Q&A Doc's Tips: A Little Mac Q&A Thread

[PHYTO-1]

i literally only know how to play little mac.

any other character and i'll fail miserably. i really like MK and wish i was good with him too

 

[herpyderpherper]

Would little mac make a good partner in doubles? If so who should he partner with, i feel someone who could get him back on stage well would help a lot

 

[wm1026]

Would little mac make a good partner in doubles? If so who should he partner with, i feel someone who could get him back on stage well would help a lot

Ness is actually a good partner for Mac. Pk Fire is basically a free smash attack for Mac and we all know how good that is. He can also save Mac rather easily with Pk thunder.

 

[goodgrief]

Been trying this for AWHILE can't get it down ;/

Can get it one way and back but never back and forth
.
It's really good in lil mac's game and i really wanna get good with it so if anyone has tips for learning to do it consistently please tell me

ty

 

[Solreth]

An hour a day is what made the biggest difference for me, but I'm certifiably insane. Still, just time and practice.

 

[LCC Son-in-Law]

@ goodgrief I merged your thread into our Q&A thread

 

[Bleezyy]

I lost to debuz olimar.. Though I beat his ike setting me into second place. Smh tips for fighting olimar?

 

[inconspikuous]

i feel like we need to explore liver blow. can we lab the _minimum pressure_ needed to land a shield break with an uncharged down-fsmash? i would imagine it would be like two dtilts>liver blow. no opponent will let you get away with all of that in one go though, so perhaps a reliable set-up would be dtilt>jab>liver blow? or dtilt>jab>jab 2 hit confirm>liver blow. don't have a partner to lab with, but i think it'd be useful information.

 

[PHYTO-1]

i feel like we need to explore liver blow. can we lab the _minimum pressure_ needed to land a shield break with an uncharged down-fsmash? i would imagine it would be like two dtilts>liver blow. no opponent will let you get away with all of that in one go though, so perhaps a reliable set-up would be dtilt>jab>liver blow? or dtilt>jab>jab 2 hit confirm>liver blow. don't have a partner to lab with, but i think it'd be useful information.

liver blow > side b works on chars with high friction.

dtilt > jab is not enough, jab 2 will break it however.

 

[inconspikuous]

liver blow > side b works on chars with high friction.

dtilt > jab is not enough, jab 2 will break it however.

nice! i wonder how safe we can make that string. thinking the jab can cover the dtilt lag (although i swear i've been grabbed out of dtilt on shield), and then the jab 2 can cover the jab 1 lag, but even frame perfect there's about 22 frames between jab 2's active hitbox and uncharged liver blow... that's a lot of time to react.

 

[Renegade TX2000]

I seem to get a ton of success with lil macs pivot ftilt if I aim with his shoulders and not his fist.

 

[inconspikuous]

i was going to start a new topic but i thought i'd put it out here first -- i think we should have a thread about stage-lists and counterpicking discussions. i just watched zero's stage video on the front page and thought it'd be a good idea to discuss which stages are best for mac (e.g. FD, CS, sometimes BF) and which stages aren't (imo SV, T&C, DH, sometimes DP are terrible). plus we could discuss tricks on various stages (e.g. sharking upsmashes on the lower BF platforms or the higher CS platform) or traps that could be used against mac (e.g. SV's platform assisting ness and sheik in fair stringing you to the blast zone).

 

[Genghis_Connor]

Are there any KO punch setups at high percents? Dtilt stops working after a while.

 

[PHYTO-1]

Are there any KO punch setups at high percents? Dtilt stops working after a while.

then just fsmash them and save your KOP /s

you can try the following, but they are not guaranteed on all chars. they usually work if your opponent doesn't mash jump

jab 1 > KOP
jab 2 > KOP
nair > KOP
uair > KOP (this works on most chars unlike the others) : try to cancel the uair by landing + easiest way is to SH dair/airdodge then uair.
dair > trip > KOP (guaranteed, but highly unlikely you'll get it but try it)

 

[Little Nemo]

I found out Liver Blow was a good shield breaking move so I headed to For Glory. I never felt confident enough to get that close to their shield. I do however like using it at high percent. The opponent goes NOWHERE even if they're light and really high percent. It's easy to combo into another move, too.
Or am I a scrub and spouting crap? I only very recently picked up Mac.

