How do I get better at Zss

[Ima_Ninja_Snack]

So i have been practicing zss for awhile on lvl 9 cpus and i am wondering how do i get better when i can get rid of lvl 9 cpus, online, or do testing of hitboxes?

 

[ph00tbag]

Incidentally, level nine CPUs are not considered particularly great practice dummies, since there are a number of things that they always do very reliably, like DI'ing straight up. The only thing they really force you to learn is the things that can be hard punished with a degree of difficulty, but once you stop doing those things, they're really quite easy to defeat because they're so predictable.

Oddly enough, level sevens are typically less consistent in terms of the things they do, especially in terms of DI, so if you want to practice combos, then they're usually better for practice.

All told, however, you won't find that practicing against computers gives you a whole lot of success against human opponents, since humans are often less predictable, and will punish you for bad habits (which computers won't do). So really, if you want to get better, find some friends who also want to get better, get together on a regular basis, and play each other to win. Then go grab dinner and talk about smash--talk about strategies, mix-ups, spacing, technology--and when you get home play more. When you're not playing against friends, you should practice some tech skill, and maybe do some lab-work. Learn hitbox properties, experiment with fallspeeds and tech chase timings, etc.

Basically, your personal time ought to be for development on physical skill and knowledge. Practice your reactions, predictions, and game plans when you're with friends. CPUs can have their place, but it's not particularly large. Personally, I mostly use them to practice matrix execution.

 

[Ima_Ninja_Snack]

Incidentally, level nine CPUs are not considered particularly great practice dummies, since there are a number of things that they always do very reliably, like DI'ing straight up. The only thing they really force you to learn is the things that can be hard punished with a degree of difficulty, but once you stop doing those things, they're really quite easy to defeat because they're so predictable.

Oddly enough, level sevens are typically less consistent in terms of the things they do, especially in terms of DI, so if you want to practice combos, then they're usually better for practice.

All told, however, you won't find that practicing against computers gives you a whole lot of success against human opponents, since humans are often less predictable, and will punish you for bad habits (which computers won't do). So really, if you want to get better, find some friends who also want to get better, get together on a regular basis, and play each other to win. Then go grab dinner and talk about smash--talk about strategies, mix-ups, spacing, technology--and when you get home play more. When you're not playing against friends, you should practice some tech skill, and maybe do some lab-work. Learn hitbox properties, experiment with fallspeeds and tech chase timings, etc.

Basically, your personal time ought to be for development on physical skill and knowledge. Practice your reactions, predictions, and game plans when you're with friends. CPUs can have their place, but it's not particularly large. Personally, I mostly use them to practice matrix execution.

thank you i'll start trying some of these things.

 

[Oro?!]

Always just try to do things as fast as possible when you are practicing as well. You might not always want to SHFFL as fast as possible constantly in a real game, but it would be helpful to be able to call on that ability when it's needed. The same can be said for any sort of tech skill. While it's not like you are playing Fox/Falco, a decent amount of tech skill is still required for a character as fast and fastfalling as ZSS.

Some character specific tech skill things to work on would be doing constant ledge cancel divekicks or dash cancel lasers, then run backwards pivot laser as fast as possible.

 

[FakeKraid]

Train yourself to stay on the ground unless you have just launched your opponent. Zamus has a great air game, but ONLY against a tumbling opponent; her airs are too short-range and quick to be useful in trades or challenges, and her horizontal movement isn't good for aerial approaches. Zamus should almost exclusively begin engagements on the ground, where she can use her powerful zoning tools and superior running speed to secure an advantage before pursuing for an aerial followup.