Watch The Thunder - A Ness Guide

[Hukster]

WATCH THE THUNDER – A NESS GUIDE


Ness is, in my personal opinion, a character of high risks and high rewards. Though always seen as a bad character (and hey, I’m not going to argue with it), Ness still has a lot of depth in his gameplay that make him very amazing to play as. With Smash 4, he’s gotten a lot better and more players are starting to pick him up. Because of this, I thought “why not” and decided to make this guide for those who want to learn Ness.

Credit to EternalFlame for helping me write up this guide.

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Part 1: Setups and Attack chains

Oh, by the way some of these setups are a bit situational, just be sure to keep in mind as you’re reading this.

Fair chain

Spoiler

The Fair chain is essentially linking a Fair into a double jump and another attack ontop of it. This option is a much greater tool in Smash 4, as the move pulls the target close enough for an immediate followup that most cannot escape. Now this is usually started from either a Short Hop (SH) or from the Down Throw (DThrow), but we will talk about that later. Once you land the initial hit, you have the following options after the double jump:

- Enter a second FAir, and at lower percents, do a final FAir as you are falling (Ness’ best attack string)

- Nair to hit the target away

Of course, the first option is great for getting the damage. As higher percents of around 60% and up, the opponents will get knocked too far back and this followup will no longer work. But at that point, the FAirs should be used to get them off stage more than as an attack string.

DTilt trip setup:

Spoiler

This involves hitting the target until the trip animation occurs. The DTilt trip setup is a bit difficult to get, due to the lack of range. The speed, however, can be used to punish or poke safely until the trip animation happens. Keep in mind that Bowser is the only character that cannot be tripped by Ness’ DTilt due to his ability to ignore weaker hits. Once the opponent trips, they are left wide open for any of the following options:

a) Grab (usual followup is the downthrow or backthrow)

b) UTilt (This sets up into other follow-ups, but it requires that the opponent is very close to Ness for this to work).

c) Jab (it’s there if you want to go into a reset or just as a simple combo finisher)

d) DTilt (If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again till they’re out of your reach)

e) FSmash/USmash (Your best kill options if you manage to get this)

f) PKT (This applies more to larger characters, but you are able to hit with the startup frames of PKT, and set the opponent up for a PKT2)

g) SH NAir (works on medium height characters to knock them away)

h) SH Fair/Bair/Uair (works on large characters, especially effective when looking to attack chain or kill)

i) Dash Attack (Goes into another setup)

Obviously, you’ll need to watch out for the trip animation, otherwise you’ll just DTilt them out of it. It is not always predictable when you can get it, but the hesitation from knowing that this works will be the key (otherwise, just DTilt away to a safe spacing)

DThrow setup:

Spoiler

The DThrow setup is a great way for racking up damage for Ness, especially since it follows up into his best attack string. This typically works best at lower percents up until about 60% and up. After performing the throw, your opponent has limited control of where they can vector. From this, you’ll be open to one of these options

a) Fair

Probably one of the best options you have in the air, due to how it sucks in the target for multiple hits and allows for a followup using either Nair or another Fair. The ideal position for this to work is for the target to be infront of Ness (as some can vector straight up, which messes up the positioning for this move). Please see the Fair String for more details.

b) Nair

Nairs will be a good tool should the target not be in an ideal position to Fair or if you just need to knock the target away.

c) Uair

This becomes an option if the opponent is directly above you when they vector, and a great tactic to scare/deal damage if they are not ready for it.

Anticipating your opponents vectoring is key to making this work best, though that should go without saying since the options depend the vectoring.

Jab Grab Setup:

Spoiler

This is a simple setup where all you have to do is perform 1 – 2 jabs then run up and grab the target. A lot of fast characters can do this, and Ness is no exception to this. As all setups are, your opponent can escape if they realize that you are pausing to grab and can retaliate. In terms of being inescapable, it is a little less reliable due to it being a very light jab that does not stun the target as much as characters like Fox – Ideally you’ll only use this occasionally. Another useful means of making this work is catching your opponent in the air with a jab to reset them to neutral air animation and you can grab from there. This works best at higher percents, but again, it is all about catching an opponent’s hesitation.

