo to be effective. Speedy leads, like Toad, can outrun him. Stronger leads, like Wario, can brush him off.
Luigi:
Can play: Anywhere
Playstyle: Playmaker
Best position: Midfielder
Strength: 11 / Max 21
Speed: 11 / Max 21
Shooting: 10 / Max 18
Passing: 14 / Max 24
Technique: 17 / Max 25
Also balanced, Luigi can play anywhere, though he excels as a playmaking midfielder. His passing stat is better than Mario's allowing for better setups in the attacking zone and easier perfect passes to combo shots. His technique is one of the highest in the game, base wise, which gives him an easier chance at a perfect hyper strike. As a captain, he would likely be passing a lot to set up teammates. He needs to be a bit closer to the goal than Mario to score more effectively due to his low shooting stat. From a distance, his shots will be slow but have a decent curve to them. Like Mario, he can defend but his average strength with hamper him along with being slightly slower than Mario.
As a captain: More of a distributer than his brother, Luigi can play here decently to set up others.
As a midfielder: His best position as a better passer than Mario, he can get the ball to the attackers better. Hyper Strikes are easier with him because of his high technique.
As a defender: See Mario. It's pretty much the same for Luigi.
Bowser:
Can play: In the attacking zone
Playstyle: Bully Scorer
Best position: Attacker
Strength: 17 / Max 25
Speed: 9 / Max 19
Shooting: 17 / Max 25
Passing: 11 / Max 21
Technique: 9 / Max 19
The king of the koopas has always been strong, and this game is no different. As a captain, he performs well, but his sheer size is his weakness in the front lines as he is easier to hit, even if he will resist weaker player's tackles. His high shooting stat makes him extremely dangerous on the front lines so leaving him open is a death sentence, especially if he gets a chance to charge his shot. He can take advantage of being passed to from the backfield or midfield to be set up for a combo shot. On defense, he will struggle chasing players down but, in the midfield, he can function as a help defender for speedier and weaker teammates. On the back end, he has the size and strength to step in and block shots with his body and stop charged shots with tackles. His tackle range is also high because of his reach, size and speed of his charged tackle.
As a captain: He can excel here with his powerful straight shots but his massive frame leaves him vulnerable to getting tackle stun-locked by speedy, weaker characters. On the flip side, if he loses the ball to said weaker characters, his strength can allow for a simple tackle to get it back. His charged tackle is one of the game's best, allowing him to be a menace in the attacking area for his team.
As a midfielder: If here is here, he is likely being set up for long shots. His poor passing and technique stat won't help him much here. Otherwise, his strength allows him to be like a first line of defense when on defense.
As a defender: His size alone can function as a second keeper to block shots. He lacks the speed to chase others around, so he'd have to use well timed tackles to steal the ball. His charged tackles have elite range.
Peach:
Can play: Up front or in the midfield
Playstyle: Ballhandler and Distributor
Best position: Midfield
Strength: 9 / Max 19
Speed: 17 / Max 25
Shooting: 9 / Max 17
Passing: 13 / Max 23
Technique: 15 / Max 25
The Mushroom Kingdom's princess is a speed demon and will likely spawn memes with her "Lovely!" celebrations and her displays of flexibility. She the ideal playmaking midfielder due to her speed and decent passing stat. She can set up players in the front line and is great and playing keep away with the ball when there is a threat. Her speed alone can get her shots off of rebounds and get loose balls on the pitch when the action gets hectic. She also has a great technique stat for Hyper Strikes and the effect charms players, which is beneficial if the strike misses. This makes it one of the best in the game. She's frail, so she will need to use her jukes to stay out of harms way and will need to charge tackle to attack stronger players. Peach is not suited for the back lines of defense at all.
As a captain: She will run circles around opponents but is frail and will likely lose the ball immediately when tackled. Her shots have a decent curve to them despite being slow. At close range, though, this won't matter much. Also great for setting up a midfielder for a shot.
As a midfielder: Likely her most ideal since she has the playmaking stats. She can also chase loose balls effectively that get away from the attackers. Great at keep-away in this position when the opposing team has their Hyper Strike ready.
As a defender: Not suited for defense. She would need several pieces of strength gear to make her decent. This would cost you points in all of her other stats to do so.
