flyboy__
Smash Cadet
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2019
- Messages
- 46
I think I'm gonna be fleshing out some ideas about melee in general, as it's such a diverse game that can be very complicated to understand. I hope these posts give players (especially new players) a better idea about how to approach getting good at melee
Melee is a beautiful, fascinating game, but especially at the lower level, it seems as though many new players and even some experienced players don't really understand what they're doing or what they're up against. In my eyes, the most basic fundamental part of any player vs player game is understanding options. Simply put, options are what you can do and what your opponent can do in a given situation. Of course, all characters have the same number of tilts, aerials, smash attacks, etc, but understanding their applicability in different scenarios transitions these moves into options.
Key
nair = neutral air, fair = forward air, f-tilt = forward tilt, etc
Bad Moves
For almost all characters, some moves are straight bad move. Take Luigi's dash attack. This attack is fundamentally bad. It has low damage, low knockback, high lag and doesn't even have its last hitbox programmed.
These sort of moves should virtually never be used, as they have extremely limited applicability, making them bad options. Fortunately, the higher you get on the tier list, the less the prevalence of these sorts of moves. Yet, differentiating what moves are good and what moves are bad is child's play. We must understand how good moves become good options or bad options.
Bad Options
Most high tiers have many moves with wide hitboxes and low lag, yet combined with varying kits (movement, airspeed, shield pressure, etc), one character may play wildly different from another. Take Marth, an incredible character with massive hitboxes and speedy aerials. Yet, this particular kind of speed comes with a few drawbacks, particularly in how these moves should be used. The easiest example of this would be Marth's neutral air. At first glance, this move seems ridiculously strong, whirling Marth's massive sword in a horizontal circle around him. Any low level player might think, "Wow! This move must be great for approaching since it controls space and is fast, just like Captain Falcon's neutral air."
Yet, upon closer inspection and a little thought, Marth's neutral air is a pretty bad option for approaching. The hitbox is wide, but it only covers an area horizontally in front and behind him, making him highly susceptible to attacks from above. It has a long reach like Falcon's nair, but the hitbox doesn't linger or cover as vertical of an area. Lastly, Marth has pretty bad airspeed and fall speed, making an approaching nair far riskier and committal. Again, Falcon has amazing air control and fall speed, all culminating to make his nair a far better aggressive option in comparison to Marth's nair. However, Marth's nair is still great as a combo finisher, pressure tool or mixup. It's just not the best tool for approaching, especially compared to his better options like fair and down tilt.
Good Options
It is very important to be using lots of good options like Falcon's nair for approaching and avoid potentially bad options like Marth's nair. Yet, using a good option too often or too many times can end up being just as bad or worse than a typically bad option. Allow me to explain.
Take Fox's shorthop nair. This option is absolutely incredible at mid to close range. It has low startup, low lag, and a high-priority lingering hitbox that combos into other moves. Combine this with Fox's amazing ground speed/fast fall speed and you have an all-in-one approaching game. However, since this nair is so good, it is an extremely popular option. Every low level fox on the planet is gonna dash -> shorthop -> nair... and he's gonna do it relentlessly. Foxes nair like it's in their blood, like they need the nair to survive. Thus, everybody who has played melee outside of their high-school friend group is gonna know its numerous counters. Dashdance grab, wavedash back, run-up shield, Sheik f-tilt, Falcon pre-emptive nair; the list goes on. The more you use an option, the weaker it becomes.
If you've seen the Smash Documentary, you probably heard how Mango beat Mew2King because m2k was programmed to respond to the best options while the mangus used "bad options" to always keep the king guessing. It is in this same sense that players must make use of all of their options, changing the timing and styles of engagement. Anything that changes the flow or speed of an engagement is known as a mixup. Mixups effectively turn "bad options" into good ones so that the "good options" are even better. Though Fox's shorthop nair is a strong option, utilizing it in tandem with other options will yield a far more effective approaching game.
For example, if I keep run-up nairing as Fox against Sheik, I am sure to be forward tilted. But, if I even mix up the fall speed, utilizing a full hop instead of a short hop, I can mix up Sheik's timing, getting a full nair in instead of getting whopped in the face. Similarly, instead of always run-up fairing to engage with Marth, I can mix it up with a surprise nair that catches my opponent off guard.
In Review
Sadly, there is no real way for me to cover all options that are available in Melee. There are thousands of engagements and sequences between two characters... let alone for a whole cast? That's why it's best to pick one character and play against people as much as you can: there's simply too much to learn. The only way to really get a grasp is to watch other players, take advice, and play Melee. You gotta play to improve. Yet, by understanding the basics of what's good for your character, what's good for your opponents character and how each player utilizes those options, you'll have a great start at developing your mixup game and getting good at melee.