 

[Monk of MaZe]

My friend showed me something a while ago (about a month or two after Sm4sh came out) where you could hit someone off the stage and nair them until they were near the blast zone and then you would jump and up b at the last second and get a stock. Can you still do this as little mac and if so does anyone have any tips on how to pull it off?

 

[PHYTO-1]

My friend showed me something a while ago (about a month or two after Sm4sh came out) where you could hit someone off the stage and nair them until they were near the blast zone and then you would jump and up b at the last second and get a stock. Can you still do this as little mac and if so does anyone have any tips on how to pull it off?

spam a in the air. they attack inbetween though, but most people try to spam jump or airdodge and thats how they die

 

[DblCrest]

...how long have characters been able to counter KO punch? I know it's unblockable but a CPU Lucina managed to do that to me.
Seems...kinda lame.

 

[Freduardo]

This has probably been said.

On For Glory, 80-90% of opponents will underestimate the range and speed of your Forward tilt A one-two punch.

 

[A17]

So Mac's got his jab, ftilt and dash attack to keep me out. I'm trying to find ways to approach him but I'm either making the most obvious approach* or he'll just come in with a dash attack I can't react to.

*can't just dash in; he's just fists reaching out. Can't SH in. Those ftilts keep you out. Can't full jump in because it does not get any more obvious than that.

So I figured it may be best to try not to go in, but to keep him out instead. Nope, I don't get it. If I have to commit to an attack to keep him out, all it takes is one whiff and bam- he's in. So I try to not get too hasty with even the simplest moves like jab or ftilt, so I try to play it a bit more patient. Bam, runs in and grabs.

At this point, I get that I'm probably being outsmarted, but the beef I have with myself is that I have no idea what to be thinking to overcome my opponent here. Maybe it's just my pure lack of knowledge on Mac that's not getting me anywhere in a fight against him. What I want to know is what are some tools other players have used against you to keep you out.. or at least more hesitant on approaching?

 

[TheReflexWonder]

Mac's obnoxious spacing tools are meant to be overwhelming because one mistake of his is often much, much more detrimental than the other way around. Once you get him off his feet with one good grab or upward poke, you have to focus on capitalizing on it so that Mac doesn't get a chance to get back to neutral.

Don't stress about generally losing the neutral game; as long as you make the most of the opportunities you do get, it often balances out.

 

[jet56]

i feel like i should ask this here. but how fast do macs moves come out. whats the starting frame on his tilts, jab, and smash, and how much ending lag is on each move? im trying to find different combos and approaches for him.

 

[TheReflexWonder]

http://kuroganehammer.com/Smash4/Little Mac

 

[inconspikuous]

does anyone know the names of the best tourney macs in japan?

 

[inconspikuous]

*sigh* double post. not my fault that the thread is dead.
are we going to start another 'patch 1.08 changes' thread? or are we just going to wait until chibo does the crazy 14 hour same-wavebird test thing again? lol.

 

[LCC Son-in-Law]

*sigh* double post. not my fault that the thread is dead.
are we going to start another 'patch 1.08 changes' thread? or are we just going to wait until chibo does the crazy 14 hour same-wavebird test thing again? lol.

You're fine, the double post was over 24 hours. If someone wants to start another thread for 1.08, that is fine. If not, we will most likely just wait until the notes are posted by someone and just discuss here.

 

[LMC]

Intro

I've been playing Little Mac since the beginning of SSB4, and I recently found out a little trick I now use as Little Mac. Everyone Knows that Little Mac has the weakest air game, but I have an Idea for his bair, and I was wondering what other little Mac players think.

