Bayonetta: Why the “just SDI” argument is flawed
Let me say this right off the bat — not only do I enjoy playing against Bayonetta most of the time, but I also believe that she shouldn’t be banned.
That said, I find that many of the arguments flying back and forth on Twitter and Reddit aren’t even addressing the concerns of the people they’re trying to talk to. So I figured “perfect time for an article about paying attention to your audience” or whatever. So let’s get right into it.
There are three different audiences here
The most common advice given — to learn SDI or otherwise get better against Bayonetta — only applies to one of three potential audiences.
The first audience is top level players and those who aspire to be top level players. People who are already some of the best at this game or aiming to be. Addressing this audience is fine — many of them, despite complaints, are willing to put in the effort to learn Bayonetta counterplay. Because they want to win.
That said, telling them to learn SDI doesn’t necessarily solve the core issue — their frustration. Some of them have pages of notes or have seen every guide… and they still come out confused and frustrated. In order to effectively communicate with them, you have to understand where that frustration comes from. Maybe their SDI is perfect, and they get stuffed by other confirms (see: some Fox mains). Maybe they keep activating Witch Time, or they don’t know what to do about Heel Slide. If you know what their actual concern is with the character (and there are a lot), you’ll be able to address it more easily.
The second audience is pretty much everyone else who plays the game. These people may want to get good, but maybe only enough to get on a local PR. Maybe they’re just there to have a good time with friends. Most people have school, jobs, or other concerns beyond Smash.
When you post guides, they don’t necessarily reach everyone you want them to. Even if they do, they may not read it. Telling them “just SDI,” or “you won’t get good unless you X” isn’t helpful. Unlike other MUs they can almost learn on the fly with basic advice, Bayonetta requires you to understand many situations that can and will vary by character. New conversions and possibly techniques will have to be labbed out.
You can argue that you don’t really care about this audience, but you’d be ignoring a vast portion of the community. I don’t think many of the community figureheads recognize how large this part of the community is.
The third audience probably doesn’t even play this game. They’re the stream viewers, our supporters, friends and family, or even newcomers who want to learn about the game. None of these people even remotely care about executing proper Bayonetta counterplay — it’s useless to them. Similarly, they don’t care how long it took you to get good with Bayonetta.
This audience is *vast*. Even if they do play the game, imagine how frustrating it is to watch your favorite player lose to something you think is unfair. Imagine it from their mindset.
Of those three audiences, you’ll note that any suggestion of counterplay is only useful for one audience — the comparatively small portion of people that have the time/ability to get better and are actively working towards it. And even they’re frustrated.
What’s a better way to address these audiences?
For the audience that is trying to get better, recognize that their frustration comes from more than just not being able to SDI. Multiple top 30 players have expressed their frustration with the character for a number of reasons. Key into those reasons, and address that. Everyone is tired of hearing “just SDI,” or “here’s this SDI guide,” or “here’s this SDI video.” They’ve seen it, and it’s even worse if a well-meaning guide has misinformation/is incomplete.
While we’re on that point — you can’t say on one side that Bayonetta is one of the hardest characters to learn, then tell people to pick her up in order to understand her better. If it’s that complex, even top level players aren’t going to want to spend the time with a character that they may honestly not even find fun.
Recognize and address all of the frustrations people have with Bayonetta — don’t assume that SDI is the only issue.
For the audience that doesn’t have the time/drive to be great, figure out how you can get across the necessary information or counterplay in a simple, easily digestible way. Try keying in on the more simple aspects of the MU for them. Maybe they’re a heavyweight player, and the opponent is taking them off the sides. Maybe they’re picking the wrong stages. Who knows? But when the primary anti-Bayo information is “how to SDI,” you know wires got crossed somewhere.
Furthermore (and this is something I’ll expand on in the future), coming from a fencing background, one of the big things I’ve noticed in the FGC is a lack of support. Not in terms of being friendly/available, but most advice and information available assumes that people learn best on their own. In sports, you don’t have that assumption. If you show up for practice — whether you have a job or otherwise, you’re going to learn something. In Smash, people show up for their local a couple times, get double eliminated by Bayonetta and never show up again.
To all the coaches and would-be coaches — consider grabbing a few setups before or after bracket at your local. Run drills (like how to properly SDI!). Review matches with them, etc. You can even charge for it if you’d like.
Make the counterplay digestible to a larger audience. If they have to go back to a guide multiple times or memorize a bunch of information, that information won’t spread easily.
For the audience that is watching the tournament, recognize that they’re frustrated because they don’t understand. And they’re not going to follow any of the advice you’re trying to give them, because it’s simply not relevant. How can you meet their needs? Try to reach out directly to the some of the crowd favorites who are getting destroyed by Bayonetta. If they’re top level players, they’re more likely to accept your help. As much as they hate playing Bayonetta, they hate losing to her more. Don’t just say “oh, this person plays the MU better than you,” make the direct comparisons yourself.
You can also appeal to the spectator audience by helping to educate commentators. Look at every clip of an “unfair” Bayo moment. Pay attention to the commentators — they’re more often than not just as confused as anyone else. They may not be able to recognize when someone is or is not performing proper SDI. During ZeRo’s restream of Genesis 5 top 8, he sat down and analyzed Nairo’s untimely demise multiple times with the help of Pink Fresh. Through this collaboration, he was ultimately able to recognize Nairo’s error and explain it to his audience. The average tournament stream doesn’t get that, so they stay confused.
Educate the people who are in contact with the viewers frequently. If their favorite players are no longer exploding randomly or a commentator can explain exactly what errors were made, it’s harder for them to become confused and spread misinformation.
Above all… don’t be rude. I understand that snark is helpful in times of frustration (and I am in fact an expert here), but you actively hurt your point when you treat this information as “obvious” or people who are complaining as “annoying.” When you’re patient with your audience, and address *their* concerns (not just what you think will solve the problem), you’ll be more successful at making your point.
