Staying Grounded: A Lunge Closer to Jab Mastery

[⑨ball]

Preluded by a lift and twist of course~

Wii Fit Trainer's jab is another one of underused and underutilized moves that is actually kind of amazing. We're certainly a lot further than we were in the early days, but it's time to take another step and learning more about what we can do from a jab is where we should start. For quick refreshers on frame and hitbox data, be sure not to forget about Human Anatomy.

Now, there are three important things we need to establish(just so we keep in it mind) before we delve into the juicy stuff.

1. The grounded state works very similar to grabs in that the time they are [held] is dependent on their damage and opponents can shake to reduce the time they are held, or do nothing. The higher their damage, the longer they are held in, and the more inputs they need to break free.
2. Air release (when they pop out naturally or shake free) is character/weight dependent set knockback. Meaning opponents will always rise to the same height every time regardless of their damage or how fast they're able to break free and the first couple frames after escaping will be in a neutral state unresponsive to inputs.
3. Opponents will receive significantly less knockback when grounded. As such they are much harder to KO from singular attacks, but much easier to combo.

There's probably quite a lot more, but these are the one's I've found most practical to use. If someone finds something worthwhile to add, please let us know so we can discuss, research and so on.


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Air release

Jab
Seems almost too simple to be good right? Well, it's not. As your opponent can't immediately hit you while popping out, you have a opportunity to reground them continuously to rack up damage or jab1 to setup mixups. This is especially good for opponents familiar with jab's power as the mash will be real letting you get a better read on when they'll pop out. Use it often and particularly at lower percents to maximize your punish and get into your opponent's head.

Fair/Header/Dair
Frame 9, 15(earliest), and 20 respectively. WFT has no shortage of meteors for any occasion and this happens to be a great one. Both fair and dair are decent damage and have a chance of ground bouncing for follow ups, they also don't need any real timing since even if they stay grounded you're not missing out on damage and if you're autocanceling you'll always be in a great position to capitalize on the release. Frame cancels still work here, but they're better outside of this state. Header does great damage and also autocancels. While it can't hit grounded opponents like the former 2, it's a much better option against airdodges if you'd rather follow them up. Near the edge it can also send opponents to their doom due to it's angle. No better way to scare an opponent into staying grounded than having 20+ damage waiting above them. While the meteors will probably be the better option most of the time, don't forget about the front side of fair has a weaker late hitbox that is great for combos too.

Bair
13.5%, hits on frame 5 and is one of our most reliable kill tools. This move is great because it can be used both at the start of their release with good timing, or at the peak of their release in prediction of a defensive of offense option. No one willing to trade with this move has an aerial that will come out fast enough, so you mainly want to bait the airdodge and punish hard with this when you're looking for kill or to get them offstage. Occasionally you will find those who'll challenge anyway by virtue of having relatively fast and power aerials(Yoshi's nair) so sometimes throw it out just to show you will. Even if you miss, most of the time you'll find WFT has enough aerial mobility to make it safe. This should definitely be added to everyone's "Time to kill, here's what I'll fish for" list.

Uair
The classic. Most character have poor options to combat opponents below them and WFT has pretty good frame data and a good hitbox on it, so even if they wanted to, there's a high chance they'd lose. It's a very safe option and is fine when baiting airdodges. All of these attributes come together nicely with rage and DB to make a reasonably consistent and low commitment kill setup at high percents.

Usmash


The archetype. The second most used, it trades a little off of safety and ease for massive kill power outclassing all of her other smashes to point I didn't even list them. If there's a reason the balancing team hasn't decided to give us a setup hit on usmash like what was most likely planned, it's to avoid this setup being too easy. Nevertheless, it's here and does what it's supposed to when it does. the true yolo move. I've seen a lot of players look for this and while I'm not saying dump it completely( as it's fine when used fast to catch mashers), don't charge this move up and fish for the release anymore-- If opponents are giving you enough to time to do that, you've got much better, consistent options.

Nair
The god. Does this move know no bounds to it's utility? Nair is fantastic and is probably the best option we have in terms of reward v effort, simply because you can just try to fast fall it on opponents and if they pop out before you hit them grounded, it'll combo into something else. The usual combos apply such as uair, header, fair, another nair which in the case of uair makes it a kill combo. Soft nair combos work too and combo and kill just the same as on the ground. Having the best recovery time of all our aerials also makes this a potential frame trap into bair. It's also one of the best moves to transition into footstool>jablock set ups. You literally can't lose with this move as an option here and it gets even better.

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Grounded/Forced Release

Dtilt
To be honest I haven't found much use for Dtilt, but I did my homework on it simply so I'd know when I could throw it out to rack up damage and retain the air release position/stage control. The knockback on it is low however so it could setup into some nasty team shenanigans or interesting mixups.

