Q&A Game Play Advice and General Discussion

[Raijinken]

Sounds about like my first tournament experience. And people wonder why Smash's scene grows so slowly.

 

[Purin a.k.a. José]

That's bad... Don't get sad by this. We all have a bad day in Smash, including at tournaments. This got some bad TO's, so it was a bad tourney in general, I bet many players were feeling like that. Attend more tournaments, and keep playing the game you love.

 

[Ramserss]

Can you guys give some thought on my mains and if possible send me to some threads. ( Sorry if this is formatted wrong I'm still new to Smash Boards )
Mains:
1st: Robin
2nd: Megaman
3rd: Diddy Kong ( Still deciding on him )

 

[Sean²]

Reeks of a bad TO and Xbox Live mentality.

I'd try to hit up tournaments listed on here if you can. Chances are you'll find the attendees a lot more helpful than hurtful. Try again at another place/time, and if you can, ask the TO general questions about his events to get a feel of what you're getting yourself into.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

Sounds about like my first tournament experience. And people wonder why Smash's scene grows so slowly.

Another day, another time I wonder, "Is it just that I'm so damn good at this, or do other people just suck?"

Are there any "how to run a good event" guides running around? Like, maybe something written by successful TOs of various tournament size? Because if not, we are in dire need.

 

[digiholic]

Well today I had my first smash tournament experience. It was a tournament held by a game shop that was incredibly tiny, really hot, and smelled like B.O....

Welcome to gaming tournaments. Be glad you don't play Magic.

They started off with doubles, which a friend of mine and I played just for fun. (I know tournament people don't like that) We both played as heavy set characters to see what we can do and actually made it the the second or third round in winners bracket. After we lost, the people who beat us proceeded to talk **** about us. Figures.

I wouldn't call them "tournament people", I'd call them "angry tryhards". Actual tournament players won't care if you screw around and certainly wouldn't talk **** to someone they beat. Anyone worth their salt would respect their opponents, getting pissy like that is a sure sign they're not as good as they think they are and don't want to face that fact.

Then I started singles with my Luigi. And I didn't know until I started that customs were on and I was playing a Rosalina and Luma. ****. I got my *** beat. The Luma would hit me out of grabs, teleport straight to me at times, and he would constantly throw that stupid star bit projectile thingy at me...ugh.

Well, it's kind of on you to know the rules of the tournament. Custom Rosaluma is tough, but not unbeatable if you know what's coming. Luma Warp is strong, but it has a specific range, and with practice, it's easy to know the "death zone" in front of Rosalina that a luma could warp in and punish, try not to use an attack or air dodge in the death zone.

So I lost that match (which was very clear as I started. I didn't suck, but I don't know how to approach characters who depend on projectiles as their main form of attack.)

I dunno, this kinda sounds like something you should focus on improving instead of writing it off. You suck at fighting zoners, and that's okay. Everyone sucks until one day they don't. If you don't identify suck points you can't fix them. With Luigi, try to challenge their projectiles with fire balls (learn which ones they beat, which ones they trade with, and which ones they lose to), against Rosalina, use Luigi's above-average air mobility to jump in and try to bait out a utilt or uair from her, avoid it, and punish.

So then I wait 4 hours until finally playing my losers match. Which was SO much better. I was making better decisions and such and would get some baits and crap. It was a Dedede. I still lost, but I felt better about myself. But the Dedede was constantly getting angry every time I advanced on him.

Four hours is ridiculous. Were they short on set ups? If it's at all possible, try to bring a setup to donate for the tournament.

Also that Dedede seems salty as ****. Pity him for he will never improve with that attitude.

On top of all this, my friend was complaining the ENTIRE time about how long the wait was, and how disorganized it was. (It was though, I'll give him that. People kept leaving, brackets were set up weird, etc.) But I expected that before even signing up.....but after everything was over, I felt like I couldn't enjoy smash much anymore because people at the tourney were just ***** overall. There were some good moments, but overall it was a ****ty experience. Grant it, it was hosted in a small venue and not like in a Gameworks where a lot are. But I'm still hesitant on going again. I want to make it past the first freaking round in a bracket and step up my game, but that was just very discouraging.

Anyone ever go through something like this? Any words of encouragement that might help to keep me going? There's another tournament 7 days from now at a better venue. Should I go? I probably wont do much better, but idk.

Thanks for taking your time to read this and answer with any supportive feedback you may have!

