Help me main Ike

[RoxburyGuy58]

Yeah, I know, there are other characters that I could main, but the ones that I already have (Ness, Pikachu, Meta Knight, and Toon Link) seem to be bad match-ups against the ever-popular fan favorite : Ike. So I figured, "Why not make my greatest weakness my greatest strength?" In other words, I need to know how long it takes to main Ike. Not, like, 'how long does it take to become pro with him?'. I just want to play as him and have him as one of my mains. So, any Ike efficianados know how long it would take to get good as him?

 

[menofuntall]

Well, for starters, Pikachu is nearly impossible to beat with Ike. The others are difficult, but doable.

Basiclaly, maining Ike is a matter of practicing spacing, getting used to his Quick Draw and Aether length, and smacking the enemy around. To simply main him doesn't take a long time at all. You could probably just pick him up in about...5 days, I'd say. Depends on how often you're going to use him. From there on out, it's just honing some universal skills.

 

[Machiavelli.CF]

nah... i wuddn't worry about quick draw, because its not a good attack,use that only for APPROACH and recovery(not reccomended over aether. ikes neutral A combo is his best way of starting comboz, so use it often,
since i am good with all heavy/strong characters, i cud give u my advise that i use for all my heavy mains
"It is all about timing, once you have that down, the characters strength will do the rest

over all, about a few days to get him in ur party...

 

[3xSwords]

I don't understand this at all, because the characters that you main should have no problem with Ike. Pikachu and Toon Link are considered amazing counters against Ike. Ness can just PK thunder and fire the hell out of Ike and MetaKnight even though he is light his speed should be more than enough to overtake Ike.

I really don't think you should consider adding another main when you are having trouble beating a character that you should be winning against. Since you aren't that means you haven't mastered your current mains to a high enough level and you should more likely concentrate on improving them rather than getting another main. But if you are really insistent on maining Ike then just know how to space properly, get used to his lag, and everything else will come. For more detail read the guides.

 

[RoxburyGuy58]

Sure, 3xSwords. YOU try beating a sword-based character with Ness. I've actually done pretty well with Meta Knight, but Ike's down-B can counter his Mach Tornado (the meat of my MK strategies, other than chaingrabbing), and he simply lacks the appropriate attack strength. I really never bothered to use Pikachu because, by analyzing Ike's moves, I figured a close-ranged fighter might've been a bad choice. And I'm trying to better my reflexes with Toon Link (I'm good, but not fast enough with him), since I recently got over the fact that Link is nerfed. And, take into account that every attack Ike has has incredible backswing to it, delivering crushing blows and making it hard to chaingrab him.

 

[3xSwords]

......
Ok if your going to flame me fine. I don't care but the matter of fact is I HAVE beaten sword based characters with Ness. So before you start flaming me learn what your talking about b/c I don't think you even know your characters. I know for sure Mach Tornado is not the meat of MK's strategies. Its a good damaging move but you don't use it often b/c it degenerates really quickly. You can combo so easily w/ Meta's other moves like d-throw->dash attack->u-tilt/f-air. Or do two d-tilts into a dash attack->upB. I've seen many good Metas in vids and let me tell you if you can't combo a HEAVY character like Ike you better practice more.

Also how is your analyzation correct? Pikachu would **** Ike just by the fact that
1) His attacks are quicker
2)He can chaingrab him
3)He has a projectile
4)He can just gimp Ike very easily
Go watch anther play pikachu and you will see what I mean.

Now then since I just showed you can't analyze your characters effectively I'll assume you made the same mistake with ness. Ness has three projectiles: PK thunder, PK flash, and PK fire. PK fire will let you camp and get extra damage in whenever they're not approaching. And when you do hit them you can run up to them and f-smash, grab, etc while they're stuck in the pillar of flame. You can also gimp Ike's QD recovery with this. Then PK thunder can just screw Ike up off the edge. I know a character is more than their projectiles but that is the main reason why some characters do so well against Ike b/c they have projectiles. Besides that fact Ness's f-air is just ****, and if you use the shield properly you should have no trouble beating an Ike, b/c you can punish most of his post lag with a quick grab and we all know Ness's grabs are the **** and the shielding system in Brawl is just broken.

When you say chaingrab Ike you mean grab him w/ TL's chain right? Well how are you having trouble then? I know Ike has a lot of shield knockback but its not amazing. I would know b/c I've been constantly shield grabbed by a TL and Link thinking I knocked them far enough away with my aerial but they can still get me. Also if you know you've been knocked back too far and you still try to grab that's just your being stupid. And TL should have no problems against Ike b/c he is one of the best camping characters in the game. Short hop double arrow, along with his boomerang and bombs can just destroy Ike. I've played TL before and I know why he is top tier. TL can also just combo the hell out of Ike with his godly quick moves.

