Does SideB even have a use?

[Dsull]

Pretty much since they added sideb Dk has had this headbutt thing that doesnt seem to be viable at all. It pounds people in the ground for a followup but problem is its so short, its hard to land, and unless you have a lot of damage racked up it only holds you for a split second and they are released before you even finish the animation.

Is there a use ANYWHERE for this move?

 

[Alphatron]

Use it sparingly at higher percentage. It also does incredible shield damage, so you can use it as an approach mixup I break shields if your opponent gets a little shield happy. Still, use it sparingly.

 

[Dsull]

Shields? tehres a shield in this game? its all rolling to avoid damage
So i guess its utterly useles. Bleh.

 

[King Donkey Kong]

I like punishing roll spammers with this.

 

[Mettie7]

I see people use it in aerial combos sometimes, but if you can use it to bury someone and follow up with a 10 revolution punch for a KO then go for it

 

[Dsull]

I see people use it in aerial combos sometimes, but if you can use it to bury someone and follow up with a 10 revolution punch for a KO then go for it

Thats normally what i try to do. But unless theyre at like 150% or more, theyre nver in the ground long enough to land the punch.

 

[Brickbox]

Shields? tehres a shield in this game? its all rolling to avoid damage
So i guess its utterly useles. Bleh.

If people are rolling all the time to avoid damage then that honestly should make you happy, dk punishes rolls easily.

Side-b is a great situational move, it eats shields (yes this is extremely useful contrary to your belief). As stated before it is a great way mix up an approach, especially an air approach.

If people mash out you can follow up with an U-air to kill or to rack up damage quickly.

Overall this move thrives if you can get a read on your opponent.

 

[RiotLettuce]

Honestly what I try to do is use this as a mix-up in my game. I'll use bair consistently and if my opponent is on the ground predicting a bair when I'm landing so they can shield grab, I'll use the side b instead. Then this will either break their shield, severely hurt their shield, bury them, or I'll get punished. If it does severe shield damage, what I try to do is grounded up b into them, and it usually finishes the rest of their shield. Hope this helped

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

Hilarious 1 hit KOs on shielding Jigglypuffs.

 

[enderilluminatus]

How do you break a shield with this move?

 

[Brickbox]

Shields shrink the longer they are out and also shrink more quickly when hit by attacks. If the shield shrinks until it is non existent this is known as a shield break.

Some moves (such as Dk's side-b) shrink about 95% of the shield. So all you need to do is just use the move on someone when they are shielding.

I assume you are new, welcome

 

[Will_]

Also, if you land a side b at a decent %, there are combo setups that dk can do. My fav(although techable) is side b at 90%ish, short hop fast fall fair, jump uair. It registers as a 3 hit combo due to the reduced knockback from being in buried state. So if they don't tech the fair, the uair kill is guaranteed.

 

[hiramsthoughts]

I don't know if it was me just being bad but this dude mind gamed me several times into D-tilt trip > Side-B

 

[enderilluminatus]

Shields shrink the longer they are out and also shrink more quickly when hit by attacks. If the shield shrinks until it is non existent this is known as a shield break.

Some moves (such as Dk's side-b) shrink about 95% of the shield. So all you need to do is just use the move on someone when they are shielding.

I assume you are new, welcome

Thank you! Yes ive always been a casual player but decided now i want to be competitive. I had dk recommended to me as a good character for mastering the fundamentals and here i am. Ive been playing for the glory with him all weekend and i have won about 40% of the time.

 

[Annex]

from what I've seen most people airdodge as soon as I get close when I try to edgeguard them as dk
sideb comes out so slow that sometimes you can catch them coming out of their airdodge with it and score those donk dunks, especially if you use sideb to turn around towards the stage

and shield dmg, etc

it kinda sucks

 

[MysteriousSilver]

I would say that anytime you're putting your opponent in a position where they have a limited number of responses it's very beneficial. Burying them, while it might not always lead to a true combo, means that there are a set number of things they can do when getting out. If you predict their response correctly, you get more damage and maintain momentum. I mostly use it as an attempt to break shields or cover a landing but when it does hit, it's a good reward and should be capitalized on. It's sort of like a less-canned tech chase.

Between that, the percentages where it DOES lead to guaranteed damage, the unmentionable things it does to shields, and the fact that it spikes, I think that calling the move useless is rather inaccurate. I'm not saying spam it, but it certainly has it's place and gives you big rewards for successful use.

 

[ItsRainingGravy]

The spike that Side B does is mostly useless, considering that his new Aerial Down B has the same speed, has a more reliable hitbox, and has a much stronger spike attached to it.


