A noob trying to learn smash, my objectives (help needed)

[alesis]

Hi all,
I have been watching little bits of pro melee for a few years on and off, and I feel like it's finally time to give melee it a go. I am generally above average at the video games that I put some time into but I haven't played any fighters for more than an hour.

Today my copy of melee arrived with a second hand official GameCube controller, I already have a wii so I should be ready to go as far as equipment .

Where I live has a melee scene (all be it a fairly small one) with bi-weekly tournaments going on. So getting games shouldn't be an issue. I am also under no illusion that in 6 months I will be playing the best of the best etc, I am aiming to have fun learning and new game, and at tournaments I would like to be able to hold my own and not get bullied every game. After a year I would like top 4 finishes at locals.

Now what I am looking for is a loose guide on how to not button mash, how to practice and what to practice. Please keep in mind I an a complete noob.

When I get back from work the Wii is going on and I was thinking of unlocking all the characters so I play with and against of the cast, this should help me learn which characters I like the feel off and the ones that I don't, while learning some of the super basics.

Once I have unlocked all the characters it's time to pick a main. I don't know what I am looking for at the moment, but a top 8 character that I enjoy the most will probably be my main, I do not wan't to learn on someone super technical at the start as the basics will be what I need the most.

Now onto practice, I know there is a lot of information out there for character specific moves and combos. I am thinking that playing against a non moving CPU and just learning to SHFFL 50/50 in a row would be a good starting point, then wave dashing, dash dancing, simple combo's, extended combos etc etc.

I basically want to practice with intent to stop myself just button mashing and hoping for the best.
I know this will take a few months to learn most of the basics, but once I know those like the back of my hand, how do I go about putting them into practice? Should I try to make friends with people in my city and ask them for friendlies during the weekdays, play against an attaching CPU, or is netplay the best option?

So to summarise the questions:
First 10 hours of melee, whats the first things I should be doing? Playing all characters or starting specific practice?
Once I pick a main, is there a priority list on things to practice?
How to get solo practice? Playing with locals, CPU or netplay?

Thank you all for any tips or tricks you can give!

 

[The Cutting Edge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n4s5yB7ZkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiZLs2doK8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFmGIOcWdsM
Good places to start learning the general advanced techniques

For your 1st 10 hours of Melee, just play around with the viable 8 and learn the techs in the videos above. L canceling and wavedashing are the most essential techs you can learn. Also, learn some character-specific things too for whoever you'll main

If you're going to practice techs and combos vs CPUs, play Fox or Falco. You're going to benefit from solo practice far more with them than with anything else because there's simply more to practice. If you have local friends you can reliably play with, that's the best way you can improve. Get as many good hours of experience you can get. Net play's good too, but there's lag, and it can cause you to develop habits to work there. But at least you'll fight against a wider variety of players whenever you want

 

[Archelon]

The one piece of advice I would give based on my experience is to NOT main fox or falco. First of all, no matter how much time you think you can put into practice, these two characters, especially fox, make you have to think more about your movement than actually playing, while you're learning. Also, with both of these characters, you can get away with just running in and attacking, which can be a hindrance to understanding how neutral works (falco, with his lasers, is especially bad in this regard).
Aside from that, I'd say don't worry too much about tech when you're playing opponent, and focus on making reads/ punishes with the stuff you know you can execute.
Practicing against CPU's is fine at first for learning to apply tech in a game, but don't confuse it with being the same as practice against people.
I hope this can be of help to you.

 

[Dolla Pills]

You should also work on basic stuff like really understanding a character’s moveset. I’d imagine it could be hard to learn how to play competitively if you haven’t played the game before and aren’t familiar with the basics