Aerial defense.

[Rango the Mercenary]

I feel one of the cornerstones of Ike's game that we need to work on is his aerial defense. Basically, this is getting juggled by characters, like Mario, Captain Falcon, and Rosalina, who leave you in a nigh-inescapable position. Unlike characters, such as Mario, Link, and Luigi, Ike doesn't have a Nair that comes out instantly and gets people off of him. That leaves you forced to airdodge in a sudden situation. Many players will read this airdodge and take advantage, adding another hit to the juggling combo or even leading you into a kill hit.

If anyone knows about Uair juggling, what do you do to get away from it? I used Aether against a Falcon who was juggling me and it actually caught him and spiked him into the blast zone while I clipped the ledge. I feel Aether is an option, but it's a "surprise" option - you can only use it once.

Another problem I've been having is using Bair to escape. When you're landing, an enemy will chase you down. You use Bair to keep them off of you and create space. They slide-powershield into you for a free shieldgrab. Definitely looking into options that will allow you to safely land without worrying about someone doing that or a Mario/Luigi player prepping you for a USmash.

In short:

1) Escaping Uair juggles (Rosalina, Mario, Captain Falcon)
2) Retreating with Bair while landing to avoid a slide-powershield shieldgrab.
3) Evading a Mario who chases you down with USmash as you land.

 

[Deleted member 269706]

When I was still really learning the character, this was a huge problem for me. Rosalina, and Little Mac were the ones that gave me the most trouble. Generally, I DI away from the characters as much as I can, then fastfall into a tech for the quickest escape. Though if that's not an option, I tend to throw out preemptive hitboxes in hope that I'll catch the opponent off guard. A retreating Fair is a good one as it comes out pretty quick, has great range, and is able to clip people both in front of and under Ike (though it's harder to catch them under you). Of course you can use counter, but very, very rarely, and only on a sure shot otherwise you will be punished even moreso. Dair is also an option against close up fighters such as Mario and Falcon, but generally you need to read the player to get it to work. If the opponent is way too aggressive, Eruption can actually be a decent way to catch them off guard. One time I was actually falling right above a Pit who was charging an upsmash, and Eruption managed to hit him before his hitboxes got to me. (See the last clip in this video). Aether is also good from a defensive standpoint. If your by the ledge of the stage, use Aether (even if it's way above the ledge) and position yourself so that you'll catch the ledge. The only other thing I can think of is utilizing the auto-canceling properties of quick draw. When high enough, use quick draw to dart past your opponent, get the auto cancel and get back in the game.

In any event, you'll have to mix up your recovery to the stage. Like many of the other heavy weights, you'll have to outsmart the opponent to regain stage control.

 

[GhostUrsa]

I know I have this issue as well. It's what took me out of my last Tourney, as I had a hard time escaping from a Captain Falcon once he had me airborne with his forward throw. I find that DI'ing away seems to line you up with his forward jump's arc so you end up getting combo'd or worse knee'd out if you follow that. I can't seem to Airdodge the timing right to get out of it, and think we may just be stuck in a stun during the throw (which makes it worse).

I've used my second jump or QD to escape sometimes when at higher %, though with his speed Cap is able to cover your landing fairly easily. I've got a feeling I'm missing something for escaping when a combo character has you juggled, but I've yet to discover how to slip out of it.

 

[doom dragon 105]

Honestly, I just think it's a fault he has and we have to deal. As far as the juggling it's kind gonna happen. It's like when Shulk gets you off stage and there is like nothing you can do. Ike isn't fast enough to do anything.

The retreating bair, I typically fix it up with a nair or empty jump. I see the problem and it happens to me all the time. Gotta just out smart them there and play more careful when opponents do that

 

[the king of murder]

Have you guys tried to go for Ledge Resets? It certainly helped me when I was in a very tight situation a few times. I usually go for QD or jump away like GhostUrsa but some characters can cover that pretty well because of their Dash Speed. Ledge Resets have the advantage of giving you a little breathing room(however brief it is) because it gives you a little more time to think how to escape.

Ikes ledge options aren't the best but we can work with it.

Also counter works against hyper aggressive opponents but we all know risky and useless it is against patient players.

And yeah Rawkstar is right. Mix up your recovery options and stay unpredictable.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Have you guys tried to go for Ledge Resets? It certainly helped me when I was in a very tight situation a few times. I usually go for QD or jump away like GhostUrsa but some characters can cover that pretty well because of their Dash Speed. Ledge Resets have the advantage of giving you a little breathing room(however brief it is) because it gives you a little more time to think how to escape.

Ikes ledge options aren't the best but we can work with it.

Also counter works against hyper aggressive opponents but we all know risky and useless it is against patient players.

And yeah Rawkstar is right. Mix up your recovery options and stay unpredictable.

If they're chasing you down, that's hard to do. And if it's a serious combo, you can't get away like the aforementioned characters can with Nair.

 

[critter17]

With uair juggles, I usually DI behind them so that their last hit is only a bair. At this point you can double jump, QD to the ledge, Aether to the ledge, tech on the ground, etc. I especially do this against ZSS because you NEVER want to stay above and front of her while she's uair juggling you. I think DI-ing up would work too, but I don't know how effective that would be for Luma's uair since it is so strong in the first place.

 

[Rango the Mercenary]

Aether has actually worked for me well today. If they simply won't get off your ass, AETHER. You're best doing this at the ledge so you can hang on without getting punished. But if they're really not letting up, remember that Aether's first hit is low (just as Nair's first hit is high). If they're caught, you've just counterattacked them. No reading airdodges, no power-shield and countered aerials, no slow aerials that are punished.

I have yet to try this, but it may save you against someone like Mario who is prepping a USmash on you while you land as well.