Definitely go to the better venue. It seems like a lot of your troubles were with the smallness of it. Small venues take longer due to lack of set ups, and smaller venues tend to have smaller player pools, leading to salty and trash-talking players are less likely to be shown up by average, decent players.

You'll probably get absolutely destroyed, but you'll have fun losing at least.

 

[McZaxon]

Losing is tough, but it teaches you more than winning. Examine where you went wrong and why. Adapt.

Bad at dealing with projectiles? Learn from Luigi mains about how to handle them. Learn to perfect shield. Learn to air dodge, tech, roll. And then play against zoners like Link or Rosalina and Luma.

You can do this if you train.

Very inspiring, thank you very much!

I will definitely do that. Perfect shielding is kind of tough for me, because I'm not that great of a quick thinker yet. I just got out of my habit of rolling constantly not to long ago and I've been able to start reading better and mastering things like perfect pivot, pivot grab, etc.

How would I go about finding zoners such as Link, Roslina, or even Mega man to help me train?

Thanks again for your input!

I think if you do decide to attend another tournament you should be social and ask for friendlies and such.

Yeah. The biggest problem I have now is that I really don't have any friends that are into competitive smash as much as I am. Grant it, two of my friends who like smash and play with me went, but they're definitely not competitive material. I started conversing with another Luigi actually before I left, i'm trying to actually find him on social media so I can hopefully befriend him and have a partner and such. xD

And yeah, I'll definitely be checking out better TO's.

Welcome to gaming tournaments. Be glad you don't play Magic.

Four hours is ridiculous. Were they short on set ups? If it's at all possible, try to bring a setup to donate for the tournament.

Definitely go to the better venue. It seems like a lot of your troubles were with the smallness of it. Small venues take longer due to lack of set ups, and smaller venues tend to have smaller player pools, leading to salty and trash-talking players are less likely to be shown up by average, decent players.

You'll probably get absolutely destroyed, but you'll have fun losing at least.

Yeah. I don't know exactly how they were running it, but other Losers (haha) were getting called to play before me. I think the problem was that so many people were leaving so brackets were getting screwed up and they didn't know how to adjust it.

The next couple of Tourneys in town (I live in Las Vegas by the way, I forgot to mention that) will be at a Gameworks, which is a large arcade sort of place. they have a room very much built for tournaments, so i'll be sure to head some of those.

I was also never afraid of losing! I kinda glad I didn't do too well, because now I can train myself to deal with the losses I have and know what to do when facing these fighters again. I can also work a lot on my quick thinking skills because of these losses as well. I look forward to getting better!

That's bad... Don't get sad by this. We all have a bad day in Smash, including at tournaments. What just happened is that you had your first tourney right in a bad day... I hope things go better if you go to other one!

I hope they get better as well! xD

Thank you for your kind words! and I LOVE your signature GIF

 

[Purin a.k.a. José]

I hope they get better as well! xD

Thank you for your kind words! and I LOVE your signature GIF

You're welcome!!

 

[Eren Swaeger]

Hi. I'm looking for feedback on my mains. My mains (in this following order) is Megaman, Pit, and Sheik. I originally had toon link in the 3rd spot because yoshi was a problem and yoshi struggles with anti rush down ( which toon link does well). But I just LOVE how Sheik plays. I'm looking for details on mu's and which main takes care of my other mains weakness and such. And sorry if this is a misuse of threads I'm new here. So, any suggestions?

 

[Natch]

Well today I had my first smash tournament experience. It was a tournament held by a game shop that was incredibly tiny, really hot, and smelled like B.O....

They started off with doubles, which a friend of mine and I played just for fun. (I know tournament people don't like that) We both played as heavy set characters to see what we can do and actually made it the the second or third round in winners bracket. After we lost, the people who beat us proceeded to talk **** about us. Figures.

Then I started singles with my Luigi. And I didn't know until I started that customs were on and I was playing a Rosalina and Luma. ****. I got my *** beat. The Luma would hit me out of grabs, teleport straight to me at times, and he would constantly throw that stupid star bit projectile thingy at me...ugh. So I lost that match (which was very clear as I started. I didn't suck, but I don't know how to approach characters who depend on projectiles as their main form of attack.)

So then I wait 4 hours until finally playing my losers match. Which was SO much better. I was making better decisions and such and would get some baits and crap. It was a Dedede. I still lost, but I felt better about myself. But the Dedede was constantly getting angry every time I advanced on him.