The Bair

Little Mac's bair has the most knock back of his aerials, and it deals 6% damage. at high percent, it has decent knock back, so I have used it in ledge guarding, and I have actually killed a Ryu with it. But if it doesn't kill, it does put them into a great place to get them with a D-Smash, if they can recover. I use the Bair when they are above the platform, it would be less applicable under the map.

Advantages

- It's an unexpected move from Little Mac
- It can have potential follow up & ledge guarding

Disadvantages

- It's somewhat slow
- Punishable

Any thoughts on using the Bair for ledge guarding? Critiques? Thanks!

 

[Zodiacx10]

if i go off stage with little mac to attempt an edge guard i usually go for a bair. it has the most range and knockback of his aerials i think. its not that bad at gimping characters with weak recoveries either like falcon or something as it hits them away but not upward

 

[Ghidorah14]

How do you combo mac's rapid jab into KO punch? I've seen videos of people doing it, but I dont know the timing.

I actually managed to do it today on a whim, but I'd like to know the details.

 

[Zodiacx10]

do you guys think Mario is a good secondary to have if you main mac to cover mac's bad match-ups? cuz i've been playing a bit of Mario and he seems fun

 

[Zodiacx10]

How do you combo mac's rapid jab into KO punch? I've seen videos of people doing it, but I dont know the timing.

I actually managed to do it today on a whim, but I'd like to know the details.

you have to be on a ledge. when you do the rapid jab it pushes you back off the ledge and you can do anything you want. so rapid jab until you think you're about to fall off then spam the b button lol. if you dont have the KO punch you can up+b or side+b out of it too

 

[Ghidorah14]

you have to be on a ledge. when you do the rapid jab it pushes you back off the ledge and you can do anything you want. so rapid jab until you think you're about to fall off then spam the b button lol. if you dont have the KO punch you can up+b or side+b out of it too

Wow, that's...incredibly situational.

Looks cool though.

 

[Ionthawon]

Little Mac has been my main ever since November last year, and I've explored every angle of the character: moveset, approach options, defensive/offensive tactics, among other things. Like my other main, Kirby, he seems to thrive on the mistakes of others, looking for a chance to make a lightning-quick strike and then withdraw, like an actual boxer. My problem, however, is dealing with projectile-heavy characters. Most of them "spam" their options, which, honestly, is the right thing to do for them, and I don't blame them. I just want to find a way around them. I know a lot of times, the tactic of running up and blocking each projectile is mentioned, and while that seems to work, I just end up getting grabbed or something. Maybe I just suck, but I need help.

 

[Zodiacx10]

you can jump over them or spot dodge the grab. if u power shield the projectile you can hold down the a button to intercept their grab. if they go for a dash attack you can super armor through it with a smash. people who tend to play like that tend to roll to the other side of the stage when you reach them. just keep running past where they are to where they are going to roll and upsmash them.

i think the biggest thing is patience. if you get overwhelmed and frustrated and start going in and committing too much you're gonna get destroyed. sometimes it's just better to wait at the other end of the stage for a little while. mac can punch away almost all weak projectiles with his jab and tilts.

 

[Ionthawon]

Alright. Thanks

 

[Zodiacx10]

i would recommend reading this post right here
http://smashboards.com/threads/catching-bullets-clanking-with-projectiles.402942/
it lists all the projectiles mac can block with his attacks (there are quite a lot of them)

 

[Ionthawon]

Ok I'll take a look

 

[LCC Son-in-Law]

@ Ionthawon I merged your thread to the Q&A thread. Please refer to this thread if you have any more questions in the future.

 

[BSP]

What do you guys think about the Little Mac vs. Pac-Man MU? Most of the Pac-Man players think we win for sure, but I've yet to hear anything from the other side.

 

[BaPr]

Best set ups into K.O. punch at higher percents? I usually do d tilt into KO, but end up whiffing due to too much knockback. Also, is d tilt into up special a true combo that can kill?