Q&A Have a Question? We'll give you a "Hint" - Ness Question/Answer Thread (CHECK HERE)

[smashingDoug]

This isn't a question about Ness in fights but about his amiibo. Will it be exclusive to any store?

 

[PMMikey]

What stages would be best for ness?

 

[Noa.]

What stages would be best for ness?

This thread answers your question:

http://smashboards.com/threads/best-stages-for-ness.386650/

 

[yoshi8984]

Does Ness' PKT2 now deny Kirby's Stone Armor?

http://s290.photobucket.com/user/ZanhiXx/media/Smash Vids/IMG_2208_zpswt3nsvpa.mp4.html

And note how PKT2 did 13% which is half of its normal value, so it wasn't cancelled just as it connected. =P

 

[Earthbound360]

Kirby's stone armor just has a limit. The damage you did was the remainder of it's resistance threshold.

 

[yoshi8984]

I knew it had a limit (IIRC it had a 30% limit in Brawl lol), but the fact that this broke his Stone was a surprise to me. I'm assuming either his Stone Armor's limit got changed to 25% (and FYI my PKT2 was completely fresh so I believe it gets a 1.05x boost in damage which probably JUST brought it over that) or it's Knockback based, or both?

And also it was new to me that he took damage after breaking his Stone Armor.

 

[Earthbound360]

I'm not super sure about the specifics, but PKT2 is REALLY powerful, so I wasn't surprised it broke through it.

 

[JustSomeScrub]

A couple of questions for serious Ness players:

1. Does short hop fair still auto-cancel and is hitting the tip of shields with it and then drifting back safe?
2. Do any his aerials auto-cancel if you do them into the ground? (Not early on before landing).
3. What are the average kill percents for forward Smash, up air, back air and Fsmash assuming good DI?
4. Is there any reason to ever do up throw or forward throw?

 

[Earthbound360]

A couple of questions for serious Ness players:

1. Does short hop fair still auto-cancel and is hitting the tip of shields with it and then drifting back safe?
2. Do any his aerials auto-cancel if you do them into the ground? (Not early on before landing).
3. What are the average kill percents for forward Smash, up air, back air and Fsmash assuming good DI?
4. Is there any reason to ever do up throw or forward throw?

1. Yes it auto cancels as long as you don't fast fall it. No it's not safe. If the opponent blocks it, drops their shield ASAP, then dashes at you, they can punish it.
2. There's really no true "autocancel" in this game, all aerials have landing lag, even if minor. With that said, the safest aerials to land with are uair and bair. Dair is lag free if you land before the hitbox comes out though.
3. I'm not incredibly certain of the numbers at the moment, but uair should kill a good chunk of characters from the ground at about 120%. Bair can KO around 110% if you're not too far from a side blastzone. Fsmash uncharged at the tip can kill around 90% I think (don't quote me on that one).
4. Yes. When dthrow is scaled, or you have too much rage to combo off of it, fthrow and uthrow do more damage. You don't want to use bthrow here because you'll scale it. When it comes to which throw between fthrow and uthrow to use, it's a matter of preference whether you want to throw them off the edge, or juggle them.

 

[JustSomeScrub]

I see, thanks for the response. One last question: How's Ness's dash grab range in this game compared to Brawl? He had one of the best dash grab ranges in Brawl.

 

[Earthbound360]

It's still pretty good, more or less the same (I feel like it has a little more end lag though). Some characters have better dash grabs than him still (see Falcon).

 

[yoshi8984]

I don't know if I should ask this in the Bowser Jr. boards instead but why the hell was the Koopaling spazzing out here?! XD
(Seriously I cause the dumbest things to happen when I play Smash lol)

http://vid290.photobucket.com/albums/ll276/ZanhiXx/Smash Vids/IMG_2212_zpssghfu3kc.mp4

 

[Shadó Chimera / シャドーキメラ]

Can you be more specific? I don't know what you mean.

 

[yoshi8984]

Can you be more specific? I don't know what you mean.

I used D-Tilt on the Koopaling as he attempts to recover. Then it sends him into this weird animation and it looks kinda glitchy. Not to mention I gimp his recovery and it doesn't seem like he can do anything about it once I D-Tilt him.

 

[Shadó Chimera / シャドーキメラ]

I think that's his tumble animation, and yes it seems they can only call back the clown car sometimes. Weak knockback doesn't let them get it I guess (although it looks like he didn't sweetspot also).

