Where do I begin?

[The_Most_Effectual]

So, first, some context. I've been playing Smash for quite a while, almost eight years, to be exact. I started with Brawl, and ended up sinking countless hours into it since then--I played it almost every day for three years. We played Melee from time to time, but we preferred Brawl, because Melee was fast, and hard, and not slow enough, and uggghhh (yeah, we were stupid). My friend and I got to be "pretty good" at Brawl (we sucked), but we ended up moving on to Smash 4 when it came out. We played it for a couple months before we decided to start looking into the competitive community. We began honing our competitive skills for a little bit longer when we finally went to our first tournament on March 10, and we did surprisingly decent. We attended one more tournament from that series, missed the one on Easter, and then the series was cancelled. About one month ago, my friend and I decided to pick up and play Melee. We knew if we wanted to play competitive Smash, we'd eventually have to get to playing the most competitive game in the series. So I bought a new controller to replace the Smash 4 controller I had because I didn't feel legit, as well as a Gamecube and a CRT Television. So, onto my question: Where do I start practicing with competitive Melee? I've been playing against CPUs for most of the month I've been playing Melee so far, just so that I can familiarize myself with the game's physics (except on the weekends, when I play with my friend), but that's, from what I understand, almost pointless. Like I said, the tournament series was cancelled, so the only person I have to play against is my equally-as-bad-at-Melee friend. I'm about to get out of school for the summer, so I will have tons of free time to really get serious with Melee, but what kind of goals should I set? What should I know how to do? How do I apply that? Where and against who do I practice? Anything you have to say is greatly appreciated!

 

[AirFair]

I say this to everyone, but when you are starting out, learning basic tech is a necessity.
watch this please: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vckV2MJgBzo

Then try and pick out a character you want to main. From that point on, you don't want to even try to get better with any other character. Learn their tech, playstyle, and how they play different matchups.

Soon you will learn about the neutral and punish games, and what separates good mentality from bad.

Until then, don't be in a hurry. Good luck.

 

[kingPiano]

Think of it like any other competitive activity or even a school subject/career, it all depends on how dedicated you are to it and how far you want to take it. We can't tell you how to learn, what goals you should set or how to apply it. That's up to you, but at this point there is a lot of meta to catch up on if you want to go deep (can be overwhelming all at once)

The best thing you can do is to just start playing people better than you, even if you have to travel. That is the fastest and the most enjoyable way to learn IMO. If you are intelligent, self-aware, and observant you will be able to pick up the game very fast through osmosis and asking people to share their knowledge post-game. If you have to travel to play competitively and you aren't willing (or can't) than you won't seen much progression. There is a lot you can practice on your own, but in Melee actual experience is all that truly matters (application and practical knowledge). Get on your local facebook smash group, look in the regional section on here, ask around, or even ask on CL in the VG section to find people to play.


This exact type of thread has been done and done and DONE and done over and over again. Search or look back a page or two or even on the current page and you will see identical threads with ample links to resources that will apply exactly to your inquiry. I suggest looking and reading through those for in-depth help and a curriculum.

Here is my reply to someone that had asked how to improve without anyone to play:

Just work on stuff that you can master solo

(When I say CPUs you can sub in some of your friends, have them help train you by emulating certain scenarios/exchanges from high level matches you've seen.)

So....

Movement - this is a massive skill to be fluent in. Learn the stages like the back of your hand and be able to maneuver platforms and reach all points in the shortest possible time for the purpose of following up combos, landing quick KO moves, and for evasion/mindgames. If you were to spend just a solid year just mastering movement you'd be extremely hard to follow or predict by even high level players, movement is the most essential aspect of competitive play. Lay out a planned path for yourself where you navigate a stage like an obstacle course (add attacks and specials here and there) and record yourself and see where you can optimize. (i.e. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQNOD4cPTBo). You can even watch the top players tournament sets in slow mo and mimic exactly how they moved and attacked like shadow boxing.

Spacing and reaction - Play against CPUs like Mario/Doc, Ganon/Falcon, Peach, Zelda/Sheik and the Spacies. And just stand there and attack and evade only on reaction; nothing preemptive, and see how long you can go without taking damage Incorporate spot dodges, DD, and wavedashes. Try using only one move to 4 stock a CPU to learn the spacing of that certain move until it's muscle memory. When playing CPUs always keep in mind that they are not anything like humans so keep the mental awareness that you should ignore their habits, and you yourself should not expect those moves, recovery, or movement from a human. It's only practice concerning yourself, consider them on a casual level.

Mindgames - Develop different styles and attitudes of playing. Learn to cycle through them, the point is to never become predictable. Mang0 is a great example. From match to match and often within a match he will change his approach method many times, he overwhelms with options.
Become tricky with your movement, this can easily be practiced on CPUs when you dash at them then WD back for example they will go for an attack or grab, work on tricking the baiting the CPU into committing in neutral and on the ledge.

