- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
This guide will show newcomers or maybe even veterans to King Dedede some basic strategies and combos, as well as more advanced techs. Keep in mind that I am not the best player and that I have never played in tournaments because my area has no tournament scene.
Ground Attacks:
Jab is a very good move for D3. It's fast and can start combos. Jab 2 pulls opponents into Dedede, so you can combo it into itself and into Dtilt or grab. Jab 3 finisher can kill at high percents and mid percents with rage. Dash attack is slow, but is the most powerful dash attack in the game. Use this for reading back rolls or roll onto ledge.
Smashes:
FSmash is an incredibly slow, but powerful move, having the third highest knockback of any move in Sm4sh (behind Ganondorf's Reverse Warlock Punch and Little Mac's KO Punch). Even uncharged, this move can kill at early percents, but, again, it's very slow. It has a long range as well, meaning it can punish ledge attack if spaced correctly, as well as being able to punish all of the other ledge options (besides roll onto ledge). It also breaks shields, so use it if your opponent gets careless with his/her shield. USmash is a great antiair. There's really not much else to say about it. Despite that, it is a great smash. DSmash is easily your best smash. Unlike FSmash, it can cover rolls off ledge and on stage. It is your fastest smash and has little cooldown, so it's safe to use. The knockback angle is very horizontal, making it an even better smash.
Tilts:
Ftilt is a fast, long-range move that is good for racking on percent or for spacing. Dedede doesn't like when opponents get close up, where Dedede is weakest, so this move is very useful for maintaining space. Using pivot Ftilt can catch opponents off guard and is a great surprise attack. But Dtilt is an even better surprise attack. Easily his best tilt, Dtilt is the comical king's fastest move, with only six frames of startup. As said before, it can combo off of double jab, but it can also combo into itself and into a DSmash on heavier characters. Utilt, in comparison to D3's other tilts, is pretty lackluster. It can combo off of a SHFF Nair, and into itself then an Uair, but you won't be using this move too often because of how slow it is in comparison to his other tilts, as well as being pretty short-ranged.
Grabs, Pummel, and Throws:
Dedede has, in my opinion, one of the best grabs in the game. It's pretty long ranged and has very little cooldown on all variations. You can set up for a grab from a double jab, as said before. His pummel is really nothing special; it does 3%, but is very slow. That said, his throws are very important to playing Dedede correctly. Dthrow can combo into all of his aerials (except Dair) and is a fantastic combo throw, despite being nerfed in previous patches (really, Sakurai?). Fthrow and Bthrow are good for getting your opponent offstage, which is where Dedede excels with his four midair jumps and fantastic aerials. Uthrow is useless. Don't ever use Uthrow.
Aerials:
They are all amazing. They can all combo off of a Dthrow except Dair, as said before. Nair is a great combo starter if SHFFed is a fast move to use to get opponents off of you. Fair is good for gimping off stage. Bair is one of Dedede's best kill moves, being able to be autocancelled from short hop. Uair can rack on percent at low percents and can kill off the top at about 110%. Dair is a slow but satisfying spike that can do quite a bit of damage. Overall, every aerial can be used to some extent.
Inhale:
A great move that is not used to its full potential. Inhale, while punishable if wiffed, is a great tool for repositioning your opponent or setting up for an edgeguard. How far your opponent flies is dependent on how much your opponent mashes out. It will go long distances if they don't mash and will pop them out right in front of you if they do mash, letting you get a follow up such as a Bair or Fair. This means that even if they do mash, using Inhale is a good option for edgeguarding. B-reversing Inhale can confuse your opponent, which is a good thing for you. That said, it shouldn't be spammed due to its startup and endlag. Using this offstage will allow you go down with your opponent, meaning that characters with linear vertical recoveries, including Marth and Captain Falcon, can be shot in a weird spot under the stage, leading to their demise. Then there is the infamous Dedeicide, which means going into the blast zone with your opponent still in your mouth. Do this if you have a stock advantage only, as Dedede gets KOed first.
Super Dedede Jump:
Along with having four midair jumps and being a heavy character, this is just another reason why Dedede can survive for so long. It goes very high, has super armor, and has a hitbox when coming down. The hitbox can break shields after a well placed Gordo and can spike midair opponents to their doom. Despite this, there are some downsides. Unless you know it will break their shield, DO NOT USE THIS ON A GROUNDED OPPONENT! I cannot stress this enough. It is incredibly unsafe on shield, and you will end up being grabbed or even worse with certain characters. It can be used to get back onto the stage without grabbing the ledge, but if you go too high, you risk getting punished. If you go too low, you may miss the stage. It's sort of a risk-reward sort of deal.