Jab Lock setup

Spoiler

This setup first relies on getting a hard knockdown on your opponent and they do not perform a ukemi (or recovery roll, however it’s phrased for Smash). Anyways, this tech carries over from previous iterations of smash, but keeping in mind the kind of property it has now is what makes this different. The opponent can be hit a total of three times on the ground, so that counts bouncing off the ground or being lightly jabbed at. Because of this, Ness is able to not only rack extra damage, but can combo end quite well from it. Once you have the opponent on the ground, you can take the following options:

a) Jab three times and rush to a grab (borrowing from the Jab Grab setup)

b) Jab two times then do the complete Jab combo (This is a simpler combo ender)

c) Jab twice then FSmash/USmash (Of course, for the damage)

The best way to setup into this situation will be off of the BAir/NAir that will be talked about next, and occasionally off of DAirs. Really, there are a number of situations that can lead into the hard fall for opponents, and it will be up to you if you can react fast enough to capitalize on it and use it. This setup is hard to go into, but having knowledge of it is still important.

Bair/Nair setup:

Spoiler

BAirs and NAirs are part of your go to approaches against opponents, and are your main tools for killing and gimping respectfully. One important function to note about is when hitting a target off a platform or even mid stage at 40% and above can place an opponent at a hard knockdown state. You can tell this happens when you see the impact wave of the opponent landing on the ground and are just lying there. This state is important due to the number of setups Ness can take from this state, especially the Jab locks and the Dash Attack setup. Knowing these two attacks give this property shows the other options you have besides FAirs in your approaches. It will also help with reaction time to go into the jab lock by knowing this.

PK Fire setup:

Spoiler

PK Fire setup has been there ever since the hayday of Smash. Simply put, the PK Fire attack is multihitting and roughly keeps opponents in place for your character to immediately follow up with. Of course, it has commitment, but when spacing correctly and reading well, this move is a great tool in Ness’ disposal. Now onto the options after the initial attack hits, you have:

- Grab (You know the drill by now)

- Smash attacks (Nearly any Smash attack can follow up afterwards

You do have other options like Jabbing or Tilting, but the two options above are what you want to go for most of the time as the followup

UThrow PKT setup

Spoiler

Unlike DThrow, UThrow sends opponents higher above and places them in a tumbling animation regardless of percentage. Ness can act very quickly out of the UThrow, but the best means of followup with little risk to yourself is by using PK Thunder. A lot of Ness’ game is messing with your opponent’s mind with PKT, and the throw places them at the ideal point to do so. You could hit them directly with the head of the bolt, you can juggle them with the tail of the bolt, you could also go into PK Thunder 2 if they try to land early via roll; it is all reliant on reading the opponent and making them second guess their options.

PKT setup

Spoiler

Normally, helping an opponent back onstage is counterintuitive for Smash. But when using PKT to do this, you are actually setting them up to be hit by you once more. Depending on how the opponent recovers, you can use PK thunder to add to the damage they received off stage and hit them back upwards towards the stage. This property remains no matter where you hit them with the head of the bolt, but this trajectory is important to note. By hitting them towards you, especially if they recover from below the stage, then you are able to place them in the air for any of your aerial attacks. Ness thrives with opponents in the air, as very few can challenge Ness once they’re off the ground. Stick with Ness’ BNB and pick how you want to follow up as you wish.

Dash Attack setup

Spoiler

Most dash attacks have the tendency to knock opponents into the air, and this is perfect for Ness. From a Dash attack, the opponents are in the right trajectory and position to immediately follow towards FAir, NAir, or UAir. The opponents have time to get out, but hesitation is something to capitalize on, and even if you miss, they normally will be unable to punish you for it. At higher percents, PKT is also another option of followup, especially if they go offstage. Mess with your opponents with the tail of the bolt, then hit yourself back towards the stage for safety and to hard read opponents trying to retreat there as well.

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Part 2: Unique tricks


Edgeguard Grab

Spoiler

Your opponent’s recovery once they are forced to the ledge often makes it difficult to kill them with just any of your Smash attacks without committing too much. As Ness’ ground game consists more of grabs now (especially with the lost DSmash and USmash traps), getting your opponent into a position to be backthrown would be ideal. Now this trick is based on opponents that will simply climb back on stage and put their shield up upon doing so. If you roll towards the ledge, you push your opponent slightly forward as they climb back on, thus placing them at the right point to be grabbed and back thrown. Because you are doing this during their climbing animation, it makes it difficult for them to get out of the grab if timed well enough. Now the only thing here is that you have to be able to read them to get them into such a situation. May not happen all the time, but having the option is good.

