Melee_Melody
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2016
- Messages
- 11
Mainly a melee player, who would like to main Lucas in Smash 4. Any basic things I need to pratice in terms of playing Lucas?
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Beggining Lucas Tips
- Thread starter Melee_Melody
- Start date
frozentreasure
Smash Apprentice
As well as some general Lucas advice:
- Short hop airdodge can be autocancelled by inputting a back air just before touching the ground.
- Wavebounced PK Fire is one of the safest moves in game, and playing with specials on your right stick is a very easy way to consistently perform this.
- PSI Magnet stalls vertical momentum, can be cancelled the frame it absorbs something into a jump, roll, or spot-dodge, and heals 2.5x the original damage of the projectile for a maximum of 30%.
- If you PK Thunder into any surface that can't be stood on, you have about 10 frames to input another PK Thunder.
- Sour spot of forward air, sour spot of back air, body hitboxes of the first three hits of down air, foot hitbox of the final hit of down air, edge of down tilt, sour spot of side tilt, and the weak hit of his tether, can all lock the opponent. So can the looping hits of neutral air, but only through the bottom of a platform.
- Every throw KOs. Even forward throw. Especially forward throw if you catch their DI.
- Up smash has invincibility on the first four frames.
- PK Freeze has basically no endlag.
- PK Thunder has too much endlag, especially if you go into freefall. If you ever use it on-stage, hit yourself towards the ground or at an angle that has you come to a sliding stop for minimal endlag.
- Practice PK Thunder angles until you can hit any angle you want at any time. Like, more than anything, spend hours in training mode doing it.
- Practice the Tonda Gossa (down throw to up air). From about 100% onwards it KOs and is inescapable if you follow DI correctly (jump forward, then jump forward, backward, or straight up accordingly).
- Practice positioning for the back air spike.
- Practice the spacing on PK Fire, tether, grab, and forward air. They're Lucas' best disjoints.
EDIT: Lastly, Lucas can be played in a rushdown style if you're really smart and get the right reads, but primarily, he's an ultra-defensive, campy **** who spends a lot of time zoning, walling, and hanging around the ledge, just in case that's not the kind of character you're after.
- Short hop airdodge can be autocancelled by inputting a back air just before touching the ground.
- Wavebounced PK Fire is one of the safest moves in game, and playing with specials on your right stick is a very easy way to consistently perform this.
- PSI Magnet stalls vertical momentum, can be cancelled the frame it absorbs something into a jump, roll, or spot-dodge, and heals 2.5x the original damage of the projectile for a maximum of 30%.
- If you PK Thunder into any surface that can't be stood on, you have about 10 frames to input another PK Thunder.
- Sour spot of forward air, sour spot of back air, body hitboxes of the first three hits of down air, foot hitbox of the final hit of down air, edge of down tilt, sour spot of side tilt, and the weak hit of his tether, can all lock the opponent. So can the looping hits of neutral air, but only through the bottom of a platform.
- Every throw KOs. Even forward throw. Especially forward throw if you catch their DI.
- Up smash has invincibility on the first four frames.
- PK Freeze has basically no endlag.
- PK Thunder has too much endlag, especially if you go into freefall. If you ever use it on-stage, hit yourself towards the ground or at an angle that has you come to a sliding stop for minimal endlag.
- Practice PK Thunder angles until you can hit any angle you want at any time. Like, more than anything, spend hours in training mode doing it.
- Practice the Tonda Gossa (down throw to up air). From about 100% onwards it KOs and is inescapable if you follow DI correctly (jump forward, then jump forward, backward, or straight up accordingly).
- Practice positioning for the back air spike.
- Practice the spacing on PK Fire, tether, grab, and forward air. They're Lucas' best disjoints.
EDIT: Lastly, Lucas can be played in a rushdown style if you're really smart and get the right reads, but primarily, he's an ultra-defensive, campy **** who spends a lot of time zoning, walling, and hanging around the ledge, just in case that's not the kind of character you're after.
