Q&A Bowser's Inside Story - Q&A

[Jerodak]

Has anyone found use for Down B shield break? Like anyway to get your opponent to shield and not mash dodge rolls then catch off guard with Down B shield break?

Shield breaks really require you to condition the opponent or for you to time it properly during moments when you know the opponent will shield, you can also try jab to down b, that can lead to shield breaks if the opponent is a panic shielder. Unfortunately, there is no currently known way to actually force the shield break to happen no matter what except maybe some character specific situations like if you manage to put a crash bomb back on megaman and he chooses to hold shield to avoid the explosions then you might be able to shield break while he's stuck shielding, but yeah that's easier said than done. However, when you do get shield breaks, keep in mind that you have plenty of time to capitalize, the opponent can't really mash out of it, so you basically get the full stun time, but it is less when they are at higher percents. However, when anyone is at around 30-50% you get more than enough time to walk them to the nearest edge and full charge Fsmash, even if it somehow doesn't kill, you still put the opponent in a horrible situation, it's better than just doing it from the middle of the stage, where they have a chance to DI well.

 

[MrEh]

Just checked the latest patch thread. Link's Jab shenanigans were removed.

That's a real shame since Link needed it.

The real killer is Palutena supposedly losing her momentum on Superspeed. If that's true, that really really sucks.

 

[Jerodak]

Just checked the latest patch thread. Link's Jab shenanigans were removed.

I think what they removed was holding down-back for easy mode but he can still do it manually, It seemed like it still worked when I tried it the "hard" way in training mode as well, but we'll see.

 

[Cassius.]

Uh I've been doing really well with getting shieldbreaks when characters are stuck on platforms (small ones like lylat, maybe? I know BF works), bowser bomb puts him high enough to go over the platform, and its small enough that there's not really any breathing room to do anything except for drop down off of the platform through shield (this is an actual option that very few people tend to do).

I was doing this at apex instead of the typical "side b someone off of a platform" option every few instances and got pretty good results

 

[Big Sean]

Not really a bowser question, but what's the best way to break out of grabs?

 

[N0PE]

Not really a bowser question, but what's the best way to break out of grabs?

Rotate the control stick while pressing a button (usually A) rapidly. Most people think you have to mash but this method works just as well (sometimes better) and your controller doesn't get killed in the process

 

[UltimaLuminaire]

Not really a bowser question, but what's the best way to break out of grabs?

I found that a rhythm of mashing back and forth on the control stick + hitting A and B will do. If you are concerned about attacking accidentally after a grab break, you should try to hold diagonally down so you can instantly Dtilt. This catches a surprising number of people off-guard.

 

[Savangardius Corsio]

So I have a question, which is pretty simple. You see, I wanna start fresh, from 0, that means learning the basics, what I want to know is: what's the most important thing a Bowser player must have in mind about him in general? who is my worst enemy and who is a piece of cake?

I was talking with some friends and they told me that Bowser plays defensively, which I think is logical, yes. But, can he be aggresive? I would like to be an agressive Bowser, he may have some issues, some of which I might be aware or not, but I wanna try playing like that. If he's not made at all for that kind of playstyle, then I'll go with defense, I'm a versatile dude lol.

And lastly, I don't use neutral B at all, because I don't know exactly when to use it, when should I? For now those are my questions.

 

[N0PE]

So I have a question, which is pretty simple. You see, I wanna start fresh, from 0, that means learning the basics, what I want to know is: what's the most important thing a Bowser player must have in mind about him in general? who is my worst enemy and who is a piece of cake?

I was talking with some friends and they told me that Bowser plays defensively, which I think is logical, yes. But, can he be aggresive? I would like to be an agressive Bowser, he may have some issues, some of which I might be aware or not, but I wanna try playing like that. If he's not made at all for that kind of playstyle, then I'll go with defense, I'm a versatile dude lol.

And lastly, I don't use neutral B at all, because I don't know exactly when to use it, when should I? For now those are my questions.

First thing (easy to pick up) is to learn to use Fortress (Up-B) out of shield. It's great for escaping shield pressure and in a lot of cases is better than rolling out of a shield since Bowser's roll is kind of slow. Second, practice using Side-B just before landing on the ground to cancel your landing lag and moving into a ground attack out of it, i.e. Side-B into the ground into an F-Tilt, D-Tilt, Down-B, etc.

