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Been playing competitively for a decade now, and still suck...

MintBreath

Smash Rookie
Joined
Sep 2, 2018
Messages
1
I honestly don’t get it. Ever since 2007, I’ve tried Melee, Brawl, Sm4sh, and I STILL CAN’T DO WELL, to the point where i get mad just loosing one round. My brother who only spams plays less and has gotten better skill, but nothing for me. It’s like everyone can easily predict everything I do! Shield? Grabbed. Dodge? Waited and smash attack. The only thing I can get ever get in is a dash attack, and the other player gets in on it quick. I’ve been playing nonstop ever since I was a child, taking many breaks, but still. My main problem is that I can never shield, spot dodge, or roll at the right times, and I want to try and get better at that. Any tips? Help would be appreciated, because I want to jump into Smash Ultimate right when it comes out. Thanks! :)
 

Nah

Smash Champion
Joined
May 31, 2015
Messages
2,162
Something to keep in mind is that what's important is less how long you've been playing and more so what you've been doing that whole time. "Practice makes perfect" is the saying, but what it really is is "Perfect practice makes perfect".

There's a number of things one can do to improve: analyze your own replays, read up on stuff, watch others play, get a tutor/mentor/sparring partner, ask questions, practice various techniques, or like SolidSense said, give others replays of your matches for them/us to critique. And so on.

What will help the most varies between people. Some methods work better/worse for different people, as we all learn differently (and furthermore, people typically do not learn well entirely on their own). On top of this, everyone's got their own natural aptitudes for everything.
 

Crystanium

Smash Hero
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
5,921
Location
California
I honestly don’t get it. Ever since 2007, I’ve tried Melee, Brawl, Sm4sh, and I STILL CAN’T DO WELL, to the point where i get mad just loosing one round. My brother who only spams plays less and has gotten better skill, but nothing for me. It’s like everyone can easily predict everything I do! Shield? Grabbed. Dodge? Waited and smash attack. The only thing I can get ever get in is a dash attack, and the other player gets in on it quick. I’ve been playing nonstop ever since I was a child, taking many breaks, but still. My main problem is that I can never shield, spot dodge, or roll at the right times, and I want to try and get better at that. Any tips? Help would be appreciated, because I want to jump into Smash Ultimate right when it comes out. Thanks! :)
In your anger you perform poorly. Step back and take a breath. Don't worry about your brother's skill. Worry about your own. Compare yourself now to yourself before. Enter a match and acknowledge the possibility of losing. Acknowledge also that losing isn't the end, but the beginning to success. Perhaps you've tried playing to win all this time. Now is the time to play to learn. Don't rush into a match, but watch your opponent. See what he does. See how he reacts. Does he shield often? Grab. Does he air-dodge a lot? Wait and then strike. Do you have projectiles? Force your opponent to approach. Does your opponent stand at the ledge, but fail to come out to defeat you off-stage? Thank him for allowing you to return, but show him his error by preventing him from returning. All it takes for your opponent to lose is one error. All it takes for you to lose is one error. Find your errors and improve. Find your opponent's errors and take advantage.
 

WiiRool

Smash Cadet
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
29
Location
The Netherlands
NNID
WiiRool
Switch FC
SW-2514-2416-3131
Your story is all too familiar to me.
The people above me have already given some great tips! I'll make sure to keep those in mind myself. :p

Good luck to us both!
 

miniyodadude

Smash Rookie
Joined
May 16, 2015
Messages
9
You can always analyze your matches. Try and figure out why something worked for your opponent. If he keeps spamming side smash, then you need to work on perfect shielding it and running in for a grab or another punish
 
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