Rosalina:
Can play: Up front
Playstyle: Elite Scorer
Best position: Attacker
Strength: 14 / Max 24
Speed: 9 / Max 19
Shooting: 17 / Max 25
Passing: 10 / Max 20
Technique: 13 / Max 23
Early in the game's life, from the First Kick Demo and before early patches, one look around the internet and you will see that she is widely considered the game's current best character. Since then, one could argue that Mario is better but she is still very much elite and dangerous. When you look at her stats, it's hard to see why until you do the comparison and actually play as her. She's an outstanding choice for captain with her high total offense. Tied for the highest base shooting stat with decent technique, Rosalina's offense is deadly in the front line. Being stronger than more than half the current roster, she has good strength, which will allow her to resist tackles and her slight frame (she's slightly taller than Peach and just as slender) makes her a bit harder to hit. A drawback about her is that she is not really suited for anywhere else on the pitch, due to her low speed and passing stat but excellent shot and decent technique make her be able to shoot from range. As an attacker, you can't go wrong with her. Her Hyper Strike is top tier due to it freezing anyone in its path and even the keeper if not blocked properly.
As a captain: She's ideal here as this is her best position. Much of why was explained in the paragraph above.
As a midfielder: She lacks the speed and passing to be a playmaker and gearing her towards it would cripple everything else that she excels at.
As a defender: If she is here, then you are taking one of the best scorers out of position to do what she does best. While she has the strength to hang and bang, she lacks speed to chase and size to block. She's better in the front lines.
Toad:
Can play: Up front or in the midfield
Playstyle: Ballhandler and Distributor
Best position: Midfield
Strength: 9 / Max 19
Speed: 17 / Max 25
Shooting: 11 / Max 19
Passing: 15 / Max 25
Technique: 11 / Max 21
More offensive than Peach, he is best as a midfielder, too. He is a better passer and shooter than the princess he protects, but the tradeoff for it is that it's a bit harder to get perfect strikes and Hyper Strikes with him as well as less curve on his shots. He shares the same speed and strength so the method to playing as Peach can apply to him. His smaller size makes him tough to hit as a bonus. Additionally, you can select more than one Toad on your team.
Side note: The Super Mushrooms in Cup Battles, usually you'll see them in the Championship Cup, are a team of Toads that are all wearing different sets of gear. You cannot manually do this in game. I am hoping that the developers notice that and allow for four different loadouts on characters. Especially in cases like Toad and Yoshi where a player is allowed more than one of them on a team.
As a captain: See Peach. As a bonus, he's small so he's harder to hit and is a better shooter.
As a midfielder: A better passer than her but otherwise, see Peach.
As a defender: See Peach.
Yoshi:
Can play: Up front or in the midfield
Playstyle: Offensive Playmaker
Best position: Attacker or Midfielder
Strength: 10 / Max 20
Speed: 10 / Max 20
Shooting 17 / Max 25
Passing: 17 / Max 25
Technique: 9 / Max 19
Purely offensive, he's a good choice for captain with his high shooting stat. His passing makes him good to set up others in the front lines and midfield with perfect passing. Perfect strikers are his best offense and he can take them from a distance because of his high shooting stat despite the lack of curve he'll have. He is not suited for defense as his strength and speed are low. His technique is also low, so precision will be a bit more challenging with him. Like Toad, you can have more than one Yoshi on your team.
Side note: Just like the Super Mushrooms in Cup Battles, you may face a Scramblers team in Cup Battles, usually in the Cannon Cup, that is led by Peach or Bowser(!) with three Yoshis on the team. All are geared differently. Again, this needs to be addressed as the players cannot do this in game.
As a captain: You're going to shoot high speed lasers with Yoshi in the front. Or, you'll be fast passing with him as he can get the ball quickly to his teammates. You want this as he is a bit frail and not fleet of foot.
As a midfielder: Long range lasers can happen with him in the midfield but, he can get the ball out of a jam and to a open teammate up front with ease due to his superior passing.
As a defender: He's not suited for it. While his passing will allow for the ball to get of a jam quickly, he lacks the size, speed and strength to do much defensively. He does tackle with his tongue when uncharged, giving him a bit of reach.
Donkey Kong:
Can play: Anywhere
Playstyle: Bail Out Defender
Best position: Defender
Strength: 16 / Max 25
Speed: 9 / Max 19
Shooting: 13 / Max 21
Passing: 16 / Max 25
Technique: 9 / Max 19
He's great in the midfield but he an even better defender with his great reach, size, and high strength. He punishes others that get close and his size can block shots. His passing stat allows him to clear the ball effectively when things get hectic in your backfield and also lets him set up other players better than others. In the midfield, he can function similar to Bowser but with the focus on passing to set up others and not shooting. Be mindful of his low technique stat when attempting perfect strikes and Hyper Strikes.