As for Neutral B, it's particularly useful for edge guarding your enemy while they're at low percents and they're most likely to make it back regardless, because they'll soak up extra damage for coming back. It's also good for countering projectile spam, particularly from Link as I have been told.

Bowser can be played aggressively as long as you remember to give yourself time/space to back out when you can't finish off a KO. Last thing you want is to get stuck in your opponent's combos because Bowser is a super big hurtbox, haha.

 

[Savangardius Corsio]

First thing (easy to pick up) is to learn to use Fortress (Up-B) out of shield. It's great for escaping shield pressure and in a lot of cases is better than rolling out of a shield since Bowser's roll is kind of slow. Second, practice using Side-B just before landing on the ground to cancel your landing lag and moving into a ground attack out of it, i.e. Side-B into the ground into an F-Tilt, D-Tilt, Down-B, etc.

As for Neutral B, it's particularly useful for edge guarding your enemy while they're at low percents and they're most likely to make it back regardless, because they'll soak up extra damage for coming back. It's also good for countering projectile spam, particularly from Link as I have been told.

Bowser can be played aggressively as long as you remember to give yourself time/space to back out when you can't finish off a KO. Last thing you want is to get stuck in your opponent's combos because Bowser is a super big hurtbox, haha.

Got it. Ty, I'm gonna start practicing those things soon.

 

[Cassius.]

Okay.

So I have a question, which is pretty simple. You see, I wanna start fresh, from 0, that means learning the basics, what I want to know is: what's the most important thing a Bowser player must have in mind about him in general? who is my worst enemy and who is a piece of cake?

I was talking with some friends and they told me that Bowser plays defensively, which I think is logical, yes. But, can he be aggresive? I would like to be an agressive Bowser, he may have some issues, some of which I might be aware or not, but I wanna try playing like that. If he's not made at all for that kind of playstyle, then I'll go with defense, I'm a versatile dude lol.

To start with the first question: The most important thing I could ever tell any Bowser player to have in mind is to have confidence. This goes a long way, because although I am heavily biased and love Side-B more than anything in this world, its usefulness is waning, and it's time to move on to more versatile options. Bowser actually HAS **** in this game. He can abuse mechanics, and the fact that options are actually a bit more restricted in this iteration of Smash. You have to have the confidence to make people respect you, fear you, and from there, make a read, or anything that you can do. You have the speed, you have the gimmicks (for now). Take advantage of that, and run with it. We are not playing a bottom 6 character anymore. He's smack dab in the middle of this game (give or take 3 spots below), but my point hopefully still resonates with you, and other Bowser players.

We need to actually think like Bowser would. As dumb as this sounds, I've actually been trying to be more confident in my Smash play, and I swear to God that is actually how I made it out of APEX pools lmao. I just had a boatload of confidence and a sense of urgency that pushed me on.

So, from me to you, don't ever be afraid of anything in this game, primarily because this game's mechanics are absolutely stupid, and a comeback is never out of the question. But also because we are playing a pretty mediocre character as opposed to a completely abysmal one like he was for the past 14 years. We can do this.

Your worst enemy will probably be someone who is playing one of the better characters, because they won't ever be in a position where they have to respect you and Bowser's options unless they really happen to slip up.

Pieces of cake in this game are players with really bad habits (provided you pick up on these kinds of things) and bad characters.

For your second question, I quote:

Well, to be completely honest, due to Bowser's weight and the mechanics of the game, you CAN afford to take risks and be reasonably aggressive, while still maintaining a fairly large presence of a threat. But who would really do that?

Bowser's best tools reward patient play a lot more in comparison to aggressive play (Pivot grab, Jab traps, his absurdly improved, albeit different punish game, UpB OoS, Klaw, Run-stop tactics, Walking, etc.) There is no real reason to be, nor any reportedly successful aggro Bowser, as far as I can tell.

edit: none of that really answers your question. On a 1-10 scale I guess anywhere between a 6-8? You don't HAVE to be a complete turtle in this game with him. You can kind of play like an idiot and get away with it with this game's Bowser.

I made that post a little over a month & a half ago, and I do feel the same way still. Bowser's tools reward patient play, and he's only at his best when you actually have the ability to be on the offensive (this isn't true for every character, like I originally thought about a month ago. Some characters have to go in and get **** done). Depending on the character you're facing, these opportunities will be anywhere between extremely frequent to extremely scarce. Unfortunately for us, in the most common MUs, aka MUs that matter, they will be on the scare side.