Edge/Platform PKT2

Spoiler

This trick carries over from previous iterations of Smash, where standing on a fall-through platform or near an edge, Ness will be able to hit himself with PKT. Ness’ hitbox is deceptively large, which means the mindgames can be played well by using this tactic. Specifically with the edge version of this, Ness will be able to anti air targets that happen to be unfortunately within range for Ness to tackle. The platform version is where Ness is able to fully protect himself with PKT, since the platform does not hinder the bolt’s movement.

Air PK Fire Horizontal shot

Spoiler

This is more of a glitch, but when you use PK Fire about 1 – 3 frames before landing, Ness will use PK Fire but shoot it horizontally instead of diagonally. This tool could be used for things like tricky spacing when platforms are involved, though this trick has some potential for Ness.

Dodge cancel Nair

Spoiler

The tech was initially found by CT_DeLux and res0smash, which can be found here for those interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmDkNkNPWYY

But going into its application, Ness’ Nair is a frame 1 move, which means you will be able to avoid an initial attack and retaliate quickly. Ness gets no landing lag from it either, which makes it a great means of punishing those who try to interrupt you or challenge your attacks.

PK Fire recovery

Spoiler

Not a lot of Nesses use this version of the recovery I find, but when using PK Fire at the start of your jump, you move more horizontal than vertical. This property is just another way for Ness to make it back on stage when he needs that extra push forward (hopefully no one will try to gimp you during this process.

PK Magnet Canceling

Spoiler

This trick also carries over from Super Smash Brothers Brawl, where the ending animation from absorbing a projectile can be cancelled by certain actions. Rule of thumb to do this trick is that you will hold down the B button and start to buffer the next action before the projectile hits. The actions that can be used to cancel PK Magnet include:

a) Dodge roll (by holding down the block button and tapping a direction as the projectile hits) Please note that you CANNOT roll forward.

b) USmash (the timing is a bit strict, but you are able to immediately use an USmash once the projectile hits)

c) You are also able to PK Thunder out of the magnet.

The list of projectiles that can be absorbed, as well as how much they heal Ness is listed in this post here for those curious:

http://smashboards.com/threads/psi-magnet-reference-guide.373370/

PKT ledge protection

Spoiler

When recovering from off stage or trying to camp on the ledge, you can use PKT to cover yourself. This is done by throwing PKT when you are in an ideal position to grab the ledge from just falling. You want to hit the bolt on something (the ground or the target), before Ness drops too far to grab the ledge. This is particularly useful for keeping opponents on the defensive side.

Thunder Gliding

Spoiler

This trick involves using PKT as you run off a ledge, and you carry momentum from your run. Now this becomes interesting as PKT activates a little behind Ness upon doing it, which can throw off some players trying to get closer to Ness. The variation can also lead to some interesting recovery options, as Ness will be position a little away from PKT, making the timing a bit strict but possibly better for a faster PKT2.

Item momentum cancel

Spoiler

This another curious property for Ness, related to how he jumps when he has an item. When Ness throws an item in the air, his vertical momentum is cut short at that point. This can be both a danger and an advantage for Nesses that use this, since you’re able to stop your vertical momentum on a dime (much better than using PK Fire to do so). Of course in tournament play, there only so many characters that use items that can be picked up by Ness, so just remember this property as it may come in handy to you.

PKT2 wall redirect and Bounce off:

Spoiler

Ness in this iteration got a pretty significant buff in regards to how he recovers using PKT2. But before addressing that, there is one property that had carried over from previous Smashes that should be talked about – wall redirect. As the name implies, this recovery option is used to redirect the path of PKT2 by sliding across a solid platform or wall. Usually Ness will bump against the object and that would end his recovery, but if angled just right, Ness will slide along it instead, which makes for a significantly great recovery and mindgame. Now previous iterations of Smash did have Ness just fall to his doom when he bumped a wall as he was recovering, but Smash 4 allows for Ness to perform another PKT2 if the bump was relatively horizontal. Since it is relatively horizontal, Ness can continuously bump against the wall and slowly recovery upwards (as long as the angle is right). Ness will not go down as badly as he use to, so use this to your advantage.

