After a couple hours with Lucy.... (impressions post)

[Augi Jr.]

So I started doing some looking at Lucario (or Lucy!) earlier today. It's been a character I didn't quite understand because I skipped Brawl... after doing some reading I started seeing that Lucy's strengths were in line with ones that I find important in battle; not so much on combos but on reading your opponent, defensive mind-games and getting in that power punched KO.

And after some time playing in FG with him (or her?!), I've been doing surprisingly well. Some of my matches really surprised me with the victory. So far, Lucario feels like a nice counter-balance to my natural tendencies in Smash; where I would rather charge in and try and overwhelm my opponent (Melee spoiled me). In Sm4sh, this approach usually leads me to getting absolutely creamed by defensive players, but because Lucario doesn't exactly move fast, and the way his move-set operates, it really forces me to slow down more and think things through tactically. (the funny part is, when you fight a Lucario they really don't seem very slow, but its really different when you play as one.) Now, I'm not a terrible Smash player... I'm not the best, but I'd consider myself on the low end of the tournament level, and I'd have to say that Lucario is extremely dangerous. I wouldn't say overpowered; not at all. But Lucy's got some nice advantages, becoming more dangerous as the battle wears on; and in a game where landing a kill shot can be difficult, that's a very nice advantage.

I look forward to learning and practicing with Lucario more, hopefully with the character curbing some of my more aggressive fighting habits...

The one thing I'm having some trouble with is the aerials. Uair feels very reliable, I hear Fair and Nair are pretty nice, but I'm struggling to make proper use of them... So any tips on best use of the aerials? Also just additional tips in general? Are my impressions on the character wrong or misguided in anyway?

 

[Pitbuller26]

Lucky for you that you didn't play Brawl Lucario. Smash 4 Lucario feels neutered compared to his Brawl self, namely in the sense of range and lingering hitboxes. Lucario in Smash 4 is almost entirely about outplaying your opponent due to how bad his normals are. If you can handle pressure from another character as Lucario, you're golden.

His aerials are the worst aspect about Lucario. IMO, he was the shortest ranged aerials discounting Mac. For nair, fair, and dair to hit, you almost literally have to be right next to your opponent. This means he can't really defend himself in the air. Up air is the only aerial with some kind of range, barely. Bair is nothing but a kill move, long startup, low active frames, kill at ridiculous percent.

 

[RT]

Pretty much what Pitbuller said. If you transitioned from Brawl to Smash 4, you'd have a hard time adjusting because his playstyle is very different. Lucario is definitely a more ground-based character in this game IMO, but his aerials aren't bad. Just don't expect to approach with them to often. And he still has his amazing rolls to cover distance quickly, but don't get read or you will get punished. If you can stay alive long enough with Aura, you're pretty much set. Of course, this means matchups against characters that can either pressure or kill early will give Lucario problems.