Hi I'm new and need some help getting started

[StoryTime]

Hi I'm StoryTime and I'm new to the smashboards and relatively new to the competitive aspect of melee. I've had melee since I was five but I've only done casual play with friends when they seldom come over to my house and by myself. I've already looked up some videos on how to wavedash, l-cancel, and shffl as well as watched some tourneys like Kings of Cali 1 and 2, Melee FC-10, and Big House 2. I've kind of been practicing wavedashing on FD and can successfully wavedash about 1/3 of the time. I'd like to know what to begin with because there are so many things I need to practice, it's quite overwhelming. Is wavedashing a good start for now? I decided to practice with Fox but I really have no clue what character I'm going to main. Any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[pokemongeof]

Try to first get ur main. Then focus on tech-skill while getting to know pros who use them. If Marth, u can watch Ken, M2K, etc. Falcon: S2J, Hax, Scar, Darkrain, SS, etc. and so on. Low tier characters are a bit harder to find to learn from, but you will find out ur main eventually

 

[S2rulL]

What I'd recommend first is picking a character that you like the most. For me, I picked Dr Mario because a friend sent me a link to a Dr Mario matchup guide and I hated the character. However, I love Pokémon so I decided to go with Jiggs and she's now my main because once you pick one that YOU like the most, they will feel the most comfortable to use.

Next, check out some competitive matches on YouTube or just Google some and observe how the player uses the character (i.e. how much space he keeps between himself and the opponent, how often he uses tilts, B, airs, etc.) Or check out some threads on how to use your character more proficiently/effectively.

Finally: PRACTICE. Training mode, running sets w/ friends, whatever you do to get to grips with your character. This will help make your character feel almost like second nature to you. I myself had a lot of problems with Jiggs' movement when I first started using her now I can almost effortlessly manoeuvre her around the stage.

I hope this helps in some way, shape or form.

 

[StoryTime]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated

 

[S2rulL]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated

Any character specifically you were thinking of playing???

 

[gencore]

On the topic of noobs asking questions: what is edge teching, and how does one do it?

 

[BTmoney]

I would not recommend watching Ken unless you want to emulate 2006 technology. Starting with Fox was a good idea though, it'll make other characters easier from a technical standpoint.

 

[StoryTime]

Any character specifically you were thinking of playing???

I was thinking maybe Falcon.. That knee man.. It seems real fun.

 

[The 2t]

Don't be discouraged if it all seems a bit overwhelming at first, there are a ton of things in this game which pro players take for granted and can pull off almost every second of every game, but are extremely frustrating when you're just learning them. Tiny things like slight variation in pressure on the control stick or timing being off by a couple of frames can make your character do something completely different from what you had in your mind and it can be frustrating when you're just learning.

Just take everything one step at a time and don't expect it all to happen overnight. Over time it all starts to feel more and more natural and eventually all the advanced techniques start to come together. Try to play actual human players as much as you can though, it's ok to fight CPUs a little bit while you learn techniques but it's not going to teach you anything valuable in terms of actual player interaction.

But yeah, this game's a lot of fun and really satisfying once you get into the swing of things, it can just be a bit tough to get over the initial hurdle of all this added tech skill you have to learn.

 

[S2rulL]

I was thinking maybe Falcon.. That knee man.. It seems real fun.

Yeah, and like 2t says, don't be overwhelmed! Just enjoy the learning experience!!!

 

[Massive]

Probably the most important thing to do is find some other people to play with.
Check out the regional boards for your area and find your local smash scene (which is hopefully reasonably close).
The best way to learn is to play people who know more than you. The more skilled your local scene is, the faster you'll improve.

On the topic of noobs asking questions: what is edge teching, and how does one do it?

Edge teching (or ledge teching or wall teching) is hitting L or R when you've been hit and are adequately close to a wall/ledge. If you do the timing correctly, less than 20 frames (about 1/3 of a second) before hitting the wall (or just close enough to tech), you will wall jump off and cancel any momentum the attack may have given to you. If you miss the tech, you get stuck with 40 frames of unpleasant tech stoppage (basically the rest of the second) before you can try again.

