Q&A FALCON ASK !! Q&A and FAQ

[Samlage]

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Well, it seems to me that you whiff a lot. Or are you trying to read and make the wrong reads? Either way, I think you know the answer if you just think about it. I counted atleast 3 throws in the first game the first stock you made where there were no followup at all. 3 successfull throws with falcon could easily be 90-100 %. You got 22% out of it. The sad truth about falcon is that you HAVE to capitalize on every launch you get, since it is one of his strongest points as a character.

I'm not saying I am any better. But since i realized my flaws as a player I've hit the practice mode daily and I feel improvement every session. I find that online practice with such a precision-heavy character as falcon is only detrimental for growth if the player isnt a master or semi-master.

Thats my advice. Just free-style in practice mode until everything becomes second nature.

 

[CrazyPerson]

Any good guide on lunar landing? Can't seem to get the hang of it.

 

[Frostykeys]

Whenever I see any high level falcon play, there is 100% of the time going to be a down throw, up air, up air, up air string. Whenever I attempt to do this, I can usually get at the most 2 up airs because (at any percent) the opponent goes too far and i have to use my double jump to get the second one in. How do people do it so that stay close to the opponent in the air to get 2 up airs before the 2nd jump? Also, how do you jump and up air so close to the ground without jc up smashing?

 

[teluoborg]

Up air strings are rarely guaranteed. What can help you make them more consistent is to vary the height of your jumps (sometimes it's better to full hop and follow up with a second jump, sometimes it's better to short hop, Uair, fastfall and jump again for another Uair) and do the Dthrow right after a dash grab with no pummels.
Doing dash grab > instant throw gives you better follow ups because of how far you slide.

Secondly, if you want to Uair as close to the ground as possible you have 2 choices : practice until you get the perfect timing or put your Cstick to attack and a shoulder.button to jump.
I personally use L to shield so I put Jump on R.

 

[hmbtnguy]

Well, it seems to me that you whiff a lot. Or are you trying to read and make the wrong reads? Either way, I think you know the answer if you just think about it. I counted atleast 3 throws in the first game the first stock you made where there were no followup at all. 3 successfull throws with falcon could easily be 90-100 %. You got 22% out of it. The sad truth about falcon is that you HAVE to capitalize on every launch you get, since it is one of his strongest points as a character.

I'm not saying I am any better. But since i realized my flaws as a player I've hit the practice mode daily and I feel improvement every session. I find that online practice with such a precision-heavy character as falcon is only detrimental for growth if the player isnt a master or semi-master.

Thats my advice. Just free-style in practice mode until everything becomes second nature.

Thanks for taking the time to watch the video and provide your input. I greatly appreciate it.

I think you're completely right about my lack of follow-ups. I've mostly been practicing in For Glory so I can get better at reads--however I think it's definitely messing with my input timings when I play matches offline. I feel like I don't buffer my inputs quickly enough so my dashing down-throw doesn't allow me to follow-up with an up-air or neutral-air as often as I'd like. I think I also hesitate often when playing against Link because it's rare for me to actually get a grab so I don't have the normal momentum I get when I play against other character.

Beyond mechanics, I still don't know what's safe in the Link matchup. I feel like his attacks are faster and have priority over mine both on the ground and in the air. My approaches are sealed as it's too dangerous to come from the top, and I often get punished when I approach with my Nair, Uair, and Bair. Even if I am able to rack up damage, I feel like the only reliable kill-move I have is a down-tilt or spike if I can get him off the ledge. I'll definitely hit the training mode and work on my downthrow follow-ups though.

Thanks again!

 

[Sirocco]

I seem to be having some problems with whiffing against the smaller characters. Key moves like his jab and grab seem to miss a lot. I also have a tough time hitting the low up airs. I'm not particularly sure how to approach this situation. Back air remains an effective tool, and I suppose dash attack is still reliable. I guess a spaced low angled forward tilt and down tilts can do something. Obviously low angled forward smash and Raptor Boost are still there, but those are definitely hard read moves.

The whiffing needlessly complicates matchups like Pikachu and can make other matchups like Duck Hunt kind of annoying. The low up air in particular is pretty devastating, but that could just be me being bad since I haven't actually tested to see how low it can actually hit. I even miss against characters with only somewhat low stances like Greninja, but again that could be my own fault, so I'm not sure yet.

What do you guys think? How can we effectively modify our playstyle to accommodate for the smaller characters? While on the subject, it seems other characters in this game may have similar problems with their attacks just flat out not hitting, even though they look like they should. I also feel that I can attest for Melee and Brawl Falcon not having this issue as harshly as he does now.