As a captain: He's a lesser Bowser up front. Not as strong or as good a shooter but can take and dish the hits. His passing allows for great setting up, like Yoshi.
As a midfielder: He can setup teammates well with his passing and his size helps him as the first line of defense after the attacker. Has a passable shooting shot to take a shot when needed but, you'll likely have a dedicated character for that.
As a defender: A great defender due to his strength and size. He can't chase anyone down, but he has the reach, can block many shots with his body, and also pack a punch with ease.
Wario:
Can play: Anywhere
Playstyle: Bully Scorer
Best position: Attacker
Strength: 17 / Max 25
Speed: 9 / Max 19
Shooting: 15 / Max 23
Passing: 13 / Max 23
Technique: 9 / Max 19
Across the internet, he's seen as the game's current worse character but, believe it or not, Wario can play anywhere. This makes him Mario and Luigi like. But, he also has similar flaws as a result meaning that other characters can do what he does better. He's best on the front line as a captain. He's strong, so he can take and give the hits with ease while having a good shooting stat. His passing allows him to set up others decently in the midfield or clear out the ball on defense. Like DK, his technique is low so certain moves will be a bit more challenging. Also like DK, he's slow, plus he lacks size and a bit shorter reach, which is why the front line is a better choice.
As a captain: Probably his best position due to his base stats. It's a waste of his shooting for him to be elsewhere. He lacks technique, so he'll be throwing (he uses his hands) lasers if you choose to shoot. His strength makes him capable to take hits like Bowser. On the plus side, he's not as big as Bowser, so he isn't as vulnerable despite being just as slow.
As a midfielder: A decent passing stat with good shooting allows him to shoot lasers from a distance of get the ball in position for others but, it's a waste of his strength since it's hard for him to chase down others that enter the midfield zone. Other characters are better suited for the midfield.
As a defender: Can play well here with his high strength. His decent passing can clear the ball in a jam but he isn't as big (height) as other defenders to block shots. It will also be a waste of his good shooting stat.
Waluigi:
Can play: On the back line
Playstyle: Elite Defender
Best position: Defender
Strength: 15 / Max 25
Speed: 16 / Max 25
Shooting: 9 / Max 17
Passing: 9 / Max 19
Technique: 14 / Max 24
An elite defender, high speed and strength makes him ideal on the back line. He has low offensive stats so, he's likely not the person that will be primarily taking shots but, he can sneak in shots off of rebounds and loose balls. Also, pay attention to the technique stat, it's decent enough to make perfect strikes, even if they move a little slow, and Hyper Strikes easier if he is set up for one.
As a captain: Not suited for the forward spot. His technique will give him curved shots but they will be slow and his passes are slow, too, so setting up others will be difficult. If he is up here, he is a high strength ballhandler due to his speed and strength combo.
As a midfielder: He's a speedy line of defense with good reach, too. His technique will make Hyper Strikes easier when he's open but, he's more than likely going to be helping move the ball around for your attackers.
As a defender: His best position as explained above. He is also tall, despite being thin, and is able to block shots. He chases around other players with ease and can put a good hit on those players too with his great speed and strength stats. His charged tackle is one of the better ones in the game.
Shy Guy (added in version 1.1.0 - 7/21/2022)
Can play: Anywhere
Playstyle: Whatever the player chooses
Best position: Any
Strength: 13 / Max 23
Speed: 12 / Max 22
Shooting: 13 / Max 21
Passing: 13 / Max 23
Technique: 12 / Max 22
Enter Shy Guy, the game's most balanced character. It fits what his playstyle is in other sports games: not specializing in anything in particular. He's more balanced than Mario, who is offensive, and Luigi, who is a playmaker. He can play anywhere and fill any role. He can be used either as a primary or backup option role depending on the makeup of the team he is on. More than one Shy Guy can be on a team at once.
As a captain: He can play it well. His smaller size makes him comparable to Toad in where he is going to be hard to hit. He can be a decoy as a secondary scorer.
As a midfielder: He can be a secondary ballhandler and playmaker.
As a defender: Just like the previous two roles, he can be a secondary defender if you aren't using a primary defensive character or have them in a different spot depending on team makeup. His tackle, charged or no, is not very good, though.
