Can't Teach An Old Dog... A Thread of Tips and Tricks for Duck Hunt

[WispBae]

Just thought it would be a nice place to collect need to know information or lil tidbits of knowledge for DH players. Knowledge is half the battle!

• When crouching and crawling, the duck is a hurtbox. Can't duck Fox's lasers. (Can't DUCK fox's lasers!)
• If you pop a can in front of you, then roll towards the can, it will still be in front of you (in the perfect position), letting you hit it behind you. Great for mix-ups!
• The more shots in a can, the harder gravity affects it, increasing speed but but decreasing bounce distance.
• The tallest Gunman has the longest delay and longest range of attack.
• The Gunman wearing the coat shoots the fastest.
• The Gunman with the poncho and rifle has the shortest range, but hits the hardest, and with fire damage.
• The Gunman in black (Sheriff) can't hit the can on the ground (too tall).
• Clay Pigeons will interfere with shooting the can. The Clay will be shot first, followed by the can.
• Dash attack and down-tilt is able to shield poke.
• Normal gunmen take about 5% damage to be knocked down.
• Sweetspot Nair (the very first attack frames) is a very strong KO move, just hard to land. Perhaps a good OOS option.
• Reflected gunmen shots still retain their transcendent ability, meaning the gunmen will NOT shield you if the shot is reflected. Their range is also reflected back, meaning the closer they when reflecting, the farther back the shot will reach.

 

[Spirst]

-A sourspot dash attack on a can sends it behind you (dog hits it) while a sweetspot dash attack sends it in front of you (duck hits it).

-Fthrow to fair/dash attack/RAR bair is a true follow up at certain lower percentages.

-If you do the RAR bair followup from an Fthrow and the other player doesn't tech, you can jab to reset them to neutral and go for another grab.

-The can can sometimes retain momentum from a hit if it is not sent flying initially. Momentum will reappear upon doing a jab.

-The recovery cannot be canceled at any point.

-The recovery has a set distance and so there is no need to hold/mash b.

-A can can still be shot while recovering.

-DHs projectiles can cancel out majority of other projectiles in the game. Made a list here: http://smashboards.com/threads/duck-hunt-projectile-thread.377122/

-Duck Jump (Up B custom 3) has a windbox effect both in front of and behind DH on startup and can be used to gimp predictably vertical recoveries from a ledge.

-Mega Gunmen (Down B custom 3) have 25% HP which is 5x that of the default gunmen. As an example, they can tank a fully charged Mega Man fsmash and still fire back.

-If the can is situated properly, it can be used to alter the momentum of a stronger move. Example being Little Mac's KO punch being able to be survived if the can hits you right as he does it.

-The bair/uair/dair can auto cancel.

-The can takes eight shots (9 if you include initial kick) to blow up.

-The fsmash can be aimed if you move the control stick quick enough. I tried this on 1/2x speed and found I could get the last reticle to go either up or down depending on my input. Might apply for reticle 2 as well. I'll play around with it more.

-Tilting side b will send a clay pigeon with less momentum, less distance, and a higher angle than doing a side b with more pressure/speed which will send a clay pigeon with more momentum, more distance, and a lower angle.

 

[Masque]

-The fsmash can be aimed if you move the control stick quick enough. I tried this on 1/2x speed and found I could get the last reticle to go either up or down depending on my input. Might apply for reticle 2 as well. I'll play around with it more.

Whoa, that's a cool find! Good to know.

 

[Spirst]

-You can shorthop dair from the ledge and still snap on the ledge once the animation ends.

-The can does 8% to you but 10% to other players.

-At high percents (KOs at about 135% on Link), you can SH dair and if they don't tech it, you can follow up with an uair for a true combo.

-The fsmash is great for punishing landings and can hit people on the ledge once their invincibility frames are gone.

-The ca can be used to bait an airdodge/double jump offstage and follow with a dair once their animation ends.

-A potential KO setup at high percents would be to lock the opponent into a jump and shoot your hopefully conveniently placed can into them while they're in hitstun. Works with a grab too although it's more likely to explode on you as well.

 

[2Mixer]

This thread is so good! Thanks for all the Tips and stuff, i must fight against some other dh's tho

 

[Forever Forgotten]

DH is invincible during the frames of his Dthrow and Fthrow while he swings his head back. This opens up possibilities for using the can to rack up a little extra damage while executing throw combos. One method I've developed involves setting up a can directly behind DH by the time he has grabbed an opponent, so that immediately before executing a Dthrow or Fthrow, shooting the can will cause it to explode. Again, it doesn't damage DH, and it doesn't affect the momentum of the throw (outside your opponent's extra 11% or so).
I'm not exactly sure how practical this is, especially at higher-level play, but I myself have pulled it off a few times while playing online (which is basically every time I've had the opportunity to set it up, which isn't terribly often).

