Help with re-learning Smash

[Rosalina _88]

Hello all,

I've visited these boards a few times looking for help with learning Rosalina (hence my rather unoriginal user name), but this is my first time posting. So let me say thank you in advance; I feel like I have already learned so much about both Rosalina and Smash 4.

I've been playing Smash on and off with friends since Smash 64 in 1999, but I've never really been very skilled at it. So I decided that, with Smash 4, I wanted to learn to play better. I don't think I can become tournament-level good, but I'd like to be good enough to not be destroyed in online For Glory. Though For Fun is actually my favorite mode thanks to the items and stages, For Glory is the only mode with 1v1, and I like 1v1.

The biggest piece of advice I keep reading over and over is to just keep playing, and to expect to lose a lot, especially starting out. But it is a bit discouraging at times; my For Glory win record stands at a dismal 50%. The really embarrassing part is, it was much lower before I started visiting these boards. It's also difficult because Rosalina is such a different character, but that is why I am drawn to her. I like the fact that she plays so differently. But I feel like to really learn her well is to basically learn how to play differently than any other character, as her learning curve makes her all the more difficult to use effectively.

I suppose my question is: how should I go about learning to use Rosalina and Luma? I feel like there is more to it than just playing a lot. I'm just not sure what that is.

Thanks again for your help. :-)

 

[mario123007]

Try to check her guide and combo videos.

 

[Ingoro]

There's no point in playing a lot, UNLESS you're actually aware of what you're doing wrong. What a good thing might be is saving your replays were you lost by a margin but still felt like you played your best. You can then watch them back and try to analyze what you did wrong: why am I getting hit here? why didn't I punish that? By doing that you're actively thinking of your playstyle itself and figuring out what you're doing wrong. If you're a amateur player you probably have a lot of habits so if you start by getting rid of these you will improve a lot. Also try to play consistently against friends who're better than you and just ask them what you're doing wrong in their eyes.

 

[Zonderion]

Hello all,

I've visited these boards a few times looking for help with learning Rosalina (hence my rather unoriginal user name), but this is my first time posting. So let me say thank you in advance; I feel like I have already learned so much about both Rosalina and Smash 4.

I've been playing Smash on and off with friends since Smash 64 in 1999, but I've never really been very skilled at it. So I decided that, with Smash 4, I wanted to learn to play better. I don't think I can become tournament-level good, but I'd like to be good enough to not be destroyed in online For Glory. Though For Fun is actually my favorite mode thanks to the items and stages, For Glory is the only mode with 1v1, and I like 1v1.

The biggest piece of advice I keep reading over and over is to just keep playing, and to expect to lose a lot, especially starting out. But it is a bit discouraging at times; my For Glory win record stands at a dismal 50%. The really embarrassing part is, it was much lower before I started visiting these boards. It's also difficult because Rosalina is such a different character, but that is why I am drawn to her. I like the fact that she plays so differently. But I feel like to really learn her well is to basically learn how to play differently than any other character, as her learning curve makes her all the more difficult to use effectively.

I suppose my question is: how should I go about learning to use Rosalina and Luma? I feel like there is more to it than just playing a lot. I'm just not sure what that is.

Thanks again for your help. :-)

Welcome to the Boards and specifically, the Rosalina Boards! First off, I will say, do not let the For Glory impact your play style, or your enjoyment of the game. When I first started out playing on For Glory I was horrible (I suppose I still am). I started out with about a 35% win rate. This would irritate me to no end. I literally got upset when I would look at my records and they sucked. Now that I have been playing for a few months I have gotten my win rate to about 70%, but this still does not mean as much. Too be honest, it would be better to have a lower win rate (although not intentional) because it means you are playing people that are better than you. Another note about For Glory is the lag can mess up your timing. Sometimes to your benefit, but most of the time it will decrease your performance.

I feel that the most growth you can get is by playing people who are better than you. Yes its true that to get better you have to play a lot, but you have to play better people, and play lots of different people (otherwise you will develop habits against those people, which could be good, could be bad). If you have local people to play with locally, do that first and foremost. The next option would be to play people on your friends lists, or add people from Smashboards (like me!) to play online against. Make sure they know it is to improve your gameplay, so find people that are willing to teach. Find online tournaments or ladders to play in. These players will be consistently better than people you play with on For Glory, and yes, expect to lose a lot! Lastly, you can play on For Glory if none of those other options will work for you.

@AceStarThe3rd is starting a project that is perfect for new Rosalina players. Visit his thread here.

Research, research, research. Learn absolutely everything you can about Rosalina. Learn her strengths and her weaknesses. Learn her ATs (Advanced Techniques), as well as general ATs.

Research, research, research. Learn absolutely everything you can about Rosalina's opponents. Knowing the match up is just as important, if not more so, than being an expert at general and advanced techniques. You will start to win so many more games when you know the match ups.

Watch videos, lots of videos. You will learn things you didn't know were possible with Rosalina. Dabuz is one of the top Rosalina players. He has a twitch channel here. He loves to answer questions, so ask him. If you are having a difficult time with a specific match up, watch videos of Rosalina, both winning and losing against them. As @ Ingoro said, save your highlights, especially the ones you lose. Watching yourself win is satisfying, but doesn't help to improve as much as watching yourself lose.

I am in the same boat as you. I want to get better, but I know that I am not tournament ready. I have a very limited time to play, but that doesn't mean I don't want to get to that level. We just have to make good use of our time. If there is a tournament close to you, go to it. Even if you don't play in it, make connections. Play friendlies. You WILL get better, I promise!

 

[Rosalina _88]

Thank you everyone! I'd love to play some friendly matches of Smash with some of you. My online ID is Quantum_Mello; feel free to add me.

@AceStarThe3rd has an awesome idea. I can't wait for it to come to fruition.