Daisy (added in version 1.1.0 - 7/21/2022)
Can play: In the midfield
Playstyle: Distributor and Hyper Strike Shooter
Best position: Midfield
Strength: 13 / Max 23
Speed: 9 / Max 19
Shooting: 10 / Max 18
Passing: 13 / Max 23
Technique: 18 / Max 25
Daisy is finally here and hitting the pitch. The internet is calming down a bit. Seriously, the Sarasara Land princess comes to the game with her usual strength but a surprising lack of speed. She is a playmaker type but will struggle at times due to her low speed. She has the game's best technique stat of 18, which is higher than the previous base stat high for any character of 17. This means that she can max it the easiest if gear is used. With a good passing stat, she can make plays for others, as well. She isn't suited for offense due to her poor shooting and can struggle as a defender due to her lack of speed.
As a captain: She would be a playmaker captain that has to set up for others. If she is to score, she has to get cheap goals off of rebounds. She has the strength to get cheap steals and tackles from weaker characters.
As a midfielder: This may be her best position because of her passing and technique stat. She lacks speed but can pass well and be a passable defender. She compares to Luigi when it comes to being a midfielder.
As a defender: She lacks the speed to chase others down and she is slight of frame ( slightly shorter than Peach) when blocking shots with her body. She will not be better than Waluigi or Donkey Kong in this role.
Diddy Kong (added in version 1.2.0 - 9/21/2022)
Can play: Up front or in the midfield
Playstyle: Ballhandler and Distributor
Best position: Midfield
Strength: 9 / Max 19
Speed: 16 / Max 25
Shooting: 9 / Max 19
Passing: 16 / Max 25
Technique: 13 / Max 13
I'm still surprised that I nearly was spot on with the stats. Don't believe me? Go check the speculation post that I made earlier in the summer!
Diddy Kong has arrived (almost guaranteeing that Bowser Jr. is on the way) and he is here a playmaker. With stats that are similar to Toad and Peach, you could effectively substitute him in for either or have him play with them if you are looking for a speed based team. His playstyle is identical to Peach and Toad.
As a captain / midfielder / defender: See Peach and Toad
Pauline (added in version 1.2.0 - 9/21/2022)
Can play: Anywhere
Playstyle: Game's Best Defender
Best position: Defender
Strength: 20 / Max 25
Speed: 16 / Max 25
Shooting: 9 / Max 17
Passing: 9 / Max 19
Technique: 9 / Max 19
Pauline has arrived and she immediately stole the crown from Waluigi as the games best defender - singing all the way. She has SO MUCH STRENGTH that there isn't anything that she can't do. While I won't mention gear in this section, I will say that gear makes her very versatile. She shares Waluigi's tackle range (which is excellent) and speed (also excellent) making her a threat all over the pitch.
As a captain: She is an elite bully captain if placed here. Her offense is the worst in the game but she will likely find herself open a lot due to knocking others around; giving her a chance at an open clear shot from up close.
As a midfield: An elite line of defense, she can tackle would be ballhandlers and pass the ball to scorers. She has bad passing so her passing range is short and slow.
As a defender: You can almost hear the "Wah!" from Waluigi as he is knocked off of his throne as the elite defender in the game. Everything Waluigi can do on defense, she does it faster.
(Updated for version 1.2.0 - 9/21/2022)
With that said, here's how I would make a team without gear (characters are not in any particular order):
Captain: Rosalina, Bowser, Mario, Wario, Yoshi or Shy Guy
Midfielder: Two of the following - Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Bowser, Luigi, Mario or Donkey Kong, Shy Guy or Daisy, Diddy Kong
Defender: Pauline, Waluigi, Donkey Kong or Shy Guy
Ultimately, it's up to you on how you play and how you build your team. I'm not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do when it comes to that as I want you to just have fun with the game. These are just my suggestions and tips to help you out if you need guidance on anything. You're going to hear people, watch video guides, and read things online (like this blog post - thanks for getting this far :) ) about playing with no gear and the "meta" (speed) and that you should build your characters, and team, around that as well as build the team a certain way. You can, if you like. But it's really about playing to your strengths and outplaying your opponent. If this game gets DLC, I'll update with the other characters.
