A guide to becoming a competitive Smash 4 player!

[Funkermonster]

I practice ATs and stuff a lot so I can enter a tourney sometime. Unfortunately, I don't know any nearby tournaments. I was so happy once I learned the DACUS!

SSB4 Characters I Play

Mains:
Secondary Mains:
Characters I Don't Play and Suck as:

Not that this is any of my business, but I can't help but say you sure got a lot of mains and secondaries for one person, maybe a little too many? I mean you've got like 9 mains (1 is a clone though) and 14 secondaries, that's like almost half the roster! In fighting games, its considered by most to be a bad idea to main more than 3 characters at a time, and using anymore than that would slow down the learning process of them and t he game itself, and give a lot less time to train with your primary characters. You'd try to learn too many characters at a time, and end up not being great at most any of them. In your case, combing both your lists still make a total of 23 characters in a team, and most fighting game players don't use nearly that many. 23 fighters is a helluva lot to juggle for one person, especially when this game is new and hasn't even been out for 2 months. To be good with that many combatants, you'd probably have to play the game a really long time. FGs (including Smah Bros) are already difficult to learn and you can never get good overnight, usually takes weeks and months for that. Using 9 mains and 14 secondaries is gonna make it even slower and even longer to get a good grasp at the game.

Personally I have a team of only 4 characters at most: Greninja, Sonic, Lucina, and Duck Hunt; I have mastered none of them and am still learning how to play them. Sometimes I do use Yoshi, Bowser Jr., Rosalina, Robin, Jigglypuff, Bowser, and DK and so far I've done decently with a few of them; but I only use them in Casual Play, Friendlies, against amateur players on For Glory mode, or when I'm just messing around for fun. At this rate, I would never use them in a tournament when I haven't even gotten a great grasp of my own team of 4. If I wanna add more characters as mains/secondaries, I would wait until I've mastered the four I'm already playing and then do it.

Sorry for being nosy and being bossy. If you wanna all those characters it's your choice, go ahead I'm not trying make you stop. But you did say that you were practicing ATs "and other stuff" and you planned on entering on a tourney if you ever find one in your area. Again, not trying to boss you around, but if you plan to visit a tournament and become a competitive player (seeing as how this thread for it), I highly recommend that you narrow both your mains and secondary list WAY down and stick to 4 characters at most. If you wanna play the rest, just use them in casual play or try to master your primary ones first and then come back to them (you probably won't master all 23 anytime soon though, if ever at all). Using 23 characters in tournaments is gonna slow you down, severely.

As for actually finding a tourney you can go to, just read Samuraipanda's original post on #2 and #3.

#2 Find or Make a scene
Competitive Smash Bros started as grassroots and it shows in how we get together. The biggest hurdle to becoming a competitive smasher is finding your local scene. Look for the thread for your state in Regional Zones or go to Facebook and search for the group nearest to you (i.e. "Arizona Smash 4" or "Michigan Smash 4" are the names of groups I'm in). Find some people near where you live and start hanging out with them. A lot. The secret to success in competitive Smash is play, play, play. Play with people around you constantly and help get each other better as players. These are your training partners. Tell them how you are beating them or areas they could improve and they'll do the same for you. Be each other's rival and play as often as you can.

Is there no scene around you? Play online! Resources like r/smashconnect or r/smashbros or All is Brawl can help you find other online warriors. Players who are probably much better than matchmaking could find for you. There is always a way to get good at competitive Smash Bros.

Or you can even make a scene where you are. Find one or two like-minded people and train with them. Get better and better then travel to tournaments and start placing in them. If you keep at it, you'll find people that will be willing to join your scene. You could help grow competitive Smash in areas where there never has had much activity as long as you have a passion for Smash.


#3 Attend tournaments
Part of playing is having somewhere to show off your achievements and test in the field. Play in as many tournaments as you can. These will be like your hyperbolic time chambers in the beginning, and you'll often see yourself jumping in skill level as you attend more. Find them in the Tournament Listings, on your Facebook groups, or on All is Brawl.

