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Help Improving

Pr0fessor Flash

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I am a PM Wifi player and I use that for training and I always play my Friends that main Falco and Marth/Fox and Falco. I feel like I'm not improving at all so what should I do? I practice my tech skill and what not and have fundamentals.
 
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Magellan

Smash Cadet
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42
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Marion, Indiana
If you want to get better, don't just play your friends, learn to beat them. Figure out why they are beating you and learn to counter that. If you are beating all of them already, that is why you aren't improving. Find somebody who can beat on you to play against.
 

Pr0fessor Flash

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If you want to get better, don't just play your friends, learn to beat them. Figure out why they are beating you and learn to counter that. If you are beating all of them already, that is why you aren't improving. Find somebody who can beat on you to play against.
They're better than me lol either way thanks fellow Falco Main
 

Magellan

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Replays are always nice!

Just make sure to be trying to beat them. Think about the game. It is easy to get into the habit with Falco of just spamming SHFFL airs and lasers. Don't be a robot. Mix it up. Try new stuff. Figure out what they are doing that is so effective and find a way to counter it.

In the end remember to have fun! Smash is a game and if you focus too much on winning, it becomes work. The first thing you should do is to learn to have a blast when you lose. In order to play with the best, you have to first get stomped by the best. After all, if you're gonna lose, you might as well enjoy it! :p
 

Boomhound

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I got a vid (My other friend who mains Kirby btw)
You're good, but your decision-making needs improvement.
(I know it was just a game against a friend but I'll try and criticize for you)

So you fire a lot of lasers but seem to only use them defensively- learn to apply it offensively such as a laser to grab approach, or laser to F-tilt for spacing.
Also work on getting them closer to the ground.

You were too dedicated in some scenarios where approaching or attacking was a bad idea,
(Fsmash on shield, dash-attack on shield, miss-spaced Dairs).
By all this I mean that you need to try and assess an appropriate plan of action for each scenario, this will come with experience- but I recommend working on your movement (wave-dashing in dash-dancing, retreating reversed lasers and wave-dashing early in sprint animation) as this will help your baiting but most of all spacing.

At the moment you're running in hoping your attacks will hit, you need to weave, laser-confirm and bait so that you're certain you will hit. Any experienced or adaptive player will punish you for whiffing.

Tl;Dr
Work on: laser game, movement.
Don't: Attack shield, throw out pointless moves.

Hope this helps Falco buddy!
 

Pr0fessor Flash

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You're good, but your decision-making needs improvement.
(I know it was just a game against a friend but I'll try and criticize for you)

So you fire a lot of lasers but seem to only use them defensively- learn to apply it offensively such as a laser to grab approach, or laser to F-tilt for spacing.
Also work on getting them closer to the ground.

You were too dedicated in some scenarios where approaching or attacking was a bad idea,
(Fsmash on shield, dash-attack on shield, miss-spaced Dairs).
By all this I mean that you need to try and assess an appropriate plan of action for each scenario, this will come with experience- but I recommend working on your movement (wave-dashing in dash-dancing, retreating reversed lasers and wave-dashing early in sprint animation) as this will help your baiting but most of all spacing.

At the moment you're running in hoping your attacks will hit, you need to weave, laser-confirm and bait so that you're certain you will hit. Any experienced or adaptive player will punish you for whiffing.

Tl;Dr
Work on: laser game, movement.
Don't: Attack shield, throw out pointless moves.

Hope this helps Falco buddy!
You see more movement from me vs Fast Fallers and Mid-weights like Marth because I really use Fox vs. Floaty Characters btw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcgTI6GR16Q but I saw the unsafe moves on shield, also how would I space Dair?
 

reportingsfnoobs

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May 1, 2014
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Go here and toggle the spoilers for Falco, and watch all the videos. Write or type everything you notice in your notes (I type mine on the PC notepad).
 
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Boomhound

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how would I space Dair?
The problem was that you used Dair and some other moves when they weren't going to hit and also while your opponent wasn't approaching so they weren't pre-emptive options either- you can use this time to position yourself.

Spacing Dair tho is a subtle thing-
Most commonly people will space a retreating Dair or Nair on an opponent's shield to avoid being grabbed and can position you to punish, you can also retreat with Dair to out-prioritize an approach.