Jet Hammer:
Two words: Shield. Breaker. This move may not be the best move to use in neutral, but if you get your opponent to get scared and raised their shield, they might as well be saying, "Kill me." I only use this move if I have a stock advantage, however, due to its punishable nature.
Gordo:
Oh, this move. Probably Dedede's greatest and most important tool in his arsenal. You can throw the Gordo in three different ways: Up, Forward, and Down. For simplicity's sake, I'll call them UGordo, FGordo, and DGordo. FGordo goes straight forward and bounces a little as it moves. UGordo bounces in front of you and doesn't go too far. DGordo has shorter range than FGordo, but bounces higher, allowing it to bounce over certain projectiles. You can use the Gordo in two different ways: to either hit your opponent or set up traps. When you try to hit your opponent, use FGordo on characters with no projectiles, and DGordo on characters that do. When you do this, it will most likely be hit back at you. What do you do then? Actually, you WANT them to hit it back. It can be sent back by a number of things, but I find that Dtilt is your best option because it lasts a long time and is fast. Do not spam this because you could get predictable. When setting up, use a UGordo. This is great on ledge because you can set up into a lot of things, including FSmash, DSmash, Bair, Fair, and even Jet Hammer. On ledge, they have limited options. They won't know what to do when a Gordo is bouncing in front of them. So they might stay on ledge. In this case, ledge trump them and Bair or Fair. If they roll onstage, use DSmash. If they jump or normal getup, they will most likely get hit by the Gordo, allowing you to set up again. A fantastic tool you should always keep in mind.
Combos:
Dedede has a lot of combos. Here is a list of a few.
*Double Jab-Dthrow-Fair-Nair
*Double Jab-Dtilt
*SHFF Nair-Utilt-Utilt-Uair
*SHFF Nair-Utilt-Utilt-Nair
*Dtilt-DSmash
Congrats! You made it to the end! This took around two hours to make so I hope you can use this information to be a great D3 player. Have fun and clobber the competition!
Ground Attacks:
Jab is a very good move for D3. It's fast and can start combos. Jab 2 pulls opponents into Dedede, so you can combo it into itself and into Dtilt or grab. Jab 3 finisher can kill at high percents and mid percents with rage. Dash attack is slow, but is the most powerful dash attack in the game. Use this for reading back rolls or roll onto ledge.
Smashes:
FSmash is an incredibly slow, but powerful move, having the third highest knockback of any move in Sm4sh (behind Ganondorf's Reverse Warlock Punch and Little Mac's KO Punch). Even uncharged, this move can kill at early percents, but, again, it's very slow. It has a long range as well, meaning it can punish ledge attack if spaced correctly, as well as being able to punish all of the other ledge options (besides roll onto ledge). It also breaks shields, so use it if your opponent gets careless with his/her shield. USmash is a great antiair. There's really not much else to say about it. Despite that, it is a great smash. DSmash is easily your best smash. Unlike FSmash, it can cover rolls off ledge and on stage. It is your fastest smash and has little cooldown, so it's safe to use. The knockback angle is very horizontal, making it an even better smash.
Tilts:
Ftilt is a fast, long-range move that is good for racking on percent or for spacing. Dedede doesn't like when opponents get close up, where Dedede is weakest, so this move is very useful for maintaining space. Using pivot Ftilt can catch opponents off guard and is a great surprise attack. But Dtilt is an even better surprise attack. Easily his best tilt, Dtilt is the comical king's fastest move, with only six frames of startup. As said before, it can combo off of double jab, but it can also combo into itself and into a DSmash on heavier characters. Utilt, in comparison to D3's other tilts, is pretty lackluster. It can combo off of a SHFF Nair, and into itself then an Uair, but you won't be using this move too often because of how slow it is in comparison to his other tilts, as well as being pretty short-ranged.
