Mighty_mo76
Smash Apprentice
Beyond the game
Hello! This is Mo from the East Coast. Many of you do not know me personally, but I’ve been around since fighter games were invented. (Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom, Mortal Kombat anyone?) Smash is such a strange fighter game in that it is not a traditional fighter! But it’s a great game nonetheless. But let’s skip the intro and get straight to business.
How do you become a great Smasher?
Here’s a quick collection of random wisdom I’ve compiled over the years that many people kinda know, but have never really been able to express into words. It should help open the doors of your understanding and give you insight into the many great aspects of Smash; from the most obvious thing to the minutest nuance in gameplay. This won’t make you a great smasher. Only you can do that. But this should help you get started (or even refresh your memory for you veterans) on your journey.
Fundamentals
A lot of players tend to let the Advanced Techniques (AT’s) get in the way of common sense. The very fundamentals of a fighter game are compromised in order to pull off fancy wavegrabs and ISJR aerials. While these tactics are sometimes a necessity in higher level play, they are by no means a replacement for the “meat and potatoes” of any fighter game. I’m not going to insult your intelligence by explaining these fundamentals to you. Rather, I will refresh your memory and let you rediscover the importance of these concepts on your own as you play:
Spacing. Keep yourself safe while not giving your opp a lot of room to maneuver. Be in his face while always having enough time to retreat.
Shielding and defense. Know that’s not a crime to spot dodge if you think your opp is going to attack, but he doesn’t. Know that if you use it too much your opp will think you’re scared and will play more aggressively. Avoid shield drop lag by going directly from the shield to an aerial (if you want to do an aerial.)
Watching for patterns in opp’s play style. Once you know the pattern, don’t attack the opp. Instead, attack where the opp is going to be in a few seconds.
Knowing when to attack. Know what your opp is not expecting. Be unpredictable
Staying safe. Positional play. The edge is dangerous. Platforms are dangerous. The air above of your opp is dangerous. Know how to be safe (but not scared).
Conditioning. Purposefully doing things meant to make your opp fell like they have you figured out. That way, you know what your opp expects you to do; so don’t it.
Being SMART! Don’t have emotions. What are emotions? Don’t need them. Use logic and midgames. Play with confidence!
Being reactive
Everyone knows that one of the easiest ways to win is by simply waiting for your opp to do a move first and then reacting with your god-like reflexes appropriately. This is important when learning how your opp reacts and thinks in play. You guys know this: poke you’re opp until you know how he works and then start reacting to it appropriately.
A lot of this is common sense that I am merely putting into words. You can figure it out. Play with your opp’s mind until you know his mantra. Then be reactive and punish him. One thing though, don’t aim for the opp, aim for where he’ll be in a few moments. If you know where he will be (because your opp commits to attacks and doesn’t know how to mix things up), why not skip the chase and just go there and wait for him to land there?
Being Proactive
I’m not talking about acne medication (which we all need). While playing reactively yields great results against less skilled players and even for the first few stocks of a hardcore match, it will not win you the fight. Here’s what separates the pros from the super-pros: the ability to take the initiative in a fight and start putting on the pressure and forcing certain situations onto your opp. Being proactive is about taking advantage of the fact that you have aroused your opp’s emotions (forcing him to play predictably and aggressively) and making the most of you’re dominance. Being proactive is about playing with confidence.
Playing proactively is tricky because it’s one thing to know that you’ve perturbed your opp, but it’s another thing to be able to take advantage of that and react to your benefit. If you took off two stocks off your opp and you still have all of yours, if he’s a less experienced opp he will spam his smashes and suffer huge lag. Ok, so playing smart and reactively you know he’s mad and you avoid his smashes. But there comes a time where you have to turn the tables and put you’re opp in that position again where he is losing and is no longer trying to get in that smash. Turn the tables yet again and make your opp try desperately to get back to the edge. Now he’s not trying to smash you. The game has been reset. Reset the match and make it into whatever you want. Be the one calling the shots and putting the pressure. Play with confidence.
A note of caution: as you go to more tournaments you will learn the difference between being cocky (overly aggressive and unsafe) and being proactive. Once you assert your dominance and know you have taken control of your opp’s emotions, never stop playing smart.
Psychology
This is a great topic that doesn’t need to be boring or overly complicated. This is about emotions, the lack of emotions, reading your opponents mind through their habits, predicting your opp, and stuff like that. Learn how humans react and learn to make generalizations and classify your opp based on you vast repertoire of habits you’ve collected from years of experience.
I’ll make this quick. This isn’t about meditating and using magic to read minds. The psychology of fighter game is simple and complex at the same time. Here’s some wisdom everyone should learn:
People who let their emotions get the best of them are not thinking logically.
They make decisions based on immediate circumstances and don’t make plans.
You also have emotions and have to learn to get rid of them or hide them.