You won't do well your first few tournaments if you are going where the best players will be. Keep going to those tournaments. Continue to challenge yourself against the best and you'll start to do better. Play tons of friendlies before or after the tournament against people you lose to and keep trying to beat them. Becoming a solid competitive player doesn't happen overnight. It takes perseverance to start placing well. It can take months to really make a dent in your placings early in the game's lifespan because everyone else is getting better too. But keep at it. Keep playing. You'll start climbing the ranks after you put your time in.

 

[Bunansa]

SamuraiPanda, did you fight a Little Mac last night for multiple matches? Even bringing out your own Little Mac? I saw someone named Panda in FG 1v1 and I was hoping it was you but probably an imposter haha

 

[SamuraiPanda]

SamuraiPanda, did you fight a Little Mac last night for multiple matches? Even bringing out your own Little Mac? I saw someone named Panda in FG 1v1 and I was hoping it was you but probably an imposter haha

Hmm last night? I do recall playing a yellow Little Mac recently for a few games but I don't think I busted out the Mac attack myself (I don't play him much) so it probably wasn't me. I play a lot of Sonic, Duck hunt, Pit, Wii Fit, Doc, and DK at the moment.

I'm thinking I might need a more original tag than Panda because a handful of people use it. Maybe S.Panda? SamPanda could work too. Or I could try to fit SmriPnda like my Miis.... So many choices lol.

 

[Funkermonster]

^ I kinda like SmriPnda most out of all those 3, if my opinion helps.

 

[SamuraiPanda]

^ I kinda like SmriPnda most out of all those 3, if my opinion helps.

I went with SmriPanda. Surprisingly it fits.

 

[Bunansa]

Yeah I was hoping that was you, because that meant I actually stood a chance on the competitive circuit as I held my own quite a bit.
But alas, back to the practice pile so to say

 

[M15t3R E]

^
Well, apparently I faced JTails online Saturday afternoon in For Glory mode. He was using Diddy. If I'm not mistaken, the match ended due to a communication error. :'(

 

[mashedsmash]

This is an informative well written post, ty

 

[Galgatha]

Wow, I used to live in MI and tried getting into the competitive scene of brawl there. Unfortunatly moved before I could enter a tournament. Now in MD so gotta look at what is around the area. Hoping to dive right in when the Wii U version launches, would love to take my skills to the next level!

 

[Terotrous]

The order in this thread is kind of weird. Learn about the game should probably be #1. You need to get the basics of the game to even be able to choose a main, because you might not be playing a character anywhere near correctly.


This is Tero's super simple guide for getting better at any game:

Watch streams of the game, listen to commentators, and read / discuss the game on boards
Practice the game in training mode / against the AI
Play against other players around or a little above your skill level
Repeat


The basic process is learn, practice, apply, repeat. Note that in Smash, practice mode isn't super necessary (this isn't street fighter where figuring out how to do something you saw on stream takes a lot of practice), so you can sometimes skip step 2. Step 1 is still very important though.

 

[TurtlePower]

So I was a mid level player in street fighter 4 a few years ago in my college days. Trying to get back into some kind of competetive fighting game and I am trying to understand what a solid defense looks like in smash. In sf I played honda and deejay, both characters who require you to be patient, apply zoning and space control, and slowly bulldog your opponent into the corner while punishing their attempts to get free. Once your defense had them locked in place you could begin applying mixups. What is the closest smash equivalent to this type of playstyle? What does a solid defense actually look like? What characters lend themselves to a defensive play style?

 

[meowth_]

Solid defensive play in smash starts with spacing, and once spacing knowledge is acquired, you start to lean towards knowing frames and what is safe/notsafe, what clashes, what has transcendental properties, what is safe on hit, what can you do out of shield (OoS)?