(Updated for version 1.2.0 - 9/21/2022)
Now, I'm going to list my characters and the gear that I use if you want to look in to how I play. Also, gear is important, but not required, and I do suggest using it to equip your players and build your team in your ideal vision. Remember, to unlock the Bushido set that I am going to mention, you need to win all the normal cup battles, including the championship cup that appears after finishing the first five.
Mario:
Strength: 11
Speed: 8
Shooting: 19
Passing: 5
Technique: 20
Head - Trick Helmet
Arms - Barrel Gauntlets
Body - Knight Plate
Legs - Cannon Boots
Mario is a pure scorer in this set and, in many ways, can replace Rosalina when built this way with 39 total offense. He belongs up front in the captain spot as someone who will shoot immediately upon getting the ball - when open obviously.
Luigi:
Strength: 11
Speed: 17
Shooting: 9
Passing: 13
Technique: 13
Head - Bushido Helmet
Arms - Knight Gauntlets
Body - Turbo Pad
Legs - Bushido Sandals
Luigi as my ideal midfielder. Keeps his strength while becoming 70% faster with a small hit to his passing as a sacrifice. He will be great as a secondary ballhandler and set up man for his teammates. His technique is decent enough for taking a Hyper Strike. Will likely not be looking to shoot with him in this build. I toyed around with possibly using Chain Gauntlets instead which would leave him with a stat spread of 9 / 16 / 6 / 17 / 15.
Bowser:
Strength: 22
Speed: 13
Shooting: 18
Passing: 7
Technique: 3
Head - Cannon Visor
Arms - Knight Gauntlets
Body - Bushido Armor
Legs - Bushido Sandals
A bully scorer that has mobility to him. I did what I could to keep him strong and able to shoot well while boosting his speed. The Barrel Helmet was another option here. With this build, he can move with the ball a bit while in the captain position.
Peach:
Strength: 8
Speed: 25
Shooting: 11
Passing: 9
Technique: 10
Head - Barrel Helmet
Arms - Knight Gauntlets
Body - Turbo Pad
Legs - Bushido Sandals
Max speed Peach for midfield play as a primary ball handler. I reworked her to get rid of that awful looking Turbo Helmet. She gets the ball up the field in a hurry and can chase down anyone. Her shot is mediocre and so is her passing but it won't matter if you are able to run around a find the easy play to make. Her mobility also allows her to juke the keeper up close as well as get in to position easier for rebounds and second shot attempts.
Rosalina:
Strength: 18
Speed: 8
Shooting: 21
Passing: 2
Technique: 14
Head - Trick Helmet
Arms - Knight Gauntlets
Body - Knight Plate
Legs - Cannon Boots
A strong pure scorer. I made her stronger for cheap hits and increased her total offense because, well, she's Rosalina and she gets goals. Like Mario, usually when the ball is passed to her, she is shooting it. Her strong shooting can constantly stun and stagger Boom-Boom, allowing for faster teammates to get rebounds and cheap goals.
Toad:
Strength: 7
Speed: 22
Shooting: 15
Passing: 15
Technique: 4
Head - Barrel Helmet
Arms - Knight Gauntlets
Body - Barrel Armor
Legs - Bushido Sandals
A primary ballhandler and distributor and also a secondary scorer. He isn't max speed like the previous build that I made, but he takes advantage of his better shooting and passing stats to fill multiple roles. This makes his a little more versatile than Peach. His smaller size makes him ideal for handling the ball.
Yoshi:
Strength: 3
Speed: 17
Shooting: 20
Passing: 17
Technique: 6
Head - Barrel Helmet
Arms - Turbo Gloves
Body - Cannon Plate
Legs - Bushido Sandals
He's frail but he can handle the ball, be a primary option on offense, or be a playmaker. He is a purely offense player with this build and can fit any offensive role.
Donkey Kong:
Strength: 16
Speed: 15
Shooting: 15
Passing: 15
Technique: 2
Head: Turbo Helmet
Arms: Knight Gauntlets
Body: Barrel Armor
Legs: Bushido Sandals
A perfectly balanced DK for any role on the pitch. He's like a Shy Guy, can do anything. Yes, he technique is very low, so Hyper Strikes will be difficult to perfect, but everything else he does well to the point where he is either a primary or secondary option for everything.
Wario:
Strength: 16
Speed: 15
Shooting: 17
Passing: 13
Technique: 2
Head - Barrel Helmet
Arms - Knight Gauntlet
Body - Chain Plate
Legs - Bushido Sandals
Very similar to the DK build posted above. Can do anything on the pitch. I admit, I had a lot of fun trying this out in game. A very stark difference from the troll-like build that was previously here. Admit it, it wasn't very good or very serious. This build here will ensure Wario makes your team and fill any role.
