Grabbing with Z vs Shield + A?

[Ezmar]

So I've traditionally used Z to perform grabs in my near-decade of playing Melee at a casual level. It comes out as a grab without needing to shield, and I can use it to grab from shield anyway, so it's perfect, right? However, I've started practicing in the last couple of weeks to restructure my game and start playing at a higher competitive level, and I've been having issues using Z to grab. I'll try to L cancel an Aerial into a grab, but It often comes out as a light shield. I do have a tendency to hold the trigger too long after L-cancelling, which is part of the problem, I'm sure, but in general, Z seems to be relatively inconsistent, and I miss grabs more often than I'd like. Using A with a trigger seems to be more consistent, which I imagine is due to Z's properties as a macro, it can function as a light shield, or an aerial, or a grab, or a zair, etc. Is this a common occurrence? How can I make my grabs out of aerials and in general more consistent? It's almost certainly a timing thing, since if I mistime a grab, it will come out as a buffered light shield (I think?), I'm ramping up the precision of my inputs, but a lot of my inputs are still out for quite a while; I still have some trouble short hopping while running, especially using any running SH aerials, even worse if it's a SH running neutral air. But I digress.

What should I do to quit putting myself in a bad position by mucking up my grab inputs? I play Puff, so my grab range isn't the greatest, and I can get in a really bad spot if I drop a string. In particular, I end up lightshielding, and I try to grab as soon as possible again, and end up shielding a couple times in a row instead of grabbing. I'm sure it's a precision thing, but is it worth it to drill the precision with Z (Not like it could possibly hurt), or is it a better idea to just use L + A to grab?

 

[Stride]

If you press Z while you're in lag and therefore unable to shield then you will buffer a lightshield, and you'll probably end up releasing it immediately because you're just pressing Z and not holding it. Grab with L/R + A after lag so that if you mess up you just hold shield instead (and you're able to attempt to grab again); there's no downside to it.

Grab with whatever you want otherwise; Z is fine.

 

[Massive]

I use Z to grab (unless i'm shield grabbing) because it's easier to JC grab using jump + Z that way.

The few times you want to grab immediately after L-cancel on puff (dair > grab) you should just use Z to L-cancel and then hit it again when you're fully grounded. Don't underestimate the utility of being able to literally mash Z for 2 moves in quick succession.

 

[Vorde]

I play as fox and I pretty much just use Z since I JC Grab every time I can. The only time that I L/R + A is if I'm shield grabbing. I do agree though, timing is key with Z

 

[Ezmar]

The few times you want to grab immediately after L-cancel on puff (dair > grab) you should just use Z to L-cancel and then hit it again when you're fully grounded. Don't underestimate the utility of being able to literally mash Z for 2 moves in quick succession.

I've toyed with working on that, but it still feels weird to L-cancel with Z. Other than that, it sounds like I just need to work on my timing, and not buffering a light shield.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Bones0]

If you hold L/R from the L-cancel, you should be able to press Z to shield grab the same way you would press A. The only difference is that if you press A while you're still in lag, you'll do a regular shield, but if you press Z while you're still in lag, you'll Z-shield. Normally Z-shield is annoying because you go to repress Z to grab and let go of shield, but I think as long as you continue holding L/R, you will go from Z-shield to regular shield, then the second Z input will shield grab.

 

[AirFair]

I use Z, since I jc grab and stuff.