You look a lot better in that second link despite losing, still a lot of attacks on shield though.

Be wary of that walk away-pivot-Fsmash trick of yours as it gets predictable, only worry when it gets punished though, you're Gucci otherwise.

You get a lot of hits from punishing whiffs in this link, but only when the DDD gave them to you for free- you can earn these yourself if you look for them.
^
You seem to enjoy playing rush-down but remember that the whole point of applying pressure is to crack your opponent so let up every now and then to either reposition or punish an antsy action.

You let go of your lead quite easily as well, you don't need to camp to keep it, but avoid grabs at all costs and in general as Falco.

It seemed that when you had space between you DDD could only throw his gross frog spawn at you so he was glad that you closed the distance and gave him more options.

Also don't approach him or Kirby of they're camping edge, especially if they aren't in the lead. The only thing I can think to do in those situations is bait but meh.

Lastly I recommend cutting back on the laser to Fsmash, along with Fsmash in general- you like that move too much man, save it for risk-free situations like tech-chases.
 

Magellan

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I agree with Boomhound on the Fsmash. While it has great knockback and great damage, the blockstun is much shorter than the recovery. If you're blocked, you're getting hit.

Try to utilize SHFFLed Nairs. I saw a lot of instances where a Nair would have been a better choice than an Fsmash. You have a tendency to overuse Dairs as well. Try to pepper in some Nairs where you might have originally chosen an Fsmash or Dair.

Keep switching up your tactics, approaches, and tricks to keep your opponent guessing. Make them scared of an approach and then begin to punish their instinct to defend that approach. For example, your opponents kept blocking your aggressive approaches and then punishing you. So mix it up and approach with a grab, you will catch them off-guard.
 

Pressio

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16
Hello guys i dont wanted to open a new thread so i just post here my problem with falco...i just cant shield pressure my enemy..everytime i try to put shield pressure on my enemy they shield me and then grab me. That is happening everytime when i approach with a shffl Dair to shine or Nair+shine. I see very often that mango pulls out a double shine but everytime i try to do the same thing i get grabbed after my first shine. So there is something that i am missing right now!?

(sorry for my bad english i usually dont write in english)
 

Boomhound

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Hello guys i dont wanted to open a new thread so i just post here my problem with falco...i just cant shield pressure my enemy..everytime i try to put shield pressure on my enemy they shield me and then grab me.
I had these problems too- pretty sure you're not fast-falling correctly or maybe using the aerial too early.
Try again but use your aerial later in your jump just as you're about to reach the ground, this should give your opponent a smaller window of opportunity before you shine.

Remember also that practicing without a target is different as when you hit your opponent you suffer hit-lag for a short time, (like when you hit shy-guys or when you drill an invincible target) I used to mess up my L-cancels because of this, as soon as I tried slowing down I was fine.
 

Lizalfos

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Mash out of hitstun. Punish the Marth who swings his sword unsafely. Land techs. If you miss tech don't always do getup roll (on the platform this is a bit different, b/c Marth covers the whole platform so getup roll in might help you not get Edgeguarded really hard.

I'm on mobile right now, might to indepth anylisis later.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DASHDANCE

Edit: waveshine and everything relating to DJ or Fullhop lasers is good to learn, along with Isai drops. If Marth is on a platform, he is in a disadvantageous position.

If you land an aerial high on shield, you better have crossed up Marth well enough that he can't WD OoS -> grab you. That doesn't happen because you have to be really close to Marth for that, and he obviously has a long sword. Land the aerial on the lower half of the shield.

Somtimes you just sit in shield when you could grab or shine OoS. Laser OoS is ok too, if Marth is far enough.

Marth has a lot of presence due to his grab and disjointed, but once he puts out a move, he loses a lot of options in the neutral and opens himself for punishes. You are letting him get away with things he never should. And if you are afraid of grab, Roll is better than the consecutive spot dodges, as long as you don't do it often enough that that gets punished instead.
 
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Pr0fessor Flash

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Mash out of hitstun. Punish the Marth who swings his sword unsafely. Land techs. If you miss tech don't always do getup roll (on the platform this is a bit different, b/c Marth covers the whole platform so getup roll in might help you not get Edgeguarded really hard.