Grabs, Pummel, and Throws:
Dedede has, in my opinion, one of the best grabs in the game. It's pretty long ranged and has very little cooldown on all variations. You can set up for a grab from a double jab, as said before. His pummel is really nothing special; it does 3%, but is very slow. That said, his throws are very important to playing Dedede correctly. Dthrow can combo into all of his aerials (except Dair) and is a fantastic combo throw, despite being nerfed in previous patches (really, Sakurai?). Fthrow and Bthrow are good for getting your opponent offstage, which is where Dedede excels with his four midair jumps and fantastic aerials. Uthrow is useless. Don't ever use Uthrow.
Aerials:
They are all amazing. They can all combo off of a Dthrow except Dair, as said before. Nair is a great combo starter if SHFFed is a fast move to use to get opponents off of you. Fair is good for gimping off stage. Bair is one of Dedede's best kill moves, being able to be autocancelled from short hop. Uair can rack on percent at low percents and can kill off the top at about 110%. Dair is a slow but satisfying spike that can do quite a bit of damage. Overall, every aerial can be used to some extent.
Inhale:
A great move that is not used to its full potential. Inhale, while punishable if wiffed, is a great tool for repositioning your opponent or setting up for an edgeguard. How far your opponent flies is dependent on how much your opponent mashes out. It will go long distances if they don't mash and will pop them out right in front of you if they do mash, letting you get a follow up such as a Bair or Fair. This means that even if they do mash, using Inhale is a good option for edgeguarding. B-reversing Inhale can confuse your opponent, which is a good thing for you. That said, it shouldn't be spammed due to its startup and endlag. Using this offstage will allow you go down with your opponent, meaning that characters with linear vertical recoveries, including Marth and Captain Falcon, can be shot in a weird spot under the stage, leading to their demise. Then there is the infamous Dedeicide, which means going into the blast zone with your opponent still in your mouth. Do this if you have a stock advantage only, as Dedede gets KOed first.
Super Dedede Jump:
Along with having four midair jumps and being a heavy character, this is just another reason why Dedede can survive for so long. It goes very high, has super armor, and has a hitbox when coming down. The hitbox can break shields after a well placed Gordo and can spike midair opponents to their doom. Despite this, there are some downsides. Unless you know it will break their shield, DO NOT USE THIS ON A GROUNDED OPPONENT! I cannot stress this enough. It is incredibly unsafe on shield, and you will end up being grabbed or even worse with certain characters. It can be used to get back onto the stage without grabbing the ledge, but if you go too high, you risk getting punished. If you go too low, you may miss the stage. It's sort of a risk-reward sort of deal.
Jet Hammer:
Two words: Shield. Breaker. This move may not be the best move to use in neutral, but if you get your opponent to get scared and raised their shield, they might as well be saying, "Kill me." I only use this move if I have a stock advantage, however, due to its punishable nature.
Gordo:
Oh, this move. Probably Dedede's greatest and most important tool in his arsenal. You can throw the Gordo in three different ways: Up, Forward, and Down. For simplicity's sake, I'll call them UGordo, FGordo, and DGordo. FGordo goes straight forward and bounces a little as it moves. UGordo bounces in front of you and doesn't go too far. DGordo has shorter range than FGordo, but bounces higher, allowing it to bounce over certain projectiles. You can use the Gordo in two different ways: to either hit your opponent or set up traps. When you try to hit your opponent, use FGordo on characters with no projectiles, and DGordo on characters that do. When you do this, it will most likely be hit back at you. What do you do then? Actually, you WANT them to hit it back. It can be sent back by a number of things, but I find that Dtilt is your best option because it lasts a long time and is fast. Do not spam this because you could get predictable. When setting up, use a UGordo. This is great on ledge because you can set up into a lot of things, including FSmash, DSmash, Bair, Fair, and even Jet Hammer. On ledge, they have limited options. They won't know what to do when a Gordo is bouncing in front of them. So they might stay on ledge. In this case, ledge trump them and Bair or Fair. If they roll onstage, use DSmash. If they jump or normal getup, they will most likely get hit by the Gordo, allowing you to set up again. A fantastic tool you should always keep in mind.
Combos:
Dedede has a lot of combos. Here is a list of a few.
*Double Jab-Dthrow-Fair-Nair
*Double Jab-Dtilt
*SHFF Nair-Utilt-Utilt-Uair
*SHFF Nair-Utilt-Utilt-Nair
*Dtilt-DSmash
Congrats! You made it to the end! This took around two hours to make so I hope you can use this information to be a great D3 player. Have fun and clobber the competition!
