Q&A Game Play Advice and General Discussion

[strujsmo]

Also try watching videos of a top level player using your character.

 

[Scathy]

I'm unsure if all of my time spent playing Smash has meant anything at all. I've played since N64 but with this new Wii U version I've been having problems winning any matches online. I seem to lose to the most simple things.. I've been needing a tutor or something of that nature to help me learn what exactly it is I'm doing wrong. Likely turning my thumbstick from up is jump, to up is just tilt.. might help. But it feels weird at the same time.. I don't even know what I'm posting about, considering there's nothing SPECIFIC I can think of that I do wrong; I'm pretty sure everything I'm doing is wrong. XD

 

[Justwingit]

Hello everyone i am very new to the smash scene am i looking foward to having a great time here i recently started playing alot 2 days ago and have been trying to practice online. However about 60% of the matches i play i lose and was looking for a way to maybe improve my gameplay i have a hard time hitting others alot and finishing my opponent. My main is Meta knight and my secondary is falco if anyone give me advice or can just coach me to how i can improve my play that would be much helpful i appreciate anyone who takes the time to look at this thank you.

 

[Raijinken]

Welcome to Smashboards!

For those characters, I'd recommend checking their respective character boards (Meta Knight, Falco).

As for gameplay in general, there are two general routes I'd suggest taking: If you're new to the series/game as a whole, I'd suggest starting by working on the single-player content and challenges. Doing so will expose you to a lot of characters in a variety of settings (many of which aren't really relevant to competitive play, but all of which will give you practice beating different characters up as different characters).

If you're more generally experienced at Smash (been playing the game casually for a while, or played previous games), I'd suggest either finding a local competitive scene to join, or to continue practicing online (though only really in low-lag games does it help). If you can't get a good connection and live far from in-person opponents, you can obviously just work on computers or Amiibos until you feel you've reached a reasonable level of competence.

 

[Justwingit]

ops ill change that right away to falco but ive been playing it casually for some time and ive been looking to take the game more serious what bothers me is like how some people can hit me and i cant hit them and i really dont know what to do when im getting shot by villager or link 24/7 sometimes either at the same time i feel like theres something im doing wrong in particular but i just dont know what it is exactly

 

[Raijinken]

ops ill change that right away to falco but ive been playing it casually for some time and ive been looking to take the game more serious what bothers me is like how some people can hit me and i cant hit them and i really dont know what to do when im getting shot by villager or link 24/7 sometimes either at the same time i feel like theres something im doing wrong in particular but i just dont know what it is exactly

Ah, projectile-heavy characters are often a pain to get used to, especially if you have a hard time seeing the smaller projectiles (due to vision, screen, whatever).

Generally, most projectiles have either a blindspot, pretty significant ending lag, or some degree of both. For instance, Link's bow and boomerang can only cover straight ahead and ahead +/- 45 degrees respectively. Above him is a blindspot, so (depending on the stage you play this could be easy or not) the general idea is to either dodge through (but not into a smash attack) or jump over the projectiles and punish the ending lag. Villager's an obnoxious projectile waller, but the principle is the same. Jump over Lloyds, dodge through or shield slingshot pellets, and avoid the Tree at all costs.

I'm not sure what Meta Knights normally do against projectile users, but Falco can always just reflect, too.

Sorry it's kinda vague, but without seeing your play or knowing more accurately the issue you're having, the best I can do is give general pointers.

 

[Justwingit]

if you want you can add me on the wii u and we can go a couple rounds as both my characters im planning 2 enter a local tourny 2 weeks from now and have been trying to practice for it

 

[Baby_Sneak]

Stay calm, don't ever play out of frustration.

Play against lvl 3s, your problem is you lack technique with your said character. Lvl 3s are bread and butter for you to get better at said character.

Focus more on your main than your secondary. It's very very hard to keep both tools sharp, so focusing on your main dude helps you the most.

Get a feel of your opponent. You do this by not rushing in super hard 24/7 and just basically jumping around and near your opponent to see what they do. This is EXTREMELY important and is the hardest skill in fighting games to master. Playing around with your opponents space is a must-learn thing to do and execute. Even on a basic level.

