Best ways to improve without another human?

[sfox8]

I'm starting to get extremely frustrated. I practice this game every single day, online with friends and offline with computers but I never get any better. I've never ever won a single online match due to skill, it's always because of something stupid the enemy does.

I've read countless topics on "improving your skills" but none of them seem to help me at all and I've seen lots of topics that say practicing with the computer doesn't help.

Well this is a predicament for me because there's no other way for me to practice, other than online and my friends cannot come online whenever I feel like practicing.

Can anyone please give me some tips on getting better? I watch Kirby videos, I look up different combos for him, I read topics, and I still get beat every time. I seriously don't know what I can do anymore. Another thing I notice is that my friends are amazing and kick *** with whatever character they choose. It doesn't matter if they know how to use that character or not, I still never win.

So please, some tips, tricks, is there something I might not be doing that I should be doing?

 

[TwilightKirby]

To put it simplest... your probably not trying hard enough to not get hit.
Read this it might help.

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=160643

Make sure you're constantly thinking when you're playing and trying to predict what your opponent will do. Recognize their patterns and punish them. Also watch their character not yours. You need to pay more attention to what they are doing rather than yourself.

Sorry if you already knew these things lol.

 

[sfox8]

Thanks. I've read that topic before, but I'll go over it again. The problem is that even though I dodge (a LOT), it still never helps because my opponent is doing the exact same thing so it ends up looking like a dance. He attacks, I dodge out of the way, I counter, he dodges out of the way, he attacks back and eventually one of us gets hit and it's usually me. Either that or we end up on opposite sides of the stage waiting for each other to make a move because neither one of us is trying to "get hit". Eventually one of us has to make a move otherwise we end up standing there the majority of the time.

 

[TwilightKirby]

Thats where predicting comes in. If you know how they are going to avoid your attack, then do something that will punish them for it. If they spot dodge everytime you move near them either just wait for the spotdodge to end and hit them, start a hammer right as they would spotdodge so it hits them at the end, downsmash, jab, inhale etc. If they always roll behind you, wait for them to roll behind you and hit them. If they shield, grab them or pressure them with dtilts.

Thats really what it comes down to, predicting your opponents actions and punishing them for it. Watch videos and try to look for patterns in the players and then see if they start punishing each other for them and notice if they change their style to adapt. This is what the people that tend to win usually do.

 

[Metroid475]

Yeah i kind of feel the same way. I want to main kirby but its really hard to improve with him.

 

[~Gonzo~]

Honestly, its impossible to replace a human opponent. The computers are predictable making the skill u need to beat them lower than what is required to beat a human.

since a human opponent isnt an option in ur case here are some things that can help.

We all know Kirby's bread and butter moves.
Back Air
Uptilt
Upair
Forward smash
Upsmash
Downsmash

To perfect Backair u want to learn to space and time it so only the very tip hits ur opponent and that as soon as u hit ur opponent ur hitting the ground so u can go straight into another attack. Also always fastfall ur Backair unless u need to go upwards, Bair has enough lag to make it moderately punishable

To perfect Utilt u wanna learn how to turn around when landing so u can face away from ur opponent top make Utilt more effective. Also again u wanna learn to hit them with the tip of utilt so u more time to counter or dodge their next attack. Also utilt can clash/cancel other moves. Use this to ur advantage and u'll see how effective it is.

To perfect Up air u want to make sure u time ur jump right. Lets say u want to hit with Upair and stay close to ur opponent, u need to jump and uair very quickly. However, lets say u want to space ur Uair so it hits them at the peack of ur jump so then u start falling away so u wont get hit, then u jump and Upair later.

In terms of smashes. SAVE THEM do not use them till ur ready to KO ur opponent or u have to save urself from being KO'd. Upsmash is best done by dashing first. Downsmash is the fastest smash so it can help against fast opponents. Forward smash has the greatest range and strength. Use it well.

I know it can b difficult having no humans to practice against. I like to put 99 stock vs level 9 MK or Snake and test myself by trying to get a 20 stock lead by the time i have 50 stocks left. Its a doable goal and helps to mentally train u to stay focused and helps u to practice ur spacing and techniques.

Hope this helps.

 

[leelue]

Advise

Absolutely right.
If you are dodging his attacks (and if its working), but your matches become some sort of dance, work on using moves that last longer to counter his dodge (like G&W front smash), stuttering ur attacks (by either dash dancing out and in and doing something, or {hate to say it} charging a smash if ur opponent loves to spot dodge.

Alongside predicting stuff also comes spacing and recognizing spacing. If your Rob, lets say, you have to know where your range is. Ftilt ftw, for example. If your fighting one, you have to either get within that range or stay out of it, but don't stay at a place thats comfy for THEM.

I have to agree, watch your opponent. But don't just watch, study.

also, whenever you can, save your vids, and watch them. Long time ago i used to main Diddy. watching my vids i realized i was short hopping into Down airs a lot. It was stupid and i cut the habit (it took a few days). See if you can find fatal flaws in your fighting style too. Seeing your own flaws in your approach, recovery or whatever else is a big help. Seeing what the opponent did to kill you, especially in a mirror, helps even more.

Something else thats big is getting used to your opponent reading you. Lets say u are Olimar, and ur fighting, idk, marth. After popping u into the air, the marth has a habit of chasing u wih an Uair, so u airdodge 2 in a row. Imagine now (really imagine it) that next time he waits for you to air dodge and punishes you with a fatal Utilt. Now you have to drop your old habit and try to work around it. It's all a learning game.