 

[Samlage]

Thanks for taking the time to watch the video and provide your input. I greatly appreciate it.

I think you're completely right about my lack of follow-ups. I've mostly been practicing in For Glory so I can get better at reads--however I think it's definitely messing with my input timings when I play matches offline. I feel like I don't buffer my inputs quickly enough so my dashing down-throw doesn't allow me to follow-up with an up-air or neutral-air as often as I'd like. I think I also hesitate often when playing against Link because it's rare for me to actually get a grab so I don't have the normal momentum I get when I play against other character.

Beyond mechanics, I still don't know what's safe in the Link matchup. I feel like his attacks are faster and have priority over mine both on the ground and in the air. My approaches are sealed as it's too dangerous to come from the top, and I often get punished when I approach with my Nair, Uair, and Bair. Even if I am able to rack up damage, I feel like the only reliable kill-move I have is a down-tilt or spike if I can get him off the ledge. I'll definitely hit the training mode and work on my downthrow follow-ups though.

Thanks again!

I dont think there are any safe approaches against link tbh. Simply by the fact that his sword will outbeat your limbs if you ever clash. Falcons advantage lies within his speed.

As i said, space properly. Be within punish range but outside of his approach range. If its a scenario where he will chip at you with projectiles until you get close to attack, he will just clash with you and win every trade. What you COULD do when you get inside of his projectile range is to just hit the breaks and see if he tries to nair you or tilt/jab your way. Even if he too would just stand still and wait for you to approach the air way, falcons quick dashgrab is too fast to react to if you dont see it coming through reads.

Also, for the cpu training i can recommend what i've been doing lately to improve my precission. For half an hour, kill random lvl 4 cpus 3 stocks with ONE move the whole game, every game. This helps you get the perfect timing on every range and height in every situation. Like kill with B-air 0-130 %, every stock. Fastfall, rar, strings are all allowed conditions. But only do b-air. No jabs, no grabs, no Uairs. Just Bairs. When you dont miss more than maybe 2 bairs in one stock concistently, move on to practicing Nair and so forth.

True "wax on, wax off" stuff lol

 

[Fappin]

Hey guys! I am getting into Smash WiiU after a break from the series and a solid Melee background. I have been wanting to use Falcon as a main, so I really want to develop my skills with him against every situation, even bad ones. I was learning about match-ups and was going to ask:
1) What do you guys do against things like campy characters, or against top tier characters like Zero Suit Samus?

2) Also, what do you guys focus on when the odds are stacked against you? (down a stock, drowning in projectiles, etc.)

I have been beaten sorely because I am still new to the competitive side of Smash, but I also get crushed by some of the really skilled players simply because they whip out unbreakable combos.

I have a friend who is a bit better than me that I can train frequently with, but I was also wondering

3) if you guys had tips on what to focus on when training locally with a competent opponent.

Thanks!

 

[ItsIve]

1) What do you guys do against things like campy characters, or against top tier characters like Zero Suit Samus?

2) Also, what do you guys focus on when the odds are stacked against you? (down a stock, drowning in projectiles, etc.)

3) if you guys had tips on what to focus on when training locally with a competent opponent.

1) As for projectiles, power-shielding (or just shielding in general) is one of the best things you can do against projectiles. If you power-shield, you'll immediately be able to act out if and can usually run in and punish (as you've probably already noticed, Falcon runs very very fast, which makes it easy to get in and punish quickly). If you hold A, you can punch out a lot of projectiles and could make them easier to deal with. I don't do this much though because it usually puts you in weird clink freeze-frames and could get you punished for it. I used to have problems in the Link/Villager/any projectile-based character match-up but once I realized how important it is to be patient and shield, things became easier for me.

Now for the top tiers. Falcon's match-ups against the top tiers are either even or are slightly/heavily in the other's favor. Like he actually does decently against Rosie and Luigi when played properly, but has a miserable time against Pikachu and Sheik. Some people actually think Falcon is only at a slight disadvantage against Zero Suit. But what all of this means is that Falcon actually stands a chance. He has kill and combo power, and gets a lot from his down-throw and rage. However,Falcon destroys everyone, but everyone destroys him. It's very crucial that you play these match-ups carefully because one mistake from either player could have big consequences. So having safe aggro pressure (having a wall of back-airs set up) or just dash-dancing (by the way, learning this is very important for Falcon. It's kind of different than it was in Melee though) to set up for a grab should make match-ups more manageable. This is super vague but I have no idea how you play Falcon.

2) Falcon is a momentum based character. He can make comebacks very well when he needs to. I can't tell you how many times I've won matches where I've had a severe deficit and things looked hopeless. You just need to have your punishes on point and comebacks become significantly more doable. When you're drowning in projectiles, you either have to just run in to stop them or take a step back and start shielding until you can compose yourself to run back in and try again.

