How OP should a protagonist be?

[BackWoodsJ_ACK]

In my honest opinion, I’m all for them being OP as long as he’s able to get injured or be challenged.

None of that Mary Sue crap where he’s practically the smartest person around and nigh invincible.

yknow like John wick or goblin slayer. They’re OP without being OP if that makes sense.

Or like having the protagonist act like they honestly don’t know anything or possibly suck at subject instead of having him instantly become a master at it after only a few days of learning it.

What about you guys?

 

[SailusGebel]

OP from the get-go is usually boring because it comes at the expense of every other character. However, I don't mind if the protagonist becomes absurdly OP as long as it's a long and arduous journey that actually consists of challenges, hard work, dedication, and concessions.

 

[BearlyAlive]

As strong as needed for the story but as weak as possible while you're at it. Otherwise we end up with Dragonball Z scaling where the power level is measured in how many multiverses said character can destroy in 0.00000000000000001% of a nanosecond.

The weakness can also be expressed in different ways and by no means should mean that a protagonist needs to be weak. Rather that conflict should focus on their established weaknesses.
Your character has problems controlling their power? Make their enemies crontrol-types. Your character is an assassin-glasscanon? Give 'em no place to hide. And so on.

MC can be Thanos-snap levels of OP for all I care as long as there's some chracter growth and hardship thrown between their feet.

 

[AliceShiki]

It depends on the narrative you want to tell.

If you want a carefree story where the protagonist stomps random monsters and makes a life as an adventurer while building a harem or whatever, then your protagonist can be as OP as you want, because your goal is to just show a carefree harem life, so the fights are more of a background setting than a focus. Being able to stomp through any and every fight in this context is fine.

If you want a more action-focused story that has your protagonist overcome hardships, train and grow stronger, then your protagonist probably shouldn't ever become OP, as they need to always be faced with danger and troubles and the like... Or well, if they do become OP, make sure they also face increasingly OP threats to compensate (this is not a very good idea in all honesty, but if done right, it can still create an entertaining narrative. See Dragon Ball for a good example of letting OPness go out of control, yet still somehow remain entertaining).

And if you want a narrative where your protagonist is weak and needs to handle hardships without having the option of fighting back at all, then your protagonist shouldn't even have powers in the first place. Or at least no combat-related powers.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

I think a character should start out normal so that the reader can see the proper growth of the character or at the very least explain why the character is OP from the start. Though there should always be something stronger than the character so that they aren't invincible. Though that's just my opinion. Others may disagree.

 

[BigBadBoi]

OP from the start only works as a comedy and almost all of them suck because none of you (yes even the asian authors) are funny.
I should clarify that this only applies to MCs that curbstomp everything in their path with ease.

 

[Nirokuro]

In my honest opinion, I’m all for them being OP as long as he’s able to get injured or be challenged.

None of that Mary Sue crap where he’s practically the smartest person around and nigh invincible.

yknow like John wick or goblin slayer. They’re OP without being OP if that makes sense.

Or like having the protagonist act like they honestly don’t know anything or possibly suck at subject instead of having him instantly become a master at it after only a few days of learning it.

What about you guys?

In my opinion it is best to make him weak in the start and the best he can do is be above the average but i make him win using intelligence and strategy to make best of weak skills

 

[PancakesWitch]

As OP as you can handle them in the meaning of making an intersting story. If you dont feel confident in being able to write something more than about a story whose stakes are always if the mc is going to win or not a battle, then dont try it because your story might end up being boring.

Goblin Slayer is not OP, he's just skilled, he also doesnt do everything alone, without his party with varied and useful abilities with him, he wouldnt be able to do half the things he acomplished, which are most of the time done through sheer teamwork.

You got the concept of "OP MC" very wrong if you think Goblin Slayer is OP...

 

[lnv]

In my honest opinion, I’m all for them being OP as long as he’s able to get injured or be challenged.

None of that Mary Sue crap where he’s practically the smartest person around and nigh invincible.

yknow like John wick or goblin slayer. They’re OP without being OP if that makes sense.

Or like having the protagonist act like they honestly don’t know anything or possibly suck at subject instead of having him instantly become a master at it after only a few days of learning it.

What about you guys?

That's the wrong question. The real question is, what kind of story are you trying to tell?

The real issue with OP MCs is that they suffer from 3 issues:
1) Too much highs, too little lows
A story should have highs and lows, if everything is a high, then that means that high is the norm. And it becomes a lot harder to excite the reader.

2) Too much focus on MCs
When there are too much focus on MC who is OP, you don't feel any suspense. It is great for cheap thrills, but you have no emotional attachment to anything else.

3) MC is good at everything at the expense of side characters
If MC is good at everything, it already makes side characters obsolete. But even worse, since MC is limited by the knowledge of the author, the side characters end up seeming like "How did they ever live all their lives without the MC?". The MC doesn't need to solve every single little issue.

This is why most successful OP MC stories focus on world building and side characters, build up suspense and deliver satisfaction when OP MC cleans house.

 

[NotaNuffian]

My personal advice is to NOT make an OP MC from the start, ie the type of MC that has his powerset a weakness to all types of enemies from the get-go. It was fun to read the curbstomp battle once or twice, but once the MC level up and he is still curbstomping other higher level foes like the first, there will be no sense of progression and the story gets stale.

Or worse, MC gets "weaker" as the plot progresses, as in now he is facing worthy foes to drag shit out but because it is different from initial fights where he can oneshot his foes, it will feel as though the MC has gotten weaker. This is a make-or-break point as MC needs to OP IMBA in some other department like gaining knowledge to learn fighting efficiency, NOT gain a new power, in order to keep up the same high from before. The MC will have to do it slowly for suspense but also fast enough to not the readers feeling blueballs.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

In my honest opinion, I’m all for them being OP as long as he’s able to get injured or be challenged.