If you think I'm saying camping is all that matters against Ike then you misunderstand me. But what I am saying is that if your character can camp then they have distinct advantage over Ike, because you do not need to approach them. Instead you force the Ike to constantly dodge your projectiles while approaching you and that is just free damage for you if they screw up. For Ike going against a projectile character is like having an extra 20-30% on them. This coupled with the fact that 3 out of 4 of your characters can camp asks why are you having trouble beating Ike? Which leads me to my original post, before you decided to flame me saying I don't know what I'm talking about, that you should practice improving your other mains first before adding another main, b/c you have yet to master them.

I hope you realize that the forums are here to help people. And we usually give out info that has already been discussed and generally accepted as truth, so don't think I'm just blatantly posting to say "you suck" then you're wrong. Unless you're telling me that the Ike mainer you play is a god or something (which would have clarified why you are losing with characters that should beat him) then this could have been avoided. However, it is generally accepted that if you play a person equal skill and he plays Ike and you play a campy character. You will have an advantage over him. So I suggest you listen to my OP, and get better. Otherwise if you really want to get better with Ike then just read one of the guides that are here. I hope you realize that I'm only trying to help you but an offensive post warrants an offensive reply.

 

[metroid1117]

......
Ok if your going to flame me fine. I don't care but the matter of fact is I HAVE beaten sword based characters with Ness. So before you start flaming me learn what your talking about b/c I don't think you even know your characters. I know for sure Mach Tornado is not the meat of MK's strategies. Its a good damaging move but you don't use it often b/c it degenerates really quickly. You can combo so easily w/ Meta's other moves like d-throw->dash attack->u-tilt/f-air. Or do two d-tilts into a dash attack->upB. I've seen many good Metas in vids and let me tell you if you can't combo a HEAVY character like Ike you better practice more.

Also how is your analyzation correct? Pikachu would **** Ike just by the fact that
1) His attacks are quicker
2)He can chaingrab him
3)He has a projectile
4)He can just gimp Ike very easily
Go watch anther play pikachu and you will see what I mean.

Now then since I just showed you can't analyze your characters effectively I'll assume you made the same mistake with ness. Ness has three projectiles: PK thunder, PK flash, and PK fire. PK fire will let you camp and get extra damage in whenever they're not approaching. And when you do hit them you can run up to them and f-smash, grab, etc while they're stuck in the pillar of flame. You can also gimp Ike's QD recovery with this. Then PK thunder can just screw Ike up off the edge. I know a character is more than their projectiles but that is the main reason why some characters do so well against Ike b/c they have projectiles. Besides that fact Ness's f-air is just ****, and if you use the shield properly you should have no trouble beating an Ike, b/c you can punish most of his post lag with a quick grab and we all know Ness's grabs are the **** and the shielding system in Brawl is just broken.

When you say chaingrab Ike you mean grab him w/ TL's chain right? Well how are you having trouble then? I know Ike has a lot of shield knockback but its not amazing. I would know b/c I've been constantly shield grabbed by a TL and Link thinking I knocked them far enough away with my aerial but they can still get me. Also if you know you've been knocked back too far and you still try to grab that's just your being stupid. And TL should have no problems against Ike b/c he is one of the best camping characters in the game. Short hop double arrow, along with his boomerang and bombs can just destroy Ike. I've played TL before and I know why he is top tier. TL can also just combo the hell out of Ike with his godly quick moves.

If you think I'm saying camping is all that matters against Ike then you misunderstand me. But what I am saying is that if your character can camp then they have distinct advantage over Ike, because you do not need to approach them. Instead you force the Ike to constantly dodge your projectiles while approaching you and that is just free damage for you if they screw up. For Ike going against a projectile character is like having an extra 20-30% on them. This coupled with the fact that 3 out of 4 of your characters can camp asks why are you having trouble beating Ike? Which leads me to my original post, before you decided to flame me saying I don't know what I'm talking about, that you should practice improving your other mains first before adding another main, b/c you have yet to master them.

I hope you realize that the forums are here to help people. And we usually give out info that has already been discussed and generally accepted as truth, so don't think I'm just blatantly posting to say "you suck" then you're wrong. Unless you're telling me that the Ike mainer you play is a god or something (which would have clarified why you are losing with characters that should beat him) then this could have been avoided. However, it is generally accepted that if you play a person equal skill and he plays Ike and you play a campy character. You will have an advantage over him. So I suggest you listen to my OP, and get better. Otherwise if you really want to get better with Ike then just read one of the guides that are here. I hope you realize that I'm only trying to help you but an offensive post warrants an offensive reply.

One of the most intelligent posts I've read in this part of the forum.