Ftilt
Hits fast and hits hard, but when it comes to grounded opponents, using it is as per usual is a waste as your knockback will get snuffed. However, if you turnaround and hit with the foot hitbox you will pop your opponent into the air and be able to combo, something that without grounding first is very very difficult (like nearly frame perfect for a true combo). This isn't the case once grounded as the knockback is cut, but the hitstun is not. This lets you do basic high damage combos like ftilt>ftilt, ftilt>utilt, and ftilt>uair far beyond percents they'd ever normally combo for far longer with ftilt>uair even becoming a kill combo on fast fallers at higher percents. If nothing else it puts them in a very precarious position similar to what one would expect from a legit down throw.

Jab
Now, we've already covered catch air releases with jab to discourage mashing, but we're not quite exhausted on jab's utility yet. At higher percents, the back hit of jab knocks opponents out similar to dtilt but with a much lower angle (making team combos even easier to manage) and then at higher percents, it puts them into a tumble giving you the opportunity to tech chase. Not much damage, but if you get the read it's pretty much always going to be the KO so it's fine. Simple efficiency at it's finest.

Utilt


Trap the normal. On top of gaining the ability to combo at later percents into and from other moves (especially on fast fallers), this move with it's fast start up and decent recovery becomes a great move to set traps. I've found that this is a great option to use when you want to test the waters and see what type of player you're up against. Use utilt and then make your read. Are they a defensive type? Charge F or Dsmash and punish their foolish airdodge. Are they an aggressive type? Shield/Crouch and then use your punish of choice. I prefer to shielddrop jab and put them in all over again most of the times. At slightly higher percents you should also notice they're in the perfect position to be usmashed and it can catch many players off guard due to it's invincibility. It can also condition airdodges simply from the fear it rightfully inspires.

Nair

Once again, nair is the strongest option in our arsenal. Leading to huge damaging combos, kos, and traps. Fast falling nair onto opponents is great and has three percent ranges so that you can always get what you want when you need it. If it weren't an aerial it'd be the only thing I'd ever suggest using period. Lucky for us, it's frame 9, so it's plenty fast enough to reasonably use even if it's not a ground normal. As it true combos into usmash, THIS is what you should be going for instead of charging usmash. This is really useful against characters with awkward tumble animations that you might have issues nair>usmashing otherwise. It can also potentially kill earlier as it can use either a full nair, a half, or the soft nair and combo. As mentioned earlier, it's also great on air release and safe on whiff so it's a low risk/high reward kill setup that starts from frame a frame 4 jab. Sakurai have mercy if we ever get bigger hitboxes on jab and more time on grounding.


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Finally to round everything off, the data/cheat sheet for the cast. Again these are the only ones I found practical, but I haven't looked into everything, so feel free to experiment, discuss and of course have fun so we can find even more~

Spoiler: Notes

• Mii Fighters all have the same percentages depending on their size, but have different weights and fallspeeds depending on their characters, so combos may work differently according to their class.
• I do not have the data for any special states like Shulk's monado. I might add it later, but it's unlikely.
• Ground releases are dependent on knockback, so having rage/DB will lower percents needed.
• These are the lowest percents needed for each character with no rage or staleness factored in so may or not need more in order to combo
• Ftilt percents count for both sides
• In general when doing nair combos you should aim for half nair percents so you don't need to rely on precision against *******
• I'll probably spruce up this thread a bit more with pictures and minor formatting eventually
• This'll eventually go in the video tutorial I'm planning to so if you add something I'll be asking permission when the time comes
• All percents are in reference to before the jab and assumes the full 8% chain will be used
• WFT still the funnest character to play and best girl.
• qunka qunka qunka, say qunka qunka

