Dash Dance Options

[Catchy]

This is probably dumb, but what am I supposed to do out of dash dance. Like I understand I'm supposed to control space and punish bad approaches while also keeping enough distance so as to not put myself in too much danger, but how exactly DO i punish them? Grab? shffl nair (early or late? probably light in case they shield?)? Dair (how safe is it?)? Spaced downtillt? run shine? Like how do i know what to do, in what scenario, in what matchup? Like on characters I can shine combo, i should probably try to get dair or run shine, but how do I know if it's safe to commit or not versus them? Are there some characters get hit hard by shine but it's hard to land one? Thanks guys!

 

[20YY SS | Saiblade]

All of these are good ideas, but honestly, it's just situational, practice and you'll figure it out.

 

[Dolla Pills]

Jab works too. Fox has so many options (and you listed a bunch of good ones) that it's kinda funny that this question exists. Just make sure to mix things up and play the game, you'll figure out what you want to do where.

 

[Catchy]

Jab works too. Fox has so many options (and you listed a bunch of good ones) that it's kinda funny that this question exists. Just make sure to mix things up and play the game, you'll figure out what you want to do where.

I mean I understand what you're saying, and it seems great in theory, but I must be messing up somewhere. Just looking for help in improving my neutral

 

[Stride]

I mean I understand what you're saying, and it seems great in theory, but I must be messing up somewhere. Just looking for help in improving my neutral

Your question is far too broad to give you an useful answer. If you had a video of one of your sets then we could help analyse it, or if you had a question about a really specific micro situation then we could probably create a list of your options in that situation. But really, you asked "what am I supposed to do out of dash-dance"; what are you expecting us to be able to say? If anyone could answer that question comprehensively then they'd be halfway to solving Melee's entire neutral game.

General tips are pretty much what you've covered in your first post. If you want more depth then read some guides. I'm assuming you've already read this if you're a Fox main: http://smashboards.com/guides/guide-to-ace-arwing-pilot-fox-mccloud-updated-for-2015.100/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CuIesuU84A&t=19m38s
This is SleepK's video "Why do you lie about wanting to be good at Super Smash Brothers Melee for the Nintendo Gamecube?" Watch between 19:38 and 24:20, at least (you should watch the whole video after you've watched that section, but that's the most relevant part). Amongst other things, he talks about mentality and methodology when trying to improve, and the way that you should be asking questions/what questions you should be asking.

Like how do i know what to do, in what scenario, in what matchup?

how do I know if it's safe to commit or not versus them?

Through understanding the game, which comes with experience and active thought/effort towards improving your play.

Next time you play, try to think more about the situations you encounter, and then think of solutions/improvements. This is much better/easier if you can record yourself, but it's not strictly necessary to do so. For example: if you play some friendlies and realise that you often get punished for doing a SHFFL nair out of your dash-dance, then explore the situation further; think: "what did my opponent punish me with and what was the result?", "how exactly was I doing my nair (was it late or early, deeply spaced or shallowly spaced)?", "what followups could I have gotten?", "what alternatives could I have used?", "where was I in relation to the stage and my opponent?", and so on.

Maybe your opponent dash-danced away and grabbed you, so you can adjust by overshooting you nair to catch his dash away. Of course, your opponent can adapt too in order to beat that option, but you can adapt back; the end result is that both you and your opponent develop a large pool of options and mixups for the situation, as well as an intuitive understanding of when to use each option.

There's not always an optimal solution for a situation, mainly because of your opponent's range and choice of options; if they have multiple things they can do then there's probably going to be a different solution to each of those things.

 

[Catchy]

Yes I have read the guide although I have not seen that video. I will try to record my next tournament set playing my best in the neutral and dash dancing, as well as exploring new options. I'm sorry that the question was too broad, I play a lot of puzzle games and there's always one solution to the problem and I'm not used to the risk/possibility/mental/adapt part of the game. It's an ongoing struggle and I will come back later to figure out why I am messing up. Thank you for leading me in the right direction as I really do appreciate it.

 

[1000g2g3g4g800999]

Jab to interrupt movement and have the lowest commitment dealing with the opponent's DD or other movement option/jump (also interrupt grab and other such things). Drill to deal with CC and related nonsense (or grab here), shield to just stop suddenly, block attempts to hit you, or microspace, usmash to beat like, every move in the game (or KO, of course), nair to start combos, approach people who aren't CCing, or crossup, grab because it's the best move in Super Smash Bros. (any version) and the easiest good option out of dash always forever. Be sure to master pivots, foxtrots, crouching out of run, moving out of crouch out of run, and mixing in wavedashing (along with shielding). Also, don't be afraid to walk.
If you're super-calling out someone's movement or approach, you can ftilt, or if you're super duper calling them out, downsmash (works best at the ledge). Shine is also good when you get very close and personal, or crouch under some option.