On top of all this, my friend was complaining the ENTIRE time about how long the wait was, and how disorganized it was. (It was though, I'll give him that. People kept leaving, brackets were set up weird, etc.) But I expected that before even signing up.....but after everything was over, I felt like I couldn't enjoy smash much anymore because people at the tourney were just ***** overall. There were some good moments, but overall it was a ****ty experience. Grant it, it was hosted in a small venue and not like in a Gameworks where a lot are. But I'm still hesitant on going again. I want to make it past the first freaking round in a bracket and step up my game, but that was just very discouraging.
Anyone ever go through something like this? Any words of encouragement that might help to keep me going? There's another tournament 7 days from now at a better venue. Should I go? I probably wont do much better, but idk.

Thanks for taking your time to read this and answer with any supportive feedback you may have!

First off, welcome to the Smash community. Sorry for the salty players, but sometimes that can't be helped. That, and the B.O. I can however, recommend going to more tournies, and hopefully, you'll be getting past the first round. I remember back in the early days of Brawl that I would NEVER get a single victory all tournament, which sucks, I'll give you that. However, it's might be unrealistic to expect to get past the first round, because you're new to this scene. It's hard to enter into your first tournament and do worse than you thought you would, but that might just be because you're playing against really good people. Did you check to see how far that Rosalina or DDD went in the tournament? For all you know, they made it to grand finals or something. Don't feel bad about losing, instead, try and remember that some of us have been playing Smash competitively for over 10 years(I took a break between Brawl and Smash 4, because I wasn't really feeling it anymore).

In fact, since I came back to the Smash scene about a month and a half ago, I've been going 0 and 2(0 wins and 2 losses) in all of the tournaments I've been in so far, except for one tournament that happened 2 sundays ago. I went 1 and 2(and I even went 2 and 2 in doubles with a teammate I had never met before, felt good about that)...yes, 1 and 2. But I felt good about it. Don't worry so much about how far you went in the tournament, but who it took to beat you. I'd say you just have to practice more. So the next tournament you go to, get in plenty of friendlies, and ask for tips. Maybe then you'll be able to get past round 1.

 

[blackboy64]

I'm a new member of the smash community and I was hoping if someone can teach me or train with me so I can improve in some way. I want to learn how to become a competitive smash player and how to master all techniques that I require to become a better player.

If someone is interested in helping me, msg me by skype: blackboyalec or just send me a message through the forum or dm

 

[Ulevo]

Hi. I'm looking for feedback on my mains. My mains (in this following order) is Megaman, Pit, and Sheik. I originally had toon link in the 3rd spot because yoshi was a problem and yoshi struggles with anti rush down ( which toon link does well). But I just LOVE how Sheik plays. I'm looking for details on mu's and which main takes care of my other mains weakness and such. And sorry if this is a misuse of threads I'm new here. So, any suggestions?

If you need character specific information, go to the character's specific board. That's the best place to start.

 

[SapphSabre777]

I have a severe problem right now that I need to address immediately. I feel like any move I make right now towards the opponent will get me hit, period. Shield? Got grabbed. Running away? Got hit by DA. Jump? Intercepted and can't air dodge for the life of me.

I roll only once a game because of an internal fear of just being labeled as a noob, and I don't even use the spotdodge. I don't know how to properly mix up how I attack, defend, or approach my opponent, and they adapt in a flash.

How can I get answers on how to mix up my approach and such? What should I do in specific situations? What shouldn't I do? I think this is an answer I'll need from others, since I can't find it myself, sadly.

 

[KittyKyat]

I have a severe problem right now that I need to address immediately. I feel like any move I make right now towards the opponent will get me hit, period. Shield? Got grabbed. Running away? Got hit by DA. Jump? Intercepted and can't air dodge for the life of me.

I roll only once a game because of an internal fear of just being labeled as a noob, and I don't even use the spotdodge. I don't know how to properly mix up how I attack, defend, or approach my opponent, and they adapt in a flash.

How can I get answers on how to mix up my approach and such? What should I do in specific situations? What shouldn't I do? I think this is an answer I'll need from others, since I can't find it myself, sadly.

