Hey guys, today I'm going to talk about: Ledge Drop upBs (Instant UpB Landing on the OP).
What is it?
The Ledge Drop upB or LDUB is a very simple technique that relies on holding down while passing the edge. In case you don't know, you can hold down near the edge to stop your character from grabbing the ledge.
Here's a great video explaining how to do it while mixing with an upB. The basic idea is very easy to perform, what isn't so easy is: A) the drop B) the downward spacing.
Pros
- LDUB provides an additional option for recovering either on the ledge, or below the ledge.
- Great for mixing up your ledge recoveries.
- UpB land does a suprising amount of damage to shields, I don't have the exact numbers but I would guess that it is +/-1/2 the full shield.
- Can be used to pit fall or even meteor an opponent.
- Will catch opponents off guard the first time you use it.
- Provides a get up option with mild heavy armor.
- The ledge protects you on the way up, allowing just the decent of UpB to leave you open to attacks while also minimizing the amount of time that the decent is active.
- You are not 100% comited to finishing the tech after you start. It can be "canceled" by simply releasing down
Cons
- Slow.
- Obvious after the first one or two uses.
- Suffers UpB's abysmal landing lag.
- VERY punishable if you don't manage to break their shield.
- It's pretty easy to see coming once you know what to look for.
- Risky: this move takes you inches from the bottom blast zone and involves fast falling with Dedede from the ledge. I would say that I kill myself ~5% of the time using this move, and I use it pretty often.
- You may die on lag: So many times in For Glory I have died when the up input is missed due to lag and Dedede performs a side B instead.
- More risk: when the move is executed properly, Dedede will be off screen for a second. You need to be comfortable not just off the stage with him, but also off screen.
How to do it
If you watched the video I linked you should have a basic idea on how to perform the tech but I'll go over it in case someone cannot view the video.
1. Position yourself below the ledge.
2. UpB with a vector towards the center of the stage.
3. Hold down so that you do not grab the ledge.
It's simple to perform, but difficult to perfect. This is what it looks like when performed with the least amount of hang time:
https://gfycat.com/DeficientGiftedAsiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam
And the most hang time that will still leave you comfortable with the amount of heavy armor:
https://gfycat.com/DistantScholarlyAmericansaddlebred
This one shows a good middle ground:
https://gfycat.com/SoggyGlaringDrafthorse
Why is it difficult to perfect?
It comes down to timing and spacing. Take a look at the image below, this is roughly the range that you can land on the ledge. Where you land is almost entirely based on how far you let dedede drop before starting the tech.
Two things to keep in mind:
1. The further in stage you go, the higher up you will need to be, and the less protection you get from the ledge. (more hang time = badish)
2. There is no one spot that you want to aim for, this move is slightly situational: sometimes you want to go for a shield break by landing right on their head, another time you may just want to land behind the opponent. Practice the full spectrum so you can decide exactly where you are going to land when the time comes.
#2 above ultimately is why it is difficult to perfect. You should be able to accurately land anywhere within that range. (I can't do this, but I don't play competitively)
Differences on Stages
First off, let me just say that I LOVE Final Destination for this tech, you can catch so many opponents off guard by puffing below the stage then attacking from above seconds later. That being said, let's look at how the shapes of stages affect this tech.
I'll start off with FD (you should too), since it's the easiest stage to perform this tech on. Dedede is heavily impacted by the angle of the roof that he is slamming into. FD provides a long 45 degree angle and the king is happy to ride it all the way up while gaining invisible side ways velocity. The resulting vector looks something like this:
This clip shows both the long hang time and short hang time on FD while taking advantage of the full ledge protection:
https://gfycat.com/SoupyReliableElkhound
The flat bottom stages (eg. Smashville, MiiVerse) are risky until you have the hang of the move, if you drop too far, you'll bonk onto the bottom. I've found that vectoring your initial drop away from the stage will remedy the problem and allow you to hit the much smaller ledge angles on these maps. This clip show exactly how not deal with this situation:
https://gfycat.com/JitteryMenacingBushbaby
And finally the solid side stages (omega boxing ring, that one duck hunt level). These maps are also very easy to perform the tech on, and have the added benefit of masking your side ways momentum making it seem as if you are simply recovering as normal. There are plenty of clips of these stages already elsewhere in this post, so look at those.
A Cool Variation
Instead of vectoring towards the stage, perform a neutral upB. Hold down as normal, but right as you contact the opponent, tap up to cancel The King's decent. This will result in a pit fall and you hanging from the ledge below. This can be done further in the stage aswell, but is almost completely useless because of Dedede's x3 ending lag on a non crashing upB decent will let the opponent escape the pit fall before you even recover.
https://gfycat.com/EnviousNextAfricangoldencat
This can also be performed on opponents who are off the ledge or chose a jump ledge get up. If they are off the stage at all, this move will result in a VERY strong spike. Sorry I don't have a video of that being performed.
An update on this:
TMJ_Jack
has been working on this and has
a nice video of it in use. He calls it grave digging when you follow it up with an fsmash at high percents.
Canceling
In this next clip, I performed the tech 3 times in a row with one variation on the second time. I canceled the tech after starting it. You can cancel anytime before you pass the ledge by simply releasing down and letting Dedede grab the ledge. Please keep in mind that this may leave you open to ledge punishes if you dropped off the ledge already:
https://gfycat.com/SpectacularEnlightenedAfricancivet
Thanks
Soul Train
for bringing up another form of canceling this move!
It is also possible to cancel after you have already passed the ledge . This version of the cancel is difficult to perform, but it involves passing the ledge by holding down, then quickly tapping up to cancel the smash down animation, then quickly vectoring away from the stage. If you do it correctly, you will pass the ledge and fall back down grabbing the ledge. It looks something like this:
https://gfycat.com/CheerfulPeriodicGnatcatcher
This form of the cancel is fantastic for mix ups and fake outs to help prevent LDUB staling and becoming readable.