One final note. Don't be afraid to get your *** handed to you. I can honestly say i am a semipro level player, with a good variation of mains and secondaries. But i don't like tournaments. My play style gets all out of whack and i don't play like me anymore. I end up losing earlier than i know i should. But i learn something every time. Like i said, its all about learning.

I hope i was of some help

 

[TwilightKirby]

Oh for actual ways to practice...

Watch videos of other kirby players or if run out of kirby players just players in general. Try to actively think of what their patterns are and try to predict them as you watch. See if the opponent predicts them. Watch how they adapt. Learning to pick up on these things will help you do them in a real match. Eventually it will just become second nature to you to notice these things when you are playing.

Also like I said if its a kirby player take note on how they get hit, what causes them to get hit, how they hit the opponent, and how both players score kills. Generally characters have certain patterns that are extremely effective that become predictable if you learn them and actually do have ways to counter them. One extremely common pattern that is character based would be marths using fair everytime they approach with a SH. Since you know they are going to try to approach and fair, you can roll behind them if you are too close, or if you are a bit far you can SH away and punish with a bair or shield it etc.

You get the idea =D just be an active watcher. Also realize the ways people tend to adapt to what you do so you can punish that when they change their pattern. I always dashgrab after a dair and so they start to dodge instead of shielding. Either I dash attack them or fsmash them, usually fsmash since by the time they adapt they will be in kill range.

Sorry if I gave too many examples... lol I just wanted to explain the kinds of thoughts that go through players minds and what you should watch for =D see if it helps. (this kind of improvement will not help you at all with computers btw)

 

[ron561]

IF you got aim or something you could play me and I could try and let you know what to work on so I can see for my self what the real problem is.

 

[storm92]

Go through an entire game trying to accomplish this task:
don't. get. hit.

That's how I practice. What I see a lot of my fellow friend smashers doing is watching their character, which is a big mistake. If you're set on playing competitively, you should know your character well enough and have good enough muscle control to know that when you lightly tap X and C-Stick back, you're going to do a SH'd Bair. As people said above me, learn to watch the other character almost the entire time. See what he's going to do, learn his patterns, see which moves and strategies he likes to rely on and see how you can beat him.
All my friends refer to me as the "comeback kid" because I almost always go down in the match early. I'm not saying I go down a stock, but I usually take some % before the opponent starts getting real hammered. This is because I play it safe, let him approach, learn what he likes to depend on, and then punish immediately. Most my games I win I do it with 2 stock, because I took advantage of predictability. Even good players tend to be 2 stock'd when I beat them, because when I 1-stock someone it means they were changing things up and being unpredictable.
So basically, work on the mental aspects more, and techniques to counter specific strategies will come to you.

Also, despite Wi-Fi sucking, its better than CPUs.
CPUs should only be "dont get hit" practice, teching practice, etc.

 

[TwilightKirby]

You know I am starting to question wifi as a training method. It seems like with kirby the slight bit of button delay makes his smashes much more useful than his tilts. This would cause bad habits (spamming smashes)
I try and force myself to play like I play in person... but it screws me over a lot of times and I can't chaingrab right =/ maybe I just need to adjust but I play better with captain falcon on wifi than kirby sometimes lols.

 

[storm92]

Me too, CF is easier to "combo" with on Wi-Fi due to the delayed reaction time of the other person.
To be completely honest, I really suck on Wi-Fi as Kirby. =D

 

[TwilightKirby]

ahh I need to practice using kirby more on wifi o.o getting exposed to lots of different playstyles helps no matter how bad wifi is lol

 

[poorboy93]

All you really need to know is BAIR
and somewhat fair
but mostly bair. This is by far kirbys most annoying, and most effective move. Well the only way to improve is by playing humans....
The only time I play computers is when Im bored and want to feel like Im god beating them over and over again... AHA
WIFI is bad... delayed time is bad for kirbys bair

 

[hippyman69]

You practice EVERYday, play online with friends and with comps. you have read countless topics on "improving your skills", you watch Kirby videos, look up different combos for him, read topics, and still get beat every time?
this is the funniest thing ever. you my friend, have to realise that you suck at the game, are a noob, and should just stop playing. you obviously have some form of mental ***********. if you 'practice' everyday read combos threads etc, you probably have no brain or it has the processing ability of a 5 year old. that is quite sad. it sounds like u arent even capable of just copying the combos u watch. hilarious

 

[Mr. Stripe]

.... troll ?

 

[Kirby Phelps (PK)]

I'm in the same situation...

 

[Roller]

I would strongly suggest getting aim and contacting top kirby players and asking them to help you out. Play with them and ask them what you could do to improve, and watch them play and how they adjust to certain situations. It helps A LOT.

 

[sfox8]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. And lol look at the troll. I love you guys. You're always giving people something to laugh at.

I've been practicing Bair a lot though and I think I'm starting to get better at using it. And I'm definitely going to try contacting people on AIM. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one having this problem, though.

 

[ron561]

Well whenever u got aim just msg me ron56ace ^^

 

[The Star King]

Keep playing someone with equal/close skill level, and both of you will get better. It probably won't seem like you're getting better, but you are without knowing it. Don't expect to get good immidiately, like so many impatient people do. Getting good takes time, as in years of experience. You certainly won't get good after a few months of Brawl, if you had little Melee experience.