A lot of this is on a character ny character basis, but do you happen to have any replays? Im a bit confused and I think seeing a replay could help ya out. :D

 

[Ulevo]

I have a severe problem right now that I need to address immediately. I feel like any move I make right now towards the opponent will get me hit, period. Shield? Got grabbed. Running away? Got hit by DA. Jump? Intercepted and can't air dodge for the life of me.

I roll only once a game because of an internal fear of just being labeled as a noob, and I don't even use the spotdodge. I don't know how to properly mix up how I attack, defend, or approach my opponent, and they adapt in a flash.

How can I get answers on how to mix up my approach and such? What should I do in specific situations? What shouldn't I do? I think this is an answer I'll need from others, since I can't find it myself, sadly.

Three things.

The first thing worth mentioning is that while rolling or over-rolling is often regarded as a bad habit newer players develop, rolling will be better or worse on certain characters. It is good to avoid rolling too much, but you must know when the roll is worth utilizing, especially when it comes to certain characters. Samus's roll for example is atrocious, and you need to be very strategic and deliberate when you choose to roll with her. Sheik on the other hand has a decent roll, and it is much easier to utilize in a broader array of situations.

Secondly, this seems like a spacing thing. If you know the space that you should occupy between your character and the enemy character, then that limits the amount of options they have when they attempt to approach you, mix up or not. I am not saying that if you attempt to space properly they won't be able to assault you, but it just creates a wider opening for you to observe how and when they try to punish you for whatever it is you are doing. On this note, one thing I see a lot of newer players do is be very irresponsible with their aerial movement. Being in the air is dangerous in this game for a lot of characters because you cannot air dodge low to the ground without incurring landing lag, and unless you have multiple jumps to mix up your descent or really forgiving aerials like Luigi's or Sheiks, it can be easy to punish you as you land with something as simple as a run in shield grab, which will cover a lot of your options.

Third, your situation sounds like you're being trounced by a player that is simply a lot better than you are. It is good to have talent around you so you can learn, but if they are not in a teaching or mentoring mind set or if they are beating you so hard that you're not having a rewarding experience or a chance to learn, it defeats the purpose of playing them. My recommendation if this is the case is to 1) find some players who are better than you, but not substantially, and 2) save your replays and watch them for mistakes you're making so you can mentally note to stop doing them.

 

[busken]

Three things.

The first thing worth mentioning is that while rolling or over-rolling is often regarded as a bad habit newer players develop, rolling will be better or worse on certain characters. It is good to avoid rolling too much, but you must know when the roll is worth utilizing, especially when it comes to certain characters. Samus's roll for example is atrocious, and you need to be very strategic and deliberate when you choose to roll with her. Sheik on the other hand has a decent roll, and it is much easier to utilize in a broader array of situations.

Secondly, this seems like a spacing thing. If you know the space that you should occupy between your character and the enemy character, then that limits the amount of options they have when they attempt to approach you, mix up or not. I am not saying that if you attempt to space properly they won't be able to assault you, but it just creates a wider opening for you to observe how and when they try to punish you for whatever it is you are doing. On this note, one thing I see a lot of newer players do is be very irresponsible with their aerial movement. Being in the air is dangerous in this game for a lot of characters because you cannot air dodge low to the ground without incurring landing lag, and unless you have multiple jumps to mix up your descent or really forgiving aerials like Luigi's or Sheiks, it can be easy to punish you as you land with something as simple as a run in shield grab, which will cover a lot of your options.

Third, your situation sounds like you're being trounced by a player that is simply a lot better than you are. It is good to have talent around you so you can learn, but if they are not in a teaching or mentoring mind set or if they are beating you so hard that you're not having a rewarding experience or a chance to learn, it defeats the purpose of playing them. My recommendation if this is the case is to 1) find some players who are better than you, but not substantially, and 2) save your replays and watch them for mistakes you're making so you can mentally note to stop doing them.

What is adapting; you seem to be very knowledgeable of the game.

 

[Eonn]

I have a friend who plays Robin. Anytime I approach I have to back off to avoid elfire or else I get punished, and any time I manage to get close I get wrecked by the wind jab. I can't seem to DI out of it and it does insane knock back. I play Pikachu. Any advice? Thanks!

 

[TheAnomaly]

I have a friend who plays Robin. Anytime I approach I have to back off to avoid elfire or else I get punished, and any time I manage to get close I get wrecked by the wind jab. I can't seem to DI out of it and it does insane knock back. I play Pikachu. Any advice? Thanks!