It is up to you as a Bowser player to be able to smell fear/bad habits (I'm being serious) and know when you'll be able to press buttons in favorable situations (i.e. with favorable stage control, ledge trump situations, forcing your opponent to the edge of the stage, known as walking someone to the corner in other games)...random things like that. You have to be smart, and understand what options certain characters or even players can do when their back seems to be against the wall. I put seems, because a lot of Bowser's pressure is fabricated and blown out of proportion because of the enormous damage he does--but we'll keep that on the hush since no one is really supposed to know this.)

In my honest opinion (I hate calling Bowser this, but for the sake of categorization and stigmatization, let's run with it), grappler characters need to take a look at the bigger picture more often than other characters. What I mean by this is actually paying attention to the person you're playing against as well as the match-up you're in. The best Smash players will be able to pick up on habits anywhere between the first or second time someone is forced into a situation revealing the habit. Bowser needs that more than most characters because you actually get rewarded HEAVILY for making good decisions, and we have enough speed to keep it up and capitalize repeatedly (unlike other characters that do heavy damage but are just terrible anyway). Because we aren't Sheik, Diddy, Sonic, etc., we need to get the maximum bang for our buck, hit hard, and end stocks with a good 6-8 hits. We are of a different character archetype than a lot of other characters in this game.

People are afraid of Bowser. This means that, yes, you absolutely can be aggressive since the game is young and people are still relatively bad, but you either have to be smart about it, or wait your turn. Bowser's punish game is amazing, and in order to take advantage of that, you need to put someone in the position to be punished. Either from you being continually oppressive, staying a hair's breadth away from their best options or being defensive..but regardless, you need to keep your eyes open. There's no black or white with Bowser, because he's just not good enough to be completely aggro, and his tools and even the SM4SH game itself doesn't necessarily lend itself well to a completely defensive style. Someone will have to get a hit at some point. Bowser will be forced to press if he wants the best results. He also does not have enough free movement like Sheik or Sonic to be played in either style, and no smash player in general would limit themselves to only one or the other.


edit/basically tl;dr: also bowser doesn't really have stupendous frame data...it actually is pretty difficult and taxing to play a completely aggressive bowser style. you just need to stay on their ass for the whole round i guess. i'm not a huge fan of the "in-your-face" aggro style, because we don't have the "there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it" like the best characters do.

i'm honestly way more of a mental player in this game with bowser as opposed to anything else. i really try my best to see what my opponent is actually doing wrong against me, keeping it in mind, and then just picking them apart by placing them in the same situation. it's actually pretty difficult to adapt since a lot of bowser's moves happen to cover shield options. you force a lot of players into a very uncomfortable zone if given the opportunity (which is the main issue...bowser sometimes doesn't get that chance). i pick up on habits very, very quickly, so i can afford to play like that. but otherwise i would recommend a defensive style anyway

---

also, i'm sorry, a lot of the answers i gave had to do more with the player as opposed to the character...that's just how i see things. and i really just go on random rants/posts from time to time. it's not conducive to my health, and no one reads them. i do hope i answered your questions though. if not, just say so please because i feel like i didn't make sense at some point lmao

 

[Savangardius Corsio]

Okay.



To start with the first question: The most important thing I could ever tell any Bowser player to have in mind is to have confidence. This goes a long way, because although I am heavily biased and love Side-B more than anything in this world, its usefulness is waning, and it's time to move on to more versatile options. Bowser actually HAS **** in this game. He can abuse mechanics, and the fact that options are actually a bit more restricted in this iteration of Smash. You have to have the confidence to make people respect you, fear you, and from there, make a read, or anything that you can do. You have the speed, you have the gimmicks (for now). Take advantage of that, and run with it. We are not playing a bottom 6 character anymore. He's smack dab in the middle of this game (give or take 3 spots below), but my point hopefully still resonates with you, and other Bowser players.

We need to actually think like Bowser would. As dumb as this sounds, I've actually been trying to be more confident in my Smash play, and I swear to God that is actually how I made it out of APEX pools lmao. I just had a boatload of confidence and a sense of urgency that pushed me on.

So, from me to you, don't ever be afraid of anything in this game, primarily because this game's mechanics are absolutely stupid, and a comeback is never out of the question. But also because we are playing a pretty mediocre character as opposed to a completely abysmal one like he was for the past 14 years. We can do this.

