Play. Always play. it doesnt matter who, what, where, or how. If you do this you will never become rusty. Even computers. If you have siblings play them. get your friends. Even playing computers you're skill wont get rusty but you're skill level won't go up o much. When you get comfortable with your character enter tournies and and experience that event.
First I want to get a machine that is worth protecting from rust.
You got it wrong.
You point the control stick perpindicular (I probably spelled that wrong) to the direction that you are sent flying.
DI doesn't change the distance you are sent, only the angle that you are sent at. So DIing in the same, or exact opposite, direction that you were sent will have no effect at all.
The more you know.
@Original poster-Read this (yes, I mean the whole article).
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw/beginners-guide/getting-started
Then read it again until you actually understand it (you'd be suprised how often people "skip" over parts they don't want to read).
I see. I read the article. What I gathered from it was this:
Choose game wisely. Choose a game that holds together up high in competitive. I think I have this covered.
Devote time towards the game. Check. I can do this.
Learn the basics first. I take this as I should practice X/Y jumping, along with tilting and smashing with C. I am at this point.
Pick up tactics from experts. Just bread and butter stuff. At this point, I should return here, and start that, right?
Play the experts and learn what to do and what not to do. My only qualm about this is finding someone who will sit through that many easy matches. Correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard that Competitive players generally play with other competitives. Where will I find someone who will play with me? (I am one of the best in my group of friends, so that is out)
Beat the crap out of newbies/computers with newfound skills. Got it.
Fight experts, rinse and repeat. Fine.
All right?
You should really learn how to jump with X. You should turn tap jump off in the controls section, forcing yourself to jump with X. This way you can perform short hops much better, and more importantly, now that tap jump is set to off, you can just tilt up the control stick all the way and press A to do an easy uptilt (alot of people including me have trouble with that).
I'm new to this game myself, so you might wanna ignore this advice, but I suggest you train a lot against either walking / attacking computers at training mode (low level). Practice combo's a bit, but don't get too arrogant juggling with those computers, keep playing them at your best. Also train spacing a lot. Learn to tip your Fsmashes, learn the range of your attacks, your tilts, follow out of grabs, etc. Learn to dodge all of the computers attacks, this is very important, and you should be able to take down 10 low level computers before going down yourself after a while.
Also do a lot of wifi'ing. Lag can really screw you over though, so try to play people close to you. Human opponents are the best to train against after all.
Yup. Got it. What controller configuration should I use? I am used to gamecube, but I want to learn wiimote and nunchuk.
Sakurai has ruined Brawl? It's hardly ruined. There are a few little bits that cause trouble but by all means, it's fine for competition (at least no worse than Melee was).
To get better, I'd recommend:
- Only use the C-Stick if you want a smash attack. It'll help you get better at using tilts, which are rather important.
- Use X/Y to jump. It took me a while to get used to that as well, back in the Melee days, but that's what they're for. It's MUCH easier to short hop with the buttons than with the stick.
- If you acknowledge that you're spamming smashes (and it's not working - if it is, keep at it
) then stop smashing so much.
- You're not the definition of casual since, in posting, you're clearly trying to get better (and therefore you've become competitive).
- The single best thing you can possibly do to get better is to play against a variety of good people. Attend tournaments (you may not have a hope of winning it just yet but attend anyways - you'll get a lot out of them) and try to find a nearby Smash gathering/community. Hunt the forums for any constant gatherings. Losing horribly to another player (assuming that other player is friendly and helps you get better) is worth a lot more than winning against your kid sister.
I am spamming smashes, but I will deal with that when I start to face players who are far better than me. Is that an okay policy?
Do tilts out of shield.
Play online games vs. good people a lot if the games are virtually lag-free.
What shall I do if they are not?
Thank you for not trying to act like the best player in the world.
First, undserstand the basic physics of the game, specials, air dodging, etc.
Normally you shouldn't EVER play computers, but it's a good idea to play them at first to learn some basics like recovering.
When you get fllying of the stage, point the control stick in the opposite direction your flying. This is DI.
Define physics please. I have played melee. I am by no means a newb to the game in general, only to playing the competitive style of it. I know about the attacks and such.
To AnAardvark: Hmm. Same situation as me. Today I started practicing short hop Nair with Toon Link. So far my biggest flaw is accidentally overhopping the distance.
To rapid_assassin: Curious. In a nutshell, when do I roll? Do I do it for spacing? Also I think I will try to shift to x/y jumping, as it seems to be more beneficial in the long run.
I am still on the shorthopping phase, but I think I am improving... I find it difficult to perform in the midst of battle though.
How do I find an opponent who is willing to sit back and kick the crap out of me? I would feel slightly guilty about using the friend finder thing, as I will end up fighting people who (I imagine) want a proper match.