A new low

[ForTheLulz]

Yep. I've done it this time.

Lemme give you the context.

My scrub friend will play as gay as humanly possible.
He won't approach. I've never seen him approach once (trust me I'm not exaggerating). His best movement option is rolling and dashing to the other side of the stage and spamming projectiles simply because he incapable of applying any other movement option.

Today, I read every single one of those rolls.
Do you know how many I punished?
Zero.
Even when I just stood and positioned myself to catch his roll with a grab or attack, he would just reroll and maybe get a grab or dash attack.

I lost neutral every time to a simplistic and low level scrub strategy simply because I'm too slow.
Bottom 15 %tile reaction time on a certified medical test? Maybe I should stop playing figting games. They may be too fast.

 

[Pauer]

Everyone has problems against the roll/smash attack spamming friend at first. It's your first large obstacle as a competitive player. I think you're being too hard on yourself. Knowing advanced techs or even keeping up with better players doesn't convert into beating noobs. It's also something you won't learn by watching pros, you simply have to grind it out.

The main thing that I did wrong and that I see newer players do wrong is move in a way that a.) is predictable and/or b.) puts you in a lot of lag.

Also, I don't think reaction time is your issue, rather a lack of readiness to react to the roll which simply has to be practiced/learned.

 

[Bones0]

If your reaction time is so bad that you can't punish rolls, you probably shouldn't be able to legally drive on public roads.

 

[TrashWizard]

Bottom 15 %tile reaction time on a certified medical test? Maybe I should stop playing figting games. They may be too fast.

You can still play the game very effectively, your playstyle will be quite different to other players because you will be making more reads, having a slow reaction time means nothing when you have the brainpower to notice patterns in the opponents movement and the brainpower to realise that they have realised they need to mix it up, its quite magnificent having a slow reaction time, as I personally am quite slow with reactions, but I can still make reads and still make sure that the moves I do are safe and the way I do them is unpredictable. Its not too far off micromanaging stuff in roguelikes imo.

 

[ForTheLulz]

If your reaction time is so bad that you can't punish rolls, you probably shouldn't be able to legally drive on public roads.

I'm pretty worried about this too...
I'm set to get my learner's permit this summer.

 

[GenNyan]

Your reaction times are probably not as bad as you think. You just aren't able to recognize the situation and don't immediately know how to respond. You need practice and experience.

So many people struggle with scrub strategies, you are certainly not alone. Also consider this: did the opponent's roll result in giving you good stage positioning? If yes, then that is a punish in and of itself. Many times scrubs struggle with approaching. So make him approach. Put him in a corner (he will do this to himself if all he does is roll away) and then don't approach. Make him do it. Now punish him for it.

I took an online reaction time test a while ago, where I had to click when I saw a green light. At first it said I was slightly below average. I, being an arrogant ****, did not accept this and I took the test several more times until it would consistently say I was above average. Reaction times are something that can be trained and improved.

 

[Dolla Pills]

So if he's playing as gay as humanly possible is he like making out with other dudes while he's playing? No wonder you're upset that you lose to him, he can't even see the screen!

 

[SteelCityMewtwo]

You're being too hard on yourself. It can be hard to adapt to strategies that are very different from what you usually see, even if they're bad strategies. I beat myself up whenever I lose to, like, 100 Man Melee all Fsmash Marth, which I do too often. But that just means I have to learn to adapt and counter it, like any other strategy I lose to. The same is probably true for you.

And I wouldn't worry too much about your reaction time. You have plenty of time to learn. I vaguely recall Mew2King saying something about how when he started, he thought Marth's up B was so fast her couldn't even follow Marth moving. You'll get used to it as you get better at controlling your character.

Also let me shill for Mewtwo real quick. I found picking up the character improved a lot of specific deficiencies in my play, most notably reacting quickly and precisely to situations in order to punish. I wouldn't really wish maining the ol' legendary on anyone, but I encourage trying him out, especially if your friends are worse than you.

 

[Beach]

Dashdance to bait a roll, don't just go throwing out moves to punish. Or simply play Fox/Shiek/Falco to shut them down from a distance with projectiles.