Learn the different stages of a fight. Like chess: there’s the opening where you and your opp try to get a feel for each other. There’s the middle game were there is mostly reactive play and nice back and forth momentum going on. Lastly there’s the endgame where one player plays proactively and the other player changes their style in a desperate attempt to save themselves.
Do small experiments (like running up to you opp, faking an aerial approach) to see how they react. Build “data” and use it to assess their weaknesses and kill all who oppose you.
When anyone has just lost a stock, expect for the other guy to lose one also within 20 secs (watch any match not involving Mew2King on Youtube. It’s true). Learn to counter this phenomena and reverse the situation and reset the match. Hold on to that stock like it’s your last one!
Most importantly, learn to do all of this and use this knowledge without thinking. Make it instinct and habit. Please don’t think “Ok, now let me set up an experiment and form a hypothesis and analyze my data to…” No. This should be natural. Don’t think too much. Play a lot and this will become natural. I promise.
Being Adaptive
Anyone who’s read Sirlin’s guide on “Playing to Win” knows what I’m talking about here. It’s been proven time and time again that the top players have several things in common. Of these traits (mental stamina, tournament experience, adaptability, knowing the mind of the opp, etc…) the most impressive and useful one to learn to develop is Adaptability. Why? Because it is the core of learning to play according to the play style of your opp. If you are fighting a middle school girl using Pichu and all she does is shield grab (and very nicely timed shield grabs) then you can no longer try to dash dance or camp to fool her. She is unmoved by you’re dash dancing. She thinks you don’t know how to control you’re character and are acting strangely because of your lack of experience.
You and her are on different levels. She will not react to a barrage of auto-canceled aerials like you expect. You are used to forcing your opp to shield or run away, but she will just stand there (oblivious) and shield grab you.
Adaptability is key to winning. Adapt to that n00b who just stands there and shield grabs. Adapt to that cocky scrub who only spams Sheik’s dash attack. That’s how you train your mind to be adaptive; by learning how your opp thinks and plays. Adapt your play style to best counter your given opp’s play style. Soon you’ll have a repertoire of play styles you’ve encountered before (part of being an experienced player.)
Know when you are not in control of the match and adapt (reset the match and your spacing). Know when your opp is playing defensively and adapt (grab more). Here is a summary of adaptability: Be FLEXIBLE!
I hope this has been a source of inspiration for you smashers who are on your journey to becoming more serious players. Like PC Chris once said in an interview with MLG “Just go to a lot of tournaments and you’ll get better fast. That’s what I did.”
Above all, always have fun! This is life. So enjoy it while it lasts.
Mo, peace.
Hello! This is Mo from the East Coast. Many of you do not know me personally, but I’ve been around since fighter games were invented. (Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom, Mortal Kombat anyone?) Smash is such a strange fighter game in that it is not a traditional fighter! But it’s a great game nonetheless. But let’s skip the intro and get straight to business.
How do you become a great Smasher?
Here’s a quick collection of random wisdom I’ve compiled over the years that many people kinda know, but have never really been able to express into words. It should help open the doors of your understanding and give you insight into the many great aspects of Smash; from the most obvious thing to the minutest nuance in gameplay. This won’t make you a great smasher. Only you can do that. But this should help you get started (or even refresh your memory for you veterans) on your journey.
Fundamentals
A lot of players tend to let the Advanced Techniques (AT’s) get in the way of common sense. The very fundamentals of a fighter game are compromised in order to pull off fancy wavegrabs and ISJR aerials. While these tactics are sometimes a necessity in higher level play, they are by no means a replacement for the “meat and potatoes” of any fighter game. I’m not going to insult your intelligence by explaining these fundamentals to you. Rather, I will refresh your memory and let you rediscover the importance of these concepts on your own as you play:
Spacing. Keep yourself safe while not giving your opp a lot of room to maneuver. Be in his face while always having enough time to retreat.
Shielding and defense. Know that’s not a crime to spot dodge if you think your opp is going to attack, but he doesn’t. Know that if you use it too much your opp will think you’re scared and will play more aggressively. Avoid shield drop lag by going directly from the shield to an aerial (if you want to do an aerial.)
Watching for patterns in opp’s play style. Once you know the pattern, don’t attack the opp. Instead, attack where the opp is going to be in a few seconds.
Knowing when to attack. Know what your opp is not expecting. Be unpredictable
Staying safe. Positional play. The edge is dangerous. Platforms are dangerous. The air above of your opp is dangerous. Know how to be safe (but not scared).
Conditioning. Purposefully doing things meant to make your opp fell like they have you figured out. That way, you know what your opp expects you to do; so don’t it.
Being SMART! Don’t have emotions. What are emotions? Don’t need them. Use logic and midgames. Play with confidence!
Being reactive
Everyone knows that one of the easiest ways to win is by simply waiting for your opp to do a move first and then reacting with your god-like reflexes appropriately. This is important when learning how your opp reacts and thinks in play. You guys know this: poke you’re opp until you know how he works and then start reacting to it appropriately.