Melee is a beautiful, fascinating game, but especially at the lower level, it seems as though many new players and even some experienced players don't really understand what they're doing or what they're up against. In my eyes, the most basic fundamental part of any player vs player game is understanding options. Simply put, options are what you can do and what your opponent can do in a given situation. Of course, all characters have the same number of tilts, aerials, smash attacks, etc, but understanding their applicability in different scenarios transitions these moves into options.
Key
nair = neutral air, fair = forward air, f-tilt = forward tilt, etc
Bad Moves
For almost all characters, some moves are straight bad move. Take Luigi's dash attack. This attack is fundamentally bad. It has low damage, low knockback, high lag and doesn't even have its last hitbox programmed.
These sort of moves should virtually never be used, as they have extremely limited applicability, making them bad options. Fortunately, the higher you get on the tier list, the less the prevalence of these sorts of moves. Yet, differentiating what moves are good and what moves are bad is child's play. We must understand how good moves become good options or bad options.
Bad Options
Most high tiers have many moves with wide hitboxes and low lag, yet combined with varying kits (movement, airspeed, shield pressure, etc), one character may play wildly different from another. Take Marth, an incredible character with massive hitboxes and speedy aerials. Yet, this particular kind of speed comes with a few drawbacks, particularly in how these moves should be used. The easiest example of this would be Marth's neutral air. At first glance, this move seems ridiculously strong, whirling Marth's massive sword in a horizontal circle around him. Any low level player might think, "Wow! This move must be great for approaching since it controls space and is fast, just like Captain Falcon's neutral air."
Yet, upon closer inspection and a little thought, Marth's neutral air is a pretty bad option for approaching. The hitbox is wide, but it only covers an area horizontally in front and behind him, making him highly susceptible to attacks from above. It has a long reach like Falcon's nair, but the hitbox doesn't linger or cover as vertical of an area. Lastly, Marth has pretty bad airspeed and fall speed, making an approaching nair far riskier and committal. Again, Falcon has amazing air control and fall speed, all culminating to make his nair a far better aggressive option in comparison to Marth's nair. However, Marth's nair is still great as a combo finisher, pressure tool or mixup. It's just not the best tool for approaching, especially compared to his better options like fair and down tilt.
Good Options
It is very important to be using lots of good options like Falcon's nair for approaching and avoid potentially bad options like Marth's nair. Yet, using a good option too often or too many times can end up being just as bad or worse than a typically bad option. Allow me to explain.
Take Fox's shorthop nair. This option is absolutely incredible at mid to close range. It has low startup, low lag, and a high-priority lingering hitbox that combos into other moves. Combine this with Fox's amazing ground speed/fast fall speed and you have an all-in-one approaching game. However, since this nair is so good, it is an extremely popular option. Every low level fox on the planet is gonna dash -> shorthop -> nair... and he's gonna do it relentlessly. Foxes nair like it's in their blood, like they need the nair to survive. Thus, everybody who has played melee outside of their high-school friend group is gonna know its numerous counters. Dashdance grab, wavedash back, run-up shield, Sheik f-tilt, Falcon pre-emptive nair; the list goes on. The more you use an option, the weaker it becomes.
If you've seen the Smash Documentary, you probably heard how Mango beat Mew2King because m2k was programmed to respond to the best options while the mangus used "bad options" to always keep the king guessing. It is in this same sense that players must make use of all of their options, changing the timing and styles of engagement. Anything that changes the flow or speed of an engagement is known as a mixup. Mixups effectively turn "bad options" into good ones so that the "good options" are even better. Though Fox's shorthop nair is a strong option, utilizing it in tandem with other options will yield a far more effective approaching game.
For example, if I keep run-up nairing as Fox against Sheik, I am sure to be forward tilted. But, if I even mix up the fall speed, utilizing a full hop instead of a short hop, I can mix up Sheik's timing, getting a full nair in instead of getting whopped in the face. Similarly, instead of always run-up fairing to engage with Marth, I can mix it up with a surprise nair that catches my opponent off guard.
In Review
Sadly, there is no real way for me to cover all options that are available in Melee. There are thousands of engagements and sequences between two characters... let alone for a whole cast? That's why it's best to pick one character and play against people as much as you can: there's simply too much to learn. The only way to really get a grasp is to watch other players, take advice, and play Melee. You gotta play to improve. Yet, by understanding the basics of what's good for your character, what's good for your opponents character and how each player utilizes those options, you'll have a great start at developing your mixup game and getting good at melee.
Last edited: