I think as DHD you really shouldn't worry about getting the kill, you should worry more about never letting your opponent get near you. Who needs killing if you never get killed yourself in the first place? As long as you keep throwing out projectiles at them and zoning them out, your stuff will kill them eventually. Of course, this makes rage your biggest enemy, but I honestly think its the way DHD was meant to be played at a higher level. Spend too much time trying to look for the kill and you'll leave yourself open because of that.
I heavily disagree that your main objective should be zoning your opponent out and that its the way DHD is meant to be played at a higher level. Even though a lot of people label him as a spacing character, Duck Hunt's zoning options are really not that great because his projectiles are very slow and awkward, its not hard for a character with good mobility to bypass them and get to him just fine, and fellow projectile users like Samus are better at zoning than he is and pretty much force
him to approach. Unless it's a character with terrible approach options and really hates projectiles in general like Ganondorf or Luigi, Duck Hunt as a long range zoner doesn't really work right and you wouldn't get a lot of mileage out of doing it.
- The can is slow and can be deflected with disjonted hitboxes or another projectile. Not the end of the world if it happens, but it stops you from zoning with it nonetheless
- Clay Pigeons are also slow to travel with quite some endlag, and can be destroyed from opposing attacks. Not the best zoning tool either.
- The Gunmen WOULD be a good zoning tool thanks to their transcendent priority, but their hitbox doesn't come out instantly and they can be killed by your enemies and if they die, you have to wait a few more seconds before summoning another one.
That said, I find Duck Hunt to function better as a Pressure character, using his projectiles to bait reactions, mixups, exploit openings, and approaching people himself. Jumping with a can being shot, shorthopping with Gunmen and clay pigeons, and baiting shields are all great ways to annoy people with Duck Hunt; and its good to use general mobility while playing him instead of remaining stagnant while shooting them. For that reason, I personally find Duck Hunt better played offensively than defensively, and he's more in the vein of other projectile characters like Ken from Street Fighter where he likes to use his projectiles for approaching himself and forcing reactions rather than just keeping people out.
He's still technically forced to go in eventually so he can get that pressure, and his kill options generally
still suck: His projectiles cannot kill very early at all, smash attacks are laggy and don't link reliably, none of his throws have kill power, and Bair and Dair aerials are decent at best. Duck Hunt's zoning is okayish, but it's not really good enough to become the core of his gameplan (well except against heavies or anyone who can't approach), and anyone who thinks otherwise wouldn't really end up a good player with him to my eyes.
It's the same with
and
: a lot of people think Mac's high speed and attack power forge him into a rushdown character and Lucina's consistent blade enables her to play more aggressively than her counterpart without as much of a need for spacing, while in reality, they don't.