For your second question, I quote:



I made that post a little over a month & a half ago, and I do feel the same way still. Bowser's tools reward patient play, and he's only at his best when you actually have the ability to be on the offensive (this isn't true for every character, like I originally thought about a month ago. Some characters have to go in and get **** done). Depending on the character you're facing, these opportunities will be anywhere between extremely frequent to extremely scarce. Unfortunately for us, in the most common MUs, aka MUs that matter, they will be on the scare side.

It is up to you as a Bowser player to be able to smell fear/bad habits (I'm being serious) and know when you'll be able to press buttons in favorable situations (i.e. with favorable stage control, ledge trump situations, forcing your opponent to the edge of the stage, known as walking someone to the corner in other games)...random things like that. You have to be smart, and understand what options certain characters or even players can do when their back seems to be against the wall. I put seems, because a lot of Bowser's pressure is fabricated and blown out of proportion because of the enormous damage he does--but we'll keep that on the hush since no one is really supposed to know this.)

In my honest opinion (I hate calling Bowser this, but for the sake of categorization and stigmatization, let's run with it), grappler characters need to take a look at the bigger picture more often than other characters. What I mean by this is actually paying attention to the person you're playing against as well as the match-up you're in. The best Smash players will be able to pick up on habits anywhere between the first or second time someone is forced into a situation revealing the habit. Bowser needs that more than most characters because you actually get rewarded HEAVILY for making good decisions, and we have enough speed to keep it up and capitalize repeatedly (unlike other characters that do heavy damage but are just terrible anyway). Because we aren't Sheik, Diddy, Sonic, etc., we need to get the maximum bang for our buck, hit hard, and end stocks with a good 6-8 hits. We are of a different character archetype than a lot of other characters in this game.

People are afraid of Bowser. This means that, yes, you absolutely can be aggressive since the game is young and people are still relatively bad, but you either have to be smart about it, or wait your turn. Bowser's punish game is amazing, and in order to take advantage of that, you need to put someone in the position to be punished. Either from you being continually oppressive, staying a hair's breadth away from their best options or being defensive..but regardless, you need to keep your eyes open. There's no black or white with Bowser, because he's just not good enough to be completely aggro, and his tools and even the SM4SH game itself doesn't necessarily lend itself well to a completely defensive style. Someone will have to get a hit at some point. Bowser will be forced to press if he wants the best results. He also does not have enough free movement like Sheik or Sonic to be played in either style, and no smash player in general would limit themselves to only one or the other.


edit/basically tl;dr: also bowser doesn't really have stupendous frame data...it actually is pretty difficult and taxing to play a completely aggressive bowser style. you just need to stay on their *** for the whole round i guess. i'm not a huge fan of the "in-your-face" aggro style, because we don't have the "there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it" like the best characters do.

i'm honestly way more of a mental player in this game with bowser as opposed to anything else. i really try my best to see what my opponent is actually doing wrong against me, keeping it in mind, and then just picking them apart by placing them in the same situation. it's actually pretty difficult to adapt since a lot of bowser's moves happen to cover shield options. you force a lot of players into a very uncomfortable zone if given the opportunity (which is the main issue...bowser sometimes doesn't get that chance). i pick up on habits very, very quickly, so i can afford to play like that. but otherwise i would recommend a defensive style anyway

Hmmm... yeah, ty very much for sharing all this. I like what I'm reading here, I think that patient style might suit me like a glove, specially that part about forcing my opponent to make mistakes to punish, oh, I'm gonna enjoy that.

Ty again, and don't worry all this made sense to me and I read it all. Well, now it's time to start practicing a lot I guess.

 

[MrEh]

The only way for aggressive Bowser to work is if you're insanely confident in your abilities AND you're allowed to use custom moves. Dash Slash is a ridiculous tool that enables Bowser to play much faster and aggressively than normal. However, defensive Bowser with Dash Slash is even better. Heh.

 

[UltimaLuminaire]

@ Savangardius Corsio My advice regarding returning to 0 is to learn what it means to be in neutral against your opponent. Learn why an opponent respects you, or why you respect an opponent, and what you can do to convert your position into one of aggression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYWXCTKKDV0

Start here. This basic meta-game concept is necessary for competitive play with all characters, but as Bowser, you need to understand it better. Always better. Then, you can fully appreciate the tools any character has. This is why so many of us, especially MrEh, talk so lovingly about Dash Slash, or any other move. It will always relate to the basics of the neutral game.

