What is MultiVersus?
MultiVersus is a crossover fighting game that launched on July 19, 2022. It was developed by Player First Games, an LA-based studio that “designs experiences from the player’s perspective”.
Since its launch, it’s received a ton of attention from critics and the gaming community, likely as a result of:
- The game being free-to-play
- Cross-play across consoles and PC players
- A unique roster of fighters
- A fun art style
- Smooth game mechanics
- An interesting way of customizing players to your playstyle
While the game is both free and widely accessible, MultiVersus can still be an intimidating game to pick up. If you’re coming from popular fighters like Super Smash Bros or Brawlhala, you’ll likely feel right at home. For gamers who are newer to the genre, I’ve got you covered with 7 tips and tricks to get better at MultiVersus quickly!
Pay Attention in the Tutorial
It can be tempting to breeze through the intro materials, but you’ll want to absorb all the info in the MultiVersus tutorial. It gives you a rundown of the buttons, game mechanics, and some of the things that differentiate MultiVersus from other fighting games.
This game features status effects that you likely won’t see in other games (more on this later). Additionally, when you team up with another player you will see some nice interactions between the characters that buff your team.
One thing I didn’t learn until later was that you can cancel a charged-up attack by dodging! I’m not sure if I missed this in the tutorial, but this is a hugely important game mechanic to avoid taking unnecessary damage.
Lastly, some specials have unique properties. The MultiVersus tutorial shows how you can charge up Shaggy’s Neutral special!
Try Different Characters
MultiVersus features five character classes at launch: Assassin, Bruiser, Mage, Support, and Tank. Depending on the character’s class, they will excel in some areas and be worse at others. I highly recommend experimenting with different character types to find a playstyle that suits you.
You start out with access to a handful of fighters and then can unlock more as you play. Get some games in with each class and see which one you have the most fun with.
While there are plenty of MultiVersus tier lists out there that describe the respective strength of each character in the meta, the best fighter is really the fighter who you are best with. Anyone on the roster is viable if you learn the ins and outs of their kit and put in the work to master the playstyle!
Spend Time in the Lab
The Lab is basically MultiVersus’ training grounds where you can practice against a bot. In this mode, you should start by looking at your character’s move list. Once you have a basic understanding of their abilities, try them out in The Lab to see exactly how they perform in-game.
In this mode, you’ll see exactly what abilities do without having to worry about being attacked. This is one of the best ways to learn the basics and practice combos once you’ve gone through the initial tutorial.
Experiment with Perk Combos
In MultiVersus, you can customize your fighter by equipping Perks. These will give you designated buffs to attack, defense, and utility (i.e. speed boost).
Similar to the MultiVersus tier lists out there, plenty of people in the community have chimed in on the best Perks for each fighter. Try out some of the options online and then experiment with your own combos to see if you can find something more effective.
Also note that in duos, you can get even larger buffs by equipping the same Perk as your teammate! This is a great way to increase the overall power level of your team.
Learn About Debuffs
Status effects truly change the game in MultiVersus. You’ll notice everything from “weakened” to “frozen” as you play matches and it’s important that you understand what each status means.
HyperX Gaming does a great job of explaining everything in this article, so give it a quick read.
Play Solo Mode
Running duos with a friend is fun, but it’s also a lower stress situation than playing solo. This allows you to hide mistakes more easily and can lead to passive gameplay.
Once you feel comfortable with one or two characters in MultiVersus, you should definitely try some 1v1 fights. In this mode, you can really focus on nailing combos and learning when and where you should dodge.
Remember that some characters are better 1-on-1 than others so keep this in mind when selecting a fighter. Also, you’ll want to adjust your selection of perks for solos depending on your character.
Learn from the Best
One of the best ways to improve at MultiVersus is to watch what the top players do. At the time of this writing, there are over 300k followers of MultiVersus on Twitch. Your competition is already watching top-tier gameplay to learn from the experts and you should be too!
Listen to the type of language streamers use to communicate with their duo partner. Pay attention to how they describe their thought process in a match. Watch what combos are most effective with each character.
Take in as much information as you can from the players who are performing the best. To supplement this, check out guides on youtube for your MultiVersus fighter of choice.
Becoming the Best Fighter in MultiVersus
As with most fighting games, MultiVersus rewards precise execution and flexibility. The more you play, the more you’ll understand the strengths and weaknesses of each character. If you want to improve faster, follow these 7 tips and tricks to win more matches in MultiVersus:
Pay Attention in the Tutorial
Try Different Characters
Spend Time in the Lab
Experiment with Perk Combos
Learn About Debuffs
Learn from the Best
Play Solo Mode
Practice makes better, and each match can be a learning experience for you. Matchmaking isn’t perfect so you’ll definitely see a wide range of skill levels when you’re first starting out.
If you practice these tips, your win rate will definitely improve and you will be more likely to win games. Don’t be discouraged if it takes a while to ramp up on the learning curve. MultiVersus has a nice level of complexity and you are off to a great start just by reading guides like this one!
What MultiVersus tips would you share with the community? Who has been your favorite character so far? Join the conversation in the comments section!