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I'd immediately suggest setting your C-stick to specials as it allows you to B-reverse and Wavebounce your PK Fires and PSI Magnets at will as it greatly enhances your ability to move around the field and keeps your opponent from getting a beat on the way you execute your zoning between PK Fires and zairs.
Jab is a fast, so it can work as kind of a panic button, but is outclassed in almost every way by down tilt since down tilt can lead to other things while jab really only reliably leads to itself. F-tilt is fast and disjointed at the sweetspot, so it's a really good spacing tool when combined with pivots. Up tilt is also fast and puts opponents above you. It doesn't combo very well past low percents, but does eventually kill (after like 160%); falling nair can confirm into an up tilt at high percents. Down tilt is great for catching opponents by surprise when they come on to punish a whiff and is just one of his better combo starters in general, even being somewhat safe on shield since it's so non-commital; I can't stress enough how good a move down tilt is for Lucas. It's a better move than jab about 99% of the time.
Nair is your go-to aerial for combos, but you HAVE to learn to read your opponents SDI or you'll never land the last hit. Fair is amazing for walling out non-disjointed attacks since the hitbox is so big, AND it's strong, to boot. If you sweetspot it while landing it's actually pretty safe on shield. Back air is an amazing meteor and you can use it as anti-pressure when trying to recover since attempting to gimp Lucas can result in taking a meteor back air to the face. Up air is rather meh as an attack on its own, but it packs a punch and down throw up air is one of Lucas's most reliable kill confirms. Down air is also meh, but is his most damaging aerial if you get all the hits to connect. It's weak as a spike, but reaches pretty far beneath Lucas, so you can use it to hit under ledges and catch recoveries. The last hit is also integral to Lucas's jab lock combos.
Your best punish OoS is always a grab unless the opponent is in enough lag ton get hit by an up smash. Your best tool is always grab, actually, so work to set up situations where you can land one. Always try to tether to the ledge, but remember that you're not invincible until you grab the ledge. Try to avoid using PKT2 to recover because it's extremely easy to mess with.
Jab is a fast, so it can work as kind of a panic button, but is outclassed in almost every way by down tilt since down tilt can lead to other things while jab really only reliably leads to itself. F-tilt is fast and disjointed at the sweetspot, so it's a really good spacing tool when combined with pivots. Up tilt is also fast and puts opponents above you. It doesn't combo very well past low percents, but does eventually kill (after like 160%); falling nair can confirm into an up tilt at high percents. Down tilt is great for catching opponents by surprise when they come on to punish a whiff and is just one of his better combo starters in general, even being somewhat safe on shield since it's so non-commital; I can't stress enough how good a move down tilt is for Lucas. It's a better move than jab about 99% of the time.
Nair is your go-to aerial for combos, but you HAVE to learn to read your opponents SDI or you'll never land the last hit. Fair is amazing for walling out non-disjointed attacks since the hitbox is so big, AND it's strong, to boot. If you sweetspot it while landing it's actually pretty safe on shield. Back air is an amazing meteor and you can use it as anti-pressure when trying to recover since attempting to gimp Lucas can result in taking a meteor back air to the face. Up air is rather meh as an attack on its own, but it packs a punch and down throw up air is one of Lucas's most reliable kill confirms. Down air is also meh, but is his most damaging aerial if you get all the hits to connect. It's weak as a spike, but reaches pretty far beneath Lucas, so you can use it to hit under ledges and catch recoveries. The last hit is also integral to Lucas's jab lock combos.
Your best punish OoS is always a grab unless the opponent is in enough lag ton get hit by an up smash. Your best tool is always grab, actually, so work to set up situations where you can land one. Always try to tether to the ledge, but remember that you're not invincible until you grab the ledge. Try to avoid using PKT2 to recover because it's extremely easy to mess with.
