But to do any of those things, they have to take damage. While they've been setting up these moves, they've taken hits. Against any character with Falco's laser, instead of focusing on setting up some kind of approach with their own projectile, they've just shielded the hits (or possibly just ducked under the first if this character has a higher short hop), and no one's gotten anywhere.
Only you have gotten somewhere because you've forced them into shield or whatever (duck not really legit option for 24/26 characters because lasers can hit the vast majority of ducks) and thus have gotten a lot of field control, set the pace of the match, and now have the dominant position.
Fox's lasers, meanwhile, have done 8%.
If anything, it just means people have to learn to play a match-up without using their projectile.
So by pushing B, you've actually killed moveslot(s) of the opponent? And you're saying Fox's 8% here and there is better?
No matter who was using Falco's laser, their opponent would just rely more on their other spacing options, and at a close enough distance, that includes PSing, which turns the tables.
Forcing someone to rely on their other spacing / approach / defense options is very good. It limits them, which in turn makes their game more narrow. I shouldn't have to explain why forcing someone to play such a linear, narrow game is a good thing.
Limiting their abilities like this (since Smash, to paraphrase Mow, "is just a game of what you can and cannot do") is better than what Fox's laser does, which is just light punishment if they're not within a certain range. It doesn't actually stop them from setting up or limit them all that much because very often you can just take the 8% and not care about it - you wind up with a better chance of hitting Fox, or making ways of limiting him, which can be totally worth the stunelss, KBless damage.
Powershield does nothing, unless it was already unsafe for him to laser.
And don't give me that bull**** about "but only Falco has to worry about PSing." The fact is, every character has to change their strategy when one of Falco's lasers is moving towards them. If you PS Falco's laser, then you are manipulating their approach, whosoever is firing it at you.
Falco's laser approach is flawed. There, I said it.
But lasers still do way more for Falco's approach than they do for Fox's. Since lasers do, literally, nothing for Fox's approach. And they enable a ton of stuff for Falco's approach. And Falco's camping is still better for forcing actions, and outcamps every character if he's smart about it.
You guys keep arguing like I'm saying Fox's laser is used for the same **** Falco's is. This is absolutely not true. My point is, Fox's laser is used for psychological pressure that Falco's just doesn't provide, and IMO that psychological pressure is invaluable to a character that has tools that already cover most of the effects at the important ranges that Falco's laser provides, without the negative side effects. Namely, Marth's fair.
Taking 8% for a free setup with no combo potential or any real significance beyond the damage is not a greater psychological pressure than stopping moveslots, forcing people to block, forcing people to jump, sometimes outright beating their approach, eating jumps, limiting where people can jump, etc.
edit: Marth's Fair doesn't fullscreen.
