mountain_tiger
Smash Champion
1) Why write this guide?
There are three main reasons why I wrote this guide:
a) I was very bored at the time.
b) I felt I hadn’t contributed much to the ZSS boards yet.
But most importantly…
c) To inform new ZSS players of how and when to use her DSmash.
Now, when we first picked up ZSS, I’m willing to beat that almost all of use loved her DSmash from the start. I mean, you get to stun people and get a free attack on them. What’s not to like? However, as we advanced, we soon realised that although it’s a great move, if you spam it a good opponent can punish you for it. This guide is designed to help out new ZSS players on using DSmash, because when you do it correctly, it’s a great addition to ZSS’ arsenal.
2) How does the move work?
ZSS shoots a blob of electrical discharge (lol) out of her paralyser gun, causing 11-15% damage (when fresh) to her opponent and stunning them for a brief amount of time. Now, this move has a number of interesting attributes. Here are a few of them:
- Characters are stunned for slightly longer when they’re at high percents than at low percents, though there’s enough stun to follow up on the stun at any percent.
- Charging DSmash does increase the stun time, but only very slightly. We’re talking 1/10 of a second longer. This is because, as stated above, characters that have higher damage get stunned for longer, and since charging the DSmash does more damage, thus the opponent is in stun for slightly longer.
- DSmash has a lot of start-up lag (20 frames, to be precise) but not much ending lag. In addition, the vast majority of the start-up lag occurs BEFORE the charging animation starts, and when you stop charging, the attack is released a mere two frames afterwards.
- It’s the only DSmash in the game that hits on just one side (Lucas’ DSmash has a very tiny hitbox behind him). Although it only hits on one side, on the plus side it’s hitbox is very big underneath and in front, so that makes up for it.
- After the stun, the opponent suffers very small vertical knockback, which is increased if you charged it. For this reason, it can sometimes be harder to follow up if you charged it, so be aware of that.
3) Opportunites to use DSmash
When you have a move with a start-up of 20 frames, obviously you can’t use it all of the time. Spamming this move wildly is a recipe for disaster. Here I will list some situations where DSmash can be landed:
- Punishing a spotdodge: In this case, the start-up lag of DSmash is a blessing in disguise, because the start-up lag lasts for around as long as spotdodge invincibility lasts (give or take a few frames). Thus, if you see them spotdodge, quickly DSmash and you should catch them during their brief ending lag.
- Punishing a roll dodge: If you see your opponent rolling through you (which good opponents shouldn’t really be doing, but w/e), then quickly do a pivot DSmash. Once again, it should catch them during their brief lag period if you timed it correctly.
- When a character is falling helplessly: If a character’s recovery has overshot the ledge, then that gives you the perfect opportunity to DSmash, since they can’t do anything to get away from it if you space it right.
- Punishing moves with high ending/landing lag: This one is self-explanatory. A number of attacks have a lot of ending lag (or landing lag if it’s an aerial). If that’s the case, avoiding the attack leaves them wide open for a DSmash.
- Punishing whiffed tether grabs: Tether grabs are well known for having a lot of ending lag. If they miss, then you should be able to DSmash while they retract their tether grab. Characters this works on include Link, Toon Link, Samus, ZSS (lol), Lucas (unless they pivot grabbed), Ivysaur and Yoshi (unless they pivot grabbed).
- When a character is on the ledge: Because DSmash has such a large under hitbox, this move will hit any opponent hanging from the ledge, provided that their invincibility frames have run out. In addition, this can be used to punish ledge rolls or ledge get-up attacks, if you can predict them.
As you can see, DSmash is primarily used as a punishing tool. So now you know what to do: whenever your opponent makes a mistake, a lot of the time DSmash is the answer to all your problems.
4) Recommended DSmash combos
OK, so you’ve landed your DSmash. But what should you follow up with. Well, you can follow up with basically anything you want, since your opponent is stunned for a good two seconds. However, there are certain combos that work better than others. Some are better for damage racking, and others are better for killing. I’ll list some of the best ones here:
4a) Combos for racking up damage
It’s worth noting that with any DSmash combo that involves racking up damage, you should ALWAYS DSmash twice. This is because you get extra damage, and the opponent is not taken out of stun. After the second DSmash you can then follow up with whatever you want. Here are some of the combos for racking up damage (the damage listed assumes that all moves in question are fresh):
DSmash x 2 > Fair (total damage 38%): If you can get both kicks to connect, this is one of your best options, since it does almost 40% straight off the bat, while allowing other kill moves such as Plasma Whip can stay fresh.