Full jump do a thunder jolt, fast fall and run in after it is the simplest way to approach as pikachu.

 

[Eonn]

Full jump do a thunder jolt, fast fall and run in after it is the simplest way to approach as pikachu.

I'm aware of that method, but it's not always reliable. In this scenario, I'm still walled off my elfire and if I jump over it, Robin can just shield + spotdodge or roll , or just jab me anyway (I'm pretty sure it clangs with the tjolt and the jab stays active as well).

 

[SapphSabre777]

Three things.

The first thing worth mentioning is that while rolling or over-rolling is often regarded as a bad habit newer players develop, rolling will be better or worse on certain characters. It is good to avoid rolling too much, but you must know when the roll is worth utilizing, especially when it comes to certain characters. Samus's roll for example is atrocious, and you need to be very strategic and deliberate when you choose to roll with her. Sheik on the other hand has a decent roll, and it is much easier to utilize in a broader array of situations.

Secondly, this seems like a spacing thing. If you know the space that you should occupy between your character and the enemy character, then that limits the amount of options they have when they attempt to approach you, mix up or not. I am not saying that if you attempt to space properly they won't be able to assault you, but it just creates a wider opening for you to observe how and when they try to punish you for whatever it is you are doing. On this note, one thing I see a lot of newer players do is be very irresponsible with their aerial movement. Being in the air is dangerous in this game for a lot of characters because you cannot air dodge low to the ground without incurring landing lag, and unless you have multiple jumps to mix up your descent or really forgiving aerials like Luigi's or Sheiks, it can be easy to punish you as you land with something as simple as a run in shield grab, which will cover a lot of your options.

Third, your situation sounds like you're being trounced by a player that is simply a lot better than you are. It is good to have talent around you so you can learn, but if they are not in a teaching or mentoring mind set or if they are beating you so hard that you're not having a rewarding experience or a chance to learn, it defeats the purpose of playing them. My recommendation if this is the case is to 1) find some players who are better than you, but not substantially, and 2) save your replays and watch them for mistakes you're making so you can mentally note to stop doing them.

Thanks. ^^

After a few matches, I found out that I wasn't going back to neutral in situations where I could. Thank you for the advice, again. ^^

 

[Mrawesome48]

So i hate sounding like a broken record. But I've finally reached my breaking point. I've been trying to get help punishing rolls for almost half a year now. Very little advice aside from" my char sucks at punishing rolls" Or that char is great at punishing rolls you just f*** suck get better scrub". I just started going to tourns and i do ok. I get online and 90% of my matches are losses cause my opponent just rolls from one side of the map to the other.

About 2 weeks ago I asked the mechanics thread and while i got some answers i cant pull them off due to me not being good at advanced techniques and what-not. I then asked if there was a thread that i could look for a partner to help me out as im trying to learn how to pivot grab and punish rolls and i couldn't find one so i thought someone else might have an idea. Not a single response. Seriously? Not even the moderators felt the need to at least point me in the right direction. Cause copy and pasting a link(if a thread exists) is the most stress-full, labor inducing task ever.

I'm probably known as writing a lot of rant threads. My posts are angry because a lot of the time when i ask for advice im met with you suck and everyone else can beat this char or why no shield noob. Want some examples go look at my posts in the villager thread. I find most chars to be beatable and when i post about a specific char it's usually dealing with one particular problem such as d3's gordos(that i can deflect no matter what i do) or how to deal with the link's roll and spam. I have more people insulting me than i do trying to help me

 

[Shaya]

My apologies, I don't personally always read/see everything.
The online discussion forum is where you could try find a partner or some different people to practice and train with; ladders can be good for your time but the stress of competing doesn't gel well with the frustration of 'lag'. Wifi is never going to be kind to certain types of players, I try to play as reactively as possible but how do you react to 20-30 frame moves that have half stage reach reliably in lag while still trying to do things yourself? It just doesn't happen.

Offline events is the way to go, asking for advice or for friendlies and trying to figure out how -you- can improve outside of that environment from the contrasting you perceive. There are no easy answers. Just trying to be calm about what you can do and can't do and thinking out ways to adapt to it. Practice tech skill or other things privately, try refreshing your palette with the occasional wifi match, eye on the prize of success at offline events.

 

[vegeta18]

if your stuck in an up tilt combo from a character like fox or mario, what is the best way to DI out of it? i usually wait til i can jump out of it, which idk if thats the best thing to be doing.

