Part I

Part III

Introduction

Welcome to Part II of Finding Your Main! In the last entry, I covered the basics of how to find your main. In this entry, we’re going to discuss the Nen types.

Based on the series, Hunter X Hunter, I’ve divided playstyles into 6 groups. These groups will play a major part in deciding how your main works.

What is Hunter X Hunter?

Hunter X Hunter is a manga series written by Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator of Yu Yu Hakusho. It’s a shonen series that was later adapted into a popular anime, once in 1999 and, later remade, in 2011.

The characters learn a special ability called “Nen.” HxH bases Nen similarly to how “ki” and “chi” work in various shonen anime series. As the characters learn their Nen type, they develop abilities closely related to their respective group.

As you read through this entry, I’ll cover how the Nen abilities will help YOU incorporate your abilities into the characters you pick!

The Nen chart.

Nen covers these abilities, which are categorized as follows: Enhancer, Transmuter, Emitter, Conjurer, Manipulator, and Specialist. They revolve around a character’s style and fighting abilities.

Gon, the main character, is an Enhancer. This means he’s the type of character to use brute force while fighting. He stays close to his opponent and powers up his attacks, relying less on tricks and more on his strength.

Killua, on the other hand, is a Transmuter. He relies more on deception and the ability to channel electricity.

You can look up quizzes to find your Nen type on Google. Feel free to post your result in the comments as well!

How does Nen apply to picking a character?

This part of the guide is the most crucial. You will gain an understanding of how your characters impact the style you use. Use this knowledge to begin learning which characters satisfy your role.

The Enhancer

An Enhancer’s basic ability is to augment their own strengths. They rely heavily on brute force and agility

Examples:

Mario

Donkey Kong

Bowser

Ike

Incineroar

The Transmuter

Transmuters rely heavily on deceptive attacks and channeling elements. Sneak attacks are their forte as they believe they’ll win by getting the first hit in. Transmuter abilities rely on transforming their body’s energy into elements.

Greninja is the only Transmuter in Smash Ultimate.

The Emitter

Emitters rely heavily on camping and staying far from their opponent. Their abilities shine when they unleash their strongest attacks from a charge shot or rapid blasts from a distance.

Examples:

Fox

Pikachu

Diddy Kong

Samus

Mii Gunner

The Conjurer

Conjurers rely on casting powerful magic. While they generally can’t take much damage, they rely on devastating spells to turn the tides in their favor. They can burn enemies with fire magic, freeze them with ice, or summon beings, such as Phantom.

Examples:

Zelda

Robin

Palutena

Peach

Isabelle

The Manipulator

Manipulators rely on controlling either their opponent or animate allies. They emphasize a need for control around the map, such as using Pikmin, Luma, Rope Snake, or Wild Gunman.

Mewtwo can also control his own opponents’ actions with Confusion or Disable. Meanwhile, Ness and Lucas rely on controlling psychic abilities to attack their opponents.

Examples:

Olimar

Rosalina

Mewtwo

Duck Hunt

Ness

The Specialist

Finally, the Specialist is a category based on one’s own unique abilities. Being the hardest to define, the Specialist breaks out of rules as the user follows the beat of their own drum.

Examples:

Kirby

Mr. Game & Watch

Yoshi

Bayonetta

Ice Climbers

Scroll down to the end of this blog to see the full list of characters with their perceived Nen types.

Picking the character that suits your Nen-type.

Depending on what Nen-type you are, you’ll begin to center around using characters that cover that group. If you feel like you’re limited based on that, I have good news.

You can bleed-over into a Nen type adjacent to your own. For instance, if you use Greninja – the game’s only Transmuter – you may want to consider using Enhancers or Conjurers as well. Depending on where your preference lies, you can take the brute force route, with Ryu, or cast more elemental attacks, like with Robin.

However, playing two characters that have nothing in common might lead into problems. For instance, attempting to play rushdown with Donkey Kong and camp out with Rosalina puts you at odds with your own playstyle.

Finding a trend among top players.

Which characters do top players like? Take MVD for instance. He uses Diddy and Snake. Both use projectiles and set traps, but neither are manipulators. Emitters simply do better from afar before they close-in on their opponent.