 

[Justwingit]

Stay calm, don't ever play out of frustration.

Play against lvl 3s, your problem is you lack technique with your said character. Lvl 3s are bread and butter for you to get better at said character.

Focus more on your main than your secondary. It's very very hard to keep both tools sharp, so focusing on your main dude helps you the most.

Get a feel of your opponent. You do this by not rushing in super hard 24/7 and just basically jumping around and near your opponent to see what they do. This is EXTREMELY important and is the hardest skill in fighting games to master. Playing around with your opponents space is a must-learn thing to do and execute. Even on a basic level.

thxs ill try 2 keep that in mind like i when i play online against matches i get the first stock but after i get the first stock everything just falls apart like i cant close games out and i end up losing matches i shouldnt lose maybe practice on level 3 bots will help me improve my skills alot better i also have a hard time grabbing and sometimes my character will face the wrong way and my opponent will get a free hit on me 2 another problem i have.

 

[Baby_Sneak]

thxs ill try 2 keep that in mind like i when i play online against matches i get the first stock but after i get the first stock everything just falls apart like i cant close games out and i end up losing matches i shouldnt lose maybe practice on level 3 bots will help me improve my skills alot better i also have a hard time grabbing and sometimes my character will face the wrong way and my opponent will get a free hit on me 2 another problem i have.

Yea dude, playing lvl 3s will get you right.

 

[Justwingit]

Yea dude, playing lvl 3s will get you right.

alright ill try that for a bit then ill take my chances online again thanks for the advice really appreciate the help from everyone

 

[Juswingit]

alright so i had to make a new account because i got locked out of my old my password wasnt working and the 1 the cpu sent me hasnt been working either but i have another question is there any meta knight mains out there i could possibly talk 2 on how i can improve my play and what maps are good for meta knight etc? theres a local tournament coming up and im looking to enter but idk what maps are good for him and what maps arent

 

[Endurrr]

Need help!! DI:

As of late I have been having trouble with DI-ing as to not die so early on for glory. Everyone says hold toward the stage of its the side blast zones or hold left or right if its the top but even when I am ready to DI I still end up dying even when the sparks dont show. I do exactly as stated above and it seems not to work at the worst occasions. Am I doing something wrong? Is it character related? (I play dedede, kirby, and doc primarily). Am I just stupid? Its getting urgent due to how infuriating it is. I need answers. Thanks!

 

[Gregory2590]

I'm stuck in a little rut here in terms of improving myself. I'm strictly wi-fi unfortunately since every smash event in my state is too far(you would think the biggest city in NJ, Newark would be chock full of smash events, but there isn't any EVER) and I don't have people to play with, so I'm stuck with FG. Anther's ladder isn't too great either since players often reject lower ranked people, and it's only active at certain hours.

So as someone who has limited access to better people to play with, should I not even bother stressing playing this game with a competitive mindset? I've taken an interest in competitive things since Melee, but now i'm just wondering if it's even worth the trouble if there's nowhere worthwhile.

 

[Eonn]

I struggle a lot in the neutral game; I rely almost completely on quick attack and have a hard time punishing my opponents vulnerabilities.

Am I allowed to post a video here so someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong?

How can I improve my neutral and punish game?

 

[J Dandy]

During my career of competitive, there is one thing I have realized that I have been missing in my gameplay. How do I incorporate spotdodging into my gameplay? I suppose what I'm really asking, is when I should do it, why I should, and how often along with my shield and roll.

 

[SeigiSensei]

Hi Guys I need help quite urgently,

I am trying to win a competition in the UK that the video-game store-chain Game are holding called 'The Great UK Game Off' (or something along those lines'

You have to do challenges across 6 games including Smash on 3DS. I am awesome at all the other games but sadly the score system wasn't thought out too well and you need to record a good score for Smash to hold any chance of going through to the next round, and worse yet I am not great at Smash.

The challenge for it is to score as many KOs as possible in a minute as Mario vs Luigi; Pikachu & Bowser, each on Level 1 on the Battlefield stage (no items).

