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Avoiding Shield Grabs

Bravo_10

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
111
Location
Atlanta, GA
Hello everyone! I'm Bravo.

I'm pretty new at this whole "high-level Smash" thing. I really only started improving my play to near-competetive standards about a year ago, and even then my main game was Smash 64. I've trained and improved a lot over a year, but I think there's really only so much that can be accomplished in such a short time. By now, I've transitioned to maining PM as a game (Smash 64's Link is, while enjoyable, an absolute struggle character on anything but Hyrule Castle), but some elements from my transition still need to be cleaned up.

Regardless of how many tutorials I've read and tricks I've picked up from watching others play (shffl's, clever wavelands, bomb tricks, combos), I've never really seen any conclusive guide on how to avoid being shield grabbed. It seems like pro players just somehow avoid it, and I have no idea how. In Smash 64, everything was safe on shield. Shield stun was so high that getting shield grabbed meant you were doing something horribly wrong (if you've played the game, you know what I mean). At this point, I'm among the top PM players at my university, but I easily get shield grabbed more than anyone else when I play. It's gotten so bad that opponents often halt their platform pressure and shield just so that they can get a grab in on my platform-drop nairs.

So what exactly can I do to avoid the shield grabs? Is it all about spacing my aerials correctly? If so, how do I deal with long-grab characters like Marth & DDD?

/edit: I suppose I should mention that this is asking specifically for what Link can do to avoid shield grabs.
 
Last edited:
D

Deleted member

Guest
you'll see better players avoiding shield grabs because their spacing is better. if you hit with the tip of link's sword i dont think most of the cast can grab you. D3 for example, unless they changed his grab range from brawl, can't grab you after correctly spacing.

the other thing to do against a shield grab heavy opponent is to only apply pressure with a returning boomerang. keep your opponent in mid-range until you can safely throw a boomerang behind them. then time your approach so when you shffl you're aerial or attack them, the boomerang's return makes your move safe.
 

Bravo_10

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
111
Location
Atlanta, GA
Hmm, so it's really all about spacing? I guess I just have to get better at hitting with the tip of nair. Ultimately the problem is that I'm still not quite used to having to care about on-shield spacing! It's something I'm going to have to put a lot of work into. And I do actually quite like the return-flight boomerang as a baiting trick; never thought about trying to make my approaches shield-safe with it.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
i think D3 can shield grab you out of a spaced nair so be careful about that
 
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