Anyone else have this issue?

[Engage]

I don't like to roll often, as I see it as "overly good" in this game, but I do like to spot dodge and what not. What I'm saying is, I can do everything fine, but I sometimes find myself just being grabbed the moment I land, even if I land without doing anything at all, I still manage to get grabbed by people. Mostly its Captain Falcon, Ness, Shulk with Speed on or Luigi's who pressure with fireballs (not much of a problem).

Anyone else happen to get grabbed pretty frequently, or have issues with being grabbed? I hate fighting grab happy opponents.

 

[Raijinken]

As much of my playtime on Melee was Marth vs Roy (my main vs my brother's), we both developed very grab-happy playstyles since that's the one thing Counter wouldn't kill us for. That said, here are a few tips:

• Try repositioning yourself while landing. If they're grabbing you as you land, it means you landed right in front of them, or they predicted your landing spot. Different characters have different falling speeds and horizontal mobility, but trying to swap that up can make you harder to predict.
• Alternately, remember that grabs do not have armor on them in this game, so you can beat a grab with an attack. This depends on your character of course, but if you can force them to at least take some damage in exchange for their grab, go for it. Bowser Jr can cover his landing somewhat decently with Mechakoopas or the exploding kart from UpB, for instance. Down-air is also a good move for a lot of characters, just be wary of your timing and the landing lag you're subjecting yourself to.
• And of course, if you're running into this as a result of the opponent waiting and shielding, instead of charging right in, try harassing them out of their shield. Going by your avatar block, Olimar and Bowser Jr are both pretty good at this, as they have several projectiles to use to coax them out. Other characters like DK would be better off using a move that will heavily damage or break the shield, like SideB. Characters with neither option should save double jumps for escaping after faking out.

As for rolling and dodging, rolling is just as punishable as spotdodging if not moreso, just in different ways. The key is to use them, like any other move, unpredictably in order to avoid getting punished for it.

Positioning is really important, of course, and with a lot of the changes to dodging and aerials, the ground game in particular has become stronger than it used to be when compared to air. It can be very hard to land, but learning to do so well will give you an advantage. One last consideration, if you're near an edge, consider going straight for the ledge since that will give you invulnerability for a moment.

 

[Engage]

As much of my playtime on Melee was Marth vs Roy (my main vs my brother's), we both developed very grab-happy playstyles since that's the one thing Counter wouldn't kill us for. That said, here are a few tips:

• Try repositioning yourself while landing. If they're grabbing you as you land, it means you landed right in front of them, or they predicted your landing spot. Different characters have different falling speeds and horizontal mobility, but trying to swap that up can make you harder to predict.
• Alternately, remember that grabs do not have armor on them in this game, so you can beat a grab with an attack. This depends on your character of course, but if you can force them to at least take some damage in exchange for their grab, go for it. Bowser Jr can cover his landing somewhat decently with Mechakoopas or the exploding kart from UpB, for instance. Down-air is also a good move for a lot of characters, just be wary of your timing and the landing lag you're subjecting yourself to.
• And of course, if you're running into this as a result of the opponent waiting and shielding, instead of charging right in, try harassing them out of their shield. Going by your avatar block, Olimar and Bowser Jr are both pretty good at this, as they have several projectiles to use to coax them out. Other characters like DK would be better off using a move that will heavily damage or break the shield, like SideB. Characters with neither option should save double jumps for escaping after faking out.

As for rolling and dodging, rolling is just as punishable as spotdodging if not moreso, just in different ways. The key is to use them, like any other move, unpredictably in order to avoid getting punished for it.

Positioning is really important, of course, and with a lot of the changes to dodging and aerials, the ground game in particular has become stronger than it used to be when compared to air. It can be very hard to land, but learning to do so well will give you an advantage. One last consideration, if you're near an edge, consider going straight for the ledge since that will give you invulnerability for a moment.

Oh don't worry, I knew a lot of this, but some of it helped me out. I don't use Olimar / B.Jr anymore, I should change those! I use Wii Fit, R.O.B., Little Mac, Falco and Robin. I may just be utilizing the wrong aerials, or not going for the ledge as much as I should be then!

I mean, I usually fall down to a spot to fake them out, but they turn around and grab me anyways, especially that pesky Captain Falcon with his Moon Walkingesque Fox Trot, fakes me out a lot.