Also, Palutena's Autoreticle will target the can if it's in between her and DH.

 

[Funkermonster]

If you're holding someone in a grab, gunmen can still shoot him, and you can pummel for extra damage while they shoot. Its almost impossible to do this with the customs, only default is practical for this gimmick. At high percents, use gunmen to bait shields and get free grabs, and pummel instead of throw so they will still be shot.

 

[salaboB]

• When crouching and crawling, the duck is a hurtbox. Can't duck Fox's lasers. (Can't DUCK fox's lasers!)

When crouching after a smash attack, you will duck Fox's lasers. Probably works for the crouch triggered by shooting the can too close, as well.

I've also seen a number of smash attacks unexpectedly go over my head from being so low to the ground, but I haven't kept track of exactly which.

 

[RoxburyGuy58]

I did this little thing by accident a few days ago. It may be a bit tough to see because of how quick it goes by, but what happens:
1. I face right, put out can
2. Hit it with sweetspot of dash attack to send it flying in other direction
3. Press B a few times before it hits the ground, still travels right
4. I out out Gunman because I thought it would shield me from Thoron, but what happens instead is that he shoots the can right into Robin

I've been experimenting with different ways to use the can since. Am I on to something?

 

[outfoxd]

Fun accident that I had that might be worth using for playing Duck Hunt's trump game.

I had a barrel next to the ledge when I went offstage to attempt a spike. I miss, other guys hits the ledge first. I recover, trump him, and on instinct pop the barrel. It falls off the ledge, nails him, and gets a kill with his percentage.

Worth a look?

 

[WispBae]

I did this little thing by accident a few days ago. It may be a bit tough to see because of how quick it goes by, but what happens:
1. I face right, put out can
2. Hit it with sweetspot of dash attack to send it flying in other direction
3. Press B a few times before it hits the ground, still travels right
4. I out out Gunman because I thought it would shield me from Thoron, but what happens instead is that he shoots the can right into Robin

I've been experimenting with different ways to use the can since. Am I on to something?

Can to Gunmen is a great way to approach and apply pressure at the same time, it's not anything too new, however dash attacking the can like that, and getting that angle was pretty cool. You should try to replicate it, I bet it'd come in handy for mix ups!

Fun accident that I had that might be worth using for playing Duck Hunt's trump game.

I had a barrel next to the ledge when I went offstage to attempt a spike. I miss, other guys hits the ledge first. I recover, trump him, and on instinct pop the barrel. It falls off the ledge, nails him, and gets a kill with his percentage.

Worth a look?

Can on ledge is a fantastic way to cover options, but using a ledge trump is really smart! Good idea. Though I worry that you may get up attack if you do it too fast, knocking the can away.

 

[Spirst]

I did this little thing by accident a few days ago. It may be a bit tough to see because of how quick it goes by, but what happens:
1. I face right, put out can
2. Hit it with sweetspot of dash attack to send it flying in other direction
3. Press B a few times before it hits the ground, still travels right
4. I out out Gunman because I thought it would shield me from Thoron, but what happens instead is that he shoots the can right into Robin

I've been experimenting with different ways to use the can since. Am I on to something?

What you did was a sourspot, not a sweetspot. The sweetspot is the duck's hitbox and it launches the Can forward. The sourspot is a little harder to connect seeing as how it's the dog which means you need to be more precise with the timing and overlap the dog with the Can. However, as you've shown, a sourspot leads to a Can going in the opposite direction while still traveling in the direction of DH. As for what happened to Robin, that looks like the weird Can momentum thing I had brought up here: http://smashboards.com/threads/duck-hunt-projectile-thread.377122/. Also, if you look there, you'll find that Thoron is listed as going through every one of DH's projectiles. It's best to just jump/shield on reaction.

 

[RoxburyGuy58]

What you did was a sourspot, not a sweetspot. The sweetspot is the duck's hitbox and it launches the Can forward. The sourspot is a little harder to connect seeing as how it's the dog which means you need to be more precise with the timing and overlap the dog with the Can. However, as you've shown, a sourspot leads to a Can going in the opposite direction while still traveling in the direction of DH. As for what happened to Robin, that looks like the weird Can momentum thing I had brought up here: http://smashboards.com/threads/duck-hunt-projectile-thread.377122/. Also, if you look there, you'll find that Thoron is listed as going through every one of DH's projectiles. It's best to just jump/shield on reaction.

Okay, I see. I'll have to read up on the more technical aspect of DH's moves. And this was my first matchup with Robin, I found out the hard way that Thoron goes right through it.