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Part 3: Ness playstyle/move property thoughts

A note before we begin, as this section reflects my own opinion and may not equally be shared by other Ness players. That said, here’s what I think about Ness:


Ground plan

Spoiler

As Ness excels at aerial combat, you typically want your opponent in the air as often as you can. This is why grabs are your usual source of doing so, as well as one of your main killing tools and forcing the target into such positions. Your Smash attacks are mainly used as reads, but you want to focus on getting your opponents in the air whenever you can. Dash attacks will be one of your better ground tools to do so, and you have setups like the Dtilt trip to get them up there once more. Another tool is your PK fire for spacing, but you’re better off using it in the air then on the ground, and even then, it’s risky unless you know you can hit with it. PKT will be used equally on the ground and in the air for chasing opponents down, especially when they are far away or off stage. It is plain risky to do it right at their face, so make sure you have enough time to go into PKT2 or break it so you can enter your next move. Overall, your ground play is only for getting them in the air, but push comes to shove, you won’t easily be able to keep them up there all day. So this is where we go into your aerial plan.

Aerial plan

Spoiler

Your Aerial plan is what you will use against both grounded and mid-air opponents. To break it down a bit, your usual options are your Nair, Fair, and Bair to poke and quickly retreat with. Short hopping (SH) will be your best friend, as you can perform many of these at just the right height to pull back or even double jump into a followup (see Fair Chain for more details). Your Nairs will be mostly use to gimp or keep your opponents away from you, Bairs for taking stocks, and Fairs for attacking chaining. Keep those in mind, especially against opponents of different weights – don’t want to just throw anything out there for no reason. One trick that’s important to remember is starting up PK Fire as you do start up your jump. This lets Ness keep his momentum as he performs PK fire; this should mostly be used for spacing purposes and setups to a grab combo. Other than these things, staying in the air keeps Ness as safe as possible, and helps you keep control of the battle.

PKT

Spoiler

First and foremost, do NOT use this at the start of matches. PKT is used mostly for spacing, punishing, and playing mindgames on your opponents – in fact, you can say that this is a principle move that all Nesses need to master. Never just move PKT as a straight line, unless you’re aiming to hit with the head of the bolt. You’re more likely to use the tail end of the bolt to keep your opponent juggled in a sense, as it is not enough to knock them away, but it keeps them well enough in place to be chased by the head of the bolt. Keep your distance or force your opponent to be unable to safely retaliate against PKT is a must. One final note to point out is that the camera always stays focused on Ness when on stage, even when PKT is out. This hides PKT trajectory and makes it hard to read the closer the opponent is. This goes for both yourself as Ness and for your opponent, so you can fake out opponents into a PKT2 setup, which is probably your most ideal kill option in the game.

DSmash/USmash properties

Spoiler

Now this I cannot confirm on my own, but from personal experience, there seems to be a unique property when using either of these smashes close range. It seems like there is a higher knockback when using them up close to your opponents. So its nice to know, although being a position of using this may not be common if you follow the way I highlight on how to fight with Ness.

 

[Eagleye893]

On DSmash/USmash: You might be right about Usmash there with the high knockback close to it, but DSmash has high knockback hits only at the ends (2 small hits then 1 big hit on each side). I'm not sure how that works with "close range." Otherwise, very nice guide.

 

[Hukster]

On DSmash/USmash: You might be right about Usmash there with the high knockback close to it, but DSmash has high knockback hits only at the ends (2 small hits then 1 big hit on each side). I'm not sure how that works with "close range." Otherwise, very nice guide.

Yeah, the yo-yo attributes are really weird, I never really looked into those two moves, as they weren't all that useful in the previous games, other than a few things like the yo-yo glitch in Melee.

 

[Luco]

Well the yoyo in brawl was good for ledge-guarding.

 

[15 [イチゴ]]

How are you supposed to use the "Dodge cancel Nair?"

The cool thing about short hopping an aerial is that you can jump again if you need to get the heck outta dodge, but is this for projectile or spacing move punishing?

I hit jump lightly hit the dodge button as soon as possible and before I land perform a neutral air which seems to still give me lag. I can't seem to shield, jab, or whatever nonsense he was doing in the video afterward.

 

[Hukster]

How are you supposed to use the "Dodge cancel Nair?"

The cool thing about short hopping an aerial is that you can jump again if you need to get the heck outta dodge, but is this for projectile or spacing move punishing?

I hit jump lightly hit the dodge button as soon as possible and before I land perform a neutral air which seems to still give me lag. I can't seem to shield, jab, or whatever nonsense he was doing in the video afterward.