DSmash x 2 > Plasma Whip (total damage 40%): If you can refresh Plasma Whip later (or you can rely on Bair or Uair instead), then this is another good combo for racking up damage. Be aware that the damage assumes that you use it just as your opponent is coming out of the stun.
DSmash x 2 > Grab (total damage varies): ZSS’ grab is very slow and hard to land normally, though her throws themselves are good (half of them, anyway). DSmash gives you the perfect chance to grab. From there you can do one of two things: a) chaingrab, if you’re against someone who can be chaingrabbed or b) use DThrow you get your opponent above you, which is exactly where ZSS wants her opponent to be. After DThrow, you have no true follow-ups, but you can try using Uair on them. If they airdodge, then you can Uair again before the airdodge ends due to its short animation, and Uair can link into itself or up B. Oh, and you can also pummel a bit for some extra damage, though doing so means running the risk of your opponent escaping the grab.
DSmash lock: DSmash > DSmash > DSmash etc. (total damage varies): This only actually works well on a handful of characters. It works on Fox, Falco, Sheik and Wolf, mostly on Fox. It works on Falco up to around 40%, Sheik and Wolf to around 50% and on Fox to around 90% (kudos to FUNKLAB for telling me the percents). On a few characters, you can get a tiny DSmash lock in if your DSmash is completely stale, but this is highly impractical because it’s very unsafe to completely stale DSmash, and also it only does 10-15% anyway, and you can easily get more than double that with a regular DSmash combo.
DSmash footstool combo (total damage 'as much as you want' lol): This only works on ROB mind you, but since it's an infinite, I'm mentioning it here. Basically, what you do is DSmash, footstool ROB then immediately Dair. Dair's landing lag should be cancelled, and ROB is forced to get up. You can then DSmash again, and the combo goes on until you get bored. You can then use Bair (which will be totally fresh) to kill. (Thanks to Zero for reminding me of this. Don't know how I forgot it.)
These are not the only combos that are good for racking up damage. You can also use other moves like UTilt or USmash to get them into the air for some juggling, or something like Bair for plain raw damage. These are simply the ones that I feel are the most effective for racking up damage:
4b) Combos for killing
DSmash also sets up perfectly for a kill move of your choice. If you are using DSmash to kill, then I would still recommend using it twice. This is because this makes it more likely that the move will kill, and with practice you can still land the kill move efficiently enough. If, however, you don not feel comfortable that you will land the kill move after two DSmashes, then just stick with the one DSmash.
DSmash > Bair: This is probably your best choice if you kept the move fresh. Bair is quick, efficient and kills well. Since it has no sweetspot, very little precision is required. This is the kill combo I use the most.
DSmash > Plasma Whip: Almost as good as Bair, this kills at decent percents too, provided that you kept it fresh. Space it in such a way that the sweetspot hits, because the sourspot goes straight through them. Use this if Bair is stale.
DSmash > Fair: As well as racking up damage well, the second hit can also kill, and since DSmash launches the opponent into the air, this can be done with relative ease with practice.
DSmash > Down B: This works best if the opponent is close to the ledge, since it meteor smashes them straight into oblivion. However, it can still work on the ground; it’s less satisfying, but it still does a pretty good job.
5) Conclusion
All in all, DSmash is a very useful move if you can get it land. It can make a great punishing tool if your opponent makes a mistake, and if it lands then your opponent gets an extra 40% damage right there and then. In addition, it can lead into kill moves at higher percents. However, it should never be spammed. It won’t hit standing opponents, and if they know what to do, DSmash can be quite hard to land. I hope that this guide has helped newer ZSS players to learn more about this interesting move.
If there is anything in the guide that I have left out or is incorrect, then feel free to tell me and I will edit it, giving you full credit for it in the process. Thank you for reading.