If you hold towards the stage when you tech, you won't wall jump off, but instead just tech in place and then start falling. This is what you see pros in videos do to prevent from being killed by a ledgeguard.
If you're teching while recovering the ledge, the best way to time it is to hit the L or R button when you feel like the opponent's hit is about to connect.

Good luck.

 

[StoryTime]

Thank you for the encouragement guys so on the topic of tech skill, what's a good place to start?

 

[Captain Smuckers]

short hopping consistently o_o

 

[gencore]

Thanks, Massive.

 

[channlsrfr]

short hopping consistently o_o

Lol, so true. I remember being that new. At this point, Storytime, just practice anything. From a technical standpoint, I think a good approach is to (a) pick a character or two to main, at least for now; (b) watch as many videos of solid players using that character as you can; and (c) try to mimic their movements and understand their combos. When you find something you're unable to mimic or understand, try to figure out how to do it, either on your own or by asking someone (linking to a video with a time reference helps). People here on SWF should be happy to help on the condition that you try to recruit as many friends and acquaintances to Melee as you can.

If you get tired of people saying "That was already discussed on XYZ thread," or "Learn how to use the search function," just message me. I'll help you out -- again, on the condition that you recruit Same goes for any other noobs. Don't let my post count fool you; I'm actually decent at this game.

 

[Massive]

Thank you for the encouragement guys so on the topic of tech skill, what's a good place to start?

I actually just posted something like this (regarding learning advanced tactics/tech skill) in another thread.
I have used it (or a minor variant) several times in the past to bring newer people into the fold reasonably quickly. The steps are set in a way that each one builds on the previous one, so they tend to be pretty intuitive, hopefully it will be helpful.

 

[StoryTime]

Ah thank you Massive that post really helps out a lot!

 

[TerryJ]

On the topic of practice try to get your fundamentals down first. Spacing, Dashing, Short Hops, knowing your recovery options and DI are the first things that come to mind.

edit:
Just noticed Massive's link. Just follow that and you'll be on the right track.

 

[stickmantankguy]

I learned how to play melee generally with every character at first with one true goal in mind, and that's good spacing and mind games. I feel that it's a matter of knowing where to be and how to make your opponent slip up, and technical skill is just how you're going to accomplish that. Learn all the techniques, because your opponent will know them too, but you always gotta be able to read their movements and act at where they're going to be.

I'm too obsessed with mind games. That's why I play Samus and Ness.

I was thinking maybe Falcon.. That knee man.. It seems real fun.

Falcon goes in and just tears stuff apart. He's a violent character and doesn't play much defense. But you should still know what to do when you're pushed onto defense. The best Falcon players switch between offense and defense rather than just going in with knee rushes and uairs.
Also with Falcon, reading their movement is immensely important.

 

[Comatose]

Falcon is a great character, especially if you're a bit more aggressive in play.

Problem with him is he gets combod almost as hard as spacies, and his recovery is pretty easy to gimp (I play a doc, love the falcon matchup cuz cape gimps are just too easy haha)

I suggest spending a little time with each character, go through and play cpus lvl 5 and under, just combo and have fun, find a character you really enjoy, cuz nothing's more important in smash than enjoying yourself.

And don't be afraid to switch mains, in fact be prepared to. almost everyone does, no matter the skill level. Hell, mango went from maining a puff to being (arguably) the best spacie main ever.

 

[Double Helix]

Man, I was this new like...a year ago. What I would recommend is work on what sets this game apart from other fighters...movement and many of the movement options. I would start with dash dancing and learning the distance your character can do this. Some characters (Sheik) have crappy dash dances, but yeah...movement is huge. I feel like it opens up the most options. However, Massive's post is really good. So I would say just work on what you feel is best to learn first. Movement is easy to practice alone, but edge guarding usually requires another person.