3) Every player, no matter how good, makes mistakes. Some are more obvious than others, but it's ultimately your responsibility to download the other person and punish them for it. Do they roll backward or toward you consistently? How do they land in general? How do they get up from the ledge? Do they airdodge often? Do they airdodge after being down-throw'd? These things are very important to ask yourself because while Falcon can work well without hard reads, he does significantly better against conditioned/downloaded opponents.

I know some of this is vague and probably common sense but I hope this helped somewhat. Cheers

 

[teluoborg]

I'll just add some things to ItsIve 's post

1-Falcon is a sandbag against top tier characters, so be very wary of combo starters. For example don't get Nair'd or grabbed by ZSS. And yeah practice your perfect shielding.

2-The most important thing is to keep your cool. It doesn't matter how many percents you have as you can make a comeback easily thanks to rage effect. When behind focus on taking as little damage as possible and abuse Bair and jab for their safety.

3-the best thing to keep in mind if you want to progress is to keep thinking while playing. Ask yourself questions like "what does my opponent want to do ?" "what are his habits ?" "can I bait his habits to punish them ?" "what must I do to avoid getting hit ?" etc etc. Never go on autopilot.

 

[Levateinn]

I'm having some questions about frame traps

for example

Low % DA -> Uair (non comboing) if they dont air dodge then they get hit.
If they do air dodge then due to the landing lag they eat a Bair.

does this count as one? if not, why?

what are some others?

thanks in advance

 

[Boomuki]

is falcons uptilt disjointed?

 

[ItsIve]

Any tips for timing a knee after the opponent airdodges? I can never seem to get it consistently. I either get it every time during some sessions, or hardly ever in others.

 

[dandeto]

I have a question for everyone, has anyone else ever got Falconcide, aka Aerial Raptor Boost Spike? It's so hard to get but SO satisfying. I was also wondering if if you do a short hop and RB just before you hit the ground does the RB hitbox extend far enough that you could spike people just off the ledge and fall onto it?

yes I have done RB spikes. No it doesn't work out of a short hop, unless your opponent hasn't ledge snapped. it will be hard to do even then without killing yourself though.

 

[dandeto]

question. What does "the Neutral" mean? thanks!

 

[ItsIve]

question. What does "the Neutral" mean? thanks!

Neutral is when both people have about equal stage control and they're kind of just "playing footsies". Nobody is combo'ing or getting combo'd at this point. They're just kind of feeling each other out and trying to find a safe time to approach as well trying to bait the opponent into making an unsafe approach option. I'm sure other peeps will give a better explanation but that's the jist of it

 

[teluoborg]

I have done one offstage air side B that ended up spiking the opponent and I managed to drift back and catch the ledge.

The "Neutral" is that moment in the game where neither player has the advantage over the other, and where the goal is to generate momentum or to get an advantage. If your character has good mobility, fast combo starters with low ending lag he will have a good neutral because he can capitalize on small openings. The perfect example of a character with good neutral is Sheik, as most of her moves are safe and can lead to easy combos.

 

[RayzerBeam]

Can I have some advice for fighting shorties? Particularly Kirby, G&W, and Olimar.

 

[Galaxian]

Not a Falcon main, but I'm someone who struggles against him. How do I beat Captain Falcon?

I play Pac-Man, Ryu, Kirby. None of these characters end up giving me a good edge against him, and I always get overwhelmed. What can I do to beat Falcon?

 

[UzakiuzuG]

Guys I'd appreciate it if you guys could help. All advice Will help...

So recently I went to this tourney in Cinci and I got to play Katikiri a pretty high level Meta Knight. Was once the second best Meta apparently on the meta boards. Now I was destroying his first stocks but when it came to killing.... I struggled tremendously... Unfortunately he was in my pools. I went. 11-5...

My question is, do you guys have any suggestion on how to kill with falcon or any set ups for kills. Other than raptor boost and high percent falcon kick.

I'm about check out some fatality action for tips but more advice is always helpful. Thank you in advance.

 

[Kathuzada]

So I am looking to learn what other characters can do and I was in the Sonic board and I saw this video.
https://youtu.be/slPWOhopR4w
The Sonic just gets thrown off stage after hitting the Falcon Kick (It is a custom). I just want to ask if you guys think this is because the Kick is multihit and that specific hits knockback caused the sonic player to fly out like that.

I am mainly asking incase customs ever make a comeback

 

[Kathuzada]

Guys I'd appreciate it if you guys could help. All advice Will help...

