- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
So here we go! I've done quite a bit of fooling around with the Doc, and wanted to share some info on his strengths, weaknesses, and general playstyle. If you're new to Doc, I hope this helps.
Doctor Mario is a clone that (IMO) surpasses his original. He has many admittedly weird tools that, in the right hands, can lead to some very unexpected and surprising kills. The trick with Doc is to be unpredictable. Mixing up your approach, especially with pills, makes it very hard for your opponent to read you.
Plus, Doc is a pretty combo savvy character, and satisfying strings of uairs and bairs rack up plenty of percent. But I digress. Let's first establish some pros and cons:
Pros:
-Decent kill power
-Great projectile
-Reversed Nair
- UUUUUUULTRA COMBOOOOOOS!!!
-Fast Jab
-Fast and Decent-Ranged F tilt
-Great OOS Game
-Fast Aerials
-Reflector
Doc's damage racking ability and kill power make him a momentum machine. When he's got it, he's GOT IT. Plus, his pressuring ability is great. The pills and aerials will crack almost anyone if used correctly. Granted, the pills are more of an approaching tool, but they can be used to camp in a pinch, especially if the opponent lacks a projectile.
He can play defensively too. Up B oos can kill at around 150%, and tacks on some nice damage otherwise. Plus, shieldgrabbing can result in a d throw > aerial string, racking up some more damage. And for those pesky rollspammers, Doc has a fast f tilt with decent reach that can be used to react to just about anyone rolling behind you.
Cons:
-Abysmal Recovery
-Is easily gimped
-Slower ground speed
Doc has an Achilles' heel. It's very hard for him to recover after being gimped. Up B is predictable, and the ending lag of down b is actually longer than the amount of time it stalls vertically, leaving you with a net loss of vertical distance. Keep your jump as long as you can. Doc also has a wall jump, but this only helps on stages with walls or sides to jump off of. Basically, be very careful offstage. One wrong move, and it'll cost you a stock.
Kill Power:
Doc has decent to pretty good kill power, especially in his f smash.
Here's a look at some stats:
-Fsmash: from the edge 90%, from center stage 120%
**The doc's most effective kill move. Most range, Most knockback. Pivoting can make this deadly.**
-Dsmash (Note: dsmash is weird bc the hit behind does more knockback than the hit in front)
From the front: edge: 130ish% center stage: 160%
From the back: edge: 100% center stage: 135ish%
**D smash is really weird. I've managed to punish rolls behind me with it decently but that's about all i can think of. F smash kills earlier and has more range.**
-Usmash: (Note: usmash has way more range from behind than front. Never try to hit with it from the front.)
from the edge: 115ish%, from center stage: 160%
**I've found that this is one of the doc's least effective kill moves, since it has less reach and takes more % before it works. I've relegated it exclusively to punishing missed up b's. Speaking of which...**
-Up B: from the edge: 125%, from center stage, 160%
**Up B comepletely outclasses u smash imo cuz it can be used oos. It also combos nicely at mid to high percents with downthrow :D**
-B Throw: from the edge: 150%, from center stage: don't even try, buddy
**B throw and Bair make the Doc quite dangerous near the edge, especially at higher percents, when a punish can result in a kill.
This is helpful for dealing with pesky little macs bc mac sucks near the edge
**-Bair: kills offstage at 150ish%
**You can kill with bair. If your b throw didn't do 'em in, jump off and give them a taste of some BACK AIR TO THE FACE!!!!
By far the Doc's most satisfying kill move.**
As you can see, Doc has a lot more kill potential near the edge. However, one mistake here and he's offstage, which is essentially the red zone. You could stay in the middle the whole time, but letting your opponent live longer than they have to is just asking for trouble. So what's to be done?
I recommend taking control of the stage from the middle with pills, and racking up damage. When they get near kill percent, start drawing or pushing them towards an edge. This will lessen your chances of ending up offstage, gimped, and down a stock, while still maximizing kill power. However, this does not take priority over being unpredictable. If they know what you're trying to do, they'll punish, bait, or do any number of unpleasant things. Killing from the center to mix things up is just fine
Other Tools:
I'm not gonna get around to covering every move in this guide, but there are two more that I mentioned earlier that I'd like to discuss further.
Up B: Not only does it have crazy oos potential, but it also combos on most characters at mid to high percent. You read that right. Down throw > Up B actually becomes safer the higher percent your opponent is. This plateaus at around 50%. Granted, at lower percents you can net more % via sweetspotting, but due to the lower KB at lower percents, it's far more likely that your opponent will get back down to terra firma before you, and you'll fall into whatever punish they've set up.
Use it as a punish or out of a shield grab to to tack on 14% for every one of your opponent's mistakes.
***NOTE: For those of you who don't know, you have to have tap jump ON to use Up B Oos. This applies to every character, not just Dr. Mario.***
Remember, this combo doesn't work on everyone. ZSS is one I know for sure is immune. I'll research this and post in another thread.
Nair: This move functions as a reversed sexkick, meaning the longer it's out, the more damage and KB it does. It does 6% on Frame 1, and 9% at the end.
This can be used in a variety of ways. You can do what I like to call a "Hammer" Nair to approach (where you activate the nair and then fastfall so it hits right at the end), or you can abuse the minimal KB on the first few frames for comboing. Plus, it's still Mario's nair. It still eats through stuff. It's just reversed.
Hope this helped! If i've missed anything, please let me know.