So i hate sounding like a broken record. But I've finally reached my breaking point. I've been trying to get help punishing rolls for almost half a year now. Very little advice aside from" my char sucks at punishing rolls" Or that char is great at punishing rolls you just f*** suck get better scrub". I just started going to tourns and i do ok. I get online and 90% of my matches are losses cause my opponent just rolls from one side of the map to the other.

About 2 weeks ago I asked the mechanics thread and while i got some answers i cant pull them off due to me not being good at advanced techniques and what-not. I then asked if there was a thread that i could look for a partner to help me out as im trying to learn how to pivot grab and punish rolls and i couldn't find one so i thought someone else might have an idea. Not a single response. Seriously? Not even the moderators felt the need to at least point me in the right direction. Cause copy and pasting a link(if a thread exists) is the most stress-full, labor inducing task ever.

I'm probably known as writing a lot of rant threads. My posts are angry because a lot of the time when i ask for advice im met with you suck and everyone else can beat this char or why no shield noob. Want some examples go look at my posts in the villager thread. I find most chars to be beatable and when i post about a specific char it's usually dealing with one particular problem such as d3's gordos(that i can deflect no matter what i do) or how to deal with the link's roll and spam. I have more people insulting me than i do trying to help me

hey man! here is a video by amazing amphros about overcoming defensive options such as rolls, spot dodges, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbEP0PUqnUM

 

[TerraCaty']

Is it just me or is Perfect Pivoting to the right substantially harder to the left? I have to use a Pro Controller for now unfortunately but even on the Gamecube Controller pivoting to the right is a bit tougher. Is it just a muscle memory and practice type of thing?

 

[Shaya]

I'm the opposite, I can pretty much consistently do all sorts of dash techs going right, but left? Very finnicky for me and I'm likely to mess up.
I would love to say practice resolves it but it just feels to me like my thumb is not that good at flicking left to right. Although maybe I should be just practicing thumb exercises in idle moments, I can definitely see my thumb fluidily flick right->left but significantly slower doing the opposing.

 

[DannyShadowHunter]

Hey there my name is Danny, i main ness and i would like to start getting into competitive smash bros. I really want to start improving because i have a close friend who is really good with pit and whenever i face him i always end up getting 2 stocked by him and i barely even leave a scratch on him. Most of the time i just throw out random attacks hoping that they hit ( i know this isnt the way to play but thats one thing i struggle with since i dont know anything about competitive) I feel very overwhelmed but Im willing to put alot of time and effort in order to get better but i have no idea where to begin or what i should start to work on.

 

[Caryslan]

I don't play Ness myself, but I would be more than happy to give you some pointers.

First off, throwing out random attacks is a good way to lose. You need to learn how to read your oppoent's moves, and react accondingly. It can be hard at first, but reading your oppoent is the first thing thing to learn.

Also, understand your defensive options. Know when your shield, dodge and air dodge. This goes hand and hand with reading your oppoent.

Ness has an answer to Pit's arrows. PSI Magnet can be used to asorb Pit's arrows. This can help limit Pit's control of the stage from long range, and force an approach.

Use PK Fire to help Ness control the stage and trap Pit into an attack that leaves him open to follow up attacks. The most common ones I see are Ness' forward Smash and his Back Throw. Keep in mind one thing and that is not to spam PK fire. Pit can reflect it back at Ness with Guardian Orbitors, and can also use Upperdash Arm to plow through PK fire(Upperdash Arm deflects PK fire and grants him Super Armor frames)

Because of the defensive options in the game, learn what Ness' best attacks are that don't leave him open to counterattacks. These are his safest attacks that allow him to act quickly even if his attacks are shielded.

That is all I can think of right now.

 

[MintChipper]

What are the legal stages for 3DS? I have both versions but my friend only has the 3DS version and we've been wondering what they were.

 

[Dark Dire Wolf]

To DI, do I just input the direction as soon as I get launched or do I have to wait like a short hop?

 

[AnchorTea]

@ Indigo Jeans why was this thread locked for a few days?

 

[Indigo Jeans]

To DI, do I just input the direction as soon as I get launched or do I have to wait like a short hop?

You have to be holding the direction at the moment of launch.

@ Indigo Jeans why was this thread locked for a few days?

 

[Dark Dire Wolf]

You have to be holding the direction at the moment of launch.