Really I need to score at least 4 KOs but I have no stable strategy for doing so despite very occasionally getting that score in practice. Can someone please give me some advice. Best trick I know is to forward jump punch the CPU down to their deaths once knocking them over the side but my accuracy with that move is very poor.

PLEASE HELP! Last chance I will get to try this challenge is in about 16 hours time so please give me some good advice for this quickly!

Thank You.

 

[M15t3R E]

I've actually been wondering this for months: can you lose your second jump if you hit the jump button while in the middle of getting pummeled by your opponent's jab combo (even though when you hit jump you don't actually jump due to getting pummeled)? I have lost my second jump numerous times before and I believe this was often the cause.

 

[Thundering TNT]

I recently noticed a lot of bad habits that I have that I think I need to improve on if I ever want to get better. I've been trying to break them, but in a match, I always catch myself doing them subconsciously. How can i make sure that I break these so that I can improve at the game?

 

[RoA_Zam]

You take breaks from actually playing to conceptualize what you're doing when you play, what you're getting punished for doing, and look at videos of your character or talk to good players. Or record yourself playing and review it. Hindsight is always 20/20.

You can't just ALWAYS play and expect to get better. If you push yourself all the time without taking breaks to think, you begin to stagnate. I've had that happen countless times over a 3 year period of competitive play.

 

[Steelballray]

Well.. I have a friend who's the best in my city and every time I succumb to a bad habit he pauses the game and shout at me or something. It works like a charm!
Generally thats the best solution. Have someone around to tell you to stop doing them every time you do them and your brain will register it before you realize.

If you mainly play For Glory.. I guess its not that hard to win for For Glory by spamming dash attack since lag+Scrubby opponents and thats why your unconscious mind still think these habits are good ones.
For Glory is the place where you gain bad habits to begin with mostly. I guess it could be helpful to get into matches with the intention of learning rather than winning. Be focused on not spamming roll or airdodging mindlessly rather than winning. Even if you end up losing to opponents you could have beat using these ****ty habits, keep in mind that by getting rid of these bad habits you are not only getting closer to the point where you cans streamroll them, but also getting closer to the point of defeating players who were before much better than you.

 

[icraq]

I've actually been wondering this for months: can you lose your second jump if you hit the jump button while in the middle of getting pummeled by your opponent's jab combo (even though when you hit jump you don't actually jump due to getting pummeled)? I have lost my second jump numerous times before and I believe this was often the cause.

second jump comes out at frame 1, so if there's a 1 frame gap in your hitstun between two attacks, yes. little mac's jab is just one example of a jab combo you can lose your second jump in.

 

[Tobi_Whatever]

Mainly to @ Shaya because of the MU and to whoever feels qualified, I fought one of the better German Ganondorfs today who has a Marth secondary.
We played for about 7 hours straight and thanks to him being quite a bit better than I am, I really learned a lot of stuff.
I could deal with his Ganondorf after a while (I didn't know Ganondorf has that many low lag moves) but his Marth took me quite a bit longer. He plays an ultra aggressive read based Marth with a lot of DB mixed in.

When we approached the end of our session, I finally got the use of zAir down in the MU and it helped a lot. What still boggles my mind though is how useless all my aerial approaches looked. Like he punished every single advancing nAir and most fAirs and bAirs too. My only answer to DB was rolling. I could basically never punish his recovery and he had an easy time edge guarding me.
Recovering low always resulted in run off fAir > dolphin slash stage spike. He managed to cover nearly all of my getup options from the ledge all the time.

So help me out here please, what the hell do I do in the neutral against Marth aside from zAir, because I sure as hell can't think of anything aside from punishing laggy moves and landings with grab/OOS booskick and some sTilts.

 

[Shaya]

Marth breathing on ZSS' shield is death.
Dancing Blade needs to be respected as it'll beat limbs. Respect dancing blade = he doesn't really have anything going for him in the MU.

ZSS wins neutral because of safer moves on shield, a dominant degree better mobility and marth's lack of safety to avoid grabs/jabs/tilts/dash attack oos and being combo fodder.
You don't ever advancing nair, that's a bit silly (unless well spaced/you're in control).

Forward roll on dancing blade touching your shield, it's at best a neutral frame situation for him.