In all seriousness, RoxburyGuy58, Ike's biggest and most obvious weakness is projectiles. Having the longest melee range in the game doesn't do you any good if you have no way to respond to projectile spammers such as Pit, Falco, or Toon Link. If you're equally skilled with your opponent, then you should be able to out-camp him and pressure him with your projectiles. Granted, I don't think Ness has that much of an edge over Ike; PK Fire can be jumped over in conjunction with an airdodge and FAir can be out-ranged, but his BThrow is an amazing killer and PK Thunder destroys Ike's recovery.

Anyways, responding to your previous post: there's not much to learn with Ike, but to start winning takes a lot of brain power; Ike's laggy attacks and no good strategy against projectile users demand a great amount of thinking and spacing to out-do your opponent and get your hits in. The most important things you can learn are spacing, attack speeds, how to edgeguard, and how to get those kills in. Your brain and ability to predict and punish, however, will determine how well your Ike plays.

 

[RoxburyGuy58]

Wow. The longest post I've seen so far. Nonetheless, I appreciate the help. Yeah, but peole that'll flame me for something this stupid will come along soon. This was just a simple test-thread. How do I remove this thread?

 

[3xSwords]

I wasn't flaming you in my OP I was just saying practice your mains, or read the Ike guides. Btw what I don't get is why you listed four mains when your icon says you are a Bowser main.

 

[Fenrir EX]

Bowser is standard for new accounts. Major influence from Gimpyfish I guess...

 

[3xSwords]

lol never knew that

10char

 

[RoxburyGuy58]

Once again, 3xSwords, thanks for the help. I recently played as Ness against a Lv. 9 CPU Ike (and later, my freind who plays as Ike), and they were the two easiest wins that I can remember (no Smash Balls). Ness runs circles around Ike (due to Ike's lag), outdoes him in the air, and knocks him far enough to make his up-B recovery futile. The sword rumor has been dispelled; but Ness is still no match for Marth or the Links, though.

 

[3xSwords]

No prob Roxbury. Even though ness ***** ike he has trouble against marth and link b/c link can just camp against you and marth can use his stupidly fast moves. Yeah ike is at a disadvantage against a lot of ppl, b/c his options are very limited. Thus even though it is "easy" to master his spacing, it is difficult to apply your skills and win with him competitively b/c the opponent only has to worry about a few moves against him. However, if you are up for the challenge go for it man.

 

[Falconv1.0]

I'd like to basically restate what he just said.

Mind games and smart moves. Dont use slow moves when you can easily get in a jab or something better, and time everything. Like wait til a approaching enemy uses and air dodge to use Ike's f smash so they are hit out of the dodge frames. You'll have to learn a LOT of timing to use his heavy *** sword.

 

[Empy]

I wasn't flaming you in my OP I was just saying practice your mains, or read the Ike guides. Btw what I don't get is why you listed four mains when your icon says you are a Bowser main.

Bowser is standard for new accounts. Major influence from Gimpyfish I guess...

This and the fact that the OP is a complete n00b with no idea what he's talking about.

My best adviceto OP, turn items off, play actual people, stop using just your strongest or easiest to hit attack and think about what you can do.

 

[Falconv1.0]

This and the fact that the OP is a complete n00b with no idea what he's talking about.

My best adviceto OP, turn items off, play actual people, stop using just your strongest or easiest to hit attack and think about what you can do.

^This

Then again, almost always when people make posts asking for help they are noobs.

 

[comboking]

http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=143163
or roiths stickied guide

 

[Falconv1.0]

http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=143163
or roiths stickied guide

Ah, combo king. Havent seen you in a while.

 

[Ikepwnsyou]

I main ike, and i could say, DONT try to combo, there are barely any. once you learn the few combos there are, get some expeirience with him. Be sure to quickdraw a lot and use his up air attack if your aggresive, but if your defensive try aether when they get close and use left or right tilt. well...i could tell you more, but youll have to learn some on your own

 

[Falconv1.0]

I main ike, and i could say, DONT try to combo, there are barely any. once you learn the few combos there are, get some expeirience with him. Be sure to quickdraw a lot and use his up air attack if your aggresive, but if your defensive try aether when they get close and use left or right tilt. well...i could tell you more, but youll have to learn some on your own

And you need to learn Ike before you give help on anything.

 

[Bwett]

And you need to leaner Ike before you give help on anything.

Yeah...definitely. Unless he is being sarcastic. In that case, pretty good joke lol.

 

[Falconv1.0]

Yeah...definitely. Unless he is being sarcastic. In that case, pretty good joke lol.

I spelled learn wrong, in case that wasn't understood. >.<

He said nothing about powershield, and gave pretty crappy advice. You only use quick draw a lot if you want to be predictable and you like being owned by projectile users.