Thanks. So holding the direction a few moments after the launch (such as if I'm already a quarter of the way through my trajectory) would not work, correct?

 

[Vipermoon]

Thanks. So holding the direction a few moments after the launch (such as if I'm already a quarter of the way through my trajectory) would not work, correct?

I've found that DI still works a little bit in the middle of launch.

I wonder if you can only input a vector at the initial hit

 

[Jonatan]

Can someone explain to me how to tech stage spikes? Cheers!

 

[Pyr]

Can someone explain to me how to tech stage spikes? Cheers!

You tech it like you would a ground hit. If you know you're going to be hit into the stage, press a shield button within 1/3 of a second of striking the stage. Hold up to do a sudo wall jump. Don't hold a direction to tech in place.

 

[Pixel_]

There's several types of characters that I seem to be able to find a counter for, but when it comes to people who are really good with sword characters, I can't do much.

Most of my characters are combo-based, so the main problem is their range.

You can see my signature for my mains, thanks in advance!

 

[busken]

What is the best way to improve? So far, I have done 50 smash ladder battles and recorded every one of them and analyzed what I did wrong and right. Constantly playing the game won't get you better if you don't change how you play the game. Their has to some type of method on the steps you should take like analyzing the stage first, then the MU, then internalizing the opponent's movements and patterns which ultimately become their play style. I have been doing this and have seen some improvement but the biggest thing I fear is my skill plateuing to a certain level.

 

[TheAxeWarrior]

Hiya

I'm attending my very first Smash Tournament today and I'm having some jitters about it. I really don't know what to expect. I've trained on for glory, played my amiibos, and played friends as well. I feel as though I won't suck, but I'm just afraid of going in there and losing to some 11 year old kid spamming projectiles with Mega man or something.

Does anyone have any advice on how to relax before a tournament? I know listening to music is something I'll do for sure. I think I'll also probably do it during the matches as well. But any advice would be helpful, especially tips on how to calm down when I actually get there for warm-ups.

Thanks for taking the time to help me out with my question!

Hey McZax! There are a few techniques which help me personally, and I'd like to share them with you.

Now, if you really are well-learned in the ways of Smash and have made a habit out of skills such as teching and DI, then the most important thing to do is remind yourself that you ARE good at Smash Bros!
... I know, this sounds a bit odd, but believe me when I tell you that having a good deal of confidence during a competitive Smash Bros. battle is just as important as memorizing the most true of combos. A lack of confidence can very well lead to your very own demise! Don't ever let yourself believe that you don't have what it takes to defeat your opponent. The second you think to yourself, "this guy's too tough" is the second you'll likely find yourself losing.
Stay calm, relax your muscles (especially your hand muscles, don't want those things going onto auto-pilot!), and tell yourself that you are better than this guy! Even if it's a top-tier-whoring Diddy Kong user, tell yourself that you are better. You can't let fear get the better of you! You know you've got what it takes!
Oh, by the way, if you do indeed find yourself pitted against a Smasher who plays a "top-tier" character, remember, the only reason they are using that character is likely because they don't have enough confidence to use anyone else! People choose to play top-tier fighters because they are, well, top-tier. Listen, Zax, what I'm trying to say is, don't ever out your faith in a character just because everyone said "he's/she's the best!" Put faith in your own skills! Because, in the end, it's ALL on YOU! Not the fighter you picked.

Heh, sorry if I got a little preachy there. But hey, this stuff is important!

Alright, so, #1 have confidence in yourself. #2 Don't go into auto-pilot! If you find yourself going into auto-pilot, shake yourself out of it. Slap yourself in the face if you have to! But don't let your reflexes become the player. Use your brain! Think, strategize, punish!

Okay, well, I really don't wanna give you a freakin' headache with overloads of info! But if there's anything else you'd like me to give you a pointer on, feel free to ask!

 

[Jonatan]

You tech it like you would a ground hit. If you know you're going to be hit into the stage, press a shield button within 1/3 of a second of striking the stage. Hold up to do a sudo wall jump. Don't hold a direction to tech in place.

if i just spam the shield button does that work? or do i have to press it at the exact time and wont work if i spam it?

 

[Pyr]

if i just spam the shield button does that work? or do i have to press it at the exact time and wont work if i spam it?

You have 20 frames to input it IIRC. That's before you actually hit the stage. I usually just press it the moment I'm hit/launched and it works.