So recently I went to this tourney in Cinci and I got to play Katikiri a pretty high level Meta Knight. Was once the second best Meta apparently on the meta boards. Now I was destroying his first stocks but when it came to killing.... I struggled tremendously... Unfortunately he was in my pools. I went. 11-5...

My question is, do you guys have any suggestion on how to kill with falcon or any set ups for kills. Other than raptor boost and high percent falcon kick.

I'm about check out some fatality action for tips but more advice is always helpful. Thank you in advance.

The Knee (Offstage, IMO, this is almost interchangable with Bair/Dair, not sure about Nair, I never think to use that offstage)
http://smashboards.com/threads/landing-the-knee-by-baiting-out-airdodges-video.381879/
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-pZD8pHBMwA

 

[Ryoth]

Which inputs does Fatality do on his foxtrot+dashdance mixup?

 

[teluoborg]

etc

 

[AyeYoDeji]

Can you guys give me an in depth analysis on how you feel about the Falcon v MK matchup?

 

[Flubz]

Guys I'd appreciate it if you guys could help. All advice Will help...

So recently I went to this tourney in Cinci and I got to play Katikiri a pretty high level Meta Knight. Was once the second best Meta apparently on the meta boards. Now I was destroying his first stocks but when it came to killing.... I struggled tremendously... Unfortunately he was in my pools. I went. 11-5...

My question is, do you guys have any suggestion on how to kill with falcon or any set ups for kills. Other than raptor boost and high percent falcon kick.

I'm about check out some fatality action for tips but more advice is always helpful. Thank you in advance.

All his Smashes have good KO potential. Usmash sends the opponent upwards, Fsmash sends them sideways, Dsmash sends them diagonally up.
All his aerials have potential to KO. Uair can still KO off the top, albeit not as effectively as the ol' days. Bair can KO from center stage given rage and freshness, and it is good for offstage edgeguarding as well. Dair can spike if you hit with Falcon's feet, and it can even KO offstage if you hit with the top hitboxes. Even the second hit of Nair can KO, but it's not a KO move you should primarily use. Fair has to be spaced correctly, but you can combo into it and it can KO very early, plus you're sure to get a few gasps from the audience if you land it correctly.
Raptor Boost, especially when fresh, is an alright KO option. You can catch rolls pretty easily with this, and I like to use Falcon's speed to run behind my opponents and do a Raptor Boost in the opposite direction. It's pretty punishable if you whiff, and it whiffs for odd reasons on occasion (something about how Falcon stops to complete the animation of his uppercut).
His Dtilt can even KO at very high percents, and his Utilt can meteor smash the opponent if you hit them with the heel of Falcon's axe kick.
Back-throw can KO opponents at very high percent, given rage.

 

[Keet]

Having a bit of an argument with my brother. Thought I'd bring up the topic here and see what you guys think.

He says the Mario-Falcon matchup is either even or in Captain Falcon's favor, I said it was in Mario's favor. His main argument was that Captain Falcon has a great off stage game, an "amazing" up B, and he's really fast. My main argument was that Captain Falcon is combo fodder for Mario, and has a very predictable recovery that is easily punished.

Thoughts?

 

[ItsIve]

Having a bit of an argument with my brother. Thought I'd bring up the topic here and see what you guys think.

He says the Mario-Falcon matchup is either even or in Captain Falcon's favor, I said it was in Mario's favor. His main argument was that Captain Falcon has a great off stage game, an "amazing" up B, and he's really fast. My main argument was that Captain Falcon is combo fodder for Mario, and has a very predictable recovery that is easily punished.

Thoughts?

Mario bodies Falcon. Mario can get an 80 percent or more combo on Falcon just from up-tilt, up air, and up-b combos alone, while Falcon can't really do the same to Mario. Mario has the cape and FLUDD which make it very easy for him to edge-guard Falcon too. Mario is hard to edge-guard too because his up-b is invincible. If Mario is off-stage, he will more than likely make it back. If Falcon is off-stage, there's a good chance he won't make it. Falcon's off-stage game is really good, but there isn't much he can do against an invincible up-b. Falcon does have the advantage on Mario in terms of killing power with knee and dair, but that's really about it. So yeah. On paper, Falcon loses.

 

[Keet]

Mario bodies Falcon. Mario can get an 80 percent or more combo on Falcon just from up-tilt, up air, and up-b combos alone, while Falcon can't really do the same to Mario. Mario has the cape and FLUDD which make it very easy for him to edge-guard Falcon too. Mario is hard to edge-guard too because his up-b is invincible. If Mario is off-stage, he will more than likely make it back. If Falcon is off-stage, there's a good chance he won't make it. Falcon's off-stage game is really good, but there isn't much he can do against an invincible up-b. Falcon does have the advantage on Mario in terms of killing power with knee and dair, but that's really about it. So yeah. On paper, Falcon loses.