There are three main reasons why I wrote this guide:
a) I was very bored at the time.
b) I felt I hadn’t contributed much to the ZSS boards yet.
But most importantly…
c) To inform new ZSS players of how and when to use her DSmash.
Now, when we first picked up ZSS, I’m willing to beat that almost all of use loved her DSmash from the start. I mean, you get to stun people and get a free attack on them. What’s not to like? However, as we advanced, we soon realised that although it’s a great move, if you spam it a good opponent can punish you for it. This guide is designed to help out new ZSS players on using DSmash, because when you do it correctly, it’s a great addition to ZSS’ arsenal.
2) How does the move work?
ZSS shoots a blob of electrical discharge (lol) out of her paralyser gun, causing 11-15% damage (when fresh) to her opponent and stunning them for a brief amount of time. Now, this move has a number of interesting attributes. Here are a few of them:
- Characters are stunned for slightly longer when they’re at high percents than at low percents, though there’s enough stun to follow up on the stun at any percent.
- Charging DSmash does increase the stun time, but only very slightly. We’re talking 1/10 of a second longer. This is because, as stated above, characters that have higher damage get stunned for longer, and since charging the DSmash does more damage, thus the opponent is in stun for slightly longer.
- DSmash has a lot of start-up lag (20 frames, to be precise) but not much ending lag. In addition, the vast majority of the start-up lag occurs BEFORE the charging animation starts, and when you stop charging, the attack is released a mere two frames afterwards.
- It’s the only DSmash in the game that hits on just one side (Lucas’ DSmash has a very tiny hitbox behind him). Although it only hits on one side, on the plus side it’s hitbox is very big underneath and in front, so that makes up for it.
- After the stun, the opponent suffers very small vertical knockback, which is increased if you charged it. For this reason, it can sometimes be harder to follow up if you charged it, so be aware of that.
3) Opportunites to use DSmash
When you have a move with a start-up of 20 frames, obviously you can’t use it all of the time. Spamming this move wildly is a recipe for disaster. Here I will list some situations where DSmash can be landed:
- Punishing a spotdodge: In this case, the start-up lag of DSmash is a blessing in disguise, because the start-up lag lasts for around as long as spotdodge invincibility lasts (give or take a few frames). Thus, if you see them spotdodge, quickly DSmash and you should catch them during their brief ending lag.
- Punishing a roll dodge: If you see your opponent rolling through you (which good opponents shouldn’t really be doing, but w/e), then quickly do a pivot DSmash. Once again, it should catch them during their brief lag period if you timed it correctly.
- When a character is falling helplessly: If a character’s recovery has overshot the ledge, then that gives you the perfect opportunity to DSmash, since they can’t do anything to get away from it if you space it right.
- Punishing moves with high ending/landing lag: This one is self-explanatory. A number of attacks have a lot of ending lag (or landing lag if it’s an aerial). If that’s the case, avoiding the attack leaves them wide open for a DSmash.
- Punishing whiffed tether grabs: Tether grabs are well known for having a lot of ending lag. If they miss, then you should be able to DSmash while they retract their tether grab. Characters this works on include Link, Toon Link, Samus, ZSS (lol), Lucas (unless they pivot grabbed), Ivysaur and Yoshi (unless they pivot grabbed).
- When a character is on the ledge: Because DSmash has such a large under hitbox, this move will hit any opponent hanging from the ledge, provided that their invincibility frames have run out. In addition, this can be used to punish ledge rolls or ledge get-up attacks, if you can predict them.
As you can see, DSmash is primarily used as a punishing tool. So now you know what to do: whenever your opponent makes a mistake, a lot of the time DSmash is the answer to all your problems.
4) Recommended DSmash combos
OK, so you’ve landed your DSmash. But what should you follow up with. Well, you can follow up with basically anything you want, since your opponent is stunned for a good two seconds. However, there are certain combos that work better than others. Some are better for damage racking, and others are better for killing. I’ll list some of the best ones here:
4a) Combos for racking up damage
It’s worth noting that with any DSmash combo that involves racking up damage, you should ALWAYS DSmash twice. This is because you get extra damage, and the opponent is not taken out of stun. After the second DSmash you can then follow up with whatever you want. Here are some of the combos for racking up damage (the damage listed assumes that all moves in question are fresh):
DSmash x 2 > Fair (total damage 38%): If you can get both kicks to connect, this is one of your best options, since it does almost 40% straight off the bat, while allowing other kill moves such as Plasma Whip can stay fresh.