 

[Qoo]

i generally love the ness ditto but i really dont know how to deal with pkfire lol (in the last ditto i got hit by like quintuple pk fire it was ridiculous its embarrassing)

ive seen characters jab and stuff to get out of the fire and ive tried a lot of things (jab, di, i even got desperate and tried double jumping and psi magnet) but i cant seem to find a way to get out of it without getting grabbed at the very least

sadly i dont have anyone at home to test x_x does anyone know how to get out of pkfire ??

 

[Earthbound360]

Smack the stick up and away repeatedly while mashing DJ+air dodge

 

[Qoo]

ill.. try that when the opportunity presents

thanks owo/

 

[PlayerXIII]

What are his good custom specials? And I don't mean straight upgrades - things that help in specific matchups help too.

What stages should I be picking in tournaments with him? (Both for Wii U and 3DS)

 

[Earthbound360]

Lucas Thunder and Vacuum are the best ones. Lucas Fire is usable, but not great. Everything else sucks.

I like flat stages. FD and Smashville are my faves.

 

[S.P.A.D.]

Do any of you use Tap Jump as Ness?

 

[yoshi8984]

Do any of you use Tap Jump as Ness?

I really don't like it. I like to use U-air without sacrificing a Double Jump, and U-Tilt isn't too bad at lower percents for combo starters and is an overlooked KO option. Also it ensures I'm not using my (Double) Jump if I want to PKT2 before jumping.

What are his good custom specials?
What stages should I be picking in tournaments with him? (Both for Wii U and 3DS)

In terms of Neutrals it's really a matter of personal preference. Some people prefer the platforms (I know I do), while others prefer without. I'd probs say Yoshi's Island is his worst neutral on 3DS due to the slants and Fly Guys screwing up PK Fire along with the tilting main platform.

On Wii U, Lylat is probs the worst neutral for the tilting which screws up our projectiles and recovery, and possibly our D-Throw follow ups too.

==

In terms of counterpicks, Brinstar is the best one on 3DS because you can set the tentacles on the sides with PKF to cover ledge options, his recovery is not an issue there, the bumps can help you get your opponent closer with D-Throw resulting in better follow-ups and we can kill SUPER early there. Also there's PKT2 shenanigans you can do there lol. I don't like Japes for having a super high ceiling and there isn't much for Ness to take advantage of. The water there can't really be used to our advantage either b/c we can't spike reliably. Prism Tower and Arena Ferox (if they're legal) are ok, but it's really personal preference.

On Wii U, I'd probs say Delfino for our ability to shark under the platform as it transitions to each area and our recovery is also not an issue there. Water is nice too if you want to go for the spikes (as stupidly finicky and awkward our Dair is) and as stated before helps our recovery issue. Kongo Jungle I like too for being able to sent PKT from under the main platform and also makes characters having to be a lot more precise with their recoveries because they may just go through the ledge without actually grabbing it (Fox's Illusion, DDD's Up-B, etc.), but I still recover there just fine. Duck Hunt is probs the worst Counterpick because that stage's ceiling is ridiculously high and the ducks ruin our projectiles, and I feel like Ness can't really take advantage of the tree platform. Also I don't like the random grass and the dog popping up, with the former hiding what's going on and the latter just ruining some things lol.

With my 2 bans on Wii U I always ban Lylat and Duck Hunt.

 

[Pepto_Bismol]

So I came across this interesting clip

and my question would be this; how does the Ness in the gif double-jump cancel in such a way that he maintains vertical height with his horizontal momentum? I can't replicate it for the life of me, so some explanations/demonstrations would be great.

 

[Earthbound360]

So I came across this interesting clip

and my question would be this; how does the Ness in the gif double-jump cancel in such a way that he maintains vertical height with his horizontal momentum? I can't replicate it for the life of me, so some explanations/demonstrations would be great.

That's not a DJC. That's a PK Jump.

DJ+PKF at the same time.

I really need to get to making my video guide to clear up all this confusion.

 

[S.P.A.D.]

So, I'm having a bit of an issue with short hopping. Could be the tap jump, haven't tried with that off, but this actually builds on that. How does one SH uair? I've seen other Ness' doing it, and I'm having a hard time doing so.

 

[yoshi8984]

So, I'm having a bit of an issue with short hopping. Could be the tap jump, haven't tried with that off, but this actually builds on that. How does one SH uair? I've seen other Ness' doing it, and I'm having a hard time doing so.