 

[JuanP_91]

Well, I began playing competitively around eight months ago, but now I've reached that "stale" level where you just don't seem to improve at all.

After watching a few of my matches, I came to the conclusion that I can't handle pressure.

I main Lucina (please, no "use Marth instead" comments), so my playstyle is naturally defensive, mainly capitalizing on traps and mistakes, and can usually keep my cool against much of the cast, but against rushdown characters, and even Falcon, I'm left helpless by the fact that at any given time they can just come right in and obliterate me after a single mistake of mine.

I consequently keep acting out of fear and frustration while they just run around, almost seemingly mocking me. Its then when I completely lose control of the match and do really stupid stuff. I only play FG, so that may have something to do...

Any help or tips for fighting these characters are highly appreciated, and though I feel its too much asking, I'd like to play some of you to learn from the voice of experience.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Nah]

Out of these 4:

Which one would give the best MU coverage alongside and ? Is there someone who would do a better job than the 4 I listed?

 

[Ray-Den]

Hi, im from germany, im not a competitive player, because where i live a smash scene does not exist. I dont have a character i would call a "main", because i actually enjoy playing many characters of the cast, but when i would have to choose (based on how many times i played that character) i should name CF and Roy. Its not like im a scrub about competitive smash, i follow the scene a pretty long time now and i enjoy watching high level play, so i have a good idea about how it is. But its just i have no means to play against "really" good players. In another forum where im more active, nobody can beat me, but the question i have since a long time, how good am i really? I have pretty much reached the gap and i dont think i can get any better with them and they also seem not wanting to train with me anymore, because i always win by far.
I really want to get better, this is the most fun thing about smash, improving my game more and more. But i have simply no opportunity.

So i asked me, why not go to smashboards, where many good players are and maybe someone is there who wouldnt mind playing me and when everything goes right (connection for example) train me? Or atleast give me feedback where im standing right now.
I know im an absolute "noname" on this forum, but i really would be happy about this.

 

[AnchorTea]

http://smashboards.com/threads/game-play-advice-and-general-discussion.382927/

I use Training Mode only and I am guaranteed to appear in a PR soon, so that can work.

 

[I speak Spanish too]

Hello all. I'm working on input competence and was wondering what are some fundamental inputs I can practice? Here is what I have so far.

Buffered SH Aerials
Delayed SH Aerials
Buffered FH Aerials
Delayed FH Aerials
Turnaround Normals( Smashes, tilts, jabs)
Fastfall Dolphin Jumps
Fastfall Empty Hops
Dash Dances


Anything I'm missing?

 

[Pazx]

Hello all. I'm working on input competence and was wondering what are some fundamental inputs I can practice? Here is what I have so far.

Buffered SH Aerials
Delayed SH Aerials
Buffered FH Aerials
Delayed FH Aerials
Turnaround Normals( Smashes, tilts, jabs)
Fastfall Dolphin Jumps
Fastfall Empty Hops
Dash Dances


Anything I'm missing?

I'm not sure if you can buffer FH aerials. I also advise you to learn pivot stuff (out of a run, fsmash/ftilt/grab etc as well as JC upsmash) and to learn more than just dash dancing eg. all movement options related to fox trotting, dash dancing and perfect pivoting.

 

[I speak Spanish too]

Thanks!

What are reactable things in Smash Bros for Wii U? I know it's possible to react to missed techs, tech get-ups, and ledge get-ups, but what else is humanely able to react to? I think is has to be like 20 frames or something for it to be reactable.

 

[Pixel_]

What are reactable things in Smash Bros for Wii U? I know it's possible to react to missed techs, tech get-ups, and ledge get-ups, but what else is humanely able to react to? I think is has to be like 20 frames or something for it to be reactable.

Whiffed attacks. If someone missed an attack like a side smash, hit them for it.
Don't forget about reads, by the way. They'll be more helpful in some cases, and it'll probably let you punish things that you wouldn't be able to by reaction.

Also, wow, that's a lot of unanswered questions.