A lot of this is common sense that I am merely putting into words. You can figure it out. Play with your opp’s mind until you know his mantra. Then be reactive and punish him. One thing though, don’t aim for the opp, aim for where he’ll be in a few moments. If you know where he will be (because your opp commits to attacks and doesn’t know how to mix things up), why not skip the chase and just go there and wait for him to land there?
Being Proactive
I’m not talking about acne medication (which we all need). While playing reactively yields great results against less skilled players and even for the first few stocks of a hardcore match, it will not win you the fight. Here’s what separates the pros from the super-pros: the ability to take the initiative in a fight and start putting on the pressure and forcing certain situations onto your opp. Being proactive is about taking advantage of the fact that you have aroused your opp’s emotions (forcing him to play predictably and aggressively) and making the most of you’re dominance. Being proactive is about playing with confidence.
Playing proactively is tricky because it’s one thing to know that you’ve perturbed your opp, but it’s another thing to be able to take advantage of that and react to your benefit. If you took off two stocks off your opp and you still have all of yours, if he’s a less experienced opp he will spam his smashes and suffer huge lag. Ok, so playing smart and reactively you know he’s mad and you avoid his smashes. But there comes a time where you have to turn the tables and put you’re opp in that position again where he is losing and is no longer trying to get in that smash. Turn the tables yet again and make your opp try desperately to get back to the edge. Now he’s not trying to smash you. The game has been reset. Reset the match and make it into whatever you want. Be the one calling the shots and putting the pressure. Play with confidence.
A note of caution: as you go to more tournaments you will learn the difference between being cocky (overly aggressive and unsafe) and being proactive. Once you assert your dominance and know you have taken control of your opp’s emotions, never stop playing smart.
Psychology
This is a great topic that doesn’t need to be boring or overly complicated. This is about emotions, the lack of emotions, reading your opponents mind through their habits, predicting your opp, and stuff like that. Learn how humans react and learn to make generalizations and classify your opp based on you vast repertoire of habits you’ve collected from years of experience.
I’ll make this quick. This isn’t about meditating and using magic to read minds. The psychology of fighter game is simple and complex at the same time. Here’s some wisdom everyone should learn:
People who let their emotions get the best of them are not thinking logically.
They make decisions based on immediate circumstances and don’t make plans.
You also have emotions and have to learn to get rid of them or hide them.
Learn the different stages of a fight. Like chess: there’s the opening where you and your opp try to get a feel for each other. There’s the middle game were there is mostly reactive play and nice back and forth momentum going on. Lastly there’s the endgame where one player plays proactively and the other player changes their style in a desperate attempt to save themselves.
Do small experiments (like running up to you opp, faking an aerial approach) to see how they react. Build “data” and use it to assess their weaknesses and kill all who oppose you.
When anyone has just lost a stock, expect for the other guy to lose one also within 20 secs (watch any match not involving Mew2King on Youtube. It’s true). Learn to counter this phenomena and reverse the situation and reset the match. Hold on to that stock like it’s your last one!
Most importantly, learn to do all of this and use this knowledge without thinking. Make it instinct and habit. Please don’t think “Ok, now let me set up an experiment and form a hypothesis and analyze my data to…” No. This should be natural. Don’t think too much. Play a lot and this will become natural. I promise.
Being Adaptive
Anyone who’s read Sirlin’s guide on “Playing to Win” knows what I’m talking about here. It’s been proven time and time again that the top players have several things in common. Of these traits (mental stamina, tournament experience, adaptability, knowing the mind of the opp, etc…) the most impressive and useful one to learn to develop is Adaptability. Why? Because it is the core of learning to play according to the play style of your opp. If you are fighting a middle school girl using Pichu and all she does is shield grab (and very nicely timed shield grabs) then you can no longer try to dash dance or camp to fool her. She is unmoved by you’re dash dancing. She thinks you don’t know how to control you’re character and are acting strangely because of your lack of experience.
You and her are on different levels. She will not react to a barrage of auto-canceled aerials like you expect. You are used to forcing your opp to shield or run away, but she will just stand there (oblivious) and shield grab you.
Adaptability is key to winning. Adapt to that n00b who just stands there and shield grabs. Adapt to that cocky scrub who only spams Sheik’s dash attack. That’s how you train your mind to be adaptive; by learning how your opp thinks and plays. Adapt your play style to best counter your given opp’s play style. Soon you’ll have a repertoire of play styles you’ve encountered before (part of being an experienced player.)
Know when you are not in control of the match and adapt (reset the match and your spacing). Know when your opp is playing defensively and adapt (grab more). Here is a summary of adaptability: Be FLEXIBLE!
I hope this has been a source of inspiration for you smashers who are on your journey to becoming more serious players. Like PC Chris once said in an interview with MLG “Just go to a lot of tournaments and you’ll get better fast. That’s what I did.”
Above all, always have fun! This is life. So enjoy it while it lasts.
Mo, peace.