I'm on mobile right now, might to indepth anylisis later.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DASHDANCE

Edit: waveshine and everything relating to DJ or Fullhop lasers is good to learn, along with Isai drops. If Marth is on a platform, he is in a disadvantageous position.

If you land an aerial high on shield, you better have crossed up Marth well enough that he can't WD OoS -> grab you. That doesn't happen because you have to be really close to Marth for that, and he obviously has a long sword. Land the aerial on the lower half of the shield.

Somtimes you just sit in shield when you could grab or shine OoS. Laser OoS is ok too, if Marth is far enough.

Marth has a lot of presence due to his grab and disjointed, but once he puts out a move, he loses a lot of options in the neutral and opens himself for punishes. You are letting him get away with things he never should. And if you are afraid of grab, Roll is better than the consecutive spot dodges, as long as you don't do it often enough that that gets punished instead.
Thanks, I got some from yesterday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhxl0-KpXYk
 

Lizalfos

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In your game with Fox you are DDing, but aren't spacing effectively. Pika shouldn't be able to grab you out of your DD because you can react with a nair. He shouldn't be able to hit you out of it either, because you can shield out of dash frame 1. Don't DD endlessly, DD with good spacing and then make a read or react.

Your Marth doesn't space out aerials properly, and you can threaten grab when grounded. Unlike Falco where you can safely SHFFL aerials on shield, Marth would rather use his presence to pressure his opponent into doing something, which he could then punish. In the middle of the game you baited out grabs, and did better because of it.

Be aware that the other person can CC with their fresh stock, and be aware you can too.

Make sure you sweet spot with the lowest recovery as Marth if you know they are doing an onstage recovery. edge guard
 
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Boomhound

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Regarding your Falco vs Marth game Flash what Lizalfos said really did cover the match-up side so I'll try and give you something different.

As a player you're too risky with your offense- that's not saying that pressure is bad, just that it's unsafe at the moment and you should never gamble vs Marth as a spacie because he will always come out on top.

To fix this work on your mental game. Your tech-skill is great btw but you never noticed that the Marth didn't dash-dance like at all lol.
He basically waited for you to approach and out-prioritised your approaches with his sword, if you mix-up your play style it can do wonders when you're being read.

As an example, (ideally) I would've tried to bait him more. As Falco it's tricky, but you can still run forward and wave-dash back to bait a whiff.
You could've also lasered on the spot rather than as an approach, this would've forced him to approach more- and though it might have felt as if he was an aggressive player when you were being comboed, he was just spacing well and playing extremely safe and read heavy.
Playing as you were against a Marth who has that play-style means you'll have two or three moments of glory per match but you'll lose consistently and also make it easy for your opponent.

To reiterate, you lost through being punished and you gave him far too many opportunities to punish for you to win.
You can play offense in a less-risk oriented way by working on your spacing (btw spacing is MILES more intimidating than tech-skill) and by working on your pokes so you don't have to commit as often.

Think about it, Marth's chances of 0 to death'ing you are way more likely than yours. By lasering more you'll have more control and force more mistakes from him.

Lmao and to reiterate even further xD-
You approached as a habit, didn't read or bait-
He only approached when he felt it was safe, realised he didn't have to cos you always came to him.

Hope you find this useful bud!
 

Magellan

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It will be harder in PM because the cpus are stronger. But go into a match with a level 9 (or smaller if you need to) and DON'T GET HIT. Wavedash, waveland, dashdance, do your crazy crap. Just run. Don't get hit. Spacing is the act of keeping space between you and your opponent. PUNISH PUNISH PUNISH. Only approach when it is in your advantage to do so. A common fluke with good spacing is your opponent gets desperate and does a laggy dash attack, wave land in and punish him with a combo. Try just dancing around that cpu. Once you understand the concept, start throwing in lasers to help you, then you will begin to see where they make mistakes, then punish them. When you get better, you can try to start bating them with certain things to provoke a fluke. Don't get hit, my friend.
 