DSmash x 2 > Plasma Whip (total damage 40%): If you can refresh Plasma Whip later (or you can rely on Bair or Uair instead), then this is another good combo for racking up damage. Be aware that the damage assumes that you use it just as your opponent is coming out of the stun.
DSmash x 2 > Grab (total damage varies): ZSS’ grab is very slow and hard to land normally, though her throws themselves are good (half of them, anyway). DSmash gives you the perfect chance to grab. From there you can do one of two things: a) chaingrab, if you’re against someone who can be chaingrabbed or b) use DThrow you get your opponent above you, which is exactly where ZSS wants her opponent to be. After DThrow, you have no true follow-ups, but you can try using Uair on them. If they airdodge, then you can Uair again before the airdodge ends due to its short animation, and Uair can link into itself or up B. Oh, and you can also pummel a bit for some extra damage, though doing so means running the risk of your opponent escaping the grab.
DSmash lock: DSmash > DSmash > DSmash etc. (total damage varies): This only actually works well on a handful of characters. It works on Fox, Falco, Sheik and Wolf, mostly on Fox. It works on Falco up to around 40%, Sheik and Wolf to around 50% and on Fox to around 90% (kudos to FUNKLAB for telling me the percents). On a few characters, you can get a tiny DSmash lock in if your DSmash is completely stale, but this is highly impractical because it’s very unsafe to completely stale DSmash, and also it only does 10-15% anyway, and you can easily get more than double that with a regular DSmash combo.
DSmash footstool combo (total damage 'as much as you want' lol): This only works on ROB mind you, but since it's an infinite, I'm mentioning it here. Basically, what you do is DSmash, footstool ROB then immediately Dair. Dair's landing lag should be cancelled, and ROB is forced to get up. You can then DSmash again, and the combo goes on until you get bored. You can then use Bair (which will be totally fresh) to kill. (Thanks to Zero for reminding me of this. Don't know how I forgot it.)
These are not the only combos that are good for racking up damage. You can also use other moves like UTilt or USmash to get them into the air for some juggling, or something like Bair for plain raw damage. These are simply the ones that I feel are the most effective for racking up damage:
4b) Combos for killing
DSmash also sets up perfectly for a kill move of your choice. If you are using DSmash to kill, then I would still recommend using it twice. This is because this makes it more likely that the move will kill, and with practice you can still land the kill move efficiently enough. If, however, you don not feel comfortable that you will land the kill move after two DSmashes, then just stick with the one DSmash.
DSmash > Bair: This is probably your best choice if you kept the move fresh. Bair is quick, efficient and kills well. Since it has no sweetspot, very little precision is required. This is the kill combo I use the most.
DSmash > Plasma Whip: Almost as good as Bair, this kills at decent percents too, provided that you kept it fresh. Space it in such a way that the sweetspot hits, because the sourspot goes straight through them. Use this if Bair is stale.
DSmash > Fair: As well as racking up damage well, the second hit can also kill, and since DSmash launches the opponent into the air, this can be done with relative ease with practice.
DSmash > Down B: This works best if the opponent is close to the ledge, since it meteor smashes them straight into oblivion. However, it can still work on the ground; it’s less satisfying, but it still does a pretty good job.
5) Conclusion
All in all, DSmash is a very useful move if you can get it land. It can make a great punishing tool if your opponent makes a mistake, and if it lands then your opponent gets an extra 40% damage right there and then. In addition, it can lead into kill moves at higher percents. However, it should never be spammed. It won’t hit standing opponents, and if they know what to do, DSmash can be quite hard to land. I hope that this guide has helped newer ZSS players to learn more about this interesting move.
If there is anything in the guide that I have left out or is incorrect, then feel free to tell me and I will edit it, giving you full credit for it in the process. Thank you for reading.