Want to play right now? I'll show you

 

[Virgman]

Much of the same principles you mentioned (zoning, spacing, patience, mixups) also apply in Smash, and basically describes every character on the game; you basically just described the metagame of Smash, so you're already on the right track. As opposed to other fighting games, Smash gives a lot more freedom to move (the simple ability to turn around and fight your opponent with your back to them, for example). With this freedom comes options, allowing you to play defensively or offensively with any character. There's not "a defensive character", even though it's easier to be defensive with certain characters (especially campy ones). Little Mac is a mainly "offensive" character, but with his speed, jab, and forward tilt, he is phenomenal at mixups, and can punish attacks on his shield very well. That's just an example. But if you are specifically looking for a character with a "defensive playstyle", try looking for characters that have great range with their tilts and/or aerials, along with great OoS (out of shield) options.

 

[Doval]

Step #0: read Sirlin's Playing to Win. Not thinking like a scrub doesn't come naturally to most people, and Smash Bros tends to attract younger players than other fighting games. Don't pass up winning tactics because they're "cheap".

 

[Bunansa]

Knowing the meta of a game is how to win, and being ok with complete abuse of frame advantage, easy grab combos and the essential skills that make your opponent go "...Really?" is half of winning in competitive fighters.
This coming from a Rolento/Dudley Mainer on USF4

 

[DavemanCozy]

Based on your post, I recommend that you try out Samus, Zero Suit Samus, and Dedede. You can play them very defensively because of their movesets: zone your opponent with projectiles (Missiles, Paralyzer, and Gordos respectively), use their nice range to control space, push your opponent into a tough position with their movesets, then go for the KO when they're offstage.

The difference is you don't lock your opponent in the corner: instead, you force them offstage and punish their attempts to make it back on-stage. It's the same idea though: you need to mix up the ways in which you try to edge-guard your opponent (otherwise, they just find a way to get past you if you do the same thing).

EDIT: check the character specific boards for more info on Samus, ZSS and Dedede. Also, check out this thread too:
http://smashboards.com/threads/perfect-pivot-foxtrotting-dashdancing.371139/

 

[Zarxrax]

Where can one learn the basic and intermediate level strategies of this game? Things like edge game, when to block/roll/air dodge, best ways to approach an enemy, things like this?

 

[SamuraiPanda]

Where can one learn the basic and intermediate level strategies of this game? Things like edge game, when to block/roll/air dodge, best ways to approach an enemy, things like this?

Read up on this board. There is tons of info on how to do things and approach different situations. You just gotta dig deep!

 

[Siiepher]

I'm a long time fighting game vet, come from a background of SF2 / Alpha /Blaz Blue / Soul Calibur. I'm very skilled at those, can stomp plenty of people online. I've been playing smash bros for years casually with friends, but with the new 1 v 1 online mode I'm trying to actually get good at the game. I just can't seem to wrap my head around all the **** in the game. I'm used to games where you pretty much dodge around til someone lands a hit then goes into a combo. Can I get some general tips on all of this? I'd like to become a better player at smash, the characters are awesome and the style is fun.

 

[Arturito_Burrito]

I would say check out tournament videos and learn from what you see if possible, ask questions in your character board if you see a specific instant you need further clarification on. On top of that maybe get a couple of matches of your self and submit them for review in the appropriate place.

Here's some possible videos to check out https://www.youtube.com/user/CLASHTournaments
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpu15uRsvI2opP78cdslj3A

 

[Oatkeeper]

I'm having the same problem. I've been playing for hours upon hours and no signs of improvement. I know it's a john to blame the controller but the 3DS just isn't suitable for Smash and the absence of a c-stick is really throwing me off.

 

[ndayday]

There are some combos, but in general this game is more about strings, mixups, and spacing than combos. A lot of things are dependent on the direction your opponent will DI (vectoring in this game I guess) so in general a pretty big part is knowing your opponent's options in situations. If you "know" they're likely to shield for example, you'd follow up with a grab, perhaps a down throw that will place them in front of you, and then anticipating an air dodge you'd punish them with whatever. If they're put in situations off the ledge, you guard and try to make sure they don't get back so you can get what is sometimes an early kill.

so really, while you are looking for weaknesses in their play for you to be able to hit them, you're not going to be able to start in most cases a combo that will rack up 90-100% and finish with a KO move. Instead, between two experienced players it's much more a game of footsies where each player is trying to get in on the other without getting hit. this does kind of encourage campy style of play if you want to win, as truly you don't HAVE to approach...you can wait until they do something dumb, hit them and run away (gotta add that most people don't like this, but it is what it is).