 

[Savangardius Corsio]

The only way for aggressive Bowser to work is if you're insanely confident in your abilities AND you're allowed to use custom moves. Dash Slash is a ridiculous tool that enables Bowser to play much faster and aggressively than normal. However, defensive Bowser with Dash Slash is even better. Heh.

Oh, I'm confident. But not THAT confident lol. Well idk much about Dash Slash because I generally don't use customs right now, but I might check it out to see how useful it can be. Ty.

----------

Ah, by the way, talking about customs the only one that caught my attention when I did use them for the first time was the one which Bowser spits a fire ball. I'm just wondering, which of Bowser's custom B is the most useful in general?

@ Savangardius Corsio My advice regarding returning to 0 is to learn what it means to be in neutral against your opponent. Learn why an opponent respects you, or why you respect an opponent, and what you can do to convert your position into one of aggression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYWXCTKKDV0

Start here. This basic meta-game concept is necessary for competitive play with all characters, but as Bowser, you need to understand it better. Always better. Then, you can fully appreciate the tools any character has. This is why so many of us, especially MrEh, talk so lovingly about Dash Slash, or any other move. It will always relate to the basics of the neutral game.

Ah, perfect, that video was very informative. Ty for the advice, it really helps a lot.

 

[MrEh]

Dash Slash and Dash Slam are Bowser's only good custom moves. The rest are terrible.

Fireball is really cool, but it really doesn't do any damage and you lag for a million years.

 

[Hitman JT]

Fireball is only useful against Dedede and his gordos but even then you can probably just Dash Slash them back easily

 

[MrEh]

Or Nair. Most people Nair nowadays.

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Uh I've been doing really well with getting shieldbreaks when characters are stuck on platforms (small ones like lylat, maybe? I know BF works),

Hm, my go-to stage for Bowser was always battlefield. I love Lylat, but I don't love not being able to ledge snap with Up B after going offstage to Fair with bowser. Maybe I should suck it up and take my SDs when they happen.

Here's something I've been struggling with. I'm having trouble with Bowser's ledge game. He's a tall, wide target when he climbs up. And my auto pilot choice for getting on stage was always the simple getup. And I'm getting read punishes as early as the second time I've grabbed a ledge in a match. The truth is, whether I get up or roll, most moves being prepared for me by the opponent can cover both options because of how big Bowser is. What do you guys do on a ledge?

I'm considering ledge jumping more. Because if the opponent waits me out rather than makes a read, I'll still be able to double jump and air dodge to escape their reaction. Does letting go of the ledge and fortressing onstage ever work out for you guys? If an opponent was chilling out right above me, I think it's safer and quicker to let go and upair them from under the ledge.

 

[MrEh]

Letting go of the ledge and Fortressing trades unfavorably against everything.

 

[Hitman JT]

Don't ever ever ever ever EVER land on-stage with Fortress. IDGAF if you can land all hits and get ~30% on someone, you're basically asking to get Falcon Punched in the mouth for free. A ledge option you can try is drop off > double jump > side B. If it works, free 19% for you. If not, it auto-cancels upon landing so you can immediately shield, roll/spotdodge, Fortress, jab, whatever you deem appropriate at the moment. Drop off > F-air auto-cancels as well but the timing requires a bit of practice.

 

[Jerodak]

@ Zapp Branniglenn If only Air fortress had a decent launch at the end of it, then maybe it'd be useful as a ledge hop mix-up but otherwise along with previous advice, you may want to learn how and when to use the other ledge options, also ledge hop firebreath can sorta work now if you see them standing at that annoying range where you know they'll just run up and do something to you whenever you try anything. It helps to be mindful of what the opponent is doing, and what their preferred ledge tactics are. This way you can start formulating a gameplan on how you want to get up instead of just trying stuff out and relying on luck. Keep in mind that you don't always have to do damage either, while it's nice to be able to tack on some percent while getting on stage, the most important thing is getting back onto the stage as quickly and with as little damage as possible, every time you take a hit, you're giving away free percent and risking the opponent picking up a successful edgeguard.

 

[Big Sean]

Is it possible to do a pivot bowser bomb? If so what is the input?

 

[MrEh]

Input Bowser Bomb and immediately push the direction opposite you're facing.

 

[Hitman JT]

If you play traditional fighters then you can think of it as a quarter-circle forward or back motion

+,,
or
+,,

 

[MrEh]

That's how I do it.