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Lizalfos

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To space, just stay away enough that you don't get f-aired or grabbed by Marth, but close enough that you can SHFFL a move out when you need to. It just takes practice, and some opponents just keep going in, so you have to react with shield grab, which is good for you, you just need to recognize that it is time to stop DDing and get the free punish. Shoot lasers, but maintain safe distance so your short hop doesn't get stuffed. Watch PPMD, he practically only goes in when it is safe (He studies people too though, and takes advantage of habits. His movement is pretty ideal too.

The other major thing to note, is that Falco has godly platform movement. He gets onto platforms quickly, and can drop through fast too. Use platforms to escape pressure and as an amazing approach mixup.
 
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Lizalfos

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I love you guys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqO...omment_id=z12vjdsb2tmztb5x004cc5egvs30gdmoh0c Any advice besides failing to taunt cancel on the platform and dying for it lol
You are F-smashing when you could shine and get death combos.
This guys realizes and is just going to standard getup shield.

For some reason you are taking center stage when you knock them off. This is fine if you are going to set up control with lasers, but edgeguarding is likely better since you are edge guarding Falco, and we know how rewarding that is. You probably could have finished stocks if you edge guarded, since he wasn't even using waveland onto stage or any other getup mixups.

The last up-tilt edugard at the end of game 1 was perfectly spaced to cover 0 options. Questionable in general b/c shine is 100% safer to use.

The F-smash that killed you last stock game 1 was no DI. You need to DI, you not only get the F-smash animation to react, but also the hitlag. The problem isn't your reaction time, but that you don't recognize you need to DI. Again, just practice it in friendlies, ect.
 
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Pr0fessor Flash

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You are F-smashing when you could shine and get death combos.
This guys realizes and is just going to standard getup shield.

For some reason you are taking center stage when you knock them off. This is fine if you are going to set up control with lasers, but edgeguarding is likely better since you are edge guarding Falco, and we know how rewarding that is. You probably could have finished stocks if you edge guarded, since he wasn't even using waveland onto stage or any other getup mixups.

The last up-tilt edugard at the end of game 1 was perfectly spaced to cover 0 options. Questionable in general b/c shine is 100% safer to use.

The F-smash that killed you last stock game 1 was no DI. You need to DI, you not only get the F-smash animation to react, but also the hitlag. The problem isn't your reaction time, but that you don't recognize you need to DI. Again, just practice it in friendlies, ect.
But is my Spacing ok?
 

Lizalfos

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But is my Spacing ok?
With dittos, its weird, because your optimal spacing is their optimal spacing. It really exemplifies the more mental aspect of the neutral game.

It really think cleaning up things like random F-smashing and N-airs that land high on shield is more important.
 

Lizalfos

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You can multi post if there is a day or more in between and you have something new.

I've also gotten better at not being bad and understand a lot more about the neutral.
 

Magellan

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OK, first things first. I would REALLY advise going into training mode and practice moving, forget attacks. Don't even worry about 'em. Just waveland, dash dance, and wavedash. Maybe do some phantasm platform cancels. Get good at moving around the stage. Even if someone is not as developed at understanding the game as another, being able to move around the stage better means you can more easily bring your desire into the game. See, its important to become proficient with your character so you're never struggling with DOING something. You want to struggle with your opponent's mind, not your fingers. I am not talking about Hax-like tech skill, just ease of movement. I noticed you had trouble with wavelanding. Watch some high level Falcos. Watch PPMD. They are ALWAYS moving. Constantly dash-dancing, wavedashing, wavelanding. Be on the move.

I LOVED your gimps in the first match (because of time I only watched the first match). I laughed so hard. He must have been so mad. He worked hard for some kills and then you got these cheap gimps, oh the joy. XD A quick tip for Marth, though. If you ever find yourself locked on a platform above him and getting spammed with up-tilts, SHIELD then jump cancel the shield when he's recovering from his attack. You can't stay on the platform since he has it pretty much locked down. I usually waveland on top platform, wavedash off to the other lower platform, and get back down to level ground with some lasers and continue the game (see how ease of movement around the stage can get you out of that situation?).

It is important to apply pressure as Falco. The reason for PPMD's recent switch to Marth is because Falco takes so much energy and aggression to be good. If you start to back down, you get comboed. You have to be in Marth's face and applying pressure. You have to be aggressive. Just how you play overall needs to be aggressive, needs to have initiative, and should never back down from an opportunity.
 