I don't want to like degrade you or something because I don't know the extent you've played, and hell this is my first smash that I'm taking somewhat seriously so I'm not that great of a source. a good place to start is while you're playing is ask why are they doing that, what can I do to counter that, and what do they want me to do. I'll use a really basic "strategy" that a lot of people do with kirby when they start out playing. If a Kirby starts jumping above your head and uses his down special (stone) he wants to hit you with it while staying in a form that can't take damage. Ok, so to counter that strategy you might wait for him to jump up and stand under him. He'll go for the down b, but you'll roll out of the way and grab him when he hits the ground. With more experienced players, they might expect this reaction from you -- they'll go for the down b but cancel it when you commit to an action, whether than be shield or spotdodge or roll, or use the move in ways you haven't seen before. For example, the other day I was playing a Robin. when they would knock me away from the stage, they would spam Nosferatu, a hard to land move that you probably won't ever use too much just to get the tome that's dropped when you expend it. I had never seen that, and I had to adapt to it since now he had a throwable projectile to further knock me away from the stage.
In this way the game is really adaptive, you're always trying to get the edge on your opponent and the same with them. It's really...fluid, I guess? Plus there are so many options for kills etc.

that was my tryhard post for the week.

 

[Conda]

Comboing depends on the character. The great things about smash is you can play to your strengths. It's a sandbox fighter in terms of mechanics, but also in terms of the roster. If you've got low dexterity but high tactical skill, then a heavy yet slow character (less demanding on your hands) is a decent choice. If you've got great dexterity and are skilled at mixups and mindgames, then a quick agile character like Fox or Pikachu is great. If you've got average dexterity but are very surgical with your precision, then someone like Marth or Megaman may be up your alley. etc etc

 

[luigijerk]

If you are decent at other games, there is not a single tech skill in smash 4 that will give you issues. The main important one is just knowing how to short hop.

Basically the game is all about reads. A guy rolls or dodges too much? Charge a down smash briefly and hit him as he comes out of it. That type of thing. If you are struggling, just pick a character you like and learn their moves. Knowing spacing and priority is very important. If you know your up air hits through all their arials, then you want to chase after them from below. If you dont have good priority, you need to space well and poke or counter attack.

I'd say some good starting points would be to focus on your opponent's timing. When do they air dodge? When do they roll? Once you learn, try to predict it and hit them just after they use those moves. Once you're good at that, try to space well and avoid their attempts at shield grabbing. Then try to figure out how to stop their dashes. Do they dash grab a lot? Dash attack? Do they feint and go for airials or even smashes?

Against campy players, my best suggestion would be to take to the air against them. Try to approach off a single jump so you leave your options open. Again, try to predict when they are going to fire their projectiles and avoid them. This is especially true against someone like Samus or Lucario, when you are off stage they will always try to shoot you with their charge shot. Usually what i do to avoid this is fast fall just as im getting near their elevation and then they cant react in time to shoot me.

 

[B0NK]

Learning to spell competitive is the first step.

The rest will become clear after that.

 

[SmashWolf]

Smash 4 is about gimping people(getting early kills off-stage), waiting for opponents to make easily punishable mistakes, spacing your attacks so you won't be punished as easily, and learning your opponent's habits.

....it's a REALLY campy thing especially when you get on higher-level grounds, but some cool things do still happen every now and then.

 

[Funkermonster]

The order in this thread is kind of weird. Learn about the game should probably be #1. You need to get the basics of the game to even be able to choose a main, because you might not be playing a character anywhere near correctly.