Punish game - Another very important aspect to the high level game you can practice against dumb CPUs (kinda). The most successful players take hits as far as they can, and they have the most damaging punishes laid out for every move in a MU. You can destroy a player just by waiting for them to throw out their laggiest moves and then punishing sufficiently. This is kind of the core of what wins and loses matches, but it's not often practiced or given thought by lower level players (they are often too worried about approaching and spamming tech skill). Look at frame data and learn the windows of end/start lag where you can capitalize.

Combos and MU knowledge- CPUs on lvl 4-5 and learn what combos work on diff. weights and fall speeds. Think about what attacks a competitive level Human would use against you and think about the danger zones of each character in relation to you. Reference the Master Hand DB or 20XX to figure out hitstun more in depth. It's wise to spend the most amount of time on the most played tournament characters.

Practice Powershielding, catching projectiles, nullifying projectiles (by hitting them, and learn what power of attack is needed for each)




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[EPsilon933]

Try each of the tournament viable 8 (Fox, Falco, Sheik, Jigglypuff, Marth, Peach, Ice Climbers, Captain Falcon) until you're certain you know which fits you best. For some, the process can take up to a year for them to find their main

You could try playing Smash 4 online when you don't have anyone to play Melee with. It's part of the Smash series and the controls and gameplay are similar. There's a lot of skill overlap between the 2 games. You'll learn the abstract skills like how to predict, how to mix up your own strategies, and how to play the neutral game. Be sure to use a wired connection to reduce lag

 

[PixelPerfect]

While my knowledge still is somewhat limited, I've only been playing Melee for about 4 months, I can give you some stuff to work on. First, since you seem to have a main, it's a good idea to go online and watch some matches where he's played, or maybe even a basic tutorial for the character (for Marth, Super Smash Academy has a great beginner's tutorial for him). Next, since you seem to have more practice time alone, try to work on some advanced techs like wavedashing, wavelanding, SHFFL and l-cancelling (you should be able to find out the methods for doing so since it's pretty easy to find) and some other aspects of the game like DI and familiarize yourself with the timing and try to get it consistently. There are also many tutorials out there that should help you learn where to apply that tech skill (again Super Smash Academy is a great place to start). Try and get your friend to learn the ATs as well. It's good though that you have a friend to practice with since it's better than practicing against CPU, though I sometimes use them to practice combos or teching. Next, since the series you went to was cancelled, try to find some local tournaments in your area where you can test your skills and try to battle others to help improve your game and don't be afraid to ask for some advice or tips from other players.

Whew, long box of text but I hope this helps you in improving and good luck as well

 

[Yeroc]

There is a pretty active scene down in the Charlotte area. Talk to @ v4extreme , and also @GCS Gaming Customs for people in your area.

 

[v4extreme]

There are tons of tournaments in the Charlotte area. There are like three weekly/biweekly tournaments that will be going on over the summer if I'm not mistaken (Mute City, Be There Games, FPS). The facebook group is a good place to keep up with tournaments and find people to play with. Melee is the most popular game in the area by far, but there is at least a small group of Smash 4 players around as well. Plenty of PM too.

 

[The_Most_Effectual]

There are tons of tournaments in the Charlotte area. There are like three weekly/biweekly tournaments that will be going on over the summer if I'm not mistaken (Mute City, Be There Games, FPS). The facebook group is a good place to keep up with tournaments and find people to play with. Melee is the most popular game in the area by far, but there is at least a small group of Smash 4 players around as well. Plenty of PM too.

Mute City was what I attended which was cancelled, but I'll definitely look at the ones you all have suggested. All of your help is much appreciated.

Try each of the tournament viable 8 (Fox, Falco, Sheik, Jigglypuff, Marth, Peach, Ice Climbers, Captain Falcon) until you're certain you know which fits you best. For some, the process can take up to a year for them to find their main

You could try playing Smash 4 online when you don't have anyone to play Melee with. It's part of the Smash series and the controls and gameplay are similar. There's a lot of skill overlap between the 2 games. You'll learn the abstract skills like how to predict, how to mix up your own strategies, and how to play the neutral game. Be sure to use a wired connection to reduce lag

How much do you think can transfer over from Sm4sh to Melee? Fundamentals? It's a valid point that I hadn't given too much thought prior.

 

[EPsilon933]

How much do you think can transfer over from Sm4sh to Melee? Fundamentals? It's a valid point that I hadn't given too much thought prior.

I don't know how to measure it. In my own experience, my greatest improvement at Melee came from playing Brawl online for about 1-2 hours on most nights for a total span of about 2 months. Before then, I used to go even against a friend of mine and after then, I was 3 stocking him all day. Then he caught up with me the next day and reduced the beat downs to only getting 2 stocked usually

There is an exbrawl player in my area who was among the upper rank of players in that game that converted to Melee about 2 years ago. His transition to the game was really quick and he's placing just as well in Melee as he was in Brawl. That's not exactly comparing Smash 4's skill transfer to Melee, but I think the results would be similar enough

 

[The_Most_Effectual]

So, I guess what I'm asking is, if you have some free time to play, how would you spend it to see the most growth in your play? Is it best to spend an hour four-stocking mindless CPUs? Should I perform the name entry glitch and practice tech skill? Is practice in-combat more valuable than that outside of it?