Basically, for "Dodge cancel NAir" you want to input the air dodge basically as SOON as you jump off the ground, which gives your character enough frames to bring out the NAir hitbox, you will get ending lag after it yes, but the main purpose of it is to get the hitbox out to potentially hit your opponent. NAir doesn't exactly have lots of landing lag frames, so it's for the most part pretty safe.

 

[291C]

Well the yoyo in brawl was good for ledge-guarding.

I am in love with the yo-yo in this game, especially dsmash. SO good at punishing the roll dodge spammers. <3

 

[Uffe]

I am in love with the yo-yo in this game, especially dsmash. SO good at punishing the roll dodge spammers. <3

I'd still like the up smash to have that walk the dog affect, but I think they took it out because of the previous Smash games having the Yo-Yo Glitch. That down smash is a great attack, though. Multi-hits never felt so good! It's also a killer.

 

[xDIRCIOx]

I was trying the PKT2 Bounce, which I find great because I found myself dying alot as I recovered close to walls. I found out however, that this only works on certain walls. I tried this in Reset Bomb Forest, where the right wall is completely flat but the left isn't, and PKT2 Bounce didn't work on the left wall. Any idea what walls work and what walls don't?

Also, might've missed it, but you didn't mention the projectile reflecting properties of the F Smash, which are very useful against certain characters.

 

[Luco]

I was trying the PKT2 Bounce, which I find great because I found myself dying alot as I recovered close to walls. I found out however, that this only works on certain walls. I tried this in Reset Bomb Forest, where the right wall is completely flat but the left isn't, and PKT2 Bounce didn't work on the left wall. Any idea what walls work and what walls don't?

Also, might've missed it, but you didn't mention the projectile reflecting properties of the F Smash, which are very useful against certain characters.

Are you sure it was the actual wall or what you were doing when you made contact with it. I'm not 100% sure if all my data is correct here but most of it should be reasonably accurate:

If you press up on the control pad as you make contact with a wall in PKT2, you're more likely to slide up it/do the 'V', which is where you bounce off but you're still in PKT2. That's deadly, sadly.

If you press down on the control pad when making contact with a wall in this state, the angle increases where you'll actually bounce off to go into helpless. That's when you can use it again. =D

It's not so much that it affects your trajectory so much as it affects what will happen if Ness hits a wall while in PKT2. Holding up is great when you slide up the wall, but not so good when you V off it.

Ness is more likely to slide up the wall of the stage if he's used PKT2 a bit further away from the wall and comes into contact with the wall in the latter half of his distance travelled.

On the other hand, he seems more likely to V off the wall whilst still in PKT2 animation if you try to slide up the wall but Ness makes contact with it within the first 1/2 or 1/3 of the distance travelled by PKT2.

This was actually kind of similar to Brawl, except in Brawl you could only V if coming up under the ledge or if you PKT2-ed in to the ledge itself and occasionally you'd V yourself back onstage. It was actually really cool when it worked, and in a couple rare circumstances it's netted me a kill and possibly even the game before because peeps were so surprised by it hehe.

Peeps can correct me if they feel i'm wrong here.

 

[Hukster]

I was trying the PKT2 Bounce, which I find great because I found myself dying alot as I recovered close to walls. I found out however, that this only works on certain walls. I tried this in Reset Bomb Forest, where the right wall is completely flat but the left isn't, and PKT2 Bounce didn't work on the left wall. Any idea what walls work and what walls don't?

Also, might've missed it, but you didn't mention the projectile reflecting properties of the F Smash, which are very useful against certain characters.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that the bat does reflect stuff, but for the most part I probably already assumed that people remembered that, although I rarely use it.

Are you sure it was the actual wall or what you were doing when you made contact with it. I'm not 100% sure if all my data is correct here but most of it should be reasonably accurate:

Although, I didn't get your stuff quoted down. Yeah, the trick you're talking about is ledgebending, basically your recovery getting redirected in another direction, it's a pretty cool trick for sure, but of course really weird at the same time.

This is what you were talking about, right? Sorry if it's a bit difficult to see.

 

[Luco]

Yup that's it. I dunno how long the 'trick' has been around but i've been calling it the 'V' ever since I first did it in Brawl. =P

But yip, 'ledge-bending' can be great or... not so great.

It doesn't seem to bend you around the ledge-of the stage like it did in brawl anymore though. *sad*

 

[Hukster]

Sorry about no updates, I'll probably be updating this more closer to Christmas, a bit busy right now with a final coming up.