This is Tero's super simple guide for getting better at any game:

Watch streams of the game, listen to commentators, and read / discuss the game on boards
Practice the game in training mode / against the AI
Play against other players around or a little above your skill level
Repeat


The basic process is learn, practice, apply, repeat. Note that in Smash, practice mode isn't super necessary (this isn't street fighter where figuring out how to do something you saw on stream takes a lot of practice), so you can sometimes skip step 2. Step 1 is still very important though.

Excellent post, especially the red part.

 

[wmo_]

I would say check out tournament videos and learn from what you see if possible, ask questions in your character board if you see a specific instant you need further clarification on. On top of that maybe get a couple of matches of your self and submit them for review in the appropriate place.

Here's some possible videos to check out https://www.youtube.com/user/CLASHTournaments
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpu15uRsvI2opP78cdslj3A

The videos on the japanese channel are amazing. thank you for this, I've been trying to find good quality skilled matches and haven't found much, but this is amazing.

 

[Fabulous Golden Falcon]

I feel really dumb for asking this, but is there a scene in the Netherlands? Like, Amsterdam maybe?

 

[Pippin (Peregrin Took)]

So hoping this new Smash will have something of a competitive seen since Melee is way past my league now. I'm looking forward to the fresh start a new game that isn't Brawl brings Sadly, I've been trying to get to Xanadu but there's always something stopping me.

 

[Jtails]

I see the title of this thread, I've also seen my name appear in here a few times. Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm making a series of video guides towards becoming a competitive/top player.

The first video is about choosing a main, and how to go about actually "learning" a character completely.

http://youtu.be/hG2524n-0zQ

 

[Funkermonster]

I see the title of this thread, I've also seen my name appear in here a few times. Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm making a series of video guides towards becoming a competitive/top player.

The first video is about choosing a main, and how to go about actually "learning" a character completely.

http://youtu.be/hG2524n-0zQ

That's not a bad idea but, shouldn't the first video be about learning the physics, basics, and other important things about the game? Also highlight differences from past games for veteran Smash players who barely came to this one, so they remember that they aren't playing the same game. Like Mr. @ Terotrous said earlier, I'd say learning about the game itself is far more important than learning a main when you first jump in. Because you might not be playing a character or the game anywhere near the right way and, might be too used to tactics from playing other games and that might not work in this one (such as overusing projectiles in Street Fighter 3 3rd strike, which can be easily parried and aren't nearly as effective as they are in other SF games).

Its your video I know, butI think your video guides would be better if you made one about learning more about the game itself first before picking a main. I also saw your video, it's great! One other thing I felt you should've pointed out though is how many characters one person might or should main (its usually not a good idea to main more than 4, but its good to have backup characters and it can get boring using the same one all the time). But other than that, it helps a ton!

 

[Pippin (Peregrin Took)]

I see the title of this thread, I've also seen my name appear in here a few times. Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm making a series of video guides towards becoming a competitive/top player.

The first video is about choosing a main, and how to go about actually "learning" a character completely.

http://youtu.be/hG2524n-0zQ

Considering I've been trying to figure out who my main is now, this should come in handy. Can't wait to view it on a computer that's learned HM05.

I wanted it to be villager but he didn't feel natural in the demo. Then megaman but I don't like his standard side b and idk if customs are gonna be tournament legal. My Pac-man and Duck Hunt got owned quickly in For Glory and now to my chagrin, I'm feeling pretty good with Dark Pit.

 

[Jtails]

That's not a bad idea but, shouldn't the first video be about learning the physics, basics, and other important things about the game? Also highlight differences from past games for veteran Smash players who barely came to this one, so they remember that they aren't playing the same game. Like Mr. @ Terotrous said earlier, I'd say learning about the game itself is far more important than learning a main when you first jump in. Because you might not be playing a character or the game anywhere near the right way and, might be too used to tactics from playing other games and that might not work in this one (such as overusing projectiles in Street Fighter 3 3rd strike, which can be easily parried and aren't nearly as effective as they are in other SF games).