Out of all of the Side B moves, I feel as though the custom 2 variant is the most useful. It doesn't plant opponents in the ground as long, but it has these additional benefits:

- Does as much shield damage as the normal version
- You can dodge attacks with this, and the headbutt will come down and bury the opponent
- Becomes an interesting OoS Option
- Allows you to stall in the air, which allows you to bait Usmashes, Utilts, some aerials, and etc
- Falls incredibly fast, which can let you return to the stage really quickly (though it has punishable lag afterwards)
- You can also quickly snap to the ledges using the above method, making this a safer option to return to the stage
- Knocks aerial opponents away and diagonally upwards when it hits them, giving you a chance to chase/intercept them
- Does 10 damage, meaning that it is still pretty solid even if it trades

The only real problem with it is that opponents can pretty much immediately break out of the grounded effect it causes, even though opponents can break out of the normal variant pretty fast anyways. Still, I choose custom 2 over the default due to it having much more versatility, and its primary function of breaking shields is still just as effective. It's probably even more effective than the default due to the other benefits I mentioned above.


If you're not playing locally or with a friend though, the only time you would ever want to use Side B is when you want to break someone's shield, and that is very situational at best. Otherwise you shouldn't really bother with it, as DK usually has better things that he can do and not get punished.

 

[1PokeMastr]

Side B is immensely useful, all of Dk's moves are. None of his moves are unviable
Some uses for Side B are the following:

- You catch them blocking your landing option (wether it be uair/fair/dair/bair/nair) next time you have to land, and you think they'll block, just Side B. It works a lot more than you think.
(and if the don't block, they probably take the hit anyway)

The headbut's main use is to catch people when they're shielding. Now I want to clear something up. SIDE B IS NOT SPAMMABLE, DO NOT TRY TO SPAM IT.

It is a move that's best left for reads.. as in;

They run up and block a lot? Side B the next time they do.

They get up from the ledge with neutral get up? Side B. You'll either hit the shield, or drop them into the ground.

You notice they roll behind you at times? Welcome their rolling habit with a side b.

These happen to be all reads, which is my entire playstyle. Let me tell you, it works VERY well.

 

[ShenanigansFox]

Noticed that the hitbox hasn't been mentioned on it. Long disjointed hitbox that reaches farther than giants punch on the default version. It can catch people off guard if you space it out well.

 

[RiotLettuce]

Another thing about DK's side b in this game is that you can grab the ledge to cancel the rest of the animation so if you're falling to the ledge I always recommend side b'ing into the ledge with the chance of being able to bury your opponent.

 

[Dsull]

Have to admit, the ONE TIME i managed to break someones shield with sideb sent me into this cascading use of it. Obviously not over and over since that would be too easy to read, but i find myself using it about every 5-6th approach attempt and i usually land it. Typically it doesnt break the shield, and sometimes it gives them a chance to combo me depending on who im against, but if they shield against me at ALL for the next ~10 seconds it feels like, that shield breaks and i get a free giant punch to their face lol.

Didnt know about the ledge thing, i outta try that out since i often sair edgeguarders and sometimes fall too far before i can UpB and suicide

My issue as of late is actually the UpB on the ground. Has anyone else noticed that sometimes DK just refuses to use UpB when on the ground? Ive had a few times where i'll just stand there till like the 4th time i hit the damn button.

 

[Spirst]

My issue as of late is actually the UpB on the ground. Has anyone else noticed that sometimes DK just refuses to use UpB when on the ground? Ive had a few times where i'll just stand there till like the 4th time i hit the damn button.

I think that might be a 3DS problem as I've had that happen with some other characters as well.

 

[Dsull]

I think that might be a 3DS problem as I've had that happen with some other characters as well.

Willing to bet that. I recently starting messing around with Yoshi and i have a REALLY hard time throwing eggs. Never had issues with that in previous games. It likes to either do nothing, or eggroll most of the time.

Kinda sucks, DK's UpB is pretty nasty if timed right. Racks up a lot of damage and sends people pretty far. Also has a priority that beats out Mac's sideb if timed right (WHAAAAT! yea i was surprised when i did it too).

 

[Conda]

I think that might be a 3DS problem as I've had that happen with some other characters as well.

Definitely. The only character I accidentally side-b instead of up-b is Greninja. I never have this problem with the other characters I play, but with Greninja while inputting the same button inputs, I get side b sometimes instead of Up b which SDs me.

I'm sure it has to do with the diagonal angles and, for greninja, the side B angle being more vertically wide than other characters.
Just goes to show there are some input differences between characters.

 

[CommanderVimes]

What with the option to do Side-B landing from a jump, it is making me think DK can play a similar mixup game to Bowser's, although it seems inferior. Bowser can straight go through shields with his side-B and it is much faster (albeit not as great a reward as a break), and his upB can go backwards to punish an attempt to roll behind your hop. DK has down b, but it is slower and the timing is tricky.

Would people still say this can be implemented as a part of DK's game: occasionally hopping if they are shield grab happy to set this up? Or should I maintain staying as much on the ground as I possible can outside of RAR fairs?