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EmpireCrusher203
Smash Apprentice
Ah the good old days of my Lucas skrubbishness. Although I no longer have Lucas, I still know a lot about the little guy. Lucas used to be my main, and therefore I read up on all these guides. From what I learned, these are the most common mistakes of Lucas beginners:
-Use of PK Thunder instead of Rope Snake
-Not learning bread-and-butter combos
-Trigger Happy- overly committed to an approach or tactic cough Up Smash
-Playstyle- too aggresive
-No use of PK Fire or Zair
-The worst mistake- Assuming that Lucas is a Ness clone
First of all, Lucas and Ness and completely different. Ness is more combo oriented, aggressive, and an all-around troll. Lucas is a defensive spacer. When you play Lucas, you should always have a defensive mindset. He is built to stop opponents in their tracks. If you catch yourself getting too frisky, calm down and regain your thoughts.
Down Throw -> Nair: Amazing in the neutral. Easy damage, can chain into itself. Keep in mind that Lucas's Nair can be used as well for approaching, specifically, platforms.
Lucas's Nair also has a very easy auto-cancel. I often use it instead of plain old tech, because sometimes I get too predictable.
Zair is Lucas's best move. AMAZING RANGE. Very fast, little landing lag. It's perfect for zoning your opponent. USE IT, A LOT. It's more reliable than PK Fire. However PK Fire is amazing, in the sense that it deals decent damage and is hard to counter. Trying mixing up Zair and PK Fire. Specifically, PK fire when they are approaching on ground, as the PK Fire will easily end their plan. Zair for aerial approaches.
Lucas's best kill move is his Up Throw, or Back throw, if near ledge. Forward throw is useless and Downthrow is your combo starter. Dont stale out your Up throw. Up throw kills most characters at 140 - 160% When you do hit that 140 threshold, don't go "trigger happy" and start throwing out grabs here and there. You MUST be patient. Side Smash is also very good, but makes sure you hit it.
When edge guarding with Lucas, your best bet it PK Thunder. What you'll want to do is a figure-8 around the ledge, making it impossible for your opponent to get pass without eating some of your PK Thunder. It wont kill most characters, but can be fatal to some cough Little Mac. Do a figure 8, so that the tail is moving towards the bottom of the stage. Down Smash at the ledge can easily catch most characters, minus the teleporting ones, and knock them off, to the point where recovery is impossible.
If you have trouble getting grabs, then try Pivot Grabs. Lucas's Pivot Grab is very fast and reliable. Also Pivot forward tilt is good at catching your opponent off guard.
Lucas has amazing tilts. Although you wont be using them as much as Zair or PK Fire, his titls are extremely reliable and safe. F-tilt is good at whacking your opponent, usually catching them getting on a platform. Up tilt is a nice mix up when things get too close for comfort. Down Tilt is a combo starter and can potentially ledge guard.
Lucas has equally amazing aerials. His Up air can kill at high perfect (Down throw to up air is a nice killing combo). Forward air is the equivalent of his f-tilt, but in the air. It is used for catching your opponent off guard. Hitting the sweetspot can knockback them back really far, whereas the sourspot and lead to other aerials. Back air is a nice spike and is used for offstage edge guard, but Dont use it for anything other than that. Down Air is amazing, especially his Rising Down Air, which provides great shield pressure and cam catch opponents getting on a platform.
When recovering, prefer using Rope Snake over PK Thunder, since it is safer and faster. Also too many things can go wrong with PK Thunder (Villager or Ness), and only use it when low, as it can travel VERY far. Just remember, only use PK Thunder when you have no other choice.
From his specials: PK fire is great, PK Thunder is nice at ledge guarding and recovery. PSI Magnet has very few uses, and PK Freeze is pointless.
For controls, I recommend setting the C-Stick to Attack and take full advantage of Lucas's tilt and aerials. Also try to use Tap Jump Off since it only makes combos easier. You can set your C-Stick to Special, but the only advantage to this is Wavebouncing, which isn't that big of a deal in the metagame. There are a plethora of advantages from setting it to Attack.