None of that Mary Sue crap where he’s practically the smartest person around and nigh invincible.

yknow like John wick or goblin slayer. They’re OP without being OP if that makes sense.

Or like having the protagonist act like they honestly don’t know anything or possibly suck at subject instead of having him instantly become a master at it after only a few days of learning it.

What about you guys?

Beyond over powered. Post Mary-sue. Post dimensionally hevwenical epoch

 

[Maze_Runner]

In my honest opinion, I’m all for them being OP as long as he’s able to get injured or be challenged.

None of that Mary Sue crap where he’s practically the smartest person around and nigh invincible.

yknow like John wick or goblin slayer. They’re OP without being OP if that makes sense.

Or like having the protagonist act like they honestly don’t know anything or possibly suck at subject instead of having him instantly become a master at it after only a few days of learning it.

What about you guys?

In my opinion it really depends. In one of my books the MC is sort of OP but the thing is there is a small background to how he became that but if there isn't something like that then the MC should start out not OP. Eventually the MC can lead up to being OP but at the beginning it would just be boring to have it be OP. Hopefully this helps!

 

[Whitephantom]

I mean, in general as long as its not pumped up to the brim with a completely nonchalant MC who kills his enemies with but a swing of the hand and no enemies to prove difficult for the MC or the MC team. In my case since I write stories with OP characters I put in a OP MC, and at least couple it with challenges and OP enemies. Most LN and or manga's I've read that had a OP MC had either OPness out of the get-go or OPness with no hardship

 

[K5Rakitan]

OP from the get-go is usually boring because it comes at the expense of every other character. However, I don't mind if the protagonist becomes absurdly OP as long as it's a long and arduous journey that actually consists of challenges, hard work, dedication, and concessions.

Indeed! It takes some time to develop.

 

[Lorelliad]

If you can't find a way to defeat your monster of an MC in battle, then do it some other way. Include a negative trait within their personality. They might not like fighting despite being one of the strongest. Or they might have a disposition that makes them trusting to basically anyone, which again, can be exploited.

 

[melchi]

I think how OP the character is depends on the type of story. If the story is about clashing powers then when the character becomes demi-god power levels what is the point? He/she is not going to lose. If that is the direction the story is going it becomes boring fast. If the character is OP but the being OP doesn't help with the task at hand then it gets more interesting. A good example of this is one punch man. He can defeat anything so the real enemy is boredom.

 

[BlackKnightX]

Anything is fine as long as he’s badass. That’s the most important thing, and it’s not about the power level or the social status, either; it’s the characteristic, the trait, the personality.

Let’s say the protagonist was born with a weak constitution and he’s supposed to live in the world where power rules everything. Just by that premise alone already has me thinking how tough it would be for him—heck, it actually makes me doubting whether I should read this shit or not.

But let’s say that I try.

If I try reading it and find out that the protagonist is badass by his very nature—the type with strong presence, the will of God, and the witty of a classy charmer—then I’ll stay with him through and through.

On the other hand, in most Japanese novels I‘ve read, the MC gets some cheats and becomes insanely OP. (That will get me hooked instantly. I just love wish-fulfillment novels.) But once I start getting into it, I always find out that the character, despite being so OP, always acts like a pussy. It kind of makes me mad a bit.

I’ve since come to realized that it’s not the OPness I’m looking for; it’s the badass and charming character. Period.

 

[Ymadthepirate]

A mp should start off simple like naruto or Ichigo fighting simple goons maybe needing help with their friends but then throughout the show they should get stronger and fight literal gods, unless your full metal alchemist brotherhood were everyone is one somewhat equal footing or RWBY where the main character feels weak as hell becuase she always has her friends to help her fight foes.

 

[Mephi]

It depends.

Like, take the stereotypical OP japanese MCs. There is a small trick to those stories - the MC has a high power level, but as the story goes on, they grow in breadth of abilities. If the MC starts off as a super fire mage, then they won't get any stronger spells, but they will develop new utility and new tricks or crafty methods. It's almost closer to puzzle-solving slice-of-life than outright combat.

Meanwhile, you could almost say the Chinese \ Xianxia MCs are the opposite. They get some kind of connection or twist of fate that lets them punch above their weight class, then simply keep punching while raising their power levels, pretty much to the exclusion of all else.

American stories traditionally tend to focus on underdogs. They are rarely anything close to OP mcs.

 

[Vnator]

It depends on the narrative you want to tell.

If you want a carefree story where the protagonist stomps random monsters and makes a life as an adventurer while building a harem or whatever, then your protagonist can be as OP as you want, because your goal is to just show a carefree harem life, so the fights are more of a background setting than a focus. Being able to stomp through any and every fight in this context is fine.

If you want a more action-focused story that has your protagonist overcome hardships, train and grow stronger, then your protagonist probably shouldn't ever become OP, as they need to always be faced with danger and troubles and the like... Or well, if they do become OP, make sure they also face increasingly OP threats to compensate (this is not a very good idea in all honesty, but if done right, it can still create an entertaining narrative. See Dragon Ball for a good example of letting OPness go out of control, yet still somehow remain entertaining).

And if you want a narrative where your protagonist is weak and needs to handle hardships without having the option of fighting back at all, then your protagonist shouldn't even have powers in the first place. Or at least no combat-related powers.

To add to this, the main character still needs to face some sort of challenge. It doesn't even have to be a combat-oriented one, but could be learning to connect with the people around them, trying to solve a mystery or figure out something that's going on, or anything that requires more than minimal effort!