 

[Metalex]

Hey im not a Bowser main but i have recently been interested in playing the character and one thing that i feel kind of clueless about is how Bowsers Shell armor works where he doesnt flinch from certain attacks.

Where on Bowser is this area located, And what types of attacks does and doesn't it defend against?

 

[UltimaLuminaire]

Hey im not a Bowser main but i have recently been interested in playing the character and one thing that i feel kind of clueless about is how Bowsers Shell armor works where he doesnt flinch from certain attacks.

Where on Bowser is this area located, And what types of attacks does and doesn't it defend against?

Shell guard specifically occurs during Bowser's USmash. During the attack's active frames, until the apex of the attack, the shell will negate the first hit box that comes into contact with it. This is how you can USmash Little Mac's Counter and negate his attack.

In terms of just not flinching, Bowser has something called Tough Guy, which passively lets Bowser armor through (very) low KB attacks. You can find a list of what Tough Guy works against in the Moveset Data & Discussion thread. It will be in the OP, inside of a spoilers tag.

 

[Metalex]

Shell guard specifically occurs during Bowser's USmash. During the attack's active frames, until the apex of the attack, the shell will negate the first hit box that comes into contact with it. This is how you can USmash Little Mac's Counter and negate his attack.

In terms of just not flinching, Bowser has something called Tough Guy, which passively lets Bowser armor through (very) low KB attacks. You can find a list of what Tough Guy works against in the Moveset Data & Discussion thread. It will be in the OP, inside of a spoilers tag.

Thanks, i was refering to the latter "Tough guy" but didn't know what it was called. Will definitely check out the Moveset data & Discussion thread then!

 

[Duck SMASH!]

Hey guys.
So I've got a decent Bowser so far, being pretty good at just walking up to enemies, jabbing/Ftilting them, using Fortress out of shield, Edgeguarding, punishing with Fsmash, spacing with fire breath, and using Usmash to power through everything lol.
There's just one thing I'm really bad at....
The Dair dunk. Several times I've tried it and cost me matches cuz I'd SD before they die, even after hitting them at high %s...
I try running off and Dairing immediately, but I seem to always miss the ledge.
Also, Short Hop Dair is too slow and I don't use it...
Am I just not timing it or spacing it properly? it doesn't help that this move doesn't snap...

 

[Jerodak]

Hey guys.
So I've got a decent Bowser so far, being pretty good at just walking up to enemies, jabbing/Ftilting them, using Fortress out of shield, Edgeguarding, punishing with Fsmash, spacing with fire breath, and using Usmash to power through everything lol.
There's just one thing I'm really bad at....
The Dair dunk. Several times I've tried it and cost me matches cuz I'd SD before they die, even after hitting them at high %s...
I try running off and Dairing immediately, but I seem to always miss the ledge.
Also, Short Hop Dair is too slow and I don't use it...
Am I just not timing it or spacing it properly? it doesn't help that this move doesn't snap...

A good way to use the Dair is when the opponent is trying to recover by passing through what I like to call the "Dunk Zone". This is anywhere that's high enough where a hurtbox protrudes above the ledge but not too high where you are probably better off just using up air instead. It's best if they are actually commiting to an action like an aerial or special while passing this boundary. Otherwise they'll be able to airdodge, which is what most players seem to do when they try recovering this way, in my experience at least. If you notice your opponent likes to airdodge through the Dunk zone, then you can bait it out and punish with an Fsmash if they land or Bair if they don't. Have fun!

 

[BlueShadow.EXE]

It's really simple. All I'm asking is for some tips and trick for working around his weaknesses.

 

[Zigsta]

It's really simple. All I'm asking is for some tips and trick for working around his weaknesses.

Hey Blue, welcome to the boards! What particular weaknesses are you looking to have addressed? I'd also like to direct you to our MU thread and Q and a thread. They're both stickied.

 

[BlueShadow.EXE]

Hey Blue, welcome to the boards! What particular weaknesses are you looking to have addressed? I'd also like to direct you to our MU thread and Q and a thread. They're both stickied.

In Specific, I'm looking for a way to work around his vulnerability, like slowness, bulkiness and being easily Comboed. I know you can't perfectly erase the problems for any characters, but I just want to make him at least a little less vulnerable. Thanks!