Pr0fessor Flash

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OK, first things first. I would REALLY advise going into training mode and practice moving, forget attacks. Don't even worry about 'em. Just waveland, dash dance, and wavedash. Maybe do some phantasm platform cancels. Get good at moving around the stage. Even if someone is not as developed at understanding the game as another, being able to move around the stage better means you can more easily bring your desire into the game. See, its important to become proficient with your character so you're never struggling with DOING something. You want to struggle with your opponent's mind, not your fingers. I am not talking about Hax-like tech skill, just ease of movement. I noticed you had trouble with wavelanding. Watch some high level Falcos. Watch PPMD. They are ALWAYS moving. Constantly dash-dancing, wavedashing, wavelanding. Be on the move.

I LOVED your gimps in the first match (because of time I only watched the first match). I laughed so hard. He must have been so mad. He worked hard for some kills and then you got these cheap gimps, oh the joy. XD A quick tip for Marth, though. If you ever find yourself locked on a platform above him and getting spammed with up-tilts, SHIELD then jump cancel the shield when he's recovering from his attack. You can't stay on the platform since he has it pretty much locked down. I usually waveland on top platform, wavedash off to the other lower platform, and get back down to level ground with some lasers and continue the game (see how ease of movement around the stage can get you out of that situation?).

It is important to apply pressure as Falco. The reason for PPMD's recent switch to Marth is because Falco takes so much energy and aggression to be good. If you start to back down, you get comboed. You have to be in Marth's face and applying pressure. You have to be aggressive. Just how you play overall needs to be aggressive, needs to have initiative, and should never back down from an opportunity.
So basically Movement and Pressure is what I need to work on? I think of the MU as you bait Marth into doing a laggy move and Punish.
 

Magellan

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No matter the MU, you definitely always need to work on movement and pressure. If you focus on moving proficiently around the stage, you will improve your game on all levels with all characters. If you don't want high level falcos like PPMD, I highly suggest it. Watch how they move and emulate that (try not to copy, though, learn the techniques and the motives, and use your own style).

Falco's game is pressure. Always apply pressure. Not just in lasers, or in shine+nair+shine+nair shield pressure, but on a general gameplay level. Momentum is important. Push and be aggressive. Falco is one of the most aggressive characters to play. It is difficult to describe the gameplay I am talking about, the best way to learn is to watch it. I could show you a PM set that taught the concept to me, but it was on VGBootcamp so it was taken off. You want to always be hounding your opponent. Get in his face and beat the living tar out of him.
 

Pr0fessor Flash

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No matter the MU, you definitely always need to work on movement and pressure. If you focus on moving proficiently around the stage, you will improve your game on all levels with all characters. If you don't want high level falcos like PPMD, I highly suggest it. Watch how they move and emulate that (try not to copy, though, learn the techniques and the motives, and use your own style).

Falco's game is pressure. Always apply pressure. Not just in lasers, or in shine+nair+shine+nair shield pressure, but on a general gameplay level. Momentum is important. Push and be aggressive. Falco is one of the most aggressive characters to play. It is difficult to describe the gameplay I am talking about, the best way to learn is to watch it. I could show you a PM set that taught the concept to me, but it was on VGBootcamp so it was taken off. You want to always be hounding your opponent. Get in his face and beat the living tar out of him.
I watch alot of Zhu, Mango, PPMD, and Westballz alot and study the MUs I stuggle with still like Peach. Also is my Spacing good?
 

Magellan

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Oooh, tough question. I have no Jiggly Puffs to play. I don't think I've ever played one. Best advice there is to play more Puffs and try watching like PPMD versus Hungrybox and watch how he deals with him.
 

Magellan

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OK, pressure. I've been thinking about it and I think I can define it better. An opponent is under pressure when options have been removed. When you have control of center stage and an opponent is on the edge, he is under pressure. The same applies to when an opponent is shielding or in the air with no jumps left. The less options, the more pressure. An opponent is under the most pressure when he is in hitstun, all he can do is DI and pray your combo game isn't that great. As Falco, your job is to REMOVE options. Rip them away from him. Tear them from him. Make yourself an unreadable ghost of dust-dancing madness and throw his stocks into the dirt with dairs.
 
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