 

[Raijinken]

Oh don't worry, I knew a lot of this, but some of it helped me out. I don't use Olimar / B.Jr anymore, I should change those! I use Wii Fit, R.O.B., Little Mac, Falco and Robin. I may just be utilizing the wrong aerials, or not going for the ledge as much as I should be then!

I mean, I usually fall down to a spot to fake them out, but they turn around and grab me anyways, especially that pesky Captain Falcon with his Moon Walkingesque Fox Trot, fakes me out a lot.

For Little mac, you're certainly about out of options. Charging a Straight Lunge (B) can give you armor, but that won't save you from grabs.

For Wii Fit, there are a few ways to mix it up. Stalling midair with Header can mess up their timing, or you can throw a charged Sun Salutation into their face while you land. I've found that neutral-air also works alright in some cases, as can back-air.

For ROB, Rotor Arm has pretty good coverage and might work. Neutral-Air works if they're practically right on top of you, too.

For Falco, Nair works the best in my experience, but throwing a Reflector into their face can also work. If they're behind you, his Bair may work as well if you can time it right.

For Robin, you've got a few more choices. If they're just standing and waiting for you to land, shoot for right in front of them and use Nosferatu. If you're feeling lucky, Elwind might be able to hit them off of you. His aerials also all come out very quickly, and BackAir especially is quick and can kill 'em if they're at enough damage.

Another thing that might work, but I haven't really tried much, would be fast-falling and then jumping again. Might work best on Falco since he's a very fast faller.

 

[Engage]

For Little mac, you're certainly about out of options. Charging a Straight Lunge (B) can give you armor, but that won't save you from grabs.

For Wii Fit, there are a few ways to mix it up. Stalling midair with Header can mess up their timing, or you can throw a charged Sun Salutation into their face while you land. I've found that neutral-air also works alright in some cases, as can back-air.

For ROB, Rotor Arm has pretty good coverage and might work. Neutral-Air works if they're practically right on top of you, too.

For Falco, Nair works the best in my experience, but throwing a Reflector into their face can also work. If they're behind you, his Bair may work as well if you can time it right.

For Robin, you've got a few more choices. If they're just standing and waiting for you to land, shoot for right in front of them and use Nosferatu. If you're feeling lucky, Elwind might be able to hit them off of you. His aerials also all come out very quickly, and BackAir especially is quick and can kill 'em if they're at enough damage.

Another thing that might work, but I haven't really tried much, would be fast-falling and then jumping again. Might work best on Falco since he's a very fast faller.

Well, those are actually good tips and options I! I mean, for Little Mac, my best bet is to use Jolt Haymaker as Im about to land so I can hope it punches them away though.

Now Robin, he takes a lot of timing to get anything good out!

I'll try that Falco thing though, the Fast Falling, and may use it for Wii Fit as well.

 

[YourFaithfulStudent]

As much of my playtime on Melee was Marth vs Roy (my main vs my brother's), we both developed very grab-happy playstyles since that's the one thing Counter wouldn't kill us for. That said, here are a few tips:

• Try repositioning yourself while landing. If they're grabbing you as you land, it means you landed right in front of them, or they predicted your landing spot. Different characters have different falling speeds and horizontal mobility, but trying to swap that up can make you harder to predict.
• Alternately, remember that grabs do not have armor on them in this game, so you can beat a grab with an attack. This depends on your character of course, but if you can force them to at least take some damage in exchange for their grab, go for it. Bowser Jr can cover his landing somewhat decently with Mechakoopas or the exploding kart from UpB, for instance. Down-air is also a good move for a lot of characters, just be wary of your timing and the landing lag you're subjecting yourself to.
• And of course, if you're running into this as a result of the opponent waiting and shielding, instead of charging right in, try harassing them out of their shield. Going by your avatar block, Olimar and Bowser Jr are both pretty good at this, as they have several projectiles to use to coax them out. Other characters like DK would be better off using a move that will heavily damage or break the shield, like SideB. Characters with neither option should save double jumps for escaping after faking out.

As for rolling and dodging, rolling is just as punishable as spotdodging if not moreso, just in different ways. The key is to use them, like any other move, unpredictably in order to avoid getting punished for it.

Positioning is really important, of course, and with a lot of the changes to dodging and aerials, the ground game in particular has become stronger than it used to be when compared to air. It can be very hard to land, but learning to do so well will give you an advantage. One last consideration, if you're near an edge, consider going straight for the ledge since that will give you invulnerability for a moment.

i have been having trouble understanding grabs and blocks as of late (just started playing)!
And i want to say thank you Raijnken for this info, i loved the brake down!