MKLeo historically uses sword characters, such as Meta-Knight, Cloud, Marth, and Ike. He’s a prime example of an Enhancer.

Dabuz mained Olimar in Brawl and Rosalina in Smash Wii U. It goes without saying he prefers to utilize manipulation against his opponents.

Samsora loved using Peach. Unfortunately, Conjurer types were considered low-tier in Smash 4, so there are only a few scant examples.

Tweek, a fan of Hunter X Hunter himself, has claimed to be a Specialist. We actually discussed this in length at Momocon 2018. A Bayonetta main in Smash 4, Tweek has jumped around the roster many times in his Smash career.

Also note that at one point, Tweek changed his Twitter tag to “Meruem.” For fans of the HxH series, his tournament results speak for themselves as to why he earned this tag himself.

Have you considered your trend yet?

As you experiment with characters, you may fall under a playstyle that suits you best. Instead of picking and choosing random characters, you’ll want to use your strengths while learning to cover your weaknesses.

For instance, you may like swords, but Robin might not be your character. If that’s the case, you’re likely an Enhancer.

All super-heavyweights are Enhancers. They rely on powerful attacks and a simplistic playstyle. Several heavyweights, such as Bowser Jr. and Samus, are Emitters. Despite being heavy, they’re better at fighting from a distance.

Nearly all Conjurers are mid to light weight. None of them want to get hit and prefer to stay out of the frontlines.

As you find your characters, you’ll find the trend of success that suits you best. Rather than jumping around the roster, you’ll begin to centralize your style as you understand the game better.

Outliers.

I’ve given this thought for many years. However, I’ve always had trouble placing characters like Link on the Nen chart. While most sword users are Enhancers, Link isn’t particularly about building power. Moreover, he does not have a simple playstyle as the majority of Fire Emblem characters use.

Link camps with projectiles, likely making him an Emitter. However, Link is adept at using all kinds of weapons, including Bombs for traps. In the Zelda series, he also uses magic. Link feels good for nearly any playstyle.

Bayonetta also falls under this category. A character who can use guns, slow down time, and summon a demon gives her an unorthodox set of abilities. Inherently, however, she is an Umbra Witch who conjures this magic. It’s hard to group whether she falls under a Conjurer or a Specialist.

Belmonts are a tough call. They use enough special items to be Conjurers, but they’re not magic users the way Zelda and Robin are. They’re also physically tougher. Therefore, I categorize them as Emitters.

ROB is…well, ROB is a Robot. However, he distinctly relies on distance attacks. ROB likely falls under Emitter if it’s not a Specialist.

Conclusion

I hope this gave you a better understanding of where to centralize your abilities. The next entry will cover my personal experience and how I found which characters I enjoy most. Hopefully it will come in handy to you as well.

Be sure to check back for Part 3, when I go over my story for how I found my main! If you find this helpful, please consider sharing it as well!

The Full Guide – Each Character’s Nen types.

You’ll find all characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate listed here. All of them will be grouped by Nen type, ordered by their placement on the roster.

Enhancer

Mario

Donkey Kong

Captain Falcon

Bowser

Dr. Mario

Marth

Lucina

Ganondorf

Roy

Chrom

Meta-Knight

Wario

Ike

Charizard

Sonic

King Dedede

Lucario

Wii Fit Trainer

Little Mac

Shulk

Ryu

Ken

Cloud

Corrin

King K. Rool

Incineroar

Mii Brawler

Mii Swordfighter

Emitter

Link

Samus

Dark Samus

Fox

Pikachu

Sheik

Pichu

Falco

Pit

Dark Pit

Zero Suit Samus

Snake

Squirtle

Ivysaur

Diddy Kong

ROB

Toon Link

Wolf

Mega Man

Bowser Jr.

Inkling

Ridley

Mii Gunner

Transmuter

Greninja

Conjurers

Peach

Daisy

Zelda

Villager

Palutena

Robin

Isabelle

Manipulators

Ness

Mewtwo

Olimar

Rosalina and Luma

Duck Hunt

Specialist

Kirby

Luigi

Jigglypuff

Ice Climbers

Mr. Game & Watch

Bayonetta

Watch Hunter X Hunter. It’s a wonderful anime series!

https://www.crunchyroll.com/hunter-x-hunter