Anyway, I have a similar problem to Juan, where:
1. I'm having trouble improving, and would like to know how exactly to improve. Most of the people in For Glory are too easy, most of the people in Smashladder are too hard. I can rarely go on Smashladder anyway because my internet is weird. I mean, do I just find someone on For Glory who's better than me and just play a bunch?
2. Other than having trouble with super aggressive people, I also have this weird habit of being in the worst place during endlag. Is there a character I could switch to that would counter these, or even any tips?
I have some videos of me playing, btw, that might help to answer my questions.

 

[Zenya]

I am a Captain Falcon Main. Here is my problem. I cant land any hits and I think im pretty predictable. I get hit very very easily. And i cant think of the right thing to do in situation or maybe i just dont have a good reaction time to do the right thing. Yes I dont know what to do in a situation to get more hits easily. Can someone tell me what my problem is

 

[Pixel_]

The Year! Is 20SS. As the final resistance to Sheik finally falls to top tier players. Dk Will, The last of the low tier character mains finally switches over to sheik. ZeRo, the leader of 20SS force, laughs as he wonders who may dare challenge his sheik at the next Evo, as he twiddles his scarf maniacally. The sheik 20SS force slowly dominates smaller tournaments such as Xanadu, as even GimR himself urns to the top tier master. Few Luigi's remain, trying to claim victories when they can, but their neutral is suffering from lack of high priority projectiles. All hope seems to be lost. The Word Fair is added to the dictionary. The tier list is abandoned, as Sheik remains the only character playable in the game. Even Lord Sakurai abandons S4 to work on HL3. The only advantage now in matches is who can charge full needle first in the match up. There is no anti 20SS force, Smash 4... is doomed.

Please, If you see this message. CTR+C and spread the word to everywhere!

Love it, but think it's in the wrong thread....

I am a Captain Falcon Main. Here is my problem. I cant land any hits and I think im pretty predictable. I get hit very very easily. And i cant think of the right thing to do in situation or maybe i just dont have a good reaction time to do the right thing. Yes I dont know what to do in a situation to get more hits easily. Can someone tell me what my problem is

I think the problem is that you're not thinking about the actions you do. Lots of people who play casually just like rushing in and throwing out all the attacks they feel like doing.

If you have the commitment to, be a competitive player. Go over to the Captain Falcon Boards, learn as much as you can there, learn about the neutral, find guides, and watch videos of professional players. Smashboards has almost everything to look for, you just have to look around.

...But if you just want a straight answer, don't run straight into your opponent. Try to look at the opponent and find an opening, look for a mistake (ex. they miss a smash attack) by the opponent where you can get a grab, and from there you can start getting in and do combos.
If the opponent won't do anything like that (they probably won't) then try throwing out moves that come out quick and come back quick, like your jab or neutral air.
If you end up getting combo'd, try Di'ing away. Try air dodging when you think the opponent will hit you in the air, but only at the right time, because the opponent might take advantage of it. Don't use your down-b every time you're in the air, too. Use it only when the opponent least expects it.

Maybe I wrote too much, maybe I wrote something wrong, somebody correct me if I did, but that's all I got.

 

[zwataketa]

I'm thinking of trying out a gamecube controller, but the only one I have constantly drifts up and down (really, the only game I can play with it is Mario Kart Wii.), so my dad's gonna help me find a new one with an adapter. I'm also thinking of editing the controls to make it easier on myself.
A-Jump
B-Attack
Y-Jump
X-Grab
Z-Attack
R-Special
L-Shield

(For those wondering, no, I did not originally design this configuration aroundthe easy perfect pivot, it just seemed to work with how I designed it, although originally I had planned to make the Z button a grab and the Y button a special.) What do you guys think?

Also, quick question, for characters with final smashes that hit on both sides, in what situations am I supposed to use them? I need to develop a habit for knowing when to use which smash attacks, because forward smash is only getting me so far (and I pften dash attack when I try to down smash, and I know the reason why, but I want to know how to avoid that without getting punished as much.)

If you're wondering what characters I main, I'm trying to learn a variety of characters, such as Falco (already good with him), Ike (semi-good with him), Wii Fit Trainer (learning her, but the level 9 cpu's are hard to practice against sometimes, given they can easily predict an offstage air attack and dodge it, so it's hard to practice edge guarding), Robin, and the two Pits (I'm surprisingly good with Pit, so I'd like to learn more about what he can do).