 

[Corgian]

You really can't get around the fact he is combo food. However, if you play defensively, you'll be less likely to get into situations where you'll feed combos. That being said every Bowser player gets stuck in those situations. All it takes is one good read to put Bowser in that postion. That being said, since Bowser hits so hard, being combo food allows him to get into rage, and thus be even scarier faster. He has a few useful things in terms of mobility such as the SHADC (Short Hop Air Dodge Cancel) which allows him to get in against zoners. He doesn't have a good dash dance, but he does have some useful pivot moves. Pivot F-tilt and Pivot grab are great for spacing out rush down characters. Also, Bowser does have some pretty great mobility in the customs meta thanks to both of his side b customs. It allows him to get in pretty well. I really don't know what you're looking for. Read every thread on the forums and you'll familiarize yourself with what has been learned so far. Welcome to the Bowser forums, friend.

 

[Trieste SP]

Ya gotta learn how to properly space his attacks to avoid being punished and try to take advantage of his speed to punish landings.

Its pretty much one of the most effective ways you can play him.

 

[BlueShadow.EXE]

You really can't get around the fact he is combo food. However, if you play defensively, you'll be less likely to get into situations where you'll feed combos. That being said every Bowser player gets stuck in those situations. All it takes is one good read to put Bowser in that postion. That being said, since Bowser hits so hard, being combo food allows him to get into rage, and thus be even scarier faster. He has a few useful things in terms of mobility such as the SHADC (Short Hop Air Dodge Cancel) which allows him to get in against zoners. He doesn't have a good dash dance, but he does have some useful pivot moves. Pivot F-tilt and Pivot grab are great for spacing out rush down characters. Also, Bowser does have some pretty great mobility in the customs meta thanks to both of his side b customs. It allows him to get in pretty well. I really don't know what you're looking for. Read every thread on the forums and you'll familiarize yourself with what has been learned so far. Welcome to the Bowser forums, friend.

Kk, thanks. I'll try to practice pivoting and SHADCing (if that's even a word). And hopefully I'll perfect them soon! I'm still trying to get into the competitive scene so tips like these are always nice!

 

[Corgian]

Ya gotta learn how to properly space his attacks to avoid being punished and try to take advantage of his speed to punish landings.

Its pretty much one of the most effective ways you can play him.

Pretty much. Bowser is a punish character. He gets his stuff from reads and other player mistakes. And the most helpful advice I gave in that entire paragraph is: "Read every thread on the forums and you'll familiarize yourself with what has been learned so far." Nothing anyone posts here in this thread will get you up to snuff on competitive play. There are three things you have to do to do well at any fighting game, and each one is just as important as the others. These facets are:

• Research (Watching videos of high level players using your character and taking notes, being part of a community that is dedicated to exploring your character as well as exploring the mechanics of the game, learning important mechanics as they are discovered, taking part in discussions on these elements)
• Labbing (Practicing what you've researched; attempting to chain different moves together; finding interesting things to do in neutral; learning your character's recovery, offensive, and defensive options; learning your character's stages; generally exploring what your character is capable of)
• Playing (Implementing what you've labbed, discovering what you need to research, learning matchups, learning your character's stages, observing the meta, learning playstyles, finding what does and does not work)

The most beneficial thing you can do is join your local scene, no matter what game you play. There's a probably a decent smash scene nearby to where you live, and if there isn't, there are actual guides on these forums for building a scene in your community. If you are new to competitive Smash 4, you'll want to learn some other basics before worrying about what I mentioned. I was just mentioning things that are uniquely good for Bowser, but some tech is universal for every character such as teching and Out-of-Shield options. That being said, you won't see real improvement until you dedicate yourself to hours of each. I personally spend about 6–8 hrs/week on researching, 7–11 hrs/week labbing, and 9–15 hrs/week playing. At minimum, I am dedicating about 22 hrs/week to Smash 4. I would consider this about average for a competitive smash player, which in the big picture isn't that much, especially considering I'm usually getting something else done during my labbing time such as listening to eBooks or Podcasts. If you need any help, the Smash 4 boards are incredibly nice and willing to help you get into shape in this relatively new and constantly changing scene.

 

[Zigsta]

@ BlueShadow.EXE , I merged your thread with the Q and A thread to better organize things. I'll throw some tips in here later too.

 

[BlueShadow.EXE]

@ BlueShadow.EXE , I merged your thread with the Q and A thread to better organize things. I'll throw some tips in here later too.

Ok, thanks.