Tap Jump doesn't have to be disabled, BUT you cannot (or rather, it's just really difficult and defeats the purpose) use the Control Stick to do a short hop. You just lightly tap the jump button (whichever one you're more comfortable with) and input a Uair. =P

 

[Earthbound360]

If you want to uair with tap jump on without jumping, I recommend the C-stick.

But more than that I recommend turning tap jump off. That thing can get you killed.

 

[Pepto_Bismol]

That's not a DJC. That's a PK Jump.

DJ+PKF at the same time.

I really need to get to making my video guide to clear up all this confusion.

Thanks for the clearup, I see why I couldn't do it now.

 

[Funkermonster]

Is PK Flash actually useful for something?

 

[Shadó Chimera / シャドーキメラ]

It can be used as an edgeguard against very limited recoveries (might not be worth it most of the time), and it does the most damage if you break someone's shield (if you can't kill).

edit: fixed ambiguous wording.

 

[Smog Frog]

is ness easy to pick up and learn? i want to replace the ugly under my avatar.

 

[CatRaccoonBL]

Hey ness mains!

I'm becoming interested in the character. However, I would like to know two things.

One, what are his best and worst matchups as of right now? The match up thread seems incomplete at the moment, so I might as well bring it up here.

Second, best place to learn where to use him? Like best guide or something?

I want him as like a secondary to Rosalina, but I need to know more about him first before I can decide.

 

[XCounter]

Hey ness mains!

I'm becoming interested in the character. However, I would like to know two things.

One, what are his best and worst matchups as of right now? The match up thread seems incomplete at the moment, so I might as well bring it up here.

Second, best place to learn where to use him? Like best guide or something?

I want him as like a secondary to Rosalina, but I need to know more about him first before I can decide.

Worst matchups in my opinion are Rosalina, Diddy, Sonic and Sheik. Sonic and Diddy in particular are hard, but I don't think any of them are unwinnable. Not too sure who I'd say his best matchup is against, though. Maybe Little Mac? The heavier characters aren't too difficult, either.

Nakat has a good Ness guide up on YouTube if you want to check it out. He also streams a lot on Twitch, so you could come by and ask him for tips personally.

 

[Earthbound360]

Hey ness mains!

I'm becoming interested in the character. However, I would like to know two things.

One, what are his best and worst matchups as of right now? The match up thread seems incomplete at the moment, so I might as well bring it up here.

Second, best place to learn where to use him? Like best guide or something?

I want him as like a secondary to Rosalina, but I need to know more about him first before I can decide.

Worst is Sonic, followed by a somewhat interchangeable order of Sheik, Diddy, and Rosy.

Check Noa.'s directory thread for useful guide links. Nakat and Fow are the Ness players you should be watching.

Just know that playing Ness means sacrificing some neutral game and range for excellent KO moves and a great combo game. Oh, and risky recovery.

 

[Snackss]

How does Ness's down tilt work? What determines whether they trip or not?

 

[Bigherolike6]

When is the best time to use pk fire?

 

[MrWhYYZ]

Does anyone know how you can consistantly jab-lock with a dash attack? So far I could only get it to work after a platform slide and even then i couldn't get it to work against Bowser/King dedede but it does work against Mario/R.O.B

 

[ilysm]

I don't think you can consistently jab lock with dash attack. The hits have too much knockback, even at low percentages.

 

[MrWhYYZ]

I don't think you can consistently jab lock with dash attack. The hits have too much knockback, even at low percentages.

After 30 minutes of practice mode I got it to work on palutena at 110%. (Did up-throw and then when she misses her tech i did a dash attack.) Still not 100% sure when and why it jab locked but it can jab-lock even on higher percentages. To clarify there is a way where only the first hit of your dash attack connects and the rest doesn't.

 

[Earthbound360]

How does Ness's down tilt work? What determines whether they trip or not?

It has a 30% chance of tripping IIRC.

When is the best time to use pk fire?

Punishing landings, punishing laggy/high startup moves from a distance, roll/dodge reads.

Does anyone know how you can consistantly jab-lock with a dash attack? So far I could only get it to work after a platform slide and even then i couldn't get it to work against Bowser/King dedede but it does work against Mario/R.O.B

I think hitting with the first or second hit does this, but it's fairly inconsistent so I wouldn't bother.