Edit: I meant to say DOWN smashes that hit on both sides, not final smashes.

 

[NeonShadowz]

I'm looking for emotional support rather than in-game tips. I'm a very competitive person, but i know how to lose. At least i thought i did anyway. My problem is that my local training partner is getting better at the same pace as me which makes it impossible to beat him because he has always been better. Losing time and time again every day has turned the game i love into a nightmare. It has become so bad that i can quickly become discouraged to the point where i dont want to even finish a set and i let my fingers go limp. Is there some psychological way of making myself not get so upset over losing?

 

[MVF/xLuke]

Hi, I'm new to competitive Smash, obviously I'm not very good, and I was wondering if someone could help me. I play Sm4sh 3D and I main Marth, Pit, Ike, and I'm starting to pick up Donkey Kong. Again, if I could get some help competitively that'd be great. Thanks

 

[Lapsy143]

So, hey. I'm Lapsy. And I suck at smash.

Now, I don't mean I totally suck. I can probably beat Level 9 CPU's 75% of the time, and I know a lot of the pretty technical stuff. I just can't pull it off. I've played this game since Day 1, and I can't say I've improved enough to be considered "good" in a competitive standpoint. I'm on the brink of "decent" and "bad". Compare me to my friends, who play smash just as much as I do. They are able to pull off everything I can't, and to do it consistenly and under pressure (which when facing me, is nothing. They know they can either 2 stock or 3 stock me easily).

There are only three places I can really go, Anther's (which I keep on saying I'll do, but I never keep up to that), r/smashbros (which is decent), and here. I need help desperately. I want to play and I want to at least win a set against a person, which I have never been able to do. I main and , and I'm trying to pick up so I have a top tier under my belt. Its been a year, and I can't find improvement anywhere. I've tried tons of stuff overall. I just can't learn how to win a set, or even a game in a set (I go 0-2 their favor all the time). If you can, please help! I'm grasping for straws right now.

 

[BadLuckBrian]

What I always do is watching a video with the character I train with while in training mode. While analyzing the video bit by bit, I notice some important techniques I don't master yet, and try to apply them in training mode. Then look for an opponent online and use the techniques you learned until it goes natural.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr9tNugI-SI if you want to train zero suit samus.

 

[BornABrawler]

Having played Smash Bros for Wii U for 300+ hours makes me confident that I am above-average at the game. That being said, there is still a lot that would like to improve on. There are several things that I need advice for, but I can't find videos or forums that touch on these things regularly. So here is what I would like advice for:

1. Landing Back on Stage From Above - Being a Lucas main, he doesn't have a very "fast" fast-fall. Compared to other characters like Sheik, Cpt. Falcon, and Fox, he is pretty slow. This leads to me getting punished by my opponent because they have plenty of time to react to my direction and speed. So characters like Sheik who has great combo game, and DK with his large hitboxes, can punish me relatively easily.

2. Proper Use of Tether Grab - While I have seen and watched people use tether grab to great potential, it's difficult to know when is the proper time to use the tether. Pivot grab has great range, but can be easily punished if you miss the grab. The regular grab itself has to be used carefully I'm aware, but "when" to use it is my main issue.

3. Staying Safe Against "Pressure" Characters - Fast and strong characters like Fox and Cpt. Falcon I have trouble with fighting. The pressure they can apply can be very detrimental to shields and confidence in general. When that happens, opponents begin to get better punishes due to me being on the defensive.

Another thing that I can't understand is why my grab sometimes does attacks. Of course the way to tether recover is to use the grab button and the tether catches the ledge. But am I the only one who often does attacks in midair rather than using the tether recovery? For example, sometimes I'll press Z and do a N-air. I have no idea what might be the cause of this, but the same can be said for pivot grabs, where sometimes a pivot tilt comes out instead of a grab. Any light that could be shed on this would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading my boring and lengthy message. If anybody has any tips for these issues I would be very thankful. Oh, and I hope you have a fantastic day! :D