A Healthy Balance Between Near and Far

[Fancykong]

I made this thread because of a conversation I had with a Sonic/Falcon main after a few custom matches.

I walled out his approaches with all 3 custom Headers and Regular/Enriched SS, plus stage spiked him with Jumbo Hoops. Apparently this angered him and he called it spamming. When I told him that Sonic has far, FAR safer ways to approach than WFT and my B moves were necessary to create pressure so I could get in for physical moves, he continued his spamming argument.

I believe that certain matchups require certain playstyles in order to make fights easier. I don't care for Sonic's spin dash, but the player has the right to use it however many times they please, just as I have the right to stop it however I want. That's how fights work.



TLDR: My question to you, my fellow Trainers, is:
Are you more of a physical fighter or are you more projectile-focused (or are you somewhere in the middle) ?

 

[Splooshi Splashy]

I'm definitely an aggressive physical rushdown fighter. I mainly use projectiles as a way to cover my approaches, a habit learned from playing 2D fighters like Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Melty Blood, Guilty Gear, and Blazblue, where many characters have slow but sturdy projectiles that help them approach opponents like Ky Kiske's HS Stun Edge, Anji Mito's Butterflies, Strider Hiryu's Ouroboros, USF4!Rose's Ultra 2, practically the entire cast of SWR's movesets, etc. As soon as I get in, the projectiles stop and the melee begins. Once I'm away from my opponent (at least far enough where my melee moves can no longer reliably connect), whether due to me getting knocked away or sending the opponent off-stage, the projectiles come back until I either get back in, score the KO, or if in a timed battle like in FG FFA or FG Teams and there's only 10 to 5 seconds left and either me and/or my teammate needs to stick around at around 100% to keep the lead, run down the clock to 0.

In the context of playing /, (SH) Weighted and Jumbo Headers get to accompany me while I'm "in," due to their short horizontal ranges (in the case of Jumbo, that's when I'm first throwing it out), as do all 3 Neutral B moves if uncharged (especially when SH'd forward) to poke at my opponent, hit them out of certain moves, and cover me as I go in. (SH) Default Header, sadly, is more of a mid-range anti-air to me when I'm just 1 to 2 character spaces away from melee-ing them. From further away, it's definitely a great move to throw out.

In the context of playing anyone else, the most prominent examples of me playing that way would be , , and. I travel via forward shorthops with DH's Cans (especially this!), Gunmen, and Clays, as well as Links' arrows (especially this!), bombs (this too!), boomerangs, and aerial hookshots (even this when I'm too close for SH arrows to connect) until I get in. Then its Neutral A strings, tilts, grabs, and aerials until you're either at 100+% or away from me, in which case, Smash attacks will come out for the former, and projectiles come back out for the latter.

 

[AdaptiveTrigger]

I prefer forcing my opponent to approach me when I play Wii Fit Trainer. This means that they have to go through my projectiles and I will let them know that I will sit there and heal the whole match until they try to stop me. Once they try to approach, excellent melee tools open up for the Wii Fit Trainer. I will approach and use these melee options in specific situations though.

I find this play style quite necessary for this character. If the opponent doesn't like it...well, too bad.

 

[Fancykong]

I usually play the game by the matchup and player. I start out with projectiles to learn the opponent's movement and habits. When I feel comfortable, I jump in and punish with physical moves.

 

[Conn1496]

I like to keep at a range which I call "Shotgun range.", which is basically optimum range for your character to have both projectiles and physical moves be viable options. Just far enough to be able to use projectiles safely, but close enough to rush in when needed. It's usually approx 1/3 stage length, and should let you hit with most dash attacks and/or your projectiles freely.

Obviously, this changes based on character and MU, but for the most part, I find that if you can hit with default header's short option, you're at optimum range for Wii Fit's offensive game. You can't exactly hold this position for long, but it definately gives you an advantage whenever you're at this distance since your options are so varied. Again though, it's based on MU, so if, say, your opponent doesn't have a projectile, or has a better physical game, feel free to run even further out to optimise the distance. Who cares about options when everything you do is safe anyway? :'D

 

[Kikaioh]

I think people who play fast and physical characters are maybe a bit more quick to complain about spamming, because projectiles generally interrupt their game of speed, which they find frustrating and unfun. They want you to fight the way they fight, which of course isn't fair when your character isn't designed for playing the same way.

I'm personally more projectile-based with WFT, I like to use a lot of sun salutations to apply pressure. It depends on the matchup though, I'll hold back more against characters that can reflect/pocket projectiles.

 

[⑨ball]

-snip-

lol
Pretty much definition of a scrub right there.
"don't do the thing that makes you win, play the way I want you to play so I can do the thing that makes me win."

Anyway, it depends on what character I'm playing and what player I'm against,but for the most part I'm aggressive to a fault, being the type of player that will run head first into a charging fsmash. I'm really keen on footsies so a lot of my play is filled with fakes, baits and microspacing as I try to get players to commit or condition them to never commit. It's entertaining, but not optimal and I really want to work on switching to a more defensive zone heavy style when I have the lead so I can extend it.

 

[Fancykong]

lol
Pretty much definition of a scrub right there.
"don't do the thing that makes you win, play the way I want you to play so I can do the thing that makes me win."

Anyway, it depends on what character I'm playing and what player I'm against,but for the most part I'm aggressive to a fault, being the type of player that will run head first into a charging fsmash. I'm really keen on footsies so a lot of my play is filled with fakes, baits and microspacing as I try to get players to commit or condition them to never commit. It's entertaining, but not optimal and I really want to work on switching to a more defensive zone heavy style when I have the lead so I can extend it.

It's funny, I'm the opposite. My combat is based off of my old mains, Samus, Snake and Brawl ZSS. I can definitely do CQC and such, but it's always so tempting to throw out a projectile at a bad roll instead of committing physically. It's mostly because I can't stand how safe rolling is for most characters; either by distance traveled or lengthy invincibility frames (or both). I usually get up close when I'm frame trapping or as a mixup for surprise meteor smash or Nair/pvtFtilt combos, and then I'm gone again. Mostly, it's because I hate taking any damage, period. Maybe if next week's patch brings a healing buff for WFT, I'd reconsider, lol.

 

[⑨ball]

Maybe if next week's patch brings a healing buff for WFT, I'd reconsider, lol.

#basedsakuraiplz

 

[SteadyDisciple]

While it definitely varies depending on the matchup, I tend to lean heavily on projectiles whenever it's viable. Being able to hold your own in short range is great, but if you can get away with free damage from outside of your opponent's reach, why not capitalize on it? Now admittedly, I'm an average player at best (and likely well below most of the people who are on here), so how I do this is likely pretty far off from optimal use of the character.