Beginner Tips?

[Porkify]

Hello! 3ds Smash the first smash I've owned. I used to play a bit of brawl at my friend's house but I've never gotten that familiar with this game. I've tried to play For Glory and realized how bad I was XD. I've only won twice so far, once to an afk dude. Do you guys have any tips for improving my Smash Skills?

 

[A_Kae]

Think about what you're doing. Remember what options you have. Don't neglect any of them. Be patient. Don't rush in to things. Try out different characters. Don't think that you have to pick one to stick with forever.

 

[Porkify]

Think about what you're doing. Remember what options you have. Don't neglect any of them. Be patient. Don't rush in to things. Try out different characters. Don't think that you have to pick one to stick with forever.

Ok thank you! What's a good way to practice?

 

[A_Kae]

Ok thank you! What's a good way to practice?

It depends on what you're practicing.

For generally improving fundamentals, just playing more matches is the best way. Ideally against people a bit better than you are, but it's not required. It's just so that you're pushed to improve.

For more specific things, (combos, advanced techs, etc) go to training mode and do whatever it is you want to get better with a certain number of times in a row (10, 25, 50, or whatever). If you fail whatever it is at some point, start over.

 

[GhostUrsa]

Play the solo modes is a great place to start, that a lot of people seem to over look. If you are trying to grasp fundamentals, character properties and move sets, and practice things like timing and spacing, the different Solo modes will definitely help. Smash Run will give you a great place to practice interacting with the physics of the game and how to anticipate against opponents moves (most of the baddies have a decent wind up). Classic mode will give you a way to prep for more normal Arena based combat you'll find in a tourney (sans the items), while All Star will focus your mind on how to improve your defense. (Fighting an endurance match forces you to weigh your options carefully to reduce how much damage you'll take, great for when you need to play defensively) Target Blast and Multi Man Smash will help improve your accuracy (Blast for knockback angles, Smash for hitting moving targets), and Home Run contest will improve your combo knowledge. You won't bore yourself running drills like this is basketball camp using these modes.

Once you feel comfortable with a character (or characters. Finding a main can be quite the spiritual experience for some.), then start using the base online modes, and local friendlies if possible, to get a feel for human players. For Fun and For Glory are a good starting point that requires no hoops to jump through, and you can start practicing your reads on a human opponent. This is when the Replay feature and training mode will become really important, as you can record your loses for later (taking a break and watching as a spectator will help you see things you didn't know you were doing wrong) and practice speeding up some of your favored combos in the lab with your replay experience will help you out.

Once you've got a basic handle on reading opponents, you'll want better competition so you can start improving your Match Up knowledge and your optimization. Local and online tournaments, Anther's Ladder, friendlies with a fellow smashboarder, and the previously mentioned online modes are all good ways to continue to improve your mind. Muscle memory will only get your so far if you don't know when to flex them. (This is the stage I'm at, the constant state to improve my knowledge of my opponents so I can make the best decisions at the right time!)

Word of advice, online mode can be hit or miss with lag due to how fighting games connect opponents. Once you get to a certain point, local fighting will always improve you faster than online fights. (Reliable timing means consistent muscle memory with less mental focus, allowing your attention to be squarely on your opponent where it belongs.)

 

[BaPr]

@ GhostUrsa explained it very well, but I want to add that For Glory is not the best place, since the matchmaking isn't good, and there are people who are very disrespectful which can discourage you. The best place is probably the 3DS friend code sharing thread. People there are more likely to help you out with what bad habits you have and other stuff.

 

[GhostUrsa]

@ BaPr you are right that it isn't perfect (in order to make sure everyone can find an opponent on For Glory, the best and the worst of the community is in the same seed), but when starting out with a new hobby I find that having to jump through lots of hoops to practice really lets procrastination kick in. It is why I recommended them as a place to start (and not a do all, be all). The timing to upgrade to better opponents fluctuates depending on the learning curve and motivation of each player, as one person may need to use smashboard friendlies or Anther's Ladder only weeks after starting while another may find a good learning experience in FG for a month or more before being ready. From what I've seen from other new players, a perceived hurdle (I'm not ready for tournaments, my skills aren't ready for ranked matches, etc) is still a hurdle and For Glory is designed to remove anything that could be used as a discouragement when starting out.

It can add discouragement for upgrading to other tools, but not for starting. I've seen quite a few people worry about their W/L ratio and wanting it at a certain point before upgrading instead of actually looking at how their fighting style has grown to make such a decision.

Pretty much, I want to make sure any new players use all the tools at their disposal since 'what is best' will change depending on a bunch of personal factors that we can't calculate for on these forums. My post may be a long way to say "I agree with you but keep this in mind", but I want to really stress this.

 

[Christuphus]

You keep working HARD in order to win and you get better little by little. To IMMERSE yourself in something you like, that's what it means to enjoy something fully.

 

[CCTANK93]

It helps to find a friend or few friends to play with. It makes it fun and you can all get better together. Also it really helps to find a character that feels comfortable to you and stick with that character for a while. You can learn the fundamentals and general strategies as that character and then you can branch out and find other play styles you might enjoy. Also the most important thing is to keep playing. The more you play, the better you'll get. It can be a long process sometimes and it can feel slow but when you can see the difference from when you started to when you get really good, you'll feel great about it.