How can I practice Melee?

[Kaibo]

None of my friends really play melee competitively, some do but not saying im good or anything but they aren't at my "level". I still get 2-0ed every tournament and I don't have any close friends or siblings so I usually just watch a lot of matches and tournaments and play CPUs.

 

[BlueX]

If you are in your Smash scene Facebook group then you could be able to play friendlies ether on a real Gamecube or over Netplay. If you can not do that then if you have a good PC then you can use Anther's Ladder to play other people with Netplay.

 

[EPsilon933]

If your PC can't handle Dolphin but you have other fighting games you can play online, I recommend playing them. You'll learn the fundamental skills like prediction, spacing, and mix ups there which can be applied to Melee

 

[Sutekh]

Practice against other competitive players is important, but there is still a ton that you can work on by yourself. Practice wavedashing and dash-dancing across FD until you can do it 99 times out of 100 without making a mistake. Practice SHFFLing and break it down into each individual part if you're having trouble. Practice dropping off the ledge, double jumping into an aerial, and l-cancel it on stage before wavedashing back and fastfalling back to the edge (do this with all 5 aerials). Practice jumping through a platform and immediately wavelanding off of it, wavelanding from one platform to the next, and performing aerials after your wavelands. A big part of just starting out is simply gaining the ability to control your character and being able to do what you want when you want to do it. If you can practice tech skill on your own and then attend a local tournament or smash fest a couple times a month, you'll definitely see improvement. And as you get better you'll be more able to help your friends improve, which will in turn make it easier for you to practice.

 

[Diabolical PIe]

There is a LOT you can do in Melee just by thinking. Think about what options you would use in what situations. How would your opponents think to counter those options? What would the response to that be?

Example line of thought: You're Marth and your opponent is Fox. What is your win condition? Start a combo and get Fox offstage. You're both dashing back and forth in neutral on stage. What's the best way to start a combo? > Grab. Winning tactic: attempt to grab.

So then you run up to Fox and you try to grab him. Now what does he do in response? Imagine yourself in the opponent's position. He could dash back, forcing you to whiff your grab. He could throw out an attack to stuff your approach. He could spotdodge or roll expecting the grab. All of these options will beat you if you just try to run forward and grab.

So now what can you do? Perhaps instead of running up and grabbing, you run into his space and immediately shield. If he dashes back, you have now taken stage control. If he throws out an attack, you can wait for a hole in his pressure and punish him. If he rolls or spotdodges, you can now wavedash out of shield and apply pressure or get a grab. You now have an advantage.

Of course, now Fox will have to think about ways to beat run up shield. Perhaps he will run up and initiate a shine premptively, or perhaps he will retreat to ledge and stall for an opening.

This is endless. The way players respond and adapt to each other's actions forms the core of every fighting game and even every sport on the planet. Melee is a game of endless adaptation, and you can improve a LOT just by going through mental drills like this in your head. Whichever player adapts the fastest wins.

Tech skill is nice and all, but it's only an extension of your tools. Practice it, but always prioritize practicing thinking. I hope this wasn't too confusing. Best of luck!