Skills that you should learn:
-Short Hopping
-Nair autocancel
-Lucas's Bair spike
-Pivot Grabbing
- Dash Dancing and Perfect Pivoting (If you want to go that far)
-Use of PK Thunder instead of Rope Snake
-Not learning bread-and-butter combos
-Trigger Happy- overly committed to an approach or tactic cough Up Smash
-Playstyle- too aggresive
-No use of PK Fire or Zair
-The worst mistake- Assuming that Lucas is a Ness clone
First of all, Lucas and Ness and completely different. Ness is more combo oriented, aggressive, and an all-around troll. Lucas is a defensive spacer. When you play Lucas, you should always have a defensive mindset. He is built to stop opponents in their tracks. If you catch yourself getting too frisky, calm down and regain your thoughts.
Down Throw -> Nair: Amazing in the neutral. Easy damage, can chain into itself. Keep in mind that Lucas's Nair can be used as well for approaching, specifically, platforms.
Lucas's Nair also has a very easy auto-cancel. I often use it instead of plain old tech, because sometimes I get too predictable.
Zair is Lucas's best move. AMAZING RANGE. Very fast, little landing lag. It's perfect for zoning your opponent. USE IT, A LOT. It's more reliable than PK Fire. However PK Fire is amazing, in the sense that it deals decent damage and is hard to counter. Trying mixing up Zair and PK Fire. Specifically, PK fire when they are approaching on ground, as the PK Fire will easily end their plan. Zair for aerial approaches.
Lucas's best kill move is his Up Throw, or Back throw, if near ledge. Forward throw is useless and Downthrow is your combo starter. Dont stale out your Up throw. Up throw kills most characters at 140 - 160% When you do hit that 140 threshold, don't go "trigger happy" and start throwing out grabs here and there. You MUST be patient. Side Smash is also very good, but makes sure you hit it.
When edge guarding with Lucas, your best bet it PK Thunder. What you'll want to do is a figure-8 around the ledge, making it impossible for your opponent to get pass without eating some of your PK Thunder. It wont kill most characters, but can be fatal to some cough Little Mac. Do a figure 8, so that the tail is moving towards the bottom of the stage. Down Smash at the ledge can easily catch most characters, minus the teleporting ones, and knock them off, to the point where recovery is impossible.
If you have trouble getting grabs, then try Pivot Grabs. Lucas's Pivot Grab is very fast and reliable. Also Pivot forward tilt is good at catching your opponent off guard.
Lucas has amazing tilts. Although you wont be using them as much as Zair or PK Fire, his titls are extremely reliable and safe. F-tilt is good at whacking your opponent, usually catching them getting on a platform. Up tilt is a nice mix up when things get too close for comfort. Down Tilt is a combo starter and can potentially ledge guard.
Lucas has equally amazing aerials. His Up air can kill at high perfect (Down throw to up air is a nice killing combo). Forward air is the equivalent of his f-tilt, but in the air. It is used for catching your opponent off guard. Hitting the sweetspot can knockback them back really far, whereas the sourspot and lead to other aerials. Back air is a nice spike and is used for offstage edge guard, but Dont use it for anything other than that. Down Air is amazing, especially his Rising Down Air, which provides great shield pressure and cam catch opponents getting on a platform.
When recovering, prefer using Rope Snake over PK Thunder, since it is safer and faster. Also too many things can go wrong with PK Thunder (Villager or Ness), and only use it when low, as it can travel VERY far. Just remember, only use PK Thunder when you have no other choice.
From his specials: PK fire is great, PK Thunder is nice at ledge guarding and recovery. PSI Magnet has very few uses, and PK Freeze is pointless.
For controls, I recommend setting the C-Stick to Attack and take full advantage of Lucas's tilt and aerials. Also try to use Tap Jump Off since it only makes combos easier. You can set your C-Stick to Special, but the only advantage to this is Wavebouncing, which isn't that big of a deal in the metagame. There are a plethora of advantages from setting it to Attack.
Skills that you should learn:
-Short Hopping
-Nair autocancel
-Lucas's Bair spike
-Pivot Grabbing
- Dash Dancing and Perfect Pivoting (If you want to go that far)
frozentreasure
Smash Apprentice
Almost all of that was untrue.
EmpireCrusher203
Smash Apprentice
Are you sure about that?
frozentreasure
Smash Apprentice
I guess you're right. Not all of it.