Spoiler: Percent Cheat Sheet

Character | Ftilt | Dtilt | Full Nair | Half Nair | R. Jab | R. Jab(Tumble) | Utilt | Soft Nair
| 25% | 51% | 58% | 63% | 78% | 114% | 80% | 95%
| 24% | 50% | 58% | 63% | 78% | 114% | 80% | 95%
| 22% | 48% | 55% | 60% | 74% | 109% | 76% | 91%
| 31% | 61% | 70% | 75% | 92% | 133% | 95% | 112%
| 26% | 53% | 61% | 66% | 81% | 118% | 83% | 99%
| 20% | 44% | 50% | 55% | 70% | 102% | 71% | 85%
| 24% | 52% | 59% | 65% | 81% | 120% | 83% | 99%
| 27% | 54% | 62% | 67% | 82% | 120% | 85% | 100%
| 20% | 43% | 49% | 54% | 68% | 100% | 69% | 83%
| 30% | 58% | 68% | 73% | 89% | 129% | 92% | 109%
| 24% | 49% | 56% | 61% | 76% | 111% | 78% | 93%
| 26% | 53% | 61% | 66% | 81% | 118% | 83% | 99%
| 22% | 46% | 53% | 58% | 73% | 106% | 74% | 88%
| 22% | 46% | 53% | 58% | 73% | 106% | 74% | 88%
| 28% | 56% | 64% | 69% | 85% | 123% | 87% | 103%
| 24% | 49% | 56% | 61% | 76% | 111% | 78% | 93%
| 27% | 54% | 62% | 67% | 83% | 121% | 85% | 101%
| 21% | 45% | 51% | 56% | 71% | 104% | 72% | 86%
| 24% | 50% | 57% | 62% | 78% | 113% | 79% | 94%
| 24% | 50% | 57% | 62% | 78% | 113% | 79% | 94%
| 23% | 48% | 55% | 60% | 75% | 110% | 77% | 92%
| 23% | 48% | 55% | 60% | 75% | 110% | 76% | 91%
| 23% | 48% | 55% | 60% | 75% | 110% | 76% | 91%
| 27% | 54% | 62% | 67% | 82% | 120% | 85% | 100%
| 24% | 50% | 57% | 62% | 77% | 113% | 79% | 94%
| 20% | 43% | 50% | 55% | 69% | 101% | 70% | 84%
| 29% | 58% | 67% | 72% | 88% | 128% | 90% | 107%
| 21% | 44% | 51% | 56% | 70% | 103% | 72% | 86%
| 21% | 45% | 52% | 57% | 71% | 104% | 73% | 87%
| 21% | 44% | 51% | 56% | 70% | 103% | 72% | 85%
| 21% | 45% | 52% | 57% | 71% | 104% | 73% | 87%
| 21% | 44% | 51% | 56% | 70% | 103% | 72% | 85%
| 28% | 57% | 65% | 70% | 86% | 125% | 88% | 105%
| 25% | 51% | 59% | 64% | 79% | 115% | 81% | 96%
| 18% | 40% | 46% | 51% | 65% | 96% | 66% | 79%
| 24% | 49% | 57% | 62% | 77% | 112% | 77% | 93%
| 23% | 48% | 55% | 60% | 75% | 110% | 77% | 92%
| 26% | 54% | 61% | 66% | 82% | 119% | 84% | 100%
| 24% | 49% | 57% | 62% | 77% | 112% | 78% | 93%
| 26% | 53% | 61% | 66% | 81% | 118% | 83% | 99%
| 24% | 50% | 58% | 63% | 78% | 114% | 78% | 95%
| 21% | 44% | 51% | 56% | 70% | 103% | 71% | 85%
| 24% | 50% | 57% | 62% | 78% | 114% | 79% | 95%
| 25% | 51% | 58% | 63% | 78% | 114% | 80% | 95%
| 25% | 52% | 60% | 65% | 80% | 117% | 80% | 95%
| 24% | 50% | 57% | 62% | 77% | 113% | 79% | 94%
| 25% | 52% | 60% | 65% | 80% | 117% | 82% | 98%
| 24% | 49% | 57% | 62% | 77% | 112% | 78% | 93%
| 19% | 41% | 48% | 53% | 67% | 98% | 68% | 81%
| 24% | 49% | 57% | 62% | 77% | 112% | 78% | 93%
| 24% | 50% | 57% | 62% | 77% | 113% | 79% | 94%
| 26% | 52% | 60% | 65% | 81% | 118% | 83% | 98%
S| 24% | 50% | 58% | 63% | 78% | 114% | 80% | 95%
D| 25% | 51% | 59% | 64% | 79% | 116% | 81% | 97%
L| 25% | 52% | 60% | 65% | 80% | 117% | 82% | 98%

 

[sam☆jam]

I never knew about some of these options, just goes to show how versatile WFT's jab is. nice guide, 10/10 would stretch

 

[FiXalaS]

so beautiful

I learned some new things, thanks

 

[SuaveChaser]

Well i learned some new stuff today great work yo.

 

[Waveguider]

Aw man, I was fiddling around with using nair on grounded opponents into kill moves today thinking no one else had figured out it was a thing. anyway's here's a thing i did

 

[⑨ball]

Aw man, I was fiddling around with using nair on grounded opponents into kill moves today thinking no one else had figured out it was a thing.

I'm working on the data for our option selects next. If you want to beat me to it, now's your chance.

 

[SteadyDisciple]

Awesome guide, definitely picked up some new tricks from this. Only minor issue I noticed is that the final vine you have up (for Nair as a grounded/forced release) doesn't seem to be working for me so it could be worth double-checking, but it could also just be something on my end.

 

[⑨ball]

Awesome guide, definitely picked up some new tricks from this. Only minor issue I noticed is that the final vine you have up (for Nair as a grounded/forced release) doesn't seem to be working for me so it could be worth double-checking, but it could also just be something on my end.

It's just a weird vine. Sometimes it plays other times it won't. I plan on replacing it when I can.