Thanks for the response. Pretty much my thoughts on the matchup as well.

 

[WwwWario]

I have a question about Falcon - how the heck do I beat him? I main Ganondorf (but please, don't just write that it's a bad matchup or anything. Bad matchup or not, I should still be able to bea him).

So what I struggle with is Falcon's insane punish game and speed. If I miss ONE SINGLE attack, Falcon's speed + INSANE dash grab range will punish me. He can reach me at any time, and if he lands a grab, he can set up his amazing combo game that gives me an insane amount of damage. I can't outrun him, I can't roll away, I can't miss one atttack, or else I'll end up with 30+ extra damage, and possibly a KO, since he has lots of those, too (Up B, Knee, Down Tilt, etc). Since he's so fast, he can punish pretty much anything and every thing, he racks up damage fast, has good combo starters like Down Throw and Fast Fall Up Air, and he has KO moves, amazing areals, etc., not to mention his Jab which comes out SO fast, has long range, gets his opponents off his face, and can follow up with attacks. His Dash attack is great. Because of his great range on so many attacks, they often win against others. Sure his recovery isn't the best, but I mean, how the heck do I beat and counter all of these great advantages he has? :\ As I said, doing 1 mistake and BAM he is up in your face, dealing 30+ damage

 

[teluoborg]

Well you summarized the matchup quite well, Ganon is easily overwhelmed by Falcon's mobility. What you can do in this matchup is try to outbait him, make him believe you are punishable when in fact you are not. Learn your safe zones and use low lag moves like AC Bair, Uair and Usmash and when he dashes in for the punish dash back and punish with a pivot Ftilt or something.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ramz289]

If I miss ONE SINGLE attack

That's the Ganon life, yo, everything he does is a huge commitment*. You have to guess when Falcon is going to approach or when he is faking an approach to make you react to him approaching.
I hope I'm making sense right now

*Any action any character does is
commitment (except maybe walking), some commitments are bigger than others

 

[Shamsy]

Not a Falcon main, but I'm someone who struggles against him. How do I beat Captain Falcon?

I play Pac-Man, Ryu, Kirby. None of these characters end up giving me a good edge against him, and I always get overwhelmed. What can I do to beat Falcon?

Bro Kirby is Falcon's worst match-up in the entire game lol. (Worse than Pika).

If you're crouching you evade his grab game altogether, it just whiffs. Your dair will kill him anywhere past 10%. You have up tilt free combos, dair on stage leads into down tilt regrab. And if you're a cheeky ******* you can Kirbycide Falcon 99% of the time only Little Mac is easier to do it on lol.

Unless you're LETTING Falcon grab you by not crouching you should always win this matchup, and you have a myriad of jumps just keep out the hitboxes. Kirby is a true nightmare for Capn.

 

[Deleted member 269706]

How does the Falcon/Mario match-up go? Been having some trouble with the uTilts and Uairs lately...

 

[ItsIve]

Who should I have as a secondary that best covers all of Falcon's bad match-ups?

 

[teluoborg]

ItsIve what are the matchups that you struggle with ? Generic answer would be pick a better character like ZSS or Sheik.

@Rawkstar for the Utilt : don't get grabbed at low percents, it's all Mario ever wants. For the Uair well you're getting juggled, save your second jump, try to fast fall airdodge through it idk. The Mario matchup is completely manageable, you just have to be very VERY careful offstage because Mario's cape and fludd will **** your **** up.

 

[UzakiuzuG]

How does the Falcon/Mario match-up go? Been having some trouble with the uTilts and Uairs lately...

The match up goes 55-45 Mario. My opinion
Falcon is combo food to most of the cast but to Mario it get's enhanced a bit.
If you don't mix up how you recover you could get caped/ flooded.
Make sure if you get Down Thrown into U-tilt make sure you DI down. (At low percents)

Jab is still...the best tool Falcon has other than his grab and aerials. It will stuff a lot of grab attempts.

 

[teluoborg]

Yeah you can PS during Utilt chains between 0 and 15% iirc. Very important to know but sadly good Marios know that and will try to grab you after the first Utilt. In general just space Bairs and Dtilts at low percents, those are your only real safe moves.

 

[alexthepony]

how often do you use falcons frame canceling

 

[Tsutori]

Hey there Falcon boards. Pit main here. I struggle a lot with the Pit vs. Falcon matchup, and I was wondering if you guys could give me any pointers on it?