Also if you need someone to play, I am in the southern illinois area (it is really hard to find people around here).

 

[StoryTime]

Thanks guys! Right now I'm trying to get down short hopping so I can consistently do it. I played around with dash dancing on falcon and I think I have the hang of his dash dance.

 

[Sedda]

Make a list of goals that looks a little like this:

1) have fun

2) does it even matter?

Aside from that, you have an awesome tag. What else could you ask for?

Just play a lot and you'll get it eventually. Go to tournaments! You'll lose at first but you'll get the hang of it.

 

[Massive]

Thanks guys! Right now I'm trying to get down short hopping so I can consistently do it. I played around with dash dancing on falcon and I think I have the hang of his dash dance.

Falcon's dashdance is by far the easiest to do (it's a super big range) and probably the most useful at a beginner's level. The most important thing to practice with dashdancing is punishing get-up behavior when your opponent is on the ground.

When you're dashdancing you can run away from their getup attack and then back in to grab while they're in recovery frames. This is a bread-and-butter tactic for a lot of characters (especially falcon). The fact that you're already running means that you can cover several options at once. If they roll towards you, you can run past them, turn around and then grab them on your run back. If they roll away from you, you can just chase them and grab them. If they stand straight up, you can just grab them. You can practice all of these on mid-level computers with some competency, although they don't usually tech-roll as much as a real person will.

Learning this really opens up the metagame, and getting good at it (techchasing/dashdancing) is one of the things that makes people think you're "inside their head".

 

[Double Helix]

I notice one thing that isn't in massive's post on advanced skills is shielding. I feel like it is often an overlooked subject. It is actually pretty tough to do well (because being stuck in shield sucks) and even more difficult to light shield well. Eventually you want to learn options out of shield (OoS) and uses of light shielding. Light shielding is probably best used by Hax (and he is a Falcon player luckily). Just look up Hax vs space animal once you feel comfortable shielding to learn when to light shield. I honestly find shielding to be one of the hardest things (especially as a beginner because dodge roll and spot dodge). I still have trouble remembering I can move the shield and how useful light shielding is.

 

[Tarv]

In regards to dash dancing, I made a thread asking about its uses awhile ago and received some really spectacular advice, maybe some of it will help you: http://smashboards.com/threads/i-dont-understand-dash-dancing-and-other-things.329655/#post-15057134

 

[Massive]

I notice one thing that isn't in massive's post on advanced skills is shielding. I feel like it is often an overlooked subject. It is actually pretty tough to do well (because being stuck in shield sucks) and even more difficult to light shield well. Eventually you want to learn options out of shield (OoS) and uses of light shielding. Light shielding is probably best used by Hax (and he is a Falcon player luckily). Just look up Hax vs space animal once you feel comfortable shielding to learn when to light shield. I honestly find shielding to be one of the hardest things (especially as a beginner because dodge roll and spot dodge). I still have trouble remembering I can move the shield and how useful light shielding is.

The list isn't exhaustive (obviously), I've also not thought of a good time to include SHFFL information, but it's usually a two minute conversation after they can L-cancel reasonably well. Most people seem to figure it out on their own though.

Shielding, on the other hand, is one of those things that can be so complicated I think it's better to wait before introducing a huge amount about it. Teaching people shield drops, tilts, and all the bizarre mechanics involved in shield DI/light shielding before they can even smash out of shield reliably will only serve to confuse them, IMO.

I've thought about making a more in-depth/exhaustive step-by-step newbie to AT guide in the past (I never thought the demand was really there).

 

[Double Helix]

Argh...I am terrible when it comes to SWF because I am lazy. I posted a thread about light shielding, but I can't find it. It talks about the Marth killer even XD

Anyways, I think there are two important things to remember. Learn how to practice (which is different for many people). The advanced techs can be daunting but after about six months I was doing most of them just fine and now some of it I do without thinking (a year later). This probably is because I have nobody here to play, but hopefully I can fix that. Dolphin netplay is a good way to get better if you have a computer that can handle it. There is an adapter that allows you to use a Gamecube controller (which is what I need money for).