Waluigi:
Strength: 18
Speed: 23
Shooting: 9
Passing: 4
Technique: 9
Head - Muscle Helmet
Arms - Knight Gauntlets
Body - Turbo Pad
Legs - Bushido Sandals
I only use him in the backline and he's not built to score primarily as most of his goals will come from loose balls and rebounds. With this set up, he keeps up with most characters and is strong enough to take down opponents.
Shy Guy (build 1):
Strength: 12
Speed: 16
Shooting: 12
Passing: 16
Technique: 7
Head: Cannon Visor
Arms: Chain Gauntlets
Body: Chain Plate
Legs: Bushido Sandals
Shy Guy can be built in any way, so I chose to have him be a playmaker. Honestly, I like him in this mold as a playmaker with decent speed and strength. His good passing stat makes for sharp and fast passes in the attacking zone. An average shooting stat allows for him to take short range shots. Losing just one point from strength allows him to still be durable and give out hits, too.
Shy Guy (build 2):
Strength: 14
Speed: 17
Shooting: 15
Passing: 12
Technique: 5
Head: Cannon Visor
Arms: Knight Gauntlets
Body: Chain Plate
Legs: Bushido Sandals
Since he is literally like a clean slate when creating a new character. Shy Guy can really be built in so many ways. Here, he is faster, stronger and a better shooter. Still likely a team's secondary option, regardless of how he is built, but still very good.
Daisy:
Strength: 12
Speed: 17
Shooting: 12
Passing: 9
Technique: 13
Head: Barrel Helmet
Arms: Knight Gauntlets
Body: Turbo Pad
Legs: Bushido Sandals
She probably has the worst set of base stats for all the characters. They way the gear combinations are right now, there isn't that much you can do with her due to the limitations of her stats (she has TOO MUCH technique) and the lack of really good options on gear, in my opinion, to make her really good. I like having some sort of speed to go with my slower scorers (Mario, Rosalina) when I choose to use them. This build gives her nearly double her base speed and slightly improved shooting at the cost of some technique and one point of strength.
Diddy Kong
Strength: 3
Speed: 22
Shooting: 12
Passing: 18
Technique: 8
Head: Barrel Helmet
Arms: Turbo Gloves
Body: Barrel Armor
Legs: Bushido Sandals
Diddy came to the game as a playmaker type and this build attempts to min-max that build. He can handle the ball and pass it effortlessly as well as be a passable shooter. He's the frailest of all my geared character builds so, he must use his size and speed to stay out of harms way since ANY character with ANY kind of build will be able to knock him down.
Pauline:
Strength: 23
Speed: 23
Shooting: 9
Passing: 4
Technique: 4
Head - Muscle Helmet
Arms - Knight Gauntlets
Body - Turbo Pad
Legs - Bushido Sandals
Built the same way as Waluigi, she plays the defender role even better than he does. She can also be built in other ways if you choose to take from her game high base 20 strength and put the points elsewhere. She could end up being a speedy bully scorer, for example, with the right combination of gear. Her speed in this build also allows her to handle the ball without much fear since it takes a high strength character or fully charged tackle to take her down.
It will come down to how you want to build your players and your team when using gear. You don't even have to use gear at all if you don't want to. It's completely optional. There are players that prefer the vanilla versions of certain characters. I find it useful to build a team in the mold that you want to. I am hoping for more gear for even further customization as well as the option to save more than one loadout of gear. Maybe four slots total (hello Super Mushrooms and Scramblers in Cup Battles) so that you can gear you characters in multiple ways for specific situations instead of having to adjust the gear all the time. Also having gear that is similar to the Bushido that will give +3 to one stat and -1 to three others. Or even -2 to one and -1 to another. I'd also like to see gear that gives +2 to a stat and -1 to two others. (Update: the knight set has been released and does do these in a way) There are so many ways to think of optimizing when you think of those possibilities. We can only wait and see what the DLC will be like. Maybe we'll hear about it in the coming weeks since previous games in Mario sports seem to like to wait about a month or so before launching DLC.
(Update: the first wave of DLC was released as a free content update on 7/21/2022)
(Update: the second wave of DLC was released as a free content update on 9/21/2022)
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