Its your video I know, butI think your video guides would be better if you made one about learning more about the game itself first before picking a main. I also saw your video, it's great! One other thing I felt you should've pointed out though is how many characters one person might or should main (its usually not a good idea to main more than 4, but its good to have backup characters and it can get boring using the same one all the time). But other than that, it helps a ton!

All very strong points, I'll be taking it all into consideration for my next videos on the series.

 

[Arya Greyjoy]

Hey, sorry to barge in but this seemed like the place to post.
So, I'm up in the fairly desolate New England with a few friends who enjoy Smash3DS, and while I've never done anything competitive with Smash, I've decided to hit the "books" here on Smashboards and teach myself as much as I can about competitive Smash.
I LOVE learning & am determined to put in the time to break into competitive Smash as college progresses.
In summary, could anyone give me a rundown on what to do next? I've spent this month messing around the SSB4 roster and settled on three characters to learn in detail, but I'm not sure what to do next besides keep finding people online to beat me better & more creative ways. I've been enjoying learning simply by being beat to death endlessly, but what's next? And how on Earth do I "autocancel?"

In need of teachers! Willing to learn! Becoming the best Lucina main on Earth is on my bucket list! I have time!

 

[Funkermonster]

Hey, sorry to barge in but this seemed like the place to post.
So, I'm up in the fairly desolate New England with a few friends who enjoy Smash3DS, and while I've never done anything competitive with Smash, I've decided to hit the "books" here on Smashboards and teach myself as much as I can about competitive Smash.
I LOVE learning & am determined to put in the time to break into competitive Smash as college progresses.
In summary, could anyone give me a rundown on what to do next? I've spent this month messing around the SSB4 roster and settled on three characters to learn in detail, but I'm not sure what to do next besides keep finding people online to beat me better & more creative ways. I've been enjoying learning simply by being beat to death endlessly, but what's next? And how on Earth do I "autocancel?"

In need of teachers! Willing to learn! Becoming the best Lucina main on Earth is on my bucket list! I have time!

1. Go to local play and tournaments and see how you fare there. Online play on Smash 3ds sucks and is horribly laggy, plus For Glory mode only allows FD and Omega stages. Online play in Smash isn't a great indication of skill, don't rely on it.

2. Save replays of your greatest hits (doesn't include bodying scrubs) and your most embarassing defeats and then watch and analyze them later, see what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong. If you can, record it with a capture card and/or phone camera and upload it to the internet here on Smashboards and have someone else do it for you.

3. Watch high level play videos of people playing your characters and try to incorporate their techniques into your gameplay.

4. Autocanceling really isn't a technique, all it is is just using an aerial and finishing its animation right before you land back on the ground so you don't face landing lag. In the case of Lucina you can autocancel any aerial in a fullhop, but Nair and Dair can't be autocanceled in shorthps since their animations last longer than the shorthop animations. Her other aerials can be shorthop autocanceled, but their animations are barely shorter than your jump and you have to use them as soon as you jump.

As for becoming the best Lucina main in the world, good luck competeting with everyone else who wants to do the same thing! Including me

 

[Element_Demon]

Very motivational post. Highly recommended read !~

 

[Arya Greyjoy]

Ok thanks a bunch Pika Kong. Local tournaments will be a stretch but putting up gameplay to be analyzed is something i could certainly do. Where on the forums would I do that?

 

[DavemanCozy]

Ok thanks a bunch Pika Kong. Local tournaments will be a stretch but putting up gameplay to be analyzed is something i could certainly do. Where on the forums would I do that?

Definitely go to the Lucina Board, and check out the video thread there. For your convenience:
http://smashboards.com/forums/lucina.492/

Also a good board to discuss your main with other, fellow mains. You can talk mix-ups, combos, matchups, etc there.

 

[NoviceSmasher]

can someone help,,,i need advice on how to beat ness ,,i think he is op,,like his aerial game is incredible,,he juggles you with pk thunder ,,,oh ye i forgot,,downthrow fair fair fair,,pkfire is great for trapping and fsmash is crazy powerful