The second thing is don't burn yourself out. I love this game as much as the next guy, but practice sessions that you aren't really feeling up to can set you back by causing old habits to resurface. It still happens to me sometimes. But I just realized there is a third thing.

Do not get discouraged when you lose (because it will happen). The only person allowed to get discouraged is Hungrybox. Let's face it, sadbox is a staple of the community, but I do want him to win sometime XD. In any case, the goal of each match should be to learn something, especially at this stage. In a match, I recommend doing only what you know you can do rather than trying new stuff so you can solidify what you have worked on up to that point (which, of course, does not apply if it is something you almost must have a person to face to work on). That way you can see progress, see what went wrong, and learn how to improve (whether from playing and observing or from the person being as blunt as the CrimsonBlur).

 

[Double Helix]

(Sorry, double post)

A newbie guide to ATs would be super great, if you had the time. It would be a great place to send people especially after EVO. Also sometimes even the veterans forget about all the options. I only learned shielding stuff before smashing OoS because really...what smash would Ness use OoS? XD

 

[StoryTime]

Haha yeah I'm sure the shield stuff can wait until after I get down SHFFLing and movement in general ^.^" Speaking of which, for short hop practice, I'm just standing in place and repeatedly short hopping. Is that good or should I be mixing it up by throwing in aerials and moving back and forth?

 

[Double Helix]

A good way to practice short hopping is alternating short hops and full hops and then mix it up. 2 short hops a full hop then a short hop in 2 full hops. It is all about character control. Because you want to be able to do both on command, I feel that this is a good way to practice short hopping.

 

[Comatose]

What worked best for me when learning advanced skills was using different characters for each thing.

Short hopping- Fox, cuz his short hop has has to be done in like 2 frames or something ridiculous like that, so you learn to short hop consistently with him and you will NEVER have a problem with accidentally full hopping.

Wave dashing- Luigi, cuz he's easier to see when you do it right, and his wavedash timing is similar to many other characters

L cancelling- link with his dair, because it's easy to see when you do it correctly.


This is just how I practiced it at first, remember the best way to get good at your character of choice is to actually practice WITH that character. These characters are simply good tools to use to first learn+get in basic practice on these skills

 

[Bones0]

Kids who first played Melee when they were 5 are starting to play competitively.

What a sick game.

 

[StoryTime]

Kids who first played Melee when they were 5 are starting to play competitively.

Just goes to show how well the game as aged for said kids and in general. XD

 

[SUNG666]

All I know is that I will root for you at every tournament. StoryTime is such a sick tag.

 

[Rokutaro]

Where do you live storytime? I'm looking for smashers as well in the Los Angeles area

 

[StoryTime]

StoryTime is such a sick tag.

XD Thanks, and Rokutaro, I'm in the DFW area in TX... from my understanding the smash scene in cali is pretty huge.

 

[bearsfan092]

Well look who it is

 

[StoryTime]

Alright, so I've been practicing short hopping for a little while now, and I can short hop fairly consistently... if I'm just standing in place and spamming the jump button... My problem now is being able to apply that consistency with aerials, then eventually adding in the fast falling, and lastly the L-canceling, but as of now, how should I go about practice short hopped aerials? Just spam short hop aerials around FD?

 

[Ziodyne]

Alright, so I've been practicing short hopping for a little while now, and I can short hop fairly consistently... if I'm just standing in place and spamming the jump button... My problem now is being able to apply that consistency with aerials, then eventually adding in the fast falling, and lastly the L-canceling, but as of now, how should I go about practice short hopped aerials? Just spam short hop aerials around FD?

not a bad idea IMO

EDIT: Feel free to practice on low-level CPUs just so you have something to hit