Smashballs - much deeper than people think

[spyk90]

When I'm playing as Lucas, I let all my friends chase after the smash ball and hit it a few times. Then I'll come outta nowhere with a PK Thunder and hit it from several feet away. My friends get pissed off at me, but its really fun to see them mad. Lol

 

[Crispy4001]

After playing the game, I haven't changed my mind about Smash Balls.


There's depth to using them, but the pacing imbalances they create is absurd. For most characters, whoever gets the most Smash balls in a 3 stock match wins, with very little exception.

I don't see how the case could be any clearer cut. Should competitive smash be about the skill in breaking open a semi-random flying container, or should it be about the skill in directly outsmarting & outplaying your opponent?


It's black and white. The two don't mix, at all. Trying to mesh them together works about as well as trying to dissolve sand in water.

 

[infernovia]

Smash balls are cheap. I suck with Ike and just by using smash balls, I was able to kill 12 times in a 5 stock FFA. Sure its a power that requires a bit of thought, but the advantage you get is incredible enough to overlap skill.

Edit to restate: What I am saying here is that yes, I really do think that smash balls will require skills to master. But, just to point out here, when the smash balls did not exist, I just got pwned left and right. This maybe because people I was playing with weren't that powerful, but still. Oh and another note, if a smash ball appears near me when I am playing my main, I can open it 90% of the time. Notice squirtle's fair/bair opens these things REALLY easily.

Its deeper than a lot of people give it credit for, but I don't really think it warrants tournament use.

 

[Yuna]

What some people seem to have missed is that Smash Balls have invincibility. I seem to have to keep repeating this since a lot of people keep missing it.

From the frame you hit B, you are invincible and it will last 'til you've finished performing whatever you are to perform. With Pit, it ends once the Palutenan Army starts attacking. With everyone else, you're invincible 'til you're done.

This is not fair. Why not? Because some people can rack up more than 1 KO during their FS without anyone being able to do anything (most FS hits are also so strong you can't even shield them... most of them are just unblockable or they'll break your shield in one hit).

For another part, what are you going to do when I have grabbed the Smash Ball? I can approach you with Fairs (Marth) or Bairs (Toon Link) and spam you, waiting for an opening. You can't approach me. Because if you do, I'll just hit B at the right time and you'll die.

 

[Esca]

Okay guys, here's the best strategy for opening the Smash ball with Pit:

If the ball appears and your opponent is under 50%, grab him, and throw him in front of the ball, jump back, and use a light arrows.

Hint light arrows have 75% chance of opening the ball.)

If your opponent is over 50% with the ball fsmash him, and uair the ball, if 80% of your uair hits the ball, it will open.

Pit is especially good for recovering, so if the ball is high, use his awesome jumping for your advantage.

Reply in private and tell me what you think.

 

[Teh Uber Parachuter]

After playing the game, I haven't changed my mind about Smash Balls.


There's depth to using them, but the pacing imbalances they create is absurd. For most characters, whoever gets the most Smash balls in a 3 stock match wins, with very little exception.

I don't see how the case could be any clearer cut. Should competitive smash be about the skill in breaking open a semi-random flying container, or should it be about the skill in directly outsmarting & outplaying your opponent?


It's black and white. The two don't mix, at all. Trying to mesh them together works about as well as trying to dissolve sand in water.

The ultimate problem with smash balls is that THEY. SPAWN. TOO. FREAKING. OFTEN! In a three minute match, you could see maybe three to four smash balls if not more. I've played with smash balls on low and high, and the difference was not that much at all. If the smash ball spawned maybe once every three minutes or even longer, then maybe you could argue for their adding depth. However, as it stands right now, all you really have to do is wait for the smash ball which will be around in about thirty seconds and you've pretty much got the match.

 

[Kiederen]

Let me just say this for the record here: For many reasons that I don't have the time/motivation to write out, I'm personally against allowing smashballs in tournaments. The only reason I wrote this is because I've only ever seen people argue about smashballs while staying shallow and not getting into much detail about the depth (i.e. "Dude, his FS is TOO good, its totally unfair!!" without considering other factors). That frustrated me, so I made this topic.

I understand where you're coming from.

What about tourneys with and without smashballs.

I will say that their frequency, even on low, is too high. My brother and I played this afternoon and in one match four stock match we saw five smash balls and five final smashes (to my dismay, all his T-T but that's not the issue).